Greetings fellow ministers:
Last week, at this time, I was in Denver where the weather was hot, extremely hot – at least that's what I thought. Actually, I should have remained there because this week, in San Diego, it is even hotter. Please know that I am not complaining! Not even for pitching in for Mr. Carl McNair!
This was my very first visit to the Denver Church. I found the brethren to be very friendly, zealous and hospitable. They were, of course, saddened by the sudden resignation of their local minister, Mr. Glen Marshall, but they remain faithful and strong. I met Glen and his wife; we had a friendly breakfast together. When I asked him how the CAD should report his resignation, he told me to simply print the announcement he had asked to be made in Denver the previous week. Here it is word by word:
"In addition to taking great joy in serving other people, I am looking for an organization to be associated with, that preaches and teaches the positive good news of the cure of man's ills with the coming of God's Kingdom. As well as the need for unconditional love, endless forgiveness, service, happiness, mercy and peace to be exhibited in one's life, and the ongoing reconciliation of, and unity in the body of Christ. I do not find all of these in the LCG, so I am resigning and associating myself with David Antion's Guardian Ministry, as I find all these traits, qualities and attributes espoused by him. I want to wish every one of you love, peace, joy and Godspeed on your journey through life on God's curriculum of reconciliation. Glen Marshall."
Here, in San Diego, the Work continues to move forward and we are witnessing God's blessings in every department. Mr. Meredith, as usual, has been very busy writing articles and co-worker letters. In fact, you will soon be receiving his letter concerning the hymnals.
The editorial department, under Mr. Dick Ames, wants you to know that Lesson Four of the Tomorrow's World Bible Course was mailed last week. However, please remind the students of this Course that if they want to receive Lesson Five through Lesson Eight they must return the test included in Lesson Four.
According to Mr. Don Davis, Second Tithe Assistance Forms are now available on the Internet for all pastors and elders. However, please remember that these Forms must bear the signature of the area pastor and be submitted to San Diego not later than August 31st, 2000.
From the accounting office, Mr. Fred Dattolo reports: "The Pentecost offering was excellent – more than 18% above last year. The spring Holy Days combined, were 14% higher. Total mail income, year-to-date, including Holy Day offerings, is about 11% above last year. Operating expenses have been running under budget all year. So, the better than expected income and good management of expenses have enabled us to add more television stations and increase budget for a variety of things – including capital expenditures for the television studio and equipment."
Finally, from the mailing section, Mr. Aaron Eagle reports:
"We have had a good response for the new booklet, 'Who Controls the Weather. ' We mailed out almost 7,000 copies to subscribers and members in the US (5694) , Canada (974) and scattered international areas (285) not serviced by a regional office..
The Mail Processing Department strives to get the literature into people's hands as quickly as possible. Therefore, the fulfillment process to handle the weekly telecast requests has been greatly reduced. Under normal circumstances, a literature offer can be mailed within two weeks after a program airs. Moreover, we are now able to bulk mail the sermon audio tapes. First class postage for a packet of four cassettes costs $1.43 compared to a bulk rate of 31 cents, which is a savings of over $200 per mailing of 200 packages."
Well, Fellow ministers, have a great July 4th weekend – and as the French say, AU REVOIR!
Dibar Apartian