Greetings from Charlotte,
The unexpected death of United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has put the highest court of this land in the news once again. And it again has highlighted the power invested in the President to nominate a new Justice subject to Senate confirmation, thereby directing the leanings of the Court on future decisions, as well as the direction of the country. As Paul said, we should pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2) that we may do the Work in peace, and that His will—not man's will—be done on earth.
In the Charlotte office this week, Dr. Roderick Meredith has been writing a Living Church News editorial and a co-worker letter, and he conducted the Living University Assembly today with the on-site students and faculty. Mr. Richard Ames has been conducting meetings, writing, and scheduling for the Tomorrow's World telecast. Mr. and Mrs. Weston have been in town and he is shooting three Tomorrow's World telecasts this week. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Shumway are passing through en route to their new assignment in Barbados. Dr. Douglas Winnail is on the final leg of his round-the-world trip, leaving Manila today for the United States. He met with 50 brethren in Manila for a Bible Study on Tuesday night, and has been visiting with Mr. and Mrs. Kinnear Penman. He will be in Dallas, Texas, for Sabbath services. Mr. Bruce Tyler is recuperating and improving (see announcement below). There have been 38,641 responses to the November semi-annual letter. Please continue to pray for God to open doors—and provide the resources—to accomplish His Work all over the earth!—RMc
Church Administration
Update on Mr. Bruce Tyler
"My dad continues to improve. The good news this week is that it appears the hospital feels he's strong enough to be discharged. The plan is that he will be home on Tuesday next week. Please pray that God continues to be involved in the healing process. Dad still has much physical work to strengthen his body before he's back to work but at the rate he's going, it won't be long before we see him behind his desk again."—Rob Tyler
Drought and Frost Situation in Papua New Guinea
This report is from one of our members in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea. The drought/famine conditions are extant throughout this area and are largely unreported in the media. At present, none of our members are facing famine but some of our subscribers in the Highlands are certainly experiencing a drastic change in their already poor living conditions. Your prayers for our brethren in this area would be much appreciated.—Graeme Hemphill, Area Pastor, PNG
Papua New Guinea is suffering a catastrophic drought. In August, the national government said that "the current El Niño situation is worse than expected and that the people must brace themselves for potential disaster" (The National, August 18, 2015). More than a million people are being affected by drought and associated frost. Vital staple food crops have been severely damaged and whole areas of palm oil cash crops have been lost. Severe water shortages have forced schools to close and affected other vital services. The drop in water levels in the Fly River has forced the curtailing of mining operations, putting more hundreds of people out of work. The PNG government has provided relief assistance to affected thousands; people in non-farming coastal districts are now relying entirely on store-goods like rice, flour and canned food, since most of their small garden plots have wilted in the heat or been consumed by bushfires. It has also been reported that in one area, adults have begun "having one meal a day to ensure that their children have full meals every day." Many populations affected by this disaster are in isolated areas and the extent of damage and suffering may not be known immediately. It is a very serious situation and drought conditions are expected to continue for four to five more months.
Passover 2016—Repeat Announcement
Important Notice to All Pastors: In 2016, the Passover Service will be observed on Thursday evening, April 21. Please let us know as soon as possible if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays and/or wine trays or glasses) or a copy of the Passover Service recording and letter instructions (available in English, French and Spanish). The Passover Service recording is the 2015 recording given by Mr. Ken Frank. To ensure timely delivery and to save on shipping costs, we need this information by March 21 for U.S. congregations.
Also, please let us know of any scattered members who are unable to keep the Passover with a congregation and who need to receive the Passover Service recording and letter instructions for observing it at home. International requests should be received before February 22 and U.S. requests before March 21. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Electronic Hymnal Available for Download—Repeat Announcement
Many of you enjoy using iPads or other tablets to take notes and look up Bible scriptures during Sabbath services and some have asked for an electronic version of The Bible Hymnal. A version of The Bible Hymnal that may be lawfully published electronically has been uploaded to MyLCG. To download this version, please log in to your MyLCG page.
