Another Chapter in ‘Our Life’
“The church was opened in 1895 in the presence of Empress Auguste Victoria. It was intended to be a spiritual home to the throng of immigrants steadily streaming into Berlin. The immigrants eventually found the employment they sought within the expanding industrial sector of Wedding, but this relocation and the life in new and unfamiliar surroundings were wrought with considerable social tensions. These tensions were to be addressed by the congregation with the spirit of reconciliation, a philosophy that gave the church its name.”
“The church was opened in 1895 in the presence of Empress Auguste Victoria. It was intended to be a spiritual home to the throng of immigrants steadily streaming into Berlin. The immigrants eventually found the employment they sought within the expanding industrial sector of Wedding, but this relocation and the life in new and unfamiliar surroundings were wrought with considerable social tensions. These tensions were to be addressed by the congregation with the spirit of reconciliation, a philosophy that gave the church its name.”
“The extent of the shock, despair, and pain experienced due to the Wall’s construction was at its most evident in Bernauer Strasse, which itself soon became a worldwide symbol of the brutality and absurdity of the Wall. The consequences for the Church of Reconciliation and its congregation were especially grotesque. The church stood to the south of Bernauer Strasse, in the east of the city, while most of its congregation lived to the north of Bernauer Strasse, in the city’s western half. The church stood in no man’s land in the middle of the prohibited zone and was completely inaccessible. Such was its fate for more than 20 years!”
“(The East German border guards) line of fire was not as unobstructed as they wished and the Church of Reconciliation was razed in January, 1985. On January 22nd the nave was detonated, followed by the church steeple on the 28th. At the time, images of the crumbling steeple were broadcast around the world, causing both bewilderment and disgust.” (from http://www.kapelle-versoehnung.de/bin/englisch/geschichte.php Home: http://www.kapelle-versoehnung.de/bin/englisch/index.php )
At the worship service we had representatives from so many different parts of the world, with many churches reporting examples of overcoming violence. They were all very touching, but I believe that the place where we had the service spoke the loudest. A congregation that built a chapel out of the former church’s rubble, in the same place where their church, which from inception carried the name “Reconciliation,” was built 105 years earlier – in the heart of a big city that was divided for decades. A legacy of reconciliation! A legacy of overcoming violence! As though God knew what it was going to live up to! And what every church should be living up to!
Lisa Smith
Steve and Lisa Smith serve with the Evangelical Church of the Union (EKU), in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, Germany. Steve serves on the Ecumenical Council of Churches on behalf of the region. Lisa serves as assistant to the commissioner for migrant issues. They also provide lay training in the church region.