Manila/Zurich. Negros Oriental is the Eastern part of the island of Negros in the Philippines. The earthquake from Monday in the local environment of the city of Tayasan had a magnitude of 6.9. According to press reports, many people are still missing, more than 40 people dead. The New Apostolic Church there is also affected. Here is a live report of our Deacon Jerome to his District Apostle Urs Hebeisen:

“We have just arrived from Tayasan. On our way to Tayasan we have witnessed the destruction that was brought by the earthquake. As bridges collapsed, roads were broken, and many houses collapsed. Passenger buses and the other big trucks were not permitted to cross the bridge that slightly collapsed.

Our church in Tayasan Central has also been damaged by strong quakes. I already uploaded pictures in Facebook(New Apostolic Church Dumaguete). Other affected churches are Bago and Banban based on our conversation with Bishop Bacane. He told us that around 50% of both churches were damaged. We still didn’t receive any word from the other congregations in Negros Oriental except for Ayungon Central Church as Dist Elder Zuniega told us that the church is ok, but it was his house that collapsed and some of the houses of our brothers and sisters in Ayungon. Fortunately we were not able to get pictures of the houses of our brothers and sisters there because the roads were not passable already.

For now most people here in Tayasan and Ayungon were experiencing food and water shortage that is why we brought 4 big containers of water from Dumaguete to Tayasan to help the Bishop Bacane's family with these necessities. These places were still experiencing trauma of the quake, and lights and water were still out.”

Pacific Ring of Fire

The Philippines lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. About 90 percent of all earthquakes worldwide occur here. Smaller and larger quakes happen, because of tectonic movements underground. Directly after the earthquake on Monday, a tsunami warning was issued. Fortunately the warning was cancelled a short time later.

Johannesburg/Zurich. The days he spent in the District Church of South East Africa were blessed and historical! Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber, the international Church leader, had come in order to retire District Apostle Johann R. Kitching, who had served in ministry for a very long span of time. The latter had been at the helm of the large New Apostolic District Church for over 20 years.

The visit of the Church leader began on Wednesday, 25 January with a divine service in Kimberley which was conducted in the city’s international community centre. Given the fact that they would be enjoying their first divine service with a Chief Apostle in 30 years, the joy of the congregation was correspondingly great. The divine service, which was attended by over 3,500 believers, was based on the statement of the Son of God recorded in Luke 21: 28: “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Choral concert in Johannesburg

Johannesburg was the next stop on the Chief Apostle’s trip. On Saturday evening the choir and orchestra performed a festive concert in the Standard Bank Arena, which also featured a number of video clips commemorating various phases in the life and ministerial activity of the retiring District Apostle Kitching.

Divine service in Johannesburg

The divine service on Sunday morning was, without a doubt, the high point of the trip. The Standard Bank Arena in the heart of the large metropolis was occupied to capacity with a total of 5,300 in attendance. Many thousands more were connected by satellite. Chief Apostle Leber used a passage from Matthew 10: 39 as the basis for his sermon: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

The divine service was an historic affair on account of the retirement of District Apostle Johann R. Kitching. For over 23 years he had been responsible for the work in this blessed District Church. Chief Apostle Leber described him as an example of upright faith. At the same time, District Apostle Helper Patrick Mkhwanazi was ordained as the new District Apostle for the region. Together with him, Abraham Page was ordained an Apostle and Keith Wentzel was ordained a Bishop.

» Read our report on our website of the New Apostolic Church South East Africa

Johannesburg/Zurich. “Our friend and fellow Apostle will retire a little early on account of his health”—it was with these words that Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber already addressed the Apostles around the world in October of last year. Since 1988 Johann R. Kitching had served as District Apostle for one of the two South African District Churches, this one with its seat in Johannesburg. Yesterday he was discharged into retirement at the end of a festive divine service with the Chief Apostle.

Many of the members in attendance in the fully occupied Standard Bank Arena burst into spontaneous applause as the retiring District Apostle handed his wife a bouquet of red roses. Moments before, Chief Apostle Leber had retired him from ministry with emotional words. For many Christians in the New Apostolic Church in this country, this marked the end of an era, as District Apostle Kitching had been active there for an entire generation, and was in fact the longest-serving District Apostle in the District Apostle Meeting. During his tenure, the number of believers in the region under his care as District Apostle has increased to approximately 360,000 members. Some 65 churches and another 90 missions in rural areas were dedicated during his time in ministry. 

