Action 365

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The Action 365 (proper spelling action 365 ) is incorporated in the 1950s in Germany ecumenical lay movement. It arose from the idea that it is not enough to discuss problems in church and society, to denounce grievances, but to leave solutions and concrete actions to a few experts. As part of a joint global mission, Protestant and Catholic Christians want to work together in small, active groups (called teams) on all days of the year (hence 365) under the one word of God (hence action).

House of Action 365 Foundation

Today, Action 365 has two legal forms: the House of Action 365 Foundation (founded in 1997) and, as a subsidiary, the publishing and distribution company of Action 365 GmbH (founded in 1983). The Haus der Action 365 foundation is a non-profit foundation under civil law based in Frankfurt am Main . It is led by a board of directors and a board of trustees, to which Catholic and Protestant Christians belong, and is borne by voluntary contributions from volunteers in the teams as well as donations from friends and sponsors. The Action 365 publishing house is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the foundation. Both legal forms work together in the same house to realize the concerns of Action 365 in the present with their respective possibilities and to further develop them for the future:

  • the dialogue of religions and cultures
  • Partnership and educational work in a reconciled Europe (see below)
  • Modern forms of development cooperation, including through the partnership with the cooperative umbrella organization Fedecocagua in Guatemala since 1972/73 (see below)
  • Help for personal life in work and family
  • Encounters and exchanges with people without any religious ties
  • the publication of media for Christian public relations

International tasks of the foundation

On the one hand, the foundation built summer schools for young people from Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania. On the other hand, from 1995 the foundation initiated an initially three-national European project with regular scientific symposia in Poland (Kamien Slaski Castle / Groß Stein near Opole and in Krakow ), in the Czech Republic ( Olomouc ) and in the Federal Republic of Germany ( Frankfurt am Main ). Most of the scientists involved came from the Polish universities of Opole / Oppeln and Kraków / Krakau, the Czech František Palackỳ University in Olomouc / Olmütz, the St. Georgen University in Frankfurt am Main and the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Education. Later on, representatives of the Faculty of Adult Education and Cultural Studies at the University of Pécs / Fünfkirchen in Hungary joined. The last meeting of this kind was hosted from September 10-14, 2009 by the University of Krakow / Poland. Questions are at the center of the European symposia

  • according to the historical ties between Germans, Poles, Czechs and Hungarians
  • after dealing with the mistakes and wounds of the past, according to the motto "Memory is the secret of reconciliation"
  • after the phenomenon of migration and our general dealings with foreigners
  • for a European identity that creates common ground
  • as well as the political, social and educational conclusions drawn from the knowledge gained.

The model of the ecumenical grassroots groups

The teams, which also call themselves ecumenical grassroots groups or grassroots communities of Action 365, work nationwide according to the concept of a house group . Some of these teams have been around since Action 365 was founded, others in their constellation only for a few years.

The book of Acts of the Apostles says of the first young Christian communities: “They broke bread in their houses and shared meals with one another” (Chapter 2, verse 49). Base churches all over the world, including the Action 365 teams, are inspired by the life of these small, vital cells of the large churches. They see themselves as a community of faith, action, prayer and family. You want to be the engine of change, the freedom to experiment, the point of contact for people looking for or in need. The contacts between the Action 365 teams and the local church congregations are good, but Action 365's concern is broader in terms of dialogue with other denominations, with people of other faiths and people without any church origins or ties.

The volunteers of each team are not tied to Action 365 by any membership. They meet once a month. They receive suggestions and materials for the organization of the team evening in the form of the so-called "program", which is put together and sent out every two months by the Haus Stiftung. The focus of the work is, according to the foundation's concerns:

  • Ecumenical practice, e.g. B. through the revival of an early Christian and thus primeval ecumenical form of liturgy: the agape celebration
  • Christian public relations through posters and placards
  • Partnership with the co-operative Indian smallholder farmers in Guatemala
  • spiritual and material help for people in Eastern Europe
  • Social and pastoral services from help for social marginalized groups to work with senior citizens, health and hospice services, contacts with people in correctional facilities, holiday and course pastoral care, cooperation with one-world groups and immediate neighborhood help, the areas of work are very diverse, accordingly the talents and experiences that come together in a team.

history

The ecumenical lay movement originally brought into being by Father Johannes Leppich SJ (1915–1992) received its present-day, multifaceted and international dimension through three major development steps. During the first ten years, the so-called “Pater Leppich Active Groups” were mainly active at local level. From 1970 onwards there was a comprehensive restructuring and further development by Father Wolfgang Tarara SJ (1931–2001), primarily shaped by the ideas of ecumenism, democracy and personal responsibility. As a result, Action 365 opened up and networked internationally. The establishment of the STIFTUNG HAUS in 1997, initiated by Wolfgang Tarara SJ and realized by Gerlinde Back, ultimately secured the work of Action 365 for the future, regardless of people and timing.

Prize of the House of Action 365 Foundation

Since 2000, the foundation has been awarding the so-called “House of Action 365 Foundation Prize” at irregular intervals. According to the statutes, this prize is intended to honor personalities who have placed it at the center of their lives, to accompany people in intercultural encounters, in the search for religious values ​​and for a Christian spirituality, and who have achieved lasting merits in the process. The Foundation's Board of Trustees decides on the award of the prize with a majority of the votes of its members on the basis of proposals that can be submitted by anyone who identifies with the purpose of this Foundation.

For the first time, the Board of Trustees awarded the prize to Father Wolfgang Tarara SJ for his life's work in 2000. The winner is the initiator and founding chairman of the STIFTUNG HAUS der Action 365. In 2006, the Foundation Prize was awarded to Archbishop Alfons Nossol , Opole (Opole) . The laureate is on friendly terms with the foundation and has achieved outstanding and sustainable services in realizing the foundation's goals. In September 2017, Gerlinde Back, the last representative of the founding generation, left the management team and received the foundation award for her life's work.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Prize from the STIFTUNG HAUS der action 365 to Gerlinde Back. Retrieved October 30, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Summer meeting 2017: Prize of the STIFTUNG HAUS der action 365 to Gerlinde Back. Retrieved October 30, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Press release: A life for action 365. (PDF) Accessed October 30, 2017 .