Dear Almut, As always your writing is full of wisdom, clarity, vulnerability and much, much to ponder. There is so much to reflect upon and respond to. What struck me as a thunderbolt was the story of your grandfather. I admire his courage and conviction to do what was right. He was obviously a man who looked in the mirror at night and recognized who was looking back at him. No small feat. His story sent me back to my youth and one Sunday morning when Pastor Dahlquist stood on the steps of the alter. It was during the Vietnam War and "Love it or leave it" was chanted by the war hawks. People had besieged him to put an American flag at the back of the alter. He gave his reply that Sunday morning...it was a doozy. Standing erect and with his face turning crimson, he exclaimed that the flag NEVER belongs in the church, anywhere in the church, let alone the alter. Mixing the flag with faith, any faith negates the faith. It becomes a weapon to silence, to discredit and destroy. His sensibility was rooted in the American idea of separation of church and state as well as the echoes of the Nazi's. As time passed and as I have attended different churches, I cringe mightily when I spot the flag near the alter. Christian nationalism terrifies me and makes me weep. It is like fever that overtakes body and soul. It blocks the ability to engage with the divine. The divine is cast aside for personal power and personal justification.
How did we get here? Look to the religious and political leaders of the 1980's. It was then that Christian speak (not actually faith) was weaponized for political gain (that is for the current climate we are swirling in). The fever will hopefully break by January 20, 2025, but the ravages to the body politic, to each of us will take along time to heal. The radicalization will go underground but it will never really be far away. It is up to us to be like your grandfather...that is to really keep the faith.
oh Kathleen, what beautiful words! I love how your story of Pastor Dahlquist and the story of my grandfather speak about the same spirit. The spirit of resistance, humility and wisdom. I find much hope in the new generation of people who carry this spirit forward.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. And I share your feelings about Christian nationalism. I think weeping is indeed the proper response.
Thank you Almut. I think we can learn much by reflecting on history, and it’s especially compelling when it’s told through personal experience. My German ancestors are now all gone, my mother, daughter of German immigrants, passed away last week. They came to the US, to participate in this experiment called American democracy. Even with the current divisiveness, I still have hope that this will propel us beyond, into something that unites us.
Thank you so much, Lisa. I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. Peace and hope to your grieving soul. And yes, may hope prevail in this country also, Almut
PS: I love to see that you are writing on Hildegard, too!
Thanks for your kind words. I shared my fascination with Hildegard’s teaching with my mother, who had a remarkable way of locating Hildegard books for me, so it was something that we were able to explore together. I hope to make a Hildegard pilgrimage in the next few years and learn even more about this remarkable woman!
That sounds good, Lisa. I am thinking of offering a Hildegard Seminar online starting next year. Like a year long monthly intensives for Hildegard teachers and writers :-)
Oh my goodness, thank you so much Almut. I have read this twice now, and plan to share your post with my FB friends. As someone who has lived behind the Iron Curtain, your perspectives are genuine and so revealing. I could go on with my thoughts and thanks, but please know that you are a gift to us all. Thank you for your courage and your determination.
Bless you, dear Karen, for your words of encouragement and wisdom. And thank you so much for sharing this letter forward. May it encourage others also.
This is hauntingly beautiful! Last year I visited nations that were once behind the iron curtain. I listened to guides who shared stories that were much like yours. My eyes were opened in ways my high school history books never revealed.
Oh America, where is your conscience? Where is your heart?
My hand is on my heart in gratitude for your life and your courage to pour your life into words we can understand and also own in our own ways. Your story and your stand, rooted in reality and wisdom, needs to be heard. I will be sharing it. May peace and compassion be yours as we go forward lifting our voices and living compassionate truth.
Sharon, thank you or your beautiful words. I especially like to think of my writing as "rooted in reality and wisdom," what a lovely way to say it, thank you 🙏.
Thank you also for your words of blessing, may it be so for you also.
I love this, all of it, dear Almut, and thank you so much for sharing. My heart goes out to you and I know I have so much to learn from you, especially if our country chooses to walk into the darkness. My heart goes out to my country, too, and to my siblings in Christ who have been bedazzled by the prospect of power. Lord have mercy on us all.
