Dear brethren,
The extremist group Islamic State continues to shock the world through its acts of treachery, this week murdering a Jordanian pilot with such brutality that even other Islamic extremists have condemned it. When will the butchery stop? While Islamic State's leader talks of a caliphate that will rule the world, the truth is that Jesus Christ will soon return and crush all opposition, ruling with "a rod of iron" (Revelation 2:27). Peace and security for all will finally be here.
In the office this week, Dr. Meredith has conducted various meetings, including an LU Assembly on Tuesday morning in his office with about 20 staff and students attending. Mr. Richard Ames will be returning to Charlotte later today, having spent Monday through Wednesday in the Canadian Office recording programs for the Hong Kong edition of the Tomorrow's World telecast. Dr. Douglas Winnail visited Perth, Australia, earlier this week, and will be in Adelaide for the weekend. He reports that it has been an inspiring and positive trip thus far (see note below). Feast of Tabernacles planning is moving forward—the Festival Office is contacting all pastors and elders for their input on site preferences, as well as confirmation of Festival Advisors (see note below). Thank you for your prayers for the Work and God's people all over the earth!—RMc
Church Administration
Greetings from Dr. Winnail from South Africa and Australia
Greetings from Perth (at the end of the earth!),
We had a very encouraging visit to the congregation in Pretoria and a very positive conference with the South African ministry and their wives on Sunday. We had 111 in attendance for the Sabbath. Peter Nathan played several Webcasts for the sermonette to give the brethren a sample of this new aspect of preaching the Gospel. I gave a sermon about "Believing, Defending and Spreading the Gospel." The flight from Johannesburg to Perth (9 hours and 5,200 miles) was smooth. We will meet with the members of the Perth congregation this [Wednesday] evening. I fly on Thursday to Adelaide for a visit to the office on Friday and services on the Sabbath. Next Monday, Bruce Tyler and I will fly to Auckland for a visit and a Bible Study. So far the trip has gone well.—Douglas Winnail
Ministerial Appointments
Dr. Meredith has approved the following hires into the full-time ministry of God's Work. As of March 1, Mr. Mike DeSimone will be hired full-time, to serve as Assistant Pastor in the Charlotte, North Carolina, congregation. Mr. Lawdi Ferreira will be hired as of May 1, and will serve as Assistant Pastor in Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa and Swaziland. Congratulations to these men and their families, and we look forward to their service to God and His people, in these new responsibilities.
Passover 2015—Repeat Announcement
Important Notice to All Pastors: In 2015, the Passover Service will be observed on Thursday evening, April 2. 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). A new recording of the Passover service in English has been made this year, by Mr. Ken Frank. To ensure timely delivery and to save on shipping costs, we need this information by March 12 for U.S. congregations. Information for international congregations should already be here.
Also, 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 here by now and U.S. requests should be here before March 12. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend, Greenville: Friday to Sunday, April 3 – 5
The Anderson, South Carolina congregation invites you to join us for our eighth Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend from Friday, April 3 to Sunday, April 5. The weekend promises to be filled with inspiring spiritual messages, uplifting fellowship, and fun activities. Come celebrate the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread with us in Greenville.
Planned events include: a Friday afternoon bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail; the Night To Be Much Observed on Friday night; Holy Day services on the First Day of Unleavened Bread; the Springtime in Carolina Banquet and Ball on Saturday night; and a picnic and recreational activities, including a 5K road race and softball games, on Sunday. The Night To Be Much Observed, Holy Day services, and the banquet and ball will be held at the Hyatt Regency Greenville in downtown Greenville. Baptized members who wish to arrive early are welcome to join us for the Passover service on Thursday evening.
Additionally, we invite those with musical talent to perform special music or the offertory for the Holy Day service. Please contact us with your proposed performance selection.
