Greetings from Charlotte,
The Fall (Spring in the Southern hemisphere) Festival season is here. Many members and ministers will be traveling in the coming days to various Festival sites. Slow news days seem to be a thing of the past. As I write, another massive category 5 hurricane is taking aim at Puerto Rico after battering the Islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe. Some islands that will be affected are still trying to recover from Hurricane Irma. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked Mexico City and it is still too early to know how much damage has occurred or lives have been lost. President Donald Trump warned world leaders at the United Nations that "Rocket Man [Kim Jong Un] is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime," and threatened to totally destroy North Korea if it continues on its current course. Here in Charlotte, we reviewed a telecast by Mr. Ames. A number of productive meetings were held regarding future manpower and how to streamline parts of the Work. Mr. Stuart Wachowicz gave a Tomorrow's World Presentation in Yorkton, Saskatchewan Canada with 13 guests in attendance. These are truly momentous times. Please remember those in harm's way from hurricanes and earthquakes and that God will protect each of our Festival sites.—Gerald Weston
Feast of Tabernacles
Just Two Weeks Away!
The Feast of Tabernacles is almost here! As you make last minute preparations for the Feast, here are a few items to take note of:
PayPal Payments Deadline 8:00 a.m. Monday, September 25
Online PayPal pre-payments for Festival activities for U.S. sites must be made by 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Time Zone), Monday, September 25. This will give the Accounting Department at Headquarters time to disburse funds to the U.S. sites.
If necessary, please check with your Festival Site Coordinator to find out if any payments can be made at the Feast, and what payment methods will be accepted. For international sites, please check with your Festival Site Coordinator for more information.
Holy Day Offerings if Transferring to a Different Country
If you are traveling internationally for the Feast, it is recommended that you leave your Holy Day Offering in your home country. This will ensure that you receive proper documentation for a tax deduction, if your country allows it. You should make an additional offering at the international site you attend, and can plan accordingly. Your attention to these instructions and your use of the preprinted Holy Day envelopes is greatly appreciated.
Travelers: Beware of Bed Bugs!
In recent years, bed bugs have made a "comeback," especially in hotels at some popular vacation spots. Therefore, it is prudent to check the beds of your accommodations when you check into your Feast hotels. If you see signs of bed bugs, you should request a different room. Here is a summary from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on how to check your room for bed bugs. Essentially, one should look for "physical signs" of bed bugs, which include:
- Rusty or reddish stains on the bed sheets or mattresses.
- Tiny dark spots (about the size of a "period" on a typed document) on bed sheets or mattresses.
- The actual bugs themselves, in the seams of mattresses or cushions.
Bed bugs are not only painful and irritating, but can travel back home with you and are expensive to eradicate. God can and will protect His Feast-goers from bed bugs, if we are prayerful and vigilant. We also know that a prudent man foresees danger and hides himself (Proverbs 22:3).
Hymnals
Brethren are encouraged to bring a hymnal (one or two songbooks per household) from their local congregation's supply for use at the Feast, if they don't have a personal hymnal to take. For those who do take a congregational (blue) hymnal, please be sure to bring the same hymnal(s) back to your congregation after the Feast, so that the number of hymnals returned to each congregation is equal to the number of hymnals taken. Please make sure that all hymnals are clearly marked as to which congregation they belong.
2017 Festival Survey
Every year we take a survey to get valuable feedback from brethren attending the Feast. We will again have the Festival Survey available online, as well as having paper survey forms handed out at the Feast. The Web address for filling out the Feast survey will be fotsurvey.lcg.org. We ask everyone at the Feast to be sure to fill out the survey form (either the hard copy or the online version) during the Feast, as it provides us with helpful information to assist with Festival planning for future years.
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon CDs
Attention Pastors: The names of all brethren in the U.S. who will need to receive a set of the Feast of Tabernacles sermons on CD should already have been sent to HQ. Note: Feast sermons will also be uploaded (one per day) during the Feast at www.lcg.org for those who have Internet access. Note: We are also sending two extra sets of the Feast sermons on CD to all elders in the U.S. for any last-minute requests they may receive.
Living Youth Program
Adventure Camp Photo Contest Winners
Responses have been tabulated, judges' scores factored in, and the boy and girl winners for the Mount Rainer Adventure Camp 2017 Photo Contest have been selected. They will each receive a $100 gift card to an REI outdoors store. Visit the Living Youth Program Facebook page on Friday evening, September 22, to see who the winners are!
Finance
U.S. Deadline for Payments Before Feast
Please note that our last scheduled day to print checks will be Thursday, September 28. We will not be able to print any checks again until Thursday, October 19. Any invoices we receive before September 26 will be paid before the break. Any invoices we receive after September 26 may not be able to be paid until October 19.
If you have any questions in regards to specific invoices or payments, please contact Lanna Moluf in the Accounts Payable Department at 704-708-2234 or Meagan Rand at 704-708-2237. You can also email [email protected].
Living University
Call for On-Campus Students (U.S. only at this time)
For those seeking a unique and exciting learning opportunity, LU is now accepting applications for full-time students to study on campus in Charlotte, North Carolina, beginning in the fall of 2018. On-campus students experience special opportunities beyond online study. Students meet for weekly discussion classes with many of their professors, including Dr. Germano, Mr. Ames, Drs. Douglas and Scott Winnail, Mr. Ken Frank, Mr. Peter Nathan, and Mr. Jerry Ruddlesden. Weekly Assemblies are delivered by many of the Church leaders based in Charlotte and around the world. Monthly student outings and other social activities are planned, and students also participate in congregational opportunities unique to the Charlotte congregation and Headquarters (including Spokesman Club, Singles' Bible Studies, Outreach activities, service during Council of Elders and Ministerial conferences, and much more). Student housing is available for both male and female students. Most of our on-campus students participate in our "work-study" program—working part-time in different departments throughout the Work and Living University. Student work-study helps defray most living costs. Application to the on-campus program can be made online through the University website (www.livinguniv.com). Additional details and requirements can also be found online, as can an estimate of costs associated with on-campus study.
