Bursfelde

[Carsten Schermuly]

after Matthäus Merian 17th century
http://www.bursfelder-miniaturen.de/contentimages/stich_bursfelde.jpg


I have been often, often there. As a schoolboy on bycicle and with my children in car.


I was a lutheran before I came in 1977 to Berlin.
Everybody had a candle and a selfprinted service program in the right time in pocket.

As 16, 17 & 18aged I was with a lutheran bible circle (maybe fourty members) from my hometown Göttingen over Easter for four days friday, saturday, sunday and monday in a small town Hemeln on the upper river Weser. In the night from saturday to sunday after midnight we stood up - without to speak - without to say any word, left Hemeln to walk on the road one side the river, one side the forest about two miles to Bursfelde. As a real old church there are no seats or benches in, we stood as a circle in front of altar and did wait, the night will leave. Time for meditation and prayer. Once the sky got its first gray (Peter came to grave in early morning), a single candle was burnt (the folk in the darkness does see a great light - John 1) and the flame was given from one candle to the other - not too fasten - as a celebration - and everytimes the flame was given and taken the easter greeting speech have been said and answered.
Then followed a service and prayer time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursfelde_Abbey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursfelde_Congregation

photos
outside
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Bursfelde_10.jpg
outside
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Bursfelde_02.jpg
inside, looking to west, off from altar
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Bursfelde-Innen.jpg

Webpage of the congregation
http://www.kloster-bursfelde.de/ - only german talking, more photos, but just little copies

Webpage about the abbeys historic "miniatures"
http://www.bursfelder-miniaturen.de/index.html - only german talking, more photos and drawings
left side text, right side graphics
Text example,
the last half (one half was broken off after a thunderstorm, the tree was splitted by a flash strike) of a 1000 year old linden tree on a pond east of the church in monastry garden.
http://www.bursfelder-miniaturen.de/klosterlinde.html

monastry buildings north of the church
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Bursfelde_11.jpg

Bursfelde seen from river Weser
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Baggerschiff_Oberweser.jpg

[Anne and Dwayne Hood]

Nice, inspirational service, Carsten. I imagine God felt very near, at that time.

[Carsten Schermuly]

Leader of that Göttingen bible circle was a socalled Diakon, named Strothmann. He did study on a preacher seminary named Johanneum in Wuppertal - Elberfeld, The Johanneum was founded in the Nazi era by members of the Bekennende Kirche. Mr. Strothmann teached us boys two things.
A
God is a god or orders
like discipline and correctness. To stand in Easter morning for about oneahalf to two hours in the dark church waiting for the first day light was a discipline training. We did not know to that time, he many years later married my brother & his wife and told me on the wedding party.
B
He did teach how to read the bible.
He had the lucky hand to make principles plastic. Without this so I think often, my whole life had been more poor.

He married the most pretty Lady under the sun (pardon, the second after Grace Kelly) and served in Bursfelde and the villages around Bursfelde as Pastor. Today he is retired and lives in a pretty home near the monastry Bursfelde.

His father was a man in the Bekennende Kirche, a joiner, I only do know from photos - a heroe.