This blog starts a while back when I stopped at a fish restaurant for lunch in Hamburg, ordered a wonderful plate of fresh north sea fish, and then sat down at the table of two men, students a few years younger than me, who were in town for the street festival. One dressed like your average German male, jeans and worn collared shirt, the other looked to be of Rastafarian extraction, dreadlocks tucked up but not successfully contained by a large and colorful hat. About 10 minutes into my meal, they struck up a conversation with me, of course first asking where I came from, what I was doing in Hamburg, then I reversing the question, to learn that one was a veterinarian student in Vienna and the other a law student in Munich. But they both hailed from Schleswig Holstein originally.

After some initial pleasantries, we wandered off on a variety of subjects, the most substantial being the future of Germany. Anyone who studies history knows that Germany has played a considerable role, for good or for ill, in this centuries historical landscape. Anyone who studies philosophy, theology, and a variety of other disciples, know the extent to which Germans (and German speakers) have been stunningly influential in the thought-world, the weltgeist, of the west. Just start dropping names at random. Einstein, Goethe, Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, Bach, Beethoven, Schliermacher, Bonhoeffer, Freud, Barth, Bultmann, Hesse, Solle, Mann, Klee, and so on. But, and this is the critical issue, it is more difficult today to say that Germany holds the same kind of sway and influence that it did in the past. The German educational (Bildungs) system is reportedly in disarray, and has descended into the lower ranks of the world's educational systems. One has difficulty idenitifying particular ways in which Germany influences world politics, culture, etc.

I mentioned this, in a halting way, in German, and the young men agreed that this was a dominant leitmotif for conversation in contemporary Germany. Then, we got into it really, discussing the mood of the youth culture in Germany, particularly as it relates to expectations, work ethic, etc. More to come, but for the moment, think Alvin Toffler.

Had intended, at least once or twice in this visit, to get out into the mountains and wild preserves of Germany, but unfortunately the combination of time constraints, flooding, and money, kept me fro the goal. Mostly. Did get out for some damp and fecund runs on trails in the Thuringian forest, outside Eisenach, and how this past weekend I gathered a group of classmates for a Sunday day trip to the Harz mountains. Actually, just a tiny SE section of the Harz mountains, but well-known and beautiful nonetheless. We visited Thale, a popular DDR tour destination due to its pagan historical sites (not that the DDR was pagan, but rather, the mountains are in Saxen-Anhalt, part of the DDR, and thus available for travel). Hexentanzplatz (witch dancing place) on a hill overlooking Thale, is accesible by a kabinet bahn, that is, a cross between a gondola and chicken eggs. Hex. is about as kitsch a tourist destination as I have seen. The actual sites to see are virtually nil, but the legend is attractive (witches gather every year for a pagan festival), so there are plenty of tourist stands selling bratwurst, beer, witch dolls, bumper stickers, etc. If you are emboldened enough, you can stand beside, or even do strange things to, the Sysiphian witch pushing a stone into position to build the dance arena. Then, following this obligatory visit, you can proceed to enjoy the great outdoors, a descent into the Rose Valley, cross a thunderous mountain stream, then reascend to Rosetrappe, a small indentation in a stone on the top of a cliff supposedly made by the cloven hoof of the devil.

Stopped back in Thale and had drinks and food at the bar of a Turkish restaurant, the bartender really chatted us up, and gave us extra bonus shots of Raki (turkish anis liquer). You can travel a whole day in Germany with five people for 28 euros if you are willing to take slow trains, so we took the slow train back to Wittenberg, napping and joking. Ah, to be a student again! :)

Notes on an altar piece

The altar piece in the front of the Stadtkirche in Wittenberg is incredibly famous. It depicts the four "sacraments" of the Lutheran church. For those of you who did confirmation, you might think we have only two sacraments in the Lutheran tradition, but Cranach's altar frontal begs to differ (as does, to a certain extent, the confessional writings of the Lutherans themselves).

So, some clarification. The left section of the tryptych depicts baptism, of course, the first sacrament of the Christian life. It is situated on the left because it comes first, and just as we would read a book, we look to the left and see Melanchthon baptizing an infant. Melanchthon?! An infant?! Yes, that's right, it emphasizes and teaches in pictorial form the baptism of infants, and the baptizer is none other than Melancthon, who was never ordained as a pastor. Still havent figured out exactly why good ol Mel stands in as baptizer, but it certainly teaches that baptism is not a special work of the priest, but can be done by every person, as God through Christ has sent us into all the world to baptize.

2nd comes the Lord's supper, logically following on baptism, and situated in the middle, just as the table of the altar is situated in teh middle of the worship space. There's a circular rather than a long straight table. The disciples are all there, but dressed in the garb of the typical Wittenberg Burger of his day. There's also a roasted animal in the center of the table. Anyone know why Lord's Supper depictions of this period include not just bread and wine but also meat at the table?

The office of the keys, or confession and absolution, stands on the right portion of the tryptych. Although this seems out of place in a sense, thus coming after rather than before communion in the left to right pattern, actually functions to flank the Lord's Supper with baptism, and thus pairs confession with baptism, reminding us that the Christian life is one of constant repentance and turning back to our baptism. Bugenhagen, the parish pastor in Wittenberg, holds the keys above the heads of parishioners, and some are loosed from the bonds of their sins, and some are bound.

