There are people who are still fondly remembered years later. One of them is Karl Kühnle, who was ordained a District Apostle fifty years ago today–and remained one for twenty years.
At that time, the New Apostolic Church in his home country still looked somewhat different. Today’s Regional Church Southern Germany did not yet exist. Karl Kühnle was ordained an Apostle in the Apostle district of Württemberg—as the district was called then. This was back in 1968. Baden and Bavaria were still independent Regional Churches.
Stages along the way
Karl Kühnle had been active in the New Apostolic Church since the early 1950s: first as a Deacon, starting in 1951 as a Priest, in 1952 as a Shepherd, and in 1953 as a District Evangelist. In 1966 he was ordained a Bishop and, two years later, an Apostle.
Then came 4 May 1975: a festive divine service in Stuttgart (Germany) was conducted by Chief Apostle Ernst Streckeisen. Many Apostles from Europe and beyond accompanied him. Karl Kühnle received the ministry of District Apostle for the Apostle district of Stuttgart and thus the commission to lead the New Apostolic congregations in Württemberg.
This was soon to expand: in January 1980, he was also entrusted with the leadership of the New Apostolic Church in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, and number of East European countries. That went on for a year. In 1981 he was succeeded as District Apostle in Switzerland by a certain Richard Fehr, who later became Chief Apostle.
International responsibility
In 1982, District Apostle Kühnle was then also commissioned as District Apostle for the New Apostolic congregations in Bavaria (Germany). With the start of the New Apostolic Church’s missionary activities in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Somalia, Djibouti, Mayotte, Cameroon and, from 1990, in Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Ceuta, Melilla, Gibraltar, Serbia, Eritrea, Morocco, and Liberia, his area of responsibility expanded to such an extent that one could safely speak of a global District Apostle ministry. He was responsible for some twenty countries.
Today we pay tribute to a Swabian who set out to bring his faith to Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Arabian Peninsula. His subtle sense of humour helped him through all the demands involved. He was always ready with a line, sometimes serious, usually cheerful, and smiling wisely. He also passed this legacy on to his two sons, Werner and Volker.
Gratitude in retirement
Twenty years later, on 10 December 1995, District Apostle Karl Kühnle spoke for the last time on the occasion of his retirement in Nürtingen (Germany). He ended his sermon by thanking the brothers and sisters who had engraved their love in his heart. Following his retirement, Karl Kühnle and his wife belonged to the Stuttgart-Sillenbuch congregation. In November 1998, the couple received a blessing from Chief Apostle Richard Fehr on their golden wedding anniversary. They were granted eight years of retirement.
On 7 December 2003, at the age of 80, District Apostle Karl Kühnle passed away. Chief Apostle Fehr conducted the funeral service in the Fellbach congregation. In his sermon, he honoured the deceased District Apostle as a joyful confessor: “District Apostle Karl Kühnle was a gifted preacher of the gospel, which is why his divine services live on—the impact they made lives on.”
One final piece of information
Here is something not everyone may know: it was at the request of District Apostle Karl Kühnle that special gluten-free wafers for people with coeliac disease started to be produced for Holy Communion in the New Apostolic Church in 1985.