Johann Carl Cramer

Johann Carl Cramer (born May 24, 1825 in Markt Berolzheim / Middle Franconia ; † August 4, 1850 in Hamburg ) was a wandering carpenter journeyman and pioneer of the Baptist movement in northwest Germany, especially in East Frisia .

Life

Johann Carl Cramer came from a Berolzheim farming family. His father, who also had the first name Johann Carl, and his mother Margarethe, née Oldenberger, were of the Lutheran denomination. After school and confirmation, Cramer learned the carpentry trade and then went on the roll . Around 1845 he came to Hamburg on his hike. It was here that the Varel merchant and agent of a British Bible Society, Johann Gerhard Oncken, founded the first German Baptist congregation eleven years earlier. A parishioner whom Cramer met at his workplace invited him to attend the Baptist services. The sermons impressed him and, after a long period of internal struggle, led to his conversion . On February 22, 1846, Cramer was baptized by the aforementioned Oncken and returned a short time later to his home in Central Franconia. His intention to work missionary there among his family members and acquaintances was unsuccessful, however; he "could only win one soul for the Lord".

Cramer turned back to Hamburg and, after a short stopover in Magdeburg , arrived in the Hanseatic city in 1847. He understood that he could not find work there or in neighboring Altona as a sign from God. He moved - ordained by Oncken as a missionary assistant - to Bremen , where he met the small group of Baptist congregations founded in 1845 . Immediately after his arrival, the theologically uneducated carpenter journeyman was given the preaching service in Bremen and the surrounding community bases. His commitment was not without success. The leadership of the young East Frisian Baptist movement, which had its mission headquarters in yours , soon became aware of the Bavarian missionary aides and craftsmen. For his livelihood she got him a job with the Weeneran master carpenter Johann Focken Lüdemann and appointed him to be the "first preacher" of her daughter church in Weener. During his brief period of service, the ward grew to over 50 baptized members. Preaching stations arose in Leer , Bunde , Möhlenwarf near Weener, Holthusen and Jemgum . In an obituary from the Baptist mission sheet it says: "His Bavarian dialect was alien to the East Frisians, but the Lord knew how to render it harmless by anointing His spirit." to baptize. He made part of his house available to the community as a place of worship. At the end of May 1849, Cramer embarked on a longer missionary trip that took him via Emden , Jever , Varel and Sehstedt to Bremen and from which he returned to Weener in the autumn of the same year.

Postscript of an interrogation report from April 5, 1849

Johann Carl Cramer's missionary activity in southern - and later also in northern - East Friesland met with resistance from state and regional church authorities. On February 20, 1849, the Royal Landgendarmerie of the Papenburg Section arrested him in Ihr and took him to the Royal Office in Weener on the same day . The reason for the arrest was, among other things, that "he has been preaching here for some time among existing bigots, baptizing adult people and alternately staying a few days for this purpose". During the police interrogation in Weener, Cramer essentially confirmed these allegations, referring to his appointment as missionary by the Hamburg Baptist church; “Although he did not study, he had sufficient knowledge of the Holy Word to be able to teach. The apostles sent by Christ would not have studied either. ”With the warning to refrain from“ religious practice in public meetings ”, Cramer was released from arrest. In April of the same year he received another subpoena. The pastors of the Evangelical Reformed Church in Weener also intervened and asked for a cautious but targeted approach to the Bavarian Baptist missionary. An expulsion from the Kingdom of Hanover , to which East Friesland belonged at that time, came in February 1850 after Cramer's missionary trip to the Norderland . It was due to an invitation from the Norder Herrnhuter Brothers Church . The local chaplain of the Lutheran parish of Norden had been officially informed about the events planned with Cramer and had immediately reported to the city magistrate in Norden . Thereupon Johann Carl Cramer was expelled as an undesirable foreigner.

After his expulsion, Cramer traveled to Hamburg and arrived there on March 20, 1850, marked by a serious illness. Until his death in August of the same year, he was cared for by members of the Baptist church. His short but successful pioneering service has been recognized in numerous publications.

literature

• Evangelical-Free Church Congregation Weener (ed.): History of the Baptist Church Weener / Ems (compilation: Friedel Popkes), Weener 1996
• Margarete Jelten: Under God's roof tiles. Beginnings of Baptism in Northwest Germany , Bremerhaven 1984, pp. 165–167
• Rudolf Donat: How the work began. Origin of the German Baptist Congregations , Kassel 1958, p. 110f
• Joseph Lehmann: History of the German Baptists. Second part from 1848 to 1870 (second, completely revised edition by FW Herrmann, Preacher in Königsberg i. Pr.), Cassel 1922, pp. 37–39
• Article: Memories from the life of brother Carl Cramer , who fell asleep in the Lord , in: Missionsblatt (edited by Johann Gerhard Oncken, in connection with several missionary friends), Hamburg, September 1850, pp. 3–6

Web links

• Baptist Congregation Weener: Chronicle of the Baptist Congregation Weener ; Accessed June 25, 2011
• Sabine Wiesner: The History of Baptism in Northwest Germany and Its Significance for Church Work Today (Vicariate Work, 2009) (PDF; 177 kB); Accessed June 25, 2011

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The information comes from an interrogation protocol: Actum Amt Weener, April 5th, 1849 ; the original is in the regional church archive in Leer.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Memories from the life of brother Carl Cramer , who fell asleep in the Lord , in: Missionsblatt (edited by Johann Gerhard Oncken, in connection with several missionary friends), Hamburg, September 1850, p. 4
3. ↑ ^{a b} Evangelical Free Church Community Weener (ed.): History of the Baptist Church Weener / Ems (compilation: Friedel Popkes), Weener 1996, p. 4
4. ↑ Joseph Lehmann: History of the German Baptists. Second part from 1848 to 1870 (second, completely revised edition by FW Herrmann, Preacher in Königsberg i. Pr.), Cassel 1922, p. 37
5. ↑ Margarete Jelten: Under God's roof tiles. Beginnings of Baptism in Northwest Germany , Bremerhaven 1984, p. 165
6. ↑ Quoted from Margarete Jelten 1984, p. 165.
7. ↑ See Johann Gerhard Oncken (Ed.) 1850, p. 6
8. ↑ Transfer: Comparent [ add .: Johann Carl Cramer] seemed little inclined to obedience and also argued that in such matters [missionary work, baptisms, etc.] one had to obey God more than men. The inapplicability of this proposition to the present case was made to the utmost importance to him. in fidem Lodemann - for correct copy: Lodemann
9. ↑ The quotations come from the interrogation protocol of the Royal Weener Office: Done Weener in the Office on February 20, 1849 . A copy of the protocol together with a transmission by Margarete Jelten is in the archives of the Evangelical Free Church State Association of Baptists in the Northwest .
10. ↑ See Margarete Jelten 1984, p. 166
11. ^ Compare Joseph Lehmann 1922, p. 37; speaks of consumption .
12. ↑ See Johann Gerhard Oncken (Ed.) 1850, p. 7