The fourth painting depicts the fourth sacrament in the Lutheran tradition, namely, the sermon. It thus provides the ground, the basis, and the connecting point, between the altar and the other three sacraments. There's a way in which this is actually the primary sacrament, for it is in the Word that Lutherans find their center, and the sermon is the place where the Word of God is preached to the congregation. In this case, Cranach has painted Luther preaching to his congregation. In between the pulpit and the pews is the crucified Jesus on the cross. Luther points only to Jesus. His sermon points only to Jesus. Thus Jesus in his crucifixion forms the very center of the tryptych from and through which all the other sacraments arise.

I'm playing a bit with the term sacrament here, but it is clear from this painting and our confessional writings that we are called to expand a bit our understanding of sacrament a bit, to loosen it up from the Augustinian definition of the word combined with a physical element. In this case, we must understnad the word itself as a physical thing that flys empowered by the Holy Spirit into the ears of the hearers and actually accomplishes the faith that it promises. The Word of God does not return empty. In the sermon, the congregation truly receives Christ. In the office of the keys, the penitent truly receives God's forgiveness. This we are to believe and hold fast to. Thanks, Cranach!

Morning services in Wittenberg. LWF's annual council meeting is currently held in Witt. so the worship services are radically altered. This is the 1st time I have attended one church and then, after the sermon, hopped on my bicycle and headed for another church to arrive, just in time, for the Eucharist. I learned midway through the sermon in the first church that there was communion at the 2nd, why not at the first church I do not know, tradition maybe, but anyway, I wanted to be there. The sermon in the Schlosskirche was by the bishop of the church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania. He spoke impeccable German, but still, in a 2nd language, he spoke more simply and therefore more comprehensible for me than a native German preacher. Referenced Karl Barth, Thomas Mann, Paul Tillich, and a few early Romanian reformers in his sermon. Focus of the sermon was "remembering", for those of you with theological backgrounds, anamnesis. He used this idea as the basis for saying that the past thing, through anamnesis, really IS in the presents, its not just a memorial, but a re-member-ing, as he put it, a bringing back together of things separated by time and space. Interestingly, the sermon in the other church also delved into the theological of time, but in reference to hope and the future, rather than remembering and the past. Thus, he developed in his sermon an ontology of Christian hope. The 2nd sermon by a German theologian. Without going into too much depth, it was easy to see the first bishops participation in the world-wide full communion dialogues, and clear that the 2nd had read Moltmann and Pannenberg. Funny how these things come together.

Rode out with the Jost family to Prettin today, about 40 km from Wittenberg, and the whole way we were passing through the flood zone. Even though Prettin is over a kilometer from the Elbe, it was completely flooded, and we passed whole streets in various small towns where the water marks went up to the middle of the first floor window, and there were still, now three weeks after the flooding, piles of rotted furniture and sundry household goods blanketing the siewalk awaiting garbage pickup. Outside most of the towns stand large dumping areas for the sandbags used to fortify dikes, and fruitlessly it turned out, stem the flow of water into town. By a stroke of geographical happenstance, the Josts mother lives in the one small region of Prettin that didnt flood, so today they are performing the usual fall Saturday chores, sweeping up early fall leaves and apples.
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When running, the nose kind of shuts down in a mucous creating frenzy, so sometimes I remember very few smells from a run. But today I ran from Prettin through Großtreben, Dautschend, and back, and I smelled wonders. First, there was the ubiquitous waft of overmoist earth, a kind of clay, decaying smell that usually comes from swamps, or marshes, but in this case, in the flooded areas, from the towns and fields. Then theres the smell of manure,. Seems to be manure spreading season in the area, in spite of the flooding, or maybe because of it. Finally, the best smell, the roads between villages in Germany (and apparently over much of Eastern Europe) are lined with apple trees. People sometimes come out to collect the fruit, but often they simply fall to the ground and rot, creating, in the meantime, a wonderful sour cider aroma that pricks the nostrils on a Saturday morning run. Its the kind of smell that almost stinks, but doesnt pass over into stink, and so is instead intriguingly pleasant, like a good ripe cheese or a pungent cigar. The different with rotting apples is that you imagine a kind of punchy, willowing activity in the fruits themselves, a unctuous juiciness.

I was surprised at how the scent energized me.

Running is a strange hobby in this part of the world, and so people probably found it strange for a guy to come jogging through the village. But it really is the best way to see the country. The economy here is quite poor, about 40% unemployment, more in the smaller villages, so lots of people are out on bikes, but not for recreational purposes. Others are in the process of cleaning out their flooded houses. In spite of it all, people keep at it, and there is a kind of street conviviality that accentuates the morning air with humanity.

Three worship services, one day

Leipzig might rank as the city with the most active congregational life of the cities I have visited, or probably I should say the most visible, as there is a lot of the church here that I have not and will not see because it simply goes on in the daily life of people and communities. Anyway, discovered through the Leipzig church publication that there are three worship services held in Leipzig in various churches on Wednesdays, ideal for me since I wasnt able to visit Leipzig on a weekend. The services were first, a Taize worship in the Thomaskirche (Bachs church), and evening Psalms and music service at the Nikolaikirche (the activist congregation), and then an evening "New Generation" service outside of the city center in a Leizig neighborhood.

