My name is Schalk Treurnicht and I am new in the congregation and the Lutheran Church. I was born in Bloemfontein on 01/01/1991 and lived there a short time before moving to Gauteng and then to Somerset West here in the Western Cape. I went to primary school in Somerset West and to Paul Roos Gymnasium, before going to study in Stellenbosch. In my grade 11 year I started thinking about studying Theology, to become a dominee in the Dutch Reformed Church. The more I found out, the more excited I got to undertake this journey and it brought me a lot closer to God. My relationship with God grew the more I learned, and I really enjoyed my time at university.

I did my practical year at Sonstraal congregation in Durbanville, before I left to stay at a children’s home in Ladysmith in Natal. There I stayed for 7 months, helping out at the Môrester Children’s Home, counselling at the high school, working in the Dutch Reformed Church and participating in outreach work around the area. I came back from there and started looking for a job in the Dutch Reformed Church and got a call to a congregation in Brackenfell where I worked for two years.

During my studies at Stellenbosch I met Tobias Kirschstein, then a Lutheran exchange student and now a recently ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church. We had many discussions on faith and church. While in Brackenfell I did a Master’s degree in Old Testament and during this time I went to Finland for a conference.

After the conference, I went to visit Tobias, his wife Angela and their family. I learned a lot about the Lutheran Church and really felt comfortable with it. Shortly after I returned from Europa, Tobias let me know that he got a vicar position at St. Martini congregation in Cape Town. I was very happy for him and excited to have him and Angela come to Cape Town. During his time there he organized that I give a sermon there and here in Bellville, opening a door into the Lutheran Church. I continued my discussion on faith with him and Angela and was also introduced to Bishop Gilbert and I was very excited about the church I was learning about. When I heard about the possibility of coming to work at Kreuzkirche, I got very excited and immediately followed up. As things now stand, I am a locum tenens while I keep learning about the Lutheran Church and in May, I will have a colloquium (seminar), after which I will hopefully be ordained as pastor of the Lutheran Kreuzkirche.

Schalk with fried Tracy