Foundation of the Free Evangelical Congregation in Northern Germany

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Foundation of Free Evangelical Congregations in Northern Germany

(FeGN)
Sfegin.svg
Legal form: Foundation under private law
Purpose:
Chair: Jörg Ahrens
Consist: since 1893
Seat: Hamburg
Website: www.fegn.de

no founder specifiedno purpose stated

The Free Evangelical Congregation Foundation in Northern Germany (FeGN) is a Protestant free church with an attached diaconal work . The FeGN includes 40 municipalities in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and northern Lower Saxony. The development of the FeGN is inextricably linked with that of the Elim Diakonie in Hamburg. The Free Evangelical Congregation in Northern Germany has been organized as a foundation since 1893 and belongs to the Federation of Free Evangelical Congregations in Germany . She is also a member of the Diaconal Work of the Evangelical Churches in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

history

Beginnings and Crisis

Free Protestant Congregation Holstenwall

The emergence of the Free Evangelical Congregation in Northern Germany is closely linked to the cholera epidemic that broke out in Hamburg in 1892 and claimed 8,600 lives with 17,000 serious illnesses. The churches were very popular during the epidemic. Committed Christians helped care for the sick and at the same time spread the Christian faith. As a result of this commitment, a diaconal work started during the epidemic that still exists today. After a three-week evangelism event with Theodor Christlieb and Jasper von Oertzen in the year after the outbreak of the epidemic, a community for converts was founded . Since the Hamburg pastors were skeptical of this popular missionary piety, Johannes Röschmann, an outside pastor , was entrusted with the management of the community and diaconal work that was being formed. Bible studies began in nine locations in Hamburg. In the same year, a Blue Cross group was founded to work with addicts.

From these beginnings the community and diaconal work grew rapidly, which in 1896 received recognition from the Senate as a "Mild Foundation". In 1894 a building was erected on a piece of land made available by the Senate at Frickestrasse 22, which simultaneously served as a "infirmary" and as the motherhouse for the newly founded deaconry with initially eight deaconesses . In 1897 a 1400-person community house was built at Holstenwall 21, in which the growing community gathered under the name "Christian Community Philadelphia". This remained the central meeting place of the community for almost a hundred years. Despite its size, the house soon became crowded for the annual faith conferences. In later years, neon letters were attached to the house, which shone over the nearby entertainment district of the Reeperbahn and thus brought the community additional awareness.

After the sudden death of Johannes Röschmann in 1901 at the age of 38, Johannes Rubanowitsch was appointed his successor in 1902 . Rubanowitsch, who was occasionally dubbed by contemporaries as the “Silesian awakening”, was not unknown in Hamburg. He had already evangelized there in large halls in 1896.

Around 1910 the factory fell into a deep crisis. The trigger was Rubanowitsch's false and special teachings. In 1912 Friedrich Heitmüller was appointed preacher at "Holstenwall". Convinced of the necessity of a “Reformation” at Holstenwall, he and some of the members left the plant in August 1912 and founded the “Peace Community”. The development of the previous Philadelphia Church and the new Peace Church initially proceeded independently of one another. After Johannes Rubanowitsch had left the Philidelphia congregation, Heitmüller was asked to return to “Holstenwall” with his congregation. This happened and in 1918 the two communities were reunited under Heitmüller.

Expansion until the end of World War II

The work expanded in the following years despite the difficult economic conditions. Large evangelizations with over 6000 listeners were carried out in “ Sagebiels Halls ”. While the center of community work continued to be on Holstenwall, house groups and other small communities arose far beyond the urban area: in the Sachsenwald , in the “ forest villages ”, on the Lower Elbe, in the Lüneburg Heath and in Ostholstein .

In 1927 the newly built Elim Hospital was opened in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel , Hohe Weide 17, which was considered the most modern hospital of its time and had 200 beds. The establishment of this hospital was made possible by the generous financial support of the Hanseatic merchant Hugo Preuss , who had become a Christian through Friedrich Heitmüller. The hospital was run as a Christian house, which was expressed in a large deaconess sisterhood. In the mid-1930s the Diakoniewerk Elim had 230 deaconesses. In addition to the Elim hospital, various other facilities were looked after: the “Bethanien” recreation home on Timmendorfer Strand with 40 beds, the “Nazareth” children's recreation home in the Lüneburg Heath near Hanstedt with 30 beds, the “Bethesda” sister home in Eutin-Fissau with 27 Beds, four old people's and nursing homes in Hamburg with a total of 100 beds and a Christian bookshop on Holstenwall.

Until 1934 the community belonged to the Gnadauer Verband , its members were also members of the Lutheran regional church . Friedrich Heitmüller himself was a member of the board of the Gnadauer Verband. After a sacrament celebration on Good Friday 1934, however, Heitmüller and the members of the Brotherhood Council ended their membership in the regional church and founded a free church voluntary congregation, which the majority of the previous community members joined.

