Greetings from San Diego.
Dr. Meredith will travel to Paris (Friday) where he will stay at Mr. and Mrs. Ray Clore's home. He will speak in Paris this Sabbath. I have not heard how his visit to London, England, has gone, but I am sure the Bible Study and meeting of the board went well.
Mr. Dibar Apartian just returned from Martinique full of excitement and good news, "The trip was rather long but well worth the fatigue," he reported. "The brethren in Martinique—28 in all—are very zealous and eager to learn God's word. After my sermons both on the weekly Sabbath and on the day of Pentecost, we had a 'Question and Answer' session. It reminded me of yesteryears when such assemblies were quite customary in the French West Indies. My trip was further highlighted by the live interview I was granted on one of the three radio stations where our French broadcasts are heard weekly. Even though I am used to such interviews, this one was particularly interesting as it lasted an hour and a half! Fortunately, every fifteen minutes, there was a short music pause that gave me some relief. At the end of this interminable interview, the station manager said he found it rather thought-provoking. He will play it again once or twice in the forthcoming weeks for the benefit of those who were unable to hear it!"
My wife and I had a very pleasant visit to Sacramento over the weekend. The brethren from Reno, Fresno, Sonora and some perhaps other surrounding areas came to Sacramento for Pentecost. The most important person there, of course, was our granddaughter Tressie. She is almost two years old now, and becoming quite a personality!
Overall reports from around the world are very encouraging. However, I am sorry to report that Mr. Fred Dattolo has resigned as CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and Treasurer of Living Church of God, and decided to join and support the Philadelphia Church of God. Fred concluded his letter of resignation saying, "Therefore, in light of what I have come to believe, I have no other option than to resign from all my positions with Living Church of God. I do this with a heavy heart, knowing that I will miss my co-workers and especially my staff that has made my job such a pleasure. I have enjoyed working with you."
In the interim Mr. Meredith has appointed Mr. Richard Ames Treasurer of the Church effective immediately. Mr. Ames will now serve as Secretary and Treasurer of the Church, having served as Secretary since the incorporation of Living Church of God.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Festival Office
Attention Pastors-Please note that June 9 is the date for the Festival Attendance Survey. Everyone should have decided the festival site they are most likely to attend. For those who are not able to be in services on June 9, please follow up by phone to complete your report.
You may have a responsible individual conduct a person-by-person survey before or after services. Or, you may choose to do the survey during the announcement period. Please remember to mail or e-mail the survey to Don Davis at headquarters during the week following the Sabbath of June 9th. We need to have this information in the office by the following weekend. The festival coordinators need this information for site planning.
Thank you for your help with this very important survey
Lake of the Ozarks:
(From Mr. Gerald Weston)
For those looking for good inexpensive housing at Lake of the Ozarks, the Williamsburg Inn has become available to us. Some who contacted the motel earlier were not able to make reservations there because another group had booked it for a portion of the Feast. That group canceled and the Williamsburg Inn, which is about a half mile from the Main Street Music Hall, is now available.
Rates are $42.95 plus tax for up to 4 people per room.
St. Souveur, Quebec, CANADA:
(From Mr. Frank Best)
I have received a number of inquiries as to whether St. Souveur is a French speaking site with English translations or an English speaking site with French translations. St. Souveur, Quebec is an English language site with simultaneous French translation.
Personal Comments
I have cultivated a sense of humor because I think HUMOR is an important tool for dealing with adversity and boredom in this life. I feel sorry for people who have suppressed or failed to develop a healthy sense of humor. What does humor do for us? Humor helps us relax! It also helps those who are in our presence to relax.
Humor helps grab people's attention and it adds perspective. Poking fun at oneself helps others to feel as an equal-a good starting place in a relationship!
Herb Kelleher, chairman of Southwest Airlines told a story to illustrate the point:
A woman wrote a letter complaining about Southwest. She didn't like anything: not the peanuts, not the color of the plane. She didn't even like the uniforms of the stewards. She was just full of gripes
The marketing division took it over, spent a week writing a 22-page letter trying to reason with her, and showed it to Herb Kelleher before he was to sign it. He read it, and tossed it into the wastebasket. He asked for a piece of stationery and wrote,
"Dear Madam,
We're going to miss you.
Sincerely,
Herb Kelleher."
The point is, leaders know that they cannot satisfy everybody, and they do not compromise to do so. Leaders are doers, non-leaders complain and fault-find.
Life is about growing. It is about acquiring knowledge and skills. Life is an education, an adventure. Joy experienced is the fruit of taking risks and creating.
Risking and losing do not matter. Mistakes and failure do not matter. Learning from mistakes matters. Anyone who hasn't failed hasn't done anything. Anyone who has succeeded at anything has a string of failures. So, I believe that we should laugh at our foibles and move on. We pick ourselves up from our failures and move ahead.
There is a story about a rabbit walking down a road who saw a crow high up on a power pole. The rabbit said "Hello, Mr. Crow, what are you doing?" The crow said, "Absolutely nothing." "Oh, can I do absolutely nothing too," asked the rabbit?
"Why certainly, Mr. Rabbit," said the crow.
So, the rabbit sat down and did absolutely nothing-and a fox came along and ate him!
The moral of the story: You can do absolutely nothing, but you must be very, very high up! (quote from Barry Kohn cited in Funny Times magazine)
I hope you have a great Sabbath.
Carl E. McNair