North German Mission
| North German Mission (NM) |
|
|---|---|
| founding | April 9, 1836 in Hamburg |
| Seat | Bremen ( ⊙ ) |
| motto | Bridge for Africa |
| purpose | evangelical mission work |
| Action space | West Africa |
| Managing directors | Heike Jakubeit |
| sales | 1,228,300 euros (2016) |
| Employees | 10 (2019) |
| Website | www.norddeutschemission.de |
The North German Mission (NM) is a joint evangelical mission organization of six churches in Germany and West Africa .
history
The North German Mission was founded in 1836 by Lutheran and Reformed mission associations in Hamburg .
Missionary Carl Sylvius Völkner arrived in New Zealand in 1849 on behalf of the Society and was murdered by Māori in 1865 as a missionary of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) , which provoked a military backlash. The matter is known in New Zealand as the Völkner Incident . The church in Opotiki is named after him "St Stephen the Martyr".
After the first activities in New Zealand and India, she concentrated her work from 1847 on the area of the settlement area of the Ewe in the former slave coast . It has been based in Bremen since 1851 and is known in West Africa under the name " Bremen Mission " or " Mission de Brême ". Pastor Cornelius Rudolf Vietor was a founding member in 1851, and from 1868–1888 Chairman of the Board and President. Johann Carl Vietor , a businessman in West Africa, was a member of the company's management board.
The mission area was divided between two colonial powers in 1890 : it was a foreign mission on the British Gold Coast and a national mission in Togo in Germany . Integrated into this colonial field of tension, the North German Mission tried to find its way between the fronts. In Togo, she maintained independence from the government in the school system by preferring the native language Ewe to the colonial language German . She strove to preserve the traditional local structures. While the mission under its head, mission inspector Franz Michael Zahn (from 1862 to 1900), attracted attention due to an attitude critical of colonialism, as evidenced by committed petitions in the German parliament, under his successor Schreiber (from 1900 to 1924) a change of course took place towards an uncritical attitude towards the colonial power.
During the First World War , the German-Togoland colony was conquered by the French and British. 52 Mission staff were arrested. After the division into British and French mandate areas , the mission's support for the congregations was prohibited. Close contact with Bremen remained.
The occupation of the mission area by the Western powers was a first step towards independence for the young West African church. In 1914 it had about 11,000 members, 14 pastors and 237 religion teachers.
In May 1922, local representatives of the missions met in Kpalimé for a synod . The participation of Europeans had been banned by the colonial government. The assembly declared the union, the independence and the unity of the congregations as the "Evangelical Ewe Church". Its first leader and Synodal Secretary was Pastor Robert Kwami .
Between 1923 and 1939, the North German Mission Society was able to send staff again. The previous "one-way traffic" from Germany to West Africa gradually gave way to a sibling partnership. The 150 lectures by the African Synodal Secretary Robert Kwami in 82 locations in Northern Germany were accompanied by a racist smear campaign by the National Socialists in Oldenburg shortly before Hitler came to power . The so-called Kwami affair caused a sensation not only in Germany, Dutch and English daily newspapers also reported on this prelude to the church struggle.
After Togo and Ghana became independent from the colonial powers , the churches there asked the North German Mission for help. In 1961, workers who did not appear as missionaries were sent to Togo and Ghana. In 1980 the four German churches listed in the "Members" section merged to form a joint missionary organization. In 2001, the Eglise évangélique presbytérienne du Togo and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana, which resulted from missionary work, were accepted as equal partners in the North German Mission in a new statute .
Christian mission and the development of the Ewe language as a written language
When the missionaries of the North German Mission arrived in Africa, there were several dialects of the highly developed Ewe language, which only existed as a spoken, not as a written language. The missionaries learned the language and developed a script made up of Latin letters with added phonetic signs. The missionaries worked out Bible translations, catechism, hymn books and school books in the new written language. The four Gospels were translated by the missionary J. Bernhard Schlegel (1827-1859) and published in 1861. This was followed by the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul, Peter, James and Judas, which were translated by the missionaries Weyhe and Merz. Schlegel had decided to use the English dialect to create the written language, which is mainly spoken in the western part of the language area on the coast. In 1856/57 he issued a "Key to the Ewe Language". The entire New Testament was available in a translation by the missionary Merz in 1877. The missionaries Jakob Spieth and Gottlob Däuble edited the present translations and published a second edition of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. From the Old Testament, the first book of Moses, Genesis, was printed in Ewe in 1870, followed by the psalms, then the book of Joshua, the book of judges and the book of Ruth, and finally the book of Samuel, the second book of Moses, the book of kings , the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Johannes Knüsli wrote an Ewe-German-English dictionary in Europe from 1887-88. After his death (on May 23, 1891) his widow Anna Knüsli published the "lithographic" dictionary Ewe-German-English. A complete edition of the Bible was available in 1913. The final design of the font was carried out by Diedrich Hermann Westermann , who at the turn of the century worked on a comprehensive dictionary with over 15,000 words in the service of the mission, which first appeared in 1905 and completed a final grammar of the Ewe in 1907. Westermann returned from Africa in 1907 due to illness and left the service as a missionary, but remained an honorary member of the North German Mission.
