Sister Parish visits - Dortmund 1983-1997

Mary with Child, Master of the Fröndenberger Altars: central panel of Fröndenberg Altar, circa 1400

Between 1983 and 1997, parishioners of St. Benedict's Parish and St. Marien's Parish in Dortmund-Solde, Germany, exchanged numerous visits. This was a natural extension of the Sister City program between Dortmund and Buffalo that had its roots right here in Eggertsville.

Here is what the City of Buffalo's website says about the origins of Dortmund-Buffalo Sister City Program:

The origins of the Buffalo-Dortmund Sister City relationship can be traced back to 1972. A Dortmund native, Herbert Morgenroth, arrived in Buffalo as an exchange teacher at the University of Buffalo under the auspices of the Carl Duisberg Society, a German exchange program. Morgenroth was struck by the similarities between our City of Buffalo and his home town of Dortmund. It is about the same size as Buffalo and its suburbs, is the site of the most famous steel company in Europe and is famous for its beer production. So struck was he by the possibilities of Sister City relationship that he undertook to "talk it up". Morgenroth was living on LeBrun Street near the University Campus and an Eggertsville resident, Mr. John E. Ward, then principal of Genesee-Humboldt Junior High School, heard of Morgenroth's idea. The idea caught on with Ward and by 1974, he, Morgenroth and others broached the idea with Honorary German Consul in Buffalo, Mrs. Nathan "Brix" Barrell. In February of that year, their idea was formally presented to Mayor Stanley Makowski and the program was on its way.

Some of the St. Benedict's Parishioners who visited St. Marien's have remained in touch with parishioners there and continue to receive updates from our sister parish.

A copy of the painting above was a gift from St. Marien Parishioners.  Their gift hangs in our Marian side altar niche.  The original Frondenberg "Mary and Child" used to be part of the altar in the Cistercian Monastery in Frondenberg, about 15 miles from Dortmund.  That altar was destroyed in 1776, but this central panel, along with a few other pieces, survived.  The original is now on display in the Dortmund Art Museum.

Other signs of our Sister Parish program include a plaque in our vestibule to commemorate the first visit of our St. Marien friends to St. Benedict's in 1983.  It is a woodcarving of Mary with an inscription.

Music Notes for September 4

This weekend’s readings begin a 4-week exploration of the dimensions of mercy and forgiveness. As people get to know each other, they become aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Thus, being in community implies a constant call to forgive each other. The power of the keys we heard about two weeks ago is always exercised on behalf of and in the name of the Body of Christ. Our music in worship this weekend reflects this call, based on the gospel text that Christ is found wherever two or three are gathered in his name. The setting for this text is a round I learned in Germany when St. Benedict’s established a sister-parish program with St. Mary’s Church in Dortmund in 1984. (There is a plaque commemorating this relationship in the front vestibule. Some parishioners are still in touch with their host families.) This theme is also expressed with the text from I Cor.13, “Where Charity and Love Prevail,” in a chant-like setting from the early days of the liturgy in English. Our gathering hymn, “I come with joy, a child of God, forgiven, loved and free,” is set to the early-American hymn tune LAND OF REST, which we used for the Holy, Holy and acclamations earlier this summer. The hymn “Forgive our sins as we forgive” is of course based on the central line from the Our Father. Our communion song, “Loving and Forgiving,” is a setting of Psalm 103, the great psalm of God’s mercy. Psalm 103 will also be next week’s responsorial psalm.
Music at 10:00 includes “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship,” a line from today’s responsorial Psalm 95. This psalm also provides the text for our offering song, “If Today You Hear His Voice,” with music by Rawn Harbor, an African-American musician from Berkeley, Calif., some of whose psalm settings will be in our new Breaking Bread hymnal this fall. We go out of church to “Your Grace Is Enough,” which reminds us that God “wrestles with the sinner’s restless heart” and “uses the weak to lead the strong.” The composer is Matt Maher, a native of Newfoundland now living in Tempe, Ariz. with his young family.

by Glenn Hufnagel