Labour with love: the year 2014 in review (Part 2)

July

“Rise!” One motto spread over seven different locations in the USA: Los Angeles, Billings, Chicago, Erie, the Carolinas, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Some of the young people travelled more than 20 hours to their regional Youth Days in the past year. Together they worked on answers to the following questions: “Why did God create me?” “What shapes your identity?”

September

The congregation in Tafelsig in Cape Town calls one of the biggest New Apostolic church buildings in the world its home. Spread over several balconies, the church building offers seating for several thousand people. If that is still not enough, the divine service is broadcast. District Apostle Barnes conducted a divine service in the Tafelsig church for the members from three Bishop areas on 14 September.

October

Two district apostle areas in Germany, Northern Germany and Central Germany, will be amalgamated in 2016. In early October, the two District Apostles informed the members in their care of the impending change. The working area of District Apostle Wilfried Klingler, who will be retiring in 2016, will be assigned to Northern Germany.

November

Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted his first divine service in Brazil on 14 November in São Paulo. The city is home to the oldest New Apostolic church in Brazil. Chief Apostle Schneider encouraged the brothers and sisters to pin their hope on the return of Christ and to prepare for it.

Starting in October, members from the New Apostolic Church Northern Germany were able to make their offerings to the Church via an app on their smartphone. Offering-boxes will not disappear from the churches.

How about a group devotional or a worship evening? District Apostle Kolb introduced a new concept for the New Apostolic Church USA on 18 November, offering options for a midweek service. In a national broadcast he explained the five options: a traditional divine service with Holy Communion, a word service, a worship evening, a group devotional, and a small group discussion.

Thousands of people were on the run. On 23 November the Pico do Fogo, a volcano on the Cape Verde Islands erupted. Of a population of 36,000 some 2,000 are New Apostolic. Five congregations were directly affected. Two church buildings were damaged. NAK-karitativ, the charity of the New Apostolic Churches in Germany, offered to help.

The young people from Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Paraíba, and Piauí covered more than a thousand kilometres to attend their national Youth Day in Mossoró in Brazil. The divine service on Sunday was held by District Apostle Raúl Montes de Oca. It was a big surprise when he stepped behind the altar. On the day before he had still been in Taguatina, some 2,300 kilometres away.

Apostles of the Apostolische Gemeinschaft (Union of Apostles) and the New Apostolic Church signed a statement of reconciliation at the end of November in Düsseldorf in Germany. Sixty years after the schism, in 1955, this has laid the foundation for a new beginning, a new cooperation.

The first Bishop in Romania was placed into retirement after 22 years in the ministry. The 7,300 New Apostolic Christians in the country are now looked after by one Apostle and three Bishops.

December

Hagupit clocked 250 kilometres per hour as it raced over huge areas of the Philippines in December. Many were killed and still more were left homeless. Humanitarian aid organizations, among them NAK-humanitas, did what they can to help the distressed people.

On 11 and 12 December a multi-national congregation gathered in Hong Kong for a rare opportunity to see and hear Chief Apostle Schneider. Members had come from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Indonesia to participate in the service by the Chief Apostle. Among the guests were also District Apostle Passuni from South America and District Apostle Fehlbaum from Switzerland.