I have just come across and read your most meaningful essay. I will restock it; I will re read it again. What is so appreciated is how well your writing touches the frightening discord of our country. The elections have already taken place. trump is in, and ,if the polls are to be believed, a little less than half the voters wanted him, and just about the same number wanted Harris. Disbelief! And now, reading your article, though I new it before, I see clearly how history is repeating itself.
Thank you, Marcia, yes, when I wrote the post I was hoping we will learn from history. But instead we are still on repeat. But the East German experiment took 40 years, so I hope the Americans figure it out somewhat earlier :-)
I was born on the west side of Germany with grandmother and uncles on the east. My mother was born close to the Check border but grew up near Leipzig. They lived through those times …. I remember a little …. Sledding down a bombed out building in Frankfurt thinking it was a hill. My family were separated by a wall and eventually by an ocean. I have spent a lifetime trying to figure how the German people opened the door for the Nazis and then built gas chambers for their citizens, neighbors who suddenly became enemies…. How good Germans could deny the existence of the gas chambers and camps outside their towns …how they could smell the air and ignore the reality! My memories fuel my fear … Hitler took small steps, small outrageous actions … until it was too late. Those small steps were allowed by good people living in times of deprivation due to a war that they had instigated and lost. Due to vengeful countries who had been forced to fight and lose their people to stop the aggression. We have allowed this path because we no longer understand Christ, we no longer see the path to our neighbor, we no longer are willing to love one another as Christ loved us. We have lot our way!
Thank you Hazel, for this thoughtful reflection. Yes, it is always those small outrageous steps which bring a nation closer to accept an avalanche of outrage in the end. It is surely sad to watch in real time especially with the German trauma in our bones. People who speak out and speak truth still give me hope. Danke for praying and hoping together 🙏
Dear Almut, your words are sobering and heartfelt; and they ring so true. Thank you, thank you. May enough of our fellow country-folk perceive the danger we are in, and vote--in hope--against it.
o thank you, Erik, for being here with us. I have great hope actually. It feels like 1989 to me. A spirit of the people raising their voices to be heard.
Thank you Almut for the time and energy you invested in this. Interesting to note is that my great grandparents were born in Świątniki and Kórnik (Poznań County) Poland. My great great grandfather (great grandmother’s dad) and my great grandfather served together involuntarily in the Franco-Prussian war for the Prussian army. As they were heavily involved in the building of new Catholic Churches and subsequent Catholic communities in Northeastern Wisconsin (Spruce and Green Bay) circa 1900, I would assume that religious freedom was part of their decision to leave their home country. As a result, I have been clearly blessed born and living in this land of opportunity. I agree with much of what you have written above; I just believe that we have very different perceptions of the character and motives of the two candidates that fate has given us. Nonetheless, Tuesday will come and go. It will be We, the People, who will need to hold those elected to higher standards. May love, peace and holy joy enfold us, and ripple outward to those we encounter day by day.
Sue, I am so thrilled to see you here :-) Thank you for reading and responding and reflecting on this letter. It looks like our family have some things in common given that my father also came from what is today Poland.
I think it is very true that people see different paths on what brings us forward. I think this diversity makes us richer as people.
I do have to admit though that looking at your last words about "love, peace and holy joy" it seems to me that the man in the race has a lack of all of these. Which must make for an unhappy life altogether.
I fully agree with your wonderful blessing: "May love, peace and holy joy enfold us, and ripple outward to those we encounter day by day."
Thank you, dear Anne. It took me a long while honestly. I did not know how difficult it is to write about your own story! I am glad to hear you find it valuable 🙏.
