Let us sing to the Lord

Across national borders

Young people from Denmark and Germany met in Tønder, Denmark, on 18 August to sing together, to praise God, and just to be together and get to know each other. Under the leadership of Gerrit Junge and Timo Schmidt, the young brothers and sisters rehearsed praise and worship songs in German, English, and Danish. The young people also communicated in these three languages over the weekend. Borders did not matter and friendships came into being.

Concert for the Chief Apostle

A special concert took place on the occasion of the Chief Apostle’s visit to Argentina based on our 2023 motto “Serving and ruling with Christ”. The concert in our Buenos Aires church was broadcast live throughout the Regional Church. Among the more than one thousand visitors were Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider, District Apostle John Kriel, and the hosting District Apostle Enrique Minio. Special stars of the evening were the children’s choir, the youth choir, and the youth symphony orchestra. The choristers thrilled the audience not only in Spanish, but also in French.

Thanksgiving concerts

Choirs from various congregations in Togo and Ghana expressed their gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. A number of choirs performed songs of thanksgiving in the congregation of Sagbado in Lomé, Togo.

In Ghana there was a Thanksgiving Day concert on 1 October under the motto “Count your blessings”. With songs of praise from the choir, organ solos, poetry recitals and a sing-along, the brothers and sisters and thanked God in a musical way.

Reinforcement in the orchestra

The music leader of the Sarepta congregation in South Africa chose Thanksgiving to welcome new members to the congregation’s orchestra. Thanks to fundraising activities in advance, the congregation was able to buy a clarinet, a flute, and a violin. These instruments were presented to three members of the congregation by the music leader and the rector after the Thanksgiving Day service. In the future they will support the orchestra and embellish the divine services.

Growing young talent

Around fifteen organ players have received fresh impetus. Over the last September weekend they met in the Leipzig-Central church in Germany for an organ improvisation course. The workshop was given by Professor Wolfgang Seifen, who taught improvisation and liturgical organ playing at the University of the Arts in Berlin. He taught the participants to develop the music while playing and gave them fresh impetus for their rehearsed organ pieces. The course participants were able to demonstrate what they had learned on Thanksgiving Sunday and in an improvisation concert in the afternoon.