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English to German translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Religion
English term or phrase:ministry
Der ganze Satz lautet: "We are delighted to welcome them with their much-needed ministry of intercession, counselling, and spiritual warfare." Here, ministry seems to mean something different than in the previous sentence. So far, I have translated it with "Kenntnissen und Gaben".
While all the suggested terms are possibilities, I do feel that a less abstract term is what is needed here - thanks for this, Michel! Also thanks to Jonathan for insights that only the son of an Evangelical preacher could have provided! Thanks to all of you for contributing your thoughts and ideas. Bettina 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Nowadays, a "ministry" denotes more than just the pastor and his/her duties. It embraces all active participants in a church (deacons, missionaries, Sunday school teachers etc) and even the building itself. Other components of the ministry include bibles, tracts, and even mundain things like electricity bills etc. "ministry" has taken on this commercial aspect over the past 30 years, particularly in the US.
That is very well explained, thank you very much. I think the word "ministry" here works on two levels - one is the more abstract level which is expressed by the German term "geistliches Amt" and which includes "intercession, counselling and spiritual warfare" and more. The second level is a more literal one, which the German "Dienst/e" expresses. I think here, while the "geistliche Amt" is in the background, it is justified to use "Dienste".
I am well placed to provide some input here. To "minister" is a wide-ranging concept which includes the notion of "witnessing" (unflaggingly propagating the Gospel from the pulpit and beyond for the purpose of converting non-believers), being of practical service to the church community and beyond (responsibilities to the community at large, e.g. performing weddings, helping the poor etc.). A pastor's "ministry" is the Oberbegriff that encompasses all the tasks that a preacher assumes, be they spiritual or "wordly", as my Dad would have said. "geistliches Amt" is sort of what is meant here, though it will be difficult to find an adequate translation. It's all about being "im Dienste Jesu".
Sorry - I tend to forget to mention the context after the first question... Dieser Satz ist Teil einer Webseite einer religioesen Organisation, die in Israel arbeitet. Hier wird das Personal vorgestellt, u.a. ein Paar, das gerade erst (oder noch nicht) angekommen ist. Ich denke, "Dienste" trifft es ganz gut. "Priesterliches Wirken" waere in einem christlichen Zusammenhang vielleicht angebracht, aber hier handelt es sich um das Judentum und es sind keine Rabbis, sondern "Laien".
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 8 Min. (2010-06-07 14:57:46 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Wir freuen uns, ihre dringend benötigten Dienste der Fürsprache, der Beratung und der geistigen Kriegsführung entgegen nehmen zu können.
Michél Dallaserra Germany Local time: 03:49 Meets criteria Specializes in field Native speaker of: German, English PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
While all the suggested terms are possibilities, I do feel that a less abstract term is what is needed here - thanks for this, Michel! Also thanks to Jonathan for insights that only the son of an Evangelical preacher could have provided! Thanks to all of you for contributing your thoughts and ideas. Bettina
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +4
