At home around the world

Yes to Jesus Christ: in ministry and suffering (USA)

Apostle Wilbert Karl Hoffman (60) has gone into retirement. In a divine service on 14 June 2015 in Woodbury, New York, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider placed the Apostle into retirement after 39 years as a minister. Sixteen of these he had served as an Apostle. In his address to the retiring Apostle, the Chief Apostle made it clear that this early retirement—for health reasons—made him very sad. On the other hand, the Chief Apostle said, there is a great deal of gratitude that the Apostle followed the Lord’s call and accepted the Apostle ministry, and has now also answered another call of the Lord’s, namely in accepting sickness. “The Apostle served the Lord and followed Him,” the Chief Apostle said and thanked him for setting such an example.

Chief Apostle Schneider based the divine service in Woodbury on 2 Thessalonians 1: 3, “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other.”

“I stand at the door and knock!” Youth service in Berlin (Germany)

The young people were given a crash course on our New Apostolic liturgy in preparation for the youth service. They were given information about the contents and the elements that make up a divine service. A video clip showing the course of a divine service was presented. The video was stopped and a minister at the altar explained the individual stages. Following the presentation, the youth celebrated the divine service on Sundayafternoon.

The divine service, which was attended by 1,200 young people, was celebrated by District Apostle Wolfgang Nadolny. He based his sermon on Revelation 3: 20. He based his sermon on Revelation 3: 20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” District Apostle Nadolny addressed Christian love during the service and said, “The Lord Jesus can get on one’s nerves.” His aim is to lead us back into fellowship, always—whether into the fellowship of our families, our friends, or into the fellowship of God.

From sacred to classical music, to rock and pop

The youth orchestra that will be playing at the Day of the Youth of the District Church Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland in Wetzlar (Germany) this coming Sunday is a 350-member strong symphony orchestra. This year there are 50 more instrumentalists than last year. There were quite a few rehearsals ahead of the service and of course an intensive rehearsal that lasted a whole weekend.

The youth orchestra was established in 2002 and has developed into one of the largest youth orchestras in Europe. Its repertoire ranges from the “James Bond Medley” or “Highlights from Harry Potter” to a number of sacred and classical pieces. The instrumentalists, who range from 14 to 30 years of age, do not only make music together, however. They also do things together. One of the absolute highlights for the orchestra was a trip to Cape Town in South Africa last year, where they gave a concert with a South African youth choir for an audience of more than 9,000.