About ten years ago, Kreuzkirche decided to embark on a missional/multicultural road for the future of our congregation. As a result, all 09h00 services are now in English, except for the 1st monthly service which is an Afrikaans/English combination. Furthermore, the 4th Sunday is a multilingual service (primarily English), whilst pulpit exchange occurs on 5th Sundays where and if applicable.

In addition, one fully-fledged German church service is held on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 10:30 after the 09:00 English service. The aim is to have a German sermon and to maintain traditional liturgy and well-known German hymns as part of this service. Many congregants have cherished this tradition since their childhood days and, as long as it is supported, the church committee will honour this.

However, delivering these services is not without its challenges. To address the worshiping needs of our congregants which is an ongoing process, the church committee devotes high priority. In addition, we have also received recommendations by email and “word of mouth”. Some suggestions in this regard include:

  • Involving mother tongue speaking congregants to read the psalm, as well as the major prayers in addition to the scripture readings which are already being done in this way.
  • Involving more congregants to assist in singing the liturgical elements of the service with support from available musicians (Kreuzkirche does not always have the musical support to do justice to the liturgical parts as well as to the hymnals).

Regarding the once-monthly German service:

  • When required, in a language in which the pastor is not quite comfortable (currently German) – provide prior assistance to the grammar and pronunciations.
  • Occasionally involve preachers from the congregation to conduct the ser-mon in their mother tongue.
  • Have the sermon in English with a short German/Afrikaans summary at the end.

The church committee encourages the congregation to come forward with suggestions and ideas as to how the situation can be improved. This topic will be open for discussion at the upcoming AGM on the 25th of May, 2025. Please keep this matter in your prayers.

Your church committee