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My Trip to Wittenberg

(by Fraser Pearce)          

As many of you already know, in November I attended a two-week seminar in Wittenberg, Germany. I attended at the request of the LCA, and with the approval and support of the Bethlehem Church Council.

The seminar involved 22 Lutheran pastors from 19 different countries, and was led by two prominent Lutheran theologians – Professor Theo Dieter from Strasbourg,  and Professor Sarah Hinlicky-Wilson from Tokyo.

In this article I’ll give a very brief report of the trip. I’ll divide the article up into three parts. First, I’ll write about the people who attended, then I’ll write about the location of the seminar, and then I’ll write about the content of the seminar. My intention is to offer a more detailed presentation of my trip between services on a suitable Sunday in the weeks, ahead. I’m also happy to talk with any Bethlehem people or groups if there’s a request.

First, the people. One of the most stimulating things about the seminar was spending time with Lutheran pastors from very different cultural contexts. A number of the pastors came from traditionally Lutheran countries such as Norway, Iceland, Finland, and Germany, but the majority came from the Global South including countries such as Ghana, Indonesia, Tanzania, Malaysia, India, Guyana, Mexico, and Thailand. Everyday began with breakfast together at 7:45 am, and then we moved over to a chapel built in the 14th century, where we would have a devotional service led by one of the pastors. Although the language of the seminar was English, we regularly heard or sang in languages from across the globe. Part of the seminar involved each pastor doing a 15-minute presentation on their home country, church, and congregation. It was enlightening to hear about the very different challenges and opportunities that the pastors face – particularly in countries that have been traditionally Lutheran. There is a common report that although many people in these countries are officially members of the church, actual attendance at services on Sunday is very low. I met a pastor from the Eastern part of Germany who had oversight of 26 (!) small congregations – each with their own (sometimes ancient) church building to maintain.

Because we live in an age of social media, the participants of the group are keeping in contact, and I anticipate that I may well cross paths with them again in the years ahead.

Now to the location. The seminar was held in a place called Colleg Wittenberg, a well-appointed facility in the heart of the old town. Wittenberg is, of course, the historic centre of the Reformation. From where we stayed it was a very short walk to the city church (St Mary’s) where Luther preached over 2000 times. The whole old town of Wittenberg can be walked around very easily – in about 25 minutes you can see all the major sites. Part of the seminar involved going to see through these sites, including the Castle Church where Luther is said to have posted the 95 Theses; the old Augustinian monastery that later became the home for Luther and his family; Wittenberg University where Luther and his colleagues taught; the House of Philip Melachthon (the author of the Augsburg Confession); and the home / workshop of the Cranach family (prominent artists of the time). Because it was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall while the seminar was on, we all went to Berlin on the day of the celebrations. Although the day was cold and dreary, I was able to catch up for an hour with a friend from St Mark’s Lutheran Church, Epping, who now lives in Berlin.

A side note: Although most of the meals were provided by the facility (generally typical German cooking – pork, cream, potatoes, and yes, sauerkraut), small groups of the pastors would regularly cook the evening meal based on cuisine from their home country. The only new culinary experience I had was eating reindeer!

Finally, the content of the seminar. Each morning after chapel, the whole group would meet together to participate in lectures and guided discussions on a number of Luther’s writings. Earlier on we read through ‘The Freedom of a Christian’, ‘Two Kinds of Righteousness’, as well as key sections from the Large Catechism. A number of the participants came from churches that are not as solidly confessional as the LCA, and so we spent some time dealing with basics such as the proper distinction between God’s commands and promises, as well as the place of the sacraments in Christian life and piety. The discussion took a step up in complexity when we read through some of Luther’s political writings, including ‘Temporal Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed’ and ‘On War Against the Turk’. Most of the participants came from contexts where they regularly have to think about the relationship between the church and the government, and some came from contexts where they as Christians are a minority group in a hostile environment.  I was particularly engaged by this part of the seminar, as we in the LCA are having to think through fitting and loving ways of responding to the state government’s law regarding mandatory reporting of child abuse disclosed in private confession and absolution.

Naturally I had a lot of questions to ask the Professors, who were patient in listening and generous with their time, not only during the seminars, but also during meals.

Thank you as a congregation for giving me the freedom and support to attend the seminar. I look forward to sharing more about the trip with you in the weeks and months ahead, especially now that I am actually over jet lag!

God bless you,

Fraser

Photo 1: Standing in front of the 95 Theses door at the Castle Church. Note the Sturt scarf.

fraser 1 new version

 Photo 2: Sitting on the Luther’s seat at the entrance to his home, with a woman who somewhat dubiously said she was Luther’s wife.

fraser 2 new version

Article submitted for the December 2019 edition of News for the Pews.