I love the sense of peace and order you convey. I appreciate your transparency and the simplicity of your lifestyle. May the Lord’s favour rest upon your community. You are a light on a hill 🙌🏻
The reason Bruderhofs and like Anabaptist communities exist and function is because of religion; the shared faith and worldview (memetics) is what makes it work. I'm not sure I've ever heard of any like community without a shared faith and I'm not sure we ever will.
@@jamesgossweiler1349 Of course there are other communities not being based on faith and religion where people share their income and so on - however the bond between the members won’t very probably never be as strong as in the religious ones and therefore won’t probably last over generations…
@@jamesgossweiler1349 There are definitely nonreligious intentional communities, such as Twin Oaks in Virginia. It has been around since 1967, and states: "our way of life has reflected our values of cooperation, sharing, nonviolence, equality, and ecology."
I'm sure it would be very difficult without a common faith, because whenever difficult times or conflicts happen it seems easier for people to be able to put their faith in a higher power to overcome it. I think that's why you see plenty of communes of people with similar values but not many with permanent members that share everything through good and bad times.
Every summer for the last twenty five to thirty years I’ve camped for a fortnight with a children’s educational charity as a volunteer staff member - I suppose like in America they have summer camps, (summer camps are not really a thing here in England). These camps focus on building a community of people who come and work together for the common good of everyone. Obviously sometimes there will be people that you don’t seem to get along with, so it’s good for me to work through why that is, so I can become a better person. It’s my two week normality reset before I go back to my outside life for the rest of the year - I’m convinced that it’s made me the person that I am today and I am all the better for it. I live in a very small, quiet, northern city and quite a lot of the children and adults on these camps come from inner city London, which is completely different to anything I have ever experienced and finding out about their lives fascinates me! My eyes have definitely been opened wide to consider things that I could not have even known was a thing otherwise. I enjoy the camps very much and have learned loads of skills that I can share with others. Sadly there have been no camps for the last two years. Billie x
As always, nice job, Laura! Basically, living in community boils down to two radical things. First, putting Christ at the center of your life and, second, dying to self so that community can flourish. Sounds so easy but it is so very hard…again, thanks for all you do!
I’m from the UK and now living in the US. I’ve been surprised by how many Christians celebrate Halloween here. We don’t celebrate Halloween because of what it’s rooted in. Just curious on your take on Halloween. Also, how do you do Jackolanterns with your kids? We have pumpkins in a fall display but don’t carve them. My mum did a thing with us when we were kids where she cut a pumpkin lid off and said this is like us inside before Jesus comes into our lives. Then He cleans out all the gunk (seeds and pithy stuff). She had us make holes with a golf tee and then said Jesus puts His light inside of us so we put a candle in and the light shone through the little holes. That was a cute project.
I grew up loving Halloween, and never heard of any kind of negative associations. Going with a group of friends door to door, collecting treats. All kinds of creative decorations at the houses. It was a kind of community celebration of fall, with a bit of a scary twist, but in a good way. Today, my husband and I go to a nearby community where we hand out treats to the kids. We then go to a street there where every house has amazing displays of ghosts and often humorous depictions of something creepy. There is music. There is food. There is a whole lot of fun.
That's really interesting. We do make jack-o-lanterns and and we also make lanterns (I made a video about that once ruclips.net/video/acOHGm809Ck/видео.html). I don't like Halloween because of the horror/scary stuff and I also think it's kind of a cheesy holiday but I understand that some people have great memories dressing up as kids, trick-or-treating and so forth.
For many years a lot of people have been interested in living in groups be it a few families or larger. Most are not like the Bruderhof where it really is all shared. I think it is great. The hunter items and the Bruderhof have long term been able to be successful. I am sure it hasn't been perfect but both have been able to continue for 100+ years.
The wise man built his house... I never knew anyone outside of my primary school who knew this children's hymn. If only regular communities were as connected and embracing as the Brudehof seems.
@@swampophelia2098 I was just sat here singing it, smiling and doing all of the associated gestures... It is forever ingrained into my soul and so was easy as the last time I did it which was 32 years ago. So many childrens hymns are just plain old uplifting even now😊 Maybe we could all hear a selection of these sung by members of the Brudehof?
