Groundbreaking ordination: women take on leadership roles in Herne!

Groundbreaking ordination: women take on leadership roles in Herne!

On Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2025, the New Apostolic Church Community of Herne celebrated a very special holiday. Around 900 believers came to the church in Herne-Wanne to take part in this memorable service. District Apostle Stefan Pöschel took the opportunity to ordain Priest Ines Witt-Rachuba as head of the Recklinghausen-Nord congregation. This decision reflects the newfound equality in the church, which goes hand in hand with the new ordination practice in which women can also be appointed to spiritual offices. This regulation was introduced on January 1, 2023 and represents an important step in the development of the New Apostolic Church, as ref.ch reports.

But the celebrations didn’t end with this ordination. Apostle Torsten Ziesowski ordained deaconess Julia Schmielewski as a priest in the Herne community on Stammstrasse. With this step, Julia Schmielewski is the first woman in the Herne church district to hold the office of priest. This change is warmly welcomed by members of the congregation and shows that the church is on the path to advancing gender equality.

Retirement and new paths

However, Priest Thomas Endler, who retired after 33 years of faithful service, will continue to provide communion service for believers with health problems. Stefanie Merker was also ordained as a deacon. She is not only a talented singer, but has also led the Herne community church choir and the Herne district youth choir for many years.

Also significant was the ordination of Benjamin Kagitter as a priest, who had already worked as a deacon for 19 years. His appointment further strengthens the community and shows that young leaders are in demand in the church.

Silver weddings and the role of women

The married couple Miriam and Roland Matz, who celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, experienced a festive blessing. Apostle Ziesowski took the time to bless the couple. Miriam Matz brings her commitment to caring for children and young people in her home community on Plutostrasse, while her husband Roland has been the head of the Herne community since 2019. Their joint work is an example of how important partnerships are in the church community.

The development of the role of women in the New Apostolic Church is spurred by changes in ordination practices. It is not just a question of equality, but also of faith. As nak.org states, according to the biblical understanding, men and women are equal in quality before God. The theological considerations that led to the introduction of these changes emphasize that there was no sufficient doctrinal basis for the exclusion of women from church positions.

An important point is that women play active roles in the Bible. Scriptures from Romans show that women like Phoebe and Prisca took on important roles in the community. Due to the current changes, this approach is now clearly being adopted in the New Apostolic Church, which is perceived as significant progress.