Resources
Further Resources
Further resources by and about the Bruderhof and its history, beliefs, and daily life, can be found on Bruderhof.org. This is a collection of books, scholarly and journalistic articles, personal memoirs, and other media which give a deeper insight into the Bruderhof.
Resources on this page
Bruderhof education
Projects and activities
Charitable partners
Bruderhof education
An important part of each Bruderhof community is its school, where children of members as well as students from the neighborhood are taught according to a “whole child” approach that seeks to educate head, heart, and hand.
The Mount Academy in Esopus, New York and Beech Grove Academy in Kent, UK are four year high schools operated by the Bruderhof. Students are children of Bruderhof members as well as youth from our neighborhoods and abroad.
We are committed to providing a safe environment for all children who live or attend school at the Bruderhof. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:14). Any conduct that results in the harm of any child will not be tolerated. To that end, the Bruderhof has adopted a Safe Environments Policy which applies to all Bruderhof communities as well as at Bruderhof schools.
Resource Office. Young people who have grown up in our communities are encouraged to take time to discern God’s will for their lives. Making a lifetime commitment to the Bruderhof must be a voluntary decision made as an adult. Many choose to stay and join with us; others set out on their own to find their life’s calling. We are able to offer advice and limited practical support to those transitioning out of our communities through a Resource Office.
Projects and activities
The primary calling and vocation of Bruderhof members is to live out our faith in a shared life of work and worship, as described in the Bruderhof’s rule of life, Foundations of our Faith & Calling. As opportunity and need arises, we are also active in various initiatives and projects, often in collaboration with like-minded people and organizations.
A program which promotes nonviolent conflict resolution to high school students. Co-founded in 1999 by New York City police detective Steven McDonald and Bruderhof senior minister Johann Christoph Arnold, Breaking the Cycle continues to provide a message of forgiveness and self-respect to thousands of students every year.
is a campus ministry committed to encouraging students to follow Jesus together by finding practical ways to love each other and our neighbors. Acts 2 is currently active at Duke University in Durham, NC.
Regenerative agriculture
We grow much of our own food, and have found that the best way to do this in the long term is through regenerative techniques that respect the Earth.
Charitable partners
In response to suffering, we collaborate with charitable organizations that are working effectively in areas of particular concern to the Bruderhof: crises due to war and violence, education and literacy, famine and natural resource depletion, and crises due to natural disasters. Doing our best to live simply and frugally frees up financial resources we can contribute to worthy relief projects worldwide. When possible, the Bruderhof will also send members to volunteer at project sites, these deployments may last several weeks or be for longer periods. It is in the spirit of support that we highlight several of our charitable partnerships.
Since 1994, Partners Relief & Development has had an ambitious goal: free, full lives for children affected by conflict and oppression. This can begin to happen when children feel safe, have enough to eat, and have access to education and healthcare. Partners accomplishes this by delivering emergency relief in times of acute crises. And when the dust of conflict settles, Partners has a hand in rebuilding schools, setting up micro-lending, training community health workers and medics, and teaching sustainable agricultural techniques.
The issue of human slavery is a growing global crisis, with recent estimates of over thirty million people oppressed in slavery in almost every part of the world. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope have jointly committed to tackling modern slavery, calling it “a crime against humanity” and giving their blessing to an ecumenical and interfaith initiative. The Bruderhof is supporting the Anglican Alliance as they research and map current Anglican initiatives on trafficking and slavery around the world. These initiatives involve prevention, care and support for survivors, and advocacy work.
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The Bruderhof helps fund the missions and missioners of this Catholic organization, which has an appealingly low overhead and simple structure. The missioners are committed, serving three-year terms (sometimes as whole families) to compassionately care for the poor in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. We support missions focusing on education and farming.
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Open Doors does wonderful work in over fifty countries, supplying Bibles, training church leaders, providing practical support and emergency relief, and supporting Christians who suffer for their faith. They go into countries where it’s dangerous to follow Jesus – especially the Middle East – and work with churches, ministries, and families there. And back home in the UK and Ireland, they work hard to raise awareness of global persecution, through mobilizing of prayer, support, and action among western Christians.
