Bruderhof Communities
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The Bruderhof Communities (German: place of brothers) are Christian faith-based communities with branches in New York and Pennsylvania in the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. They have previously been called The Society of Brothers and The Hutterian Brethren.
They were founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold. He was a religious seeker for several years. Then in 1920 he rented a farm at Sannerz, Germany and founded a religious community with seven adults. Their inspiration was first church in Jerusalem who shared all things in common as described in the Book of Acts. The teachings of Jesus, in particular those concerning nonviolence, faithfulness in marriage, and love of neighbors and enemies in the Sermon on the Mount are central to Bruderhof life. Also influential was the example of the early Anabaptists of the Radical Reformation in the 1500s.
When the group outgrew the farm at Sannerz, they moved to the nearby Rhön Mountains. While there, Arnold discovered that the Hutterites (a body he had studied with great interest) were still in existence in North America. In 1930 he traveled to meet the Hutterites and was ordained as a Hutterian minister. Nevertheless, acceptance of the Bruderhof was not consistent among the various branches of Hutterites in North America.
With the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, the Rhön community moved its draft-age men and children to Liechtenstein around 1934 because of their conscientious refusal to serve in the armed forces and to accept Nazi teachers. This community became known as the Alm Bruderhof. Continuing pressure from the Nazi government caused others to move to England and found the Cotswold Bruderhof in 1936. On April 14, 1937, secret police surrounded the Rhön Bruderhof, confiscated the property, and gave the remaining community members forty-eight hours to flee the country. By 1938, all the Bruderhof members had reassembled in England.
While in England, the population grew to over 350 members, largely through the addition of young English members seeking an alternative to war. Even before the outbreak of World War II, the community’s German members and its pacifist stance attracted deep suspicion locally resulting in economic boycotts. When confronted with the option of either interning all German members, or leaving England as a group, the Bruderhof choose the latter, and began to look for refuge abroad. Soon after England entered the war, the Bruderhof emigrated to Paraguay — the only country that would accept a pacifist community of mixed nationalities.
During the first year in the Paraguayan wilderness, Bruderhof members — mostly city-raised Europeans — fought a losing battle against primitive conditions, a harsh climate, and natural pests. Babies were lost to tropical disease. But the community persevered, carving three settlements out of the jungle, as well as a hospital for community members and local Paraguayans. The only clinic in the area, it served tens of thousands for the next two decades. By the early 1960s, the community in Paraguay had grown to about 700 members.
In 1954, the Bruderhof started a settlement in the United States and near Rifton, New York, in response to a dramatic increase in the number of American guests. Known as the Woodcrest Bruderhof (http://www.woodcrestbruderhof.com), the community revived the movement as hundreds of new members joined, many from other communal groups across the country.
New communities were also founded in Pennsylvania (1957) and Connecticut (1958). At the same time, although the Paraguayan communities were thriving, a growing frustration with their isolation and inaccessibility resulting in their closing. By 1962, all members had relocated to the northeastern United States, or to England.
Community Playthings (http://www.communityplaythings.com/), a line of classroom furniture and toys, was developed during this time and soon become the Bruderhof’s main source of income. It still provides the community with a livelihood today. Other Bruderhof businesses include Rifton Equipment which offers mobility and rehabilitation equipment for disabled adults and children, and Danthonia Designs which produces customized hand-sculpted signs.
The Forest River colony of Schmiedeleut Hutterites in North Dakota invited the Bruderhof to join them, and about 36 members moved to North Dakota. In 1955, the Schmiedeleut group excluded the Bruderhof and placed the Forest River colony under probation. In 1973, the Bruderhof leadership apologized for the problems among the Forest River colony and in 1974 was reunited with all branches of the Hutterian Church. However, in 1990 the more conservative Dariusleut and Lehrerleut Hutterites excommunicated the Bruderhof, refusing to recognize them as Hutterites because of practices that did not conform to standard Hutterite order including sending children to public schools, the use of musical instruments, and opposition to the death penalty. In 1990 the Spring Valley Bruderhof (http://www.springvalleybruderhof.com/) was founded adjacent to the New Meadow Run Bruderhof (http://www.newmeadowrunbruderhof.com/) in Farmington, Pennsylvania.
The Bruderhof communities have continued to grow, and presently consist of communities in the United States, England, Germany and Australia. Membership is more than 2500. Like the Hutterites, the Bruderhof does not hold private property, but rather share everything in common. No Bruderhof member receives a salary or has a bank account. Income from all businesses is pooled and used for the care for all members, and for various communal outreach efforts.
