Mozambique: mapping the New Apostolic Church (Part 3)

Thousands of pictures, GPS coordinates, addresses, phone numbers. Bishop Alvin Witten and his wife, Jean, are gathering enormous amounts of data. What is going to happen with all the data and who will have access to it?

September 23, 2020

Africa Asia

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• Profile

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Spotlight 17/2020: Free at last!

Paul und Silas had been arrested and put in jail. Around midnight they began to sing and praise God, while the other prisoners listened. Thoughts on freedom by District Apostle Helper Frank Dzur from Canada.

September 22, 2020

annual motto

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• congregation
• District Apostle
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• Holy Communion
• sacraments

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Let peace enter

“When peace with the Father attendeth my way”—an oft sung hymn in Christian churches. Peace with God is certainly right at the top of the list for Christians, but what about peace with one another? Some reflections on the occasion of the International Day of Peace.

September 21, 2020

America

+2

• Europe
• history 

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The word of God in multimedia form

A hundred years ago it would have been unthinkable: divine services via phone-in, on television, via satellite, or the internet. Today divine services are just a click away. Quite a lot of work goes into this to make it possible.

September 18, 2020

Chief Apostle

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• divine service

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Pastoral care (6): Trust needs space

Children are our future—this sentence is not only true, but it must also be verifiable. This also applies to the Church’s pastoral care, which may be confidential, but should not take place in secret. A great deal of mindfulness is required of all involved.

September 17, 2020

congregation

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• investiture
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Mozambique: in search of congregations (Part 2)

Alvin Witten and his wife, Jean, now live in Mozambique. They travel across the country, visiting hundreds of congregations, recording GPS coordinates, taking pictures of rectors and churches. Their to-do list has 1,326 congregations on it.

September 16, 2020

Buildings congregation

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The sacraments (18): The whole baptism in eight sentences

Baptism—such a simple act and yet so rich in significance and history. More than half of this series so far has revolved around this sacrament alone. It is time for a summary: here are eight key statements to remember.

September 15, 2020

doctrine 

+3

• history 
• sacraments
• society

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A once derelict church restored

In 2014 the congregation in Somerset in Cape Town (South Africa) moved into a different place of worship. The congregation’s new home is an old Dutch Reformed Church that was taken over by the New Apostolic Church and renovated. The building is over 200 years old.

September 14, 2020

Africa

+6

• Buildings
• Chief Apostle
• congregation
• District Apostle
• divine service
• history 

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A divine service with singing is grace

COVID-19 has even had an influence on the liturgical sequence of the divine services: where choirs used to sing, voices must often be silent now. What remains is the search for creative solutions…

September 11, 2020

Africa

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• Chief Apostle
• congregation
• District Apostle
• divine service
• Easter
• Youth

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On the air for half a year

In mid-March, the first churches begin closing in response to the corona pandemic. The Church responds immediately: from then on, members are able to participate in divine services live-streamed on YouTube.

September 11, 2020

Africa

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• Buildings
• Chief Apostle
• divine service
• doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• sacraments

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Mozambique: setting off into a new country (Part 1)

“We are happy to finally ‘get on the map,’” explains Apostle Robert Worship enthusiastically. The administrative director of the District Church of Southern Africa is supervising an extraordinary project: the very first mapping of the New Apostolic congregations in Mozambique.

September 10, 2020

Africa

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• congregation
• District Apostle
• divine service
• Profile

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How miracles happen nowadays

Miracles are not the solution—they are merely a reference to it. Rather, it is more about performing miracles of our own and sending a signal—or showing a kind of sign—in the process. How, why, and to what end? Following are some points from a divine service with the Chief Apostle.

September 9, 2020

Africa

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• Chief Apostle
• congregation
• divine service
• doctrine 

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Spotlight 16/2020: Allow your eyes to be opened!

Seeing who we really are … without others judging us. That is not easy, seeing that we humans are social creatures and therefore depend on the benevolence of others. Jesus opens our eyes for reality, District Apostle Helper John Fendt from the USA says.

