Christian communities: common purse, Hutterites, all things in common, etc.

[Disciple of Christ]

BTW there is a Mennonite intentional community in Germany:


Hausgemeinschaft Bammental

Hauptstraße 86, 69245 Bammental, Germany
E-Mail: MennGemBtl@gmx.de
Homepage: www.mennonitenbammental.de
Description: founded in 1983; c. 20 residents

It's a progressive group associated with the pacifist Church & Peace network. They all live together in one big building. However, they do not have a common purse.

[Disciple of Christ]

Homestead’s background (as far as I know) is in Jesus-only Pentecostalism. But they have moved quite far into Anabaptist fundamentals being more important than that.

Homestead Heritage is quite interesting. They are one of the few communal Christian groups still growing. - drive.google.com/file/d/1SXQpnmOV4PFhEQgVCl1Ut3G1cix_hJLz/view?usp=sharing

[Josh]

BTW there is a Mennonite intentional community in Germany:


Hausgemeinschaft Bammental

Hauptstraße 86, 69245 Bammental, Germany
E-Mail: MennGemBtl@gmx.de
Homepage: www.mennonitenbammental.de
Description: founded in 1983; c. 20 residents

It's a progressive group associated with the pacifist Church & Peace network. They all live together in one big building. However, they do not have a common purse.

We don’t live in one big building but do have a common purse. (We also have our own purses, although I prefer to call mine a wallet.)

[Disciple of Christ]

When I visited the community about 30 years ago, there was a house (address given, still valid), in which a group lived together, therefore it was called "Hausgemeinschaft" which denotes in German a community / group that lives together in the same building. There is a non-communal Mennonite congregation associated with the community. Perhaps the community has become too big so that it is no longer possible for all members to live in the same building.

[Disciple of Christ]

I've just talked to Miss Krauß on the phone who lives in the Mennonite community of Bammental. Her husband is a well-known Christian peace activist in Germany. To be exact the Hausgemeinschaft Bammental consists of two buildings that have a common courtyard. The members do not have a common purse (like the Bruderhof or the Hutterites), but a common "Haushaltskasse". That is, they pay a certain amount of money each month for communal activities. Each member has his or her own bank account too. Miss Krauß couldn't figure out who you are, Josh, or what MennoNet.com is, but it might be a good idea to send her some greetings, if you know her.

[MaxPC]

It appears to me that "common purse" has been interpreted differently by different groups. It can mean a common community account into which individuals tithe a portion of their income which seems to be the most widely used formula for Christian communities.

Or it can signify that all income is deposited and distributed to the membership as can be found in monastic communities, Catholic religious communities, and communitarian groups such as the Hutterian Brethren and the Bruderhof.

Just a few of my rambling thoughts on this miserably hot day.

[Josh]

I've just talked to Miss Krauß on the phone who lives in the Mennonite community of Bammental. Her husband is a well-known Christian peace activist in Germany. To be exact the Hausgemeinschaft Bammental consists of two buildings that have a common courtyard. The members do not have a common purse (like the Bruderhof or the Hutterites), but a common "Haushaltskasse". That is, they pay a certain amount of money each month for communal activities. Each member has his or her own bank account too. Miss Krauß couldn't figure out who you are, Josh, or what MennoNet.com is, but it might be a good idea to send her some greetings, if you know her.

I've just talked to Miss Krauß on the phone who lives in the Mennonite community of Bammental. Her husband is a well-known Christian peace activist in Germany. To be exact the Hausgemeinschaft Bammental consists of two buildings that have a common courtyard. The members do not have a common purse (like the Bruderhof or the Hutterites), but a common "Haushaltskasse". That is, they pay a certain amount of money each month for communal activities. Each member has his or her own bank account too. Miss Krauß couldn't figure out who you are, Josh, or what MennoNet.com is, but it might be a good idea to send her some greetings, if you know her.

Apologies for the confusion… I’m not part of that specific community and hadn’t heard of it before. I was just intending to draw a contrast between how different communities can do things very differently, and don’t necessarily HAVE to have a big compound or a single shared bank account.