Working for the common good

whether on a voluntary basis or full-time, many members of the new apostolic church around the globe are very involved in the church. examples from three continents: a choir on a promotional tour, teachers in an online workshop, and an apostle who worked for the lord untiringly. preview choir promotes pop oratorio. photo: jennifer jendral. preview choir promotes pop oratorio. photo: jennifer jendral. preview choir promotes pop oratorio. photo: jennifer jendral. teachers learning how to teach. photo: ina uruguay. teachers learning how to teach. photo: ina uruguay. teachers learning how to teach. photo: ina uruguay. funeral for apostle kaira. photo: new apostolic church international. preview choir promotes pop oratorio. it was one of the biggest music projects that the new apostolic churches in germany ever produced. now, rehearsals are starting for the remake: the pop oratorio “ich bin!” (i am) is going to be remade. it is a two-hour production for youth choir, symphony orchestra, band, soloists, and actors dealing with the seven “i am” statements of jesus and his miracles. the première was in june 2013 in dortmund (germany). the remake is planned for june 2018 in leipzig (germany) to coincide with the chief apostle’s visit to the city. the rehearsals have begun. a group of forty young singers met in hamburg at the beginning of november to rehearse as a so-called preview choir. “this is the first step of a big trip,” the conductor gerrit junge says. “we want to ignite a fire.” in mid november, in hannover (germany), this choir is going to present the pop oratorio to all interested choir and youth leaders from the district church northern and eastern germany who want to join the project with their youth groups. teachers learning how to teach. partly real, partly virtual—some offline, some online: this is how the second meeting for lead teachers was held at the church in montevideo (uruguay) by apostle claudio gonzález in mid october. a group of 26 people had gathered in montevideo, but the meeting was streamed live across the entire working area of district apostle enrique minio so that all the teachers in argentina, chile, and paraguay were able to participate. at the beginning, apostle gonzález underlined how important the work of the teachers is: their mission is to offer the children solid religious teaching. two sisters then continued. sandra colaianni advised the teachers how important it is that children are taught in an age-appropriate manner and informed them about the different levels of teaching that are available in the church. and sandra komodowski presented the relaunched website for teachers. funeral for apostle kaira. the retired apostle james herbert kaira passed away at the beginning of this month. he had been battling cancer for quite some time. apostle kaira is survived by his wife, judith chisiza kaira, seven children, and twelve grandchildren. james kaira was born on 6 june 1946 in mzimba in malawi to new apostolic parents. in 1970 he was ordained as a deacon. he served in various ministries, and in october 1988 he was ordained an apostle. he retired in 2012. “apostle kaira served with great zeal and enthusiasm,” district apostles charles ndandula writes. “he worked hard and was a true servant of god. whether night or day, his greatest worry was whether there was work to do for the lord.”.