Lighting candles in memory of loved ones

Death strikes in Berlin. A truck deliberately veered off the road and plowed into a crowd of people at one of the many Christmas markets in the heart of the German capital. Twelve people were killed and 48 injured. Some are in critical condition. Authorities assume that it is a terrorist attack. On the Facebook page of the New Apostolic Church thousands expressed their compassion. “Our thoughts are with the people in Berlin and we are praying for the victims and their families.”

District Apostle Wolfgang Nadolny published a message of condolence on the website of the Church in Berlin: “We mourn the dead of Breidscheidplatz, and pray for and think of their loved ones. We hope that the injured can be helped. May God be merciful to the victims.”

Worldwide Candle Lighting. This is the name of a day observed on the second Sunday of December in honour of children who died very young. The day is observed by parents whose children died during or shortly after birth. At 7 p.m., local time, they place a lighted candle in the window. The idea behind this observance across geographical and cultural divides is to send out a beacon of light around the world over a twenty-four hour period in remembrance of these children.

In Essen, a city in Germany, New Apostolic Christians had issued invitations to a prayer service. About 70 participated, and a lighted candle was placed on the altar. There was subdued lighting and quiet strains coming from the organ as the people filed into the church. The atmosphere was conducive to quiet devotion. In the entrance hall of the church, people could pick up a paper star and write the name of a child on it. These name tags were then brought to the altar during the prayer service.

A very touching rendition of “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” was sung to prepare the reading of a poem that compared the short life of these children to a mere breath of life. This was followed by the reading aloud of the names. “I have called you by your name; you are Mine” (Isaiah 43: 1).

In a divine service in Hanover (Germany), Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider paid a special tribute to those for whom the prospects for a peaceful and joyful Christmas are bleak. He especially remembered the many displaced people in refugee camps. In some camps there are congregations and divine services take place. For these Christians, he said, Christmas is a reason for joy. Having nothing else, they focus on what is important: the power of the gospel, the power of the message of the birth and return of Jesus Christ.

Joy in Sidiadi. The congregation in this small village on the island of Java (Indonesia) celebrated the dedication of their church on 14 December 2016. Kebumen, as this region is called, is a district in which Apostle Samuel Hadiwidagdo and Bishop Sulistyo Utomo look after 14 New Apostolic congregations. The New Apostolic Church in this region is almost one hundred years old.

The construction of the church took five months, and the congregation of 150 members was overjoyed to take possession of their new church. The official dedication ceremony was attended by many of the villagers so that there were 330 in attendance!

Confirmation in Uruguay. Confirmation is always a joyful feast for a congregation. District Apostle Enrique Eduardo Minio went to Colonia Suiza and El Pinar to celebrate the confirmation service. In Colonia Suiza, which is about 120 kilometres south of Montevideo, six boys and girls took their vows. In El Pinar, a suburb of Montevideo, 17 girls and boys received a blessing on their confirmation. Apostle Edwin Hermann Ernst Guigou celebrated confirmation services in Uruguay, namely in the congregations South-Florida and La Teja..