Connections to Germany

Out of the 82 participants on the tour, there were some like me who had never traveled overseas before; others had been born in Germany, lived there during part of World War II, or had been stationed there with a military spouse.

What drew us to visit Germany? Responses differed somewhat from individual to individual; however, the common thread that came through was the Lutheran/Christian heritage and history of Germany. Many of us have ancestral ties to Germany, but the desire to relate to Lutheran/Christian history was something that all of us could share.

The chance to see where Martin Luther hung his 95 theses, and hence where the Protestant Reformation was born, compelled many of us first-timers to take the plunge into overseas travel, and solidified the desires of those who had lived in Germany to return for a visit.

To step on the cobblestones that Martin and Katharina Luther walked, to worship in the church where Martin Luther was baptized, to see the city where Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the St. Matthew Passion, and to learn about the mystic women of Germany, such as Gertrude of Helfta — how could you pass that up?

To think, too, that just less than 20 years ago, the trip would have been nearly impossible because of the Communist rule of East Germany boggles the mind. I think that all of us sensed the incredible honor we had of visiting places that had felt the weight of Communism for over 40 years of the 20th century!

In Christ,
Laura