Worshipping together

The celebration of divine services is something that, outwardly, has changed in the course of Church history. Now circumstances have forced us to go online as well. But can online services even provide a dignified setting?

The liturgy, The liturgy, the prescribed form of divine service, has been adapted in the churches time and again: prayer, sermon, music, and sacramental acts were given new emphasis; the participation of the congregation has been made possible through music and readings and through interaction in children, youth, and family divine services.

The meeting places too differ or have changed: there are congregations that gather under a tree or meet for services in a make-shift church or in a someone’s home; some of the world’s congregations enjoy the luxury of being able to use a small or big church building.

Many believers are able to worship openly and in public, while others have to meet in secret because of a lack of religious freedom or because they face threats. For some time now, people have been gathering in front of their screens at home for online services. This visibility is reinforced by personal posts on social media: “I am participating in the service.” This too is part of confessing one’s faith.

Virtual worship has found its place in Church history. The decisive factor is not the place, the time, or even the medium, because “in the divine service the congregation gathers to hear God’s word and receive blessing through the sacrament. Human beings worship God in reverence and humbleness. Thus divine service is an encounter between God and man. In the worshipful serving of the believers and in the perceptible presence of the triune God, the congregation experiences that God serves them in love.” The dignified framework is created by the believers through prayer and sanctification—irrespective of whether they gather under a tree, in a make-shift church, in a church building, or at home in front of a screen.

Live streams on Sunday, 11 July 2021

* daswort / dreiineinz, ** daswort / vierineinz, *** 4445551196 / 703315, **** lemot / ena2020

Digital library of the New Apostolic Church

The New Apostolic Church International has an extensive digital library with clips from divine services by Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider and musical events from recent years on https://nac.today, as well as on its English, Spanish, French, and German YouTube channels.

210711 Streaming Divine Services_DE.pdf Link
210711 Streaming Divine Services_EN.pdf Link
210711 Streaming Divine Services_FR.pdf Link
210711 Streaming Divine Services_ES.pdf Link

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Oliver Rütten
09.07.2021
Media, Divine service

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