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The approach of Samaritan’s Purse to war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine is close to our heart, because they provide not only physical aid but spiritual aid. The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37) gives a clear picture of God’s desire that his followers should help those in desperate need wherever they are. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told his hearers, “Go and do likewise.” Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has found an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the name of Jesus. That, in turn, allows them to share the gospel, the Good News of eternal life.
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Tearfund, based in the United Kingdom, is a group of Christians passionate about ending poverty. They follow Jesus to where the need is greatest, work through local churches to unlock people’s potential, and help them to discover that the answer to poverty is within themselves. We couldn’t agree more, and we love how they work tirelessly to help communities around the world escape the very worst effects of poverty and disaster. Tearfund takes the approach that the same people facing these troubles also have the best idea as to how they can overcome them. So they listen, helping people to rise out of their poverty by utilizing their resourcefulness and determination.
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For fifty years the Annoor Sanatorium for Chest Diseases has treated tuberculosis among the Bedouin people of Jordan. Founded by Dr. Eleanor Soltau and nurse Aileen Coleman as a small Christian medical facility, the staff now treats nearly 20,000 people each year, serving patients from Jordan and surrounding countries in the Middle East. The Bruderhof has had a presence in Mafraq since 2015, and we welcomed the offer from Aileen Coleman to help with her work at Annoor. Today Annoor is a forty-bed inpatient facility with a busy outpatient clinic within an inviting oasis of trees and greenery. Annoor is an Arabic word meaning “the light.” At Annoor the Light is reflected by sharing God’s love with people in need. Annoor exists to bring hope and healing to desert-dwelling Bedouins
Our involvement with Heifer dates back to the World War II recovery. This hands-on group does an exceptional job lifting people out of poverty by providing livestock and teaching sustainable agriculture. We’ve had Bruderhof members work on the Heifer ranch in Arkansas, and we’ve sent young men to places like Ecuador to work with those in poverty. We know that when people feel helpless, it can be debilitating, so we assist Heifer in helping the poor regain their independence and livelihood, and with that a feeling of dignity and respect.
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We appreciate that MSF is agnostic and will treat anyone, civilian or soldier, regardless of religious or political affiliation. And because it accepts no government funding that might affect perceptions of its allegiance, the group has a sterling record of getting into areas where others cannot. The Bruderhof began its relationship with MSF during the Lebanon crisis in 2006. Currently we are working together to meet the medical needs of some nine million Syrians displaced by civil war.
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Oxfam’s work addressing famine, particularly in Africa, caught our attention more than thirty years ago. Since then we’ve supported them on projects involving sustainable farming methods and clean water initiatives, such as digging wells in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. In the United States, we’ve participated in crisis response. The most recent project that the Bruderhof supported Oxfam with was the East Africa food crisis.
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In systemic or acute crisis situations, it’s children and mothers who are most vulnerable. Jesus says that what we do for the least of us, we do for him. Save the Children lets kids know that people care about them and that they won’t be neglected in their time of need. The Bruderhof began our relationship with Save the Children by providing grants for the group’s international efforts, as well as sponsoring a literacy and nutrition program for Appalachian people living in poverty. Our participation intensified in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as we helped to staff and furnish Save The Children’s signature “child-friendly spaces,” and continued in a similar fashion during the Mediterranean refugee crisis in late 2015. In 2017, we also assisted in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. The Bruderhof applauds Save the Children’s efforts in finding ways that effectively respond to crises caused by the increase in extreme weather patterns.
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The Bruderhof values commitment and that is why we support World Vision. When World Vision gets involved in a project, it remains on site to develop communities for a minimum of twenty years. We supported the group’s work in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. In Myanmar, we supported disaster relief after Cyclone Nargis and have tackled the persistent problem of child trafficking in the region. And we’re working on a fellowship that would send Bruderhof members to Africa to train farmers how to grow high-quality crops targeted to European markets.
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