Taize

Mix of Taize chant and Russian/Ukrainian psalm and prayer tones, the service was carefully and prayerfully hosted by two young people, probably in their early twenties. I thought it was simply and unaffectedly graceful, as a noon prayer service can and should be. The cantor entered candle in hand beginning the chant. Like most daily prayer offices, we chanted our way through three of the psalms (this included Psalm 122, which prays specifically for peace in Jerusalme). After the service, the cantor doubled as a tour guide for a brief theological tour of the church building.

Couldnt help but think, often, of Sept. 11, since I visited these congregations on the 11th. Had already seen earlier in the morning video footage of churches in Eastern Germany being blown up for the sake of the revolution (in fact, the altarpiece in the Thomaskirche is actually from the Pauluskirche, one of the churches demolished in 1967 as a part of the "barbarism of the DDR religion", as my tour guide described it). Watching those churches fall brought back images to mind of the world trade centers, and so, in the midst of prayer services, had plenty of time to reflect and pray.

2nd service was also my second time attending a service at the Nikolai Church, but the same atmosphere prevailed. A rather long winded sermon that tried to address the "why" evil question, taking the form of pastoral care. It started out quite nice, I even wept at the beginning, but then I think the personal angst of the pastor got the better of him and he tried to say too much. Often the best consolation includes a few words and much silence. The sermon itself, although careful and reflective, dwelt very little on the center of our faith, Christ, and therefore failed to address the issue of evil, because any Christian examination of such cannot be philosophical or existential, but must always be Christological finally.

Nevertheless, there was something about being American and hearing this German pastor speak of a tragedy in my home country that left me moved and thankful that he cared enough to speak something.

"New Generation"

First attempt Ive seen at a rock style Gen X worship service. Could have guessed that such a service would be held in a more hip out of the way church rather than in one of the traditional city churches. Had to hoof it about 2 km to get down to the church, but it was well worth the walk. Everbody out eating Doner kebabs on a Wednesday evening, lots of hip CD, pipe, wine, and apparel stores. Walked into the church about 30 minutes early, and the band is warming up for the "worship" service. Pretty heavy guitar, bass, and drum sound. All the techies are busy with their equipment, so no one has come to greet me.

Actually, no one ever does. I try to strike up a conversation with one man hanging around, but he seems distracted and busy with preparations as well. On my way down here there was a group of Jesus evangelists handing out tracts and singing in front of the university, and although I didnt stop and speak with them, they exuded a mood of wanting to talk and evangelize. I didnt get that at all at this new generation service. Instead, everyone was very much alone, in their little spiritual world. When the music started people stood up in the traditional style, hands held high, but what was remarkable was that all this emotivism was happening in solitude. One woman even got out in an open space and started free dancing (ive seen this also at folk rock concerts), and everyone watched over did their own thing.

I finally 30 minutes in was so uncomfortable I had to bail óut and head for home. Why does this kind of thing always creep me out? Am I hard hearted? Dont think so, but...

Making an experiment in understanding other people's fascinations. Let me explain. Im not a stranger to obsessing over obscurities, for example, certain musical styles like acid jazz, literary genres like the early modernists, or th elike, but there are two artistic giants in this part of Germany who Ive never understood in spite of the worlds fascination with them (the 2nd being Goethe who I wont discuss at present). For some, this may sound lke the rantings of an uninformed fool. For others, it will likely bring relief, something like, Thank heavens somebody else shares my sentiments. In any event, Ill make my confession. Although I can appreciate some forms of classical music and even say that they sound nice, over a period of time, they simply make me fall asleep, and Ive never once had an AHA! experience or even a point of amazement while listening to classical music, whether it be Bach or Wagner or 20th century avant garde.

Bach is the man in question here in Leipzig. Its a pilgrimmage site. Im supposed to appreciate Bach because hes the theologians musician, the great interpreter of the Lutheran tradition into musical forms. Bach is buried in the Thomaskirche. Theres a wonderful museum across the street in which I spent four hours learning and listening. Of course, Ive heard Bach before. Who hasnt? His music hangs in the air in megamalls, and if you attend classical concerts, as I periodically do, youve heard something from him. I can even say that, when I hear a piece on the radio, Im often able to distinguish, say, Bach from Mozart, or at least from Wagner.

But I still dont understand the fascination. One pastor I know went so far as to say that the next step in my preparation for being a pastor would be to take a year off and simply study Bach. This could be the source, so I was told, for pastoral care and preaching. This is Bach at its extreme, the gospel according to Bach, and I just dont get it. Id much rather listen to U2, or Miles Davis, and Ill even admit that Ive learned much more of the faith from a number of bluegrass songs Ive heard than I have from Bachs corpus. Ive learned a lot about the book of Isaiah through Handel, so Im not saying the whole classical thing cant be done or isnt important. It just doesnt mesh with me.