The largest Bruderhof has over four hundred members; the smallest has less than twenty. Most communities have a nursery, kindergarten, school, a communal kitchen, laundry, various workshops, and offices. Bruderhof life is built around the family. Children are an important part of each community and participate in most communal gatherings. All life is regarded as precious. Disabled and elderly members are loved and cared for within the community and participate in daily life and work for as long as they are able. In the film Road Scholar (1993) Andrei Cordrescu of NPR fame visited a Bruderhof Community.
Children of Bruderhof families do not automatically become members, but are encouraged to leave the community and live elsewhere before deciding on their own whether or not to join the community.
Through the Bruderhof Foundation, a charity created to support outreach and service efforts, and through individual members, the Bruderhof remains actively involved in the neighborhoods that surround its communities, and in the world at large. Bruderhof members serve on school boards, volunteer at prisons and hospitals, and work with local social service agencies to provide food and shelter for those in need of help. Through Breaking the Cycle (http://wwww.breakingthecycle.us), a conflict resolution program for schools, the Bruderhof also reaches thousands of high school students each year. They get involved with various peace and justice issues and have agitated for the release of Mumia Abu Jamal.
Numerous guests visit the Bruderhof and all communities are open to guests. One attraction is the Bruderhof Museum at the Woodcrest Bruderhof which was designed, built, and staffed by Bruderhof high school and college students. The museum houses exhibits illustrating the community’s 80-year history spanning five generations and four continents.
The Bruderhof has operated a publishing house since its founding in 1920. For the last forty years, the community has published books and periodicals under its own imprint, the Plough. Plough publishes spiritual classics, inspirational books, and children’s books. Many of the Bruderhof's books are available as free resources on their websites.
External links
- An Introduction to the Bruderhof (http://www.bruderhof.org/) - Synopsis of the Bruderhof's beliefs, history, and current activities.
- Bruderhof Collective (http://www.bruderhofcollective.com/) - A forum for other groups associated with the Bruderhof Communities to discuss issues of common interest, as well as a listing of events hosted at various Bruderhofs.
- Bruderhof Communities - The Official Website (http://www.bruderhof.com/) - Contains detailed descriptions and photos of life at the Bruderhof, a database of hundreds of articles commenting on current events and religious beliefs, and a collection of books available for free download.
- Bruderhof Forgiveness Guide (http://www.forgivenessguide.org/) - A collection of writings on forgiveness by Bruderhof authors and others.
- Bruderhof Foundation (http://www.bruderhoffoundation.org/) - Describes many of the current activities of the Bruderhof Communities in the fields of community service, conflict resolution, and education.
- Bruderhof Generation Connection (http://www.generationconnection.org/) - Articles describing intergenerational interaction at the Bruderhof and a pen pal program.
- Bruderhof Grief Companion (http://www.griefcompanion.org/) - Resources for the bereaved.
- Bruderhof in Australia (http://www.bruderhof.com.au/) - Details on the Austrailian branch.
- Bruderhof Museum (http://www.bruderhofmuseum.com/) - An in-depth study of Bruderhof history and the other movements that influenced its beginnings and development.
- Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide (http://www.peacemakersguide.org/) - Profiles of peacemakers with original artwork by Bruderhof artists.
- Bruderhof Sannerz-Haus (http://www.sannerzbruderhof.de/) - The Bruderhof's house in Germany.
- German Bruderhof website (http://www.derbruderhof.de/) - with a wide selection of German language articles and e-books.
- The Peregrine Foundation (http://www.perefound.org/) - a non-profit organization assisting "families and individuals living in or exiting from experimental social groups".
- Bruderhof Saving Childhood Forum (http://www.savingchildhood.org/) - Moderated discussion forums on issues relating to children.
- The Bruderhof in United Kingdom (http://www.bruderhof.co.uk/) - Information on the English communities.
- A Day with the Hutterian Brethren (http://www.anabaptistnetwork.com/node/view/179) - A visitor to the Darvell Bruderhof community at Robertsbridge in East Sussex in the UK describes the community and gives some history.
References
- Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof (http://www.bruderhof.com/e-books/AgainstTheWind.htm), Markus Baum, 1998 Plough Publishing House
- A Joyful Pilgrimage: My Life in Community (http://www.bruderhof.com/e-books/AJoyfulPilgrimage.htm), Emmy Arnold, 2002 The Bruderhof Foundation
- Community in Paraguay: A Visit to the Bruderhof, Bob and Shirley Wagoner
- Encyclopedia of American Religions (5th edition), J. Gordon Melton, editor
- Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold (http://www.heinricharnold.com/), by Peter Mommsen
- The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy Among The Bruderhof, by Julius H. Rubin
- Torches Rekindled: The Bruderhof's Struggle for Renewal, Merrill Mow