Erfurt/Zurich. Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber’s message for this New Year 2011 is: “Let us do good works!” In reference to the Bible text he took from Galatians 6: 10, the international Church leader called upon the congregation “to make a new start, regardless of all our habits and everything we have done before. Let us chart a new course.”

The divine service on Sunday, 2 January 2011 took place in the exhibition hall of the Thuringian capital of Erfurt. Just as at every service marking the start of the New Year, the Chief Apostle also gave a special message to the congregation at the beginning of this divine service: “I would like to set a special accent for this year: I appeal to all of you to very simply do good works, because this is an elementary component of the gospel.” He emphasised at the same time that the perceived restriction in the Bible text from Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians—namely the words: “especially to those who are of the household of faith”—was not a restriction in his eyes. “Let us do good to all people, to everyone! The reference to those who are of the household of faith can be understood in the sense that we have a special field of activity there. Naturally we can practise doing good works all the more in the congregation. If we cannot even manage to do act out of love there, if we cannot even make it work in the congregation, then how will we ever be able to do justice to this call to do good works to anyone else? Let us do good works!”

A wide-ranging subject

The Church leader went on to point out that he wanted to leave this topic wide open, since it is a very wide-ranging subject. “Let us do good works, let us take yet another new approach, and let us give new thought as to where we can help.”

But the Chief Apostle did address one group specifically after all, namely those who find themselves at the margins of our fellowship. “It would be nice if we could include them in our efforts to do good works, if we could be close to them and work on bringing them into the centre of our fellowship. Let us do good works!”

You can read a detailed report of the divine service conducted on 2 January in Erfurt at the website of the New Apostolic Church of Central Germany. Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber also shares his thoughts on the topic of “Doing good works” in his Word of the month for January 2011.

Galatians 6: 10: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”