Greetings everyone.
Mr. Meredith left for Pentecost weekend in the New York City area today,Thursday. From there he will continue to London, England for the annual board meeting May 30th and a special bible study Thursday evening May 31st. From London he will journey to Paris for a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Ray Clore, Elder in charge of the Paris church. Mr. Meredith will preach in Paris the Sabbath of June 2nd. Please pray for a safe and effective trip for Mr. and Mrs. Meredith.
Please pray for a positive response to Mr. Meredith's current member co-worker letter to be mailed out this Friday. Historically, the growth of the Church was through co-workers becoming members, and there is no evidence of change in that process.
Mr. Dibar Apartian left today for Martinique. His journey is quite arduous because of the airline schedule into and from Martinique, so please pray for a safe and trouble free trip for him.
My wife and I will be in Sacramento for this Sabbath and Pentecost. Dr. Meredith was planning to be in Sacramento for Pentecost but was forced to change his plans. He will visit Sacramento later I'm sure.
Financial/Accounting
Mr. Jerry Ruddlesden, Assistant Controller, has asked that the following announcement be made in all Church and Video groups:
" Please remind the brethren to use the pre-labeled green Holy Day offering envelopes when giving an offering on the Holy Days. Usually, about 20% of the Holy Day offering envelopes that Headquarters processes do not have the preprinted labels. This results in many extra hours of work needed to process the offerings."
"Also, please remind all the hosts and others responsible for returning the Holy Day Offering Report that all reports for each individual Church area need to be returned to Headquarters, even if the Church area combines with another Church area. In other words, each individual who receives a Holy Day Offering Report for his Church area, needs to return it to Headquarters whether his group combines with another Church area or not. If a group does combine with another Church area, it should be noted on the form and the individual that received the form should return the form."
Concluding Comments
Optimists always find the positive in the negative, and pessimists always see the negative in the positive. The following illustration from joke-of-the-day.com may improve your day as it has improved mine.
An avid duck hunter was in the market for a new bird dog. His search ended when he found a dog that could actually walk on water to retrieve a duck. Thrilled by his find, he was sure none of his friends would ever believe him.
So he decided the best way to break the news was by staging a surprise demonstration of the dog's remarkable ability. To this end, he invited the most skeptical and pessimistic of his friends to join him on the first day of the season.
As they waited on the shore that day, a flock of ducks flew by. They fired, and a duck fell. The dog responded and headed for the shoreline to retrieve the bird. And when he reached the water, he did not sink but simply continued walking across the top, never getting more than the bottom of his paws wet.
The friend saw everything but did not say a single word.
On the drive home the hunter asked his pessimistic friend, "Did you notice anything unusual about my new dog?'
"I sure did," came the response. "Your dog can't swim!"
As we observe Pentecost, we commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost 1,970 years ago, and the future "early harvest" of those who are resurrected or changed at Christ's return. The spiritual Temple which God is building through Christ is about to be revealed to the world, and we are offered positions as pillars in that Temple if we endure faithful to the end. What a wonderful offer God has given us!
Have a great Pentecost weekend!
Carl E. McNair