Erfurt

I took a morning train, and spent the ride alternately loving the views of quaint villages against the backdrop of rolling hills and willing myself not to throw things at the two children screaming at their mother a few seats away. I am generally very easy going and understanding when it comes to kid-meltdowns, but something about this one (and the intermittent-3-hour nature of it) set my nerves on edge. Good thing I had snacks, because reading was out. Plus I was in a seat facing backwards, so reading was out anyway…

Once here, I walked around the town stopping in at various places, including a church ruin, a bridge much like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence where the bridge is lined with shops and houses and whatnot, and a church tower (Methodist!) which I climbed to get a good overview of the town and to take some nice photos. (See, I learned from Heidelberg, where I got up on the philosophenweg and thought “oh, I should have come up here first so I could get a sense of the layout.” duh.) Then I wound my way to the Augustinerklocher (the Augustinian monastery). And when I say “wound my way to,” I mean “walked a few minutes.” This town is not very big. Maybe 15 minutes from the train station to the monastery, if you walk more directly than I did. As it is, I did all that other random stuff and made it in less than an hour.

At the monastery I discovered that the tours are only in German, but they’re also the only way to get access to the Luther exhibit. So I went on a tour of which I understood zero words. Thankfully, they gave me a little handout that talks about a few of the major features of the building, so at least when I looked around while the guide was talking, I kind of knew what I was looking at. Of course, most monasteries are laid out similarly, so having lived in one before I knew what was going on. Church, chapterhouse, cloister, refectory, cells, library, guesthouse, etc. It was pretty cool to be in the place where Luther became a monk, to see the spaces he lived and worked, and to get a sense of the town and atmosphere in which he laid the foundations for a radical shift.

Particularly ironic, I think, is that right in front of the altar in the monastery church is the tomb of a previous prior, Johann Zacharias. He’s famous for being the judge that condemned Jan Hus, one of the first reformers, who had tried to translate the Bible into a common language (among other things). It amuses me to think of Luther, remembering his consecration as a monk laying in front of that tomb as he sat a few miles away translating the Bible less than 100 years after Hus was condemned…

I also visited the Cathedral, where Luther was ordained as a priest, and the neighboring (literally, less than one minute walk from one door to the next) St. Severus church. The ornate altar pieces in both churches were simultaneously beautiful and cringe-worthy. The raised pulpit in the Severikirch has no stairs, which led me to think uncharitable thoughts about the Roman church. (It didn’t help that in the Cathedral a few moments before, one of the last things I saw was a reliquary containing some remnant of St. Martin of Tours, patron saint of Erfurt. Martin is known for seeing a poor man freezing and so cutting his big military cloak in half to give to him…and this reliquary was one of the most ostentatious tacky reliquaries I’ve seen—which is saying something because a week ago I was at the Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris! So I was already in the give-me-a-reformation-now mindset…) But while I was there, I discovered (by accident!) that tonight there would be a concert—chamber music, mostly brass, as a benefit for something. I have no idea what the fundraiser was for, but I do know that classical brass in a gothic cathedral sounds fabulous. Naturally I went to find dinner and came immediately back to the church…and the concert was so fabulous! There’s nothing quite like hearing brass choir and wind quintet arrangements of Bach, Mozart, Ibert, and even Paul McCartney. I’m pretty sure they were a military band of some kind, and the benefit seemed to involve some church organization that goes camping. So…great. I had a wonderful 90 minutes listening there. The acoustics of that space are indescribably amazing. The concert was so gorgeous that for a moment I was sad I had sold my clarinets to come on this trip. And then I remembered that even if I hadn’t sold them (and was therefore not hearing this concert, because I’d be stay-cationing instead!), I wouldn’t be playing music like that in spaces like this. I’d be looking at the case and feeling guilty. So I’m glad that someone else is making music with those instruments, and I am listening to incredible music made by people who love to practice. :-)

though again, I wish I spoke German! Instead of a printed program, one of the guys (yes, all guys, in uniforms) announced each piece of music and talked about it a bit. Most of the time (not every time) I could catch the composer’s name, and several times I recognized the piece when it began. But I’d love to know what he said, and what some of the ones where I couldn’t pick out the name or title might be.

weekend interesting

Okay, so between being sick, getting ready to go to Europe, and Ideas Week and I've been too busy rushing about doing fun things to actually post all the cool stuff I've seen on the interwebz in the past couple of weeks. Consider this your opportunity to waste all of Saturday sitting in front of the computer, because none of this is particularly time-bound, but it's all awesome....

