Reichenberg Fellowship
The Reichenberg Fellowship is a German non-denominational ecumenical community. In German it is called the Offensive Junger Christen (OJC) e.V.. It belongs to the EKD and is situated in Reichelsheim in the Odenwald and in Greifswald. They are known externally as one of the last remaining supporters of conversion therapy, which is acknowledged as an abusive practice by all professional psychiatric and psychological organisations, most notably they supported such therapy on children until the German law changed in 2020. History. The community was founded by Irmela and Horst-Klaus Hofmann as a contrast movement to the  Protests of 1968. Horst-Klaus Hofmann was executive secretary of the YMCA-Mannheim and held Christian youth meetings in the offices of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary in Darmstadt. They invited students to share their family life in their home in Bensheim, Odenwald. The "family" grew to an extended family and subsequently to a Christian community. They moved to Reichelsheim, Odenwald and bought the Reichenberg castle. Since 1999 the community defines itself as ecumenical. Organization. The community is led by "Prior" Konstantin Mascher and consists of about 42 full members. The Reichenberg Fellowship is member of the EKD charity organization  Diakonie and of the German Association of Youth Missionary Movements. The “Reichelsheim European Youth Center” is Chapter of YMCA. The German Institute for Youth and Society, (Deutsches Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft (DIJG)) is the OJC's center for study and research. Director was Christl Ruth Vonholdt. Arthur A. Goldberg is one of its advisory council members. The Reichenberg Fellowship operates mainly on donations. Basic activities. The Fellowship exists of International activities. The supporting non-profit association today has outreach ministries in Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Iraq, Congo, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Fidschi and Honduras in development cooperation as  NGO. Since 1993, the Reichenberg Fellowship has led international building camps in Germany, Macedonia, Croatia and Russia. The young people between the ages of 16 and 26 have had the opportunity to work with others of different nationality, confession and language. German Institute for Youth and Society. The German Institute for Youth and Society (Deutsches Institut für Jugend und Gesellschaft) was led by Christl Ruth Vonholdt; this position is presently vacant. The institute is the apologetic branch of the Reichenberg Fellowship. It publishes its own research and translates English publications into German. The institute cooperates with the following organisations: Publishing  activities. The OJC publishes the journals "Salzkorn. Anstiftung zum gemeinsamen Christenleben" ("Grain of Salt", for friends and supporters, 4 times a year), "Brennpunkt Seelsorge. Beiträge zur biblischen Lebensberatung" ("Focus: Counselling" 2 times a year). Members of the community including Irmela Hofmann, Horst-Klaus Hofmann, Christl Ruth Vonholdt, Klaus Sperr, Ute and Frank Paul have also published several books themselves.