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Seniors of East London Bishop area gather

For the divine service of Sunday 24 August 2008, the senior members from two districts in the East London Bishop area gathered in Grahamstown. The service was held by Bishop A Nel with a sermon based on the text word taken from Acts 4:29. The bishop elaborated on the boldness of the two apostles who – against all odds – testified about the Lord Jesus. Approximately 100 seniors sat nodding in agreement as the experiences of Apostles Paul and John were related. A fellowship followed after the service and the seniors enjoyed tea and cake, but this was not all, they were later also served lunch, which was hosted at the recreation centre of commemoration hall of the Methodist Church. Bishop Nel and most of the ministers from these two districts joined in. Occasional showers were unable to dampen the spirits of the seniors as they enjoyed every minute and had much fun in the presence of their ministers. The Bishop also took the opportunity to wish Sister Doyle everything of the best on her 80th birthday.

50years of existence for the Parkside church hall

In 1953 a small hall in Westbank, East London, hosted a group of New Apostolic congregants for their divine service. This was a pattern which they followed for a period of 5 years. Their prayers were answered when on Saturday 13 September 1958, the late Apostle JR Bell their church building in Parkside, also in East London. More beautiful church buildings came into existence making it more convenient for the members that had to travel to this place of worship. In commemorating 50 years of the existence of their church building, the congregation of Parkside hosted a top class music hour on Saturday 13 September 2008. Marking their 50th anniversary, Bishop AF Nel conducted a divine service in this congregation on Sunday 14 September 2008. This divine service was followed by a planting of an Olive Tree in the church grounds by the bishop and then everybody made their way to a local hall for lunch. All ate to their fill and left for their different paths home. In this 50 year period the congregation of Parkside has had 7 rectors who had served them with only love.

In a bid keep East London green

In celebrating Arbor Day, the youth of East London District approached the municipality offices and expressed their wish of having trees planted where they are needed most. This was accepted with joyful hearts by the officials and a newly build school was identified as the location where the trees were to be planted. The youngsters were divided into three smaller groups and the digging began. A total of thirty Natal Mahogany trees were planted along the road which passes through the school. As soon as these saplings were firmly placed on the ground, they were given water and before the day was through all thirty trees were secured on the ground and sweat was wiped off the faces of many. In a period of a year this group will go back to see the progress of these trees and find out if there are maybe some green fingered youngsters among them.

An experience of faith in Ezibeleni

The congregation of Ezibeleni was visited by District Apostle NE Barnes on the evening of 21 May 2008. During this divine service the district apostle urged the congregation to labour for the growth of the Lord’s work. It is the fruits of this task which the members took to heart that saw fruits three months down the line. A divine service conducted by District Elder W Von Schaeffer saw the baptism of 37 souls, a visible sign that these members carried out the word of the district apostle. Before addressing the souls awaiting baptism, the district elder thanked the members for the task he was about to officiate and in which he saw “the hand of the Lord”. The district elder’s curiosity led to him asking where these souls came from in such a short period. It surfaced that most of them stayed in the street where the church is situated and had just started attending, others were testified to by those that already in the beyond and it is only now that they honoured that invitation and some of them were invited by the members. Clearly, the Lord brought his work to fruition in Ezibeleni for in such small areas it is not really easy to testify to such a number of souls and have them baptized in one go.

Seniors of East London Bishop area gather

At the core of the pursuit of excellence

Saturday 16 August 2008 saw the district ministries who serve in the apostle area of Apostle G Mintoor gather for an annual conference. This meeting was held under the banner “In Pursuit of Excellence” and it saw many factors that could contribute towards the fulfillment of the Lord’s work brought to the table. Some of the discussion points included a spiritual portion, welcare projects for the Eastern Cape, the importance of the mission and vision statements and many other issues that affect growth in the congregations. This conference also served to strengthen the fellowship between the brothers that are in leadership in the various areas of this apostle district.

Youth taught a bit about friendship

On the evening of Tuesday 5 August 2008, Bishop A Nel of the East London Bishop area conducted a youth meeting for the youngsters of the Grahamstown district. Some 38 young people attended this workshop which was held under the banner “Love thy neighbour”. The questions: What is a good/bad friend? Are you a good friend? were asked during the course of this meeting. The bishop gave a few pointers on how to spot the correct answers to these questions. Those who had gathered also heard what the Bible has to say about friendship and the way in which one should treat one’s neighbour. A prayer chain was formed to make the youth aware of praying for their friends, and for those who are not their friends. The meeting was concluded with the reminder of what Jesus taught as the greatest of all commandments. After the meeting, the youth enjoyed some fellowship with the bishop who then headed home to East London – some 160 kilometres away.

