Diaconal Work in Neuendettelsau through the Ages

From the Nineteenth-Century Deaconess Institution to the Diaconal Enterprise of the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

In the seventeen decades since diaconal work was begun by Wilhelm Loehe, there have been numerous changes and further developments in the organization, structure, content, and nature of diaconal service. The following article provides a comprehensive presentation of these changes over the various stages of Diakoneo’s development. What remains constant is this: diaconal work is both necessary and important and at all times needs to be carried out according to the demands of society and oriented to the individual needs of people “because”—according to Diakoneo’s motto—”we love life.”