Bonhoeffer Seminar Review
What sort of challenges do we face to our faith in our community?
So began the Bonhoeffer Seminar hosted earlier this year by the St Paul’s congregation in Warragul/Darnum for the 80th anniversary of his death.
After outlining several faith challenges at home and abroad, David Ingham helped us to explore the challenges Dietrich faced, the development of his thinking, study and action. While quite an accomplished pianist, Dietrich’s vocation began with a call to be a theologian in Berlin, which eventually led to some teaching and pastoral work in America and later in England. Both these experiences challenged his understanding of faith and social conscience. All this at a time of great turmoil in 1930s Germany after the end of the First World War, with the downfall of the Weimar Republic, the rapid rise of Adolf Hitler, the 57-day establishment the Nazi regime and its eventual takeover of the German Lutheran Church. Dietrich joined the Confessing Church, tutored pastoral candidates, protested against the national government, moved towards pacificism and joined with others in a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. While in prison he became a compassionate pastor and carer to both prisoners and prison-staff alike, and wrote deeply about his situation and faith.
Vera Hartelt then invited us into the family life of Dietrich with a special focus on his relationship with his fiancée, Maria von Wedemeyer. She proposed, by letter, and said something like “To the question you haven’t asked, the answer is Yes, Yes, Yes”. She was allowed to visit Dietrich in prison with the help of a sympathetic guard. Sadly, their relationship ended with Dietrich’s execution on April 9, 1945.
Vera concluded her talk with Bonhoeffer’s poem, “Who am I?”, after which we all sang his hymn, “By gracious powers” (TIS 617), which ends with the words:
“Yet when again in this same world you give us
the joy we had, the brightness of your sun,
we shall remember all the days we lived through
and our whole life shall then be yours alone.”
The audience, from a variety of Christian denominations, greatly appreciated the presentations and came to a fuller understanding of Dietrich and Maria, the challenges they faced and God’s faithful loving care. They also enjoyed a sumptuous afternoon tea, provided by the members of St Paul’s, and the opportunity to chat.