First, before you do anything else, go over here and support Carrie Newcomer's latest adventure--it'll be worth every penny and every moment!

You need to see this. So much more to the world than we can see or even imagine.

There's also more to us, our potential, our community, our creativity, than we can normally see or imagine. 

And then we break for TEH CUTE:


Ever wondered how it's possible that every single apple looks exactly the same at the store, but they don't ever look like that on a tree? Turns out that's not good, actually. (I know this is not a news flash to those of us who are avid farmers market shoppers...but then why on earth is it still true at the store???)

Want to be happy? If you've ever paused to read the cover (or worse, the articles) of a magazine in the checkout aisle, you've probably accidentally internalized a whole bunch of messages about happiness. Ditto on ever watching TV, seeing an advertisement, or being on the internet. Or, you know, living in western culture. But this is the only article you need about being happy. Seriously.

And then you need another break of adorable and happy.

Now for some church related stuff...

The internet angst about millennials (and everyone else) not being in church continues. This week I've seen articles about why churches don't grow, how to ensure your church dies or doesn't, young people old people in between people and church, men and women and teenagers and church.... And thankfully some research. (in the research, regular churchgoing = 1x a month!! Think about that for a moment...)

Those who stay were twice as likely to have a close personal friendship with an adult inside the church. Millennials need guidance on engaging culture meaningfully, and from a distinctly Christian perspective. 

This idea of finding a way to bring their faith in Jesus to the problems they encounter in the world seems to be one of the most powerful motivations of today’s practicing Christian Millennials. They don’t want their faith to be relegated to Sunday worship, and this desire for holistic faith is something the Church can speak to in a meaningful way. 

Young people want to be taken seriously today—not for some distant future leadership position. In their eyes, institutional church life is too hierarchical. And they’re not interested in earning their way to the top so much as they’re want to put their gifts and skills to work for the local church in the present—not future—tense. 

 Related...

How we think about Jesus matters. a lot. Otherwise how can we be more like him?

Speaking of being like Jesus....I was once a kid on food stamps and free lunch. Let's make sure that a) help is available for those in need, and b) no one grows up shamed for that need.

Ensuring that kids don't go hungry in our own neighborhoods doesn't preclude us from making sure kids elsewhere don't go hungry either:



And while we're thinking about other parts of the world, ponder this for a moment. Just a few years--within the lifetime of many who read this blog--makes a world of difference. Perhaps we should spend our time and energy ensuring that the world of difference is for the better, not for the worse. One way to do that is to be aware that things like this have happened, and it is fascinating and distressing all at the same time. Seriously, be sure to click through this one.

And then to end on a high note: SO MUCH FLOOFY HAPPY ADORABLE!

Wednesday Interesting--so much good stuff!

Since the internet is down at church--yes, still--I'm going ahead and posting this now, in hopes that other people do in fact have the beautiful time-sucking internet that will enable you to enjoy all this great stuff.

First, a disclaimer: I am in serious news fatigue. So it's true that this week things that I find interesting are mostly not about Syria, Egypt, gun violence, the economy, generation-bashing, etc. I just need a break so I can continue to care passionately about all those things.

So here we go.

Where's the octopus? This is seriously awesome. I had no idea octopi could do this. Watch both the edited video and the raw footage and let nature blow your mind for a minute.

This is super cool and totally worth contemplating, O Church and Other Institutions That People Associate With Buildings....

Have you ever wondered how we got the bible we have today? this is,hands-down, the best explication of the church history surrounding all thattime of creating and closing the canon….

Is your church, club, non-profit, social organization, or other group wondering where the young people are? (answer: probably yes, because that's what we love to wring our hands about right now.) Well, here are some surefire ways to get rid of them forever.