We have secured a room rate of $95 (plus tax) per night for guests staying at the Hyatt Regency. This guaranteed rate expires March 13, 2015. Further details about the event, prices of meals, and registration instructions are located at http://lcganderson.org/ (not an official LCG Web site). Or, you may contact me for further information at 864-638-7719 or by e-mail at [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you in Greenville for the best Spring Weekend ever!—Manuel Burdette
Second Annual Adirondack Adventure Program
Last summer, we pioneered an Adventure Program hiking in the magnificent Adirondack Mountains. This year, we'll go from pack to paddle! Our trip is planned for July 2 through July 5, and will be a canoe trip through a series of lakes in the Adirondack Park. If you're up for adventure, mark your calendar and stay tuned for more information next week!—Jonathan McNair
Internet Department
Statistics for the YouTube Spanish Program El Mundo de Mañana—Repeat Announcement
God continues to bless His Work! We are happy to share the news that we broke the one million views mark on our Spanish YouTube channel, with views coming from over 100 nations, including Israel.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Feast of Tabernacles
Preparation for Festival Registration 2015
We are making final preparations for registration for the Feast of Tabernacles 2015. Final touches to the Festival Web site are being made and it will soon be ready for everyone to access. We will be announcing the date for Festival registration soon. Stay tuned!
Living Youth Program
Online Teen Bible Study Friday Evening
The online Teen Bible Study on Friday evening, February 13, will be on "How To Have an Attractive Personality," 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. (EST) 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, "The Purpose of Dating," can also be found on the Living Youth Web site.
Summer Camps 2015
Registration begins Sunday, February 8, 2015 for all summer camp programs in the United States and Europe.
Teen Camp Programs:
LYC Teen Camp—Camp Lazarus, Delaware, Ohio
Camp Director: Sheldon Monson
Assistant Director: Jason Fritts
Dates: Staff Arrival – Sunday, July 26; Camper Arrival – Monday, July 27
Departure – Sunday, August 9
Location: Camp Lazarus (BSA)
4422 Columbus Pike (Route 23)
Delaware, Ohio 43015
Ages: Campers – ages 13-18
Staff – ages 18 and older
Tuition Cost: $250 (first camper in family), $200 (second camper), $150 (third camper or more)
International Teen Camps to be held in these countries (details next week):
Europe, Guatemala, Mexico, South Africa
Adventure Camp Programs:
2015 Adventure Trip—Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Camp Director: Sheldon Monson
Assistant Director: Joette Monson
Dates: Staff and Camper Arrival – Tuesday, July 7 (not later than 5:00 p.m.)
Departure – Thursday, July 16 (not later than 12:00 noon)
Location: Base of operation: Cowboy Village Resort
120 S. Flat Creek Drive
Jackson, WY 83001
Ages: Campers – ages 13-20 (preference given to campers age 15 or older)
Staff – ages 21+
Tuition Cost: $450 – Camper
$350 – Staff
International Adventure Camp to be held in Trinidad and Tobago (details next week)
Pre-Teen Camp Programs:
(Listed in order of occurrence)
LYC Pre-Teen Camp—Texas
Camp Director: Bob Rodzaj
Assistant Director: Dennis Shipley
Dates: Sunday, June 21 – Friday, June 26, 2015
Location: Camp Powers
1188 County Road 823
Nacogdoches, Texas 75964
Ages: Campers – ages 7-12
High School Staff – ages 15-17
Adult Staff – ages 18 and older
Tuition Cost: $130 (first camper in family), $115 (second camper), $95 (third camper or more),
$130 (Camper Siblings 13-14 years of age—includes a full camper experience!)
LYC Pre-Teen Camp—Missouri
Camp Director: Gene Hilgenberg
Assistant Director: Phil West
Dates: Sunday, June 28 – Friday, July 3, 2015
Location: Knob Noster State Park
Camp Bob White
873 SE 10 Road
Knob Noster, Missouri (approximately 50 miles southeast of Kansas City, MO)
Ages: Campers – ages 7-12
High School Staff – ages 15-17
Adult Staff – ages 18 and older
Tuition Cost: $130 (first camper in family), $115 (second camper), $95 (third camper or more)
$65 (Camper Siblings 13-14 years of age)
LYC Pre-Teen Camp—North Carolina
Camp Director: Wallace Smith
Assistant Director: Jason Fritts
Dates: Sunday, July 12 – Friday, July 17, 2015
Location: William B. Umstead State Park
8801 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27617
Ages: Campers – ages 7-12
High School Staff – ages 15-17
Adult Staff – ages 18 and older
Tuition Cost: $130 (first camper in family), $115 (second camper), $95 (third camper or more),
$65 (Camper Siblings 13-14 years of age)
More information will be available on our Youth Web site at time of registration. Registration for these camps begins Sunday, February 8!
