Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A German Lutheran Service from the Preface On...

This is a service from der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche (Berlin-Wilmersdorf) and it is recognizable and familiar even though you may not speak German.  The congregation is part of the SELK, the church body with which the LCMS has fellowship. Listen to the wonderful chanting of the Pastor and of the congregation and also the vibrant singing.  I believe the date is from early October.

The LCMS and SELK regularly work in partnership, often through the SELK’s mission arm, the Lutheran Church Mission (LKM, sometimes referred to as the Bleckmar Mission). The two church bodies operate a joint mission project in Brussels, Belgium, and their seminaries regularly exchange students. The most recent area of cooperation is the effort in Wittenberg, Germany, to establish a new Martin Luther museum-attraction and welcome center that will share the Good News about Jesus with tens of thousands of area residents and tourists every year. The project also includes planting a SELK congregation in Wittenberg, other ministries to serve the community, and a place for study.

Today, SELK ministers to approximately 40,000 baptized members in almost 200 congregations, and has 140 active pastors. Most of their congregations are located in Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Hessen. The SELK supports and carries on mission work in South Africa and Botswana and has one missionary working in Brazil.

5 comments:

Terry Maher said...

I saw this on PW's blog too, and it STILL looks like a left-legged genuflexion to me. I must have genuflected thousands of times before emerging foul and filthy from the miserable Tiber. Am I seeing things here, or what?

BrotherBoris said...

What a beautiful, traditional, reverent Lutheran service! This is definitely an example of a Lutheran parish putting its best foot forward. It reminds me of Old Missouri Synod worship that I've experienced in Wisconsin, esp. Milwaukee. I really think this is what a lot of people mean when they refer to Confessional Lutheranism as being 'evangelical catholic.' Note well that this was quite evangelical catholic and did not have any smells and the only bells I could hear were far away in the bell tower. Just goes to show you that the evangelical catholic expression of Lutheranism is not about bells and smells. I wish more people could understand that. This church lets the joy and reverence of the Liturgy shine forth: truly Gottesdienst.

Terry Maher said...

Looks to me like a parish putting its wrong foot backward.

Sage said...

I thought it was quite magnificent, especially the singing. The reverence shown was gratifying.

What difference does it make which knee you genuflect with anyway? Although come to think of it, I've always done right along with crossing myself using the right hand.

+ Peter said...

The older tradition would be to make a deep bow. This is certain what Luther would have done! Genuflection was first ordered in Buchard's edition of the Curial Missal c.1474.