Greetings brethren,
All of Headquarters traveling ministers and their wives are now back in Charlotte, safe and in good spirits—the last ones arriving were Mr. Meredith, his wife, and Dr. Winnail. They got here on Tuesday afternoon and, believe it or not, Dr. Winnail had enough energy remaining in him (isn't it nice to be younger?) to pay a short visit to our office that same afternoon. Undoubtedly, you will be hearing from them soon.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Second Passover
The Second Passover date this year is Friday, May 12, to be taken the previous evening of May 11, after sunset. This Passover is for those baptized members of the Church who would have taken the first Passover, but because of circumstances beyond their control, could not do so. The biblical instructions guiding this ceremony are found in Numbers 9:1-14.
Barbados 111…!
This was Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's enthusiastic exclamation, back in 1968, when 111 persons attended the inauguration of the Barbados church! As most of you know, the number 111 designated then the Church's P.O. Box in Pasadena, California. For this special occasion, my wife and I traveled with him because, previously, from 1964 through 1967, I had made three baptizing tours in the West Indies accompanied by Messrs. Ron Kelly, Leroy Neff and Les McCullough, respectively. What unforgettable memories! As time went on the Barbados church grew rapidly and, at its peak, reached 500 in attendance. Today, many of them are scattered and no longer with us, but the Living Church of God has a congregation of more than 60 faithful and zealous members.
This year, to celebrate the last Holy Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, my wife and I were privileged to return to Barbados. Not only were we warmly received by our brethren, but they had also organized a welcoming banquet on the eve of our arrival. We heard a few long-time members narrate with intense emotion those pioneer moments with Mr. Armstrong. I turned to my wife and said, "I can hardly believe that those things happened 40 years ago." She chuckled.
Prior to our visit to Barbados this year, my wife and I observed the Passover in Martinique with 20 French brethren in attendance. Of course, we had almost twice as many during the first Holy Day of the Feast. The Martinique church started in the early 1960s as a result of our daily early morning broadcasts, titled Le Monde à Venir. In fact, on Sunday, April 16, before our departure for Barbados, I gave a public lecture in Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. We were most encouraged to see 41 new people attend, some of whom had been listeners of our former Le Monde à Venir broadcast.
FEAST OF TABERNACLES
New Feast of Tabernacles Site in U.K.: Ayr, Scotland. We are adding another Feast site in Europe for this Fall. The site will be in the seaside town of Ayr, Scotland—where we held the Feast several years ago. Ayr is just a few miles from the international airport in Prestwick and a short drive or train ride from Glasgow. The Festival meetings will be held at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Ayr. Room rates will start at about 44 GBP per person for room, breakfast and dinner (with a 10 GBP supplement for single persons).
Anyone who was assigned to the feast site in France who desires to change their reservations should contact Mr. Dibar Apartian ([email protected]) in Charlotte—this will open space for additional people to transfer to the French site in Evian. Anyone planning to attend the site in Ayr should contact either me ([email protected]) in the USA or Mr. Robert Storrier (phone 011-44-1698-263-977, e-mail [email protected]) in Scotland. Reservations can be made directly with the Jarvis Hotel (phone 011-44-1292-269-331; website www.ramadajarvis.co.uk) or with other establishments of your own choosing in the area of Ayr. When contacting the Jarvis Hotel identify yourself as being with the Living Church of God.—Douglas Winnail
Festival Housing. The Festival Office is continually updating the Feast site write-ups on the Feast website. If you have not been able to find suitable housing at the site where you are planning to attend, log on to the Feast website occasionally, as new housing information is added there from time to time. If you are having difficulty finding economy housing, please contact your pastor or the coordinator for the site where you are registered for more information.
Attention Pastors: Festival Assistance Forms (no need to announce). If any members in your area need second tithe assistance to attend the Feast, you can find Application for Festival Assistance forms on the Ministerial Resources website (www.cogl.org, under Church Administration in the Finance section). The deadline for submitting this forms to CAD, dully filled by the member and signed by you, is August 31.
LIVING YOUTH CAMPS
This year we will have Living Youth Camps for Pre-teens in Texas and Missouri, and a teen camp in Michigan. Applications for all three camps can be found at the following website: www.youth-web.org (not an official Church website). The deadline for accepting campers and staff applications to the TX Pre-Teen camp has been extended until May 12. You may also obtain an application by writing the church office in Charlotte, attention Sue Ruddlesden, or may call Mrs. Ruddlesden at: 704 844-1970. The application process has started late this year, so please send in your application ASAP.
MEDIA
Mr. Wayne Pyle reported that last week's program by Mr. Ames, "Framework for Prophecy," offering our most popular booklet to date, Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled! drew 4,000-plus responses. "The second time [this year] for the 4,000-mark to be passed… Our new station in Knoxville, WVLR, brought in 22 calls, which is a cost per response of only $14.32 for the air time, digital tape, shipping and 800-number phone calls. For this to happen in the station's second week is simply outstanding and shows that this station is a winner," Mr. Pyle added.
