Dear Brethren,
We held an online ministerial conference this Wednesday, and one of the topics I discussed was Living Education. Many parents are unaware of how much education has changed in the last decade. Too many young people go off to college or university and do not come back to Church. This has always been a problem, but far more so today. This is why Dennis Prager, a highly educated and articulate man, advises not to send your children to college, but if you do, do not expect them to come back with your values. Of course, this advice, as I’m sure he knows, has some caveats. Some young people are best suited for careers that require a university education. Those who seek such careers are usually more motivated toward study and may fare better than those who haven’t figured out what they want to do in life. So, what to do?
Mr. Herbert Armstrong did not have a college education, but he was highly educated, self-educating himself in the field of his interest prior to God’s calling. Not everyone should be pushed into seeking a formal higher education, but those who do, need to do so in a smart way. Moving out and taking up residence at a university right out of high school is a prescription for disaster. We have seen this movie played out far too many times by young people and their parents who thought they could handle it. Here are some points to consider.
Only go to college if it is a requirement for specific future employment. Many young men, for example, are better suited to a job in the trades (construction of all kinds), and a trade school or apprenticeship should be considered. If seeking a university education, do so by living at home, carefully choosing your friends, and knowing what you believe about God and why.
To this latter point, LivingEd–Charlotte should be seriously considered. This short, nine-month course will help you become more grounded in the truth and develop a deeper relationship with God. It helps prepare you emotionally, socially, and academically for whatever you choose for the future. Classes are reasonably demanding, on par with a freshman college level, but with a lot more individualized attention. Soft skills such as speaking, writing, and learning to think critically are of great value and will help any student, no matter which direction he or she goes afterward.
Taking a year to go through LivingEd–Charlotte should not be viewed as a sacrifice, but a valuable enhancement for the future. It is not a ministerial training program, but a program to teach young people a way of life that will serve them well for this next stage of life as godly adults ready to be leaders and examples to the world.
If you are a young person and are interested or even curious about this program, please contact us for further information. If you are the parent of a young person, it is important for you to be involved in guiding your son or daughter at this critical time in their lives and I have asked our ministry to make themselves available to sit down and discuss this with you. We believe that for young people who take advantage of this unique opportunity, the greater their success in their future career, marriage, and life will be. This will also strengthen the Living Church of God, helping to fortify a generation of young men and women who know the Truth and have the understanding to defend it.
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations Increased in First Quarter of 2022
We are happy to report that our TWP efforts in the first quarter of 2022 were amped up more than ever before. In these three months alone, we held 94 TWPs in the United States. In the more than 16 years that we have been holding TWPs, the previous record in the United States was a yearly total of 89 in both 2018 and 2019. Also, during the first three months of this year, the Mail Processing Department sent out 91,253 TWP invitations, and 941 unique visitors have attended these events. Please continue praying that God would bless our efforts for more TWPs—inside and outside of the United States—for the remainder of 2022!
Baby-sitting for Passover—Repeat Announcement
It is best if baptized members who need baby-sitters for Passover organize their own baby-sitting privately. If the Church is involved in organizing baby-sitting, it involves the Church taking “care, custody, and control” of the minors, and that involves very specific guidelines that must be adhered to. We have sent a memo to all ministers providing a more detailed account of those guidelines.
Feast of Tabernacles
Behind the Scenes Festival Work
While Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread draw near, plans are also moving forward for the 2022 Feast of Tabernacles. Site Coordinators and Festival staff are working on content for the Festival websites, and we are also in the process of making ministerial assignments and polling pastors to put together a list of the Festival Advisors for each congregation. More details will be forthcoming.
Comments
Preparing for Passover: In almost two weeks, we will be observing the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. These annual Festivals remind us of the great sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins and a reminder that we need to recognize and eliminate sin from our lives. For the Passover to be meaningful—and not just a routine—we need to do our part to prepare for this important phase in God’s Plan of Salvation. To put the Passover in proper perspective, review the gospel accounts of events that led up to the Passover, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. Placing our own period of self-examination within this biblical context will help us gain a deeper appreciation of Jesus’s sacrifice for the sins of mankind. If we spend time every day in prayerful study and reflection, as we go through the Holy Day period, this can help us grow to be more like our Savior Jesus Christ.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—March 31, 2022
Ukraine Seeks Vatican Mediation: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky recently spoke to Pope Francis by video call—the second such call in a month (Catholic News Agency, March 22, 2022). President Zelensky thanked the Pope for his prayers for the Ukrainian people and he apprised the Pope of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Ukraine. President Zelensky informed the Pope he would “welcome Vatican mediation to end the suffering in his country.” Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See stated that the phone conversation provided a “new visible gesture of support.”
In recent days, Pope Francis’ condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine has increased. In a speech to European Catholic representatives, the Pope “denounced the ‘perverse abuse of power’ on display in Russia’s war in Ukraine and called for aid to Ukrainians, whom he said had been attacked in their ‘identity, history and tradition’ and were ‘defending their land’” (The Guardian, March 18, 2022). He also said, “The blood and tears of the children, the suffering of women and men who are defending their land or fleeing from the bombs shake our conscience. Once again humanity is threatened by a perverse abuse of power and partisan interests, which condemns defenceless people to suffer all forms of brutal violence.”
While several nations have offered to help broker a peace between Russia and Ukraine and to help end the conflict, it remains to be seen if the Vatican will become directly involved as a mediator. However, Bible prophecy clearly shows that the Roman Catholic Church will rise in prominence and power in Europe—to the point that its end-time leader will be one of two “beasts” mentioned in Revelation 13 (vv. 11–17). One of the signs of the end of the age to watch for is the increasing involvement of the Roman Catholic Church in European and world affairs! To understand the “news behind the news,” be sure to read or listen to our revealing booklet Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return.
Declining Respect for Western Leaders: When world leaders met last week in Brussels to discuss the Russia and Ukraine situation, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was not invited (The Independent, March 24, 2022). When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the European parliament about Western nations standing together in defense of democracy, many members of parliament took the opportunity to rail at Trudeau for his recent actions.
Following his speech, Independent Croatian MEP Mislav Kolakušić described Mr. Trudeau as an enemy of freedom and human rights for his handling of the truck convoy protests in Ottawa: “Under your quasi-liberal boot in recent months, we watched how you trample women with horses, how you block the bank accounts of single parents so that they can’t even pay their children’s education and medicine, that they can’t pay utilities, mortgages for their homes” (CBC, March 25, 2022). Later, German MEP Christine Anderson had additional harsh words for Mr. Trudeau, accusing him of perverting democracy in his own nation and saying that his actions should have precluded him from speaking in the democratic EU parliament. “Mr. Trudeau,” she concluded, “you are a disgrace for any democracy, please spare us your presence.”
While Britain’s influence has been waning for decades and the United States is increasingly viewed with contempt on the world stage, it seems Canada has joined the ranks of Israelite-descended countries scorned by nations of the world. In Bible prophecy, God clearly warns these nations that, at the end of the age, He will “break the pride of [their] power” because they have turned away from His laws (Leviticus 26:14–19). Scripture also reveals that these nations will be taken into captivity by a German-led European “beast” power. As events continue to unfold, we see a rising animosity that could eventually lead to such actions. For more on this topic, be sure to read or listen to one of the most eye-opening booklets that we publish, The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater