Farewell Vicar Silke Fahl

Watch Silke Fahl’s Ordination in Germany on Saturday, January 16 , 2021 

…https://youtu.be/_jPwRpZetRk…

Ordination service of Silke Fahl on January 16, 2021 in the Urbani zu Heersum Church, Germany [PDF]

Dec 18, 2020 – We will say goodbye to Vicar Silke Fahl on the 4th of Advent, December 20, 2020. Listen to her last radio devotion at 9:30 am on CHLO Radio AM 530. She will preside at her last worship service in German at 11:00 am. Join the Zoom coffee hour at 11:30 am to wish her Godspeed.

Dear Vicar Silke,
Initially, you signed up to be part of a 12 months experimental international ecumenical internship team of four at Martin Luther and Redeemer Lutheran Church. The words in italics alone show that this was not a commitment for the faint of heart. Then, when it became known that Pastor Christian would leave for good in March, you signed up once again to step into unknown territory as lead minister at our church. This could have and should have been enough, yet COVID-19 added a whole new level to the word experimental. We, the people of the Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church, are grateful beyond measure to your commitment to us as individuals and community. May God bless you in your future ministry and may you find happiness in knowing our prayers are with you and our doors are open for you when it will be once again safe to visit.

– Iris Schweiger, Church President

I’m still so happy and grateful that the congregation accepted my offer to extend my internship and that my synod (Landeskirche) and the EKD said yes as well. In the new year I’ll become the new pastor in Hackenstedt-Sottrum (https://www.kirchenregion-holle.de/gemeinde_new/hackenstedt_sottrum), Heersum (https://www.kirchenregion-holle.de/gemeinde_new/heersum) and Sillium (https://www.kirchenregion-holle.de/gemeinde_new/sillium). These are four villages in Lower-Saxony, about 40 minutes south-east of Hannover and 20 minutes south-east of Hildesheim. It will be quite a change, I expect, to move from to Toronto to Hackenstedt, which has all of 462 citizens.
And while I’ll miss Toronto and MLC and all the wonderful people I’ve met since coming here, I’m also looking forward to this new stretch of road in my life. I’m beyond grateful to know already where I’ll be going and where I’ll be serving as a pastor for at least the next three years. And so far, I’ve received a very warm welcome from my future church council president in Hackenstedt-Sottrum and from my future boss, Superintendin Kathrin Henking.

On January 16, 2021  I’ll be ordained in the church in Heersum by regional bishop Eckhard Gorka. The Bible verse I chose for my ordination is from Acts 18:9b-10a: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you.” I hope to be able to share a link so you can watch the service online. I’m excited to be ordained and to finally see my family again in-person.

– Vicar Silke Fahl