During the time of National Socialism , Adolf Hitler's efforts to found a unified Reich Church under the direction of a Reich Bishop led to a wave of amalgamations of various free churches in order to secure their existence in this way. In 1935, the Holstenwall congregation joined the Federation of Free Protestant Congregations. Its official name was now "Free Evangelical Congregation in Hamburg, Holstenwall 21". Despite these measures, however, the community did not go unmolested. In 1936 the Gestapo imposed a ban on speaking and writing against Friedrich Heitmüller. From 1939 until the end of the war in 1945, the Free Evangelical Congregation in Hamburg was a "congregation in the midst of dispersal". "Pastoral letters" written by Heitmüller were secretly given as typewriter copies from hand to hand, thus keeping the community together. The Elim hospital was also partially destroyed during air raids on Hamburg in 1943. 35 patients and 14 deaconesses were killed. The community halls in Barmbek, Rothenburgsort, Hamm-Eilbeck and Bahrenfeld were also completely destroyed.

Development since 1945

After 1945 (initially under the British military government) the rebuilding of community and diaconal work began. Soon the work returned to the order of the 1930s.

Friedrich Heitmüller was a member of the board of directors of the German Evangelical Alliance for many years in addition to his leadership activities in the Free Evangelical Congregation and the Diakoniewerk . During this time the evangelistic alliance initiated evangelism with the American evangelist Billy Graham in Berlin, Essen and Hamburg in 1960 .

After Friedrich Heitmüller's death on April 1, 1965, Fritz Laubach became his successor in 1966. Like Heitmüller, he was initially responsible for the entire Hamburg plant, so he acted as the community leader of the Free Evangelical Church in Hamburg and as pastor of the Holstenwall community and (from 1968) as director of the Elim Diakonie. Various restructurings took place under Laubach, through which the community work was decentralized and individual communities were strengthened. The Elim Hospital was also spun off in 1977 and converted into a GmbH. In 1977 Ulrich Betz was appointed general church leader and pastor at Holstenwall. Fritz Laubach limited his activity to leading the diaconal work.

In 1986 the Holstenwall community moved to a newly built community center in Michaelisstrasse, the construction sum of several million DM at the time, with the exception of a small remainder, being covered by donations. The first service at the new location was celebrated on December 25, 1986. Although the community was now located in a different location, the traditional name "Holstenwall" was also adopted for the new community center. The old property on Holstenwall was sold. The continuing strong connection between community work and diakonia is evident in the fact that 68 affiliated apartments for the elderly were also built when the community center was built.

After the political reunification in 1990, the work of the FeG Norddeutschland was extended to the area of ​​the former GDR . As a result, the existing Free Evangelical Community of Barth , located in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, joined the FeGN. On the initiative of the newly formed “Mission in Northern Germany” working group, congregations emerged in Kiel , Lübeck and Lüneburg .

After Fritz Laubach's retirement in 1991, Ulrich Betz took over management of the Elim Diakoniewerk in addition to the management of the entire community.

In 1993 an evangelism was carried out in the "Holstenwall" congregation. It lasted three weeks, like the evangelism event offered 100 years earlier that led to the founding of the FeGN. During this event, the first ProChrist evangelization with Billy Graham was broadcast on a big screen via satellite from Essen. Other speakers were Theo Lehmann and Jörg Swoboda as well as the then President of the Federation of Free Evangelical Congregations, Peter Strauch .

After Ulrich Betz had given up his leadership position for health reasons, Erhard Baum was his successor in 1995 , who initially took care of the Free Evangelical Congregation Hamburg-Sasel with half a position for two years. Under Baum's leadership, church planting was given high priority in northern Germany. Communities emerged in Uelzen , Neuallermöhe , Schwerin and Mölln . In addition, two start-up initiatives were started in downtown Hamburg: the “Schanzenkirche” and the “Hamburg Project”. The structures of the FeGN were also adapted to the changed conditions. Committees such as the building committee, the pastoral work group and the finance committee support the growing community work.

Reinhard Spincke has been the community leader and board member of FeGN since summer 2011 . In this function he is also the Federal Secretary of the North Region of the Federation of Free Protestant Congregations.

Diaconal work

The Elim-Diakonie (in its own spelling "ELIM Diakonie") operates various facilities in senior work, outpatient care and the integration of foreigners under the motto "... for more heaven on earth".

Stefan Warnke has been the deaconry leader since January 17th, 2016.

Elim Hospital

The hospital work of the Elim-Diakonie began in 1921, initially in the leased clinic “Am Weiher”. In January 1927 the newly built Elim Hospital was opened at Hohen Weide 17 in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel . The hospital remained a central part of the Elim Diakonie for decades. In 1954, the future German Chancellor Angela Merkel (née Kasner) is said to have been born here .

