Pastor Tobias Schütze, Vryheid
On 5 July 2026, the St. Peter’s congregation in Vryheid celebrated the installation of its new pastor and missionary, Tobias Schütze.
Mr. Schütze had already been ordained in Wiesbaden (Germany) in March, together with his brother, Pastor Benjamin Schütze (Cologne), by Bishop Hans-Jörg Voigt, and subsequently spent just under three months travelling through the United States to promote the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane (Pretoria), before returning to South Africa in June.
The small, predominantly German-speaking FELSISA congregation had been without a pastor for around three years and under its interim pastor, Missionary Thomas Beneke, had set out to strengthen its missionary profile, requesting a missionary from the Mission of Lutheran Churches (MLC) last year.
The installation service, attended by around 120 people, was conducted by Pastor Schütze and attended by many guests from neighbouring congregations, as well as from the congregations of St Paul’s in Pretoria and St Peter’s in Durban, where Schütze absolved his vicarage. Additional chairs had to be brought into the church on three separate occasions to ensure there were enough seats for all the guests.
In his installation sermon on the miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1–11), Bishop Paul emphasised that the congregation, as fishers of men, had now resolved to cast their nets on the other side, and wished not only to focus on German-speaking people and those who had grown up in the Lutheran Church, but to reach out to the entire population of Vryheid. Pastor Schütze, for his part, preached on Romans 10:13–17, reflecting on how the five steps described by the Apostle Paul in his letter (1. calling on the name of the Lord; 2. believe; 3. hear; 4. preach; 5. send) influence the congregation’s new situation and the work in Vryheid over the coming years, accompanied by a request for prayers for both the new pastor and the congregation.
The service (which was held in both German and English) was enriched by organ music and a choir comprised of members from various FELSISA congregations. After the service, the festivities concluded with the brass band music, words of welcome, a lavish buffet and plenty of warm greetings.
