We still carry last year’s motto in our hearts. But what else happened throughout the New Apostolic world in 2014? Following is a look at the happenings around the world in the first half of 2014.

“Joy in Christ”, the motto of the New Apostolic Church for 2015, is unfolding more and more from service to service. What does it mean for us, what do we connect with it? Join our interactive project and help us illustrate the 2015 motto!

Comfort and solace was offered in a recent concert by the Wilhelmshaven Chamber Choir. It was given in memory of the tsunami in South-East Asia ten years ago. How did those affected by the tsunami, either directly or as helpers, experience the disaster? Following are some personal accounts.

Be it in a large circle or small, with a divine service or without, our members around the world have rung in the New Year in very different ways. But there is one thing that unites them all—and it’s more than just fireworks at midnight.

The relief organization of the New Apostolic Church in the Philippines NACSEA Relief Fund has released its annual report of 2013. The Fund provides 36 pages of insight into the charitable work of the past year.

Munich/Zurich. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider officially opened the International Church Convention (ICC) in Munich as a celebration of joyful fellowship with a prayer that all might experience the presence of God. Tens of thousands of visitors in the Olympia Stadium witnessed the starting beat to this large premiere for the New Apostolic Church.

Zurich. The divine service which Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider will conduct on Pentecost Sunday on the occasion of the International Church Convention of the New Apostolic Church will be transmitted to over 100 countries on all continents with the help of satellites, fibre optic cables, and radio broadcasters. His sermon will first be interpreted into English at the altar phrase by phrase, and then interpreted simultaneously into over 20 other languages.

Zurich. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider called his predecessor in ministry a “wise man with great vision”. The majority of New Apostolic District Church leaders from around the world attended the memorial service for the highly respected and popular Chief Apostle, who had directed the affairs of the New Apostolic Church over the seventeen years from 1988 to 2005. It was in gratitude and sadness that they gathered in the Zurich-Hottingen church to take leave of Richard Fehr, who passed away on 30 June 2013, shortly before his 74th birthday.

Zurich. It is with great sadness that New Apostolic Christians around the world have learned of the passing of Chief Apostle Richard Fehr, who had served in ministry for many years. Expressions of sympathy have begun to arrive from all parts of the globe. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider describes his predecessor in ministry as a man of great wisdom and vision. “He always had a feel for the global Church and promoted its internationality. His time in office always stood—and still stands—for openness and tolerance.”

Zurich. The International Apostle Meeting on 21 May 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa unanimously ratified a revision to the Statutes (Articles of Association) of the New Apostolic Church International, or NACI for short. In addition to many smaller changes, a so-called Delegates’ Meeting was introduced in order to reduce the costs of these gatherings. In the meantime the revised statutes have been registered with the Commercial Register of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland.

Düsseldorf. Some 46,000 people, most of them young people between the ages of 14 and 30, attended the concluding divine service of the European Youth Day 2009 sponsored by the New Apostolic Church. “What is the prime focus of your life? What is your top priority?” asked the international Church leader, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber, as he addressed the large crowd assembled around him in the LTU-Arena. His four responses to this question were: to please the Lord, to serve the Lord, to serve as a blessing for others, and finally to participate in the day of Christ’s return.

Zurich. In January of the coming year, a new District Apostle district will be established in the New Apostolic Church, namely the “New Apostolic Church South East Asia”.