His successor is District Apostle Patrick Mkhwanazi

His successor comes from the South African industrial town of Middelburg. He is 49 years of age and his name is Patrick Mkhwanazi. He has professed the New Apostolic faith since 1990 and was made aware of the Church through a neighbour. As he himself says, this step brought about a complete change in his way of thinking. As a person who had never belonged to any Christian church, he now was now able to feel God’s guiding hand. District Apostle Kitching writes about him as follows: “I know that your new District Apostle will lead you in love, and learn and grow together with you.” Patrick Mkhwanazi is an accomplished and educated individual. His curriculum vitae states that he was born on 02 December 1963 in Middelburg in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa. After high school, he studied economics abroad before taking a job in the provincial ministry. Most recently he worked as an independent businessman in the field of construction. He is married with six children and has served as a minister in the New Apostolic Church as of 1992. He has been active as a District Apostle Helper since 25 January 2011.

Other ordinations

In the Sunday divine service Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber also ordained a new Apostle for the large District Church, namely Abraham Page (39). Keith Wentzel (54), the director of the Church office in Johannesburg, was also ordained to the Bishop ministry. We will report on further details from the divine service tomorrow. 

In South Africa for two Sundays

The visit of the international Church leader, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber, to the Republic of South Africa lasted two weeks. He began his stay in Cape Town, where he conducted two divine services over the previous weekend. On Wednesday of last week he flew on to Kimberley, where another divine service took place that evening. On Saturday in the Standard Bank Arena, he enjoyed a powerful concert celebrating the various phases in District Apostle Kitching’s 23-year ministerial activity as a District Apostle. Last Sunday’s festive divine service in Johannesburg marked the end of the Chief Apostle’s journey.

Strand-Gustrouw. It must have been difficult to initially comprehend the astonishing news that the Chief Apostle would be coming to their congregation. No such feeling existed on the day; it was replaced with an incredible feeling of joy likened to young children on Christmas morning.

The feeling in the Strand-Gustrouw church was shared with hundreds of congregations on the Cape district church audio visual network with the musicians, choirs and soloists preparing souls through melodies rich with assurance that blessings awaited, acknowledging the need for Christ in our lives ever stronger. Then it was time. The moment arrived for the divine service to commence.

Chief Apostle W Leber brought a message of love and blessings for the year ahead, expressing his special wish for all God’s children to make experiences of faith. He further explained that it’s the little experiences that leave lasting impressions on our lives. It was also during this sermon that the Chief Apostle etched a clear message in the hearts of the members when making reference to Jesus - Keep what is holy, holy.

District Apostle M Woll from Canada and District Apostle R Krause from Northern Germany were called to serve, as well as Apostle C van der Merwe. A deep sense of acceptance of the word brought was further felt during moving moments when the souls in the beyond were served with Holy Communion. The cello solo rendered echoed the sentiments of the moment.

Even after the divine service came to a close, these divine moments in fellowship continued with the vibrant, boisterous singing of the choir, followed by the Chief Apostle along with the District Apostles and Apostles making their way to the marquee set up in the parking area of the church, where hundreds of members who could not be accommodated inside the main hall were comfortably seated and connected. The Chief Apostle shared a special few moments and words of encouragement with those gathered here and wished everyone blessings in their lives before parting ways on what was a joyful day in Strand-Gustrouw.

» More pictures

Francfort. On Friday, October 14, 2011, representatives of Rainbow-NAC, the interest group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual brothers and sisters in the New Apostolic Church, met again with the Committee for Special Affairs (CSA) in Frankfurt, Germany.  For the first time, District Apostle Michael Ehrich (Southern Germany) took part in the discussions. He had been appointed to the Committee to replace the retired District Apostle Hagen Wend. Since 2002, ministers and spokespersons of Rainbow-NAC have conferred regularly.

The representatives of Rainbow-NAC briefed the CSA of the first meeting of a Rainbow Delegation with District Apostle Leonard Kolb (USA) in Philadelphia in August. They also provided information about the introduction of a special concept for pastoral care in the German speaking areas (i.e. Austria and parts of Switzerland) of District Apostle Markus Fehlbaum’s area of responsibility. Further topics of the meeting were the establishment and alignment of goals and common expectations for future cooperation, as well as the issue of “individual pastoral care”.  Regarding the official statement concerning homosexuality published by the New Apostolic Church, Rainbow-NAC forcefully pointed out that the wording of the English translation was inappropriate and initiated a respective re-editing. Also, a suggested version for a future statement regarding homosexuality was submitted to the CSA. The support and pastoral care of transsexual brethren was again a key aspect of the discussions.  Additionally, Rainbow-NAC asked for a rewording of the English statement regarding transsexuality as published by the Church.

