...Johann Rissik Kitching... ...Church.
Dramatic experiences
Johann Rissik Kitching... ...with the name Johann Rissik—also came... ...was based in Johannesburg.
Sunday, 16... ...in Dortmund, Bishop Johann Rissik Kitching... ...the life of Johann Rissik Kitching,... ...Johann Rissik Kitching was... ...born in Knysna,... ...South Africa on 29... ...November 1920. The city... ...of his birth is located... ...on the Garden Route in Western... ...Cape province. Yet as... ...tranquil and as popular with tourists as... ...the region may be,... ...difficult when the bare necessities are... ...any case, young Rissik came from... ...a rather poor background. His father... ...worked as a... ...plantation labourer, and the... ...of his five other siblings were all... ...Not that the later District Apostle would... ...this. Quite the contrary, it was... ...childhood that he learned some things... ...to distinguish him throughout his entire... ...life, namely understanding for the concerns and... ...worries of his neighbour, and the... ...of well-being that derives from being... ...part of a larger community. Thinking for... ...life in the Church.
Dramatic experiences... ...Johann Rissik Kitching was... ...fourteen years of age... ...the New Apostolic Church. The then... ...Apostle Heinrich Franz Schlaphoff sealed... ...him in the year 1934. This divine... ...service must have... ...been a dramatic event for... ...occasion that his father was ordained a... ...Priest. This meant... ...addition to his professional and family... ...obligations, he would from then on... ...also work in the... ...Church. It was... ...because the divine services in the... ...small congregation of Malmesbury, a city... ...north of Cape... ...the meantime, would from then on... ...the Family Kitching.
Responsibility comes knocking... ...Like father, like son.... ...Eventually, responsibility also came... ...knock on the door of the 22-year-old... ...Rissik. In 1942,... ...footsteps of his father and likewise received... ...the Priest ministry. This led... ...to the emergence of a... ...has both a before and an... ...after: before him the... ...father, after him his son.... ...in that same year that the young... ...Rissik married his wife... ...Aletta. Their son—likewise baptised with... ...the name Johann Rissik—also came to... ...succeed his father in leading the... ...Church 38 years later, namely as... ...District Apostle in... ...the District Church of South... ...East Africa, which was... ...based in Johannesburg.
Sunday, 16... ...day set aside for higher ordinations: in... ...Dortmund, Bishop Johann Rissik Kitching received... ...the Apostle ministry at the... ...of Chief Apostle Walter Schmidt. And this... ...be his only trip to Dortmund.... ...Ten years later, on 13... ...October 1974, the Apostle... ...was ordained a District Apostle for... ...the District Church of the... ...Transvaal, as it... ...the time. This incorporated both pastoral... ...and administrative responsibility over the countries and... ...Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Transkei, and Venda.... ...The region was home... ...to many different ethnic groups,... ...as many languages, cultures, and traditions.... ...was able to serve in this... ...capacity for 14 years—until 2 October... ...1988. His retirement, which was... ...performed on Thanksgiving... ...by Chief Apostle Richard Fehr, took... ...place in Rembrandt Hall in... ...the South African capital of... ...Pretoria.
A man... ...who served faithfully and... ...led the Church securely
As a... ...senior he was granted only six... ...years of retirement: six months... ...before his 74th birthday, on 18... ...July 1994, District Apostle J.... ...R. Kitching suffered a stroke... ...to his death. Four days later, the... ...then District Apostle Klaus... ...Saur conducted his funeral in the... ...Dinwiddie church in the... ...presence of District Apostles Ernst... ...H. Graf and Duncan... ...Mfune, along with several other South... ...African Apostles. The... ...Bible text from 2 Timothy... ...a fitting epitaph for the life of... ...the departed District Apostle: “I... ...have finished the race, I have... ...the faith. Finally, there is laid... ...up for me the crown... ...of righteousness, which the... ...Lord, the righteous Judge, will... ...have loved his appearing.”
Richard Fehr,... ...at the time, described him in... ...his obituary as a... ...Chief Apostle. He wrote that the... ...District Apostle had served faithfully, given... ...best, and diligently preserved the purity... ...of the doctrine of Jesus.... ...“He was a striking personage of... ...faith, who radiated calm and... ...security, whose service not only... ...brought happiness to... ...the souls entrusted to his... ...care but also provided them with... ...sure leadership.”
Final thoughts... ...In his last sermon in 1988,... ...District Apostle Kitching... ...stated: “What a great and unique... ...reward awaits us for the little that... ...we do here! And it... ...say: ‘the little’. After all, what are... ...17 years in the... ...district of the Transvaal? What are... ...50 or 60 years on this... ...earth in comparison with eternity?... ...want to be worthy on the... ...day of the Lord, and it... ...you may be worthy too, so... ...can then dwell forever in the Father’s... ...in a youth service in July... ...1981 that he uttered a sentence... ...to this day: “Dear young people, how... ...does a fruit ripen out? From... ...inside out, not from the outside... ...in.”
Photo: NAC International
A man... ...yes and stayed true
A faithful... ...servant of the Church, that sounds... ...like the perfect caption for... ...life of Johann Rissik Kitching, who... ...was responsible for the fate of... ...the New Apostolic Church in Southern... ...Africa for many years. Who was... ...look back in honour of his 100th... ...birthday.... ...Johann Rissik Kitching was born... ...experiences
Johann Rissik Kitching was fourteen... ...of the Family Kitching.
Responsibility comes... ...Bishop Johann Rissik Kitching received the... ...Apostle J. R. Kitching suffered a... ...1988, District Apostle Kitching stated: “What... ...of Johann Rissik Kitching, who was...
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