Jan Nooter

Jan Nooter (born October 2, 1922 , † December 10, 1997 in Arnhem ) was a Mennonite theologian and hymn poet from the Netherlands . His prayer song Give Peace, Lord, Give Peace is found in many Christian hymn books today.

life and work

Nooter studied at the theological seminar of the Dutch Mennonites connected with the University of Amsterdam theogology and then worked as a Mennonite pastor in the Frisian Akkrum , in The Hague and Utrecht . In addition to his work as a pastor, he was also active as a poet and translator of hymns . For example, Nooter put together a comprehensive collection of songs in four languages ​​for the 1967 Mennonite World Conference in the Netherlands . Nooter was also involved in the revision of several German hymn books. His songs were included in both Protestant and Catholic hymn books. Nooter's best-known song Gib Frieden, Herr, gib Frieden was published in 1963 under the Dutch name Geef vreede, Heer, geef vrede and clearly testifies to Nooter's Christian pacifism . The Lid, conceived as a prayer song , was translated into German by Jürgen Henkys in 1980 and was mainly used in the East German peace movement .

Theologically, Nooter was particularly connected to the philosophy of religion . Not least through his activities in the field of church music, he was also committed to ecumenism . Nooter lived in Arnhem in retirement .

literature

• Klaus Danzeglocke: Nooter, Jan . In: Wolfgang Herbst (Ed.): Who is who in the hymnal . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-50323-7 , p. 232 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
• Wolfgang Herbst: In: Andreas Marti, u. a. (Ed.): Yearbook for Liturgy and Hymnology 2012 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-525-57222-1 , p. 251.