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A letter from Sadegh Sepehri in Germany
Spring 2014
IRANIAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BERLIN
What we have done in 2013 and how?
I know and believe that all was by His grace and we pray that grace and peace be yours from God who is, who was, and who is to come. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness the first who was raised from the dead and who is also the ruler of the kingdom of the world (Revelation).
I am happy to give a report of our activities during the year 2013. This was an exceptional year and we could see His hand in all we did, and He was the one who encouraged us and gave us power.
The year started with our travels to the U.S.A., including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Louisville, for six weeks to visit churches that support us in prayer as well as financially. In Los Angeles we visited several churches and many church members from Iran. As you may know many Iranians have emigrated to California for many reasons as well as the good weather. Many of those we met were my church members in Iran. I had baptized some of them or married them. They were quite young when I left Iran and now have become old, though not too old. They welcomed us and invited us to their home as their guests. There were a lot of memories that we could talk about, sometimes with tears and sometimes with laughter. During the worship services there was a very good sprit and joyful atmosphere. After worship we had good opportunities to say more about Iran and the church of Iran. We also visited our dear friend and brother Rev. Mehdi Abhari and his wife Tamara in California and his advice was a great blessing.
The churches we visited:
1) Attended the Iranian Presbyterian annual meeting (Anjoman) and one-day seminar, including the very blessed worship during which Rev. Moshiri was officially ordained.
2) Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church – English-speaking service during which I gave a report with slides of our activities in Germany and other parts of Europe. After the service Rev. Martin Worth invited us for a nice lunch during which we enjoyed conversation around the table.
3) Beverly Hills Persian Church – In the afternoon we joined the Persian church, where I preached and gave a good report about our ministry. The pastor and his wife and all the church members showed us wonderful Iranian hospitality.
4) Granada Hills Presbyterian Church – Here also we had a good opportunity to give a presentation about our work and answer questions.
On the 29th of January we left L.A. and went to the Louisville. In Louisville we had a good opportunity to visit our colleagues at the Center and discuss all the matters that we needed to or that they wanted to ask. Generally our time in Louisville was fruitful even though very short. It should be mentioned the good and hard work that our colleague and dear sister, Rev. Rachel Anderson, did in planning for our program during our visit in the U.S.
After Louisville we flew to Seattle, where my daughter, Nahid, and her husband, Rev. Mansour Khajehpor, live with their two children, Rebeca and Mathew. This was a great opportunity for me to see them after several years. Mansour had planned a wonderful program for my visit and during those two weeks I was able to preach at many churches and give a report about our ministry in Europe. The churches we visited were:
1) Northminster Presbyterian Church
2) Terrance View Presbyterian Church
3) First Presbyterian Church of Seattle
4) Presbytery of Seattle
5) Spanish-speaking church
6) Iranian Calvary Church in North Vancouver, Canada
I want to give thanks to God for this opportunity and for the cooperation and hospitality that our colleagues showed us spiritually and financially, which was a blessing and wonderful experience.
Another experience and blessing in 2013 was the summer conference. In 2003 we had a conference in Berlin for four days, which was attended by more than 70 believers and non-believers from all parts of Europe, Iran, Canada, U.S., and England. During those four days we had lessons and times for sharing experiences and memories at a very nice conference centre in Berlin. It was a great blessing that no one could forget and people always ask us to have it again, but preparing a budget was the main problem. Finally this year I started to write and contact churches and Christian organizations for help such as: Barnabas Foundation in England, PC(USA) Louisville, Church of Berlin Brandenburg, Bethlehem Reformed Church in Berlin, and individuals from a Canadian Baptist church. It was a great encouragement for me to see how they accepted my request and generously answered.
Finally our summer conference was held August 23-26 in Berlin near the beautiful seaside of Wannsee. The guest speakers were Rev. Dr. Sasan Tavasoli and Rev. Mansour Khajehpour, both from America. Two subjects were discussed during the four days, salvation and Christian life. We were all encouraged by their knowledge and the messages they brought to us. Praise the Lord for them. At the end of the conference 12 people were baptized. These 12 people had attended a four-month-long Bible course especially for those who want to be baptized.
I received an email from one of the believers who had attended this conference from Luxembourg, who wrote: “Now is a few years that I am out of Iran and there is no Persian Church here in Luxembourg and I feel that my relation with the Lord has broken, but during this conference I was able to renew it again and now I have a strong relation with the Lord.”
Our Church Activities in Berlin
These days were very special as on one hand we were faced with lots of encouraging matters, but on the other hand there were discouraging issues. Persian-speaking churches in Iran are under pressure and most of our colleagues were arrested and are still in jail. Church activities were forbidden and have moved underground while most of the Christian believers tried to leave the country to find a new place to live. Converting from Islam has become a good and acceptable reason to apply for asylum. Many people are misusing this and trying to show themselves as new Christian believers, but when they join churches they start raising problems. On the other hand we see many of these people accept Christ and become faithful believers. We try to teach them the Word of God and help them to understand Christianity and become thorough members in the church.
During 2013 every Sunday afternoon we held our worship service. Other worship services were: Christmas, Iranian new year (Noorooz, 21 March, with a special worship), Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost. Once a month we celebrate the Lord’s Supper with approximately 40 people attending. Also every year we have a joint service together with Germans from the Bethlehem Church. During this period we had about 20 baptisms, plus 12 baptized during the summer conference.
Thank God who gave us these opportunities to be able to serve him and who helps us to do his will by giving the Word of salvation to the people who have left their homes and families. Many are without hope and looking for help and the Word of God is the only place that they can find this hope.
One of these young men told me: “When I came to Germany I was alone, hopeless and very sad. I had no place or person I could open my heart and talk to about my feelings and sorrow, and I very much missed my father. But after I came to the Iranian church of Berlin, your reaction and character was like my father. Through you and your wife’s personality I found my mother and father. And when I got to know about our heavenly father through Jesus real peace came to my heart, and now I am not alone. When I call you father, really I call my father.”
Our Needs:
• Please remember our hard work and all who are coming to us, that the Holy Sprit gives us enough wisdom, patience and power that we will be able to carry these problems positively.
• Continued financial needs for evangelism and conference gatherings. Also remember our ministry in your prayers and our new colleagues, Rev. Ryan and Alethia White, coming in 2014.
Sadegh Sepehri
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 312
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