Dear Almut, As always your writing is full of wisdom, clarity, vulnerability and much, much to ponder. There is so much to reflect upon and respond to. What struck me as a thunderbolt was the story of your grandfather. I admire his courage and conviction to do what was right. He was obviously a man who looked in the mirror at night and recognized who was looking back at him. No small feat. His story sent me back to my youth and one Sunday morning when Pastor Dahlquist stood on the steps of the alter. It was during the Vietnam War and "Love it or leave it" was chanted by the war hawks. People had besieged him to put an American flag at the back of the alter. He gave his reply that Sunday morning...it was a doozy. Standing erect and with his face turning crimson, he exclaimed that the flag NEVER belongs in the church, anywhere in the church, let alone the alter. Mixing the flag with faith, any faith negates the faith. It becomes a weapon to silence, to discredit and destroy. His sensibility was rooted in the American idea of separation of church and state as well as the echoes of the Nazi's. As time passed and as I have attended different churches, I cringe mightily when I spot the flag near the alter. Christian nationalism terrifies me and makes me weep. It is like fever that overtakes body and soul. It blocks the ability to engage with the divine. The divine is cast aside for personal power and personal justification.
How did we get here? Look to the religious and political leaders of the 1980's. It was then that Christian speak (not actually faith) was weaponized for political gain (that is for the current climate we are swirling in). The fever will hopefully break by January 20, 2025, but the ravages to the body politic, to each of us will take along time to heal. The radicalization will go underground but it will never really be far away. It is up to us to be like your grandfather...that is to really keep the faith.
oh Kathleen, what beautiful words! I love how your story of Pastor Dahlquist and the story of my grandfather speak about the same spirit. The spirit of resistance, humility and wisdom. I find much hope in the new generation of people who carry this spirit forward.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. And I share your feelings about Christian nationalism. I think weeping is indeed the proper response.
Let us pray the fever will break.
Peace and love to you also, A.
With prayers and votes it will break. Peace be with you, Almut
Thank you Almut. I think we can learn much by reflecting on history, and it’s especially compelling when it’s told through personal experience. My German ancestors are now all gone, my mother, daughter of German immigrants, passed away last week. They came to the US, to participate in this experiment called American democracy. Even with the current divisiveness, I still have hope that this will propel us beyond, into something that unites us.
Thank you so much, Lisa. I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. Peace and hope to your grieving soul. And yes, may hope prevail in this country also, Almut
PS: I love to see that you are writing on Hildegard, too!
Thanks for your kind words. I shared my fascination with Hildegard’s teaching with my mother, who had a remarkable way of locating Hildegard books for me, so it was something that we were able to explore together. I hope to make a Hildegard pilgrimage in the next few years and learn even more about this remarkable woman!
That sounds good, Lisa. I am thinking of offering a Hildegard Seminar online starting next year. Like a year long monthly intensives for Hildegard teachers and writers :-)
I LOVE this idea, and look forward to learning more!
😍
Oh my goodness, thank you so much Almut. I have read this twice now, and plan to share your post with my FB friends. As someone who has lived behind the Iron Curtain, your perspectives are genuine and so revealing. I could go on with my thoughts and thanks, but please know that you are a gift to us all. Thank you for your courage and your determination.
Bless you, dear Karen, for your words of encouragement and wisdom. And thank you so much for sharing this letter forward. May it encourage others also.
This is hauntingly beautiful! Last year I visited nations that were once behind the iron curtain. I listened to guides who shared stories that were much like yours. My eyes were opened in ways my high school history books never revealed.
Oh America, where is your conscience? Where is your heart?
Linda, thank you for your heartfelt words and also your words of lament. I share them deeply.
My hand is on my heart in gratitude for your life and your courage to pour your life into words we can understand and also own in our own ways. Your story and your stand, rooted in reality and wisdom, needs to be heard. I will be sharing it. May peace and compassion be yours as we go forward lifting our voices and living compassionate truth.
Sharon, thank you or your beautiful words. I especially like to think of my writing as "rooted in reality and wisdom," what a lovely way to say it, thank you 🙏.
Thank you also for your words of blessing, may it be so for you also.
I love this, all of it, dear Almut, and thank you so much for sharing. My heart goes out to you and I know I have so much to learn from you, especially if our country chooses to walk into the darkness. My heart goes out to my country, too, and to my siblings in Christ who have been bedazzled by the prospect of power. Lord have mercy on us all.
Bless you, Donna, for your thoughtful and kind response. I do feel hope these days. Like the time around 1989 I described. A joyful revolution. 😇
Oh, I hope so.