Members
The North German Mission is a mission of six partner churches that work equally in the mission. The partner churches in Germany are the Bremen Evangelical Church , the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg , the Evangelical Reformed Church ( regional church) and the Lippe regional church , in Africa the Église Evangélique Presbytérienne du Togo and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana .
tasks
“The proclamation of salvation in Christ for the salvation of lost souls” - this was the exclusive understanding of the North German Mission for many years. After Togo's political independence, the church there developed its own missionary approach: “The whole gospel for the whole person”. Salvation in Christ is that God wants to make the whole world in which we live new. According to Genesis 2: 7, God breathed in people the “breath of life”, a soul. The North German Mission understands “soul” to mean the whole person and directs its work towards them. Many development aid projects are intended to enable people to live a human life. The conversion from the old "pagan" religion to Christianity is no longer in the foreground. The goal is rather the realization of the word of God in the various areas of human life. The evangelical mission should become concrete in the everyday life of the people, they should be able to live together in a protected environment in peace and justice.
Testimony and gospel
Every year on Trinity , the North German Mission invites you to a partnership service in its partner churches. A 300-page children's Bible in four languages in Ewe, German, English and French was developed and illustrated together with groups of girls and boys from Africa and Europe.
Bible translation
Johann Bernhard Schlegel and Andreas Jakob Spieth were early Bible translators for the Mission Society .
Intercultural learning, development
The member churches of the North German Mission in the two African countries run more than 600 of their own elementary and secondary schools, several high schools (Mawuko, Saboda, Tatale, Hohoe, Badou, Lome-Agbalépédogan, Tado) and teacher training centers (Amedzofe and Bimbilla). The German member churches provide assistance in setting up and operating the training centers. Scholarships are often awarded. Music education is also one of the focal points. The African partner churches maintain, partly together with other churches, training centers for pastors and catechists in Porto Novo, Atakpamé, Peki and Accra.
Vocational training : The churches also organize technical training for young people in tailoring, secretarial services, housekeeping, tailoring, carpentry, building trade, electrical installation and in using computers.
Nutritional advice , new cultivation methods. There are also rural development and advice centers or model farms in Chereponi, Yendi, New Ayoma, Ho, Dambai, and Moyen Mono. Small animal husbandry and new products are promoted. The North German Mission supports many development aid projects with a focus on sustainable agriculture. The protection of the rainforest, the reforestation and the fight against bushfires are part of it. An important topic: water. Wells are built and equipped with solar pumps. Women's work: Bible study groups, literacy courses, training centers, up to income-generating projects such as bread baking or handicrafts.
The granting of small loans is organized by women. This makes small business projects such as handicrafts, fish trade, grain trade, hair salon possible. This project is based on ideas similar to those of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus . The women's programs, in particular, are often about generating additional income.
Youth work : Self-help projects help young people to find employment.
Children : An awareness campaign combats child slavery. Street children are reintegrated into their families through a counseling program or receive support to attend school. Many children cannot go to school because they have to look after their younger siblings while their parents work. That is why the Protestant churches of Ghana and Togo have set up qualified kindergartens and preschools in their communities.
Food security : In northern Togo, the women's department of the Evangelical Church is working to buy soy, rice and néré at harvest time and later sell them again at moderate and fair prices.
Democracy and human rights : These include free elections, a pluralistic democracy, the reconciliation of hostile political groups, the fight against child trafficking, and peace work in the broadest sense. Peace work: Seminars for non-violent conflict resolution are held. An office in Lomé is working to combat illegal gun possession. Projects are carried out to achieve the goals.
Diakonia
The six churches work closely together in the promotion of aid institutions and support the projects that already exist, with new institutions constantly emerging. Often the goal of "helping people to help themselves" is recognizable, the start-up financing is intended to help the poorer sections of the population to create their own earning potential. Especially young people, women and the elderly are the focus of diaconal work.
Curative medicine: The Église Evangélique Presbytérienne du Togo and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana maintain numerous health stations, hospitals and pharmacies. An important principle of health work is the prevention of diseases. This includes counseling and regular examinations for the children in the villages, as well as family planning, AIDS education programs and support for AIDS orphans and those infected with HIV. Organized vaccinations against tetanus, polio and measles. Social work: The Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana runs a center for life and family counseling. In order to prevent ethnic conflicts, the church is involved in peace work. The prison pastoral care supports prisoners in Ho / Ghana.
literature
- Werner Raupp (ed.): Mission in source texts. History of the German Evangelical Mission from the Reformation to the World Mission Conference . Edinburgh 1910, Erlangen 1990.
