It is actually impossible to imagine the Evangelical parish of Gravenbruch and the Deanery of Dreieich-Rodgau without him. But on Saturday, June 3, community educator Joachim Reinhard will retire. At a festive and happy service at 6 p.m. in the church on Dreiherrnsteinplatz, which she organized together with parish priest Barbara Friedrich, the deputy dean Birgit Schlegel officially released the 66-year-old from service.
Neu-Isenburg – “With all his heart, lots of energy and ideas, Joachim Reinhard was on the road as a community educator for over 40 years. He got countless people, young and old alike, moving, motivating them to dare to tackle projects and supporting them in their concerns. Everything far beyond the borders of the church on site and in the region,” praises Schlegel. “It shows me that this work is not only of great relevance for people in the church, but for society as a whole. I’m very grateful for that,” says the deputy dean, who is responsible for the community education service in the dean’s office.
community service in the community
Having grown up in Neu-Isenburg, Joachim Reinhard passed his Abitur at the Goethe School in 1975 and then studied sociology and education at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. After his exams in 1981, Reinhard did his community service in the evangelical parish of Gravenbruch, where he impressed with his commitment. Immediately afterwards, the church council offered him a vacancy in youth work.
Since January 1, 1983, the Offenbach native has worked as a community educator in the Isenburg district and in the church district. His focus is on children and youth work: holiday camps, study trips, international encounters, confirmation classes, children and youth groups, open offers, district or open-air cinema and much more he initiated or accompanied.
In the mid-1980s, Reinhard completed a three-year additional course in social therapy at the Protestant University in Darmstadt. Since then he has been advising young people and parents on educational issues and in crises.
A stroke of luck
“He was a stroke of luck”, church leader Christoph Fuhr quotes the words of the then Gravenbruch pastor Holger Mingram at Reinhard’s 25th service anniversary. “Everyone who had anything to do with him will be able to confirm that.”
Since 1992, Reinhard has been planning and leading the German-Egyptian youth encounters with more than 800 participants in their more than 30-year history together with the dean’s youth officers. Further study trips with young people led to Poland and Israel.
Carsten Preuss describes his colleague as “the mainstay of our youth encounter” and emphasizes: “During all this time I have benefited from his wealth of experience and knowledge in the field of international youth work.” and then making the right decisions, coupled with his fine sense of humor, ensure good success and a lot of fun in the cooperation. Thanks to his friendly, sensitive and unobtrusive manner, he is always well received by young people.”
Almost every year, “Jo” Reinhard organized and led summer camps abroad with volunteers, mostly with self-sufficiency, often on the Croatian Adriatic. But Hungary, France, Italy and Spain are also on the list of destinations.
It was always important to him to recruit and train young volunteers. “Most of the time, 25 to 30 young people were volunteering in the church community’s children’s and youth work,” he recalls. They accompanied the children’s and youth groups, the confi lessons, the camps, helped at community festivals and were active in the community youth representation. “It was always important to me to meet people as equals and to take them seriously – no matter what age group they belong to,” says the teacher, explaining the lively attendance.
Film ring founded
In September 1988, Reinhard founded the Filmring Gravenbruch together with some young people, which once a month turns the Gravenbruch community hall into a cinema. Around 350 cinema evenings have taken place there since then. “The offer was extremely well received in the district and beyond,” he sums up: “If you exclude the corona pandemic, an average of around 60 people interested in film came to the cinema evenings.” attracts up to 500 film fans to Dreiherrnsteinplatz. Since 2004, the Gravenbruch youth center has been a part of the film ring as a cooperation partner. In the past 35 years, according to Reinhard, the age group of the audience has changed drastically. For the past two decades, there has been a veritable boom in 60 to 85 year olds.
For 40 years, Reinhard has been involved in the employee representation (MAV) – comparable to a works or staff council – for the interests of church employees. He was chairman of the MAV Neu-Isenburg for two decades. For seven years he has been chairman of the MAV Dreieich, responsible for the approximately 300 church employees in Dreieich, Egelsbach, Langen and Neu-Isenburg. From 1992 to 1996 he was a member of the general employee representation (GMAV) of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN). For 30 years, from 1992 to 2022, he was a member of the EKHN labor law arbitration board appointed by the GMAV.
“I love my job and really enjoy my work here,” admits the prospective retiree, who is married and has a grown-up son, openly. He had therefore extended his service contract by a year, albeit with a reduced number of jobs by 50 percent.
He will continue to carry out his duties until the end of June. A part-time position will soon be advertised for his successor.
By Stephanie Kunert
