Stops on the way through life

Zurich: A tribute to Sonja Fehr

“She was a brave, loving, and very attentive woman.” It was with these words that Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider began the funeral service for Sonja Fehr. The bereaved family relates that she passed away quietly and peacefully on the afternoon of 23 January 2020, in her 85th year. At the heart of the Chief Apostle’s address to the mourners was the idea of humbling oneself under the mighty hand of God. “From this follows,” explained the Chief Apostle, “that God will exalt you in due time, as the Bible passage from 1 Peter 5: 6 suggests. With a reference to her husband, the long-time Chief Apostle Richard Fehr, Chief Apostle Schneider said: “It is our conviction of faith that our brethren who die in Jesus Christ will be permitted to enter the realm of the redeemed, where they will see one another again.” The couple, Sonja and Richard Fehr, had been married for 53 years.

“Sonja Fehr served as she understood her duty, and God blessed her in it,” the Chief Apostle went on to say. “The example is not the manner in which she served. The example is her motivation: strong in faith, active in love. It is out of love that one serves—and is resolved to serve—even if it hurts a little at times.”

Chile: A warm welcome for the District Apostle!

The congregation is called “La Florida” and it lies in the southeast of the Chilean capital of Santiago. At the end of January, District Apostle Enrique Minio from Argentina came to visit this place in order to celebrate a divine service with the 31 members there. The following day there was another divine service in San Miguel, where 82 believers gathered with the District Apostle. And the next day—a Friday—the District Apostle presided over a ministers’ meeting on the subject of “The doctrine of future things—what does the Catechism of the New Apostolic Church have to say about this?”

The Saturday led the District Apostle to a divine service in the congregation of Huamachuco in the north of Santiago. And to conclude his pastoral journey, the District Apostle conducted a Sunday divine service in the congregation of Marin. His message: “It is beautiful to tell God everything that we feel, and to be transparent with Him. Let us praise and worship God. When He does something for our lives, let us thank Him for it. And we must also glorify Him for what He is. The worship of God is a fundamental attitude of our lives.”

Four divine services and a seminar—stops on a pastoral journey to Chile.

India: Happy birthday!

The New Apostolic Church in India will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. To celebrate, the NAC India published a digital anniversary brochure on its website. Part 1 focuses very deliberately on the beginnings of the work in the country. The first member of the Church in India was Angel Robinson. In 1968 she travelled to Denmark for a longer stretch of time and there became acquainted with the New Apostolic doctrine “by coincidence”. She showed a keen interest. Her first visit to a divine service led her to the congregation of Copenhagen on 11 August 1968. She later wrote as follows about this time: “Every Sunday I go to church with Priest Nielsen and feel the presence of God and peace; it is a perfect peace which the world cannot give. I hope that the Lord Jesus will find me ready to go with him. My ‘lamp of faith’ is burning brightly.”

On 15 December 1968, Angel Robinson was sealed by District Apostle Karl Weinmann in a divine service in Tønder, Denmark. A year later she returned to Abu Road, Rajasthan and told her family about these experiences.

In May 1970, her son, John Robinson was sealed by District Apostle Michael Kraus, and ordained as the first New Apostolic minister in India.