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MLC interviews: (2) Lay Preacher Friedrich Brunzema

Last updated on August 29th, 2017

Friedrich Brunzema
Friedrich Brunzema

Since January 2017, four members of the Martin Luther Church congregation are being trained as lay preachers: Katja Brittain, Tanya Zielke, Iris Schweiger and Friedrich Brunzema, whose interview follows below.

1) How long have you been coming to the MLC?

Friedrich:  For about a year – my son’s confirmation was at the Martin Luther Church– although I am a member of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church downtown.

2) What do you like best about the MLC?

Friedrich: Some of the members of the congregation…

3) What prompted you to become a lay preacher and how long did it take to make up your mind?

Friedrich: It was a very spontaneous decision; I felt a calling to do it.

4) What was the biggest challenge (what was most difficult to cope with) during the training seminar?

Friedrich: The seminar was OK. The biggest challenge was the schedule planning – one needs plenty of time to prepare sermons.

5) Ten years ago, could you have imagined yourself today standing in front of a congregation as a lay preacher?

Friedrich: Sure, absolutely!

2017bMLC Lay Preachers
Our four new lay preachers at MLC
(L to R): Friedrich Brunzema, Katja Brittain, Tanya Zielke
(photo inset: Iris Schweiger)

6) What was the hardest part of your first sermon?

Friedrich: To put something down on paper, that was distinctly better than the sermons you find on the Internet.

7) What abilities do you value most in your three colleagues.

Friedrich: Their energy, their dedication to church-related matters, and their candor.

8) What is your favourite Bible verse and why?

Friedrich: Isaiah 41:13 – my confirmation-verse, which has led me through life: For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” (NRSV)

9) What is your greatest wish for the MLC community in this 500th anniversary year of the Reformation?

Friedrich: That our congregation would make a greater effort to reach out to, and integrate, the people from our surrounding community in our Church…

Iris Schweiger
Iris Schweiger

 

To read about Iris Schweiger, in part one of the series ( MLC interviews: (1) Lay Preacher Iris Schweiger)  click here

To read about Katja Brittain, in part three of the series (MLC interview: (3) Lay Preacher Katja Brittain) click here.

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