Learning with God and for the church

we live and learn. in many of our congregations across the world, ministers, musicians, and young people come together to learn. photo: ena guinee. photo: ena guinee. photo: dirk müller, hanna jäger, dr. elke müller-schneck. photo: dirk müller, hanna jäger, dr. elke müller-schneck. photo: nac southern africa. photo: nak niederlande. photo: nak niederlande. photo: nak niederlande. apostles saa marc leno and nema jacques conde had invited their district rectors. apostle conde opened the meeting with a bible passage from 1 peter 5: 2: “shepherd the flock of god which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly.” apostle leno introduced the topics “apostles” and “prayer” with two questions: do we need apostles? are you always online? this was followed by discussions and workshops. the highlight of the event was a divine service conducted by apostle leno. believing together. christians in the town of obersdorf, germany, came together to learn from each other. women from the catholic, protestant, and new apostolic congregations in obersdorf met for a joint workshop as part of a local initiative “women. move. faith. together” on the world day of prayer on 13 october. the dialogue took part on the premises of the local new apostolic church. the women discussed questions such as “what do i believe in?”, “what do i value about my church?”, “what are the unifying elements of christianity for me?”, “what do we want for the future in terms of ecumenism at the local level?”. the discussions were lively and there was mutual esteem and interest. the evening ended with a collectively prayed lord’s prayer and a snack. divine service for students. the matric class of 2023 and the tertiary students of the apostle area were invited to a divine service by apostle gavin van der hoven on sunday, 22 october, in the congregation of new orleans, south africa. the apostle based his sermon on philippians 4: 13: “i can do all things through christ who strengthens me.” the large congregation witnessed the act of holy sealing and the ordination of five priests and seven deacons. presenting what you have learnt. at the beginning the rhythm may be a little off and there may still be the odd squeak or squawk, but in an atmosphere of concentration and with a conductor guiding the orchestra, wonderful harmonies soon emerge. on the penultimate weekend in october, musicians from the la symfona orchestra met in nieuwegein, netherlands, to practise together. for the sunday morning service, the musicians were divided between three the congregations of nieuwegein, amersfoort, and woerden. that afternoon the orchestra gave a concert in nieuwegein, in which all instruments were featured in different compositions and combinations.