Internet Department
Tomorrow's World App for the New Generation AppleTV—Repeat Announcement
We are happy to announce that we have just launched the latest Tomorrow's World app for the new generation, AppleTV. Many thousands of people have already installed our Tomorrow's World apps for Roku, GoogleTV, AmazonFire and the earlier generation AppleTV. And every week, many new people become Tomorrow's World subscribers by requesting our literature because they find us on these Internet TV platforms. But, as many of you may also know, the new AppleTV is a new Apple device that is a significant change from the earlier AppleTV devices, and seems to be an indication of Apple's increasing interest in gaining market share in the rapidly growing "Internet TV" space. As such, we are very happy we could launch this new app quickly and we pray that God will use this as yet another way to reach the world with the True Gospel message! As Apple CEO Tim Cook announced late last year, "The future of TV is apps." We thank you for your prayers as we do our best to go through these new, "open doors" to preach the Gospel.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Feast of Tabernacles
Feast of Tabernacles Preparations
Plans for Festival registration for 2016 are in full gear! We are planning to have Festival registration around the time of the Spring Holy Days, though a firm date has not yet been set. The Internet Department, in conjunction with the Festival Office, is working very hard on putting all the pieces together for the Festival Web site and online registration system. Your prayers for all the set-up involved in launching Festival registration would be greatly appreciated!
2016 Ministerial Feast Site Preference Survey
All pastors and elders: You should have received an e-mail asking you to select where you would prefer attending the Feast this year. Dr. Meredith and Dr. Winnail approve the final list, making sure we have manpower needs covered. As always, in most cases, pastors will be asked to attend where the bulk of their local congregations are going. Deadline for filling out the form: Friday, February 19. If you have not yet filled out the online form, please do so as soon as possible, so we can make ministerial assignments as quickly as possible.
Note: International pastors and elders, please contact your Regional Office regarding your Feast of Tabernacles assignments.
Living Youth Program
Online Teen Bible Study Friday Evening
The online Teen Bible Study on Friday evening, February 26, will be on "Angels" presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson. If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for one of the online Bible Studies yet, we encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful way to start the Sabbath day.
The Bible Study runs from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Eastern time) and the chat room will be open for a half hour before and after the study. You can access this Bible Study at livingyouth.org. We hope as many of our youth as possible will join us for this wonderful opportunity for godly fellowship and learning. For those of you who are unable to make it to the study, archives of previous Living Youth Bible Studies, including last evening's on, "Who and What Is God?," can also be found on the Living Youth Web site.
LYC Summer Camps 2016—Registration Is Open!
Registration for the North America camps is now open and detailed information about the camps is available on camp.livingyouth.org.
Adventure Camp, Banff, Alberta, Filling Up Fast!
The Adventure Trip 2016 in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies is filling up fast. Applications for Staff positions must be in by Friday, February 26and camper applications must be submitted by Tuesday, March 1.
Ohio Teen Camp 2016—Repeat Announcement
The dates for the Ohio Teen Camp are one week later than camp has been held for the past three years. Our dates were unexpectedly bumped up one week by the Boy Scouts administrators. Currently we have reserved Camp Lazarus in Delaware, Ohio (July 31–August 14) and registration for this camp is open.
This schedule change affects several of our young people who begin school during the second week of August so we are looking at the possibility of relocating to another camp facility in order to secure our desired dates (the last week of July and the first week of August). None of the camp facilities we have looked at so far are acceptable and we will continue to search until the end of February. If we have not found another camp by then, we will be at Camp Lazarus from July 31–August 14. We will begin accepting applicants during the first week of March. Please do not purchase airline tickets until you have been accepted.
If anyone has suggestions for camps that might work out for our Teen Camp, please let me know. These are our requirements:
- Camp dates must be acceptable (two weeks, falling between the third week of June and the end of the first week of August).
- It must have housing for 350 people.
- It must be reasonably priced.
- It must have a dining hall that we can run and that will accommodate 350 people.
- It must have a meeting hall large enough to accommodate everyone for Sabbath services, camp dances, and other "all-camp" functions.
