Weigle House
The Weigle House is a Protestant youth center in Essen .
overview
The Weigle-Haus is located between Essen Central Station and Bundesautobahn 40 in the southern district near the city center . As a free work within the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland , it offers children and young people in particular, but also many adults, a wide range of groups and events.
The Weigle House is home to two closely related communities. From the youth work, which today sees itself as a youth community , a community of adults has emerged over time.
The leading employees of the individual work areas in youth work form the Evangelische Jugend Weigle-Haus e. V. This association is a member of the CVJM-Westbund .
history
In 1893 Wilhelm Weigle came to Essen's old town as a young pastor. His duties there also included looking after the Protestant men's and young people's association . He began with a form of youth work that was still unusual at the time, which, among other things, combined youth-friendly games and spiritual elements. Under his leadership, a diverse range of activities was created, ranging from shorthand and language courses to vacation trips and choirs to Bible studies and home visits to the families of the boys being looked after.
In 1896 Weigle founded the Evangelical Youth Association Essen-Ruhr , in whose direct successor the Evangelical Youth Weigle-Haus e. V. stands.
On September 24, 1911, the foundation stone was laid for a building of its own; the inauguration took place on October 6, 1912. The work started by Weigle grew and now had its own home.
In 1929 Pastor Wilhelm Busch took over the management of the house. On February 11, 1934, however, the Evangelical Youth Association was dissolved and the youth center closed. Busch resisted the pressure to unite the youth work with the Hitler Youth and was even able to reopen the house a short time later. The work continued under the name Stadtmission , the house itself received its current name and became the Weigle House .
The house was partially destroyed during the Second World War and could only be reopened on May 23, 1954. Wilhelm Busch managed the work until 1962. The program for the young people continued to revolve primarily around the common Sundays with church services, sports and games and also educational offers such as the so-called Intelligence Club . During the week, the youth groups and youth groups belonging to the Weigle House took place in many parts of the city .
In 1962 Herbert Demmer followed and after him in 1967 Ulrich Parzany Wilhelm Busch as youth pastor in the Weigle house. Ulrich Parzany shaped the changing youth work in the next 17 years. The Weigle House's work with boys up until then developed closer contacts to the city mission work for girls, which was known as Henriette from its meeting place in Henriettenstrasse .
In 1981 the sports hall was inaugurated on the company's own premises. In 1992, with the merger between Weigle-Haus and Henriette, mixed work was introduced in the Weigle-Haus. With the establishment of a Ten Sing group, a new phase began in the youth work of the Weigle House. Since then there have been both mixed and gender-specific offers here.
In 1993 the Weigle House celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Protestant youth . In the period that followed, the service in the Weigle House developed into a separate community for adults.
The Weigle House today
Traditional youth work is now being supplemented by various open work and youth social work ( street work , homework help, youth counseling and various open offers). Since 2005 it has followed its new self-image based on the model of a youth community . In addition to a weekly youth service , the offer also includes various small groups for young people.
The youth work of the Weigle-Haus includes two other youth centers: the Paulus youth center in the Huttrop district and the Zwingli youth center in the north quarter .
The adult community in the Weigle-Haus has developed over the years from youth work. In 1995 she elected the first community council as the governing body for community work. To this day, the local council is responsible for the work of the community and coordinates the networking with the youth community. Youth pastor Rolf Zwick is involved in community leadership and development on a voluntary basis.
In 2010 the congregation was able to set up a pastor's position for the first time; it is financed by donations.
Head of the Weigle House
- 1896–1929 Wilhelm Weigle
- 1929–1962 Wilhelm Busch
- 1962–1967 Herbert Demmer
- 1967-1984 Ulrich Parzany
- 1984–1990 Rüdiger Mielke
- 1991–1996 Herbert Grossarth
- since 1996 Rolf Zwick
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 27 '3.9 " N , 7 ° 1' 11.8" E