Es tut gut, sich in diesen Zeiten in weltweiten ökumenischen Verbindungen aufgehoben zu fühlen. Hier die Ostergrüße von unseren Partnerinnen und Partnern:
Dear sister and brothers,
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I greet you.
On behalf of the partnership committee of Kasikazini A I am very glad to send you our warmly Easter greetings. Through his death, We are now free from sin!
Dear sister and brothers. Let us pass away to Galilee today,in order to obtain Jesus with joyfully the day after today as he told us that“After I am raised,I will go ahead of you into Galilee“ Mark.14 verse 28. Due to covid 19 crisis everything is changed here. We are told not to take more time during church time. We are instructed to seat one metre between one another. We heard that in Germany everything has been done at home. That you use radios and televisions pray!! Is that true?.
As you know Easter,in other means it is called“PASS OVER“ Hopefully Lord Jesus, to whom we believe in, will make this Corona to pass over whole our partnership members.
Let us trust Lord that he will bless us and keep us. His face will shine on us and gracious to us. Finally he will lift up his face toward us and give us peace.
I wish you all the best.
Yours in Christ. Jonas.
Jonas Kabelwa ist die Kontaktperson des Partnerschaftsausschusses des Kirchenkreises Kaskazini A in Tansania.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ to day we celebrate the ressurection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ .He is risen indeed. An event is most important to our life because the coming of Christ become the answer of our lost hope.As we are passing through economic hardships due to the cruel corona virus lets keep praying to our Savior.
We Kigarama Congreagation wishes you a joyful Easter Celebration. He has Risen Indeed Hallelujah. In Jesus Name
Muchunguzi Ishabailu
Muchunguzi Ishabailu ist unsere Kontaktperson in unserer Partnerkirchengemeinde Kigarama am Viktoriasee in Tansania.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus
This is the first time Christians and Catholics have celebrated Good Friday in their homes after almost 4 weeks at home while maintaining a healthy lifestyle by consuming vitamins C and E, wearing masks, washing hands with handsanitizers, maintaining a healthy environment for prevention of the increase in patients exposed to the corona virus, exercise and pray constantly.
Starting tomorrow, April 10-12, 2020, Indonesia will stop at a total of 3 days in total at home so that the corona virus dies as an effort of the humanitarian movement. Especially in the midst of the suffering of mankind in the world due to the covid pandemic 19, where until April 9, 2020, 3,293 cases of covidity were found in Indonesia, 252 patients were negative and 280 patients died. Of the 280 who died, there were 2 pastors at HKBP who died from the corona virus, 2 sintua, and several congregants including the medical team, not to mention the pastors from the Bethel Church who had rather died. In such deep sorrow, where the universe grieves because of the greed of a few people who have manipulated nature and the relationship between humans and God damaged by sin is now restored so that a sense of solidarity with each other is increasingly visible in terms of giving and strengthening through prayer and reflection. The suffering we face has already been faced by the Lord Jesus, where He had to die on the cross to atone for our sins, He became a peace between us and the world.
Easter, through Matthew 27: 45-56 reminds us how the women who were at the foot of Jesus‘ cross were so faithful, strong, tough to accompany Jesus, leading Jesus to the most critical times of His life, that is, death in a very cruel way because He is likened to a criminal. Jesus exhaled his last breath by saying: Eli, Eli, Lama sabakthani: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me (Matt. 27:47).
Yes, at this time as Jesus felt on the cross, which seemed to be abandoned by the Father that is what we feel now, God the Father seemed to leave us, God the Father seemed to care about us, where God when the corona virus spread. That feeling is normal. But certainly in the midst of the suffering we face, in the midst of worship that commemorates the day of Jesus ‚death that we commemorate today God is knitting our faith so that we become more resilient and stronger to preach: Jesus‘ sacrifice is what saved us so that we are healthy and alive today. It is Jesus‘ sacrifice that makes us obedient to worship at home, study at home and work at home. Congratulations to commemorate Good Friday. God bless us. Horas, horas, horas.
Dieser Ostergruß kommt von Deborah Sinaga, frühere Superintendentin unseres Partnerkirchenkreises Humbang Habinsaran in Indonesien.
Easter greetings from your brothers and sisters in Halifax England!
This has been a difficult time for the whole world and none more so than for the Faith Communities celebrating Passover, Ramadan, Vaisakhi, and of course Easter, especially with our buildings closed for Public Worship.
I and my family have also been unwell, and thankfully we are now recovering well and will return to good health, unlike many who have contracted Covid-19 and don’t survive.
I have found Holy Week very difficult this year: normally I live in the Minster, and each day we move furniture, welcome visitors, enter into the drama of the liturgy, as we share in Christ’s suffering in the hope of the resurrection on Easter Day. This year Jens was to have been our Visiting Pilgrim, preaching through the Triduum – sharing in our hospitality, liturgy, and those things which bind Anglicans and Lutherans together.
We have no idea yet how to come out of the lock down here – maybe Germany will show us how to do it?
(…)
When this is all over the world will be in a different place – and we shall have work out what this will mean for the Church?
Despite all our fears and anxieties we know that we remain in God’s hands and in his loving care, and that as Julian of Norwich would have said All shall be well!
Wishing you all and our friends across the Diocese of Aachen our love for a blessed Easter when it arrives,
Hilary
Dieser Ostergruß kommt von Revd Canon Hilary Barber, Vicar des Halifax Minster in West Yorkshire
Bildquellen:
- IMG_5997: Volker Böhm