Geistlicher Aufbruch und Engagement für den Frieden

Die Jugendarbeit der Brüdergemeine in den 1970er und frühen 1980er Jahren

Abstract

For a small working group, the celebrations in 2022 of the 300th anniversary of the founding of Herrnhut were an occasion to remember the revival movement among young people in the previous jubilee year 1972. In his contribution, the Revd Günther Kreusel locates the experiences of Moravian young people in a larger, worldwide context. He also discusses the young people’s revival in the Saxony district of the Volksmission (People’s Mission) and the charismatic movement in Germany. Bible and prayer days, and spiritual retreats in Kleinwelka, led by the Revd Werner Morgenstern, were very influential. Young people had charismatic experiences. On the other hand, tensions and painful separations are also mentioned: these later played a part in the inception of the Christian Centre in Herrnhut.
In the second part of the article, Bishop Theodor Clemens describes the active youth work in the Moravian Church’s Herrnhut District (covering the German Democratic Republic), which later produced a significant number of theologians and ministers of the Moravian Church. The article also discusses the political changes of the 1970s, which resulted from the Helsinki Process (leading to Accords signed by the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in 1975) but also from the NATO Double-Track Decision of 1979 and from the growing Peace Movement, which was supported by those responsible for church youth work in both parts of Germany. Above all, it becomes clear that, despite the different social systems, the encounters between young people in recreational gatherings had the power to overcome boundaries. Despite the participants’ different experiences, New Year gatherings and other possibilities for encounter gave rise to connections that have continued to the present day. This contribution is intended to record or re-awaken experiences and memories and, if possible, to encourage further engagement with this period.