Europe looks toward Düsseldorf: Divine service for ministers on Sunday morning

On coming Sunday all of Europe will be looking toward Düsseldorf, in the best sense of the word. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider, the six District Apostles of Europe, and the Apostles of the District Church of North Rhine-Westphalia will be the hosts of this divine service for ministers originating in the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Düsseldorf, the city on the Rhine and centre of the state government, will become the hub of the New Apostolic world this Sunday, at least in Europe. It does not happen all that often that the international Church leader, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider, conducts a divine service for the ministers of the congregations of Europe. Whether in Germany, Italy, Sweden, or the Ukraine, congregations throughout all the European nations will be tuned in to follow the divine service from Düsseldorf via satellite transmission. The altar is being set up in the great hall of a hotel in Düsseldorf. This hall and its gallery offer 1,800 seats for the invited local congregation. In the other districts within the District Church there will also be a satellite transmission, just as in the European countries from Scandinavia right down to Southern Europe.

Congregational divine service on Saturday

However, the congregations themselves certainly do not need to feel neglected: although their usual divine service will not take place on Sunday morning, they will receive one on Saturday afternoon within the hosting District Church of North Rhine-Westphalia at 5:00 PM. The six invited District Apostles will be spread around to serve in six cities in the close vicinity of Düsseldorf.

Praising God—our ministry

The musical framework of the divine service on Sunday morning will be provided by a group known as the "Schulchor" of the Düsseldorf church district, which is comprised of sixty members. In an interview on the website of the New Apostolic Church Düsseldorf, choir leader Harald Schmidt relates that the choral music will be strongly oriented to titles of praise and glory to God, since it is only a week before Thanksgiving. The musical programme, in turn, is based upon the100th Psalm. "The ministers' divine service will thus be musically framed by admonitions to praise and glorify the Lord." "For me personally," says the choir leader, "the high point is best expressed by one line of song: "Praising God—that is our ministry!"

You can find other reports (in the German language only) here:

Divine services for ministers are intended to encourage!

Divine services for ministers take place regularly on all continents. Chief Apostle Schneider wants to strengthen his fellow workers in the congregations and be close to them. He plans to equip them with future-oriented thoughts, and give them encouragement for what are at times demanding everyday tasks in the congregation. That is more or less the same sentiment he expressed in the last divine service he conducted for this target group in Gendeng, Indonesia: "Teaching the gospel means proclaiming things that apply to each and every one in every situation. Anything else would not really be the gospel." He made it clear how important rules are, but also pointed out that these must be based on the gospel. "It is not our task to set up new rules." All that a minister can really say is, "If you put the gospel into practice, you will be redeemed."

In 2014 Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted divine services for ministers in Cape Town (Cape District), Kitchener (Canada), Santana (Sao Tomé), and Towerby (South East Africa).

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Peter Johanning
24.09.2015
Europe, Germany, divine services for the departed, Divine service

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