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| 1736: St
Marienkirche, Waren, Germany |
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Mystery Worshipper:
Portola.
The church:
Sankt Marienkirche,
Waren, Germany.
Denomination:
Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg.
The building:
The church was established in the year 1225 as a castle chapel
in the Early Gothic style. Damaged by fire in 1637 and again
in 1671, it was rebuilt in 1792 as an aisleless church with
a Baroque crown. The steeples of churches in Germany are invariably
topped with a cross or rooster (a symbol of the Church’s calling
to proclaim the dawn of a new age in the midst of darkness).
But the steeple of this church is crowned with a swan, which
is unique. When the reformer Jan Hus was burned at the stake
in 1415, he is reported to have said: "Today you are baking
a goose (the literal meaning of Hus), but in a hundred years
you will hear a swan singing." A century later, Martin
Luther posted his 95 theses in Wittenberg. In four nearby churches
I saw a picture of Luther with a swan at his feet. The building
is full of curious fixtures and decorations – see the section
below on what distracted me.
The church:
Mecklenburg became officially Lutheran in 1549. Today only about
ten percent of the population in the former German Democratic
Republic belongs to a church. One of the challenges of life
under Nazi and Communist rule was to keep the church buildings
from becoming dilapidated because of lack of financial support;
the churches were kept more or less intact via donations from
West German churches and the volunteer efforts of members. Whenever
one attends a worship service in the former East Germany, these
historical memories are part of the fabric of the service.
The neighbourhood:
Waren, located on a large lake, is a popular holiday destination
among Germans. This region has literally a thousand lakes, large
pine forests, and broad grain fields. Fifty miles to the north
of Waren is the Baltic Sea coast, with its picturesque cities
featuring towering brick Gothic churches.
The cast:
The service was led by two people: a pradikant (a lay
person authorized to preach and administer the sacraments) and
a vikar (a pastor in training, not yet ordained). The
names of these two people were not to be found in written form;
there is no bulletin in German churches and the newsletter of
the congregation offered no names for this service. I was able
to learn only the name of the vikar, Herr Jean-Dominique
Lagies, who belongs to another congregation and was filling
in for the vacationing pastor.
The date & time:
Trinity Sunday, 7 June 2009, 9.30am.
What was the name of the service?
Gottesdienst, which means service of God. It is a matter
of perspective as to whether Gottesdienst means God’s
service to the congregation or the congregation’s service to
God. The Lutheran perspective is that God serves the congregation
through word and sacrament.
How full was the building?
The church was about two-thirds full – which is striking, considering
the early time and the rainy weather. According to my quick
count there were about 60 people in attendance, including several
young families with children and some confirmands. Typically,
the first arrivals preferred to sit in the back part of the
church; later arrivals thus had no choice but to sit more to
the front. Even so, the very front rows remained empty. The
children and confirmands were well-behaved, which is not necessarily
what I am used to.
Did anyone welcome you
personally?
As we entered, a person greeted us in a friendly manner, shook
our hands, and gave us a hymnbook and seating cushions. After
we sat, another person came over to us, greeted us, and asked
us if we were here on vacation. It was a discrete friendliness
which was appropriate to the situation, respecting the private
sphere that a visitor might like to maintain before a service.
Was your pew comfortable?
The church pews looked as though they were over 100 years old,
but they were surprisingly comfortable, especially since we
had the cushions.
How would you describe the pre-service
atmosphere?
Lively. The visiting vikar practiced the singing of
the liturgy with the organist. A brass choir could be heard
in a back room. People who knew one another exchanged words.
The bells were ringing. These sounds created an atmosphere of
anticipation. A sense of quiet reverence was also conveyed by
worshipers who prayed silently before sitting down.
What were the exact opening
words of the service?
The first words of the service were from Isaiah 6:3, the biblical
verse for this Trinity Sunday: "Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord of hosts. All the earth is full of His glory." A few
words were then said about the season of Trinity. The liturgy
began with the words: "We want to celebrate this service
of God in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
What books did the congregation
use during the service?
A hymn book: The Evangelical Hymnbook of the Lutheran Church
of Mecklenburg. I was delighted to find that the liturgy
used by this congregation was included behind the front cover
– but without musical notes. As a visitor I could actively participate
in most of the service, but not 100 percent -- which is reasonable.
What musical instruments
were played?
Organ and eight-piece brass band. Each accompanied alternating
verses of the hymns – organ verse 1, brass band verse 2, organ
verse 3, etc.
Did anything distract
you?
The main distraction in this church is that there is so much
to see. On the altar I noticed that the traditional depiction
of the crucifixion, which includes Mary and John standing below
the cross, also included Mary Magdalene kneeling at the foot
of the cross with a jar of ointment in front of her – an indication
of Easter Sunday. I found this symbolism so delightful that
my eyes kept coming back to it. But there were other features:
a symbol of the Trinity above the crucifixion group; a depiction
of the Ascension with the words: "Behold, I am with you
always, unto the end of the world." The church also has
interesting stoves, which are no longer in use but which are
decorative. On the side walls are self-made posters showing
groups and activities of the congregation. The only genuine
distraction was the light attached to the pulpit sounding board;
it may have helped the preacher to see his notes, but it glared
into the eyes of the worshipers who might want to keep their
eyes on the preacher.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip,
happy clappy, or what?