Hi Laura, this was a great video, but I think you mixed up two parables. The man who built his house on sand -Matthew 7:24-27, and the man who didn't count the cost of building a tower -Luke 14:25-33. Love your videos :) Thanks
My experience, I'd rather be my own person, live my own life, live where I chose to live, past tense. Then if I found others I chose to be with, then maybe consider a community. 😂
Hi Laura! I have two questions! My husband is a resident physician and we are currently $300k in student loan debt. We crave and fully believe in the need for community and try our hardest to do so with where we live and the season of life we are in. He would be leery of joining a community like the Bruderhof and burdening them with his massive debt. What would that look like? Also, my husband has a passion for caring for the less fortunate and working in low income areas to help improve the community's health. Do any of the people at the Bruderhof have jobs outside of the community. I think my husband would feel like he's not doing as much as he could by only caring for the Bruderhof community when there are so many others outside of the community in need. What would that look like? Thank you so much!!
I find this channel super interesting, but I'm concerned that my questions about circumcision have never been answered. The silence makes me think that it's something practiced by the Bruderhof. If that's the case, then you should surely be confident enough in the practice to be able to discuss the reasoning and ethics of it. It's been said before that every member of the Bruderhof makes a decision to be a member when they're old enough. Child/infant circumcision would go against this since it's a permanent alteration made to their body without their consent. Their body has been marked forever, before they're old enough to make that commitment. It's way more extreme than any piercing or tattoo, so should only be chosen by the individual, when he is an adult.
@@LaurafromtheBruderhof Thank you very much for your response. I apologize for my tone if I came off as rude. It's a topic that content creators often avoid and it gets frustrating. If that is true, then I have a whole new respect for the Bruderhof!
@@LaurafromtheBruderhof If it's true that the Bruderhof do not practice circumcision, I think a video about it would be amazing. Maybe you could get a medical professional from the community to talk about it. Circumcision is a polarizing topic, but you have a great way of putting your audience at ease, and you already talked about abortion and did a wonderful job. I think fellow Christians could learn a lot from you, and people would see that it really is not necessary. You have the potential to save thousands of babies from this trauma. No pressure, but I think that would be amazing and it would endear the Bruderhof community to a huge population that has been wronged by society.
You should point out the Bruderhof has had its failures. It has not all been smooth sailing nor a utopia. I would bet a lot of issues have been handled privately and kept secretive.
"If it's good for the children it's good for everybody." I like that! Not being critical of the failings of others. Yes! St Paul makes it clear that half of charity is putting up with other people: "Charity is *_patient;_* charity is kind; charity is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does *_not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;_* it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It *_bears all things,_* believes all things, hopes all things, *_endures all things."_* Money. Simple really. Only Christians can really be Communists (from the material angle). Karl Marx should have lived at the Bruderhof: _" From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!"_ Sense of humour. Oh yeah! I am manager of a printing company where all my colleagues are Indians (I live in South Africa). We rib each other all the time and are completely and utterly politically incorrect - among other things, they call me "honky" and I call them "coolie." In the US I'd be strung up by the SJWs. But it makes for a fun work environment where it's much easier to resolve serious issues.
Laura: a lovely, thoughtful message. As always, we’ll-said and we’ll -conveyed. No one but you has your charming, happy style! Suzanne Peck
I love the sense of peace and order you convey. I appreciate your transparency and the simplicity of your lifestyle. May the Lord’s favour rest upon your community. You are a light on a hill 🙌🏻
Bruderhof, minus religion, with an emphasis on service, would be perfect to me. I love your vlog. Thank you for sharing your life and community.
The reason Bruderhofs and like Anabaptist communities exist and function is because of religion; the shared faith and worldview (memetics) is what makes it work. I'm not sure I've ever heard of any like community without a shared faith and I'm not sure we ever will.
@@jamesgossweiler1349 Of course there are other communities not being based on faith and religion where people share their income and so on - however the bond between the members won’t very probably never be as strong as in the religious ones and therefore won’t probably last over generations…
@@jamesgossweiler1349 There are definitely nonreligious intentional communities, such as Twin Oaks in Virginia. It has been around since 1967, and states: "our way of life has reflected our values of cooperation, sharing, nonviolence, equality, and ecology."
