Pictures...and...

From Wittenberg.

Schlosskirche, also known as the Castle Church
where Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door.

Luther Garden in which 500 trees are in the process of being planted for the
500th Anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. See the giant Luther Rose?

Check out the Luthergarten link: http://luthergarten.de/english/



Around Neuendettelsau.

And for my exciting news....

Last week I received my internship assignment. Beginning in September, I will be joining Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Coos Bay, Oregon as pastoral intern to live and learn and grow from and along side this community. Thanks be to God.

Pax.

Eisenach, Wartburg Castle, Wittenberg

Now that I'm WAY behind in blogging...  A few days after my last post (on my adventures in Nürnberg) I was chatting on Facebook with my academic advisor from college.  She was leading a small group on a week-long trip through Germany and was in Eisenach at the time.  11:00 that night, I asked, "if I get on a train early tomorrow morning, can I hike to the Wartburg Castle with you again?"  And so I threw some stuff in my backpack, slept a couple hours and completely unprepared for anything, raced to the train station (after breaking my 50 € bill in the bakery...the train ticket machine doesn't take anything over a 20 € bill).

Almost exactly 12 hours after our Facebook conversation, I was getting off the train in Eisenach where I found a room to sleep in and left for the restaurant where I was to meet the group.  Half way up the giant hill, I caught up to a group of students who I quickly decided were American and since they were going the same direction I was, they had to be Wartburgers.  After a great lunch, we headed for the path that leads to the castle.  Yup, THE castle.  However, it was so foggy there was no view of the top of the mountain until we were on it.  Even then the castle was pretty blurry.  Spooky and gorgeous.  The tour guide was one of the best I've ever had.  Using Lutheran jargon, sharing her knowledge about the castle was her vocation, not her job.  It was obvious she loved what she did, her enthusiasm was great but not overwhelming.  It was honest enthusiasm.  She took us through the Wartburg inviting us to envision ourselves in the shoes of those who through the centuries had created history there.  What was it like to be St. Elizabeth or Luther (Junker Georg) or a Minnesänger participating in the Minstrel's Contest at the Wartburg?  What were the struggles, the concerns, the sufferings that people faced here, alongside the celebrations?  This woman was doing her thing joyfully...with her heart.  And she wore riding breeches.

Luther Room

After some more exploring in Eisenach, some on my own and some with the group, we gathered at the train station for the trip to Neuendettelsau.  This was an exciting trip including no less than ending up on the wrong train headed to Frankfurt rather than Nürnberg and then losing one of the "responsible adults" at the station in Frankfurt.  The rest of us took his luggage and went to Neuendettelsau without him in only a little bit of a panic. The next morning once everyone was reunited and settled I had the opportunity to tour my own town with them.  As has been the case each time I officially tour Neuendettelsau, I am most impacted by the sisters of Diakonie Neuendettelsau.  The sisters continue Wilhelm Löhe's mission of social ministry... the workshop for people with disabilities, the bakery, the flower shop, the parament workshop, the communion wafer "factory" and many other things as their lives revolve around prayer and their ministries through St Laurentius Kirche.

Wartburg Castle birds that greatly amused me...
about 50 of them just standing around like this.

Things mellowed out for a few days, I read, I slept, I studied a bit. Currently I am in Wittenberg, staying in a youth hostel. Got off the train about 1:30 yesterday afternoon, checked in and thought, "I'll take a quick nap and then go wander the city."  Six hours later... I had enough time to grab a quick pizza at the Italian place and get back to the Castle Church (95-Theses church!) for the night Vespers service.  There were 3 of us there. It's a good thing the other two were good singers so I could follow a bit as I fumbled through the German of a service I barely know in English.  Today I met up with another of my Wartburg professors for lunch and a visit to the Luther Museum here in Wittenberg.  After supper, I joined the group for a lecture on Philip Melanchthon, Luther's "Little Greek Man", who helped Luther in his translation of the New Testament.

I'll get pics of Wittenberg up...mmmm...when I get around to it.

Pax.