Greetings from Charlotte,
People living in southeastern United States are well aware of hurricane Helene. Weather forecasters are calling it the largest storm to hit the Gulf Coast—not necessarily the strongest, but the largest in diameter, thus putting millions in its path. Hurricanes are not new to people living along the coast from Florida to Texas, along parts of Mexico, and all over the Caribbean islands. The Philippines, where we have many members, is the most tropical-cyclone-prone area on earth, averaging around 20 each year. The Pacific Rim area is especially prone to earthquakes. The Plains states and southern U.S. are plagued by tornados. Those living in northern latitudes face blizzards and severe cold each year. No matter where you live, you likely face challenges, challenges that others may not fully appreciate, but this is why we need to be compassionate toward others. They may not face your challenges, but they have their own. Let us always remember one another in our thoughts and prayers. Have a profitable Sabbath and Feast of Trumpets.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week, we held four in-person Tomorrow’s World Presentations that drew a total of 40 guests, and one online presentation for Canadian subscribers that drew a total of 64 connections and an estimated 85 viewers. This week, we will hold one follow-up presentation in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Hurricane Helene
As Mr. Weston mentioned in his weekly video message, Mr. Ryan Dawson, Festival Site Coordinator for Palmetto, Florida, has been in contact with the site administrator concerning the incoming storm. The property is not expected to sustain any major damage or to be closed for any length of time. However, the property is an emergency shelter, and the south end of it is used when there are power outages. Mr. Dawson and our contact with the venue have discussed a plan to isolate our event from any potential traffic. We do not currently anticipate any major disruptions to the Feast site in Palmetto.
Some of the local brethren in the potential path of the storm may experience a direct hit, though most are fairly far inland. However, they may be subject to flooding or wind damage. Just last year, one member's house was left uninhabitable due to hurricane Idalia. Please pray for God’s protection for the Palmetto Feast site as well as the one in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and for all the brethren in the path of the storm.
Feast of Tabernacles
September 27 International Deadline for Feast Sermons for Those Unable to Attend in Person
The deadline for international requests for pre-recorded Festival sermon discs is September 27. For those in regions with slow postal service, please send in your requests as early as possible in order for the sermons to arrive before the Feast.
We request that as many as are able would please access the Feast sermons by livestream or telephone from their assigned site or view the pre-recorded sermons online. The pre-recorded discs are available for those who cannot use those means and instead need to receive physical sermon discs through the mail. When sending their names and addresses, please also specify if they need DVDs (video) or CDs (audio only).
- Requests for recipients in the U.S. must be received by October 10.
If possible, please do not wait until the deadline to send in your requests.
Go Light on Perfumes at the Feast
Please be aware while at the Feast that some people have serious sensitivities to perfumes, colognes, and other scents. For some of our brethren, even being in the same room as someone with a lot of perfume or cologne can send them to the Emergency Room. Let’s use extra care to show love to others in this way at the Feast. Please use moderation.
What If You Are Expecting?
If you are pregnant and will be due around Feast time, please exercise caution and discretion when making your decision about attending the Feast. The long-standing tradition of the Church is to recommend that you stay home from the Feast if your due date is around Feast-time, for the sake of yourself and your unborn child. As in all matters of health, it is a personal decision which must be weighed carefully and prayerfully, and with the advice of your physician or midwife. The Church provides pre-recorded and online sermons for shut-ins, and you can certainly avail yourself of those. Most Feast sites will also provide livestream or call-in telephone service for members assigned to that site.
Services on the Day of Atonement and the Weekly Sabbath After the Feast
For the benefit of those who may be traveling to the Feast by the Day of Atonement (October 12), and for the Sabbath immediately following the Feast (October 26), information is now available about where services will be conducted on those days. The list includes which congregations will hold services, what time services will be held, and whom to contact for more details. Please be sure to contact the appropriate person regarding services (either the pastor or designated person), so they can ensure there is enough space and you can confirm the details of services. You can access this information at MyLCG.
Appropriate Dress for Feast Services
While Scripture teaches that God looks on the heart, dress and outward decorum are also important (Matthew 22:8–14). As we prepare to be “lights to the world” at the Feast, it’s good to review some basic principles for attire at Feast services. For men, in most western countries, coats, collared shirts, ties, and nice slacks are considered appropriate on special occasions. This may vary somewhat in tropical climates. For ladies, 1 Timothy 2:9–10 explains that dress should be “modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.” Short, tight, form-fitting dresses, necklines flaunting cleavage, bare shoulders, backless dresses, crop-tops, etc., are not appropriate for Church services. We come to services to worship God, not to display our bodies. Our challenge as Christian men and women is to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 6:17) and be lights to a world that has lost its way (Matthew 5:14–16). This is especially true as we gather to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles—picturing Christ’s glorious reign on earth!
What About at the Beach?
Appropriate beach attire for women and men at the Feast of Tabernacles is swimwear that is modest and in good taste. We should be guided by the two great commandments—to love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39; Mark 12:29–31)—so as not to offend God or neighbor in our dress at the Feast. Accordingly, beachwear at the Feast for ladies should be a modest one-piece or a modest tankini (covering the mid-section), and for the men, no Speedo-type suits (unless pool facility rules require them, as is the case in some countries). Fathers and husbands have a responsibility to be leaders in their families to teach and guide regarding what is appropriate and what is not (Ezekiel 22:26).