I'm sure it would be very difficult without a common faith, because whenever difficult times or conflicts happen it seems easier for people to be able to put their faith in a higher power to overcome it. I think that's why you see plenty of communes of people with similar values but not many with permanent members that share everything through good and bad times.
Thank you for giving us some ideas about how to get started taking small steps toward community.
Eberhard Arnold! I didn't know about him. I almost cried listening to his story. His PhD thesis on Nietzsche! Such an interesting deep beautiful soul.
What a great way to put it..."a distaste for Halloween"...
Yup 👍
I love your videos and want to follow Jesus by sharing my life and looking out for other. Thank you for making your videos!
Thank you for your videos. My day is always better after watching them.
Every summer for the last twenty five to thirty years I’ve camped for a fortnight with a children’s educational charity as a volunteer staff member - I suppose like in America they have summer camps, (summer camps are not really a thing here in England).
These camps focus on building a community of people who come and work together for the common good of everyone.
Obviously sometimes there will be people that you don’t seem to get along with, so it’s good for me to work through why that is, so I can become a better person.
It’s my two week normality reset before I go back to my outside life for the rest of the year - I’m convinced that it’s made me the person that I am today and I am all the better for it.
I live in a very small, quiet, northern city and quite a lot of the children and adults on these camps come from inner city London, which is completely different to anything I have ever experienced and finding out about their lives fascinates me!
My eyes have definitely been opened wide to consider things that I could not have even known was a thing otherwise. I enjoy the camps very much and have learned loads of skills that I can share with others.
Sadly there have been no camps for the last two years.
Billie x
As always, nice job, Laura! Basically, living in community boils down to two radical things. First, putting Christ at the center of your life and, second, dying to self so that community can flourish. Sounds so easy but it is so very hard…again, thanks for all you do!
Yes! It is so much like marriage!
I’m from the UK and now living in the US. I’ve been surprised by how many Christians celebrate Halloween here. We don’t celebrate Halloween because of what it’s rooted in. Just curious on your take on Halloween. Also, how do you do Jackolanterns with your kids? We have pumpkins in a fall display but don’t carve them.
My mum did a thing with us when we were kids where she cut a pumpkin lid off and said this is like us inside before Jesus comes into our lives. Then He cleans out all the gunk (seeds and pithy stuff). She had us make holes with a golf tee and then said Jesus puts His light inside of us so we put a candle in and the light shone through the little holes. That was a cute project.
I grew up loving Halloween, and never heard of any kind of negative associations. Going with a group of friends door to door, collecting treats. All kinds of creative decorations at the houses. It was a kind of community celebration of fall, with a bit of a scary twist, but in a good way. Today, my husband and I go to a nearby community where we hand out treats to the kids. We then go to a street there where every house has amazing displays of ghosts and often humorous depictions of something creepy. There is music. There is food. There is a whole lot of fun.
That's really interesting. We do make jack-o-lanterns and and we also make lanterns (I made a video about that once ruclips.net/video/acOHGm809Ck/видео.html). I don't like Halloween because of the horror/scary stuff and I also think it's kind of a cheesy holiday but I understand that some people have great memories dressing up as kids, trick-or-treating and so forth.
Lovely, simple, clean kitchen with a soft, beautiful ray of sunshine 🌻💛 I'm considering joining with my son. Be soberly gentle in Him 💒 Blessings ✨
Oh I'm so glad you don't support Halloween - had my heart in my mouth then! love from a British Catholic x
For many years a lot of people have been interested in living in groups be it a few families or larger. Most are not like the Bruderhof where it really is all shared. I think it is great. The hunter items and the Bruderhof have long term been able to be successful. I am sure it hasn't been perfect but both have been able to continue for 100+ years.
The wise man built his house...
I never knew anyone outside of my primary school who knew this children's hymn.
If only regular communities were as connected and embracing as the Brudehof seems.
I used to sing that to my children and they loved the bit where we sang….and the rain came down and the floods went whoosh …..
@@swampophelia2098 I was just sat here singing it, smiling and doing all of the associated gestures... It is forever ingrained into my soul and so was easy as the last time I did it which was 32 years ago.
So many childrens hymns are just plain old uplifting even now😊
Maybe we could all hear a selection of these sung by members of the Brudehof?
