Preparing for the journey
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Guten nacht! Well in one week my sister, children and I, along with some great friends, will be on our way to Germany for 10 exciting days visiting the Lands of Luther where the Protestant Reformation began. Bob and I started planning this trip with our congregation over one year ago and we were both ready to explore our Lutheran roots and my German heritage. Then in late November, Bob unexpectedly passed away. Needless to say, the past months have been a difficult journey but I decided to go ahead with the trip as I believe Bob would have wanted. My sister Ruth agreed to join me as well as my three adult sons, Jonathan, Chris and Erik and my daughter-in-law, Michea. We are looking forward to sharing this bittersweet journey with some friends from our congregation and from Northwest Iowa. Together we will celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation and lift our voices to "A Mighty Fortress is Our God!"
Our journey will take us to many Luther towns including, Eisenach, Erfurt, Eisleben, Wittenberg and Augsburg. Also included in our itinerary is the Rhine Valley, Berlin, Nuremberg and Munich. How exciting it will be to see where Luther was born, studied to be a monk, debated Johann Eck, hid out in Wartburg Castle and of course, where he hammered the 95 thesis to the Wittenberg Castle Church door!
Of course I'm also anxious to see the beautiful cities and charming countryside of Germany from where many of my ancestors immigrated. The Kreidlers, Brunkows, Boergers, Schummanns and Weygandts all came from Germany. The oldest ancestor we have documentation for is Hermann Weygand (1582-1673). He was a Lutheran pastor for 45 years in the Palatinate Partenheim about 66 years after Luther's death. It was a very turbulent time in Germany then and he was forced to move often due to the devastating 30 years war and somehow survived the plague but tragically, many of his family members did not, including his son who was also a Lutheran pastor. He was over 90 years old when he died and his diary shows that he was still baptizing infants until his death. Wow! What an incredible faith he must have had!
I cannot imagine how my ancestors persevered through all of the violence, war, famine and terror that occurred in the wake of the Reformation but I have to believe that Luther's voice still spoke loudly as they struggled to understand who God is and what God did for us in Jesus Christ. However, I believe Luther's voice still speaks to us today, for I know, it still speaks to me, "Word Alone. Faith Alone. Grace Alone." This is most certainly true!
Guten nacht! Well in one week my sister, children and I, along with some great friends, will be on our way to Germany for 10 exciting days visiting the Lands of Luther where the Protestant Reformation began. Bob and I started planning this trip with our congregation over one year ago and we were both ready to explore our Lutheran roots and my German heritage. Then in late November, Bob unexpectedly passed away. Needless to say, the past months have been a difficult journey but I decided to go ahead with the trip as I believe Bob would have wanted. My sister Ruth agreed to join me as well as my three adult sons, Jonathan, Chris and Erik and my daughter-in-law, Michea. We are looking forward to sharing this bittersweet journey with some friends from our congregation and from Northwest Iowa. Together we will celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation and lift our voices to "A Mighty Fortress is Our God!"Our journey will take us to many Luther towns including, Eisenach, Erfurt, Eisleben, Wittenberg and Augsburg. Also included in our itinerary is the Rhine Valley, Berlin, Nuremberg and Munich. How exciting it will be to see where Luther was born, studied to be a monk, debated Johann Eck, hid out in Wartburg Castle and of course, where he hammered the 95 thesis to the Wittenberg Castle Church door!
Of course I'm also anxious to see the beautiful cities and charming countryside of Germany from where many of my ancestors immigrated. The Kreidlers, Brunkows, Boergers, Schummanns and Weygandts all came from Germany. The oldest ancestor we have documentation for is Hermann Weygand (1582-1673). He was a Lutheran pastor for 45 years in the Palatinate Partenheim about 66 years after Luther's death. It was a very turbulent time in Germany then and he was forced to move often due to the devastating 30 years war and somehow survived the plague but tragically, many of his family members did not, including his son who was also a Lutheran pastor. He was over 90 years old when he died and his diary shows that he was still baptizing infants until his death. Wow! What an incredible faith he must have had!
I cannot imagine how my ancestors persevered through all of the violence, war, famine and terror that occurred in the wake of the Reformation but I have to believe that Luther's voice still spoke loudly as they struggled to understand who God is and what God did for us in Jesus Christ. However, I believe Luther's voice still speaks to us today, for I know, it still speaks to me, "Word Alone. Faith Alone. Grace Alone." This is most certainly true!
Safe journey...Bob will be with you all...all the way.
ReplyDeleteSafe journey...Bob will be with you all...all the way.
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