Branch News from the Four Corners!
Published on: 5.7.2023
By: ICEJ Staff Writers

The branch offices of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem around the globe have been very active in recent months standing up for Israel and celebrating the nation’s 75th Anniversary. Here are reports on just some of our recent events and activities worldwide, starting with the USA.
ICEJ-USA hosts major events to mark Israel’s 75th Anniversary

ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler and his wife Vesna conducted an extended ministry trip to the United States in May to join ICEJ-USA national director Dr. Susan Michael at a series of major events marking Israel’s 75th anniversary celebrations. Dr. Bühler was a featured speaker at these meetings, while Vesna blessed the gatherings with worship songs.

The nine days of festivities kicked off in Washington, DC with a reception on Capitol Hill held in partnership with the Israel Allies Foundation.

Then ICEJ-USA hosted a gala dinner also in Washington to mark Israel’s 75th diamond anniversary which featured Dr. Bühler, Jason Greenblatt (architect of the Abraham Accords), Hananya Naftali (social media consultant for Israel’s prime minister), two governors, Israeli cabinet minister Gila Gamliel, IDF Brig Gen (Res) Amir Avivi, and Israeli and Arab diplomats.

Next, the ICEJ-USA co-hosted the traditional ‘Honor Israel Breakfast’ at the annual National Religious Broadcasters convention, held this year in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Bühler gave the opening welcome at the NRB Breakfast, and conducted numerous interviews with leading Christian media figures.

Earlier in the week, Dr. Bühler visited with Mike Bickle and IHOP-Kansas City, and then ministered at the church of Pastor Gustavo and Anna Paula Valado in southern Florida.

“We had a wonderful and very eventful time during our visit to the United States”, said Dr. Bühler. “There were many good things happening and Vesna really captured the hearts of the people with her songs. The reception on Capitol Hill was quite a prestigious event and at the DC banquet, Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog, the brother of Israel’s current president, was outstanding and very warm to us.”
ICEJ Holds Regional Conference in Georgia

In June, Dr. Mojmir Kallus, Vice President for International Affairs, travelled to Georgia for a regional conference of our branch offices in the former Soviet republics. It was a follow-up to a similar conference in Istanbul in March 2018, and was organized in tandem with our regional coordinator Serguei Popov.

National representatives arrived from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Uzbekistan. ICEJ-Georgia national director Bishop Oleg Khubashvili hosted the meetings and also opened doors for Mojmir to speak in several local churches.

Attendees also visited the local JAFI office for a briefing on their efforts to help Jews from Russian-speaking nations to reach Israel. We also visited a museum to learn about the history of Jews in Georgia.

In Georgia, office manager George Jijiashvili is very active for Israel and ICEJ on social media and is an excellent teacher on Hebraic roots. The ICEJ team there has good relations with the Jewish community, organises public events, raises awareness of Israel in churches, and helps Jewish immigrants coming through Georgia on their way to Israel.

Our offices in Latvia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are all showing initiative in various areas as well. In each case, our national representatives are senior church leaders with broad spheres of influence, and are actively engaged in practical Aliyah work.
Leaders gather to pray for Ukraine in Estonia

In May, ICEJ Vice President of Operations Barry Denison attended a Leadership Summit in Estonia. The Summit included an excellent program with Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, and American leaders speaking on the war in Ukraine and its impact on believers, and the churches on both sides of the conflict.

The delegation travelled to Narva on the Estonian-Russian border, where they did a prayer walk praying for Ukraine, followed by an incredibly special communion and worship service. The service, held in the Fortress Museum, was officiated by senior pastor Michael Miller from the Upper Room church in Dallas, Texas with Rabbi Boris Grisenko of Kyiv also bringing a message.

Next, the delegation visited the village of Aseri where Sergey Shidlovskiy, founder of the God Seekers Movement is planting his ministry. Here they also did a prayer walk through the village.
A special communion service held in the Fortress Museum in Narva.

A powerful prayer event also took place in the Singing Fields in Tallin. Around a thousand believers gathered to pray for Ukraine, Estonia, and Israel. During the Israel segment of the event, Barry brought a message on Israel and moderated this prayer time together with Daniel Lim and Rabbi Grisenko, while Sound of the Nations from Fiji lead the beautiful Worship.