- Evangelical lexicon for theology and congregation . Volume II, paperback, Verlag Scm R. Brockhaus, 1998, ISBN 978-3-417-24674-2 , p. 1450.
- Werner Ustorf: Franz Michael Zahn's missionary method and the development of church structures in West Africa. A mission history study . Verlag der ev.-luth. Mission Erlangen, 1989, ISBN 3-87214-307-7 .
- Martin Pabst: Mission and Colonial Policy. The North German Mission Society on the Gold Coast and in Togo . Publishing group ANARCHE, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-927317-00-4 .
- Stefanie Lubrich: Missionary education for girls and women. Case studies from West Africa . Kleine Schriften des Staatsarchiv Bremen, Issue 32. Published by the University of Bremen and the Bremen State Archive, 2002, ISBN 3-88722-532-5 .
- Sonja Sawitzki: Ho / Wegbe. The establishment of a mission station in West Africa . Kleine Schriften des Staatsarchiv Bremen, No. 33. Published by the University of Bremen and the Bremen State Archive, 2002, ISBN 3-88722-535-X .
- Alsheimer, Rainer: Dreams of a West African Papal State in German Togoland: Plans in the North German Mission Society 1900-1914 . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch , Volume 83, Bremen 2004, pp. 181–196. ISSN 0341-9622 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Articles of Association. In: www.norddeutschemission.de. Retrieved December 17, 2019 .
- ↑ 1899 with the missionary Andreas Pfisterer
- ↑ (after Mark Dingemanse, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen)
- ↑ The four gospels in the Ewe language. By Rev. JB Schlegel. Stuttgart 1861. Printed at the expense of the Bremen Bible Society by JF Steinkopf
- ^ The Acts of the Apostles in the Ewe language. Stuttgart 1864. Printed at the expense of the Bremen Bible Society by JF Steinkopf. Edited by missionary JB Schlegel
- ^ The Epistles of Paul, Peter, James and Juda in the Ewe language. Printed by JF Steinkopf for the British and Foreign Bible Society, Stuttgart 1875
- ^ The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Translated out of the original Greek. Bremen. North German Mission Society. First edition 1877
- ^ The first book of Mose in the Ewe language. Stuttgart 1870. Printed at the expense of the Bremen Bible Society by JF Steinkopf. Translated by missionary Joh. Binder
- ^ The book of Psalms in the Ewe language. Bremen 1871. Printed by C. Hilgerloh. Translated by Missionary Weyhe
- ^ The books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth in the Ewe language. Bremen 1875. Printed by C. Hilgerloh. Translated by Missionary Merz
- ^ The books of Samuel in the Ewe language. Printed by C. Hilgerloh for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Bremen 1876. Translated by Missionary Merz. II edition
- ^ The second book of Mose in the Ewe language. Bremen 1877. Printed by C. Hilgerloh. Translated by Missionary Merz
- ^ The books of the Kings in the Ewe language. Printed by C. Hilgerloh for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Bremen 1878. Translated by Missionary Merz
- ^ The Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah in the Ewe language. Printed by J. Frese. Bremen 1889. Translated by Missionary Merz
- ↑ Keta 1891. 1084 pages
- ^ German-Ewe dictionary. From Anna Knüsli. Bremen 1892. 413 pages
- ↑ Bible Online
- ↑ "One World Bible", published by Synodalverband IV of the Evangelical Reformed Church, 304 pages, Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht / Göttingen, 2007. ISBN 978-3-525-61602-4
- ↑ Early Mission Bibles: Important Institutions - Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (accessed on June 23, 2017)
- ↑ The school is run by the EPC and supported by the North German Mission
- ↑ for example in Alavanyo, north of the provincial capital Ho between the Volta reservoir and the Togolese border. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana offers professional training in the "Trades Training Center Alavanyo". This also includes computer courses and a course for secretaries. At the same time, the young people are taught how to prevent HIV / AIDS.
- ↑ the North German Mission provided financial support for the construction of the well, which is equipped with a solar-powered underwater pump
- ↑ for example in Notsé, where the agricultural advisory program of the Église Evangélique Presbytérienne du Togo (EEPT) promotes the cultivation of pineapples.
- ↑ Snail breeding, mushroom breeding, fishing, beekeeping, small animal breeding
- ↑ The North German Mission supports the church in Ho financially and also helps with the provision of the necessary initial capital for the microcredits.
- ↑ for example in Kessibo, Adaklu Wumenu
- ↑ for example in Kwamikrom, Lomé
- ↑ Example: In 2007 the North German Mission invited delegates from the European Union, from Togolese civil society, from partnership and human rights groups and from development aid institutions to a conference on “Democracy and Human Rights in Togo”.
- ↑ The North German Mission provided funds for the construction of the building and for a basic stock of medicines
- ↑ for example in Bladjai, Dambai, Dzemeni, Agou-Nyogbo