On June 12th a worship service was held in our partner congregation in Helsinki during which Pastor Erik A. Panzig gave his final sermon in the congregation. His 6 year period of service as the head pastor of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland has come to an end.
In October 2010 members of the church council of St. Anna and St. Peter's Church in St. Petersburg, led by Pastor Mattias Zierold, traveled to Helsinki to take part in the celebratory worship service of installation for Pastor Dr. A. Panzig. Already in December of that year he together with a large group of congregation members traveled to St. Petersburg for our 300th anniversary.
During the past 6 years our partnership relationship has continued to develop. Of particular importance were “pastor exchanges,” where Pastor Zierold preached one Sunday in Helsinki while Pastor Panzig was in Petrikirche. There were exchanges of choirs and performances of the choirs together; the horn ensemble led by Richard Altermaier came to perform at Pastor Zierold's farewell service. Together we celebrated important anniversaries – 20 years of renewed worship in Petrikirche, 150 years since the dedication of the building in Helsinki, 20 years of St. Anna and St. Peter's diaconal group. Pastor Panzig took part in the installation service of Michael Schwartzkopf and we went to the installation of Pastor Hans-Christian Boytel.
Partnership relationship are those relationships where there is mutual respect and interest in what is happening in lives of brothers and sisters in faith in a different city, a different country. Fellowship is a very important part of supporting these relationships. During worship on June 12 Inna Loseva and I thanked Pastor Panzig in the name of the church council and the entire congregation for 6 years of cooperation. We wished Pastor Panzig that he would maintain his faith and optimism in order to live through life's testing with confidence and that he always would feel the love, support and care of others of those around him, including his brothers and sisters in the Lutheran church.
Gerta Krilova
In October 2010 members of the church council of St. Anna and St. Peter's Church in St. Petersburg, led by Pastor Mattias Zierold, traveled to Helsinki to take part in the celebratory worship service of installation for Pastor Dr. A. Panzig. Already in December of that year he together with a large group of congregation members traveled to St. Petersburg for our 300th anniversary.
During the past 6 years our partnership relationship has continued to develop. Of particular importance were “pastor exchanges,” where Pastor Zierold preached one Sunday in Helsinki while Pastor Panzig was in Petrikirche. There were exchanges of choirs and performances of the choirs together; the horn ensemble led by Richard Altermaier came to perform at Pastor Zierold's farewell service. Together we celebrated important anniversaries – 20 years of renewed worship in Petrikirche, 150 years since the dedication of the building in Helsinki, 20 years of St. Anna and St. Peter's diaconal group. Pastor Panzig took part in the installation service of Michael Schwartzkopf and we went to the installation of Pastor Hans-Christian Boytel.
Partnership relationship are those relationships where there is mutual respect and interest in what is happening in lives of brothers and sisters in faith in a different city, a different country. Fellowship is a very important part of supporting these relationships. During worship on June 12 Inna Loseva and I thanked Pastor Panzig in the name of the church council and the entire congregation for 6 years of cooperation. We wished Pastor Panzig that he would maintain his faith and optimism in order to live through life's testing with confidence and that he always would feel the love, support and care of others of those around him, including his brothers and sisters in the Lutheran church.
Gerta Krilova
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