A faithful servant of the Church, that sounds like the perfect caption for the life of Johann Rissik Kitching, who was responsible for the fate of the New Apostolic Church in Southern Africa for many years. Who was this man? Let us take a look back in honour of his 100th birthday.

Giving thanks to God? In difficult times this may not come to us so easily. Yet it is part of the battle against the crisis, says the Chief Apostle. He also explains how to manage this and what we get out of it ourselves: a divine service in two groups of five thoughts.

Thanksgiving Day commemorates the creatorship of God. This is what the New Apostolic Catechism says. Once a year, a Sunday is set aside for this in the church calendar. But gratitude is something that Christians can show God on all the other days of the year as well, the Chief Apostle says.

In the northern hemisphere, the month of October is often described as a “golden” month: it still brings quite a bit of sunshine, boasts some beautiful sunsets, and paints the leaves of the trees in fabulous hues. This only serves to reinforce the realisation that God’s creation is wonderful!

Olga Shcherban (50) is a chorus master at the Voronezh Opera and Ballet Theatre in Russia. Our sister in faith also puts her gift and her musical skills to use in her congregation and the Church.

Living, working and believing in Malaysia. This is what Evangelist Loganathan Ramaurty Lawrence (51), the rector of the congregation in Kuala Lumpur, tells us about. And he reveals what gives him strength to dedicate himself the way he does.

Professing our faith—many of us look for suitable opportunities to do this in daily life. Some of our brothers and sisters have found an unusual method.

Christian fellowship strengthens—both when we profess our faith in Christ and when disaster strikes. Three recent examples demonstrate this.

Gratitude and petitions, praise and sorrow, poverty and wealth … Like often in life, the boundaries are blurred. Far too many people have too little to live on, and only relatively few have enough of everything.

Recognising and addressing the needs of others, praying together, and making music together to praise God—this is the weekly programme of many Christians. They are out and about to make a difference.

A single bunch of grapes to illustrate Thanksgiving!? Where is the usual abundance and diversity? A little hair-splitting and an impulse to be doubly grateful on Thanksgiving.

“I was hungry and you gave me food,” Jesus said. The congregation in Denver Metro (Colorado, USA) took these words to heart and set up their own food bank. Two of the volunteers tell us the story from the beginning.

The Church’s own health insurance, a football league of congregational teams, and a working area that spanned half the globe: today we celebrate the 125th birthday of Heinrich Franz Schlaphoff—an Apostle unlike any other.

For people who are healthy and happy it is easy to be grateful. But what if illness and distress are the dominant factors in our lives? We can be grateful even then, Chief Apostle Schneider says.

The Thanksgiving service brought the members in Salto (Uruguay) the dedication of their newly renovated church. Pausing, reflecting, and learning to appreciate anew is what the Apostle spoke about to a grateful congregation.

Praising, sharing, protecting—there are many different ways to celebrate Thanksgiving. The congregations around the world set their own focus and priorities. And not all will be celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.

Envious, jealous, or even resentful? The month of October gives us an opportunity to express our gratitude for what we have—something we can certainly do throughout the rest of the year too. Following is a look at congregations around the world.

As of last Sunday, Peter Schulte is the number two man in the District Apostle district of Australia. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider began by ordaining him into the Apostle ministry, and then went on to assign him as a District Apostle Helper for the enormous working area.