I hope that your week has gone well. With the end of March, we have now completed the first quarter of the year 2000. God has certainly guided the Work, and His Work has grown consistently in most every area. According to preliminary reports we came in under budget for the general conference in March. All of the reports I am receiving from the field speak of a very positive attitude, though there are ongoing trials and personal problems around the world.
Media Report — Mr. Richard F. Ames
In the first quarter of 2000, Dr. Meredith and Mr. Ames taped 18 new Tomorrow's World telecasts. These will be aired in the remainder of the spring season, and into next year's season beginning in the fall.
Thirteen Tomorrow's World telecasts were aired, which drew 12,323 responses from viewers. The Tomorrow's World telecast can now be seen in nearly half of all American and Canadian homes that have television sets (the United States has approximately 100 million TV households, and Canada has more than 10 million).
Tomorrow's World responses in the first quarter of 2000 are up by 21 percent over last year. We have seen a 10 percent increase in responses from WGN, and 18 percent from Canada's VISION network. Public access responses are up by 55 percent compared to the same time last year, largely because of dedicated members taking the initiative and obtaining airtime on their local public access stations. Currently, there are 80 public access and 3 commercial stations airing the Tomorrow's World telecast.
In the first quarter of 2000, members added public access stations in Tampa, FL; Macon, GA; Monroe, LA; Hanover, NH; Ashland, OR; and the main islands in Hawaii.
The Editorial Department produced two issues of the Living Church News, including the first issue on the new "staggered" schedule in which members will receive one magazine (either an LCN or a TW) each month.
The Editorial Department produced the March-April and May-June issues of the Tomorrow's World magazine.
The booklet "Is This The Only Day of Salvation?" was reprinted.
The Mail Processing Department mailed 19,656 booklets (including 11,633 copies of "Is This The Only Day of Salvation?").
The Mail Processing Department mailed nearly 7,000 audiotapes. The most popular, with 1,866 copies mailed, was Dr. Meredith's special recording for the Tomorrow's World telecast, "What Is A True Christian?"
The Mail Processing Department mailed Lessons 1 through 3 of the Bible Study Course to nearly 3,000 subscribers. Although it will not be offered on the telecast until May 21, subscriptions are already growing at a rate of approximately 100 per week.
The official Church Web site, www.lcg.org, added 13 new Tomorrow's World telecasts and 13 weekly sermons. The Web site received 778 online Literature Request Form submissions in the first quarter of 2000; these forms included 476 requests for a Tomorrow's World magazine subscription, and requests for 1,606 booklets.
The www.lcg.org Web site logged approximately 60,000 user sessions and 12,000 unique new users in the first quarter of 2000. Since its inception last year, the site has had more than 47,000 unique users, of which more than 9,000 are repeat visitors.
Countries and territories making their first identified visit to the Web site during the first quarter of 2000 included: the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Guam, Lebanon, Lithuania, Paraguay, Rwanda, Syria, Ukraine and Zambia. Since the site's inception, it has received hits and/or Literature Request Forms from more than 70 countries.
Living YOUTH CAMP 2000 Announcement — Gerald Weston, Director
If you are a teen or young adult and feel isolated where you are, come join us for two weeks of fun and fellowship with people of like mind.
Applications are available for Living Youth Camp 2000 at beautiful Northwoods Camp near Pickford, Michigan. This year's camp runs from July 25 through August 7. Activities include a two-day canoe trip down the wilderness Two Hearted River, flag football, archery, riflery, Christian Living, volleyball, and dance. We also plan to have a class in building construction as we expand the size of one of the boy's dorms. Another new feature this year will be a class in web-site design and news broadcasting over the web. There will also be our traditional cookouts, pizza parties, game nights and dances. If you would like an application to be a camper, High School Worker, or Adult Staff member, please contact LYC at one of the following:
Phone: 816-228-2035
e-mail: [email protected]
Mail: LYC, 2200 Cherokee Strip, Blue Springs, MO 64015
Closing comments:
We often have conflict due to misunderstandings. Why? Speaking and listening are critical arts that we must improve throughout our lifetime. An illustration of this is found in a book entitled "The Smallest Things Make The Biggest Difference," by Ray Haring Ph.D.:
"To a team of mountain climbers, life and death hinge on hearing the subtle difference between the words 'let's go' and 'let go.'
Clarity of speech and clarity of hearing are equally important when we communicate.
Mark Twain became famous by carefully choosing words and letters to tell stories. He knew exactly what he meant when he said, 'A powerful agent is the right word.'"
Practice and experience are critical to communication as to all other activities. The following story that was sent to me this week illustrates this point. I took the liberty to modify this story just slightly.
An Easterner had always dreamed of owning his own cattle ranch, and finally made enough money to buy himself the spread of his dreams in Montana. He moved his wife and children to the ranch, and some months later his best friend flew out from New York City to visit. "So, what did you name the ranch?" asked his best friend when he flew out to visit.
"We had a heck of a time," admitted the new cowboy. "Couldn't agree on anything. We finally settled on the Double R Lazy L Triple Horseshoe Bar-7 Lucky Diamond Ranch."
"Wow!" his friend was impressed. "So where are all the cows?"
"None of 'em survived the branding."
Hope y'all have a GREAT Sabbath!
CEMcNair