Greetings from Charlotte,
It seems that, with Passover only 19 days away, many are dealing with personal trials and challenges. We need to look to God during trials, and remember His promises (Romans 8:28; 1 Corinthians 10:13). We also need to make an extra effort to recognize and resist Satan's attempts to disrupt our lives with doubts and discouragement. This week, Mr. Meredith taped television program #345, titled "Seven Steps to Destruction," which will offer the booklet Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return. This weekend, I will be in Texas to conduct a Regional Conference, and Mr. Dexter Wakefield will be presenting a Public Bible Lecture in St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Mr. Wakefield writes, "Marcia and I leave next Thursday [today] for Barbados, and plan to go over to the nearby island of St. Lucia Saturday night. We have scheduled a Public Bible Lecture in Castries, St. Lucia, for Sunday morning and plan to stay over to Tuesday to give us time to visit and counsel on Monday. Please remember the Public Bible Lecture in your prayers. The brethren in Barbados have looked for this opportunity for a long time and hope that God will reestablish His Church in St. Lucia. In the 1980s, there was a vigorous congregation there."
Church Administration
Passover 2009 (Repeat Announcement)
Important Notice to All Pastors: Passover services should not start before sunset. This year the Passover will be observed on Tuesday, April 7, a little less than three weeks from now. You should have already begun preparations, including hall arrangements, for your congregations to properly observe this solemn Feast. 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 even a copy of the Passover Service CD recording.
Additionally, let us also know of any scattered members who need to receive the Passover Service CD and letter instructions to observe it at home. Please direct your requests to the Church Administration Department by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 704-844-1960, ext. 248, as soon as possible to ensure timely delivery.
Canadian Work Update
Mr. Gerald Weston reports: Steady growth continues to take place in Canada. So far this year we have baptized 14 people and we are receiving a steady stream of GOTOs. We expect that there will be several more baptisms prior to Passover. Our new printing equipment is up and operating and we are now printing most of the booklets for Canada from our Mississauga office. In addition we are now mailing all booklets and CDs for our Canadian mailing list from Canada. This makes it possible to get literature into people's hands in a few days, as opposed to the six or seven weeks it takes from the U.S. due to border delays and other factors. Although the evidence is anecdotal, we believe this change is beginning to pay off with greater interest on the part of those who view the telecast and order literature. Several volunteers come into the office twice a week, which makes all this work possible. We are grateful for their dedication and service.
Going forward, we have about a dozen Public Bible Studies in the process of being scheduled. To advertise these public studies, we are experimenting with a new full-color brochure to advertise them, rather than the plain white paper letter that we have used in the past. To save time and expand the image of the Work, we will list several upcoming studies in each brochure. This will also give subscribers a choice of dates in areas that overlap. Last year, we sent out two letters advertising one of the studies (an initial letter and then a follow-up reminder) and found that we doubled the expected attendance. We will be experimenting more with this concept this year.
New Zealand and the Pacific Isles Update
Mr. Kinnear Penman reports: We have won the tender for another year's broadcasting on Prime TV, which covers all New Zealand. The repeat programs have lately drawn very good results. In the last few weeks, we have averaged more than 100 calls to each program and, what is always exciting to see, 40-50% of these have been from first-time callers. We mailed 3,664 semi-annual letters. Quickly after the letters were mailed on 19 February, reply cards started coming back. As of now, we have received 1,213 requests for The Power of Prophecy DVD. This amounts to just over a 33% response rate, which is our highest ever. Reply cards are still coming in and we will almost certainly exceed a 35% rate.
In Vanuatu we are offering the Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return booklet by way of posters that Mr. Jerry Sam and members will display in market places. The posters were prepared by a graphic artist who printed them on high quality plastic paper, such as is now used for banknotes. The result was a striking poster which we hope will be very effective.
The population of Samoa is now able to view the Tomorrow's World program on a local TV station broadcasting to the entire nation from the capital, Apia.
East Africa Update
From February 26 through March 3, Mr. Simon Muthama, our elder in Nairobi, visited brethren and congregations in Eastern Kenya and in Tanzania. On February 28, combined Sabbath services were held in Ukerewe Islands for brethren in the Kisorya and Ukerewe video groups. Forty-one people were in attendance. Mr. Muthama gave the sermon on self-examination in preparation for the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. He reported that in Kisorya attendance has grown from 21 brethren to 34 and in Ukerewe from six to 12. Mr. Muthama also conducted Bible studies for groups in Iramba, near Lake Victoria, Bunda and Musoma during this visiting tour, as well as finalized the selection of the Feast of Tabernacles site in Isibania, Kenya. Mr. Muthama wrote, "The Work in East Africa continues to show steady growth. We plant and God gives the growth. I am grateful for the work of the men that God has placed in all video groups in all areas in East Africa. More and more people are coming into the Truth. With all that in East Africa, we are experiencing the worst drought which may result in a great famine. Kenyan Government has suspended free education for this term to use the money to import food, because of the current drought." Your continued prayers for the Work and the brethren in East Africa are appreciated.