The service was formal and liturgical, but not stiff. The vikar
chanted parts of the liturgy and the prayers, which I found
uplifting. Chanting gives an emphasis to liturgical words and
prayers which reading alone cannot achieve. Chanting also conveys
a sense of other-worldliness – of heaven and earth coming together
– which I consider a dimension of every worship service.
Exactly how long was the
sermon?
17 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how
good was the preacher?
6 – I feel that 7 to 10 should be reserved for preachers
with special gifts or unusual qualities. I think that a 6 is
appropriate for this sermon, which I regard as a high mark.
The preacher fulfilled his assignment to be a "servant
of the word:" he let the biblical text on which the sermon
was based speak to the congregation. He seemed to be carefully
prepared and conveyed a quiet joy in what he was doing. When
he gave personal views they were appropriate to the context.
He did not impose his personality on the congregation, but respected
the listeners by letting them draw their own conclusions. I
was surprised afterwards to learn that this preacher is not
yet ordained – he had such poise and clarity of expression as
though he had been a minister for several years.
In a nutshell, what was
the sermon about?
The sermon was based on the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus
(John 3). Nicodemus went to Jesus with questions in his heart;
these questions are ultimately about finding eternal life. Eternal
life is something that can be received in a moment of grace.
It is a mysterious happening that cannot be brought about by
human activity. Passive acceptance is what is called for when
eternal life reveals itself. This passive acceptance of grace
is the foundation of life. Of course, we cannot only be passive;
we must remain active as we make decisions. Decisions that affect
our future may involve choices that are not as inviting as we
would prefer. But ultimately the future is out of our hands.
We live by grace.
Which part of the service was like being in
heaven?
Singing hymns accompanied by trumpets and trombones was like
being in heaven. The words of the vintage Lutheran chorales
are full of adoration and express solid contents of faith. Singing
hymns of this caliber is undoubtedly a foretaste of eternal
glory.
And which part was like
being in... er... the other place?
In the "other place" there is no singing and this
lack of singing also occurred in this worship service. When
the congregation sang, it didn’t sound as though 60 people were
present; I could barely hear any singing at all. What singing
there was seemed to be limited mostly to the women; several
men were staring into empty space. I was reminded of an ironic
book of etiquette for worshipers produced in Germany several
decades ago. One of the rules involved "proper" behavior
during the singing of hymns: "For men it is not seemly
to participate in the singing of hymns." Perhaps a lack
of enthusiastic singing is an indication that faith in Germany
is often regarded as a quiet, private affair of the heart, not
something to be proclaimed boldly.
What happened when you
hung around after the service looking lost?
After the service I loitered and tried to look as though I had
nothing better to do. No one came up to me. After waiting a
while, I took the initiative and talked to a few people, who
were friendly and answered my questions gladly. But the main
part of the congregation had left the church relatively quickly.
I remembered my first worship service in this country 35 years
ago, when I was astounded at how quickly the church emptied
after the service: it was as though prisoners had been set free.
How would you describe the after-service
coffee?
There was no after-service coffee. An ever-increasing number
of congregations are discovering how important coffee and tea
fellowship can be, but after-service coffee has no tradition
in Germany. There is a historical tendency to understand the
service primarily as a personal experience, and extended fellowship
afterward is traditionally not regarded as part of this experience.
How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
8 – In order to worship regularly at a church, I would
need to feel that I am part of a Christian community. The quality
of worship service is fine, but this alone is not decisive for
me. What really matters is what happens during the week: for
example, does the congregation offer a Bible conversation group?
Are there regular choir rehearsals? Are there indications that
the congregation reaches outward? According to the newsletter
and the posters in the church, this congregation does indeed
offer a good variety of possibilities to participate and become
part of a Christian fellowship. For this reason I would give
this congregation an 8.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a
Christian?
Yes, it made me feel good to be a Christian because I experienced
so much which makes up my Christian identity. It is a wonder
of the Holy Spirit that one can attend a church in any part
of the world and feel at home immediately, because the words
of the liturgy and the Bible are constants, and the spirit of
Jesus is the same everywhere. This spirit speaks through a sermon
or through a friendly greeting when one comes through the door
of the church. Also, the works of art in the church are part
of the proclamation of the gospel which makes up my identity.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
The faces of the members of the brass band as they walked through
the church. They had just finished practising and were on their
way to the choir loft at the back of the church. Their faces
were cheerful, full of joy and anticipation. Clearly they were
looking forward to celebrating the wonderful Lutheran hymns
of this service. Their faces were the embodiment of joy in the
Lord. |
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