LYC 2013 Yearbook Now Ready!
The February 15 deadline is fast approaching for ordering the 2013 Living Youth Camps yearbook, published by Living Youth Programs. Orders received by February 15 will be shipped by the end of March. This yearbook covers the Ohio teen camp, the Yosemite adventure camp and pre-teen camps in Texas, Missouri and West Virginia. It contains more than 100 pages of full color photos. For further details and ordering information, go to LivingYouth.org/album2013/. We look forward to releasing the 2014 yearbook later this year.
Youth Program Donations Requested—Repeat Announcement
Thank you for your continuing support of our youth programs. These programs allow teens around the world the chance to fellowship and learn new skills in a godly environment each summer. As our program expands in number and in size, we are constantly faced with rising expenses of food and facility rentals plus the addition of new camps around the world and in the United States.
Additionally, we would like to add dormitories for the boys, and purchase a used ski boat in good condition for our new, and very popular, water ski program at the Teen Camp in Ohio.
And of course it is also our desire to continue covering camp tuition for international campers travelling to the U.S. as they already spend a large sum of money to purchase plane tickets, passports, etc. to get here. Young people in these international areas are very scattered, and these camps provide opportunities for them to meet new friends, and build godly relationships that will last a lifetime!
If you would like to make a contribution to further these programs which are designed to serve young people in God's Church, it would be greatly appreciated! Please send donations to the Living Church of God and earmark them for the youth program.
Legal Affairs
Military Draft (U.S. Only)
With each passing day, terrorist actions and military conflicts seem to increase around the globe. In the war on terrorism, the United States appears strained in providing the military troops and intelligence agency operatives to fight, train allied personnel, and patrol the international hotspots.
The possibility of reinstituting the military draft has awakened the interest of many in the Living Church of God who are eligible for the draft, or who are concerned about their sons, and even their daughters, being drafted into the military. This is coupled with the specter of a national emergency declaration in response to a future major terrorist attack. With the calling-up of National Guard units, and the attempted reactivations of those previously discharged or retired from the military (or even the intelligence community)—some of whom may now be with the Living Church of God—it seems prudent to explain how the Church is prepared to assist in the area of Conscientious Objection to Military Service.
The Church Administration and Legal Affairs departments are aware of these growing concerns as information is sought regarding: 1) those who are draft-eligible establishing their Conscientious Objector (CO) status; 2) those previously discharged or retired from the military (who may be eligible for reactivation) establishing their CO status; and, 3) those currently in the military (active, reserves or National Guard) who have personally come to conscientiously object to military service and wish to be discharged.
Those eligible for the military draft among the Living Church of God who wish the Church's assistance in establishing their CO status should contact Legal Affairs at [email protected] or 704-844-1960, ext. 2228, for the Church's information letter, publications and CO form; those who send back a copy of their completed CO form to Legal Affairs will be added to the Church's official Registry of COs—and a copy forwarded to the Center on Conscience and War for inclusion in their national database of COs.
Those among the Living Church of God previously discharged or retired from the military (who may be eligible for reactivation) wishing the Church's assistance in establishing their CO status, as well as those currently in the military (active, reserves or National Guard) wishing the Church's assistance in their attempt to be discharged, should contact Mr. Gary Ehman, at [email protected] or 704 844-1960, ext. 2216, who is the Draft Counselor in CAD working in conjunction with Legal Affairs to provide such assistance.
Comments
A World Seeking Answers: As society turns increasingly selfish and amoral, many people are confused about where to find answers to life's questions. This is how Isaiah described the spiritual condition of his day: "We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight..." (Isaiah 59:9-10). It would be hard to find a better description of modern times as well!
But the Truth is reaching out—as a beacon of light—to give an opportunity to those who are willing to respond to it. In the last 16 years, the Tomorrow's World telecast has generated over 2.5 million responses. Each of us, as fellow-laborers with Christ, has a part in bringing that "fruit" to pass. As people come along in their understanding, they have Bible questions—and they often write directly to Headquarters for answers. Since 2004, the Personal Correspondence Department has responded to 55,788 inquiries for specific Bible questions. Your tithes and offerings have provided for peoples' questions being answered! They have also provided for a dedicated, trained ministry to be able to respond directly to 22,473 GOTOs since 2001. Not all GOTOs become committed, baptized members of the Church. The parable of the sower explains that (Matthew 13:3-23). But our job is to sow the seed that provides answers to those who have the ears to hear!
