On old Berlin churches, breathing walls and speaking stones.

A photo meditation, Benedictine listening practice and a Blessing for the weary pilgrim.

© A. Furchert. A quiet moment at Zionskirche in Berlin, Germany.

Dear one,

Last year around this time we visited Zionskirche close to our sabbatical home in Berlin, Germany. It was a rainy and gray day just like many of the Berlin late Fall days. Though most of the church was under construction a volunteer offered a warm welcome at the entrance hall. Bread and coffee for the weary pilgrim, candles and open doors to the tower and the upper church. Upon entering the upper church over a beat up stairway I could feel its history seeping through its old walls and into my bones. Every crack and peeling paint was a reminder of times gone by, times of peace and upheaval, evil and blessings.

Built by the emperor Zionskirche from early on faced disputes between its more conservative and more liberal wing (sounds familiar?). Later the young Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught here struggling with a rowdy confirmation class. Another 50 years later the peaceful revolution grow under its roof into a movement …