A unique congregation comprising of members from several congregations within the Plumstead District gathered in Claremont on Sunday, 5 March 2023 to celebrate the divine service for the departed with District Apostle J Kriel.

The District Apostle was accompanied by Apostle B Bourne, Bishop G James and local District Rectors from the area.

The Bible word which formed the basis of the sermon was taken from Revelation 1, a portion of verse 17 & verse 18, “I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death”.

The District Apostle expanded on the Bible word which tells the story of John who brought the message of salvation to the congregation, which is as relevant now as it was then. He highlighted three concepts of death: physical death — the separation of the soul from the natural body; spiritual death — separation from God because of sin and eternal death — eternal separation from God because man chooses to remain separated from God in sin.

Jesus has the keys to all three: He is the beginning and the end, and Lord of all. Through His resurrection, He knows the realms of the dead and claimed victory over death. Only He has the keys to the door of grace and when He opens the door no one can close it.

During the divine service, the District Apostle dispensed the acts of Holy Baptism and Holy Sealing for the souls from the yonder realm and served Holy Communion. District Rectors, Shepherd Zane Pillay and District Elder Joseph Lee, stood as proxies for the souls in the beyond. The District Apostle expressed that Christ died for all, and it is God's will to save all souls whether amongst the living or the dead.

The message of the divine service was clear: we need to let our love for God grow within us and come and be part of the blessed work of salvation.