We will have it in a more readable form very soon.
The German Church Service started in the 1950ies. The Rev. Lorenz
Modschiedler conducted a German Language Service at the Jackson Avenue
Evangelical Church. This Service was held once a month on Sunday
afternoon to serve a small German speaking congregation. The Jackson
Avenue Church is in close proximity to the docks along the Mississippi
River. Rev. Modschiedler's son, Mr. John Modschiedler, recounted the time
when two officers from a Dutch ship were walking by the Jackson Avenue
Church and saw the announcement of a German language service. After
attending the service, they introduced themselves to Rev. Modschiedler and
he invited the two seafarers to have dinner with his family. A friendship
developed and beside the German language church service, a need for a
ministry to the seamen was established, especially since New Orleans was
one of the larger seaports in the United States of America.
When Rev. Modchiedler left Jackson Avenue Evangelical Church, Rev. Fritz
Winckelmann became pastor of the German Language Service at St.
Matthew UCC Church, located at 1333 South Carrollton Avenue, New
Orleans. Rev. Winckelmann and Rev. Roland Pantermuehl jointly
conducted the German Language Service and Mr. Winckelmann also visited
ships in the Port of New Orleans so that the Seamen's Mission work and the
German Language Church Service have always been two parts of one great
effort.
In 1967 the German Seamen's Mission was formalized as an organization
and when Rev. Heinz R. Neumann arrived in 1970 to take over the German
Seamen's Mission, he conducted the German language service at first
together with Rev. Pantermuehl and later by himself.
The GSMNOLA has had a very successful 40 year run in this city. The
mission house at 6612 Canal Blvd not only was a home for the 5 member
Neumann family but the various programs, especially the German Seamen's
Mission Choir that was founded by Mrs. Helga Neumann in 1974, provided
a 'home away from home' not only for the German seafarers but also for
the sizeable German speaking community.
Due to changes in the shipping industry and other reasons, the German
Seamen's Mission International in Bremen decided to close down the
mission at the end of the year 2010. After 40 years of dedicated service Rev.
Neumann received the Cross of the Order of Merit from the German
government as a highlight of his truly remarkable achievement.
