New Apostolic Church Cape

New “Divine Service Guide” begins with the start of the new church year

Zurich. The first Sunday of Advent 2007 will be a special date in the New Apostolic Church: this will be the first time that the new format of the “Word of life” will be used for the divine service. A new version of this preparatory material for use in divine services by the Church’s ministers was discussed and approved in the fall session of the International District Apostle Meeting convened in October 2006. “Dear Brothers, this is the last issue of the Word of Life in the format we have known since 1989.” This was the message international Church president Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber communicated to all ministers around the world. The last issue in the previous format is that of November 2007. The new version adheres to important guiding principles: the layout and content structure have been changed and expanded. Each article contains a core theme along with an important message which listeners can take with them from the divine service. At the end of each article there is a meaningful summary. Priests are to be able to understand the three or four main thoughts contained in the guide, and recall them in the divine service. Also new is an explanation of the context, which provides historical, literary, or geographical background on the respective Bible text. This also involves important exegetical principles, which can lead to a better interpretation of the text. In this manner it should be possible to better understand the Bible passage to be interpreted, as well as its greater context. In future the individual articles of the Divine Service Guide will be oriented around the Church year, which is why the introduction of this new material will take place on the first Sunday of Advent. The divine services of the weeks preceding Christmas will be based on the theme “God draws near to us.” Special editions will be published approximately four times each year. These will contain special instructions for divine services with holy acts such as Holy Baptism, or acts of blessing such as weddings. The “Divine Service Guide” will be printed by the Bischoff publishers in Frankfurt, and will be translated into around 20 languages. The editor in chief is Priest Reinhard Kiefer, an employee of the theological editorial staff of the New Apostolic Church magazine “Our Family.”

Structure of the new Divine Service Guide:

In loving memory . . .

It was on Friday 27 September 1957 that an automobile accident took the life of District Apostle Arno Abicht while he was traveling in Argentina. This tragic happening ended the life of a man who had contributed hugely to the pioneering of the New Apostolic Church in the Cape. He had sacrificed family and friends in Germany, and in South Africa even took the trouble of learning a foreign language, Afrikaans. 50 years later on Thursday 27 September 2007, in commemoration of this day, District Apostle N Barnes conducted a divine service in the Cape Town City Hall. All the district ministers and rectors of the greater Cape Town area were invited to attend. District Apostle Abicht’s death was saluted by more than 912 ministers who stood and bowed for a minute of silence in honouring this deceased servant of God. District Apostle Barnes also requested those present to join him in a commemorative prayer: The late District Apostle Abicht was one of the great servants of God who carried out every assignment entrusted to him with godly confidence. This confidence shone through and in retrospection it is still evident today what a great impact his leadership had on the development of the Church in the Southern African context. 

 

 

 

 

 

To read more on the life of District Apostle Abicht, click here

It’s 19:00 on Tuesday 4 September 2007

The Dellville Park congregation is packed with over 560 ministers, retired ministers and their wives. The sound of hymn 349 “Have you heard the Master calling” fills the church as the apostles, lead by Chief Apostle W Leber, make their way to the altar. In 187 receiving stations on the Church’s audio-visual network over 31 000 ministers and their family members gather to experience the divine service. From behind the altar the chief apostle smiles his characteristic smile and reads out a text word from the gospel of Matthew 23 a portion of verse 8, “for One is your Teacher the Christ, and you are all brethren.” The choir, consisting of ministers and their wives, sing ‘There were ninety-nine” from the hymn collection. The chief apostle greets the congregation in Dellville Park and all those in the connected venues and expresses his thankfulness to the ministers for the work they do for the members entrusted into their care. He furthermore thanks the wives for the support they give their husbands in their task of bringing the Lord’s work to completion. In his teaching Chief Apostle Leber addresses all members in their different categories starting with the children. Children should learn from Jesus the One teacher where their place is. As a 12 year old Jesus was found in the temple. The children should also find themselves in the house of the Lord – this is where they belong. The youth should learn from Jesus how He overcame the temptations in the desert.  His Gods-fear saved Him from being misled by Satan.  Our youth should apply the same principle! . The retired ministers and the wives of ministers can learn from Jesus in the way in which He prayed. He had an outstanding connection with His Father in prayer. So they should pray in support of the ministers who are active in the work of the Lord. Chief Apostle Leber referred to the parable of the Good Samaritan and appealed to the active ministers to learn from that teaching to also be Good Samaritans. All too soon the divine service was a thing of the past, but the joy experienced during this visit and the blessings gathered in the service, will remain in the hearts of all who could experience it

Video Clip of Dellville Park Divine Service

En route to George

On his third day in South Africa, Chief Apostle W Leber traveled to George - a small town in the southern part of the Cape. By road this town is 436 kilometers from Cape Town. The journey was started at 09:00 on the Monday morning and the chief apostle was accompanied by the District Apostles Barnes and Brinkmann and their wives. They visited a number of venues on the way before stopping for lunch in Swellendam. Masses of excited and sometimes speechless members – one had traveled from Ireland … yes, the country that is part of the United Kingdom - just to meet the chief apostle. They could not really express their excitement in words at having seen the chief apostle “face to face” and shaking his hand. At all the stops the group made, the members commented that it had been very blessed experience and some shed tears of joy.  After lunch in Swellendam the group made a turn at the Vondeling Primary school, a school built and registered by the New Apostolic Church Cape. Here the chief apostle addressed the children and the crowd that had gathered to meet him, and then unveiled a commemorative plaque of his visit to the school. Heidelberg and Albertinia were the next two stops before the group headed to Mossel Bay where they stayed overnight. On the Tuesday morning the chief apostle had some leisure time during which the world renowned Cango caves were visited. After a restful afternoon the time had come for which the ministers and their families had so anticipated: a divine service in Dellville Park congregation. This service was audio-visually transmitted to selected stations on the network and over 31 000 were in attendance.

Video Clip of Canola Fields

Video Clip of Members Impressions

Then Sunday 02 September 2007 came…

After months of joyful preparation, the visit of Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber to Cape Town had finally dawned. All brethren in the Cape Apostle District had been waiting with excitement for the message that this first servant of God would bring, together with the retirements and ordinations that were to take place.  On Sunday 2 September 2007 Chief Apostle Leber - accompanied by District Apostle Armin Brinkmann of the North Rhine Westphalia District Church, and our own District Apostle Barnes - served the Silvertown congregation in a divine service where more than 1800 members, as well as over 116738 connected in 601 congregations, were in attendance.  In his message Chief Apostle Leber read out the text word from the book of Hebrews, chapter 2 verse1 “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”  During this blessed divine service Chief Apostle Leber called on District Apostle Brinkmann and Apostle Ngqunge to serve. Following a moving rendition by a flutist of the hymn, “Pass me not, O gentle Savior”, the Apostles Ngqunge and Stephens stood for the serving of Holy Communion for the departed souls. Apostle Ngqunge, together with the Bishops Atkins, Laubscher and Vollenhoven were placed into retirement. Chief Apostle thanked them and their wives for their faithful sacrifices they had made in their endeavor to bring the Lord’s work to completion.  Three apostles were ordained namely Allister Kriel, Albert Muyendekwa and Harold Brian Swartbooi together with six bishops: Clifford Classen, Andrew Hans, Stephen Smith, Lawana Vaaltein, Christoffel van Wyk and Nathan Warner. These ordinations brought about restructuring to the Cape Apostle Area, details which can be seen under “Organisation” on the NAC Cape website.

 

 

 

And finally…

Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber arrived in South Africa at 13h30 on Saturday 1 September 2007 for his 5 day visit to the country.  He was accompanied by the District Apostle Armin Brinkmann of the North Rhine Westphalia District Church and his wife. After the Chief Apostle had met with the apostles and bishops to be ordained the next day, the premium concert commenced at 18h00. In his address to an audience of more than 1800 brothers and sisters together with over 30 000 in the audio visually connected venues, Chief Apostle Leber commented that coming to Cape Town and not attending a concert will be like going to France and not seeing the Eiffel Tower!  He then sat and enjoyed a top class music program which saw the beautiful rendition of - amongst others, Will Thompson’s “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling” performed by a soprano solo, choir and orchestra.  The children’s choir rendered Gavin Julius’s “Little Lamb, who made thee?” The rendition of “Brindisi (La Traviata”) - for those who don’t know, the Tom and Jerry background musical – was presented by an Opera duet. This brought applause from everybody in the audience.  The evening was concluded by Phillip Bliss’s “What shall the harvest be?” The Chief Apostle thanked the choir and all those who made the evening possible and beautiful and concluded with a prayer which paved the way for the divine service to take place the next day.

 

 

 

Ben Zander . . . Yes, Thee Ben Zander . . .

Following his session at the Cape Town International Convention Center on Friday evening, tagged at R1881 per person, Ben Zander – yes, the world renowned maestro - graced the Silvertown auditorium on Saturday 4 August 2007.  He was there for a three hour session – at least that was the length of time it had been scheduled to be - at no charge at all.  During his session with an audience of well-nigh 600 he spoke of the Art of Possibility, which also happens to be the title of the book he co-authors with his patner, Roz.  He said that people should look at and practice possibility as an art.  Ben also spoke of the things that discourage us from looking at possibility positively. After his discussion on the Art of Possibility, Ben held a workshop with the choir, orchestra and the conductors of the New Apostolic Church Cape. During this workshop, he revealed his love for music and the excitement of performing. He was very surprised to hear that these musicians were amateurs - must have been their convincing performance.  During an interview with him, Ben was short of words to explain the experience he had had that morning. He praised the audience as being “. . . warm, open, passionate, engaged, hopeful people, that it would be hard to find anywhere in the world.”

 

 

 

 

 

Brother Willem George Malapi laid to rest

Bishop A November conducted the funeral service of the late Brother W Malapi on Saturday 30 June 2007.  Malapi died at the St Augustine Hospital in Durban after he collapsed about 200 meters from the finish line, during the Comrades Ultra Marathon early last month.  According to newspaper reports he was carried over the finish line by fellow athletes allowing him to finish his 14th Comrades Marathon and earn his 14th medal in this event. Malapi also participated in the Two Oceans Marathon on more than 10 occasions and this warranted him a permanent blue number given only to athletes who have participated in this event ten times or more. As basis for the funeral service Bishop November used a text word from Exodus 33 :12. The funeral was attended by more than 775 mourners, including the members of the Comrades Marathon committee. Brother Malapi is survived by his wife, 5 children and 6 sisters.

 

 

 

A new rector for St Helena Island

On the evening of Thursday 19 July 2007, the Westridge congregation witnessed Apostle J Kriel ordaining Community Evangelist John J Brady as the new rector for the St Helena Island congregation. This follows the passing away of Shepherd E Scholtz who was the rector of St Helena and who was laid to rest by District Apostle N Barnes on 3 July 2007

 

 

Apostle Laubscher celebrates 80th birthday

On Thursday 12 July 2007, the retired Apostle Laubscher celebrated his 80th birthday. In commemorating this day the District Apostle Noel Barnes held a divine service in the Southfield congregation on that evening.  The district apostle conveyed the special well wishes from the chief apostle to Apostle Laubscher.  To add to this day’s festivities the district apostle ordained a district elder for the Hout Bay district and three community evangelists for the Claremont district.

