Buchholz? Never heard of it? It is a small town just outside of Hamburg in the north of Germany, where the retired Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber lives, who led the New Apostolic Church from 2005 to 2013. And Buchholz is where Chief Apostle Schneider will be on Good Friday: the Chief Apostle will visit the Chief Apostle.
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At the organ: Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber at the International Church Convention …
Photo: Jessica Kraemer
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… in the congregation of Stelle-Winsen (Germany) …
Photo: NAK Norddeutschland
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… and in earlier years
Photo: Archiv
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The congregation of Buchholz (Germany)
Photo: Walter Gerke
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2012: Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber and his Helper Jean-Luc Schneider
Photo: Oliver Rütten
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2013: The previous and the new Chief Apostle
Photo: NAK Norddeutschland
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Together at the altar: in 2014 at the International Church Convention
Photo: Jessica Kraemer
Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider has made plans to be in the District Church Northern Germany over Easter. On Good Friday he will be in Buchholz to visit his predecessor and pay his respects to him and the whole congregation.
And not only that … The retired Chief Apostle Leber will play the organ in the Good Friday service. One Chief Apostle will celebrate the service and the other one will play the organ.
“There are a number of organists in the congregation. I am one of them,” Chief Apostle Leber explains. “I have to admit that I asked to be scheduled on Good Friday. The idea to take an active role once again in a divine service with the current Chief Apostle is something very special and moving for me.”
A sign of their closeness
Chief Apostle Leber says that sometime last year District Apostle Rüdiger Krause—who is responsible for the north of Germany—informed him by the way that he had invited Chief Apostle Schneider to visit the congregation in Buchholz. “What fantastic news!” he recalls thinking. Together the rector of the congregation and he decided that he would announce Chief Apostle Schneider’s visit to the congregation. “I still remember how incredulous and amazed the members were. Right from the start it was clear to everyone that when the Chief Apostle visits a smaller congregation it is definitely something very extraordinary and special.”
“Chief Apostle’s Schneider’s visit to our congregation is an absolute highlight this year,” the former Church leader says. The excitement is growing from week to week, and the preparations are in full swing. “For me personally, the visit of the Chief Apostle is also a sign of our close personal relationship,” he adds in all modesty.
At home in his congregation
The retired Chief Apostle Leber has long found his place in the congregation and feels very much at home there. “We are very natural and relaxed with each other. My ministry does not really play a role in our dealings with each other. I am an active member. I sing in the choir, I play the organ, am part of the senior group, and on the cleaning team. Also the ministers have long become used to me being in the congregation.”
Asked whether he misses all the travelling, he replies with clear no. “I have to admit that I have no desire to go on long trips any more. I am home most of the time or at least somewhere nearby.” He only participates in combined divine services upon special request of the Chief Apostle or the District Apostle. “I have wonderful memories of my active time, but I have no desire to travel extensively any more.”