These are the rantings that come from a searching but not convinced mind. I wonder if others have similar or opposite thoughts. I promise a further entry on this topic if I get responses from more informed and reflective minds.

Attended the Swords to Ploughshares evening prayer service at St. Nikolai church in Leipzig. Theyve been conducting the prayer service for 20 years straight now, and the service was incredibly, if not centrally, influential in the peaceful revolution of 1989. Prayer services held at this time became the center of the movement that eventually led to the fall of the Stasi, the restructuring of the government (in which some church leaders like Schorlemmer were influential), etc.

http://www.nikolaikirche-leipzig.de/gebete/geschichte.html

The link above provides more extensive history. The service is also often called Friedensgebet, or Peace Prayer. Unfortunately, the service was, in my opinion, terrible. There were no prayers, only sporadic singing, and then a long diatribe by two speakers who stood in front of us in a very condescending and lecturing manner and tried to explain the 1st chapter of Genesis and the existence of evil. Not a good start to worship services in which I had high expectations. But then, that teaches one what to do with high expectations.

Worship in Weimar

Arrived in Weimar a bit later than expected, so dropped all my stuff in my room and headed immediately for the city center. You have to actually visit the churches in town to learn teh worship schedule, so checked that out first,then wandered around Weimar gawking at the statues and the homes of Goethe and Schiller. Ive never really understood the fame of Goethe and especially German theologians preoccupation with him, so I went and bought a biography. Goethe is considered almost as a 2nd Scripture in Germany (possibly like Shakespeare in English), so Im slowly learning why, although for myself, no interest has been sparked. I think he was weird!

Then attended an evening prayer service, much more informal and non liturgical than others I have visited here. Came back feeling like it would be hard to meet church people in Weimar. This weekend was my experiment in just showing up in a town, visiting random congregations with no previous contact, in order to see how it goes for visitors here. I think you can learn a ton from this about evangelism and the life of the church.

next morning, I attended the same church, Statdkirche, where Johann Gottfried von Herder preached during the Goethe period. We sang a lot of hymns, followed a loose liturgy, and then heard a somewhat long and rambling politicaltheological sermon (elections are coming up in a week). Prior to the service, I had noticed a rather scruffy young man (listen to that, a rather scruffy young man) sitting behind me, and he tapped on on the shoulder and asked, in German, where I came fro. Turns out hes from Wisconsin, studying German for two months while hitchhiking and camping his way through Germany. We spoke the whole time in German (he promised himself he would only speak German while in the borders of Germany), and I learned he grew up Missouri synod, still attended church regularly, was headed home in few days, etc. Funny to attend worship in Weimar with another young Wisconsinite. Said goodbye, and headed for some juice and Plaumenkuchen. At the cafe, I had a minor run-in with the waitress concerning tap water. Normally, I try to be kind and relatively undemonstrative while interacting in public. Its never fun to draw attention to ones foreignness. Anyway, she told me that she coudnt give me any tap water, and I asked why, since there was a sink right behind her. She said she didnt want to. This was somewhat annoying, but then the scene became more dramatic. Two middle aged German women sidled up to me conspiriatorily while the waitress was away getting my cake, and told me I should have said I had a headache and need to take a couple tableten.

Then, the woman returned, and handed me a glass of mineral water, instead of Fanta (I had ordered Fanta as a 2nd best to tap water). I said I had ordered Fanta, and the waitress said that was Fanta. I said, no, Fanta is yellow. She said, no, this is Fanta. Then, another young German man joined in on my right side, so now I had a total of three people clustered around all helping me argue with the waitress. She let out a long frustrated breath, gave me the evil eye, and went and got me a Fanta.

Finally free, I went to sit down at a table, and this is where things get somewhat serendipitous. Im joined seconds later by a 50 year old pony tailed man from Manhattan, currently on leave from his job at Barnes & Noble. Hes been in Germany three months looking for a job teaching English. Turns out hes also a strong but seeking Christian. He tells me about various churches hes visited in Weimar (Pentecostal, state church, semi-free traditions, etc.), and then points out that theres an afternoon worship service at a very small congregation not far from my hostel. Im a little churched out at this point (five services in two days), but I decide to go. Its Frontier style worship with a German twist (Reformation era hymns mixed with praise music translated from English), a long conversational sermon by a guest lay preacher, no creed and no sacraments.

But the best part comes after the service, when we all sit down for coffee together. It doesnt take very many pleasantries before we dive right into sharing history, informational, and confessional differences between churches in the U.S. and Germany. This congregation is somewhat Baptist in orientation, although there are some big differences as well. So we debate some of the classic issues, like believers baptism, the nature of Christs presence in the Lords Supper, etc. The pastor is an avid debater, the other American an avid seeker, and so topics and arguments range far and wide. This lasts about three hours. Then we are invited to the pastors home for supper, where we spend another three hours talking and sharing stories with the pastor and his family. This confirmed in my mind the fact that the self standing or free churches in Germany, because of their smaller and confessional nature are more relational and open to visitors. It also showed me the serendipitous nature of life in a town, where I can end up meeting a congregation because of an American visitor from Manhattan who happens to be buying coffee simultaneously with me. Good also to see the Anabaptist tradition in its modern form in Germany, and learn what that means.