FINANCE DEPARTMENT—(Repeat Announcement)
In this Internet Age, we often receive requests from members, co-workers and donors about making contributions to the Work online. To accomplish this, there have been a number of obstacles to overcome, but by working with Bank of America over a period of several months, we have been able to make this new service possible. Online donations can now be made on the www.tomorrowsworld.org, www.lcg.org and www.cogl.org websites. This service became operational on our websites starting on Sunday, April 9, 2006.
For those wishing to use this method of making contributions to the Church, please carefully read the following information which is found on the www.cogl.org website: "Many members and co-workers have asked to be able to make contributions on line. In response to these requests, we have set up procedures to make it possible to allow on line donations. Please click on the link and follow the instructions.
"Please note that we have made it possible for contributors to make donations to the church by using a credit card and Electronic Funds Transfer. We ask our members and co-workers to refrain from using credit cards for donations, since the credit card companies make a charge of 2.5 to 3% to the church for the service. We ask that members and coworkers use the EFT or Electronic Funds Transfer function by providing their bank routing number (found on the bottom edge of their paper checks) when setting up the account on line. Using this routing number allows for an electronic transfer of funds from the contributor's account into the church's account with only a very nominal fee being paid by the church. We hope you enjoy this service and that it serves you well." Also note that donations by regular mail are still welcomed. Using either method, your donations will be gratefully acknowledged and may be tax deductible.—Davy Crockett
COMMENTS
What lessons did we learn from this year's Feast of Unleavened Bread? What lessons did the Israelites learn as they left Egypt, some 3,500 years ago? When they were in slavery in Egypt, they cried out to God for deliverance. God showed compassion to them. In return, they promised to be faithful to Him and to keep His commandments. However, once delivered, they forgot their promise. The ten miracles God had performed vanished from their memory when they gained freedom. Is this also true with some of us today? Do we also forget God's merciful intervention in our lives after He answers our prayers? This reminds me of an amusing story—amusing and sad at the same time—because it sometimes reflects our own attitude in similar instances. A driver was looking for a parking space in a very crowded street. He asked God for help, promising Him that he would keep His commandments if God provided a parking space for him. Not sooner said than done, he saw one right in front of him, but his immediate conclusion was, "Never mind, God, I found a space" and he forgot the promise he had made to God. Does this ring a bell in your ear?
Have a delightful Sabbath,
Dibar Apartian
NEWS AND PROPHECY—April 27, 2006
Political Instability in Europe's Core. In the past year France has been rocked by a series of street riots and widespread civil unrest threatening the future of its political leaders. Germany recently experienced labor strikes involving more than 30,000 workers. Italy is wrestling with results of a divisive and disputed national election. Leaders across Europe are on shaky ground and forward movement of the EU is currently on hold (Stratfor: Global Intelligence Brief, April 7, 2006). In a recent interview with a Harvard economist, German news source Der Spiegel reported that if Germany can get its current political troubles solved, it could mount an "economic miracle" that would allow Europe to greatly surpass the U.S. economy for 20 years (April 17, 2006). The political and economic situation in Europe is beginning to ripen—preparing the way for a strong leader with the backing of the Catholic Church to appear on the scene, who will draw the iron and clay of Europe together into a formidable and unified force (Dan 2:32-33, Rev 17:12-13).
Popes and Politicians Battle Over Europe's Future. This past week, "The mayor of Amsterdam [Mr. Job Cohen] has sent letters to his counterparts in eight European cities warning that gay intolerance is on the increase and asking them to uphold homosexual rights such as allowing gays to get married and to hold demonstrations… The Netherlands introduced gay marriage five years ago, and Mr. Cohen is urging other countries to do the same" (euobserver.com, April 25, 2006). Yet just weeks ago Pope Benedict XVI urged some 500 parliamentarians and officials of the conservative European People's Party at their conference in Rome to keep Christian values at the core of the European project. The pope specifically mentioned "the protection of life in all its stages" as well as "recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family – as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage" (euobserver.com, March 31, 2006). The center-right EPP is determined to "re-launch our efforts to get God back into the constitution" (euobserver.com, March 29, 2006). Many of the countries that wanted a clear reference to God in the European Constitution were the predominantly Catholic countries in central Europe—including Germany, Italy and Poland. In the future, the more liberal countries in Western Europe like Holland and France may not be comfortable being part of ten nations that surrender their power to a Catholic-dominated beast power that is prophesied to arise in central Europe (Rev 17:12-15).
Bird Flu Update. The British Home Office is making plans for mass burials in case a major bird flu outbreak hits Britain. A worst-case assessment estimates that 320,000 people could die, or a best-case estimate would be 48,000 deaths within a 15-week period. In either case, a great deal of bodies would need to be buried quickly in order to stem additional outbreaks of other deadly diseases (BBC, April 2, 2006). There will be a time in the future when the nations of Israel experience "Many dead bodies everywhere, they shall be thrown out in silence" (Amos 6:9-10; 8:3). Although an imminent bird flu epidemic is likely not what the prophet Amos was talking about, world governments are today preparing for a catastrophe on the scale of the punishment that Amos prophesied more than two thousand years ago. We need to watch where these events will actually lead.—Douglas Winnail, Scott Winnail