Words of Welcome to Nathanael

Words of Welcome  Sunday, 7th September 2008, Nathanaelkirche Köln-Bilderstöckchen

Welcome to our Church!

This is the Nathanaelkirche in Bilderstöckchen. We are a Protestant church, and a congregation with a few decades of history behind us. We are happy to welcome the International Baptist Convention, the International Baptist Church of Cologne to our premises. You will be worshipping here today, and every Sunday, and you are also welcome to hold your bible study every week on Wednesday night. On a very few Sundays each year, we will be having big meetings here, and on those rare occasions, you will not be able to have your own regular service here, but you are then invited to join us and celebrate with us.

My name is Eberhard. I am one of currently nine Church Elders of our Church. I have been asked by the congregation of Church Elders, and by Pastor Widdig, to speak some words of welcome today. Pastor Widdig is out of town and will be welcoming you herself, a few weeks from now.

The Pastor and the Church Elders are the leaders of our Church. We celebrate Sunday Service, every week on Sunday morning, at 9.30 am. We also have a multitude of groups meeting regularly, usually once a week. You will find more information if you look at various notices outside.

But also, our Church remains open for individual worship every day, Monday through Friday, 9 to 12 in the morning. You are always welcome to come here, and have a moment of silent prayer in these rooms at those times. We also have a small cafe which offers tea and coffee, and a small breakfast, at very affordable prices, Monday to Friday at those very times. On Monday and Wednesday we also provide lunch at around 1 pm for anybody who happens to pass by.

This church was built in 1964. At that time, in the early 1960s, many new houses were build in this area of Cologne, so the old church in Nippes, Lutherkirche, was not sufficient any longer to care for and seat a larger congregation.

I would now like to point out some of the architecture of this Church.

Please have a look at the wall behind the Altar. There is a large window and 12 smaller windows around it, depicting Jesus and his 12 disciples, or alternatively, the 12 gates of historic Jerusalem.

The Altar, Pulpit and Baptism basin are all designed in a very basic way, reflecting common practice in Protestant churches, thus not having lots of ornaments liable of distracting the congregation from thinking about God. Please also note our big Easter candle.

Houses for the Pastor, social workers and others were build at the same time, mid 1960’s, but the Church steeple and also the kindergarten nearby were built at a later time.

We are a lively congregation. Currently, there are about 2,200 members of our Church.

Welcome once more to come and worship in our Church.