“Christian Führer, 71, East German Pastor Whose Prayer Meetings Inspired Protests” was the headline for a July 3, New York Times obituary.
In 1983, when the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall still symbolized the reality of non-freedom, including for Christians, I visited Johann Sebastian Bach’s native city of Leipzig in the then German Democratic Republic also known as East Germany. While there, I was invited to the home of a professor’s wife and daughter. In that drab and dingy world, the hostess opened her door and pointed: “Komm herein! This is this year’s flowers and wine on the table, and you are this year’s guests.” Her apartment was debugged, so she could speak freely, as did her daughter who had to choose between being a confirmand or getting into a university.
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