If you are interested in on-campus LU study and have questions, please contact us. At this time we can only accept on-campus students who are legal residents of the U.S. Our hope is to expand this opportunity to international students in future years. Interested students should plan to complete their applications by February 15, 2018. Those with no previous college should submit college entrance test scores (ACT or SAT) along with other application materials and should plan to take that examination this fall. You can find out more about these exams through a local high school guidance counselor or local community college or university testing service. Home-schooled students are also encouraged to apply. If you have questions about on-campus study or to find out more, please contact Dr. Scott Winnail at 704-708-2292 or [email protected].
Comments
Plan and Purpose: The Holy Days remind us of God's Plan and Purpose for humanity: that we have been created in His image (Genesis 1:26-28) to eventually become like Him (1 John 3:1-4) and be members of His divine family (Romans 8:14-17). Our purpose in this life is to develop the mind of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-12) so we can reign with Him in the coming Kingdom of God (Revelation 5:10). God's Church has been given the privilege to understand and share this awesome plan and purpose with those whom God is calling (1 Corinthians 2:7-16). However, we are also admonished to "ponder the path" of our feet (Proverbs 4:25-27) and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:19; 1 Corinthians 11:1) so we can be lights and examples to those around us (Matthew 5:13-16) as we prepare to share God's way of life with a world that is descending into darkness. As we observe these coming Holy Days, take some time to "ponder the path of your feet"—praying and meditating on how you can prepare to be a more effective instrument in God's hands that He can use to serve others—both now and in the coming Kingdom of God (Matthew 20:25-28). Let's also pray that God will protect His people and bless the messages and the fellowship during this Holy Day season.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—September 19, 2017
Bold "State of the EU" Proposals: EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his "State of the European Union" speech on September 13 and outlined several bold proposals for the Eurozone. One idea was to create a "super president" position that would merge "the presidencies of the European Commission and the European Council" and result in streamlining the bureaucracy (EU Observer, September 14, 2017). Another proposal in Mr. Juncker's speech was a European finance and economy minister to better harmonize the economies and finances of EU member nations. He also called for a full defense union by 2025 and the removal of national veto rights from member nations (The Telegraph, September 14, 2017; European Commission, September 13, 2017). Some current EU nations favor these proposals, including France and Italy. However other nations, including the Netherlands and Denmark, are not pleased. Bible prophecies have long foretold that a charismatic "super president," so to speak, will emerge to head Europe at the time of the end. He is referred to in Scripture as the "beast" who will be supported by ten other European leaders (Revelation 17:12-13) in some form of a revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2:40-44). He will lead a German-led Europe against a Middle Eastern group of nations and eventually gain control of the Holy Land and Jerusalem (Daniel 11:40-43; Luke 21:20). To learn where current events in Europe are heading, be sure to watch "The Beast of Revelation."
Why Britain No Longer Rules the Waves: The days of Britain ruling the waves are apparently over. "The Royal Navy can only send a quarter of its warships to sea due to spending cuts which have left the armed forces 'struggling to protect Britain's citizens.'" This is due to a lack of supplies, lack of manpower and lack of fuel (The Telegraph, September 14, 2017). Recently, the flagship of the Royal Navy was sent to the Caribbean for hurricane relief, but it "suffered engine problems while loading in Gibraltar." Due to the current state of the Navy, there was no other ship to replace it. After its trip to the Caribbean, the HMS Ocean is scheduled to be retired. However, Britain's new state-of-the-art destroyer HMS Dauntless is not mission-worthy due to lacking a full complement of crew. For centuries, the Royal Navy has been a tremendous source of pride and power for Britain, and it is sobering to watch its demise. Long ago, God warned the Israelite-descended people, "But if you do not obey Me… and if you despise My statutes… I will break the pride of your power" (Leviticus 26:14-15, 19). We are witnessing that happening today! To understand how Britain became a world power and what the future holds for this island nation, watch the telecast "Who Made Britain 'Great'?"
Where Are All the Animals? A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights the loss of animal species worldwide and a significant reduction in their habitat (The Guardian, July 10, 2017). Some land animal species have lost 80 percent of their range since 1900, while a 2014 report of 3,000 different species "indicated that 50% of individual animals have been lost since 1970." While some scientists fear we are now in a period of mass extinction, others feel we are just on the edge of that period. The conclusion of this study is sobering: "Humanity will eventually pay a very high price for the decimation of the only assemblage of life that we know of in the universe." Despite arguments over the mechanisms driving the destruction of animal populations worldwide, the reality is that mankind's self-interest and poor management of the ecosystem clearly plays a role. The Bible reveals that God gave human beings the responsibility of stewardship over His creation (Genesis 1:28; 2:15)—for which we will be held accountable (Hosea 4:1-3). The Scriptures also reveal there is a time of judgment coming, and when Jesus Christ returns He is going to "destroy those who destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:18). According to the Scriptures, God does not take lightly the decimation of His creatures. However, there is a more exciting future ahead for humanity and the creation. For more about this exciting future, read or listen to The World Ahead: What Will It Be Like?—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater, and William Williams