Seminary Trip to Germany

by Claire Jerram

In the first two weeks of December, eleven Toronto Seminary students visited our sister seminary in Stuttgart, Germany. 

Herzlich Willkommen (“welcome from the heart” in German)

All of our older priests trained in Stuttgart, as it was the movement’s only seminary for decades. Now three seminaries train Christian Community priests, Toronto, Stuttgart, and a third one in Hamburg. Each has its own style. In the Toronto seminary, one can become ordained without learning German, although knowing German enriches the experience immensely. Our directors planned this trip to connect us with the students from all over the world who are on the same path. Here is a link to the website of the Stuttgart Seminary:  https://www.priesterseminar-stuttgart.de/index.php/homepage.html

I had visited the Stuttgart seminary several times in my three years of study, and looked forward to the beautiful shared meals, to the close communal life (students all live in the same building where they study), and to hearing German, Spanish, French, Russian, Dutch and English every day. This year the students seemed even more international, like their three seminary directors, Mariano Kasanetz (Argentina), Xenia Medvedeva (Ukraine), and Georg Schaar (Germany). Students welcomed us all to drop into a choir practice every morning before the 7:30 service and on Tuesday nights. What a joy to hear four-part harmony ringing through the building.

The Seminary, built after the second world war on Spittlerstrasse, stands two blocks from Stuttgart-Mitte, the biggest of Stuttgart’s four Christian Community congregations, where one can attend the Consecration of the Human Being any day of the week. A few more blocks away stand the Eurythmeum, (Eurythmy school), the first Waldorf School, Rudolf Steiner Haus, and a Waldorf teacher education seminar.

After a warm welcome dinner from the students, a preparatory conversation with Patrick and Jonah and a Sunday service at Stuttgart-Mitte, five of us embarked on a train journey to Berlin. There we met with the circle of seven to see if they would confirm Patrick and Jonah’s recommendation that we begin the ordination preparation semester in Toronto in January.

Five students from the Stuttgart seminary, also from five different countries, are already in ordination preparation.  The day we arrived in Berlin, they had all received their final “yes”. This means that the entire priest circle had also confirmed the circle of seven’s decision.  At this point, the only thing that stands between these five and their ordination in February would be a decision of their own to step away. Later in Stuttgart, we had the opportunity to get to know these five and to share notes on the differences and similarities of our journeys.

Toronto ordination candidates in Berlin, named below

 With fluttering hearts, we knocked on the door of the Berlin headquarters of the Christian Community. The seven priests who hold the leadership of the movement welcomed us, and we began study, conversations and meals together. After a night of sleep in a nearby hostel, these meetings continued. We discussed our strengths and weaknesses. These four men and three women carry many responsibilities. Some of them are lenkers (leaders) of a region, or congregational priests in addition to their role in the leadership. Our own Patrick Kennedy was already working with them as he has been invited to replace one member, Gisela Triemer, stepping off the circle in June. Even with all they carry, I felt the peace and hope of Christ in their working mood with each other, and with us.

Ordination candidates at the Circle of Seven offices: Claire Jerram (U.S.), Gloria Connell (Chile), Bridgette Siepker (South Africa), Daniil Kalinov (Russia), Marc Fortin (Canada)

 At the end of the second day, we all received the welcome to the ordination preparation semester for which we had hoped. Two months before the July ordination, we will hope for the final confirmation from the priest circle which the Stuttgart group has already received. We hope you will consider attending the ordinations from July 5th to 7th this summer, 2024 in Toronto.

Walking through a Berlin park on our way back to the train station

 After Berlin, we returned to Stuttgart to join the other Toronto students in a week-long main lesson already in progress. Tom Ravetz, the lenker (leader) of the Christian Community in Great Britain and Ireland, created a picture of the heavenly hierarchies and how they relate to our priestly work as human beings, connecting earth with heaven. With Laurens Hornemann, who visited from his congregation in Dortmund, Germany, we envisioned the future of the Christian Community and how new impulses could come into being. With Tabea Hattenhauer from Hamburg-Harburg, Germany, we learned from the personal stories of a new priest, and practiced a meditation to deepen our connection with Christ. We finished our intensive Biblical studies trimester with student presentations. Each of us studied one word in the John gospel, and what this word teaches us about the community of God, in relation to the rest of the Bible, especially Genesis, and our lives.

An evening walk through the Stuttgart Christmas Market

Toward the end of our trip, students from both seminaries presented speech, choir singing, and instrumental music. After a shared feast, poetry and song continued, and all got up and participated in folk dances from Israel and elsewhere.

Thank you, Patrick and Jonah, for this amazing trip, and to those of you who support and accompany the seminary with prayer and financial support! Such a small religious movement needs to bridge regions, cultures, and languages, connecting to its common star. This visit really built such bridges.

Our Author:

Claire Jerram studied speech at Artemis School of Speech and Drama in England, and taught Waldorf classes one through five, mainly at the Waldorf School of Baltimore. She began her seminary study in Hillsdale, New York in 2021.