The German Language Ministry at Christ the King is growing and doing well. Regular monthly worship services are at the center of this ministry. The order of worship is very much the same as in the Sunday morning services. The scripture readings of the three year common lectionary cycle is used. Prayers and the eucharistic liturgy and music are taken from the official book of worship from the Evangelical Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland).
The inscription on the logo "Gemeinde für Deutschsprachige" means "congregation for people who speak German." It is amazing to meet the people who come to the German services and to find out about their backgrounds. Some are Germans who have lived in the United States for 30, 40 or 50 years, or moved into the area only recently. Others are Texans who still remember church services being held in German in their childhood. Some are expatriates, others divide their time between Germany and the United States, yet others are bilingually raised children of German-American parents. Some individuals have come from Bolivia and other Latin-American countries, from Iran, and still other countries. Many of them either lived in Germany for some time or went to a German language school - the possibilities seem endless and the stories are wonderful and colorful.
Some highlights of the ministry this past year were a newspaper article in the religion section of the Houston Chronicle in January 2003 which greatly increased the visibility of our work. Since then the German language ministry has received a lot of attention and interest. Worship attendance is up, numbering more than 100 people in some of the services. In April we were blessed with the gift of an altar bible from the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, Germany, Pastor Liebster's home church where she was ordained. The bible was dedicated on April 6, 2003 and used to read the Easter gospel proclamation at the baptismal font on Easter Sunday. Two guest preachers from Germany were invited this spring, Pastor Christian Wolff from the Thomas Church in Leipzig and Dr. Matthias Morgenstern from the University of Tübingen. Both were welcomed warmly and with great interest by the worshipers, and they in turn enjoyed their stay at Christ the King and the experience of German church in an American, truly multicultural setting. In June we look forward to meeting Vicar Stephan Gensicke and his wife Steffi. Stephan who is a graduate from the Lutheran Missionary Seminary in Hermannsburg near Hannover, is intern at Faith Lutheran Church in Dickinson, Texas and will deliver the sermon for us. See separate article.