First of all, thank you for this opportunity for rest and renewal, I enjoyed it immensely! And a special thank you to David and Drake who bore the brunt of the workload so graciously. I appreciate all your prayers and efforts on my behalf!

I took a Sabbatical for several reasons - to spend more quality and quantity time with my family and to travel a bit and explore my Schwenkfelder roots. We accomplished all of this through a tour of Poland and Germany. A private goal of mine for the Sabbatical was to try and get my brain cells back on line! They just weren't working the way they should. Well . . . we had 13 nights in 10 different hotel rooms with 10 different hotel room numbers (more than once I had to ask at the main desk in the various lobbies for my room number!) Added to that -each morning we had to remember three different times, which changed every day - when our luggage had to be in the hallway, when we had to be on the bus and when breakfast was being served. About halfway through the trip, I began using the little notepads in the hotel rooms to write this important information down because by day six what was left of my brain cells had crashed and burned. (And to think I used to wonder who ever used those little note pads!)

Seriously, I highly recommend Jerry Heebner Heritage Tours. Twenty-two of us - 20 adults and 2 teens-had a memorable and moving experience traveling through Poland, Germany and tiny parts of Austria and Switzerland. Part of our trip was a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a journey to something or someplace sacred, someplace special. For our group, that meant retracing some of the places unique to Schwenckfeld and the Schwenkfelders. God's presence on this journey was very real through the people we met and the places we visited and I'd like to share several snapshots of that experience this morning.

We began the pilgrimage part of our tour in Poland. The highlight of our time there was the rededication of the plaque at the Viehweg in Harpersdorf, Silesia. (Today, the village has a Polish name, Twardocice. After World War II, the Germans of Harpersdorf were moved out of Germany, Harpersdorf became part of Poland, its name was changed to Twardocice, and Polish people were moved in. Not necessarily the best way to rebuild after a war.) The word "Viehweg" means cattle path and it looks remarkably like one of the Seipt farm's tractor paths. It is literally still a cattle path - the current herd (herds in Poland apparently being 3 or 4 cows) watched us with interest as we walked to the monument. The significance of the Viehweg is that it is the burial place for Schwenkfelders who refused to attend either the Catholic or Lutheran Churches. They were not allowed to have a burial in a consecrated cemetery because they were considered heretics for not attending the recognized churches. Being buried in the Viehweg then would be the equivalent of being buried in the town dump today.

We're hoping to show you a video of that rededication service sometime this Fall. What I'd like to share with you this morning is the heart of the people of Twardocice. They didn't know us from anyone - but they understood the significance of the monument; they understood the sacrifice the Schwenkfelders made for their beliefs. They understood, probably more than we ever will, what it means to be persecuted for who you are and for what you believe. And because of that understanding, they opened their arms and their community to us, they took the time to remember with us and celebrate with us. Materially, they have nothing compared to you and I; spiritually, in many ways, they have so much more. It seems they understand and accept more than we do that pain and suffering is a part of life and a way to grow in faith. The village itself has a town hall, two or three tiny farms, and the skeleton of a church which had been bombed in World War II. All of these buildings are quite worn down. Their lives haven't been easy, but they've held on to their faith in God. And they've been willing to live out that faith by watching over and caring for a memorial for people they never knew. I was deeply touched by their loving spirit, and I left them wondering if I was half as generous and gracious with all that I have as they are with the little they have.

The second snapshot I'd like to share with you is of the mountains. Yes, we have mountains around here, and I've even been to the Rockies! But there was something special about the mountains in Poland and Germany. Polish mountains are very similar to the rolling hills around here, except there's a grayness to them. I found everything in Poland was a bit gray, even the dirt had a grayish tinge to it - the country is still trying to recover from their days under Communist rule, and this grayness lies like a blanket over the country. But the grayness couldn't disguise the fact that the Poland of the Schwenkfelders looks very much like the Pennsylvania of the Schwenkfelders! We all commented on how similar the landscape was. It gave me that kind of déjà vu experience, like I'd been there before - it seemed so much like home! As we moved from Poland to Germany, the mountains got bigger and more rugged-looking.

In Oberammergau, we had a huge Alp right outside our window - what a wonderful gift! There were mountains just about everywhere we went - each one providing a new opportunity to "lift up our eyes to the hills." Psalm 121, our Scripture lesson today, kept running through my head throughout our trip, and I found the more I looked up, the more I paid attention - the more I saw and enjoyed. Isn't that also true of life in general? The more we keep our eyes looking up to Christ, the more He opens up to us, the more He gives us, and the more we can know and understand all He has made available to us and for us. I came away from our trip with a whole new appreciation for mountains and the opportunities they provide to keep our focus "up".

