Lena and George Hendrickson Library

Published Categorized as english

 
What is your favorite book from this library? Asked David when he was leading chapel on Friday morning a couple of weeks ago. It is this month, ten years ago that this library was opened. Quite a large Amerikan looking building in the heart of Donji Grad the lower part of Osijek.

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Marijke spent some hours here to help for a project for school, fun time with Deborah.

 
The library is named after Lena en George Hendrickson, a Canadian couple, who supported this whole project quite heavily. Lena is born in Hamilton, Ontario. Her parents emigrated from this Osijek area to Hamilton a while before. But her mother was not feeling well and the doctors gave her the advice to go back to Osijek, where the air is more clean. Back here, her mother died soon after the arrival and little Lena and her sibblings were raised by their grandparents in a nearby village. When Lena was an adult and living back in Ontario, she wanted to visit the place where she had lived as a young girl. This area was still under communism but it was possible to visit. And that was the beginning of a longstanding contact between the leadership of the college here and Lena and George Hendrickson.
So much about the start of the library.
But now? Who are using the library, and what do they like?
The answers to Davidś simple question were quite different:
Femke said: The hobbit. Femke is a faithful customer of chapel, because it is a good reason to avoid school for an hour and cuddle with the students. Sing some songs and once in a while there is even cake for one or anothers birthday.
But the adults in the group came with different books. One liked: Moltman: The crusified God, another mentioned: Multmanś autobiografy. Yet someone else liked the book from David Bosch: Transforming missions. 
Karl Barth, church dogmatiks were mentioned. And someone said how her perspective had changed through reading: Alan Vincents; Heaven on earth.
The most happiest people on earth, Deineken, Lord of the Rings.
Richard Bonke, Thomas Oden; early Orthodox theology, Zizioulas
It was a great way to start a nice conversation. And do not think that I read it all.. I read most of it not, but I share it for your possible interest.
Deborah, who has seen most of the corners of the library told us that there are 40.000 titles to look at. 90.000 books are in the library, but quite some titles have duplicates. With this, we can say, that Osijek hosts by far the largest theological library of South- Eastern Europe.
Welcome to browse! IMG_0083
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