Greenland: the world’s biggest island

“Greenland,” the Apostle from Hamburg (Germany) says, who has travelled extensively, “is of breath-taking beauty, but it is also a land of extremes.” He admires the people who have over generations managed to make a life there for themselves under the extreme climatic conditions. There certainly are downsides. Greenlanders are a very friendly people, but the Danish resettlement policy of earlier years had a negative impact on the people’s natural way of life and thus also on the social structure of the approximately 50,000 people. Greenland is part of the Danish realm, but is self-governing. The official languages are Greenlandic and Danish.

New Apostolic life at the Arctic Circle

There are two New Apostolic congregations in Greenland: one in Nuuk, the country’s capital, and the other in Uummannaq. Both have their own church building: made of wood, like all houses. Divine services are currently being held twice a month in each of the two congregations and in Danish. They are interpreted into Greenlandic. Priests fly in from Bremen and Hamburg in Germany. They use part of their holidays for these trips.

A longer history

For many years, District Apostle Karlheinz Schumacher and a number of ministers and members from the Bremen area did admirable work in Greenland, Apostle Steinbrenner reports. They organized concerts, information events, and translated songs into Greenlandic. They did everything they could to make the local people aware of the New Apostolic Church and familiarize them with it. Still, the membership of the Church in the country is rather small: there are 13 members. Apostle Steinbrenner: “After consulting with District Apostle Krause I have decided to cut back on our activities in Greenland.” Considering the enthusiasm that the brothers and sisters put into the work there in earlier years, this was a tough decision to make, he says. But, in the end, common sense was the deciding factor, because the trips are very expensive. “What is important for me is that the people who attend our divine services there do not feel abandoned, but have the opportunity to have pastoral care through regular divine services.”

The country and its people

The New Apostolic Church does not have an official legal status in Greenland. Among the Christian churches active there, the Lutheran Folkekirke has the strongest following. There are also Protestant free churches and Roman Catholic Christians on the island. The relationship between the individual denominations is friendly and relaxed, Apostle Steinbrenner says: “I have visited the pastor of the Folkekirke in Nuuk, the pastor of the Folkekirke in Uummannaq, and the Roman Catholic pastor in Nuuk, who is from Argentina.”