Jesus brotherhood
| Jesus Brotherhood e. V. | |
|---|---|
|
|
| purpose | called to a common path and service |
| Chair: | Jutta Ebersberg |
| Establishment date: | 1964 |
| Seat : | Hünstelden |
| Website: | www.jesus-bruderschaft.de |
The Jesus Brotherhood is an ecumenical community with headquarters in Gnadenthal Monastery in Hünstelden (Hesse). Other locations are the Volkenroda monastery (Thuringia) and the Hennersdorf work and study center (Saxony). There are also branches in Israel and Cameroon. The members of the Jesus Brotherhood come from different churches and denominations to which they belong permanently. Together they form a communitarian community of celibate brothers and sisters as well as families.
Guidelines and models of the Jesus Brotherhood
She is called to gather Christians in different places in order to shape the life of the gospel together . It ties in with the tradition of religious orders and spiritual communities such as that of the Cistercians , the Jesuits and the Moravian Brethren ( Zinzendorf ) and is inspired by impulses from the life's work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Romano Guardini and Martin Buber . Their vocation is prayer and life for the oneness of the people of God (self-understanding of the Jesus Brotherhood).
As a registered non-profit association, the Jesus Brotherhood is a member of the Diakonisches Werk in Hessen and Nassau as well as in Thuringia. It is also responsible for free youth welfare in Hesse, Saxony and Thuringia.
History of the Brotherhood of Jesus
- 1955–1959: "Prehistory": young people from East and West Germany meet for conferences with Bible reading and prayer for unity, the idea of a "prayer ring" arises
- 1961: two celibate brothers start life together in Hamswehrum, East Frisia.
- 1964: Foundation of the sister community in Ludwigshafen; Founding of the registered association "Jesus Brotherhood e. V. “before the district court in Ludwigshafen
- 1968/1969: start of the family branch
- 1969: Purchase of the Welsch-Hof (= rear half of the monastery) in Gnadenthal / Taunus (Hesse)
- 1972: A community of single women emerges in neighboring Bad Camberg.
- since 1972: Numerous outstations at home and abroad are founded, e.g. B. Latrun / Israel 1973 and Makak / Cameroon 1974
- 1984: Purchase of the Nehemiah court and the front half of the monastery; Renovation of the monastery church (until then cowshed) and abbess house; Building a fraternal village community; Restoration of a monastic ambience, the village image; Beginning of ecologically managed agriculture.
- 1991: After the Berlin Wall opened, the old spinning mill in Hennersdorf near Chemnitz (Saxony) was bought; The work and study center is created.
- 1993: Hessian monument protection prize for the reconstruction of the village and monastery Gnadenthal
- 1993: Purchase of the Volkenroda monastery
- 2001: Implementation of the Christ pavilion after the end of the Expo in Hanover in Volkenroda
- 2004: The Jesus Brotherhood becomes almost insolvent and can only be saved with the help of the Evangelical Church and the support of the Circle of Friends. Volkenroda Monastery becomes an independent place of the Jesus Brotherhood and manages its activities independently, supported by the Volkenroda Monastery Foundation.
- 2009: Foundation of the “Weggemeinschaft” (“Brotherhood of Jesus in a different form” for people who do not live in one of the communities but share the spirituality of the Brotherhood of Jesus).
- 2011: 50 years after starting life together, the Gnadenthal Monastery Foundation is established to support the continued work of the Jesus Brotherhood.
Brother Viktor Voss heads the brothers branch, to which twelve brothers belong in 2019: four live in Israel, two in Volkenroda (Thuringia), two in Hennersdorf (Saxony) and four - with himself - in Gnadenthal.
Life
prayer
Life in the community is shaped by prayer, fellowship and work. Every day begins with the common morning service with communion in the monastery church. In the middle of the day, at 12 noon, there is prayer for the unity of Christians, one of the main concerns of the Jesus Brotherhood. In the evening prayer there is especially room for intercession. The day closes with the night prayer at 9:00 p.m. (Compline).
job
Various companies are located at the Monastery locations (see Gnadenthal Monastery , Monastery Volkenroda ). The members pay for their own living. Projects are financed through own funds and donations, through sponsoring partners as well as through church and state grants.
Marriage and celibacy
Marriage and celibacy are two different ways of following Jesus, and yet families and brothers and sisters share a common task. The stands are not blurred, but together serve the mission of the Jesus Brotherhood. This togetherness is itself part of life in the community.
The brothers and sisters live celibate so that they can devote themselves fully to following Jesus.
According to the life of the early Christians, families support one another and share their lives with one another in joy and sorrow.
The professional activity grows out of the common life and the God-given assignment in the middle of the world . Ten percent of the income is given to the common tasks of the Jesus Brotherhood.
Locations
The Gnadenthal Monastery in Hünstelden houses the center of the Jesus Brotherhood. Today it consists of around 80 people who work in various companies and invite guests to quiet, environmental education, marriage seminars, events relating to art and culture, and church services and prayer times.
Since 1991 the Jesus Brotherhood has set up the Hennersdorf work and study center .
In 1993 the Jesus Brotherhood acquired the Volkenroda Monastery and made a significant contribution to the restoration of the complex. In 2004 Volkenroda became an independent place of the Jesus Brotherhood, but is still on friendly terms with Gnadenthal Monastery .
Since 1973 there have been further branch offices in Latrun (Israel) and Makak (Cameroon).
publishing company
From 1962 to 2014 the community ran the presence publishing house .
Periodicals
- Gnadenthal impulses . Friend's letter of the Jesus Brotherhood, appears quarterly, since 2007 under this name, DNB 984044736
literature
- Johannes Halkenhäuser: Church and community. A contribution to the history and the mission of the communitarian movement in the churches of the Reformation. Bonifatius-Verlag, Paderborn 1978. (pp. 227–231: older own presentation, cf. information on p. 222, footnote 113)
- Jesus Brotherhood (Ed.): Places of Hope. Life in Gnadenthal, Hennersdorf and Volkenroda. Presence-Verlag , Hünstelden-Gnadenthal 1995. (own representation)
- Franziskus Joest (Ed.): Jesus Brotherhood Gnadenthal. History, Faith, Community. Our life in a nutshell , SCM R. Brockhaus, Holzgerlingen 2019, ISBN 978-3-417-25391-7 .
- Francis Joest: Free for God. Jesus Brotherhood Gnadenthal . In: Anna-Maria from the Wiesche, Frank Lilie (ed.): Kloster auf Evangelisch. Reports from life together . Vier-Türme-Verlag, Münsterschwarzach 2016, ISBN 978-3-89680-904-9 , pp. 22-26.
- Ingrid Reimer: A committed life. Brunnen-Verlag, Gießen 1999. (on the Jesus Brotherhood, see especially pp. 135-137)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ For the information in this section cf. Christoph Joest: The emergence of communities in the churches of the Reformation. In: Atina Lexutt (ed.): Reformation and monasticism. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2008, pp. 241-264, here in particular: pp. 252-255.
- ^ Volkenroda Monastery Foundation ( Memento from October 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.jesus-bruderschaft.de/kloster/welt/weggemeinschaft/index.html
- ↑ Gnadenthal Monastery ( Memento from January 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Portrait: Der Platz fürs Leben , idea.de, article from November 24, 2019.
- ↑ http://www.werk-und-studienzentrum.de/