Business Office
Please note that our last scheduled day to print checks will be Monday, October 14. After that date, we will not be able to print any checks until Wednesday, October 30. Any invoices we receive by October 10 will be paid before the Festival break. Any invoices we receive after October 10 may not be able to be paid until October 30.
If you have any questions concerning specific invoices or payments, please contact Ms. Michelle Greene in the Accounts Payable Department at 704-708-2234 or Mrs. Nohora Kennell at 704-708-2232. You can also e-mail [email protected].
Living Youth Program
South Africa Teen Camp 2024
The Living Youth Programs South Africa Teen Camp 2024 is now open for registration! The camp will again be held at the Bergkroon Centre in Wellington, near Cape Town, and will feature a variety of activities, including daily Christian Living classes, swimming, water polo, netball, volleyball, handball, indoor noodle hockey, soccer, an obstacle course, high ropes, team-building and leadership games, dance, life-skills classes, a cook-out competition, and tag rugby.
The Teen Camp, for ages 13–18, will officially begin on the evening of Monday, December 23, with departure on the morning of Thursday, January 2. We welcome staff aged 19 and older to join the team. Staff members are asked to arrive on Sunday, December 22, at 10:00 a.m. for setup and orientation. The cost for both campers and staff is R2600 ($150) per person.
If you are interested in attending as a camper or serving as staff, please request an application form from Mr. Lawdi Ferreira via WhatsApp (+27 721249018) or email ([email protected]). Completed forms must be submitted by November 15, 2024.
Comments
The Role of a Watchman: Many churches today feel their mission is to tell people about Jesus and hold numerous social activities. Yet, Jesus instructed His disciples to be alert and watch for events that will mark the approaching end of the age and the return of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21). The events making news today—natural disasters, increasing violence and wars around the globe, and the increasing moral, religious, and political decline of Israelite nations (2 Timothy 3:1–5; Deuteronomy 31:29)—are occurring along with the emergence of adversarial powers in Asia and the Middle East (Leviticus 26:15–17). Just as God sent prophets to warn ancient Israel and Judah of their coming punishments, the Church of God has a similar mission to function as a watchman to warn modern Israelite nations of the coming consequences of their sinful ways (Ezekiel 3:17; 33:2–7). This powerful warning must accompany the preaching of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:14). Let’s stay focused on this God-given mission.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—September 26, 2024
A World on Fire: Forest fires are burning around the globe. In the Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada, thousands of acres are on fire. In Portugal, over one hundred fires are blazing (Associated Press, September 18, 2024). And in the South American nation of Bolivia, fires have given the city of Santa Cruz some of the worst air quality in the world (Reuters, September 11, 2024)! City-dwellers are encouraged to wear masks to protect against smoke so dense that the sun “looks just like the moon at night.” The conditions are causing flight cancellations and school closings, while breathing and eye problems are dramatically increasing. The dense smoke is causing significant health issues for the population. Fires in Bolivia have caused nearly 20 million hectares of deforestation in the last 20 years. A recent study in the journal Science Advances reported that exposure to forest fire smoke can significantly increase the risk of premature death, which does not bode well for Bolivians in the future.
In Brazil, the Amazon is also ablaze. The AP reports that the nation “is enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began over seven decades ago, with 59% of the country under stress—an area roughly half the size of the U.S.” (September 10, 2024). Like many drought-stricken areas of the globe, Brazil’s dry season began earlier than usual this year after a rainy season that ended early.
As bad as things may be for so many, Scripture speaks of a coming time of fires and devastation far beyond today’s wildfires, when a third of all the earth's trees and all of its green grass will be burned up (Revelation 8:7). This will occur at the beginning of the prophesied year-long period called the Day of the Lord. Yet, after Christ’s return, those who obey their Creator are assured they will receive the rain they need (Joel 2:23; Ezekiel 34:25–26). To learn more about what the earth will face in the future, be sure to read or listen to Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled.
Flooding in Eastern Europe an “Apocalypse”: While forest fires rage on multiple continents, eastern Europe is being devastated by flooding. As one sixteen-year-old said after observing the devastation in the Polish town of Ladek Zdroj, "It's a city like in an apocalypse... It's a ghost town" (Reuters, September 16, 2024).
Tens of thousands of people across Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic have been directed to evacuate as torrential rains cause rivers to rise and flood surrounding areas. In the Czech town of Litovel, 70 percent of the town was submerged by a meter of water. “In the northeastern Czech city of Ostrava, a broken barrier on the Odra river at its confluence with the Opava river caused flooding of the city’s industrial area including the BorsodChem chemical plant, coking plant OKK Koksovny and others.” Poland is setting aside a billion zlotys ($260 million) for rebuilding and is asking the EU for additional funds. A fearful 70-year-old from the Czech Republic exclaimed, “Armageddon... It literally ripped out everything because we don’t have a single bridge. In Ladek, all bridges have disappeared. We are practically cut off from the world.”
Dense populations residing in low-lying areas, poor building codes, changing weather patterns, and saturated soil have combined to produce this severe devastation. As people around the globe suffer from natural disasters, Christians should beseech God to send His Son quickly, bringing His Kingdom of peace! That will be a time when homes and cities will no longer be subject to seemingly random destruction due to catastrophic weather, and people will dwell “in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 32:18). To gain a biblical perspective on the role of weather in world events, read Acts of God: Why Natural Disasters? —Scott Winnail and Francine Prater