The church web site

www.lkgweimar.de

Jumped off the train between Eisenach and Weimar to visit Erfurt, another de rigeur Luther spot. On the walk between the Augustinian Cloister where Luther was a monk, and the Hauptbahnhof, you cross a creally cool shopping bridge similar to one we visited in Florence (I think it was Florence). Anyway, its a bridge that doubles as a street and artisanal shopping center. It took ten minutes to cross because of all the tourists and window shoppers. The Communitat Casteller Ring, the community of Lutheran nuns, which has a branch in Augsburg and now, apparently also in Erfurt, runs the musem and also a small hotel where visitors can stay and participate in the spiritual life of the community. The museum is quite informative, provides quite a bit of information on the rule of the Augustinian community and its history, which alone provides much insight into the theology of the early Luther. I learned, for example, that Luthers trip to Rome was not simply a pious pilgrimmage, although it was that, but it was also a business trip in the sense that he was an emissary for his branch of the divided Augustinians, in an attempt to reconcile. The reconciliation failed.

Bailed out on the guided tour just in time to attend the daily noon prayer service with the sisters. Sang three psalms (normal for the daily hours) and brief liturgical tunes from the Russian and Ukrainian chant tradition. I was the only male voice, which was interesting. The community prays four times daily, runs the museum and hotel, and also hosts an inexpensive coffee shop similar to the one in Augsburg, very homey. After prayer, the sisters went back to their jobs, I ate potato pancakes and drank bubbly apple juice, and hung out and chatted with a few of the sisters. Theyre eminently quiet and unassuming.

Lutherhaus in Eisenach

Like the Wartburg, Eisenach is one of the "must see" Luther sites, primarily because of the Wartburg, but secondarily because of the Luther house where Luthers family lived for a number of years. Owned today by the evangelical lutheran church in Saxon-Anhalt, its a beautifully preserved house between the city center and the Bach house. It also happens to be a well designed church museum, somewhat unique amongst the museums I have visited. It does a wonderful job of trying to depict, through displays and history, the actual meaning of the Reformation insights into the Christian faith as they relate to modern day Christians. The first room includes brief bios of various reformers in different parts of Europe. The 2nd room is a quiz game where one can answer questions regarding the application of biblical passages to various life situations. This is somewhat humorous at times. The better and more insightful display helps the reader understand the principles Luther used to translate the Bible into the German of his day in a culturally sensitive manner.

The 2nd floor of the museum is a more traditional historical exposition of the Eisenach house, and the reform of schooling that occured in Eisenach as a result of the humanist ideas furthered by the reformers.

The coolest exhibit, though, was a four century history of the Pfarrerhaus (vicarage, parsonage) in germany. With the end of monasteries and the marriage of Protestant pastors, a new era arose in the daily life of the German church. The vicarage became an important part of the educational and cultural life of the city or village. Many famous German thinkers were the children of these pastors, and were thus raised in a vicarage. Pietism was born in the vicarage system, for example, but so was Nietszsche, a great antiPietist. Schliermacher, Herman Hesse, and many others. Slowly, this phenomenon changed, especially in Eastern Germany under the DDR, but also in the West with the secularization of Germany. Finally, with the advent of women pastors, the traditional pairing of a male pastor and pastors wife became less and less the norm, and so, the vicarage is more an historical than a present day phenomenon. It would be interesting to create a similar museum in the states charting the transformation of the parish-parsonage system in the U.S.

Warning: ive added a lot of posts today, but I think they are generally worth the read. Consists of some peak experiences.

Eisenach:

Its a 30 minute walk by foot from Eisenach to Wartburg castle. Plenty of time to think. Ive been trying to discern the major diff. between German and American churches. Of course there are differences, but I want to avoid descending into stereotypes, if this is possible. Heres my reaction. Most American congregations of which I have been a part provide a place, a röle, for adult members. Sometimes this is through activities, like committees or Sunday school leadership, Other times it is through subscription to confessional standards, as in, we are unique in this community because we are Bible believing, because we are confessional Lutherans, etc.

So far in Eisenach Ive seen the Mormons (Ive seen the Mormons actively proselytiying in every city ive visited), and Ive seen an active, hip youth activities bulletin board. Theres of course the everpresent organ concert advertisements featuring Bach and sometimes Beethoven. And interestingly, the first time Ive seen this, theres a Bible cafe (privately run) which sells Christian books and coffee, mostly, once again geared towards the youth culture.

But theres nothing for adult believers. A vast difference between American churches and German ones, then, is this cultural standard in America that you belong to a congregation as an adult as part of your civic responsibility, or, more normally, you take a pause when you are in college, and then, once you have children, it is your parental responsibility to attend so your children are raised in a congregation. That standard, that norming norm, isnt the same in Germany.

