I got to travel to Erfurt as part of my sabbatical. Erfurt is the capital of Thuringia, which is a state on the territory of the former German Democratic Republic, aka East Germany.
I had not been in the East since the early 1990s and I was bracing myself for coming back after such a long time. But things have changed. Have they ever!
Erfurt is restored to a beauty that is quite stunning. I was more than pleasantly surprised, I was blown away. What a great place to visit (and, I bet, to live)! The medieval character of the city has been brought back from behind ruined and dust-covered facades and there is a wonderful feel about the city, aided by many restaurants and pubs which are frequented not just by tourists, but also by locals. Furthermore, the surrounding landscape is not shabby either. Rolling hills and thick forests are easily accessible and my romantic German heart jump with joy as the train crossed the Thuringian Forrest on the way to Erfurt. It was absolutely stunning.
However, the reason for my trip was not recreational, but educational. I participated in a seminar on “Life, Dying, Death” co-sponsored by the Roman Catholic German Bishop’s Conference and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (the federation of Lutheran churches within the EKD (see previous entry)). There were Lutheran pastors and Roman Catholic priests and pastoral assistants from Germany and a few other places. We staid at the Ursuline convent in Erfurt, which is right at the city centre and makes the access to the local gastronomy rather easy. This was essential, because of the soccer World Cup. The first German game was the first day of the conference, but I did not have to miss it.
Let me do a little side-tour and talk about the World Cup.
For those North American reading this, it will probably be hard to explain the excitement of a World Cup. But I grew up with it, was nursed with mother-milk and football (the proper term for soccer). And even though I did not play myself, football is part of my identity. (At least I ended up being a referee for wee while, but that is a different story). This time round, I was able to watch a number of games, partially because there was no time difference between South Africa and Germany, and partially because I was on sabbatical, which allowed me to do my own schedule. And since especially my mother is also a football fanatic, we watch a lot of games together. I even watched the World Cup during a trip to London… and thank God this happened after Germany had beaten England… ☺ (Of course, this particular game included a shot into the German goal by the English, which was disallowed by the referee. Well, let me repeat my comment on the CBC website: After 44 years justice was served. And if you understand what I just said, well, you truly are a football-fan.)
I was also excite to see the FIFA-World Cup being played on the African continent and from all I could see and hear (thanks to the Vuvuzelas!), South Africa was a wonderful, gracious, and most hospitable host! Thank you!
Germans are football-crazy (like most other nations on this planet). If there was any doubt you just had to visit a electronics store a few days before the opening ceremony (, which I did with my folks, who were looking for a new dryer). The TV-section was swamped!!! People were upgrading their TV-systems, buying large screen high-definition TVs, and doing everything to have the best reception for this spectacle. Equally the alcohol, barbecue, and snacks’ section always was crowded with people stocking up for football-parties. And of course there were huge screen in every German city for “public viewing” events, which had nothing to do with a funeral or a wake, but everything with football. As I said, it was crazy. And it was wonderful. The mood was always celebratory and fun. Germany really has grown to become a nation claiming its cultural and national identity, without trying to do this in an exclusive or ethnically motivated way (just look at the ethnicities of the German players – it was wonderfully diverse!!!). Some are even using the word “patriotism” again, which would have been impossible in my youth. It is a different country and it was exciting to be part of the buzz.
But back to Erfurt.
As I said the seminar was on issues surrounding death, which was particularly apt, because I was reading a book by the Bishop of Durham (the Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright) on Christian hope and the Resurrection (a book I can highly recommend and which we might read as a parish study come Lent 2011…!).
During the week-long seminar we considered death, dying, mourning and funerals from practical perspectives (funeral culture, funeral rites, funeral traditions, rites leading up to death and dying…), from practical-theological perspectives (the theology of funerals, the theology of burial traditions, the development of liturgies, pastoral care for the dying and the grieving), biblical-exegetical perspectives (dying, death, and resurrection in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the Second Testament), and systematic –theological perspectives (what is the Christian hope? Is there eternal damnation?). The presenters were all theology professors from German universities and no light-weights in the field. They also were equally split between Roman Catholic and Lutheran, which gave the seminar a very fascinating perspective. In addition, the Roman Catholic suffragan bishop of Erfurt led us on a tour of a RC church that had partially been converted into a columbarium, we visited the Augustine monastery, where Martin Luther had been a monk, and we had a fireside chat with the Lutheran regional bishop and the RC diocesan bishop of Erfurt. All in all, it was full and stimulating.
There are still a few things ruminating in my head:
- First of all, over the last few years I have encountered a number of parishioners who shared stories of encounters with the dead with me. Unfortunately, the lecturers were not able to give satisfying systematical answers on this question...
