The Friends of Friedensau International e.V. met

The traditional meeting weekend of the "Freundeskreis Friedensau International" e.V. (FFF) association took place from October 27 to October 29, 2023. Around 70 members of the association had registered for the conference and were delighted to be in Friedensau once again and to see each other again. After all, this date – always the last weekend in October – is a good opportunity to meet up with old friends and renew friendships with in-depth discussions. The program for this meeting weekend is always very well planned and varied. One of the highlights of this weekend was the book reading with Titus Müller (München), who has made a name for himself in the German literary landscape as an author of historical novels in particular.
The meeting weekend is also an information platform for news from and about Friedensau and its Adventist University (FAU). On the "Evening of the University", Rector Prof. Roland Fischer and Chancellor Tobias Koch presented the projects currently under development: the UniNow app – which students can use to obtain a lot of information about their studies and staff can use to receive the latest news; the implementation of renewable energies with "Friedensau goes green"; something about the status of the planned construction projects "new canteen" and securing the old bakery building in Friedensau. In addition, new employees were introduced: the lecturers Martin Klingbeil, Ph.D., and Goran Živkovič, Ph.D.; Dr. Inna Mayer (Head of Marketing), Eugen Mayer (Fundraising), Ramona Schwander as the new Guest House Manager and the new Head of the Church Archives Bernd Müller, Ph.D.
Lecturer Dr. László Szabó reported on the project in Karao (Tanzania), supported by a number of illustrative pictures, and spoke about the commitment of the pupils and teachers from the Roland-Gymnasium in Burg – who have now traveled to Karao several times and are involved in the work creatively and enthusiastically. Theology students from the FAU also took part in this trip, working together and gaining a variety of experiences.
On Sunday, October 29, 2023, the election of the Board of Directors was on the agenda. Burkhard Heitmann (Chief Financial Officer) and Steffen Entrich (1st Chairman) – both long-standing and committed members of the association – did not stand for re-election. They were warmly thanked for their energetic and successful work. The new board is composed as follows: Heike Fischer (1st Chairwoman), Friedegard Föltz (2nd Chairwoman), Kerstin Streit (Finance), Renate Dost (Secretary), Hannelore Jersch, Eugen Mayer and Marcus Jelinek. We wish all board members God's blessing for their work.
The Friends of Friedensau International e.V. was founded in 1990 by 23 people who wanted to support the preservation and expansion of the then still young university. Since then, it has grown to over 1,200 members and now has around 650 members, including active and former students, lecturers and employees of the university, as well as numerous friends of Friedensau from Germany and all over the world. The FFF is a non-profit association that has set itself the task of providing scholarships to enable all students who are academically and socially committed to study theology or Christian social work. The association also aims to help students who find themselves in financial difficulties.
The next meeting weekend of the Förderverein Friedensau International e.V. will take place from October 25 to 27, 2024 and will be dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Friedensau (Text: Andrea Cramer | Translator: DeepL).