From Göttingen to Candler (and Back): Finding Love

By Wallace Bubar 01T

In this remembrance on the 40th anniversary of the Göttingen/Candler exchange program, Candler alumnus Wallace Bubar 01T reflects on the most important impact the experience had on his life and ministry.

Gabriele Albrecht was a German exchange student at Candler in 1997-98. While there, she and I met and began dating. I was chosen to go to Göttingen the subsequent year as an exchange student. (The fact that Gabriele was on the selection committee may have had something to do with it.) We were married in 2003.

After finishing her program in Göttingen in English and Religion, Gabriele completed a masters at Boston University and became a teacher. She now teaches ESL at East High School in Des Moines, Iowa. She has also organized and taught classes for kids who are learning German language and culture.

Upon graduation from Candler, I was ordained and have served congregations in Iowa City, Philadelphia, and Des Moines, where I am now pastor of Central Presbyterian Church. I have put my German skills to use in organizing and leading German-language Christmas services, and leading a church group on a Reformation-themed tour of Germany.

We have two daughters who are both bilingual. Our family travels to Göttingen each year since Gabriele’s parents live nearby. We also spent a summer sabbatical in Göttingen in 2014.