Another beautiful, well spoken video :)!! God bless you Laura :)
Thank you so much!
Thank you Laura! Great talk!🙏🏽
You are so welcome!
You presented lots of great information on living in community,
Thank you!
what is the process for joining the briuderhof?
Hi Laura, this was a great video, but I think you mixed up two parables. The man who built his house on sand -Matthew 7:24-27, and the man who didn't count the cost of building a tower -Luke 14:25-33. Love your videos :) Thanks
Yes I did. Silly me.
My experience, I'd rather be my own person, live my own life, live where I chose to live, past tense. Then if I found others I chose to be with, then maybe consider a community. 😂
your toaster oven looks like it has Crosses on it.....very cool.
Hi Laura! I have two questions!
My husband is a resident physician and we are currently $300k in student loan debt.
We crave and fully believe in the need for community and try our hardest to do so with where we live and the season of life we are in. He would be leery of joining a community like the Bruderhof and burdening them with his massive debt. What would that look like?
Also, my husband has a passion for caring for the less fortunate and working in low income areas to help improve the community's health. Do any of the people at the Bruderhof have jobs outside of the community. I think my husband would feel like he's not doing as much as he could by only caring for the Bruderhof community when there are so many others outside of the community in need. What would that look like?
Thank you so much!!
Which community are you with Laura? I have friends at Danthonia in NSW Australia and have begun an email friendship with Jerry at Fox Hill
I'm at the Mount in NY
Thanks for replying @@LaurafromtheBruderhof, I am really enjoying your videos about life with The Bruderhof.
What’s the issue with Halloween
Another good word. I like your big, black, jacked-up truck.
Do you all have health insurance or does the community pay for health care for you all
Yes we have health insurance
@@LaurafromtheBruderhof how do you pay for that
Hi Laura 👋 Delish posted a video today about maple syrup.. I thought you might be interested 👍
I will check it out
I find this channel super interesting, but I'm concerned that my questions about circumcision have never been answered. The silence makes me think that it's something practiced by the Bruderhof. If that's the case, then you should surely be confident enough in the practice to be able to discuss the reasoning and ethics of it. It's been said before that every member of the Bruderhof makes a decision to be a member when they're old enough. Child/infant circumcision would go against this since it's a permanent alteration made to their body without their consent. Their body has been marked forever, before they're old enough to make that commitment. It's way more extreme than any piercing or tattoo, so should only be chosen by the individual, when he is an adult.
Far as I know this is not practiced.
@@LaurafromtheBruderhof Thank you very much for your response. I apologize for my tone if I came off as rude. It's a topic that content creators often avoid and it gets frustrating. If that is true, then I have a whole new respect for the Bruderhof!
@@LaurafromtheBruderhof If it's true that the Bruderhof do not practice circumcision, I think a video about it would be amazing. Maybe you could get a medical professional from the community to talk about it. Circumcision is a polarizing topic, but you have a great way of putting your audience at ease, and you already talked about abortion and did a wonderful job. I think fellow Christians could learn a lot from you, and people would see that it really is not necessary. You have the potential to save thousands of babies from this trauma. No pressure, but I think that would be amazing and it would endear the Bruderhof community to a huge population that has been wronged by society.
You should point out the Bruderhof has had its failures. It has not all been smooth sailing nor a utopia.
I would bet a lot of issues have been handled privately and kept secretive.
"If it's good for the children it's good for everybody." I like that!
Not being critical of the failings of others. Yes! St Paul makes it clear that half of charity is putting up with other people:
"Charity is *_patient;_* charity is kind; charity is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does *_not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;_* it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It *_bears all things,_* believes all things, hopes all things, *_endures all things."_*
Money. Simple really. Only Christians can really be Communists (from the material angle). Karl Marx should have lived at the Bruderhof: _" From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!"_
Sense of humour. Oh yeah! I am manager of a printing company where all my colleagues are Indians (I live in South Africa). We rib each other all the time and are completely and utterly politically incorrect - among other things, they call me "honky" and I call them "coolie." In the US I'd be strung up by the SJWs. But it makes for a fun work environment where it's much easier to resolve serious issues.
Thank you Justin!
It is a sad thing to delete the truthful comments. You do not speak Lord Jesus' truth Miss.