Barry also spoke at the Oleviste, or Saint Olaf’s church, where revival has occurred several times in the past. Here, once a month the church holds a special service teaching on Israel with worship in Hebrew and Estonian. Near the church is the ICEJ-Estonia Israeli Center, which is in what appears to be an old cistern. “It feels like Jerusalem,” remarked Barry. The Center opens every Sunday for those seeking to learn more about Israel.
Breaking new ground in Kosovo

Dr. Mojmir Kallus, the ICEJ’s Vice President for International Affairs, recently visited Kosovo to inaugurate our new office in this fledgling country! The only European nation to place its embassy in Jerusalem, Kosovo has a small but active Evangelical community which has welcomed the efforts of the Christian Embassy to connect them with Israel over recent years. This has facilitated not only dialogue and partnership with the local Christian minority, but also with high-level officials. Kosovo and our new ICEJ office there indeed hold much promise to be a blessing to Israel.
ICEJ-Philippines celebrates Israel’s 75th

In July, the ICEJ-Philippines branch office, led by our national director Pastor Stephen Mirpuri, spearheaded a gala celebration of Israel’s 75th Anniversary with over 1,200 Christians in attendance, including many church and ministry leaders. Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss was the guest of honour and was joined by two other Israeli diplomats and four bishops of large denominations in the Philippines, among other dignitaries. The event included numerous speakers, worship and dance teams, and prayers of blessing for Israel by 12 national Christian leaders. Long-time ICEJ board member Sally Madatu and other members of the Philippines branch did an excellent job in organising the 75th celebration.

來自四個角落的分會消息！
發佈於：2023 年 7 月 5 日
作者：ICEJ 特約撰稿人

近幾個月來，耶路撒冷國際基督徒教大使館在全球各地的分支機構非常積極地支持以色列並慶祝該國成立 75 週年。 以下是我們最近在全球範圍內發生的一些事件和活動的報告，首先是美國。
ICEJ-USA 舉辦重大活動紀念以色列成立 75 週年

ICEJ 主席尤根布勒博士和他的妻子 Vesna 於 5 月對美國進行了一次長期的事工訪問，與 ICEJ美國分會國家主任 Susan Michael 博士一起參加了一系列紀念以色列成立 75 週年的重大活動。 布勒博士是這些會議上的主講人，而韋斯納則用敬拜歌曲祝福聚會。

為期九天的慶祝活動在華盛頓特區拉開帷幕，與以色列盟友基金會合作在國會山舉行了招待會。

隨後，ICEJ美國分會在華盛頓舉辦了一場晚宴，紀念以色列成立75週年鑽石周年，出席嘉賓包括布勒博士、Jason Greenblatt（《亞伯拉罕協議》的設計師）、Hananya Naftali（以色列總理社交媒體顧問）、兩位州長、以色列內閣吉拉·加姆利爾部長、以色列國防軍準將阿米爾·阿維維以及以色列和阿拉伯外交官。

接下來，ICEJ美國分會在今年於佛羅里達州奧蘭多舉行的年度全國宗教廣播大會上共同主辦了傳統的「尊榮以色列早餐」。 布勒博士在 NRB 早餐會上致開幕詞，並與主要基督教媒體人物進行了多次採訪。

本週早些時候，布勒博士拜訪了邁克·比克爾 (Mike Bickle) 和 IHOP-堪薩斯城，然後在佛羅里達州南部的古斯塔沃牧師和安娜·保拉·瓦拉多 (Anna Paula Valado) 教會牧師。

「我們在美國之行度過了一段美好而充實的時光」，布勒博士說道。「發生了很多好事，維斯娜的歌曲確實觸摸了人們的心。 國會山的招待會是一次相當有聲望的活動，在華盛頓的宴會上，以色列大使邁克爾·赫爾佐格（以色列現任總統的兄弟）表現出色，對我們非常熱情。」

ICEJ 在格魯吉亞舉行區域會議

六月，負責國際事務的副總裁 Mojmir Kallus 博士前往格魯吉亞參加我們前蘇聯加盟共和國分支機構的區域會議。 這是 2018 年 3 月在伊斯坦布爾舉行的類似會議的後續會議，是與我們的區域協調員Serguei Popov聯合組織的。

來自亞美尼亞、阿塞拜疆、哈薩克斯坦、拉脫維亞和烏茲別克斯坦的國家代表抵達。 ICEJ-格魯吉亞國家主任 Oleg Khubashvili 主教主持了這些會議，並為 Mojmir 在幾個當地教堂發表演講敞開了大門。