Spring Holy Days Singles and Family Weekend in Greenville, South Carolina
The Anderson, South Carolina congregation is hosting the second Upstate South Carolina Spring Holy Day Weekend from April 8-12. There is plenty of room for all who want to attend and have not yet registered. If you plan to attend, complete the online registration form and remit payment in time for receipt by March 27. If you want to come and do not get payment to us by the deadline, you should still register and/or email us. For those registering late, we can accept payment for the dance on Saturday evening. Details about the event and a registration form are online at: www.lcg-anderson.org (not an official Church website). For further information, contact the event coordinator, Manuel Burdette, at 864-638-7719 or by email at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you in Greenville!
Living Youth Camp
Living Youth Camp 2009 is going to be a canoeing adventure in the pristine wonderland of Voyageurs National Park on the border between Minnesota and Canada. Applications are coming in and we are beginning to send out acceptances. Since we have a limited number of slots available, don't wait until the last minute to apply. We are looking for campers aged 13-17 and young adult workers aged 18-30. Further details and applications can be found at www.youth-web.org.
Feast of Tabernacles 2009
Registration Update
As of this writing, 414 brethren have registered for the Feast in Hawaii and have been notified of their approval, and can proceed to make travel and housing arrangements. For France, 37 transfers have been notified of their approval as well. We are going through the other international transfer request lists as well, conferring with our Regional Directors as we approve transfer requests regarding size limitations of their Feast sites. Thank you for your patience, and for using our festival registration system! If you have any problems or questions about your registration, feel free to write to [email protected].
We will be posting more USA and Canada information soon. Check the MyLCG section of the www.cogl.org website for updates. USA and Canada registration will begin on Sunday, May 3, at 12:00 noon (EDT).
This week, we feature in The World Ahead abbreviated descriptions of the sites in Guyana and Jamaica. Unabridged descriptions of these and other sites can be found on MyLCG (www.cogl.org). As a reminder, International and Hawaii Feast registration is now available at the MyLCG section of www.cogl.org.
Georgetown, Guyana
The Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated in Georgetown, the picturesque capital and primary port of Guyana. Georgetown is a city of comfortable and modern hotels, fine colonial buildings, and broad, tree-lined boulevards. The striking wooden architecture is reminiscent of Guyana's centuries as a Dutch, and then British colony. Georgetown offers an evocative introduction to Guyana. Feast services will be held at the Hotel Tower.
Designed by the Dutch (and first known as Stabroek), Guyana's capital has wide, tree-lined avenues, lily-covered canals, and many fine examples of 18th and 19th century colonial buildings. Georgetown's tropical botanical gardens, as one might expect in a country of such incredible natural beauty, are considered to be among the very best in the world. Throughout the city are colorful East Indian markets, indicative of the country's largely East Indian population. Because Georgetown lies below sea level at high tide, it is protected by an amazing masonry wall, or mole. The city is situated at the mouth of the Demerara River, one of the many rivers that flow down from the Guiana Highlands and across the coastal plain to the Atlantic.
For a complete description of this site, including a list of hotels, go to the MyLCG section of www.cogl.org. If you would like to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in Guyana, request a transfer by registering through the MyLCG section of www.cogl.org.
Montego Bay, Jamaica
The Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort in the seaside city of Montego Bay is the site of the Feast of Tabernacles 2009 in Jamaica. Situated on Jamaica's North Coast, Montego Bay is the island's premier tourist destination. The Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort is six miles from Sangster's International Airport and eight miles from downtown Montego Bay. Transportation is available from the airport to the resort for approximately US$25 for up to four persons, one way. Feast services will be held at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort.
Attractions in the area include a tour of the Rose Hall Great House, rafting on the Martha Brae River, cruising along the Montego Bay coastline, snorkeling in the Montego Bay marine park, enjoying one of the many Chukka Adventure Tours or browsing through the craft and souvenir shops on Gloucester Avenue.
The resort boasts 524 spacious guest rooms and suites, with balconies or patios; three specialty restaurants, in addition to the main dining room and grill; state-of-the-art fitness centre; lighted tennis courts; nine-hole mini-golf course; children's activity centers and complimentary self-service laundry facilities with washers and dryers. All rooms have one king bed or two double beds. Children ages 12 and under stay, play and eat for free (conditions apply).
SPECIAL NOTE: If you are transferring to Jamaica and staying at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, we highly encourage you to book your room reservations through the Church in Jamaica by contacting Mr. Lascelles Fraser. In this way, the Church will receive "credit" for your stay and you will help facilitate more of the Jamaican brethren being able to stay "on property" at the Feast hotel.
If you would like to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in Jamaica, request a transfer by registering through the MyLCG section of www.cogl.org.
Finance Department
As you plan for the Holy Days, please remember the importance of the Holy Day Offerings. These offerings provide about 20% of the total annual revenue of the Church. In this uncertain global economy, we realize that many have been negatively impacted by the downturn, so we deeply appreciate the generous support we receive from our members, co-workers, and donors.
