Luther: The Man, The Myth, The Legend
I'm not outwardly a super religious person. When I choose to think about my faith, I don't usually choose to share my thoughts, but that doesn't mean I'm lacking in beliefs. I was raised Lutheran and grew up in a family where attendance to Sunday School on a weekly basis was mandatory, but my favorite parts of the church had to be the sermons. It made sense that someone as knowledgeable as my pastor would choose to share his wisdom through the word of Christ, and I enjoyed receiving these life lessons.
When we began talking about Martin Luther and the Reformation in class, I honestly never realized the vast depths of information there was to know on the subject. While my lessons and my pastor's preachings had reached my soul, in a way, the history of the basis of my religion had never reached my mind in such a way as this. Getting to go to Wittenburg and Dresden to see the place where it all began and where I somewhat expanded my faith was such a positive and interesting experience for me.
During our day in Wittenburg, we stepped foot inside the church where Martin Luther had, so many years ago, preached to huge crowds, possibly never knowing the wide-reach his stances would one day have. We saw where him and his best friend were buried within as well as a museum about his life and how he came to be such an important historical figure. Perhaps the most mind-boggling piece of this experience was standing mere feet away from where Luther had nailed his 95 Theses. I walked away that day considering how actions can snowball, and moments in history really do have an impact on me in the present.
While in Dresden, we visited the most beautiful Lutheran church I had ever laid eyes upon. We were given a few options of afternoon activities, and Bree, Chase, and I chose to accompany Doug, Martin, and Jan to a Germanic War Museum. While this was quite the experience in itself, my favorite moment of Dresden came the next morning, when Bailey and I had the opportunity to attend a service at the church I mentioned before. The organ played hauntingly beautiful hymns, the pastor spoke eloquently, and I even did my best to join in and sing along to songs in the local, unfamiliar language.
Overall, my time in Germany was beyond well spent. Since the time we spent there, I have spent more time than perhaps I usually would considering things beyond myself and plan to once again become a regular attendee of my church services back home upon my arrival there. The sermons I look back upon fondly will become the sermons I sit through once again, regaining the knowledge I may have somewhat left behind. I cannot emphasize enough how important for me it was to recover my roots and allow myself to grow through this journey. I look forward to seeing where my faith story is directed next.
When we began talking about Martin Luther and the Reformation in class, I honestly never realized the vast depths of information there was to know on the subject. While my lessons and my pastor's preachings had reached my soul, in a way, the history of the basis of my religion had never reached my mind in such a way as this. Getting to go to Wittenburg and Dresden to see the place where it all began and where I somewhat expanded my faith was such a positive and interesting experience for me.During our day in Wittenburg, we stepped foot inside the church where Martin Luther had, so many years ago, preached to huge crowds, possibly never knowing the wide-reach his stances would one day have. We saw where him and his best friend were buried within as well as a museum about his life and how he came to be such an important historical figure. Perhaps the most mind-boggling piece of this experience was standing mere feet away from where Luther had nailed his 95 Theses. I walked away that day considering how actions can snowball, and moments in history really do have an impact on me in the present.
While in Dresden, we visited the most beautiful Lutheran church I had ever laid eyes upon. We were given a few options of afternoon activities, and Bree, Chase, and I chose to accompany Doug, Martin, and Jan to a Germanic War Museum. While this was quite the experience in itself, my favorite moment of Dresden came the next morning, when Bailey and I had the opportunity to attend a service at the church I mentioned before. The organ played hauntingly beautiful hymns, the pastor spoke eloquently, and I even did my best to join in and sing along to songs in the local, unfamiliar language.
Overall, my time in Germany was beyond well spent. Since the time we spent there, I have spent more time than perhaps I usually would considering things beyond myself and plan to once again become a regular attendee of my church services back home upon my arrival there. The sermons I look back upon fondly will become the sermons I sit through once again, regaining the knowledge I may have somewhat left behind. I cannot emphasize enough how important for me it was to recover my roots and allow myself to grow through this journey. I look forward to seeing where my faith story is directed next.
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