Weekly Update

Greetings from rainy Charlotte,

The travel plans of the Headquarters ministers who will be visiting various congregations during the Pentecost weekend are as follows: Mr. and Mrs. Roderick Meredith will visit the Washington, DC area; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ames will attend combined services in the Connecticut area; Mr. and Mrs. Dibar Apartian will be in Montreal and Quebec City, Canada; Mr. and Mrs. Davy Crockett will visit our brethren in the Houston area. Please pray that God will richly bless these church visits in every way.

CHURCH ADMINISTRATION

Ministerial Transfers
Mr. Meredith has approved the following ministerial transfers, which will take place in November of this year: Mr. and Mrs. Rod McNair will be coming to Headquarters. Rod will serve as the Administrative Assistant in CAD. This move will be a great blessing and will greatly help with the growing load in this department. Dr. Jeff Fall and his wife will move to Sacramento to replace the McNairs. Jeff will become the Regional Pastor for the whole Western Region. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Way will move to Los Angeles to replace the Falls, and Mr. Way will become the Area Pastor there. Mr. Tony Mora will move to San Diego to replace Harold and become his Associate Pastor in that area. Congratulations to all of you in your new assignments, and thank you for your skillful and willing service.

Pastors Conference
We are receiving many positive comments about the first Pastors Conference just completed. We covered a lot of material that will help all of us in the ministry serve all the brethren in a greater way. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith's well-known hospitality was exceedingly enjoyable, as they opened up their home to everyone for an evening of food and fellowship. We are now in final preparation for the next Pastors Conference, which will be the second session. This conference will take place here in Charlotte from June 20-24.

Walter H. Warrington
Walter H. Warrington, age 84, an Elder in the Living Church of God, died on May 27, 2005, at his home in Salem, Ohio. He had been a farmer and carpenter during his lifetime and served in the Akron, Ohio, congregation. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Mary E. Warrington; two sons, Ralph and David; one daughter, Norma Jean Campbell; and a sister, Clara Harley. He also had eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Update on Barbara Crockett
Barbara has been released by the doctors and is regaining her strength and vigor rapidly.  She is enjoying a normal diet and is getting back into doing those things that she wants and needs to do, including regular exercise.  Thanks to all of the hundreds of brethren around the world who have been so kind and concerned about her, and for me as well. The cards, letters (over 180 thus far) calls and emails have been an overwhelming expression of love and concern, which we will never forget.  It certainly has been instrumental in helping her to persevere and recover from this ordeal. Thank you again from both of us.—Davy Crockett

Update on Mr. John Ogwyn
Mr. John Ogwyn is slowly improving and gradually gaining strength. However, his illness is still serious and he needs our fervent prayers that God will totally heal him. Let's beseech our Healer for His speedy and powerful intervention on behalf of this servant of God and also that He will continue to strengthen Mrs. Ogwyn as she gives constant care and help to her husband.

FEAST OF TABERNACLES 2005

Canmore, Alberta (Canada)

Please announce the following information or make it available to anyone planning on attending the Canmore, Alberta, Festival site: Guest room rates published in the Festival Planner 2005 for the Canmore Radisson are in error. Please disregard the rates in the Festival Planner and replace them with these:

Lodge with one queen bed...$95
Lodge with two queen beds...$69
Motel with two queen bed...$79
Remodeled room in Motel...$95

Please also note that the correct address for the Canadian Office is: P.O. Box 409, Mississauga, ON L5M 2B9, Canada.—Gerald Weston

North Wales, United Kingdom

The Feast of Tabernacles 2005 will again be held in Llandudno, North Wales. Services will be held at the Risboro Hotel. Rooms are available at the Risboro for 25 British pounds per person B&B. Reservations can be made immediately at the Risboro (phone 011-44-1492-876-343 from outside the UK) or at other establishments. When making reservations, mention you are with the Living Church of God. For further information contact Jim Bennett (phone 011-44-1492-540-834 or [email protected]) or Douglas Winnail ([email protected]).

"Thank you" to the hundreds of households who have registered and/or requested a site transfer online. If your transmission was acknowledged online, it is not necessary to send in the yellow form that accompanied the Festival Planner.

The processing of transfer requests is underway, and those who have been approved so far will receive approval letters shortly. We already have some attendance imbalances developing at some locations, and we are waiting for more transfer requests to come in to make room at the crowded sites. In some cases, second or third choices will be approved to help prevent overflow attendance at a few locations. If you intend to request a transfer this year and have not yet sent in your form, please do so right away. Everyone is reminded to pre-register, even if you plan to attend your assigned site.

Pre-Registration for Ministers (NOT to be read to the congregations)

To achieve an accurate attendance count, and to help the site coordinators know how many people will be participating in the various events being planned for the Feast, all ministers are asked to pre-register online or return the yellow form that accompanied the Festival Planner. Thank you for your help.

Ministerial speaking assignment rosters are being prepared and should be in the mail to you in a few weeks. This notification will also be confirmation as to which site you should attend.

Delay in Festival Planner Delivery

The 2005 Festival Planner was mailed from Charlotte on May 10. Bulk rate mail, by Postal Service standards, is supposed to be delivered to the addressee in approximately two weeks. The Mail Processing Department, here at Headquarters, receives reports from members in the local areas as to when various mailings are delivered. We are aware that many congregations in the U.S. do not yet have the Festival Planner. The Post Office is obviously behind in its work. Hopefully everyone will have their Feast of Tabernacles information in a few days. Thank you for your long-suffering.

COMMENTS

In Acts 5:32 we read that God gives His Holy Spirit to them that obey Him. This means that all nine fruits of the Spirit will flourish in our lives as we yield more and more into God's hands. The last fruit mentioned in Galatians 5:23 is temperance—a quality that can easily be overlooked in our daily lives, yet it is a vital requirement for all Christians. Basically, it means self-control, restraint, moderation, balance—"steady as she goes" is the old saying. Glandular reactions, short fuses, knee-jerk conclusions, impulsive actions, rushing to judgment and all such short-sighted conduct are just some of the human traits that are changed and replaced by stable, calm, mature responses from true Christians who practice temperance.

This fruit of self-control, through God's help and power, blossoms in our lives as we walk with Him. Proverbs 16:32 underscores the importance of restraint in our conduct. It says, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." Proverbs 25:28 is also important to note as it warns about the lack of temperance. It says, "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." As we prepare for the Feast of Pentecost, and celebrate the gift of God's Holy Spirit thriving in us, we need to ask God to help us be diligent in cultivating the fruit of the Spirit that is listed last, and is often ignored, but holds great significance in every overcomer's life—the imperative quality and practice of temperance.

Have a joyful Sabbath,

Charles E. Bryce