During the 4th week of Advent, the synodal teenage camp was held in Hermannsburg (15-18 Dec 2022), attended by about 40 teenagers. The beautiful, historic grounds, where the very first Hermannsburg missionaries sent to Africa settled, always lend themselves very well as a venue for the camp. There is plenty of sleeping space, a dining hall, a music room, a hall for presentations and games, a swimming pool and volleyball fields.
Pastors Andreas Albers (Our Saviour, Wartburg) and Martin Paul (St. Paul’s, Fairlands) gave presentations on the topic of “Christian Stewardship”. The presentations focused on our identity as Christian Stewards and on the question: “How do I manage the gifts, the time, and the talents that God entrusts to me?”
On the Sunday, we celebrated the divine service together with the St. Peter’s congregation in Greytown, during which the teenagers performed some musical pieces. It was, as always, a blessed and uplifting camp.
The Teenage Organisation also bid farewell to Ralph and Liesl Voigts, who have held the office of “Teenage Parents” since 2016. We greatly appreciate their dedication and thank them for their service in the Teen Organisation. Dieter and Ronelie Prigge (Lüneburg) have agreed to take over the office. We are grateful to them and look forward to working with them.
The teenage organisation also said goodbye to Edeltraut Johannes, who led the teenage choir with enthusiasm since 2014. For many teenagers, the choir rehearsals at the teenage camp are their first encounter with choir singing. She did this important work with much patience and love. Through these experiences at the teenage camp, many young people have developed a love for choir singing. We also thank her for her work in the teenage organisation. We are happy that Angelika Johannes (Panbult) has agreed to take over the leadership of the choir at the teenage camp.
Pastor Andreas Albers