I can often be heard talking about brain development, so I found this very interesting. I don’t have beautiful handwriting, though I envy those who do. But when it comes to things that enhance our ability to learn, I am all about that. One of my pet peeves about education as I see it playing out right now is that it is not about learning to learn, it is about learning to test. :-( so…save cursive!

This docu-mercial is scarily real. Though I wonder: what does it say about the world that this is coming from a chain of fast food restaurants???????? of course, would be even better if they then decided to be a vegetarian restaurant, to stop that poor cow from a horrible death…. 

Last week I attempted to fix my toilet. The floaty-arm thing had broken off. Everyone I know said it would be easy. I got the part, took the stuff in the tank apart, and when installing the new piece, discovered that it did not fit. Another late-night trip to the store (thank you, Lowe's, for being open until 10pm and for your employees being nice to me at 9:50pm) resulted in a whole new inside-the-tank assembly thing...the store guys and the box said it would take 15 minutes. 2 hours and many tears later, I had a functioning, though accidentally low-flow/water-saving, toilet, that only leaks a little bit. Part of the issue? Instructions that look basically like these.

oh yes. 1, FIVE!!!!!, 7, 12, 14…

And, last but not least for today:  

This is the best thing on the internet in a long long time…. 

weekend interesting

The internet was down at church all week.

ALL. WEEK.

You might be wondering how I had time to come across all this interesting stuff then. There's a LOT of it, after all. This will probably be the longest post on my blog in....ever.

Answer: smartphone. I gorged myself on the internet while I was at home, instead of doing things like sleeping and exercising and cooking.

Here's some of what I came across. My empty fridge testifies to the amount of awesome on the interwebs in the past 10 days or so...

The future is here! This is every bit as cool as the movie that came out the same year it was launched.

Yep, the future is definitely here. Maybe we could start living in it.

Except sometimes we're caught up in the past. Does re-living 9/11 end up shaping our future in ways we don't want? We’ve seen the dangers of being defined by one horrifying event. We’ve watched as other cultures have re-enacted the wrong done to them, but been blind to the ways we’ve done the same. Yes, it was awful and terrifying and wrong, and we grieve with those who grieve and for the families of those who thought this was the way forward. And we also remember that it is not the way forward: we must go on as the best version of ourselves, not the worst.

These people said it way better than me.

Speaking of the past eclipsing the future...it happens at church too. (okay, it mostly happens at church.) 

And why is that? Every church says they want innovative leaders that will move them forward. There are bajillions of creative people leading congregations (and bajillions more who want to lead congregations). So why is it so difficult? Well, because as much as we want to think pastors can do it all, we can't. And this is DECIDEDLY one thing we can't do. We can offer tools, hold out a vision, and do our best to create a culture, but the reality is that we're not in charge of this one. you are.

If you are looking for some inspiration though, say, to be an agent for good in the world, here's some. Maybe we could even apply some of that inspiration to our church communities.

First step toward changing our communities? THIS. Our Jewish brothers and sisters and in the midst of High Holy Days...and that always makes me wish we had a period in the Christian calendar that was so specifically focused on forgiveness--as in, asking for and extending forgiveness from and to other people. Literally. Like we had to actually practice out-loud reconciliation in church. (Go ahead, try to tell me that's what Lent is about. I wish.) Imagine how our church cultures might be different if we did some truth-and-reconciliation work.

Of course, there are also plenty of other realities that the church is ignoring. Like, you know, this one.

The situation in Syria gets sadder and sadder. It is one of my favorite places I've ever visited, so my heart aches. It's complicated, of course. Our Christian friends have some things to say too.

On an apparently completely unrelated note: the way we talk to each other matters. (not just about teenagers!) 

And this is one of the ways it matters. (warning: tissue alert)

The way we talk to ourselves, or hear ourselves talk, matters too. Ladies, you know what I mean. Stop it.

And in the HAHAHAHAHA department...

There's been a ton of discussion about why millennials are leaving the church. I still maintain that they mostly weren't there to begin with, but aside from that, THIS.

While we're at it, pay close attention to this unexpected reality.

And then, to make us all feel better....you knew the cat hadn't moved from that spot since you left the house. now there's proof.

Happy weekend reading!