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Welcome
to the ELCA Wittenberg Center website. Here you can
explore the many
study and learning opportunities sponsored or hosted by the
Wittenberg Center.
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Important News About the ELCA Center
The budgetary challenges
facing the ELCA have had an impact on the Wittenberg
Center. Jean and Steve Godsall-Myers will be leaving
their positions as Directors of the Center as of November
30, 2009. There are on-going discussions as to how
the ELCA will be able to maintain the Center and its
presence in Wittenberg. Read the
letter written by Robert Smith, Desk Director for
Europe and the Middle East to our German companions.
Read the
special edition of Miteinander with further
information.
- Interested in joining a study tour
or one of our many other
programs
in 2009
or beyond? Click here to
view upcoming programs.
- Colleges,
universities -- consider a
study program in Lutherstadt Wittenberg!
- Interested in planning a travel program?
Click here to view a
considerations check list.
- Interested in planning a
sabbatical in the "Land of Luther" (map)? ,
Click here.
- Share in a
"Wittenberg moment" -- a sermon
preached at one of the town churches
- Calling all
Synods -- join your fellow Christians from your
companion synod in exploring your roots and heritage
together during the Reformation Decade -- 2008 -2017
-- Why not set a date to meet in Wittenberg?
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Study
in
 Wittenberg:
A week, a J-term,
a May term, an
entire
semester. We invite professors, study abroad
officers, universities to learn more about
study opopportunities
in Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Sign at the former Judenstrasse Girls' School that is
being transformed into a Student Center ("Colleg
Wittenberg") |
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10th Anniversary Celebration: On May
9, 2009, at 2:00 pm, Center friends and supporters from
Wittenberg, Sweden, Bratislava, Hannover, Munich, the
USA gathered for a special worship service to give
thanks to God for 10 years of blessings in Wittenberg.
On hand were former Center Directors, Twila Schock and
Dick Bruesehoff (and his wife Naomi), Arden
Haug, regional representative for Europe and former
Center volunteers, Carol and John Bertrand. The
sermon for the occasion was delivered by Dr. Hanna
Kasparick, Director of the Seminary in Wittenberg.
At the reception following the service, greetings were
shared by Propst Siegfried Kasparick, EKD Luther Decade
Director, Stephan Dorgerloh, Sister Elisabeth from the
Selbitzer Community, and Hans Kasch, new director of the
LWF Center in Wittenberg. |
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The
Barmen Declaration -- This important statement of
the Confessing Church that boldly warned against the
threats of the National Socialist ideology is 75 years
old in May. The German Church will be taking time
to consider this document and how it continues to speak
to the Church today. You can find an English
version of the Declaration on the
EKD web site. |
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20
years after "Die Wende" -- the Fall of the Wall
-- In the Fall of 2009, many cities in Germany
, especially in the former East Germany (including
Wittenberg), will be remembering the events of the Fall
of 1989 and the Peaceful Revolution that led to the
collapse of the Communist governments in the East the
opening up of borders and the coming down of walls.
The Center is ready to work with groups, especially
university and college groups who might want to include
a visit to important sites -- Leipzig, Berlin -- in a
Wittenberg-based program focusing on the Fall of the
Wall. Please contact us. |
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 The
Luther Decade -- 2008
- 2017
With special events
and a festival worship service
on September 21, 2008 that
featured LWF President
and ELCA Presiding Bishop
Mark Hanson as the preacher, the Luther Decade
officially opened in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The
day before, Luther 'arrived' again, across the Elbe
River, as a 25-year old monk.
The weekend events were only the beginning -- in each of
the coming years there will be special events lifting up
a particular themes that will provide a chance for
people throughout the world to consider the impact of
the Reformation today. It will be a chance for
Lutherans, for our sisters and brothers of the
Reformation and for all our fellow Christians, to
consider the place of faith and the place of people of
faith in the world 500 years after Luther's entry into
the pages of history.
Click
here to access
the Luther Decade web site.
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Download
the Oct - Dec 2009 edition of the missionary newsletter,
Miteinander
here!
[pdf file] |
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Online
Sabbatical
and Journey planner Lots
of information about the "Land of Luther", the "Friends
of Luther" and the "Times of Luther". |
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