October 1989 / 2009
Today is a special day in Germany – the “Day of Decision” (Tag der Entscheidung), recalling the start of the “Peaceful Revolution” 20 years ago today in East Germany. Four weeks later – November 9th – saw the Berlin Wall come tumbling down. Our “sister church” in Leipzig, the Nikolai-Church, was at the center of it all, having begun a series of “Monday Prayer Services” (Montagsgebete), which drew thousands of people seeking non-violent change. When the pastor, Christian Führer, and the “Prayers for Peace” participants emerged from the church following the 5:00pm prayers on October 9, 1989, they expected to be beaten down and arrested by the secret police. Instead, they were greeted in front of the church by some 70,000 like-minded people holding candles and joining in a mass demonstration calling for change, chanting “No Violence!” and “We are the people!” One of the members of the secret police was later quoted as saying: “We were prepared for everything but prayers and candles.” It was an historic turning point – and the beginning of the end of the dictatorship in East Germany. There is an excellent made-for-TV film called “Nikolaikirche,” which is being being shown tonight on television.
We visited the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig a few months ago — the same historic sign from the fall of 1989 is still posted at the entrance of the church “offen für alle” (Open for All).
With peace,
Jeff & Andrea
Jeffrey Myers
Alte Nikolaikirche am Römerberg
Frankfurt am Main
GERMANY