The special green Holy Day Offering envelopes have been mailed out. We appreciate our members using these envelopes. It does greatly speed up the processing by our Accounting and Data Entry departments, and saves the Work money.
If you have not received your envelopes, please let us know. Specially pray for God's providence as we strive to carry out His will in doing the Work.—Davy Crockett
Comments
Preparing for Passover: In less than three weeks, we will observe the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. These annual Festivals are a memorial of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins, and a reminder that we need to recognize and eliminate sin and inappropriate attitudes and behaviors from our lives. For the Passover period to be meaningful and profitable—not just a routine—we need to do our part to prepare for this important step in God's plan of salvation. In order to put the Passover into proper perspective, it would be very helpful to read several Gospel accounts of the events in Jesus' life that led up to the Passover, the crucifixion and the resurrection (Matthew 21-28; Mark 11-16; Luke 21-24). Placing our own period of self-examination within this biblical context will help us appreciate the tremendous significance of Christ's sacrifice—for us and the world. Take some time every day, between now and the Passover, to pray, study the Bible and meditate on what needs to change in your life to become more like Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:27-32; Matthew 5-7; Galatians 5:16-26). It will be time well spent and it will make the Passover and the coming year much more meaningful.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—March 19, 2009
Warning from China. At a news conference on March 13, China's Premier, Wen Jiabao, warned the U.S. to be fiscally responsible and not make decisions that would devalue the U.S. dollar through reckless spending. China currently holds approximately US$1 trillion (equivalent to $776 billion euros) of U.S. treasury bonds. This is half of China's foreign currency reserves. China is worried that if the dollar is devalued, its assets will be worth less, impacting the Chinese economy into the future. China's purchases of U.S. bonds keep interest rates low in the United States. The Chinese would like to cease purchasing U.S. bonds—essentially, debt. However, the U.S. and China currently have a very tight economic relationship in which the U.S. buys the "lions share" of Chinese exports and China purchases U.S. debt (YahooNews.com, March 13, 2009). This situation can only last so long and then "something has to give." The Bible clearly warns that "the borrower is servant to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7). God also warns that without vision, "the people cast off restraint" (Proverbs 29:18). The U.S. has been operating on an unbridled spending spree that has resulted in greater indebtedness to many nations, mainly China. What will happen when China finally says "enough"? In the coming Kingdom of God, the laws of God and a knowledge of His ways will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9). At that time, God's financial policies will be in place and there will be no more national debt and no more debtors—at least not for very long (see Leviticus 25 and the "Jubilee Year").
North-East Asia Heats Up. North Korea is planning a "satellite" missile launch in early April. In response, Japan has threatened to shoot the North Korean rocket down with its missile defense system. Japan and other nations in the region suspect that the "satellite" launch is actually a long-range Taepodong-2 ballistic missile, theoretically capable of striking as far away as Alaska. Japan cites its own law, which allows it to destroy "any threatening object in flight." The United Nations Chief, Ban Ki-moon, has petitioned North Korea to cancel the missile launch lest it destabilize the entire region. Japan has U.S.-made interceptor missiles based on ships and Patriot missiles surrounding Tokyo (Guardian, March 13, 2009). As we draw closer to the end of the age, tensions are heightening between nations (ethnic groups) around the globe (Matthew 24:7). What is unique today is that many of these nations possess both conventional and nuclear weapons—something that has happened at no other time in history. Jesus Christ prophesied that events like these must "come to pass" before His return (v. 6) and that these events are just the "beginning of sorrows" (v. 8). Bible prophecy indicates that God's Church must preach the gospel to all nations "as a witness" and then the end, and Christ's return, will surely come (v. 14)!
A Plague of Disobedience. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3% of Washington, DC residents are living with HIV or AIDS. From 2006 to 2008, there was a 22% increase in the number of AIDS cases in the capital of the United States and every mode of HIV transmission is on the rise. In the 40-49 year-old age group, about one in 10 people has HIV or AIDS. AIDS is most prevalent among male homosexuals and I.V. drug users. It is also very prevalent among heterosexuals who are promiscuous—the more sexual partners a person has, the greater the risk of having HIV or AIDS (OneNewsNow.com, March 16, 2009). God warned millennia ago that Israel's failure to keep His commands (like keeping sexual relations only within a faithful marriage relationship) would result in "wasting disease and fever," which would consume the eyes and cause sorrow of the heart (Leviticus 26:16). One major result of AIDS is that it causes the body's immune system to destroy or "consume" itself. It also leads to opportunistic infections that affect the eyes, the heart, and other vital body organs. HIV and AIDS are "totally" preventable if people keep God's commandments. When Christ returns and the law goes forth from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3), and the knowledge of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9), and all people really "live" by every word of God (Luke 4:4), diseases like HIV and AIDS will cease to exist!—James Ginn, Jim and Sue Bennett, Scott Winnail