Atmosphere of respect

As in previous years, the talks between Rainbow-NAC and the CSA took place in an atmosphere of respect, openness and efforts to reach mutual compromise.

The next meeting between Rainbow-NAC and the CSA shall take place in Stuttgart, Germany, in the autumn of 2012.

Please find additional information at:  www.rainbow-nac.org.

Rainbow-NAC recently updated its informational material in German and English. The new brochure regarding homosexuality is also available at: www.rainbow-nac.org.

Zurich/Port Moresby. Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber, who undertook his last major overseas trip of the year to Papua-New Guinea, was very impressed with the country and its people. The Christians in the country are very believing. The New Apostolic Church on this third-largest island state in the world is also growing steadily. So it was that the Chief Apostle ordained Zuhuke Hungito as the country’s third Apostle during last Sunday’s divine service in Lae.  

There is quite a positive development in Papua-New Guinea, noted Chief Apostle Leber as he described the status of the New Apostolic Church in the region. There are over 96,000 Church members in the country. Due to the impassibility of the terrain, the road network is poorly developed, and boats are the primary means of transportation in the interior of the country. Serving the various congregations in the nation is thus very time-consuming for the Apostles. It is for this reason that District Apostle Andrew Andersen (Australia), who is responsible for the administrative work of the Church in Papua-New Guinea, proposed the ordination of a third Apostle to the Chief Apostle in order to improve the level of care provided to members. As a result, the hitherto Bishop Zuhuke Hungito (52) was ordained an Apostle in last Sunday’s divine service in the city of Lae, which was attended by some 4,000 members and guests.

Divine service in Maprik

Already the day before—on Saturday, 10 December—Chief Apostle Leber conducted an open-air divine service in Maprik, which lies in the north of the country. The brief excursion to this location was partially facilitated by helicopter. Approximately 18,000 members gathered around the landing area upon his arrival and joyfully took part in the divine service.

Papua-New Guinea is served by the District Church of Australia.

Zurich. The last European District Apostle Meeting (EDAM) of the year 2011 has come to an end. A number of topics were prepared and given new impetus for the upcoming international District Apostle Meeting in spring of next year. The conference began with a debate on the work of the New Apostolic Church in the smaller District Churches of Europe.

“We will not find general parameters that are identical for each country,” said Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber, “as the cultural and linguistic realities are far too different.” To sum up: every District Church must continue to structure itself individually. For example, in the Balkan countries, the congregations are small and have been stagnating for years. In the summer they fill up with tourists, but remain rather small over the winter months. The Chief Apostle and the District Apostles also decided on some new objectives however. For one thing, they would like to instigate a missionary revival in many regions. It is an important objective for them to strengthen existing congregations, establish new focus congregations, and support the local ministers.

Church Day

The final decision on the Church Day currently planned for 2013 has not yet been made. The District Apostles will have another round of discussions on this topic. They had each developed concepts differently. These ranged from a national Church Day in Germany, regional Church Days in the individual District Churches – Southern Germany had been the first to even conceive of a Church Day in 2013 – to a combination of Church Day and Youth Day. The only thing that has been decided firmly is that an international Church Day will take place in 2013 since that is the anniversary year of the New Apostolic Church, in which several different regional events are to be celebrated.

Engagement

The New Apostolic Church also dispenses engagement blessings on request. There is no longer strong demand for this in the congregations of Europe, but there are traditionally higher numbers of engagements in Asia, Africa, and North America. In these regions, engagements are celebrated as large family festivities. The conditions on which an engagement blessing is contingent are to be discussed at the upcoming international District Apostle Meeting.

Divine services on the Web

With the help of satellite technology, the New Apostolic Church has already been transmitting divine services conducted by the Chief Apostle for many decades. The infrastructure in many regions of this world is quite elaborate and compatible with the latest technology. Nevertheless, individual divine services are also transmitted by internet. Web-based broadcasts are only intended for chronically ill members who cannot attend the divine services on their own, or for churchgoers who have to live outside the country for longer periods of time on account of their professional duties.

Consultant system

How do we train our ministers? This question is often asked when new insights are to be imparted to the ministerial body. The Work Group “Instructions for Ministers” gave some detailed insight into the world of learning. Modern techniques offer many excellent new methods for imparting specific knowledge to a particular target group: there are many conceivable solutions, ranging from the familiar presentation format to larger groups all the way to web-based e-learning systems for individual users. The District Apostles looked at some individual examples and gave the members of the Work Group the green light to establish a consultant system for the entire Church, which will link the various methods with individual topics.

