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Bruderhof Community

Ladyloafer

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
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article in the Graun about the Bruderhof community in sussex.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-...the-strangely-alluring-world-of-the-bruderhof

In the radical religious community, no one owns or earns anything, everyone sings constantly and the booze flows freely. Where are the drawbacks?

I’m spending 24 hours with the Bruderhof, a radical Christian movement founded a century ago in Germany. In brief, it recognises the Bible’s authority over everything, placing emphasis on the New Testament’s Acts 2 and 4 and the Sermon on the Mount, which direct followers to embrace communal living and lifelong service to others. In its 100-year history, the group has moved around – Europe, Paraguay, North America – fleeing Nazis and wars. Now there are 3,000 or so living in communities worldwide, including some 300 here in the Weald. They have let the cameras in, for a BBC documentary, to show the world what they do. They might as well let the press in, too; hence my presence.

there is a documentary on bbc on thursday and presumably on the iplayer afterwards.
 
It's an awful lot of booze, however freely it's flowing :actw:
 
So, where does the 17 million annually go?

well if that was split between the entire 3000 members worldwide that'd only be 6 grand each. but i suspect that revenue is just that small community- 300. which is about 56grand p.a each.

however that does cover all their living costs, not to mention the business must have overheads even if wages isn't one. and they pay taxes. and according to the faq on their website some people will go to university- which costs a fair packet these days.

and of course being religious 'missionary work' costs money.

not defending or condemning these people. i've never heard of them before but i do find non-mainstream communities of every type really fascinating.

https://www.bruderhof.com/en/life-in-community/faqs
 
Ummmm, well it looks a really nice community, maybe one group has it right
 
there is a documentary on bbc on thursday and presumably on the iplayer afterwards.

so this wasn't actually broadcast as the boris show overran. bbc website was saying 7th aug 2am but even now that listing has gone. i was really looking forward to it, it looked interesting.
 
so this wasn't actually broadcast as the boris show overran. bbc website was saying 7th aug 2am but even now that listing has gone. i was really looking forward to it, it looked interesting.

So was I. Hope it turns up somewhere.
 
I went to college with a guy from the community.

I recall they went by an alternative name like "fellowship of the brothers" or "brotherhood of fellows" or some such. The women are often seen in the town as they wear headscarves and dress somewhat olde worlde. They all seem very nice.

The guy from college had clearly been coached that we were all heathens not to be trusted though!
 
There's a small community of a religious sect in my town. Brethren?? The women also wear olde worlde dresses and peasant headscarves. They keep themselves to themselves but you see them in the shops.
 
More on the dark side of the Bruderhof.

Bruderhof: My dark past growing up in a rural English commune

A group of Christians living together in communes believe their simpler, shared existence is the answer to society's ills. But some former members have told BBC Inside Out their historical experience of growing up inside the Bruderhof's communities has left them psychologically damaged.

"I thought maybe I was evil, maybe some demons were going to come flying out of me. That's what had been drummed into me."

Samantha* carries the scars of her childhood on her forearms. She began self-harming at the age of nine, she says, as "a way to escape" life inside the Bruderhof. Samantha grew up in a commune set up by the religious group and said she felt forced to conform to its strict teachings on sexual morality and the role of women, which includes a modest dress code.

Over time her mental health deteriorated and in 2002, aged 22, she attempted to take her own life. She said she was then subjected to what she describes as an "exorcism" at the commune in Beech Grove, a 19th Century manor house set among rolling green fields in Nonington, Kent. Elders from a commune in the United States were summoned to help with a "laying on of hands" prayer ceremony, she said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-51310036
 
The bbc documentary that wasn't shown last year is on tomorrow night. 12th aug, bbc1, 22.45. And presumably on the tellypod too.
 
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