ONLINE – Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS – Edmonton) has announced that its next Quest Course will focus on “Martin Luther’s Road to Reformation, 1483-1521” and be taught by Rev. Dr. John A. Maxfield. The free course is scheduled for Wednesday nights in October 2017, with live-streaming online for those unable to attend in person.

“What better way to celebrate the Reformation 500 anniversary than to learn about the man who started it all?” asks promotional material. “In this course we will examine Martin Luther’s life and the development of his theology from his birth in 1483 to the controversy that developed thirty-five years later after his posting of the Ninety-Five Theses on Indulgences on October 31, 1517 that initiated the Reformation.”

Classes will take place October 4, 11, 18, and 25 at Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time, with live-streaming online occurring simultaneously. Video from the lectures will be made available online later for viewing after the event.

The breakdown of classes is as follows:

October 4: Church Life and Spirituality in Germany on the Eve of the Reformation / Luther’s Family, Upbringing, and Education

October 11: Life in a Monastery and Student of Theology/ Luther as Professor of Theology and Maturing Theologian

October 18: Luther’s “Reformation Discovery” of Justification by Faith—Early Developments and His Reflections as an Old Man/A Theologian of the Cross and the Beginnings of Reform

October 25: The Controversy over the 95 Theses and the Development of a Reformer/A Wild Boar in the Vineyard? The Road to Luther’s Stand at Worms

Course instructor Dr. Maxfield is an ordained pastor of Lutheran Church–Canada and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Concordia University of Edmonton. He teaches courses in the History of Christianity, Theology, and European History, specializing and publishing on the German Reformation and Luther Studies. Among other works, he is a contributor to the forthcoming Oxford Encyclopedia of Martin Luther, with an article on Martin Luther’s exposition of Old Testament texts.

Those interested in participating can do so either on campus or online (http://concordia.adobeconnect.com/quest). There is no cost to participate, but organizers ask people to register by email at admin@concordiasem.ab.ca or by phone at 1-780-484-1468 (ext. 225).

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ONLINE – Recognizing that many people are not able to travel to visit Reformation museums and displays in 2017, four German museum organizations along with three American partners have worked together to produce a free Reformation-themed exhibition that anyone can download and print for free—or, alternately, view online.

The exhibition “#HereIStand: Martin Luther, the Reformation and its Results” is a modular poster exhibition, meaning interested parties can print and display anywhere from 9 to 30 posters reflecting on the Reformation and its impact for today (posters are 84.1 x 59.4 cms in dimension).

“With modern, scientifically substantiated, and attractively designed information graphics, the exhibition shows the most important events in the history of the Reformation, and its effects up to the present,” promotional material explains. “Using the biography of Martin Luther as a starting point, insight is given into the time prior to the Reformation. The exhibition then directs its focus to the dynamics of the Reformation, which unfolded after Luther’s posting of his 95 theses against the sale of indulgences, and deals with central questions of the history of the Reformation: What was actually new about Luther’s theology? What happened in Wittenberg in 1517? How did the new teaching spread?”

In addition to posters, #HereIStand also includes large images of high-quality museum exhibits as well as a number of 3D-scanned items. These objects can be downloaded and printed out on a 3D printer (although related costs would likely require such printing to be made on a smaller scale).

Why not consider displaying the poster exhibit in your congregation as part of Reformation 2017 observances? Download the series for free at: www.here-i-stand.com/en/order. You will also find a promotional poster you can use to advertise the exhibition around your community.

If you are not interested in printing the poster series yourself, you can also check it out online: www.here-i-stand.com/en/exhibition.

Partners on the project include Germany’s State Museum of Prehistory Halle, the Luther Memorials Foundation of Saxony-Anhalt, the Deutsches Historiches Museum Berlin, and Foundation Schloss Friedenstein Gotha. American partners include the Morgan Library and Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

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You can also download a series of posters with new art commissioned by Lutheran Church–Canada to commemorate the Reformation here.