But now Ive arrived at the Wartburg. The tour is great. All the tours Ive been on here feature well informed and animated guides. This one even performed, with mock readings from a book, dance, etc. Different parts of the castle were built in different periods, so there are Romanesque, medieval, and even Romantic rooms. You end your tour in a small museum of LutherCranach paintings, and a visit to Luthers study and sleeping quarters during his time under the pseudonym Junker Jörg. They pay special attention to a comment Luther made in a letter to a friend, where he mentions he is lazy (and lonely) in the castle, but at the same time mentions how much he is learning and writing. He collated his Christmas sermons, translated the NT, learned Greek and Hebrew, and battled the devil here with his pen. NO small feat.

I think Luther fought the devil in a way I am familiar with, in solitude. A kind of desperation sets in when you are completely alone that ends up in either a) a complete drivelling away of time, b) frenzied activity in many directions, or c) listlessness, or d) sustained, creative activity. I think the last comes only through practice and prayer. Or so I am learning. Apparently, Luthers propensity for work and the Holy Spirits calling him into prayer led him in an incredibly fruitful and faithful direction. Interestingly, though, that the same museum celebrates Luther the hard worker and Luther the preacher who said, the just shall live by faith alone apart from the works of the law. The combination of these two things is the great gift the Lutheran confession brings to the life of the church. Work not for salvation, but simply because it serves the neighbor, and serves the health of the one working. Or something like that.

Segue to reflections on the Fischmarkt:

Fish are now only ancillary to the whole fish market culture. Theres more fruit for sale by sober, coffee consuming Arab and Greek and Turkish men. You can, if you look, find the boats with the fresh eel, salmon, crab, and unknown slinking white fishes, but the building itself (the Fischmarkt) has been captured by the champagne upscale breakfast crowd, those wealthy enough to want a whiff, but only a whiff, of the edginess of the port. Theres a German rock band playing covers (remember, this starts at 5 a.m.), and lots of travellers eating large greasy plates of fried potatos and fish, drowned in tartar sauce. You can find the ubiquitous seafood sandwiches, and all of this, if you are bold, is lubricated with beer, wine, or schnaaps. Although it seems that many visitors are already sufficiently pickled from their night revelries, so the liquor simply helps stave off the hangover for a few more hours.

There are some funny scenes, plant sellers from Holland who pack people off with large boxes of discounted greenery, including tall palm trees that are then seen walking through the crowds on the shoulders of giddy men. Then theres my Irish pub, where I stopped and had a pint of Guinness (6 a.m.), and was enjoying some good Irish music on the radio, when suddenly I had to undergo a really drunk elderly German man sing really bad polka songs to a synthesizer drum machine.

Then headed up the hill to attend worship in Plattdeutsch.

Another older note:

Got up at not too early an hour this morning and came down to the Fischmarkt (Hamburg). I dont think Ive even been in such a debauched city. Last night I slept all night hearing the bass thump of a disco, and I woke up and headed down to the Fischmarkt where the party simply continued by starting up again at 5, the same time the bars close. So the true partiers need never go home. They just head down for the wharf.

Seaside life has always intrigued me, maybe because of my midwest landlubber status, but then, I kind of fear it at the same time. I always feel a bit out of my element. Ive read Moby Dick at least three times now as a result of this fascination, so coming to the Fischmarkt was a great baptism by fire into the real thing. I got a taste of the edgy and extreme.

Heres my working theory, which Id love to have expanded by those more in the know. Sailors and those hawkers at the stands in the Fischmarkt (they sell their products from 5 to 10 a.m.) live, in more ways than one, on the edge. They are perpetually a frontier people. They live between countries, between or over national boundaries, and so constantly live away from home, in exile. In addition, they live at the edge of civilization, the last and always frontier between the settled urbanity of the city and the wild nothingness of the open sea. One step from the shore to the ship is a step off the cliff into the abyss. But sailors float OVER the abyss, on it, and only sometimes sink into it. They are perpetual defiers of gravity, and this means, I think, they are a bit more often confronted with the quickening darkens of death than the rest of us. And this knowledge, this small little peak into something that most of us close our eyes to makes for the edginess. MOrals, civility, mannerisms, all these take on a different, sepia tone at the shoreline. So morning becomes evening, work and play reverse, holiday is compressed into a two day binge on shore, and the hawkers in the market remind us with their raw, abrasive voices, that in life to fight off death it is sometimes necessary to shout!!!!

An older note:

In Braunschweig, they have a collection of medieval priestly vestments that is unique to Braunschweig both in quantity and quality. The main collection consists of an alb (wheres my dictionary of liturgical terminology when I need it!?) This is actually a very simple, square piece of heavily embroidered cloth, with a hole directly in the middle through which the priests head passes. The texture of the cloth is sometimes plain, sometimes lavishly ornate, but on the front of each alb is an ornate piece of bas relief tapestry. Usually, this consists of a very graphic depiction of the crucifixion (not a cross, mind you, a crucifix). Thus, the priest while serving Communion to the communicant (in one kind), bears the gospel right there on his chest, and if the communicant is emboldened to look up at this ornately dressed priest, the first thing they see, maybe the only thing they see, is the gospel, Christ crucified for us.