Thank God that we have part in the most important Work on earth today—to give real answers to a confused world!
Have an inspiring Sabbath,
Rod McNair
News and Prophecy—February 5, 2015
Will Russia Anger Germany Further? "More than 25 years after the Berlin Wall's fall, Russian lawmakers are mulling a proposal to condemn West Germany's 1990 'annexation' of East Germany as Moscow's answer to Western denunciation of its seizure of Crimea" (The Local, January 28, 2015). Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, under whose leadership the Berlin Wall came down, "called the contention 'nonsense'" (ibid.). However, Russian leaders contend that there was no official referendum of the people to make the reunification of Germany legal (ibid.). This tit-for-tat action by Russia's leaders is a response to the powerful pressure that Germany has led against Russia for its recent annexation of Crimea (ibid.). On January 28, Royal Air Force fighters intercepted Russian aircraft over the English Channel, one of which is believed to have been carrying a nuclear weapon (International Business Times, February 2, 2015). Although the likelihood of any action to re-divide Germany is extremely slim, recent actions by Russia's parliament to reopen this issue, and actions by its air force, will likely further damage Russian-German relations. Russia's actions may push Germany to take an even stronger stance against Russia's future "power grabs" and may even push Germany to more rapidly militarize. Germany has been slow to rebuild its military due to the "pacifist" perspective of the German populace. However, if the people begin to feel threatened by Russia, the German government may have the impetus it needs to more quickly remilitarize. Bible prophecy does indicate Germany will lead Europe at the time of the end, both politically and militarily. For more on this topic, read our article, "Resurgent Germany: A Fourth Reich?"
Increasing Unrest in Spain: "At least 100,000 people took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday (31 January) to show support for anti-establishment party Podemos, one week after Greek voters almost gave Syriza, a party with similar objectives, an absolute majority" (EU Observer, February 2, 2015). The Podemos party estimated the crowd to be three times this size, while the Spanish paper El Pais estimated 153,000 protestors (ibid.). Spain is scheduled to hold national elections by the end of 2015. While the Spanish prime minister "dismissed Podemos' chances of winning the elections," the populist movement is growing. Podemos is one of two rapidly growing populist parties in Spain in favor of ending the austerity practices imposed by the EU which have resulted in the second-highest unemployment rate in Europe of those 25 and under—55.5 percent according to Eurostat (ibid.). In reaction to Greece's recent call to end austerity, the Spanish budget minister soberingly observed, "It is 'impossible' to change EU fiscal rules in reaction to political developments in Greece, or the 'club' will 'fall apart'" (EU Observer, February 2, 2015). Anti-establishment sentiment appears to be growing across Europe, especially in nations hit hardest by the debt crisis. This movement is far less trusting of the EU and much more nationalistic. Europe is approaching a crossroads that could drastically change the structure we now see. For more on Europe's prophesied future, read "Shadows Over Europe."
Arabs Look to Rome: "Representatives from 22 European Union member states converged on the Silesian Sisters Convent on the edge of this West Bank town [Beit Jala], to protest Israel's plan to extend the controversial barrier that Israel is building in and around the West Bank through this area" (Jerusalem Post, February 1, 2015). The Israeli "protective wall" is locally expected to be damaging to the economy of the area. "Bethlehem mayor Vera Baboun said that she, along with the mayors of the two neighboring towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala, will meet the Pope next month and ask him to intervene with Israel against building the barrier here" (ibid.). What may seem like a small issue relates to the future of the Holy Land. Disenfranchised Palestinians are now turning in desperation, not to their own countrymen or even the United States, but to Pope Francis to force Israel to change. Bible prophecy tells of a future when a Roman religious figure will hold sway over the politics and events in the Holy Land (Revelation 13:11-18). Eventually this powerful religious figure will use signs and wonders to enforce his actions and validate his position (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9). It is exciting and amazing to see this coming power take shape. For more on this subject, view our telecast "666???"—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater and Deborah Lincoln-Strange