We journeyed to the home of Dietrich Bonhoeffer this morning. This pastor was a courageous and articulate pastor during the Nazi era. He, along with a minority of German pastors, called on the church to speak the truth of the gospel and refuse to be used by the government to legitimize its programs. He was arrested and killed for his actions and beliefs.
We also visited the Kaiser-Wilhelm Memorial Cathedral, which was heavily damaged in a booming raid in 1943. Like Coventry Cathedral in London, the damaged spire of the Cathedral has been left standing as a testament to the destructive power of war. It has also joined with Coventry to work for peace and reconciliation since.
Modern Berlin is also a city under an extraordinary explosion of growth and construction, with one of the highest concentrations of building cranes!
I am astounded, again, by the repeating patterns of history, the power of human connections, the variety of food, faces and languages, and the universal presence of God in all of it.
I am a deeply humbled, grateful and blessed woman. And oh so satisfied.