Welcoming community

Over the last year I’ve noticed many new faces becoming regular faces at our services and at our social events. This speaks of the welcoming congregation that we are. We have become a spiritual home for Lutheran sisters and brothers coming from different areas of South Africa and Namibia, and also nonLutherans have become regular attendees of our services.

There can be many reasons for this, but I believe the warm and friendly way you welcome newcomers during coffee after the service plays a significant role. Your efforts help people feel at home quickly, and for that, I am deeply grateful. This truly embodies what it means to be a church, a loving and welcoming community.

 

Being thankful

Next, I want to express my thankfulness to all our members who play active roles in our congregational life. This includes the coffees after service, the flowers for services which are beautifully done and our musicians who lead us in worship on a Sunday morning. Our list of readers on Sundays is still growing, which shows that we know, services are not one man shows but a time we come together to share in Word and fellowship.

My thanks also includes all the work that is done in the background, especially leading up to our social events. All our events in 2024 were well attended and as most of you know, the preparations for those events are all done ‘inhouse’ and not ordered in from the outside. I want to thank Christiane Duwe especially who takes on a lot of extra stress in the weeks before our bazaars to make sure everything is prepared.

I don’t want to leave out names, but most of you here also play valuable roles in preparing food, decorations, and giving your time at our events. We appreciate all of you and see you and your commitment.

 

Being church through the week

Last year I mentioned the importance of weekly Bible studies or small groups. Unfortunately, our evening Bible study with Kraaifontein congregation is no longer taking place and we’re thinking about how and when to start a new evening Bible study for working congregants. The Thursday morning Bible study continues as normal and the Bible study at the St. Johannisheim on Wednesday afternoons as well. Both have regular attendances. It is also important for me to visit members in need. However, I cannot do this without being informed on who would like me to visit or who is in hospital. I ask that if you are aware of anyone, please let me know and I’ll be sure to contact them.

 

Feedback of our media presence

We continue to work and build on how visible we are on social media and the internet. The website’s calendar shows all our services and events, as well as posters of special events. We are also slowly getting new positive reviews on Google maps, which means when someone looks up Lutheran congregation Bellville, they can see we are an active congregation and a place where many have found a spiritual home.

Our Sunday sermons are posted on YouTube, and we generally get more than 20 views. This is not that high but it’s more people from our church and maybe others who hear the Word and a sermon every week.

Information regarding events is also posted on our Facebook page and we have 640 people following that page. Again, more people are being made aware of our events and joining us for bazaars and other socials. Lastly, WhatsApp and SMS are very important tools that we are using to send out information and the number of people who receive these messages has grown over the last year.

 

Other commitments

I am also still helping with the students and some weeks I go to Stellenbosch to attend meetings there. It’s going well with our students. I am also the chair of the CCW committee, which focuses on improving communication between congregations and the church council and promoting church activities of various kinds.

 

Those who passed

Lastly, we need to acknowledge those members who have passed away over the last year. Members who played a prominent role in our congregation and will sorely be missed. We remain thankful that we had them with us for a time and we stay in support of friends and family who are grieving.

Ps Schalk Treurnicht