No longer here, but never forgotten

The shimmering sun found its way through the dark clouds and greeted the group of youngsters from the East London Bishop Area, as they, Bishop A Nel, District Elder R Diedricks and the rectors of the bishop area made their way to the grave of the late Apostle G Ngqunge. At the grave side this group sang hymns from the English and Xhosa hymnals and shared experiences of faith regarding the departed. Bishop Nel concluded this gathering with a prayer after which a light shower of rain descended on them. This was viewed as a good sign for in the Xhosa tradition every event that is concluded with showers of rain, means that the ancestors have acknowledged that which has been done and are happy about it. This was the first time these youngsters were able to visit the place where the man who had led them with such love and taught them with such patience was laid to rest. The afternoon of Saturday 5 July 2008 could never have been spent in a better way. This visit was in preparation for the divine service for the departed that would be held on the following day, Sunday 6 July 2008.

The awaited hour fast approaches

The East London bishop area confirmands gathered in the East London church hall for a divine service conducted especially for them by Apostle GT Mintoor on Sunday 9 March 2008. Most of them had traveled from as far a field as Grahamstown and Alexandria to be present. An ambience of festivity and anticipation for their special day of confirmation filled the hall and the hearts of all present. This special congregation was served with a text word out of Hebrews 10:24-25 and the sermon had much relevance for the awaited day, the day of their confirmation. The divine service took on a different dimension as the apostle opted for interaction in the form of questions and answers with this special congregation. During the sermon Apostle Mintoor gave the confirmands some advice for the future using the acronym GIFT. He encouraged the confirmands to set themselves realistic goals and this they should do by making informed decisions; the apostle further advised them to always seek the fellowship of God’s children and to fulfill their task in the Lord’s work with joy. After the divine service those present enjoyed an entertaining concert with presentations ranging from poems to singing and plays – and then a delicious lunch.

Learning from the past and looking to the future

On the weekend of Saturday 2 February 2008 the East London Bishop area’s district leaders and youth facilitators held a day conference at the Thomas Bain Nature Reserve in Grahamstown. This “bosberaad” on youth activities was spearheaded by Bishop A Nel and saw the leadership doing a postmortem of the 2007 activities before looking at tackling the challenges that 2008 might have in store. The intense debating led to favourable results, especially with the nearing Youth Convention of 2008, which will see the youth of this area traveling to Cape Town. That night the group burnt the midnight oil as they were determined to have all the planning done, down to the last detail.

Apostle George Butityi Ngqunge 1942 – 2008

The morning of Saturday 12 January 2008 was no ordinary day for the Ngqunge family and for the masses that saw a father in the late Apostle GB Ngqunge, it was a day for them to say goodbye to this great man of God.

The early morning saw the District Apostle Noel Barnes and the Apostles M Diedricks, J Kriel, G Mintoor, M Muyendekwa, B Swartbooi and C van der Merwe with the Ngqunge family for the burial of the late apostle at the Maclean Town Cemetery. As per Apostle Ngqunge’s request his earth burial - followed by the unveiling of the tombstone - was carried out before the memorial funeral service took place. The family met up with approximately 2000 friends from all corners of Southern Africa at the Mdantsane church hall for a service conducted by District Apostle Barnes.

For this service the district apostle used a text word out of Acts 11:24 “For he was a good man, full of Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.” With this as a basis he proceeded to bring comfort and encouragement to the 1000 people that were accommodated inside the church and the over 1000 that were in a tent outside the church building.

Sister N May wrote and rendered a poem in honour of the late apostle. A few lines taken from it reads:

“Iziswela kuqiqa, gxebe ndithini na? Abakude nenyaniso bathi lala ngoxolo, uphumle Mna ndiqinisekile awuyikuphumla koko uyokuqhubeka nomsebenzi . . . "

(Those who lack wisdom, excuse me, what am I saying? Those that are far from the truth will say: Rest in peace. I am quite certain that you will not rest, but will continue with the work in the beyond.)

After the service all were invited for the washing of the hands ceremony at the Ngqunge homestead. George Butityi Ngqunge is survived by his wife Sophia, three children, two grandchildren and two sisters.