Zurich/Dortmund. A new version of the “NAC News” app that also works on devices using an Android operating system is now available. Beyond that, the iOS-version of the application has been optimised for the iPad. Version 2.0 of the software also offers new functions and integrates other websites of the New Apostolic Church. “NAC News” is available free of charge for Android and iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) at the Android Market and the App Store. 

In March 2010, the New Apostolic Church published its first version of the “News Reader” app. This made it convenient for users to access news from various websites of the New Apostolic Church on their smart phones. The free application has since been downloaded from Apple’s App Store several thousand times.

Also available for Android and Windows Mobile

After this initial release, requests came in from many quarters to also offer the app for use with mobile devices created by other manufacturers. Version 2.0 of “NAC News” is now also available for the Android operating system, which is used by smart phones and tablets produced by firms such as Google, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. In the next few months, Windows Mobile will be the third platform to be added.

However, the new version of the application offers a great deal more, for example, a new application design and layout which adjusts to the size of the display. The iPad version, with its large photo galleries under the article, is particularly impressive. Previously only six images per article were shown. Another improvement is the way the pictures are presented, for example for the high-resolution displays of iPhone 4 and 4S terminal devices.

Nationwide and regional sources in four languages

Depending on the language setting chosen on the device, the application is available in German, English, Spanish, and French. The sources are also chosen to match the language setting.

In addition to the websites of some of the larger District Churches, users can now also subscribe to “regional sources”, which include numerous district websites, for example. In addition, some websites of the District Churches offer a choice between national and regional news reports.

The websites of the New Apostolic Church International, as well as those of the District Churches of Austria, Central Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia, Switzerland, and Southern Germany, are currently supported. Beyond that, content from the YouTube channel of the New Apostolic Church has also been integrated. Also incorporated are regional sources from the District Churches of Central Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Southern Germany. Other websites will also eventually be added and complemented without the need for software updates.

Good placement in the App Store

As of right now, “NAC News” is available for download free of charge in Google’s Android Market and in Apple’s App Store. The new app was developed by commission of the Work Group known as “Public Relations Work of the New Apostolic Church”, which is active across Europe.

In the App Store, the New Apostolic Church’s new application occupies a prominent place among the apps of other churches and religious denominations, and is easy to find using the key search term “church”, among others.

Free download at the Android Market and App Store

With more than 500,000 applications (in spring 2010 it was still only 150,000), Apple’s App Store is currently the second-largest provider of smart phone software. By autumn 2011, more than 15 billion apps had been downloaded from this site. The proportion of iOS on the smart phone market now lies at over 25 percent. At the end of 2009, the proportion of “iPhone” operating systems was only around 15 percent.

In the meantime however, nearly half of all new mobile devices now run Android. In the last twelve months, Google’s operating system has grown in market share – at the expense of Symbian, Blackberry OS, and Windows Mobile. It was because of this that the decision was made to choose Android as a further platform for applications. The boom in Android devices has been of great profit to the Android Market, where more than 530,000 applications (as of October 2011) have since become available for download. In March 2010, the number of apps was somewhere around 30,000 apps.

Apps have a large bandwidth

The apps distinguish themselves in that they can be specially adapted to specific types of smart phones and can be very easily obtained and installed over an online portal. The bandwidth of the various software programs is quite high: it ranges from the simplest tools and fun applications with only one function to program packages with extensive functionality.  

Johannesburg/Zurich. Today District Apostle Johann R. Kitching informed the members in the District Church of South East Africa about his planned retirement. In a broadcast on the Church-owned television channel known as “NAC-TV” the District Apostle stated that Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber, the international Church leader, will conduct a festive divine service at the end  of January 2012 and transfer the task of leading the District Apostle district of South East Africa to a successor.

“I have served as your District Apostle for the past 23 years and have tried my utmost to do so in accordance with God’s will by focusing on the doctrine of Jesus Christ and following our Chief Apostle closely. I have also endeavoured to please God first and do what was right in His sight,” expressed the District Apostle. He went on to say that, over the course of this lengthy period of time, an especially intimate relationship had come into being with his brethren in faith, but that it was also clear he would not be able to exercise his ministry forever. He feels the time has now come to retire, and although he is not yet 65 years of age, this step is a necessary one. His doctor has advised him not to undertake any larger trips outside the country. This, however, is incompatible with the needs of his vast working area, which necessitates longer trips.

New District Apostle

The District Apostle went on to note that he has been discussing this matter intimately with the Chief Apostle for some time. The latter will conduct a divine service on 29 January 2012 in the Standard Bank Arena, at the end of which he will retire the District Apostle and at the same time ordain the present District Apostle Helper Patrick Mkhwanazi (49) as the region’s new District Apostle. “I know that your new District Apostle will love you, lead you, learn and grow with you. It will be a privilege for me to take up my place amongst you in the near future.”

