The Black Cloister

Marty and I are making our way to the Black Cloister later this week.  I feel like a new bride who is preparing to see her new home for the first time.  I am overflowing with both excitement and anxiety. 

Marty isn’t as excited about moving to a new home as much as he is excited about meeting his first “flock”.  When Luther first returned to Wittenberg after the reformation, he laid the ground work for his ministry at the cloister by preaching a series of sermons called the Invocavit Sermons.  Luther was distressed to see how the Devil had taken a foot hold in the lives of the people he served.  And while my Marty isn’t worried about starting his ministry with fire and brimstone sermons, he does plan to start his time in our new village by preaching a series of sermons on faith stories, starting with his own. 

Much like Katharina, the thought of presiding and managing the Black Cloister excites me.  I have pretty good home management skills and I can’t wait to put them to use in the parsonage.  I pray that I am up to the task of creating as welcoming and hospitable of an environment as Katharina did in Wittenberg.  This may be a rookie mistake, but I would like the Cloister to be a welcoming environment for parishioners seeking audience with my Marty.  And I would like to be able to share my home brewed wine with the villagers attending “table talks” in our kitchen. 

Gentle reader, please keep Marty and I in your prayers as we navigate this new phase in our lives. 

Blessings+

 

Katie Luther