“Being wise – that is the headline!”
Hamburg. It was with these words that Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber rang in the European Apostle Meeting in Hamburg. All European Apostles assembled for a two-day conference in Hamburg prior to the Pentecost service which the international leader of the New Apostolic Church will conduct on Pentecost Sunday, 27 May 2007 in the Hamburg Congress Centre.
Hamburg. It was with these words that Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber rang in the European Apostle Meeting in Hamburg. All European Apostles assembled for a two-day conference in Hamburg prior to the Pentecost service which the international leader of the New Apostolic Church will conduct on Pentecost Sunday, 27 May 2007 in the Hamburg Congress Centre.
Chief Apostle Leber greeted his fellow ministers with a reference to the words of Apostle Paul “to be wise in what is good” (Romans 16: 19). “Wisdom from above is to distinguish and characterise the Apostle ministry,” the international Church leader emphasised. He reminded his brothers of the three goals he had formulated two years ago when he first took office: gathering and adorning the bride of Christ, fostering unity among the Apostles, and proclaiming the divine truth.
“We need a strong and unified profile all around the world. We are currently doing the groundwork to this end,” he said in an appeal to the assembly.
This was the first time that the wives of the Apostles also took part in a full meeting of all European Apostles. Together with the Apostles, they will take part in some group activities on church-related topics on the Friday and Saturday before Pentecost. For example, the workshops will address liturgical questions, the imminent expectation of Jesus’ return, and helping along in the area of conflict between church, family, and profession.
District Apostle Karlheinz Schumacher, the host of the “European weekend,” provided some further information about the content of the group activities at the beginning of the Apostle conference. “We are not interested in superficial results, but rather conceptual proposals for future-oriented action on the part of the Church.” The Chief Apostle underlined this sentiment and encouraged an open exchange of ideas.
At the end of his speech Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber send greetings to the apostles Victor Bezgans (Russia) and Werner Kühnle (Southern Germany), who could not attend the meeting.
