Music creates bonds. This is something that four choirs and orchestras from France and Germany can testify to. Here is an excerpt to mark World Friendship Day on 30 July.

It was “a Sunday like no other” in the Stade Martyr in Kinshasa, where the national football team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo usually plays. That is at least how the Chief Apostle felt about it. More than 35,000 young people had come to see and hear him.

Young people in Bolivia cleaned up a local park. In Africa and Europe ministers got together to learn how to deliver better sermons. And in Sierra Leone, Apostle Braima Saffa dedicated three churches in one day.

The bricks travelled 40 kilometres from Hamburg-Borgfelde to Doosthof. These were the first bricks that were owned by the New Apostolic Church. Almost 80 years later, these historic bricks still adorn a church building.

One hundred and forty-one days into the Russian attack on Ukraine, the solidarity of the New Apostolic congregations in Europe is still huge. Private individuals, congregations, and aid organisations are doing their best to help.

Worldwide, Covid made getting together in the congregation almost impossible. Now that the restrictions have been relaxed, people are excited that they can finally see each other again and do things together.

Seeing and experiencing the congregation as one heart and soul, without paying too much attention to the differences and boundaries, continues to be a challenging objective. This is how District Apostle Rainer Storck (Western Germany) describes it, who together with his administrative staff serves over forty countries.

There are many occasions that bring people together for a celebration. Whether it is confirmation or a day of activities to prepare for the confirmation service, people enjoy being together. This week we are celebrating diversity in the Church.

806 kilometres in 25 days—on foot. Priest Marc Sieger (51) from Aidlingen in Germany decided to walk the famous Camino de Santiago. He talks about his experiences on his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Schools without toilets? Days of instruction without drinking water? In some places this is completely normal. However, it does make learning more difficult than it needs to be, especially for girls. One way of combatting the problem is called WASH.

Friendships need to be cultivated, especially when they span the Atlantic. And this is why a Swiss national, a well-known figure, dropped in on the Youth Symphony Orchestra Argentina just a few days ago.

Not only her own large family call her Mama Rose. The members of the Calgary-Chestermere congregation (Canada) also affectionately know her by this name. They appreciate the caring nature and self-sacrificing commitment of Sister Rose Kamwanji Ndumbi (62).

How can we be close to someone without being together? Opening new horizons for our annual motto “Together in Christ”. A new perspective from District Apostle John Kriel of South Africa.

Whether young people do something for the congregation or something is done for them, they are important because they are the future of the Church.

It was to be specifically for young people. That was the idea that District Apostle Norberto Batista announced in 2007 when he decided to launch a magazine for his working area. And it is still produced for the youth, every month anew.

The Covid crisis is still not over, there are wars, natural disasters, and catastrophic hunger. With all the negative news, it is easy to forget a very important group within the Church: children and young people, who are our future.

They are back… the pictures of refugees desperately seeking a safe place. We saw similar images already back in 2015. Elena Kloppmann saw them too and could not get the pictures out of her head. That was when she decided that she wanted to help. Today she is helping in the Mediterranean.

Actually, Lukas wanted to go to Hong Kong or Singapore. But then he was offered a job in Shenzhen, China, after finishing his engineering studies. He told the German magazine spirit what life is like in the world’s most populous country.