500 years ago Martin Luther wrote one of the
most explosive academic works ever published.
He posted his 95 theses on forgiveness on the
door of the castle church in his university town of
Wittenberg. The eventual result was the massive split
in the medieval church into Catholic and Protestant,
political convulsions that reshaped Europe, and
religious and philosophical changes that led to the
modern world.
The commemoration of this event is very important
for our partner church in Central Germany, our EKM
/ Magdeburg link. All the significant sites of Luther’s
life and the birth of the Reformation are part of their
church area. The biggest focus of attention will be the
Church Celebration (Kirchentag) which happens every two years, drawing roughly between
100,000 and 200,000 Christians. In 2003 this became a fully ecumenical celebration.
Groups from Worcester parishes will spending time with their partner parishes in
Magdeburg and a group of individuals is travelling to Berlin for the central Kirchentag
celebration. Bishop John will be helping the EKM kick off their celebrations on Ascension
Day in Magdeburg, as he preaches at an open air service outside the cathedral. He and
Archdeacon Robert Jones will also be helping lead a service of Evensong the following
night in Magdeburg cathedral.
Please pray for our German partners, especially Bishop Ilse Junkermann, and her regional
bishops, Propst Christoph Hackbeil (our primary partner in Stendal-Magdeburg) and
his colleagues Johann Schneider (Halle-Wittenberg), Christian Stawenow (EisenachErfurt), Diethard Kamm (Gera-Weimar), Kristina Kühnbaum-Schmidt (Meiningen-Suhl).
Pray also for our parish partnerships and all those travelling.
Worcester East Deanery – Rural Dean: Charles Thomas; Lay Chair: Michael Bunclark
Diocese of New Jersey (USA)L Bishop William Stokes
Diocese of Gloucester: Bishop Rachel Treweek with Bishop Robert Springett (Tewkesbury)
Diocese of Västerås (Sweden): Bishop Mikael Mogren