My family's favorite town was Dresden, Germany. This town was flattened by an Allied bomb at the very end of World War II. The people of Dresden are rebuilding their city stone by stone as a way to atone, to make amends, for the atrocities of the Germans and the German government during that war. It's an amazing thing to watch - each stone is numbered and catalogued, each building's plans are stored with their stones, and slowly but surely they're rebuilding their town. And while it's amazing to watch and imagine that they will truly rebuild each building stone by stone, it's even more amazing that they're doing it as a way to say they're sorry for their country's role in World War II. From a terrible thing, they're trying to bring a new beginning.
This is an excruciatingly long process, but they're willing to invest their energy, time and lives in it hoping for a better future. And it all began by acknowledging their guilt, their responsibility in the war. This also is a wonderful insight for us. When we accept Jesus into our lives, we acknowledge that we're sinners - that we've done wrong in our lives, and we seek His forgiveness-His ATONEMENT. Only then can we start to rebuild our lives with Jesus' guidance and direction. Piece by piece, we allow Jesus to rebuild us into the people we were created to be, so that we can serve Him and know Him better. We are the works in progress of the Master Carpenter.

We also saw lots of castles. As we traveled, there were castles scattered about in the hills and mountains, many still in fairly good shape. We toured a good number of them. Two of them have stuck in my mind. The first is known as the "Cinderella" castle, because the castle at Walt Disney World is modeled on it; but its real name is Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. It sits on the top of a very high Alp, it's gorgeous and it was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the late 1800's. King Ludwig enjoyed building more than he liked ruling his country, and he spared no expense on his building (using all his own money, by the way AND employing many people who were out of work and needed an income to support their families.) Ludwig's counselors wanted him to take more interest in the welfare of the country, but he only wanted to create and build castles and immerse himself in them and the opera, so they had him declared mentally incompetent and placed under house arrest. Several days later, he and his doctor were found drowned in the river. No one ever determined what had happened. A sad ending to a life of promise. His story brings to mind the verse, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21 para.)

The other castle wasn't beautiful, but it was impressive. It was a fortress in Poland (complete with the narrow slits in the walls where someone could shoot out, but it would be difficult to shoot in.) It, too, sat high on a mountain and was called Grodziec Castle. It was told to us that Schwenkfelders, and others who refused to attend the Catholic or Lutheran church services, were imprisoned in this castle, and they showed us the place. It was a very small damp, dark circular room, about six feet in diameter. There was a small slit window and a heavy wooden door with a tiny window - this was the only light in the cell. There wasn't any furniture or bathroom, the walls and floor were the same rough stone as the rest of the castle. People were imprisoned there, without food or water, until they agreed to attend one of the two "approved" church services. In his book, The Refuge Church in Harpersdorf, Siegfried Knorrlich says, "For weeks and months imprisoned Schwenkfelders languished in this dismal prison released only when they were bodily and spiritually broken."

That cell in Grodziec Castle has stayed with me ever since. Would I have had the kind of faith to stand my ground like that? Is my commitment to Jesus Christ strong enough to lay my life on the line like that? How did they find the courage, the strength to do that?

The Schwenkfelders emphasized individual Bible reading, study and prayer. They worked it into their reading, their writing, their handwork and crafts. Their faith life was woven into their daily life and family life as well as their church life. So that when hardship came, they were prepared. When the worst happened, they were prepared.

As 21st century Schwenkfelders and Christians, are we prepared? Have we done what it takes to build a strong and lasting faith relationship with Jesus by weaving Him into our lives?

The same faith that gave the Schwenkfelders the courage, stamina and determination to be true to Christ is available for us. But we have to work at incorporating it into ALL areas of our lives - even the places we're not sure we really want Him to be. The Christian life is a journey, with Jesus Christ as our compass and guide.

I leave you with two Scripture paraphrases this morning - the first from Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30 and the second from Paul in Ephesians 1:11-14: "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Him and got our hopes up, He had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone. It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it, found yourselves home free - signed, sealed and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This sign from God is the first installment of what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life."

May God bless you, guide you and reveal to you wonderful, faith-building things as you journey with Him. Amen.