I have just come across and read your most meaningful essay. I will restock it; I will re read it again. What is so appreciated is how well your writing touches the frightening discord of our country. The elections have already taken place. trump is in, and ,if the polls are to be believed, a little less than half the voters wanted him, and just about the same number wanted Harris. Disbelief! And now, reading your article, though I new it before, I see clearly how history is repeating itself.
Thank you, Marcia, yes, when I wrote the post I was hoping we will learn from history. But instead we are still on repeat. But the East German experiment took 40 years, so I hope the Americans figure it out somewhat earlier :-)
I was born on the west side of Germany with grandmother and uncles on the east. My mother was born close to the Check border but grew up near Leipzig. They lived through those times …. I remember a little …. Sledding down a bombed out building in Frankfurt thinking it was a hill. My family were separated by a wall and eventually by an ocean. I have spent a lifetime trying to figure how the German people opened the door for the Nazis and then built gas chambers for their citizens, neighbors who suddenly became enemies…. How good Germans could deny the existence of the gas chambers and camps outside their towns …how they could smell the air and ignore the reality! My memories fuel my fear … Hitler took small steps, small outrageous actions … until it was too late. Those small steps were allowed by good people living in times of deprivation due to a war that they had instigated and lost. Due to vengeful countries who had been forced to fight and lose their people to stop the aggression. We have allowed this path because we no longer understand Christ, we no longer see the path to our neighbor, we no longer are willing to love one another as Christ loved us. We have lot our way!
Thank you Hazel, for this thoughtful reflection. Yes, it is always those small outrageous steps which bring a nation closer to accept an avalanche of outrage in the end. It is surely sad to watch in real time especially with the German trauma in our bones. People who speak out and speak truth still give me hope. Danke for praying and hoping together 🙏
The sun is rising.
Thank you for sharing your story. I was deeply touched.
Thank you for reading, Sally 🙏
Oh, Almut, I wish all Americans could read and heed your words. I fear for our country should he win this election.❤️
Kathleen, thank you so much. I have great hope for this election 😇
Dear Almut, your words are sobering and heartfelt; and they ring so true. Thank you, thank you. May enough of our fellow country-folk perceive the danger we are in, and vote--in hope--against it.
o thank you, Erik, for being here with us. I have great hope actually. It feels like 1989 to me. A spirit of the people raising their voices to be heard.
Thank you Almut for the time and energy you invested in this. Interesting to note is that my great grandparents were born in Świątniki and Kórnik (Poznań County) Poland. My great great grandfather (great grandmother’s dad) and my great grandfather served together involuntarily in the Franco-Prussian war for the Prussian army. As they were heavily involved in the building of new Catholic Churches and subsequent Catholic communities in Northeastern Wisconsin (Spruce and Green Bay) circa 1900, I would assume that religious freedom was part of their decision to leave their home country. As a result, I have been clearly blessed born and living in this land of opportunity. I agree with much of what you have written above; I just believe that we have very different perceptions of the character and motives of the two candidates that fate has given us. Nonetheless, Tuesday will come and go. It will be We, the People, who will need to hold those elected to higher standards. May love, peace and holy joy enfold us, and ripple outward to those we encounter day by day.
Sue, I am so thrilled to see you here :-) Thank you for reading and responding and reflecting on this letter. It looks like our family have some things in common given that my father also came from what is today Poland.
I think it is very true that people see different paths on what brings us forward. I think this diversity makes us richer as people.
I do have to admit though that looking at your last words about "love, peace and holy joy" it seems to me that the man in the race has a lack of all of these. Which must make for an unhappy life altogether.
I fully agree with your wonderful blessing: "May love, peace and holy joy enfold us, and ripple outward to those we encounter day by day."
May it be so indeed. And blessings to you.
Thank you, Almut, for this insightful post! Jean Haslett
🙏
Such a valuable perspective Almut!
Thank you for drawing a picture about life that is hard to imagine...
Thank you, dear Anne. It took me a long while honestly. I did not know how difficult it is to write about your own story! I am glad to hear you find it valuable 🙏.
So, so good. Thank you Almut!
🙏
Yes!