Easter is just around the corner. On 27 March 2016 Christianity will observe its most important feast. Since apostolic times a period of fasting and preparation is observed before Easter. Lent provides for a 40-day fast starting on Ash Wednesday. This is one of two annual and extended periods of fasting.

A New Apostolic Church influenced by the Gothic Revival? And inside the edifice, on one of its walls, there is the headdress of a Native American Indian chief. Intrigued?

The New Apostolic Church Australia has established its own charity. The name says it all: NACare. nac.today followed up on it.

This week we take a look at plans to build new churches in the UK and Ireland, something that has become feasible thanks to a special donation by members of the New Apostolic Church Northern Germany. This and more can be found at nac.today.

Articles, photos, and videos documenting the life of faith of New Apostolic Christians around the world were viewed at least 38 million times over the past year. That is the assessment of nac.today’s first year. A look behind the scenes.

Featured this week is a youth gathering in Malaysia, a new health centre in Zambia, and a new edition of the Catechism. If ever you have wondered who Inonge Wina is or where Cebuano is spoken, it is time to browse into nac.today.

Currently, community is being produced in over 40 languages; some of these languages are available as a PDF on nac.today. The newest issue has just been uploaded—the first of four in the upcoming year.

“The stranger is your neighbour!” This was one of the core messages from Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider over the past year. And—even in times of terrorism and war, waves of immigration, and xenophobia—this also remains our mission for the new year.

Joy is meant to be shared. And this was precisely what New Apostolic Christians around the world experienced—in particular with a view to the motto which the Chief Apostle had announced for the year. And it was in connection with this announcement that the Church marked a first this year.

Big events, structural reforms, and confessional dialogue: the year 2015 had its very own distinctive character in Europe, the last stop on our intercontinental year-in-review roundtrip on nac.today.

Stop-and-go at Christmas in Brazil … This is not only caused by people travelling home over Christmas, but especially because people are stopping to admire the Christmas lights. This can even interfere with carefully timed bus schedules, Karin Zwar reports.

Forty degrees Celsius in the shade and a long holiday break … While the people in the northern hemisphere are dreaming of a white Christmas, the southern hemisphere is in the midst of summer. We asked a European living in South Africa about the festive season there …

Christmas in Australia! How does that go? It is summer in the southern hemisphere. Daytime temperatures range between 25 to 32° Celsius, people are soaking up the sun. Do people get in the Christmas spirit? nac.today asked an “expert” in these matters, and his answer was a definite yes.

The new poster series for the upcoming year is ready. The series is captioned “I manage to …”. The Public Relations working group wants to express how great God’s help is—for each and everyone. Following is a brief introduction.

Already the poet Tibullus referred to the city as eternal. By then the city on the Tiber was already several centuries old if one believes the myths that have been handed down. Today bella Roma is the largest city of Italy, and certainly worth a trip.

“The congregations are like remote islands,” Raúl Eduardo Montes de Oca, the responsible District Apostle of Brazil, says. Following is his report about the Chief Apostle’s recent visit to Brazil and the life of the congregations there.

“It can never be said that the Apostle was a coward. I risked everything to help in the quick movement and furtherance of the Church work.” These words were written by the Chief Apostle’s right hand: Apostle Heinrich Franz Schlaphoff. Fifty years ago today he passed away.

Lit tea-lights in the shape of a heart in Luxembourg, flowers and a “Pray for Paris” banner in Germany: the terror attacks last Friday in Paris have left people in shock, especially in Europe. But the District Apostles are also directing attention beyond Europe’s borders, to other parts of the world.