Torbay
– Hameln Churches
Visit to Hameln - the town of the Pied Piper (der 'Rattenfänger')
26 May - 4 June 2000
(In association with Christians
Together in Paignton)
In May of 2000 members of our congregation together with
friends from other local churches visited members of the
Evangelical
Lutheran Münster-Gemeinde, Hameln, Germany.
Our friends from Hameln visited us from the 05 April to 11
April 2002. Click here to view the
interesting and varied programme that was arranged for their visit which marked the 25th Anniversary of our friendship.
Click
here to find out more about our links with Hameln.
Click here to read
more about the town of Hameln.
Click here
to hear the sound of the 'Pied Piper'!
Click here to listen to the pealing of the Münster bells
Click here to listen to Alexander Kuhlo on the Münster Organ play
"Fantasie in F minor, K.608" (Allegro Maestoso) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Click here
to go to our Hameln Visit - Picture Page.
Below is a translation of the Sermon delivered by the then Superintendent Pastor Bernd Wrede, in the
Evangelical Lutheran Münster, Hameln
Rogation Sunday 28 May 2000
Text - Colossians chapter 4 verses 2-6
Mercy be with you and the peace of God our Father and our Lord,
Jesus Christ.
Dear Friends
Many advertisements have at the end a telephone number and then the sentence
"The call is free." Communication now knows no bounds - only one
connection is being taken up more and more infrequently: conversation with God.
Only a quarter of all Germans - according to one survey - pray daily, 27% never
pray. But this call is free...
Is the connection with God through prayer taken up less, because no help is
expected from this connection?
In my Christian life I have already learnt a lot about how people pray in
other churches, in Africa or in England.
And I was once completely surprised by the depth of faith in the power of
prayer.
It was at the end of the 1970's at the time of the separation of races in
South Africa. My wife and I were accompanying a group of young Christians from
that country on a visit to Germany - all black, students, teachers, nurses .....
We spoke a lot about the separation of races in their country from which they
were quite obviously suffering and we asked them: "What should we be doing
for you? What do you expect from us? How can we help you?"
We had expected answers like: "Exert political pressure. Work for a
trade boycott."
But the answer was quite different, it was the first words of our text:
"Pray without ceasing! Be diligent in prayer for us! Pray without
ceasing!"
With this unexpected answer the South African Christians had shown the
Germans what faith they had in the power of prayer - and we were deeply ashamed,
that we ourselves had not thought of it.
Prayer as a powerful call for help.
Our text speaks of this.
And out of gratitude it takes us into prayer.
So that we shall remember that it is never right to approach prayer from one
direction only. Always only from the feeling; Need teaches us how to pray. There
is something in that, of course.
But prayer out of gratitude is also a power in our lives.
My day ends quite differently when I meditate in thankful prayer before God.
My day ends quite differently when I express my thanks for the peace of the
night and new strength given by God.
In saying that, I do not want to take anything away from other meanings of
prayer, what we think about with our candidates for confirmation, when we speak
about prayer.
For we speak about the three ways of praying -
Praying for oneself,
Praying for others, and indeed also what the letter to the Colossians
particularly calls here: "thanking God for everything He gives us."
The first part of our text is about conversation with God, about prayer.
In the second part it is about Christians speaking with others, about
speaking in public, but also about speaking within the church, with friends, at
school, at work.
This speaking can also be a prayer.
People who pray together with someone else say it is good for their faith.
Dietrich Bonhoffer said: "The prerequisite for prayer is faith, the link
with Jesus Christ."
The praying person goes with his/her words to God, to Jesus Christ, and can
take others with him/her.
This is the mission side, the inviting side of prayer.
But in the text it also speaks of interchange with other people.
Telling forth, speaking about faith.
I find that meeting with our guests, with Christians from Torbay, provides us
with a good opportunity to try out such a telling forth, to put into practice
prayer of this sort.
In a good context. With a common foundation.
That's one thing.
The other is our speaking and actions as Christians outside of the protective
atmosphere of our churches.
This reminds me of the text of a speaker on Hyde Park Corner, that corner of
the big park in London, where many simply people go and find a place to speak
out loud.
Such speaking must, as our text says, be friendly but also seasoned with
salt, interesting and able to move spontaneously to all possible questions and
interruptions.
Such speaking - the Letter to the Colossians says - should be the speech of
all Christians. I wonder if we could be successful with that?
As we said, in the protected environment of the church, among Christian
friends, like our guests.
But outside, in the work place, at school, with one's circle of
acquaintances, at the club, there we need the presence of the spirit of God and
the courage of faith in God.
And if we cannot find the words or we dare not speak, we can just behave in a
Christian way to the best of our ability.
But the winning speaking about God and about our faith remains the
commission, not only on Rogation Sunday.
And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding keep our hearts and
minds in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
AMEN
[ Hameln Visit - 2000 ] [ Hameln
Visit - Picture Page ]