- Furthermore, the question of “apokatastasis panton” (the salvation of all, regardless if one believes or not) was not satisfactorily answered, And I have to admit that the two models presented did not convince me at all. I learned more from N.T. Wright’s book…
- Thirdly, the excursion to the church-columbarium made me think about the expansion of the columbarium at St. Paul’s. The suffragan shared a number of good insights and it was clear how popular the site has become. This is particularly interesting in a city where far less then 10% of the population are Roman Catholic and where an overwhelming majority is agnostic or atheist.
- In this respect, the insights of the two bishops during the fire-chat were profound. After 40 years of Communist atheism and state sponsored oppression in the East, the church is almost extinct. New concepts on how to be church have to be developed and are being developed not just by each church, but also ecumenically. There was much to consider and I found many similarities to the situation in Vancouver, where the church is also marginal.
- The evening with the bishops also held some other surprises, though. First, the strain and stress within the Roman Catholic institution became quite clear. The abuse scandal has clearly left its mark. Furthermore, a creeping conservatism has led to an exodus of a lot of active, but more liberal members and Rome is pulling up the draw bridge not just shutting out many a people, but also (I strongly believe) shutting out the Holy Spirit and the healing grace of God. This leads to an unfortunate reality. The continued insistence by Rome that Protestants and Anglicans denominations are not churches creates an arrogance that has not much to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (And, as a side-note, the Papal vicariate for disaffected Anglicans is neither helpful, nor ecumenically sensitive, nor portraying Christian charity. In fact , it really is a scandal that is not helpful and hinders the mission and ministry of the Church Universal.) On the other side, I saw how much my RC colleagues are suffering. And those at this Erfurt seminar were mostly good and faithful people, who are just trying to life into their call. Often, however, they find themselves being unable to share their theological insight and the clumsiness and idiocy of some hierarchs really impeds their work for the Kingdom of God. But I must also remember: Yes, there are good people out there. Equally, there are good Lutheran colleagues out there and it became clear who they were during the fire-side chat. One Lutheran pastor from the North called the Lutheran regional bishop on the German Lutherans’ ambiguity when it comes to the issue of "ordination." And, she acknowledged that Anglicans are willing to sacrifice much more (and have done so) in ecumenical conversations with Lutherans. It was refreshing to hear a Lutheran colleague speak out so clearly. (I really think we must be more honest with our Lutheran partners and share more clearly with them our theology, our faith, our deep convictions, and our identity. It cannot be that the Church of England and the EKD have different understandings on the implications of the Meissen Declaration. And it cannot be that the EKD is moving to more radical–reformed ecclesiology (including her understanding of ordination) without Anglican reaction. It cannot be, for example, that the Niagara report asks Lutheran to avoid lay presidency at the Eucharist and, yet, lay presidency is not uncommon in Germany…)
- There was, of course, also a lot of informal sharing in the evenings, which was always paired with generous consumptions of one of Germany’s national drink (aka beer). That’s were a lot of learning happened! And we even watched two of Germany’s football games.
However, the reason for my trip was not recreational, but educational. I participated in a seminar on “Life, Dying, Death” co-sponsored by the Roman Catholic German Bishop’s Conference and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (the federation of Lutheran churches within the EKD (see previous entry)). There were Lutheran pastors and Roman Catholic priests and pastoral assistants from Germany and a few other places. We staid at the Ursuline convent in Erfurt, which is right at the city centre and makes the access to the local gastronomy rather easy. This was essential, because of the soccer World Cup. The first German game was the first day of the conference, but I did not have to miss it.
Let me do a little side-tour and talk about the World Cup.
For those North American reading this, it will probably be hard to explain the excitement of a World Cup. But I grew up with it, was nursed with mother-milk and football (the proper term for soccer). And even though I did not play myself, football is part of my identity. (At least I ended up being a referee for wee while, but that is a different story). This time round, I was able to watch a number of games, partially because there was no time difference between South Africa and Germany, and partially because I was on sabbatical, which allowed me to do my own schedule. And since especially my mother is also a football fanatic, we watch a lot of games together. I even watched the World Cup during a trip to London… and thank God this happened after Germany had beaten England… ☺ (Of course, this particular game included a shot into the German goal by the English, which was disallowed by the referee. Well, let me repeat my comment on the CBC website: After 44 years justice was served. And if you understand what I just said, well, you truly are a football-fan.)
I was also excite to see the FIFA-World Cup being played on the African continent and from all I could see and hear (thanks to the Vuvuzelas!), South Africa was a wonderful, gracious, and most hospitable host! Thank you!
Germans are football-crazy (like most other nations on this planet). If there was any doubt you just had to visit a electronics store a few days before the opening ceremony (, which I did with my folks, who were looking for a new dryer). The TV-section was swamped!!! People were upgrading their TV-systems, buying large screen high-definition TVs, and doing everything to have the best reception for this spectacle. Equally the alcohol, barbecue, and snacks’ section always was crowded with people stocking up for football-parties. And of course there were huge screen in every German city for “public viewing” events, which had nothing to do with a funeral or a wake, but everything with football. As I said, it was crazy. And it was wonderful. The mood was always celebratory and fun. Germany really has grown to become a nation claiming its cultural and national identity, without trying to do this in an exclusive or ethnically motivated way (just look at the ethnicities of the German players – it was wonderfully diverse!!!). Some are even using the word “patriotism” again, which would have been impossible in my youth. It is a different country and it was exciting to be part of the buzz.
