White Cross (Protestant organization)

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The White Cross are organizations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria with a Christian tradition, which have set themselves the goal of advising people in a wide variety of problem and crisis situations, especially in relation to relationships and sexual matters. This is achieved primarily through the training and promotion of employees in local church congregations, communities and Christian organizations, as well as through publications in the areas of sexual ethics , education and pastoral care .

working area

The White Cross is mainly active in the following areas:

  • Marriage pastoral care / marriage seminars
  • Educational issues
  • Help in pregnancy conflicts and advice on pregnancy
  • Sex counseling in youth groups and schools
  • Life support

Positions and priorities

The White Cross represents a conservative Christian sexual morality. For example, it is argued that sex should be delayed until marriage. The promotion of heterosexual partnerships (especially in marital form) is a central concern of the White Cross.

One focus of the White Cross is currently on the subject of Internet sex addiction and pornography. Help and exit options are offered to those affected. There are also offers of advice and support for victims of sexual abuse.

In a training seminar for sexual counseling, the White Cross grouped the terms homosexuality , pedophilia and transsexuality together under the term "sexual identity disorder", as other conservative Christians and representatives of the ex-gay movement sometimes do. This is in contrast to the psychological professional world, in which the "sexual identity disorder" is instead used as a synonym for gender identity disorder (DSM-IV 302.6, 302.85). When making statements on these topics, the White Cross takes into account the views of organizations such as Wüstenstrom , but emphasizes its view that homosexuality is not easily treatable and does not offer any therapy.

Networking

In Switzerland, the White Cross is a member of the Diakonieverband Schweiz and the Swiss Evangelical Alliance , in Germany it is one of the organizations associated with the German Evangelical Alliance . The German White Cross is also a member of the Bundesverband Lebensrecht .

Germany

White Cross e. V.
Logo WK.svg
legal form Association of persons
founding 1890
Seat Ahnatal
purpose Advice and training in sexual ethics, education and pastoral care
Chair Wilfried Veeser
Managing directors Martin Leupold
Website www.weisses-kreuz.de

history

The White Cross (today's full name: Evangelical Association for Sexual Ethics and Pastoral Care White Cross ) was founded in Berlin in 1890 and was closely linked to the revival movement around 1900. After the service had initially mainly addressed young men (diverse literature against masturbation ), it expanded its work from 1911 to include girls and women. The service quickly spread internationally, but was completely destroyed by National Socialism and World War II. The Bundeshaus in Nowawes near Potsdam and the Berlin office were lost.

Reconstruction began after the war, and the Bundeshaus in Kassel was acquired in 1959 . The common association Weißes Kreuz e. V. Later the federal headquarters moved to Vellmar , where it stayed for 14 years. In 1995 a new seminar center was opened in Ahnatal near Kassel, and in 1997 also the new headquarters of the association. The White Cross currently has advice centers scattered across Germany.

From 2006 to 2015 Rolf Trauernicht was managing director. During this time, the number of counseling centers rose from 11 to 175. In January 2016, he was succeeded by Martin Leupold, who previously headed the Falkenberg Theological Seminary as a theologian and ethicist .

management

Managing Director of the White Cross:

  • 1969–1999 Gerhard Naujokat
  • 1999-2006 Karl-Heinz Espey
  • 2006–2015 Rolf does not mourn
  • since 2016 Martin Leupold

The first chairman of the association is currently Wilfried Veeser.

Publications

The White Cross publishes the White Cross magazine four times a year . In addition, there are regular offprints on specific topics of sexual ethics, education and pastoral care under the title White Cross extra . These texts are also offered online for download.

Austria

Weisses Kreuz Austria, specialist agency for relationship issues, sexual ethics and life protection
(Weisses Kreuz Austria)
White cross LOGO EBK blue addition webseite.png
legal form Association of persons
founding June 26, 2014
Seat Vienna
Chair Martin Böhls
Website http://weisses-kreuz-oe.at/

The Weisse Kreuz Österreich (full name: Weisses Kreuz Österreich, specialist office for relationship issues, sexual ethics and life protection based in Vienna ) was founded in 2014 after the older associations in Germany and Switzerland. Martin Böhls and Brigitte Prugger are the chairpersons. The association sees the need to offer help on the basis of Christian values ​​in a secularized society and sees its services as a complementary offer among various alternatives in order to promote relationships and protect lives.

According to its own statement, the foundation of the association's activity is diaconal activity, regardless of the position, rank, religion, culture and ethnicity of the clients seeking help. The foundation of the association is the Bible , according to which man is valuable and God's image as creation. The aim of the association is to have a preventive effect on society in order to contribute to a broader understanding and better orientation of relationships, sexual ethics and the protection of life.

Switzerland

Swiss White Cross
(SWK)
SWK-Logo.png
legal form Association of persons
founding 1892
Seat Aarau
Chair Urs Bischofberger
Managing directors Jonathan Eschmann
Website https://swk.swiss/

In Switzerland, White Cross groups were founded in 1892. The first conference of the Swiss Moral Association of the White Cross took place in Zurich in 1903 with representatives from six sections.
In 1935 the name was changed to Swiss Confederation of the White Cross and in 1974 to Swiss White Cross .

The association provides skills and information on love, relationships and sexuality based on basic Christian values ​​through educational offers. It is non-profit, denominational and politically independent.

Single receipts

  1. Topic page “Plea for sexual abstinence” , liebewartet.de
  2. "Sexual Identity Disorder in Counseling" ( Memento from December 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  3. Herbert Antonu: Psychological emergence hypothesis about the sexual maturation crisis of young adults as a result of a gender identity disorder in childhood from the perspective of analytical psychology (PDF; 899 kB) , thesis, January 2004, psychotherapiewien.at, p. 24
  4. ^ Statement of the White Cross on homosexuality ( Memento of June 21, 2004 in the web archive archive.today )
  5. ^ White Cross: Change in management ( memento from June 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Evangelical news agency idea , message from June 22, 2015.
  6. Extract from the association register for the reference date July 1st, 2014 on the association's website (weisses-kreuz-oe.at)
  7. Our values on the club's website, accessed on July 30, 2016
  8. ^ History. The roots of the white cross
  9. ^ Statutes of the Swiss White Cross Association

Web links