 

 

 

District Apostle Barnes meets with the apostles

On the weekend of Saturday 14 July 2007, District Apostle N Barnes held a meeting with all the apostles of the Cape region in East London. Topping the agenda was the visit of Chief Apostle Leber to the Cape during September 2007 and February 2008 respectively. Other items included training and soul-care initiatives for the Cape district church. Following the meeting on Saturday morning, the apostles attended a choral concert, which was held in Buffalo Flats congregation in the East London. The event coincided with Apostle G Ngqunge’s 65th birthday the next day. The Sunday morning saw a divine service conducted by the district apostle for all district leaders, rectors and wives of the bishop area, which was held in the East London congregation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funeral service of late Shepherd Elwyn Roy Scholtz

On Tuesday 3 July 2007 the District Apostle N Barnes laid to rest the rector of St Helena Island, Shepherd E Scholtz, at the Westridge congregation. As the basis for this funeral service the district apostle used a text work from the book of Malachi 2:5; “My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear me; so he feared me and was reverent to my name.” A congregation of some 1 000 mourners had gathered to pay their last respects to the shepherd. Born on 18 August 1946, Roy Scholtz served in the ministry for 32 years. During the time of his death he was rector of the St Helena Island congregation, which he served for the past 15 years. His perseverance has seen the building of the first New Apostolic Church building on this island. He is survived by his wife, 2 sons, 1 daughter, mother and 5 siblings.

 

 

 

Mothers’ Day in Eastridge congregation

On 13 May 2007 District Apostle Barnes conducted a divine service in Eastridge church for the congregations of Eastridge 2, 4 and 5. After the divine service the members had the opportunity to enjoy a programme of musical items and a recital especially presented for Mothers’ Day. The mothers were also presented with a hand made mothers’ day card as well as a sunflower as a sign of appreciation for their dedication as mothers.

FUNERAL SERVICE OF APOSTLE WILKIN JONAS

On Tuesday, 24 April 2007, District Apostle Noel Barnes held the funeral service of Apostle Wilkin Jonas (ret.). The service was held at Nobuhle North church, Port Elizabeth and was attended by more than 2000 members. More

APOSTLES AND BISHOPS GATHER AT DENNEKRAAL

On Thursday 19 and Friday 20 April 2007 all the apostles and bishops of the Cape Apostle District gathered at Dennekraal Conference Centre for a meeting with District Apostle Barnes. More

District Apostle Barnes visits the George bishop area

On Saturday 10 March the district apostle held a meeting for district ministries and rectors in George. The meeting was concluded with a communal lunch where after everyone could sit back and enjoy a music presentation that fittingly prepared the soul for the Sunday morning’s divine service.

On the Sunday morning the district apostle conducted a divine service for rectors and their wives in our Dellville Park church. During this service 2 district elders and a district evangelist were placed into well deserved retirement. To add to the festivity of the occasion one district elder, two district evangelists, six shepherds and ten community evangelists were also ordained.

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Conference for music co-ordinators

Music co-ordinators from the area of District Apostle N E Barnes gathered for a conference at Dennekraal from 9 to 11 February 2007. These co-ordinators assist their respective apostles and bishops with leading, developing and co-ordinating the music work in their areas.

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DIVINE SERVICE AT UPPER NCERA

District Apostle Barnes visited the Dimbaza district and held a divine service in Upper Ncera congregation on Sunday 28 January 2007. He was accompanied by Apostle Ngqunge and Bishops James and Nel. The district apostle was welcomed into the congregation by the Sunday school children who sang a traditional welcome song for him.

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DIVINE SERVICE AT NOBUHLE NORTH

District Apostle Noel Barnes conducted a divine service on Sunday, 21 January 2007 from the above congregation. The service was transmitted via the audio visual transmission network to all congregations in the Cape Apostle District. He was accompanied by all the apostles of the Cape area.

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District Apostle Barnes visits Garden Village congregation

On Wednesday 17 January 2007  District Apostle Barnes conducted a divine service for the congregation of Garden Village. After the service the district apostle wished retired Shepherd Abe Maart on his 80th birthday. Shepherd Maart served as the rector of Garden Village congregation for 27 years.

Divine Service in Gaylee

On Sunday, 14 January 2007, District Apostle NE Barnes conducted a divine service at Gaylee congregation for the members of Blackheath, Connifers, Dennemere, Kleinvlei South and Kleinvlei West congregations.

During the service, three priests were ordained into the community evangelist ministry.