If we are unable to secure better dates than July 31–August 14, we will allow some campers to attend Camp Lazarus Ohio for the first week of camp at a discounted rate and will rearrange the schedule to accommodate this change. Campers who are affected by this change might also consider applying for the Adventure Camp in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.
Please contact Sheldon Monson at [email protected] or 715-441-6081 (cell) if you have suggestions for another camp.
Comments
The Gift of Gracious Language
"I liked it better when presidential candidates spent more time shaking hands and kissing babies than calling their opponents liars and losers." Thus began a recent blog deploring the ever-increasing coarseness of modern society ("Coarse Language Gets Attention, Of Course," by Lori Borgman). The current election cycle is a prime example, with candidates stooping to ever-lower levels of demeaning attacks.
Almost 3,000 years ago, Solomon recorded the proverb, "There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives" (Proverbs 30:14). How true today! Especially, it seems, on social media. Even God's people can sometimes get into online discussions that leave the participants feeling bruised and battered. But we are to be different. We are to use language to give grace and life, as words that are "seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6). We are to "be kind to one another, tenderhearted" (Ephesians 4:32), not quarrelsome. Thank God we are learning a different way—a way that strengthens and builds up, that imparts "grace to the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29). As we gather to worship God this Sabbath, let us make sure we are giving the gift of gracious language!
Have a peaceful Sabbath,
Rod McNair
News and Prophecy—February 18, 2016
Europe Dividing: Europe has two major threats on its borders: Russia and the Islamic State. In a recent action to confront the growing Russian threat, NATO decided to use multinational forces on its eastern borders. "The soldiers 'will be multinational to make clear that an attack against one ally is any attack against all allies and that the alliance as a whole will respond,' Stoltenberg told a news conference following the first session of the two-day defense ministers' meeting" (Associated Press, February 10, 2016). But, "Left unaddressed, however, is Europe's most immediate and perhaps most significant challenge—the re-nationalization of European politics, which poses an existential threat to the European Union. Ultimately, confronting this immediate crisis will be critical to any success in meeting the challenges posed by Russia and ISIL" (Politico, February 9, 2016). The popular press has also noted that "Paris and Berlin don't see eye to eye on a major European topic: refugee policies. Whatever has happened to the much-touted Franco-German engine in the European Union?" (Deutsche Welle, February 16, 2016). Bible prophecy has long foretold of the iron-and-clay nature of the end-time European nations (Daniel 2:32-44), something we are seeing highlighted more and more as EU nations move back to their nationalistic roots. For more biblical insight into the goings-on in Europe, please read "Iron and Clay."
Pope Meets Russian Patriarch after Thousand-Year Schism: Pope Francis became "the first pontiff to ever meet a patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, as the two Christian leaders set aside centuries of division in a historic encounter that was held in an unlikely setting: a room at the Havana airport" (New York Times, February 12, 2016). This session "was a landmark development in the 1,000-year schism that has divided Christianity" (Associated Press, February 12, 2016). The Vatican hopes this meeting will heal differences that have "divided East from West ever since the Great Schism of 1054 split Christianity. But Orthodox observers say Kirill's willingness to finally meet with a pope has less to do with any new ecumenical impulse than grandstanding at a time when Russia is increasingly under fire from the West over its military actions in Syria and Ukraine" (ibid.). The Russian patriarch Kirill, spiritual advisor to President Vladimir Putin, may use this meeting to "present himself as the leader of Orthodoxy" (ibid.). The Bible warns of a religious leader at the end of the age who will perform "great signs," even making "fire come down from heaven" in order to deceive "those who dwell on the earth" (Revelation 13:13-14). This European religious leader, a false spiritual adviser to the military and economic strongman called the "beast," also coming out of Europe, will extend his dominance over the entire earth but will meet his ultimate end with the beast when Christ returns (Revelation 17-19). The Bible makes it clear that "all the nations" will become drunk with this false religion and economic system (Revelation 18:3). Who will be the strong religious leader who deceives the world? God will reveal this in His time—until then, to learn more, watch our telecast, "Who Is the Prophesied 'Man of Sin'?"—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater and Justin Ridgeway