Travelling after the hurricane

Standing together in rebuilding their lives

Following the devastating hurricane in the Fiji Islands, District Elder Jona Bale made his way to visit local New Apostolic members. On 20 February, Cyclone “Winston” swept through the islands with gusts measuring up to 300 kilometres per hour, leaving massive destruction in its wake. At least forty people lost their lives—and more than 8,000 are now without shelter.

Bishop John Green, who is in contact with District Elder Bale, relates of a strong feeling of cohesion and mutual support among the locals in their efforts to rebuild their destroyed homes. As far as is known at present, none of our members have been injured, however, the local minister has not been able to reach all of them because many of the access routes are still impassable.

In the meantime, the responsible District Church of Australia is looking into the care and support of affected members there. Right at the moment, there is one plea that is of special importance to District Apostle Andrew Andersen: “Please pray for the people on the Fiji Islands!”

Keeping active in retirement

Preparing the future of the Church, cultivating the gifts of the members, and proving the timeliness of the gospel of Jesus—this appeal from District Apostle Markus Fehlbaum (Switzerland) applies not only to active ministers, but also those in retirement. This was made particularly clear in a seminar conducted by Apostle Philipp Burren at the end of January with the retired District Elders and District Evangelists in Austria. The main topic was how retired ministers can continue to get involved in the activities of the Church. In so doing, the New Apostolic Church in Austria finds itself embarking on a similar course as the District Church of South East Africa, which has already begun planning a Mentor Programme.

Unusual guests

The New Apostolic Church of Zambia recently entertained an important guest of honour in the congregation of Kyawama A. On 21 February 2016—a mere twelve days after he had been officially sworn into office—President Edgar Chagwa Lungu attended a divine service in Solwezi. Following the service he thanked the Church for the pleasant fellowship, and encouraged the members to take an active interest in state affairs: “If you see us deviate from the path, then please come to us and counsel us!”

At the beginning of February, the congregation of Bucks County in the USA had a number of uniformed guests attend service—Boy Scouts from all over the Pennsylvania district had been invited to attend “Scout Sunday”. In addition to their own pennant, they also brought the national flag along. This was already the sixth time that the New Apostolic Church in the USA sent out invitations to such a divine service.