A poster campaign has been underway in Germany in which brothers and sisters have been promoting the New Apostolic Church. Pictured this month is a true media professional, who has done a lot of public relations work for the Church: Nicole Ide (46), from the Hamburg-Lurup congregation in Germany. We spoke to her.
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A photo shoot for the 2015 poster series: here with Nicole Ide (46) from the Hamburg-Lurup congregation in Germany
Photo: Björn Renz
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Nicole’s personal testimony: “I am glad … because God loves me despite my weaknesses.”
Photo: NAK International
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Nicole in action at the International 2014 Church Convention in Munich in Germany
Photo: NAK Süddeutschland
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The TV crew at the 2009 European Youth Day in Düsseldorf in Germany
Photo: Lutz Heinrich
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The January poster: “I am glad … because with God I always manage to make a fresh start.”
Photo: NAK International
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The May poster: “I am glad … because my faith gives me security.”
Photo: NAK International
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The August poster: “I am glad … because my faith has a home.”
Photo: NAK International
Where do you work?
I am a television editor and reporter, and also an online editor for RTL-Nord, a regional television station in northern Germany.
Do you stand in front of the camera?
No, not really. I am not a presenter. You might see me in my function as a reporter, but even that is an exception.
What does your working day look like?
The camera team and I drive somewhere to do a shoot and interview people on location. Back at the editorial offices I think about how the report can be structured and set up. I sit down with a cutter in the cutting room and we edit the raw material and make a report. This is what we do on a daily basis.
What do you like about your job?
You meet interesting people, which I think is fantastic. You also get to have a closer look at other people’s lives.
Are you able to attend the divine services regularly?
Yes, that is no problem. It does happen of course that we do a story on weekends, but I try to keep the hours in which the services take place, free.
Do your colleagues know that you are New Apostolic?
Most of them. Not all, though. There is a lot of fluctuation at the company. We take on trainees, and there is a lot of coming and going.
How do they react? Are you the only one or are there others who share your convictions?
No, I am the only one. I don’t think that there are many colleagues who go to church regularly.
And those who have not known until now finally found out this month. You are the subject of the July poster of the New Apostolic Church’s poster campaign.
Oh, really! (She laughs) Well, I was asked last year whether I would like to participate in the campaign. I checked my diary to make sure I had no appointments and then walked over to the Church administrative offices in Hamburg-Eppendorf during my lunch hour, where we did it. That was it.
You are in the public eye anyway. But for the viewer it comes across as an open profession of faith. That takes a bit of courage.
It was never a question of courage for me. I have never experienced disadvantages when I said that I was New Apostolic. So it did not require any courage on my part.
This is part of what public relations work means for me.
I have been involved with public relations work for our Church before. For many years I oversaw the editorial committee who compiled the parish newsletters for Hamburg. I assisted with workshops and seminars for ministers. In the year 2000 I produced the Pentecost trailer and in 2009 the discussion with Chief Apostle Leber on the Catechism. I assisted with the 2014 Pentecost film on Munich and the DVD documentation on the International Church Convention.
How did this come about?
It all started with the 2009 European Youth DAY (EYD). Two weeks before the event, I received a phone call asking whether I would not like to oversee a team of television editors and reporters and do daily reports on the European Youth Day.
EYD 2009, ICC 2014 … How did you experience these Church events?
At the EYD we produced a daily TV programme with young people. That was exciting. But you see everything from a completely different perspective: always through the camera. It also meant, however, that I was always pretty well informed about everything that was going on. But meeting people was something that I only managed to do in passing. That was a pity.
My husband was right in the middle of it all as a roving reporter with a camera team in tow.
Was it still an amazing experience for you?
Absolutely. Being involved and able to contribute to such Church events is something I really enjoy, because I experience things that I normally would not experience, and that makes me very thankful.
Keyword display-case posters
A testimonial is a short personal profession. The people depicted on the 2015 poster series are members of the New Apostolic Church, who are committed to their faith and who state what they personally like about the New Apostolic Church. They are members of the New Apostolic Church Northern Germany and come from all age groups.
There are twelve different motifs that lead through the year, one for each month. The posters are put up in the display casesoutside our church buildings in Germany and other parts of Europe. The posters are also featured on the German-language site of nak.org. The site features the current poster with an explanatory text, as well as the entire annual series in an overview.. These posters are commissioned by the Working Group Public Relations Work.