September 8, 2020

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• Chief Apostle
• District Apostle

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nacfaq: update of the Questions and Answers app

Darkmode makes it perfect for night-time reading. And it is ideal for occasional reading as it provides specific answers for specific questions. The digital version of the Catechism in Questions and Answers has just been relaunched.

September 7, 2020

congregation

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• doctrine 

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First female Church president appointed

Esther Kompare is the new president of the New Apostolic Church Slovenia. This is the first time that a woman has taken on this responsibility in this country.

September 4, 2020

Asia

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• congregation
• District Apostle
• divine service
• doctrine 
• Easter
• Europe
• Pastoral care
• sacraments

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Continuity in turbulent times

Fluctuating case numbers and adapting to changing Covid19 measures are challenging people everywhere. But there is a comforting constant in all of this—our online and dial-in services.

September 4, 2020

Chief Apostle

+2

• congregation
• divine service

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Therapy and faith: partners on the path to healing

Anxiety, a sense of gloom, mood swings … Surely there is no one who has not experienced a low. But sometimes life can run off the rails. And then it needs more than sensitive ministers and a kind and loving congregation.

September 3, 2020

congregation Pastoral care

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Whether celebrating or mourning, Jesus’ love is not dependent on the situation

Jesus drank wine and John the Baptist was an ascetic. In that case neither of them could have been sent by God, could they?! Nevertheless, Jesus’ actions prove that He was indeed sent by God. And whoever follows the path that Jesus established has grounds for true joy.

September 2, 2020

Chief Apostle

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• divine service
• doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• sacraments
• society

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The sacraments (17): commonalities and differences in black and white

Naturally the churches acknowledge each other’s baptisms, even though this step has taken centuries to achieve. After all, the question of sacraments is intimately linked to the respective understanding each one has of what constitutes church. And yet they have all managed to approve sound papers on the subject.

September 1, 2020

confessions

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• Easter
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Only a few sentences, but so much substance!

The Lord’s Prayer is 2,000 years old and is considered the central prayer of all Christians. It has maintained its place in Holy Scripture and in Christian churches around the world to this day. So what does it express?

August 31, 2020

congregation

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• divine service
• doctrine 
• Holy Communion
• sacraments

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Challenge accepted: India celebrates

It all began with a woman who became New Apostolic while on a trip to Denmark fifty years ago. Upon returning to India, she did not keep her faith to herself, but rather told many others about Jesus and living Apostles. And against all odds, there are around 45,000 New Apostolic Christians living in India today.

August 28, 2020

Buildings

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• Chief Apostle
• congregation
• District Apostle
• divine service
• doctrine 
• history 
• Holy Sealing
• investiture
• ministry
• sacraments
• society
• Youth

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… the church comes to the believer

Lockdown, bans on assembly, no divine services—in many places, believers cannot gather together in the church. For them the offer of divine service by video continues.

August 28, 2020

Chief Apostle concept of salvation for the departed

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Of fountains and springs and a church

The New Apostolic Church in Bad Schwalbach has an unusual church building. Though it was dedicated in 1875 as an Anglican Church, the Anglican congregation left their little chapel some 54 years later. In 1957 in was purchased by the New Apostolic Church, and serves its members as a place of worship to this very day.

August 27, 2020

America

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• Buildings
• congregation
• divine service
• Europe
• history 
• Youth

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Pastoral care (05): with and without a ministry

Who can provide pastoral care? Here are some thoughts on the motivation, passion, and ministerial mandate behind pastoral care, and the fact that everyone can be active in it.

August 26, 2020

charity work

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• congregation
• divine service
• doctrine 
• ministry
• Pastoral care

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nacnews: an update to the news reader

New Apostolic news from around the world—but only the articles I want to read! Anyone at all can choose for himself. It’s a piece of cake with nacnews!

August 25, 2020

charity work

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• congregation

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Spotlight 15/2020: Only Christ makes free, nobody else

From the vastness of paradise to a small labyrinth of selfish goals, from great freedom to close confinement. How man has changed! He could do better for himself, District Apostle Helper David Devaraj from Bangalore in India writes.

August 24, 2020

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• District Apostle

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