Patrick Mkhwanazi was ordained to the Apostle ministry in May 2001. He and his wife Rebecca are the parents of six children.

The District Apostle district of South East Africa

The gigantic District Apostle district of South East Africa incorporates the countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Réunion, The Seychelles, the northern part of South Africa, and Swaziland. A total of approximately 360,000 New Apostolic Christians live in this District Church.

Zurich. The topic of “burnout” was one of the focal points in the autumn meeting of District Apostles and District Apostle Helpers of the New Apostolic Church. Concerning this subject Chief Apostle Leber stated: “The presentation and the ensuing discussion have demonstrated that the problem of burnout is significant for us in two respects. On one hand we are charged with the care of our brothers and sisters in the various districts and areas of responsibility. On the other hand, we ourselves are vulnerable to the risk of burnout. After all, our very demanding and multi-faceted tasks, which we fulfil with complete devotion, might also mislead us to exert ourselves to the point of exhaustion.”

“It is not an easy matter to detect the phenomenon of burnout as such. Often the symptoms behave like a chameleon,” began the expert, a medical psychotherapist with a practice of his own. Possible identifiers might include the following: affected persons might feel that they will never manage their workload; they increase their efforts and a feeling of depletion and exhaustion arises; a person’s actions may become more sensitive or more aggressive. In the end, they enjoy their work less and less or perhaps even come to regard it as a threat. Physical warning signs such as increased sweating, heart palpitations, skin problems, digestive problems, or sleep disruption begin to occur. If the development carries on for a prolonged period, a complete physical or mental breakdown can result.

“Nevertheless,” noted the doctor, “burnout does not exist in a strictly scientific sense. It has only been postulated as an independent illness, but not actually been proven.” Numerous studies have contradicted the hypothesis that this is a new illness altogether, as its delineation from well-defined illnesses such as depression is still too blurry. The symptoms described must nevertheless be taken seriously, he noted. They “are not just imaginary, and in most cases, they cannot be resolved or healed alone,” stated the psychologist. He went on to note that stress management is of enormous importance, for example, elements such as relaxation, rest, and clear-minded situation assessment. In the event of a crisis it is recommendable to see a psychotherapist.  

Last but not least, the psychologist told the District Apostles that from his perspective, “church” as an organisation or institution—or the people within it—can be a contributing factor to stress or strain through its—or their—behaviour, although the related problems seem to be more socially and culturally based than church-related. Nevertheless, the District Apostles intend to take the insights they have gained back with them into their District Churches.

The year 2013: An anniversary celebration

Other points presented in the fall session of the International District Apostle Meeting touched upon the anniversary celebration of the New Apostolic Church in the year 2013. The founding year of 1863 established by the Church leadership—the starting year of the so-called “new order”, i.e. the calling of Apostles outside of the circle of the twelve in the Catholic Apostolic Church in England—will have its 150-year anniversary in two years. Thus the feast of Pentecost will be celebrated in Hamburg in May 2013. All festivities in the anniversary year will occur under the motto “One Spirit – One faith”. Other events are currently still in the planning stages. The District Apostles ratified the basic parameters: an anniversary logo, online-media reports, regional Church days, and much more.

The beginning and end of human life

The District Apostles also debated about the beginnings of human life from a theological perspective. The churches of the world have issued differing statements on this topic. According to the interpretation of the New Apostolic Church, life begins with the fusion of the oocyte and the sperm cell, i.e. at conception. The District Apostles provided the following reasoning:

• From the perspective of our faith, man has been created in the image of God and is part of both the visible and the invisible creation. The spiritual nature of a human being is immortal.
• Human life begins with conception and ends at brain death. Human life is to be protected and must not be actively terminated.
• The point in time when the soul enters the human being and when the soul leaves the body cannot be clearly determined. In order to protect human life, the Church assumes that the soul enters a human being at conception and that ensouled life necessarily ends at brain death.

Further information articles are planned for the congregations on this topic.

District Apostle Meeting Africa with its own topics

On Wednesday evening the international Church leaders conducted divine services in various congregations around Switzerland, from Bad Ragaz to Basle. After three days of meetings in the international circle of District Apostles and District Apostle Helpers, there was yet another half-day District Apostle Meeting for Africa on Thursday, 29 September 2011. Here the District Apostles who work on the African continent were given some insights into topics related to the infrastructure of the African District Churches: how is the construction of the wafer bakery coming along in Zambia? What types of buildings are best suited for church buildings in the various regions?