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20 Pages·2014·2.42 MB·English

Australia
District News
Edition 28/4 -Summer 2013
In this issue:
Spotlight on Christmas
Visit by Chief Apostle Schneider
District Youth Convention
Bundaberg celebrates 50 years
Christmas Greetings
From the Desk of District Apostle Andersen
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The past 3 months have certainly hosted a number of The visit of our Chief Apostle was closely followed by
wonderful events within our district. The long awaited visit Thanksgiving 2013 on Sunday, 4 October. This special day
of our Chief Apostle to our district took place in September in the New Apostolic calendar is always a very blessed
and brought with it many joys as well as great blessings. occasion and this year was especially so following so
As this was his first trip to Australia, it was also a new closely after the two Chief Apostle Services. Congregations
experience for our Chief Apostle. He later stated that he throughout our district reported on very happy events
felt very ‘at home’ in our district and that he felt a spiritual marking the day.
joy in the company of God’s children here. As announced
after the service in Brisbane, we are overjoyed that he will The last Service for the Departed for 2013 took place on
visit our district again in 2014 and will conduct a service 3 November and was punctuated by many experiences
in Sydney, Australia on Sunday 21 September. The venue among our brothers and sisters. These blessed and
and further details are being finalized at present and will moving occasions are also opportunities for our guests
be advised in your congregation shortly. A report of his to gain additional knowledge about eternal life and God’s
visit features in this edition of the Australia District News grace and to find comfort for themselves in their particular
and a full report will be featured in the January edition of circumstances.
the Our Family.
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Christmas Greetings
From the Desk of District Apostle Andersen
We are now in the Advent season and on our way into I thank you sincerely for all your dedication, love and
the very festive celebration of Christmas. It is hoped that support for the great Work of God in our district and for
we can truly enjoy all the associated joys that come with all you do to uphold and promote the Christian standards
this time of the year. Additional pressures and perceived in your congregation and among all our ‘neighbours’.
deadlines can also add a measure of tension to our lives On behalf of all the ministers in the Australia District,
around this time and if we do not control these they can I wish you and your loved ones a very blessed and joy
severely affect our joy. Let us practise patience, tolerance filled Christmas and a happy and successful New Year.
and ”peace and goodwill to all mankind”.
With loving greetings and very best wishes,
As we cross the threshold into the New Year we pause
and thank our Heavenly Father for all His gracious gifts
and then we draw a surge of strength and confidence out
of His hand as we embark on the journey through the year
ahead with a sense of purpose. Andrew H. Andersen
Australia District News 3
Spotlight on Christmas
”Christmas” – the very word brings a flood of thoughts His birth are also awesome to many who are moved
and feelings to each individual. What these are depends by the humble conditions which He was born in. The
on the disposition of the person concerned. Based details of these have undoubtedly been guessed at and
on popular opinion and some media reports, we are have probably been redesigned over the course of time,
lead to believe that these impressions are more and but none-the-less there is little doubt that our current
more about material things and less and less about understanding of these circumstances is at the very
the true meaning of Christmas. This commonly voiced least based on facts.
observation appears to have some credibility in the
fact that Christmas is a growing celebration around the How should we celebrate Christmas? Christmas is
world, even in the non-Christian countries. rightly a ‘family time’. Wherever possible, families come
together and celebrate with feasting and gift giving.
What and when is Christmas? Christmas celebrates Variations according to heritage customs and family
the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God just over 2,000 traditions are very much in order. Whilst the lead-up
years ago. The exact time and date and even the exact to Christmas is usually a hectic time for many, it should
geographical place of His birth have been lost to history not be allowed to affect the joy of ourselves or of anyone
despite the many theories and beliefs that abound. else. On Christmas Day (25 December) we begin with
There is no agreement among historians about the attending a divine service where we can share the joy
actual date, or even the month, but the majority of of Christmas at the Lord’s altar in fellowship with our
Christian Churches around the world have, over time, brothers and sisters. Where this is not physically
accepted 25 December as the date on which Christmas possible, some quiet time is spent in spiritual connection
is celebrated. with the congregations. Following the service it is
traditional in our part of the world to gather with our
So, what is the true meaning of this Christian festival? family members for a meal. The type of meal is not
One of the two most common celebrations that important and varies greatly with one’s traditions and
mankind practises is the celebration of a birth (ie entry also factors such as the weather. The joy of the family
of a human being onto the earth). It is usually a very gathering should be the focus of the celebrations and
joyful occasion and is mostly treated with great awe and care should be taken that excesses do not detract from
much thankfulness. Christmas is treated similarly by this for anyone. The wish for a blessed Christmas should
practising Christians. For many devout Christians there be supported by our actions.
is a sense of awe about God, the Creator of all things,
sending His Son onto the earth to live as a normal Blessed Christmas!
human being. The reported circumstances surrounding
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Australia District News 5
Chief Apostle Schneider
visits the Australia District
Chief Apostle Leber had planned a visit to Brisbane 2013. Accompanying him were District Apostles
already some time before announcing that he was Brinkmann, Hebeisen and Klingler.
retiring at the Pentecost 2013 Service in Munich,
Germany. On Wednesday a short tour of the Adelaide Hills region
gave the Chief Apostle the opportunity to visit the
At that time he had also agreed to a request from our Hahndorf church, meet the rectors and wives of the
District Apostle to include a visit to Adelaide, South local congregations, visit a winery and see a koala in
Australia in his itinerary. This promise was carried out the wild. In the evening he was welcomed by the South
by his successor, Chief Apostle Schneider, who arrived in Australian Sunday School children before conducting a
”the city of churches” on the morning of 24 September divine service in our Hackham West church.
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Australia District News 7
Chief Apostle Schneider then travelled to Brisbane where
the Sunday divine service was scheduled to take place.
A short visit to the Gold Coast gave the Chief Apostle
an appreciation of the Australian coastline when he
walked on the beach. On Saturday the Chief Apostle
conducted a Regional Apostle Meeting with the Apostles
from Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand as well as
the Apostles of the Australia District. In this meeting
he opened his heart to the Apostles and gave them
clear directions and solid advice to assist them in their
work for the future. He impressed upon them that he
understood the challenges that they each face in their
work as Ambassadors of Christ and encouraged them to
remain steadfast even in adversity. He then answered a
number of questions that the Apostles raised with him.
On Sunday the divine service took place in the Brisbane
City Hall which had just undergone a 5 year major
restoration program. The divine service was transmitted
to congregations throughout Australia and New Zealand
as well as to some congregations in American Samoa,
Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Philippines. A full
report of the divine service is scheduled to appear in the
January 2014 edition of the Our Family magazine.