Following the Way

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Photographic impressions part I

(and I apologise for the selection, blogspot only allows me to upload .jpeg that are smaller than 8MB, which limits my selection)

Communitaet Casteller Ring, Convent

CCR, church

Entrance to my folks' home

flower in my folks' garden

Ancient Pub Sign in Nuremberg

And the interior of the pub

Old city gate, Nuremberg

Modern Fountain in Nuremberg

Selling Nuremberg Sausages

Along the river Pegnitz, Nuremberg

The "Beautiful Well", Nuremberg

The shrine of St. Sebald in St. Sebald's Church (Lutheran)

Baptismal Font St. Sebald's Church, Nuremberg

Organ, St. Sebald's Church, Nuremberg

Old City, Nuremberg

Old City, Nuremberg

Castle in my home town (just outside Nuremberg)

Parsonage in my home town

close to my home town

Close to my home town

The following pictures are all taken at the Baltic Coast (Schleswig-Holstein) during a family trip:

Still at the Baltic Sea, but at a theme park with my niece and nephew...

...and at a Viking Museum near Schleswig

More to follow.

"Wer bin ich?"

One of the most famous and most powerful poems by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a martyr and prophet of God, is called "Who am I?" - or in German: "Wer bin ich?"

Of course, this is the question at the heart of the journey of spirituality: to discover who we are really meant to be, who God created us to really be.

This blog tries to give some insights into my own journey into the mystery of the triune God (especially during my sabbatical). And because none of us lives by themselves this will include reflections not just about my own spirituality, but also reflections about God's ground personnel (aka the church) and reflections about the political, academic, and cultural developments all around me. And hopefully there will be some fun stuff too.

So, who am I? Well, by way of quick introduction: I am a rare breed: A German Anglican, who embraces his church with all its wards: I believe the Anglican Church to be the best expression of the faith that we have inherited from Christ himself and that was passed down by the apostles.

I recite the Creed without objections. And I continue to embrace who God created me to be (even my sexuality) more and more.

Even though I am German, I am not all that serious. I was born and raised in Franconia, have lived in the U.S. (Indiana and Illinois), Scotland, and now reside in beautiful British Columbia. One day I hope to be a Canadian citizen. It is a great place!

I need to also mention that I am a political junkie and I am a vexillolgist...

The name of the blog, by the way, is a reference to Acts 9:1, 18:26, 19:9, 19:23, 22:4, 24:12, and 24:22. It is a name used by the early followers of Christ to describe their identity.

And if you wondered about my nick name: You can find a short explanation here and a longer one here.

Oh, and just in case you wondered. Yes, I am a priest. And I love it. God must have a strange sense of humour, otherwise, why call me? But here I am, I can no other, God help me. Amen.