But back to Erfurt.
As I said the seminar was on issues surrounding death, which was particularly apt, because I was reading a book by the Bishop of Durham (the Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright) on Christian hope and the Resurrection (a book I can highly recommend and which we might read as a parish study come Lent 2011…!).
During the week-long seminar we considered death, dying, mourning and funerals from practical perspectives (funeral culture, funeral rites, funeral traditions, rites leading up to death and dying…), from practical-theological perspectives (the theology of funerals, the theology of burial traditions, the development of liturgies, pastoral care for the dying and the grieving), biblical-exegetical perspectives (dying, death, and resurrection in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the Second Testament), and systematic –theological perspectives (what is the Christian hope? Is there eternal damnation?). The presenters were all theology professors from German universities and no light-weights in the field. They also were equally split between Roman Catholic and Lutheran, which gave the seminar a very fascinating perspective. In addition, the Roman Catholic suffragan bishop of Erfurt led us on a tour of a RC church that had partially been converted into a columbarium, we visited the Augustine monastery, where Martin Luther had been a monk, and we had a fireside chat with the Lutheran regional bishop and the RC diocesan bishop of Erfurt. All in all, it was full and stimulating.
There are still a few things ruminating in my head:
- First of all, over the last few years I have encountered a number of parishioners who shared stories of encounters with the dead with me. Unfortunately, the lecturers were not able to give satisfying systematical answers on this question...
- Furthermore, the question of “apokatastasis panton” (the salvation of all, regardless if one believes or not) was not satisfactorily answered, And I have to admit that the two models presented did not convince me at all. I learned more from N.T. Wright’s book…
- Thirdly, the excursion to the church-columbarium made me think about the expansion of the columbarium at St. Paul’s. The suffragan shared a number of good insights and it was clear how popular the site has become. This is particularly interesting in a city where far less then 10% of the population are Roman Catholic and where an overwhelming majority is agnostic or atheist.
- In this respect, the insights of the two bishops during the fire-chat were profound. After 40 years of Communist atheism and state sponsored oppression in the East, the church is almost extinct. New concepts on how to be church have to be developed and are being developed not just by each church, but also ecumenically. There was much to consider and I found many similarities to the situation in Vancouver, where the church is also marginal.
- The evening with the bishops also held some other surprises, though. First, the strain and stress within the Roman Catholic institution became quite clear. The abuse scandal has clearly left its mark. Furthermore, a creeping conservatism has led to an exodus of a lot of active, but more liberal members and Rome is pulling up the draw bridge not just shutting out many a people, but also (I strongly believe) shutting out the Holy Spirit and the healing grace of God. This leads to an unfortunate reality. The continued insistence by Rome that Protestants and Anglicans denominations are not churches creates an arrogance that has not much to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (And, as a side-note, the Papal vicariate for disaffected Anglicans is neither helpful, nor ecumenically sensitive, nor portraying Christian charity. In fact , it really is a scandal that is not helpful and hinders the mission and ministry of the Church Universal.) On the other side, I saw how much my RC colleagues are suffering. And those at this Erfurt seminar were mostly good and faithful people, who are just trying to life into their call. Often, however, they find themselves being unable to share their theological insight and the clumsiness and idiocy of some hierarchs really impeds their work for the Kingdom of God. But I must also remember: Yes, there are good people out there. Equally, there are good Lutheran colleagues out there and it became clear who they were during the fire-side chat. One Lutheran pastor from the North called the Lutheran regional bishop on the German Lutherans’ ambiguity when it comes to the issue of "ordination." And, she acknowledged that Anglicans are willing to sacrifice much more (and have done so) in ecumenical conversations with Lutherans. It was refreshing to hear a Lutheran colleague speak out so clearly. (I really think we must be more honest with our Lutheran partners and share more clearly with them our theology, our faith, our deep convictions, and our identity. It cannot be that the Church of England and the EKD have different understandings on the implications of the Meissen Declaration. And it cannot be that the EKD is moving to more radical–reformed ecclesiology (including her understanding of ordination) without Anglican reaction. It cannot be, for example, that the Niagara report asks Lutheran to avoid lay presidency at the Eucharist and, yet, lay presidency is not uncommon in Germany…)
- There was, of course, also a lot of informal sharing in the evenings, which was always paired with generous consumptions of one of Germany’s national drink (aka beer). That’s were a lot of learning happened! And we even watched two of Germany’s football games.
- Finally, though, despite some of my misgivings on a theoretical level, I have to say, I learned a lot. And the Spirit was very present. And I realised that there are amazing people answering God's call for ordained leadership in the church and I am happy to call these people colleagues.
