Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof - Plough

Against the Wind
As time passed this proved harder on Eberhard than on Emmy because she
had never been spoiled by generous financial help from her parents. As backing,
Eberhard had a small inheritance from a great-aunt in Bremen, just enough to
provide a simple standard of living for another year. Eberhard certainly did not
possess sufficient funds for a wedding or for setting up a household, nor even
enough to cover the extra costs of a new doctoral thesis. Emmy could expect a
modest sum to furnish their home from various family endowments and legacies,
but for the most part, she would have to earn her own livelihood. The step to
financial independence from their parents would have been rash for both Eberhard
and Emmy if they had not shared a trust in God and the certainty that he would
provide for all their needs.
Even before the breach with their parents, Eberhard and Emmy’s first financial
need had been met by a “tangible result of faith.” Albert Still, who knew of
Eberhard’s plans for Halle, had already sent a sum of one hundred marks at the
end of September. Eberhard’s work for the Halle SCM brought in a small paycheck.
And it was not long before the group associated with Ludwig von Gerdtell asked
Eberhard to assume the follow-up for a series of von Gerdtell talks.
So each Monday evening from the beginning of December, Eberhard gave a
talk in the Erfurt Gallery about the “deeper understanding of the Christian view
of the world and of life. Free admission for ladies and gentlemen. Reserved seats:
fifty pfennig.” Between eighty and one hundred people regularly attended these
meetings for religious instruction, most of them strangers to the church, including
former atheists, humanists, and theosophists. 6
Eberhard packed his schedule to the limit during his first few weeks in Halle.
Aside from attending the usual SCM meetings and occasional YMCA gatherings,
he held bible study groups or other meetings almost every day with either the
Southern Fellowship, the Salvation Army, the Alte Promenade Fellowship, or the
Baptists. This tight schedule soon had to be cut back to allow for his studies. The
von Hollander parents, who were kept well-informed by Emmy’s brother and
sister, viewed Eberhard’s slate of commitments as a further justification for their
outrage, and they repeatedly stated that this was no way to pass an examination.
Meanwhile, Emmy’s days in Berlin were equally eventful. Although her mornings
were free, allowing time for a little much-needed rest, her afternoons bustled with
acivity. She cared for the Köhler children and, in the Blücher Fellowship, held
meetings for girls and led a women’s bible study. In November she experienced
a Salvation Army evangelization campaign. She reported enthusiastically about
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