Year of Silence 2010

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Year of Silence 2010: Discover God's rhythm of life.

The “Year of Silence 2010” in Germany and Switzerland was a Christian initiative with the aim of drawing attention to the need for silence and prayer and to find a balance between work and rest. Christians and people interested in questions of faith should be enabled to encounter God by consciously engaging in silence, so that they can align their rhythm of life with God. The year of silence showed different approaches to silence to God.

The year of silence was proclaimed by a number of Christian churches , free churches , publishers, organizations and institutions, mainly from the Protestant and ecumenical-nondenominational area, at the beginning of the church year on the 1st of  Advent , i.e. on November 29, 2009. The motto of the year of silence 2010 was: "Discover God's rhythm of life." The cross-denominational and cross-church initiative wanted to "offer people the opportunity to rediscover silence as an important aspect of everyday life and to consciously plan it into their daily rhythm."

Leadership and supporters

The year of silence 2010 was coordinated by a management group chaired by Wolfgang Breithaupt. Breithaupt is the pastor of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church (PEK), head of the House of Silence in Weitenhagen and deputy chairman of the spiritual renewal of the Evangelical Church (GGE). Breithaupt does not regard silence as an addition to life, but as a lifestyle. The Office of the Year of Silence 2010 is organized by the Bible Reading Association.

The year of silence was carried out by more than 80 organizations from the Protestant and non-denominational areas. Churches and free churches took part. These include, for example, the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK), the FeG-Bund , the Working Group of Mennonite Congregations and the Free Church Federation of God's Congregation . Christian publishers and radio stations such as the Christian Media Foundation , Gerth Medien or ERF participated. Protestant and Catholic parishes, for example the Protestant parish Mülheim-Heißen (Church of the Redeemer), as well as several Protestant community associations took part, including the Gnadauer Verband and the Württemberg Brethren Association .

History and Effect

The year of silence took place for the second time in 2010, the first was 1983. The new initiative met with great approval in Christian communities, churches and church districts and was taken up and used for events, impulse days, seminars and for training and encouraging employees. Christian congregations in Germany also consciously changed the processes of their events and church services due to the year of silence in 2010 . They perceived "silence" as an important aspect of their faith and picked it up as a topic in their community publications to encourage people to have "times of silence" from which to draw strength for their everyday lives. Radio and newspapers also report on the initiative.

Suggestions for silence

Room of silence with suggestions for prayer in the Church of St. Nikolai in Luckau

An ideas booklet (also called “impulse booklet”) gave suggestions for implementation in practice. The campaign's internet portal served to make silence tangible through an exchange of ideas. In connection with the Year of Silence, the organizations, churches and publishers involved made numerous books and information materials available with which Christian congregations and individuals can "experience and shape the silence before God".

The year of silence 2010 served to find the right balance, "a healthy balance between work and rest ". The following options were recommended as examples:

  • Search for God in silence . Rest in him and calmly enjoy his presence.
  • Meet God in prayer and read the Bible carefully .
  • Readjust for a healthy balance between rest and action.
  • Rediscover quiet times, retreats and fasting offers .
  • Learn helpful patterns and share experiences with silence.
  • Incorporate elements of silence into the everyday life of family, work and the Christian community.
  • As leadership and staff groups of churches and congregations, discover how decisions are made by listening to God.

Critical voices

The practical instructions on silence suggested in the accompanying material met with some criticism. They have been accused of showing Buddhist or esoteric tendencies. The Weltanschauung commissioner of the Evangelical Church in Württemberg , Pastor Annette Kick, considers it problematic when meditation and spirituality do not lead to an encounter with God , but rather become a lifestyle product in which offers with an esoteric background promise spiritual experiences and flights of fancy, as if they could be bought like other goods. The former Buddhist and Protestant theologian Martin Kamphuis was irritated by some of the exercises in the impulse booklet for the Year of Silence, which he classifies as Buddhist or esoteric because of the pursuit of meditative "emptiness". The two refer to a contribution by Manfred Gerland in the impulse booklet on the year of silence.

