Greetings everyone,
By the time this Weekly Update reaches you, most of the San Diego ministers will be in other cities to celebrate Pentecost. Here is their schedule:
- Mr. and Mrs. Roderick Meredith, in Reno and the Sacramento
- Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ames, in Anchorage, Alaska
- Mr. and Mrs. Carl McNair, in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Mr. and Mrs. Gary Ehman, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Mr. and Mrs. Gaylyn Bonjour, in Phoenix, Arizona
- Mr. and Mrs. Don Davis and Mr. Mario Hernandez will join Mr. Jeff Fall to conduct the services in Orange County, where four of our local congregations (San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Palm Springs) will be grouped.
- My wife and I will be in Kansas City.
FROM MEDIA OPERATIONS
Yesterday, Wednesday, May 15, the TV taping was made with the addition of a "newcomer," a junior named John Ogwyn. He will be joining the team of the two veterans, Messrs Roderick Meredith and Richard Ames.
#147 – RCM - "The U.S. and Canada in Prophecy" - airs Nov. 3– Lit. offer WAA
#149 – JHO - "The Bible—A Book for Today!" - airs Nov.17 – Lit. offer BSC
#150 – RFA - "Can Prophecy Fail?" - airs Nov. 24 – Lit. offer FS
#155 – JHO - "What is Man?—A Search for Answers" - airs Dec. 29 – Lit. offer YUD
FROM MAIL PROCESSING
Dr. Meredith has just finished writing his semi-annual letter, in which he offers Tomorrow's World subscribers his newest booklet, "How God Intervenes In World Affairs"—a substantial enlargement and revision of the old "God's Intervention in World Affairs" booklet.
Please remind all Church members that they will receive this booklet automatically. They should NOT return the reply card enclosed with the semi-annual letter.
Attention Hosts and Pastors
The May-June LCN was recently mailed out. We would like to request that all video hosts and pastors please let Mr. Gaylyn Bonjour know on what date you receive the LCN. You may contact him by mail at: Living Church of God, Attn: Gaylyn Bonjour, PO BOX 503077, San Diego, CA 92150; by phone at (858) 674-2222; or by e-mail at [email protected]
FEAST OF TABERNACLES UPDATE
Barbados Feast Site
For the brethren who are planning to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in Barbados this year, you can read recent information about this site at the following websites: www.caribbean-lcg.org/BarbadosFeastSite.htm
Festival Attendance Survey
Last week, a Festival Attendance Survey form (the survey that will be taken on June 1st) was e-mailed to all USA and Canada pastors. Those in charge of a congregation or video group who have not yet had this form forwarded to them should contact their area pastor ASAP. Please announce the following in all USA and Canadian churches and video groups: On the Sabbath of June 1st, a Festival Attendance Survey will be taken. Each member and prospective will be asked where he or she plans to attend the Feast of Tabernacles this fall. If you have not yet made a final decision, you should choose the site you are most likely to attend. If your plans change later, that is alright. Please be ready to give your choice of site on June 1st, so that the counting process will go smoothly.
COMMENTS
Among God's seven annual Holy Days, Feasts or Sabbaths, Pentecost is the one most "Christian" churches celebrate—but in their own ways, and using a calendar different from God's sacred calendar. Tradition appears to be primarily their guideline for celebrating Pentecost. Some also call it Whitsunday or Whitsuntide (because of the white garments worn by those who were baptized on that feast). In various countries, Whitsunday is followed by Whitmonday or Whit Monday, an occasion to prolong its observance. Others call themselves "Pentecostals," associating their name with the gift of tongues the disciples received when they were assembled "with one accord in one place", after the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But how about us, in God's Church? How well do we understand the meaning and purpose of Pentecost? How well do we grasp its essential, spiritual, significance in our lives—and how well do we observe Pentecost in the letter and in the spirit? As we know, the date of this Holy Day is the only one that is not specifically given in the Bible. It requires calculation. Undoubtedly, keeping Pentecost on the right day is necessary, but some of God's people seem to be so concerned about its calculation than they forget or overlook its spiritual intent. Pentecost celebrates God's greatest gift to us: His Holy Spirit, which, combined with our minds and hearts, produces a radical change in our ways of living and thinking. The Holy Spirit gives us the help and the strength we need to keep God's laws, not only in the letter but also in the spirit. It makes us really understand the Sermon on the Mount—what it means, in its truer sense, to love God without having other gods before Him. To love our neighbor, including our enemies. The Holy Spirit makes us also understand the true meaning of the commands not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to lie, not to steal, not to covet—both in the letter and in the spirit. Our way of appreciating and celebrating Pentecost is therefore totally different from the world's way of celebrating it. That's what makes us truly God's begotten children, His Church.
Y'all have a wonderful Sabbath and a most joyous Feast of Pentecost.
Dibar Apartian