Wittenberg English Ministry

The 2 top pictures are the inside of the small chapel.
The next picture is of the small chapel and City Church. The 4th one is the chancel of the City Church.

The last picture is Bob preaching in the City Church - where Luther preached a couple of thousand times during his time of living in Wittenberg.


Bob received a call a couple of weeks ago asking him if he could substitute in Wittenberg for the English Ministry services they hold each year from May through October. So off we went last Thursday morning on our first longer auto trip - 450 kilos. He conducted chapel services on Thursday and Friday afternoons and a full worship service on Saturday afternoon. We met many people from different parts of the U.S., most of them in touring groups, most of them going to the Passion Play in Oberammergau (very southern part of Germany) which is held every 10 years.

The Wittenberg English Ministry program has pastors from Lutheran Churches in the U.S., Canada and Australia come over for 2 weeks at a time (at their own expense) and conduct 3 chapel services (Wed. - Fri.) and 1 worship service (Sat.) each week. They stay in the wonderful Luther Hotel in Wittenberg, and are free to wander Germany or wherever between the scheduled services. We participated in this program for the full 2 weeks in both 2005 and 2006. The people who attend these services are in awe of being able to worship in the same buildings where Luther preached almost 500 years ago. There are so many churches, museums, restaurants, statues, etc. to see just in Wittenberg, and most people go on to see other Luther sites in Erfurt, Eisleben, Eisenach, Worms, and many more.

We look forward to being able to substitute when needed many times during our 6-year stay here. It is also a good opportunity for us to tell travelers about our congregation in Frankfurt, and invite them to stop in if they travel in or near Frankfurt.

International Pastors Conference in Stockholm

OK, so it is over a week since we got back from a wonderful conference - but it's never too late to post this blog.

We attended the AICEME (Association of International Churches in Europe and the Middle East) annual conference, this year held in Stockholm, Sweden, April 26-May 3. It was hosted by Immanuel International Fellowship of Stockholm. They share a huge building with the Swedish Immanuelskyrkan and the Korean Fellowship - complete with 3 worship centers, a chapel, 2 cafeterias (with kitchens), a gym (where we played the indoor floor hockey game Innebandy), sauna, and classrooms. They also own the attached Hotel Birger Jarl (pronounced "beer y'all") where we stayed, and Stensnas Retreat Center, where we spent a day hearing Swedish theologian, Dr. Runar Eldebo, talk about Christianity in a European Context (how it has changed from a ministry for ex-patriots to a ministry to immigrants), breaking into small groups to discuss International Ministry, having Fika (Swedish "coffee & and a little something" break), eating (lamb sausages) and playing Kubb, an original Viking lawn game. What an uplifting experience for us to meet 31 other people who share the experiences of international ministry with us.

We were able to do a lot of sightseeing in Stockholm - Sweden's Royal Palace and the changing of the guard on horseback; Gamla Stan, Stockholm's Old Town with tons of shops and restaurants along the narrow, cobblestone streets; the Vasa Museum of the Swedish warship Gustav Vasa, salvaged 333 years after it sank just minutes into its maiden voyage in 1628; Skansen, Europe's largest outdoor museum with historical buildings, native animals (brown bears, reindeer, seals) and plants; Stockholm's Historic City Hall where the Nobel Prize banquet and ball are held each year.

On Wednesday afternoon we boarded the cruise ship Silja Serenade for an overnight cruise to Helsinki, Finland, where the International Church in Helsinki was our host. We visited the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, the Tuomio Lutheran Cathedral, and the Temppeliaukio Rock Church where the International Church worships on Sunday afternoons. It is literally built inside a rock of which the center was dynamited out - what a fantastic ministry they do in this unique setting! They also have a Community Center where they minister to immigrants from several countries, serve meals, give out food, hold Bible Studies, teach English classes, and have a huge English language library of religious books. On board the ship we shared a traditional Swedish Smorgasbord dinner - must of been a dozen different ways they served herring! - found a lovely lounge, which Bob christened the "Windshield Lounge", to hang out in and play cards and share a drink (Rita and her "Cherry Bomb") with our new friends. On our way back to Sweden on the ship we ate in the Happy Lobster restaurant where 3 of our group shared a variety platter of seafood that was enormous!

The worship experiences we shared with people from around the world were awesome. The renewal, support, nurturing, strengthening and fellowship were amazing. We have become Facebook friends with many of the participants and look forward to keeping in touch with them and inter-visiting each other at our home locations. We are already looking forward to the next 2 years conferences, 2011 in Paris and 2012 in London!

Following is a brief description of the pictures:
Stensnas Retreat Center - Playing Kubb
Changing of the Guard - Our Cruise Ship
Orthodox Cath. - Cherry Bomb (mmm) - Lutheran Cath.
Us in Helsinki - Bob in the Rock Church
Windshield Lounge - Seafood Platter for 3
Nobel Prize Banquet Hall - Us in Stockholm
Playing Innebandy - Vasa Museum