17. Heemsen Lutheran Church: Lower Saxony, Germany: September 2022

 

During the 2017-18 academic year, Hauke Vogel came to AFC to serve as our Time for God volunteer.  It was a splendid year and a number of us have had the privilege of travelling to Germany since and visiting Hauke and his family on their beautiful farm at Rohrsen.

Last weekend Rachel and I made that trip again, but this time to specifically worship with the family at their church, just down the road, in the next village of Heemsen on Sunday.

On Saturday morning it was such a joy to meet Pastor Dietmar Hallwass, who along with his ordained wife Anne, is the joint minster of this Lutheran Parish which in total serves five villages.  Around the breakfast table we talked of church life for some two and a half hours.  I learnt that Dietmar’s training was almost twice as long as mine and that he has been in post now for some nine years, during which he and Anne have had three children.  He told me of the structure of the Lutheran Church in that part of Lower Saxony.  It is split into a district, and then a wider region before belonging to the Hanover grouping of Lutheran Churches, overseen by its own bishop.  In this part of Germany, because of the history (much of it focussed on the 30-year war) there are very few Roman Catholics, so little in the way of ecumenical encounter for Dietmar and Anne. 

Heemsen Church is a beautiful building and in the church hall we saw a painting of the original building.  The tower still exists and is incorporated into the ‘new’ design, erected to seat no less than 700 people because they had grown out of their smaller church.

After breakfast we visited the children’s club that runs occasionally on a Saturday morning.  It was a great joy to meet its leader Sandra, whose enthusiasm was simply infectious!  Over twenty children had spent a great morning listening to bible stories and making doves of peace. 

We concluded our time in the church hall looking at some fascinating old parish records of baptisms, weddings and deaths.  In these ancient documents it was wonderful to come across one of Jochen Vogel’s ancestors, a Herr Schumann, from 1745, who once owned the farm and built a most charming ‘cottage’ still in its grounds.

Pastor Dietmar then brought out one of the parish’s greatest treasures, a bible from 1562, one that had even been scorched by a great fire at Drakenburg (another village in the parish).  We stood holding this precious tome together and it was a deeply moving moment; two pastors from different countries and traditions both holding the one sacred text that binds us together.

After lunch we drove south through the beautiful German countryside and immaculate townships to the Abbey and former Monastery of Loccum.  It’s at this ancient place that all the Lutheran Pastors in this part of northern Germany are trained.  They are often based in parishes and come into Loccum for a specific time of study every month.  Our guide, who has also taught at the seminary, was charming and we learnt so much about the Abbey.  For me the most moving moment came as he showed us a small sculpture with a really big message.  It was based on a dream of Bernard of Clairvaux being ‘embraced’ by a welcoming and loving God.   That, in itself, would have been a great message but this small sculpture went one step further.  It depicted God ‘embracing’ both Bernard of Clairvaux and Martin Luther.  It was for me another powerful moment, showing that to God our traditions, whether they be Roman Catholic or Lutheran, mean so little.  The most important thing is that whatever our background we are ‘beloved’ by God, and that small sculpture in Loccum Abbey shows that perfectly.

After our time there we travelled on and had tea with a former Pastor of Heemsen, Elizabeth and her husband Jochen.  Once again, we were welcomed into a German home with such hospitality and Elizabeth spoke warmly of her time at the church and how so many of its pastors have had long ministries there.

The next day we joined the Vogel family for worship at Heemsen at 10am.  We arrived to the sound of bells and walked up the church path together.  The Sanctuary was full because Sunday was a special service at which this year’s Confirmation Candidates came to church to start their journey.  Some 21 teenagers were therefore present, along with their families.  They will have to attend some 15 services leading up to their confirmation. 

The service was full of life and love.  In true German fashion we sat for the hymns and stood for the prayers!  The music was provided by the beautiful organ which has been played by the same musician for over 60 years!  These hymns were supplemented by Sandra leading us in some contemporary songs on the electric piano.  Rosemarie Vogel, who is an elder in the congregation, led us in one of the readings.

Pastor Dietmar gave a sermon about Jacob and his ladder and concluded it with an all-age activity, asking the congregation to write down a time in their lives when they felt close to God, as Jacob did in his dream, and then stick that note on the ladder.  It was very moving to see so many people come to the front, as the organ was played, and take part in this.

During the service I was asked to give a greeting – my name was even on the order of service! I said a few words reflecting on the gratitude we feel for Hauke’s time with us and the bonds that draw us together whether we live in Buckinghamshire or Lower Saxony.  Hauke translated – but I have a suspicion he inserted some of his own thoughts too, as some of what he said drew laughter from the congregation.  I ended with a few words of German – I suspect it was unintelligible - but I so wanted to show some respectful friendship for all the kindness we had been shown over the weekend.

All too quickly our time came to an end.  We had a photo of Hauke between two pastors!  And then we shared a time of fellowship over fresh coffee at the back of the church.  The Heemsen congregation had built a servery at the rear of the church just before Lock Down.  They are glad to be using it now because it was their experience that when coffee were served over the road, in the church hall, they would lose too many people ‘En route’!

And then it was a drive back to Bremen airport and a flight back home.

Next day, as we watched the funeral of our late Queen my WhatsApp pinged and it was a message from Jochen to say that the family had watched some of the service from Westminster and he and Hauke had felt it right to raise the Union Jack half-mast on the farm flagpole.  I can think of no greater, or more appropriate, gesture of solidarity, deeply moving.

Last weekend Rachel and I worshipped in a so called ‘foreign country’ and in a different tradition.  Yet it was an experience, from beginning to end, in which we felt totally ‘at home’ and amongst great friends. 

Thanks be to God for the precious and enduring Family of God.

Gott sei Dank!