The evangelist Alexander Seibel emphasized that the silence propagated in the impulse booklet often resembles the "state of passivity up to almost identical instructions that are known both in esotericism and in Asian forms of meditation" for "breathing in" cosmic energy ". Seibel saw in it “approaches to techniques which in their spirituality are reminiscent of the image of God in Buddhism and Hinduism” and should therefore be viewed critically by Christians.

Christian-theological references

The year of silence 2010 goes back to an idea of ​​the Christian bookseller Susanne Koch. Ulrich Eggers , Publishing Director of SCM Bundes-Verlags , writes that silence to God as part of the rhythm of life is a supplement to work, a help to meet God and to "satisfy the longing for security , love and life in abundance ." Silence works because the Christian God is a father who wants to talk and get close to people.

Participating organizations and those responsible for the Year of Silence 2010 appealed to Mother Teresa , among others , who urged her followers: “God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is a friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in the silence. ”For example, the German Bible Society participates in the Year of Silence 2010 because it wants to help people“ to live out of it (the silence) and out to face a changed attitude towards everyday life. "

Weltanschauung commissioner Annette Kick emphasized that it is important that meditation and spirituality really lead to an encounter with God. The theologian sees the attractiveness of offers such as the Year of Silence 2010 as an expression of the restlessness and disorientation in today's world. "Perhaps some have noticed by now that [sic!] Circling around yourself is not enough to find yourself, but that you need strength and orientation from elsewhere."

Impact of the initiative

The year of silence 2010 was a complete success. The General Secretary of the Biblical Federation, Christian Brenner, draws this resume. He told the Evangelical Press Service that the initiators were "satisfied with the response to the project". According to Christian media magazine Pro , the goal of the Year of Silence was to inspire people to seek God in silence. This goal has largely been achieved with numerous seminars, church services and camps across all Christian churches and denominations. A wide range of books and CDs from various Christian publishers that participated confronted people with the issue of silence. Although there are no precise statistics on the initiative, said Brenner. But 300,000 information flyers and 40,000 ideas booklets with impulses for the "quiet time" have been requested by interested parties. The website for the year of silence also showed a keen interest in the topic of silence with 800 hits a day. Brenner is a member of the 14-strong management committee of the year of silence. In the course of the year the working group of the participating churches, Christian communities, organizations and publishers grew to the impressive number of 86 project partners who were actively involved in the year of silence.

Frieder Trommer, then managing director of the Christian Media Foundation , an association of important Christian publishers in Germany, was also satisfied with the year of silence. In a special issue of Aufatmen magazine on the initiative, he wrote: “The year of silence was originally the idea of ​​a bookseller. Numerous publishers and around 500 predominantly denominational bookshops are now taking part in the Germany-wide campaign. Perhaps this is why the campaign is making waves: The Year of Silence is less of a campaign initiated from above, but is now a grassroots movement that is supported in particular by the free churches and church renewal movements. "The special issue of the magazine Aufatmen for the year of silence for 5 According to the publisher, 80 euros has been ordered 180,000 times, 100,000 copies had to be reprinted, which shows a high level of interest.

Miriam Specht, manager of the Christian Alpha bookstores in Krelingen, also believes that the year of silence was a success. Her conclusion: "The response is great and the topic was ... very well received."

Continuation of the action planned

According to the initiators of the Year of Silence, their website should remain active so that the invitation to silence continues to be heard. The initiative group is planning another major campaign in the style of the year of silence for 2020, which is to be prepared from 2017 at the invitation of the Bible Reading Association.