與會者還參觀了當地的 JAFI 辦事處，了解他們為幫助俄語國家的猶太人到達以色列所做的努力。 我們還參觀了博物館，了解格魯吉亞猶太人的歷史。

在格魯吉亞，辦公室經理 George Jijiashvili 在社交媒體上對以色列和 ICEJ 非常活躍，並且是一位優秀的希伯來語根源教師。 ICEJ 團隊與猶太社區有著良好的關係，組織公共活動，提高教會對以色列的認識，並幫助穿過格魯吉亞前往以色列的猶太移民。

我們在拉脫維亞、亞美尼亞、阿塞拜疆、哈薩克斯坦和烏茲別克斯坦的分會辦事處也在各個領域表現出了主動性。在每一個案例中，我們的國家代表都是具有廣泛影響力的高級教會領袖，並積極從事實際的回歸工作。

領導人聚集在愛沙尼亞為烏克蘭祈禱

5 月，ICEJ 運營副總裁巴里·丹尼森 (Barry Denison) 出席了在愛沙尼亞舉行的領導力峰會。 峰會包括一個精彩的節目，愛沙尼亞、俄羅斯、烏克蘭和美國領導人就烏克蘭戰爭及其對沖突雙方信徒和教會的影響發表講話。

代表團前往愛沙尼亞和俄羅斯邊境的納爾瓦，在那裡進行了祈禱步行，為烏克蘭祈禱，隨後舉行了令人難以置信的特殊聖餐和祟拜儀式。該儀式在堡壘博物館舉行，由德克薩斯州達拉斯Upper Room教會的主任牧師邁克爾·米勒(Michael Miller)主持，基輔的拉比鮑里斯·格里森科(Rabbi Boris Grisenko)也帶來了信息。

接下來，代表團參觀了尋求上帝運動創始人謝爾蓋·希德洛夫斯基 (Sergey Shidlovskiy) 開展事工的阿塞里村 (Aseri)。 他們還在這裡進行了穿過村莊的祈禱步行活動。

在納爾瓦堡壘博物館舉行的特別聖餐儀式。

塔林歌唱場還舉行了一場強大的祈禱活動。大約一千名信徒聚集在一起為烏克蘭、愛沙尼亞和以色列祈禱。在活動的以色列部分，巴里帶來了關於以色列的信息，並與丹尼爾·林和拉比格里森科一起主持了這次祈禱時間，而來自斐濟的萬國之聲則主持了美麗的崇拜。

巴里還講了一個奧利維斯特教會（Oleviste）或聖奧拉夫教會（Saint Olaf's Church）過去曾多次發生過復興運動。在這裡，教會每月一次舉行一次關於以色列的特別祟拜，用希伯來語和愛沙尼亞語進行禮拜。教會附近是ICEJ-愛沙尼亞以色列中心，該中心似乎位於一個古老的蓄水池中。「感覺就像耶路撒冷，」巴里說。該中心每週日開放，為那些想要更多地了解以色列的人開放。

在科索沃開闢新天地
ICEJ 國際事務副總裁Mojmir Kallus博士最近訪問了科索沃，為我們在這個新興國家的新辦事處揭幕！科索沃是唯一在耶路撒冷設立大使館的歐洲國家，擁有規模雖小但活躍的福音派社區，該社區歡迎基督徒大使館近年來為將他們與以色列聯繫起來所做的努力。這不僅促進了與當地基督教少數群體的對話和夥伴關係，也促進了與高級官員的對話和夥伴關係。科索沃和我們在那裡設立的新的 ICEJ辦事處確實有很大希望成為以色列的祝福。

ICEJ-菲律賓慶祝以色列成立 75 週年

7 月，ICEJ菲律賓分會在我們的國家主任斯蒂芬·米爾普里牧師的帶領下，牽頭舉辦了以色列成立 75 週年的盛大慶祝活動，有1,200多名基督徒參加，其中包括許多教會和事工領袖。以色列大使伊蘭·弗拉斯是主賓，另外兩名以色列外交官和菲律賓大教派的四名主教以及其他政要也出席了活動。該活動包括眾多演講者、敬拜和舞蹈隊以及 12 名國家基督教領袖為以色列祝福的祈禱。ICEJ長期董事會成員Sally Madatu和菲律賓分會的其他成員在組織75週年慶祝活動方面表現出色。