In 1977 the hospital was legally outsourced and converted into a non-profit GmbH. Until 2003, the Free Evangelical Congregation North Germany Foundation was responsible for the hospital. In 2003 the sponsorship was transferred to the diaconal institutions “Alten Eichen” (Evangelical-Lutheran) and “Bethanien” (Evangelical-Methodist). In the same year the three Protestant hospitals were merged to form the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg (DKH). This has been supported since 2005 by Agaplesion AG as the majority shareholder (60%), the Alten Eichen Diakonissenanstalt (20%) and the Bethanien nursing home (20%). Since moving into a new building at the same location in Eimsbüttel in 2011, the clinic has been operating under the name "Agaplesion Diakonieklinikum Hamburg".

Senior work

Elim-Diakonie operates senior centers in the Hamburg districts of Niendorf , Eppendorf and Bergedorf .

Another focus of work is the support of service offices in senior citizens' residential complexes, through which the residents of the complexes are to be helped with life in the new environment. The Elim-Diakonie looks after service offices in:

  • Michaelisstrasse in Hamburg (FeG's own "senior citizens' housing complex Michaelisstrasse", attached to FeG "Holstenwall")
  • Hamburg-Wandsbek ("Housing complex on Mühlenteich" of the housing association from 1904 e. G.)
  • Hamburg-Harburg ("Engelbekhof service housing complex" of the Harburg eG railway construction association)
  • Norderstedt ("Senioren-Wohnanlage Pöhlshof" and "EmmaPlambeckHaus" from Plambeck).

Ambulatory care service

The outpatient care service "ELIM mobil " is available in Hamburg and Norderstedt.

International Diakoniecafé Why not?

The “Internationale Diakoniecafé Why not? ” Is part of the diaconal commitment of the Free Evangelical Congregation in Northern Germany . “In Hamburg-St. Pauli . There integration aids are offered for people with a migration background. In addition to the café in Marktstrasse, this also includes language courses, support measures, advice and qualification for refugees (especially unaccompanied minor refugees ), church services and concerts.

literature

  • Ulrich Betz: beacon and oasis. From 100 years of history of the Free Evangelical Congregation Hamburg and the Deaconess Mother House "Elim" . Bundes-Verlag, Witten 1993.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ For the period up to 1920, unless otherwise stated, the presentation mainly follows the website History of the FeGN 1892–1920 ( Memento of the original from April 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / fegn.de archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on fegn.de
  2. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz:  Friedrich Heitmüller. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 692-694.
  3. ↑ Unless otherwise stated, the presentation for the period from 1927–1945 is mainly based on the History 1927–1945 website ( memento of the original from April 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / fegn.de archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on fegn.de
  4. ↑ Erhard Baum: We owe him a lot. For the 85th birthday of Dr. Fritz Laubach. In: Being Christian today 1/2011, p. 39
  5. ↑ The presentation for the period from 1965 follows, unless otherwise stated, mainly the website history from 1966 ( Memento from March 4, 2011 on WebCite ) on fegn.de
  6. ↑ Erhard Baum: We owe him a lot. For the 85th birthday of Dr. Fritz Laubach. In: Being Christian today 1/2011, p. 39
  7. ↑ Fritz Laubach: "God is good for surprises". In: Being a Christian today 1/2011, p. 40
  8. ↑ History of the Elim Hospital on the website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg, accessed March 7, 2011
  9. ↑ Idea Pressedienst, No. 266, September 23, 2011, page 10.
  10. ↑ News from the Diakonie on the website of the Free Evangelical Congregation Foundation in Northern Germany (accessed: January 18, 2016)
  11. ↑ History of the Elim Hospital  ( 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. on the website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg, accessed January 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / frauenklinik.dkh.de  
  12. ↑ History of the Alten Eichen Hospital  ( 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. on the website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg, accessed January 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / frauenklinik.dkh.de  
  13. ↑ History of the Bethanien Hospital  ( 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. on the website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg, accessed January 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / frauenklinik.dkh.de  
  14. ↑ History of the Elim Hospital  ( 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. on the website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg, accessed January 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / frauenklinik.dkh.de  
  15. ↑ Our hospitals: Many years of experience  ( 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. on the website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg, accessed January 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / frauenklinik.dkh.de  
  16. ↑ The new Agaplesion Diakonieklinikum Hamburg  ( 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. on the website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg, accessed January 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / frauenklinik.dkh.de  
  17. ^ Website of the Diakonie-Klinikum Hamburg , accessed January 30, 2012
  18. ↑ Section Senior Centers on the Elim-Diakonie website, accessed January 30, 2012
  19. ^ Section Service Offices on the Elim-Diakonie website, accessed January 30, 2012
  20. ↑ Section Elim mobile on the website of Elim-Diakonie, viewed January 30, 2012
  21. ↑ Section Offers on the website of the International Diakoniecafé Why not? , accessed January 30, 2012