InstantSleep hostel in Hamburg, where I stayed for the duration, is purposefully Bohemian, really marketed to the free for all party crowd, most of them on their way from or to Amsterdam. Thus, you would imagine things to be a little wild, maybe even dangerous. It is true that some really weird things happened. I learned how one roles a joint, although I did not smoke one, and I also saw, for the first time in my life, how a bong is used. As I said, all the people have just come from Amsterdam, so they use up their extra supplied sitting on the deck of the hostel in Hamburg (disclaimer... I in no way approved of or disapproved of this... I just mention it for its cultural import... I myself tend to be law abiding... anyway, what an annoying little moralist parenthetical comment this is, ill digress).

Anyway, the hostel is anything but dangerous, and is actually the most convivial and friendly place I have stayed in all my travels in Germany (true German Gemutlichkeit). Since everyone has chosen to live a rather marginal existence for a time, 3 to 6 months on the road is completely normal, they do so with a sense towards immediate, deep, and interested community. People take care of each other, give complete strangers gifts, and generally enjoy and relish in the mish mash of characters that frequent a hostel. The evenings were so fun in our hostel that there was very little need to go out on the town. Just hang around a table with good food and wine prepared in the very messy communal kitchen, and chat commiseratingly into the wee hours. I especially became friends with two other hostelers who were living more on my schedule. A young man from Bayern here for a computer conference, and a professinal ballet dancer from southern Holland who was in Hamburg for an update in her training. I tend to go to bed around 11 on the road, and they had to because of their work, so we were well match. There was also, of course, the party crowd who would hang out at the hostel until 12, or 2, and then head out for the pubs, but even they were polite about it and had regard for their sleeping neighbors (in a 40 bed communal "dream room"). Or at least, they were as quiet as tipsy people can be in the wee hours.

Cool things in Hamburg

1. Played in a chess competition on a bridge overlooking the Elbe against the current reigning youth champion. 18 years old. She won.
2. Fireworks every night sponsored by various countries. Dont know why, but I watched American tax dollars at work.
3. The Speicherstatd, an area that used to be used for hugs ships full of goods shipped into Germany.
4. Riding the ferry on the cheap as a way getting out on the water.

Interview with Simone

Monday morning walked down into Alton, a way diverse suburb of Hamburg, to visit with Simone, a pastor in the area. She actually studied at Hermannsburg, a mission society and school where our firends Michael and Stevie also studied (they now served in Abakan, Russia) At first, she just gave me a tour of the congregational offices, mentioned some of their ministries. For example, they just hired a very active youth director who converted teh basement into a play room with foosball, table tennis, pool, a couch, a CD player, all the things that seem de riguer in the art of youth ministry today. Funny how often entertainment evangelism concepts that have their roots in America have found their way back across the ocean.

We sat in an upstairs room where there were toys for small children, and we conducted our interview while her daughter played and filled her diaper. First question, what do you think about first when you think about the church in Germany, she responded with the concept of seelsorge, care of souls. Some background. Each landeskirche is responsible for a certain area of town, and the number of people in the parish is the number of people who pay the kirche steuer, church tax, in that area. For her church, this means about 3500 people. Of this 3500, about 90 can be found in worship on a given Sunday morning. And if theres 90, that number is on the high end. But, the number of worshippers doesnt represent the total demands of people on the life of the church leadership, pastors and others. Many of the 3500 may not shadow the church door for years, but then when a tragedy happens, they look for seelsorge, soul care, from their pastors. They expect help and support, etc They also expect to be able to baptize their children, ahve them confirmed, have funerals, and get married in the church, which turns into no small undetaking when you are talking about such a large number of people. And all this with one full time pastor. So, the main thing Simone thinks about is all these people who need care, and who only sometimes get it, sometimes because they fail to come, other times because the pastors are overworked.

Next question How do you think about the connection between the Reformation in Germany and the contemporary church. Answer I never do. This one shocked me, because as many of you may know, many protestants, and especially Lutherans, think all the time about the origins of the Reformation in germany especially in connection with Luther and others. Many American pastors make pilgrimmages to Wittenberg. Simone had never been to Wittenberg. We talked about this topic for quite a while, the difference between living in a country where an event took place, and appropriating somehow itno ones contempory life. I guess a parallel example would be to ask how many pastors in America really think about the connection between Jonathon Edwards and their own theology and work. Or something like that. I have more notes on this, but it might get a little too much.

We talked some about musical instruments used in worship, the pride of place of the organ in Germany, new styles arising in Germany. She doesnt get a chance to vsiit other congregations in Hamburg, so actually, when we talked, I had seen more churches than her.

9 11 also came up in relation to the memorial services to be conducted this week.

We went out for lunch, a nice pasta place, while her daughter slept, and it occured to me that, at least in a number of cases that I have encountered, pastors here are rather unaware of their status as "German" pastors. That is, they simply do their work and take for granted a bit their context. I had come with a preconceived notion of the import of Germanness and history in the life of everyday Christians here. I am beginning to reassess this preconception. Its probably for the good.

Attended a worship service in Plattdeutsch at Trinity Church downtown Hamburg. Small community, but very friendly. It was interesting to imagine the Schnekloth and Johnson ancestors up here in the North worshipping in Plattdeutsch. There are substantial similarities between the languages, but the average german reading the text for the service has some difficulty. Nevertheless, the church in the area has even assembled a plattdeutsch hymnal as a way of remembering, and also ministering to those who still speak the dialect.

