Jerusalem – In a farewell service on Wednesday 4 September 2019, Rev Wolfgang Schmidt and his wife Anette Pflanz Schmidt said good bye to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem.
Rev Schmidt was propst of The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and serving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (EKD) for 7 years. Redeemer is also home to The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.
In March, Rev Schmidt accepted a position in Karlsruhe, Germany as head of the Department of Education in the Protestant Oberkirchenrat.
Under the umbrella of the EKD, The Evangelical Jerusalem Foundation of which Rev Schmidt was the propst cares for the spiritual life at the Church of the Redeemer in the Old City of Jerusalem, The Kaiserin Auguste Victoria Foundation which is connected to the Lutheran World Federation campus on the Mount of Olives and The German Archeological Institute that runs programs in Jerusalem and in Amman.
The EKD and the ELCJHL have been in ecumenical fellowship since the foundation of the ELCJHL.
In attendance to bid Rev Schmidt, his wife and sons farewell were representatives from the Twelve Christian Churches of Jerusalem, The German Evangelical Lutheran School Talitha Kumi Principal Mattias Wolf, the Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar and pastors of the ELCJHL, The Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem Program Representative Sieglinde Weinbrenner, other partner organizations, and OKR Rev Martin Puehn of EKD as well a host of guests and congregation members.
Brass for Peace, a cooperative non-profit brass orchestra between students from Germany and students from the Evangelical Lutheran Schools in the West Bank, performed during the reception that followed. Talitha Kumi choir led the congregation in worship.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! I want to end my years in Jerusalem with this hymn of praise! Anette, my wife and I, have received such a blessed time in this city and this country out of God’s hand!
Rev Wolfgang Schmidt
Rev Rainer Stuhlmann from EKD will act as interim propst for one year.
Rev Schmidt’s sermon below: English and German
Psalm-103-Abschied-Jerusalem
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