Our day started with an Epiphany worship service at the Castle Church. We heard John 1 and considered how the cracks in our lives and our world become places where Christ's light shines through. I loved hearing an organ arrangement of Wie Schoen Leuchtet der Morgenstern, which is my favorite hymn (How Brightly Shines the Morning Star). Perhaps as memorable, Jonah loudly dropped his phone at the exact moment the pastor finished saying (in German), "Let us now take a moment to pray in the silence of our hearts." Jonah has a perfect sense of timing :) A final bonus was that the famous 95 Theses Doors, which are rarely opened, were opened for our way out of church. The congregation then gathered in the square to sing "O Du Froehliche" as a goodbye to the Christmas season. It was delightful to worship in that space this morning.
In the afternoon, we gathered in a classroom for two talks/conversations. The first speaker was a local doctor who fled the violence in his native Syria, traveled (sometimes by foot) across Turkey, Greece, the Balkan peninsula, and Hungry to seek asylum in Germany, which he was granted. Wanting to work in medicine again, he studied hard to learn German - including medical terminology - so that he could be licensed here. He is now a heart surgeon in a neighboring town. We learned about the troubles that caused him to leave, the hardships he faced as a new refugee, his joys and hopes in the present, and his work with other immigrants in the area.
The second speaker was a pastor from Magdeburg who works in anti-racism advocacy. He spoke to us about the growing political extremism and racial intolerance that is happening in Germany as elsewhere. Naturally, the history of fascism here adds extra layers to these developments. In his view, some solutions to curbing political extremism are to keep teaching children and adults about democratic values and to provide democratic (rather than extremist) platforms for people to talk about their hopes, dreams, fears, and concerns.
It has been a beautiful Epiphany day of meditation and conversation. Before closing, I should also mention that I found the Wartburg Seminary tree in the Wittenberg's Luther Garden, which has a companion in Dubuque. I shared greetings between the trees.
In the afternoon, we gathered in a classroom for two talks/conversations. The first speaker was a local doctor who fled the violence in his native Syria, traveled (sometimes by foot) across Turkey, Greece, the Balkan peninsula, and Hungry to seek asylum in Germany, which he was granted. Wanting to work in medicine again, he studied hard to learn German - including medical terminology - so that he could be licensed here. He is now a heart surgeon in a neighboring town. We learned about the troubles that caused him to leave, the hardships he faced as a new refugee, his joys and hopes in the present, and his work with other immigrants in the area.
The second speaker was a pastor from Magdeburg who works in anti-racism advocacy. He spoke to us about the growing political extremism and racial intolerance that is happening in Germany as elsewhere. Naturally, the history of fascism here adds extra layers to these developments. In his view, some solutions to curbing political extremism are to keep teaching children and adults about democratic values and to provide democratic (rather than extremist) platforms for people to talk about their hopes, dreams, fears, and concerns.
It has been a beautiful Epiphany day of meditation and conversation. Before closing, I should also mention that I found the Wartburg Seminary tree in the Wittenberg's Luther Garden, which has a companion in Dubuque. I shared greetings between the trees.