literature

Web links

Commons : Year of Silence  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d project. (No longer available online.) Year of Silence 2010, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved August 2, 2010 .
  2. ↑ Karsten Huhn: Why silence is essential . Ed .: Evangelische Nachrichtenagentur idea e. V. Wetzlar 2009 (edition: ideaSpektrum 48/2009).
  3. ↑ a b c Christians are planning the "year of silence" for 2010. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Jahr der Stille 2010, p. 3 , formerly in the original ; Retrieved August 2, 2010 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.jahr-der-stille.de  
  4. ↑ Goals. (No longer available online.) Year of Silence 2010, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved August 2, 2010 .
  5. ↑ For 2010, Christians are planning the “Year of Silence”. Retrieved May 27, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Judith Kubitscheck / epd: "The year of silence 2010": Why silence shouldn't be a fashion trend, but a lifestyle. (No longer available online.) Domradio, January 3, 2010, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved October 12, 2010 .
  7. ↑ partner. (No longer available online.) Year of Silence 2010, 2010, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved October 12, 2010 .
  8. ↑ Year of Silence. (No longer available online.) Free Evangelical Congregation Langenfeld, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved October 12, 2010 .
  9. ↑ 400 in 3. (No longer available online.) In: www.400in3.feg.de. Association of Free Protestant Congregations in Germany, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved October 12, 2010 .
  10. ↑ Year of Silence - Who is behind it? (No longer available online.) Year of Silence 2010, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved August 2, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jahr-der-stille.de
  11. ↑ Year of Silence 1983, Return to Source, Volume 18, Gnadauer Materialdienst, author Walter Schaal, Verlag Gnadauer Verl., 1983, length 10 pages
  12. ↑ Dill-Zeitung, Deanery Women's Day on the subject of "Silence". October 14, 2010, Resort City and Country, page 18
  13. ↑ Mennonite Congregation WEIERHOF Community Letter 1, January 2010. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved October 15, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mennonitengemeinde-weierhof.net
  14. ^ Website FeG Bochum. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved October 15, 2010 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / bochum.feg.de  
  15. ↑ Website Ev.-Luth. Parish of St. Andreas Weißenburg ( Memento from September 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ Runway noise and silent meditation. (No longer available online.) Bayern2: Theo.Logik, January 18, 2010, archived from the original on October 19, 2010 ; Retrieved October 19, 2010 .
  17. ↑ To the year of silence. (No longer available online.) Echo online January 16, 2010, archived from the original on October 19, 2010 ; Retrieved October 19, 2010 .
  18. ↑ Andreas E. Smolka: Experience God in all silence. (No longer available online.) The West, January 25, 2010, archived from the original on October 19, 2010 ; Retrieved October 19, 2010 .
  19. ↑ Ideas booklet. ( Memento from October 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 9.7 MB) Marienheide: Management Group Year of Silence, 2009.
  20. ↑ Material on the year of silence. (No longer available online.) Shop Down to Earth, archived from the original on August 6, 2010 ; Retrieved August 2, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.down-to-earth.de
  21. ↑ Year of Silence. SCM R. Brockhaus, accessed August 2, 2010 .
  22. ↑ YEARS OF SILENCE 2010 DISCOVER GOD'S RHYTHM. (PDF) German Bible Society, accessed on August 2, 2010 .
  23. ↑ ideaSpectrum: “Year of Silence”: Criticism of the impulse booklet. (No longer available online.) AG Welt, February 17, 2010, archived from the original on October 12, 2010 ; Retrieved October 12, 2010 .
  24. ↑ Manfred Gerland: Instructions for breastfeeding (impulse booklet) ( Memento from October 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  25. ↑ opinion on the booklet of ideas "Year of Silence" by Alexander Seibel ( Memento of 6 February 2010 at the Internet Archive )
  26. ↑ Ulrich Eggers: Foreword. In: Elke Werner; Klaus-Günther Pache: Silence: Meeting the one who satisfies all longing. Discover silence. Witten: SCM R. Brockhaus, 1st edition 2009, ISBN 978-3-417-26296-4 , p. 7 f.
  27. ^ German Bible Society, 2010, the year of silence. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved October 13, 2010 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.die-bibel.de  
  28. ↑ Medienmagazin Pro: The year of silence ends successfully. Retrieved May 27, 2011 .
  29. ↑ a b c d magazine Aufatmen, special issue on the year of silence: projects to participate. Retrieved May 27, 2011 .
  30. ↑ Positive response to the year of silence - to be continued. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 15, 2011 ; Retrieved May 27, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.evangelisch-in-oberberg.de