The International Church of Copenhagen (ICC) celebrated the installation of its new pastor, Reverend Ronald Rentner, a week last Sunday.
Leading the service was Reverend Arden Haug, the European representative for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), while the bishop of Copenhagen, Peter Skov-Jakobsen, attended on behalf of the Church of Denmark (the Folkekirke).
With a strong Lutheran heritage, the ICC remains independent from both the ELCA and the Folkekirke, but as Aileen Itani, chair of the music and worship committee, explains, it welcomes their support.
“ICC’s congregation is made up of Danes and expats from all over the world, hailing from many christian denominations,” Itani said. “But the support of these churches lends our pastor a professional network and legitimacy that benefits both him personally and, through him, the congregation generally,”
Established in the late 1950s by American Lutherans living in the city, ICC is the oldest English-speaking ecumenical congregation in Copenhagen. ICC regularly ministers to worshipers from over 25 countries with a variety of different christian backgrounds including Lutheran, Orthodox, Baptist and Anglican.
Drawing on its Lutheran roots, the ICC provides Sunday worship that reflects the diversity of its congregants and also offers midweek bible studies and programmes for children.
According to Pastor Rentner, the ICC is an example of what the church expects to be at its best.
“People from around the world gather here,” Rentner said. “Instead of being separated by differences, they are drawn close by faith. People from the widest possible worship traditions in the christian family learn here from each other. We are united by god’s good news. It is a model for the church to come.”
Pastor Rentner is joined by his wife Vonnie. They have also served churches in California, Nevada, and Guatemala.
