At home worldwide: celebrating God’s goodness

An amazing service

Apostle Sanpha Sesay celebrated a divine service in Koido in Sierra Leone on 24 April with around 750 participants. In this service 56 people received the sacrament of Holy Sealing and the Apostle ordained 13 Priests and 17 Deacons!

Jubilee services in Argentina

It was on 1 July 1952 that District Apostle Gottfried Rüfenacht celebrated the first divine service in the congregation of Villa Modela in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 70 years later, Apostle Claudio Videla stood behind the altar of the congregation and celebrated the anniversary service with 195 guests. After the service, the brothers and sisters stayed together to reminisce.

The New Apostolic congregation in the town of Boedo celebrated its sixtieth anniversary on 14 August. District Apostle Enrique Eduardo Minio came to celebrate this special event with the congregation. He was joined by the retired District Apostle Mario Fiore and the retired Apostles Vicente Teti, Guillermo Canessa, and Gerardo Zanotti. “Let us love love God with all our heart,” was the District Apostle’s message to the congregation. He called on the brothers and sisters to love one another as they are. The celebration lasted into the afternoon. The congregation did some reminiscing with video clips of interviews, music, and some delicious food..

The congregation of Merlo in Argentina also celebrated an anniversary recently: Apostle Claudio Videla came to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary with the members. At the service on 3 September, he read a summary of the congregational history and invited the members to thank God for all they had been given over the past 50 years. In the course of the service, Deacon Vicente Torres retired after 30 years in ministry. The day ended with a joint celebration after the service.

And the congregation of Villa Domínico in Buenos Aires celebrated its eightieth anniversary over two days: on 2 and 3 September. On Saturday the congregation celebrated with music, games, and a birthday cake, and on Sunday District Apostle Enrique Eduardo Minio came to conduct the service. He was accompanied by Apostle Jorge Franco and other retired Apostles. After the service, the grandparents and children placed items from the congregation in a time capsule. They plan to open it in twenty years on the congregation’s centenary.

An outdoor service

On 24 July, the members of the congregation in Backnang, Germany, came up with a very special place for their service: a beautiful meadow. To make the most of the beautiful summer weather, members and guests gathered for an open-air service on a piece of property owned by one of the members. The service was embellished by the congregational choir.

Young people celebrate God and their Day of the Youth

The idea for the Day of the Youth in Omsk, Russia, had actually already come up in an interview by the confirmands back in March 2022. Already at that time, the young brothers and sisters had asked their Apostle Marat Akchurin whether there would be a Day of the Youth in the summer. This started the ball rolling and the young people from the congregation in Omsk worked hard to contribute to the planning and organising.

Some of the young people travelled from far away to participate in the three-day event from 12–14 August. It took place in a recreation camp located in a pine forest on the banks of the Irtysh River. On the first day, they got to know each other and then listened to a talk on a spiritual theme while picnicking on the river’s bank. On the second day there was another presentation on a spiritual subject, which was followed by a discussion. Afterwards there was a rally on the theme “On the trail of biblical heroes”. True to the annual motto “Together in Christ”, which was the overarching theme of the youth event, the young people all crossed the finish line at the same time.

The highlight of the three-day event was the divine service with Apostle Marat Akchurin, which he conducted in our church in Omsk.

Divine service with the District Apostle

For the first time after the Covid pandemic started, District Apostle Edy Isnugroho was finally able to visit the congregation in Singapore again. This was on 24 July. The ministers had already enjoyed a meeting with their District Apostle the evening before, in which he encouraged them and shared what he had recently read in a service for ministers by the Chief Apostle: “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5: 42). For the divine service on Sunday, he read Matthew 5: 6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The District Apostle sealed a sister and gave a couple a blessing on their silver wedding anniversary.