How do you bring musical genius, the power of the human spirit, theological perspective and civic spirit into balance? Travel to Lepzig and find yourself at the Stadtfest! The CCS Scholars and Faculty have spent the day immersed in “Deutsches kultur”. After a short train journey from Berlin the group dropped luggage at the hotel and enjoyed a mid-morning coffee and pastry… true indulgence. The city center was alive with the Saxony equivalent of the American “State Fair”. Regional fare of every description was available with live entertainment and a veritable feast for the senses. This festival weekend was focused around the religious observance of Pentecost (Pfingsten) but coincided with the Stadtfest and a Goth convention! The evening found the group seated in the historic Thomaskirche where J. S. Bach spent the last twenty-seven years of his life. Other musical greats, Haydn, Mozart & Mendelssohn performed there. The evening service was more like an organ concert and provided the students a point of reference from our earlier talk regarding the enlightenment. What a rich and wonderful opportunity for the students to gain perspective, taste the culture and come to more clear understanding of our curriculum.

Heres is thoughtful post from Izzy, Claude, and Hunter.

Leipzig is, by far, one of my best places that I have ever been to. In just one day, there have been morning pastries and coffee, market festivals, steampunk conventions, German treats and a chance to sit in, experience and see Saint Thomas Church- where Martin Luther once preached and later, where Bach played. It ties in perfectly to what the discuss we had together before exploring the city; how things that are completely different can end up creating this perfect balance all together.                                          ~Izzy Fenton ’20

Wandering around the streets of Leipzig, Germany, again the extremes of German culture where displayed. Given multiple hours to meander and explore, we encountered everything from the grave of Bach and a reconstructed organ which he and other famous composers played, to the gothic festival and modern art museum.  While in today’s era, the steampunk and goth crowd are viewed as different and obscure, but in history, so too were the famous germans that we idolize today, albeit at a less negative level.                                                                                                                                               ~Claude Owen ’19

Today we were in Leipzig where we saw many very darkly dressed people. This was due to the fact that we happened to come on the day where there was a massive gothic festival. It is kind of like a state fair for Leipzig, we had tons of fried food that was phenomenal. We also went to St. Thomas Church which is where Martin Luther preached and Bach played the organ there. Overall it was a solid first day in Leipzig and was very refreshing.                                                                                                                       ~Hunter Puckett ‘17