Then, in the evening, attended a post modern worship service at St. Michaels. It was a cross between Vespers, a poetry slam, and avant garde free improv music. A woman read a series of poems out loud from the lectern, centered on a kind of romanticized, personal faith expression, while the organist improvised under and sometimes over her. The service lasted an hour, and the congregation participated only rarely. We sang two traditional hymns, at the beginning and end. As seems typical here, the organ played a central role in the service. The difference was the attempt to bring modern slash postmodernist musical and poetic styles into a worship setting. This I have not seen done in the same way in the states. We have contemporary worship, but that is a long way from say the poetry of T.S. Eliot or John Ashberry, or the music of acid jazz. Can modernism be translated into worship? This question remains oopenn, i think.

Hamburg.... walked and saw a bit of the Gerhard Schroeder election rally, German elections come up Sept. 22. Then saw a war protest parade in tthe city center. Hamburg is radically different than anywhere else Ive been in Germany. Its hip and knows it. Great bohemian fest in our neighborhood- apparently you can set up any kind of shop you wnat right on the street. Some guys have hauled out grills and are selling brats, others are hawking used clothes. The coolest thing is this impromptu lounge lizard club situated directly the S-Bahn bridge. A couple of guys are hand mixing lounge beverages from a stock of liquor they have purchased, theres a DJ mixing back beat rhythms with old LPs, and in th emiddle of the street they have set up old lounge furniture... comfy chairs, couches, lava lamps, etc. Vinyl is really in in Germany, especially in this neighborhood. Theres another Rastafarian band down the street with dreads and weed, just happy. The party went until 5 a.m. Saturday morning, when the beat of the radio stopped thumping in our hostel. Unbelievable.

My third evening in Lubeck I meta young woman headed back to Munich after her vacation, and we cooked supper together. She was headed to Hamburg the next day, so instead of taking the train, I rode in her rental car, and she even dropped me off in the middle of town. How nice. This is what Im constantly discovering on my travels, how kind and helpful travellers are to each other. My InstantSleep bohemian hostel is no different, just a little more party oriented. MOre on this later...

Staying in hostels has been a new, and rather hip experience. In Lubeck, I spent each evening chatting with fellow residents. The first night it was a young couple with child from Copenhagen. They were actually from England, lived and worked currently in Copenhagen. I shared a bottle of wine with them, and we did what our generation often does, got into a very deep and meaningful discussion without even knowing each others names. Turns out the man is a convert from atheism to Buddhism, and when he learned I was a theologian, he had a lot of questions. Specifically, he wanted to clarify in his mind the differences and similarities between our faiths. In fact, we were so interested in conversing with each other that we spent part of the next day wandering the streets of Lubeck and sharing our faiths with each other. It doesnt surprise me that a man like this, so passionate about faith, would find Buddhism, because his parents, themselves raised Christian, had not shared any faith at all with him, and so naturally, he thought there was nothing to offer in the Christian faith, he himself being taught this by his parents.

The next night an Israeli family arrived, two retirees with their young nephew. The couple actually lived and worked in Sweden for 30 years, their nephew had flown up from Israel to visit them, and they were spending a day or two in Germany. This is not very common, I learned, for Jewish people to visit Germany. Or at least this is what was reported to me by them. But the most surprising thing was this. When the young Israeli man learned I was American, he immediately shook my hand, grinned from ear to ear, and said, Then you are my best friend!!!!! He was so excited, wanted so much to thank me for what America does in Israel, and was so positive all I could do was nod and say thank you.

The very next night, in Hamburg, the guy sleeping next to me was a Palestinian. Of course, his understanding of me as an American was radically different. Still, we were able to have a good talk. Hostels can really throw people together.

Alot has happened since the last post. Im now in Eisench, after having passed through Lubeck and Hamburg. I spent four days in each spot. Lubeck was pretty, Baltic, and friendly. Visited an organ and an orchestra concert, took a day trip out to the spa town of Travemunde, continued working my way through Buddenbrooks, which takes place in Lubeck and Travemunde, and hung out evenings chatting with a diversity of hostel visitors.

Not sure Ive read a novel about a place while in that place. Ive read a number of Prague novels, possibly one on location, but usually I read books about a place in another place. The Great Gatsby, many many British novels, Rushdies The Ground Beneath Her Feet, all these are place evocative, but Lubeck was the first place I bought and read a book in a place. Im not sure theres any advantage to it. In fact, sometimes its much more fun to read a book out of place, incongrously, as a way of escaping. When you read a book in place, you have travelled to get there, but then the book fails to serve its purpose as a small print version of travelling.

Theres a display in the Marienkirche in Lubeck concerning Sept. 11th. Its major, with large placards mounted through the dom, and newspaper articles in various languages displayed dramatically on all sides. Apparently it has been suggested, almost ordered, by church leadership in Germany to hold commemorative services and events in the churches this Sept. 11.

Hostel owners have noticed a decline in travel during this time, possible fear of a recurrence of the Sept. 11 atrocities. I wonder what people in the states are doing and saying in preparation for a commemoration?