Greetings Everyone:
I had a profitable visit last weekend with Mr. and Mrs. Ken Frank and their daughter Annette in Fredericksburg, Virginia. On the Sabbath, I also visited the brethren in Jessup, Maryland, in a combined service with Winchester, Virginia. Mr. Gerald Dulaney and his wife and many other members from Winchester, Virginia, came over to Jessup. Mr. Dulaney gave a fine sermonette to the combined group. I especially enjoyed seeing Mr. and Mrs. Collyer Wells from Front Royal, Virginia. They brought a family photo album containing pictures of his father and mother, and their own children.
I have known Collyer since his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wells, moved to Pasadena in the mid-fifties. Many of you may have known Mr. Harold Wells as a good friend and faithful member in the Church until his death.
MEDIA - Cardholder Program
We appreciate the zeal of the many members who participate in our media promotions. Our pilot Cardholder Program, promoting Tomorrow's World magazine subscriptions, is now being expanded to local U.S. church groups through their area pastors.
Members participating in the program contact businesses and public buildings, in areas they regularly visit, for permission to place a plastic cardholder, containing business reply cards (printed with our San Diego return address) in high-traffic areas. The cards offer a free subscription to Tomorrow's World magazine, and members visit their cardholders regularly to keep them stocked.
At present, we have only 49,000 cards remaining for distribution. If you would like to serve in this program, contact your area pastor who in turn will submit a request to Mr. Wayne Pyle, our program coordinator. We encourage local creativity in producing the best results possible.
Early next year, Mr. John Ogwyn plans to implement a two-month regional "waiting room" program to promote Tomorrow's World distribution. We plan to open that program to other areas later.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mrs. Frances Burquist, wife of our Elder, Mr. John Burquist, died Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. Pastor Dan Hall will perform a memorial service at the Pine Crest Funeral Home Sabbath afternoon at 2:00 pm. The address for the funeral home is:
Pine Crest Cemeteries Funeral Home
1939 Dauphin Island Parkway
Mobile, AL
(Phone 251-478-5227)
Mr. Hall informed me that Mr. and Mrs. Burquist were married for 55 years. What a wonderful example of loyalty to God and to each other they have been! Please pray for strength and comfort for Mr. Burquist and his family at this time of loss. For a couple who truly love each other, the many years deepen the feeling and sense of loss for each other.
Also, Mr. Donald Sohun, Host of the San Fernando, Trinidad group, died in his sleep last Sabbath. Mr. Sohun has served as a Host in Trinidad in both Global and Living Church of God. Pastor Jonathan McNair wrote, "He had just retired last year and seemed to be in good health. Mr. Sohun will be sorely missed by the brethren in Trinidad. I will dearly miss his friendship and help. We just spent a full day visiting prospective members together two weeks ago."
COMMENTS
This is a time of travel for me. I will be leaving for Oklahoma tomorrow for the remainder of the week, then my wife and I will be in Alexandria, LA, for the weekend of December 22nd. My final trip of the year will be to Milwaukee, WI, December 29th. Then, I plan to take the rest of the year off and let Mr. Apartian handle all the work!
Currently there is much fear evident in America. I constantly hear "fear of" both in the words and in the voice of "newscastresses." Have you noticed it? And have you noticed the percentage of women "newspersons" today? It makes one wonder if there are that few men studying journalism or an administrative decision to overbalance the media. Is balance too difficult to achieve?
I'm sure that feminists will think me a male chauvinist (pig?), and point to the fact that for the first fifty years or more of radio broadcasting, and for twenty-five or more years of telecasting, men dominated news casting. I would not disagree. I might add that for almost six thousand years women have dominated childbearing and (more or less) home making. And I do not personally know any man who has ever coveted either job.
My personal experience (not a scientific study) tells me that women are more inclined to express fear than men. When my oldest son was five or six he was climbing a tree in the back yard. "Hey," he yelled, "look at me!" My wife was mortified, and she yelled at him to "get out of that tree before you fall and break an arm." Being already beyond the lowest branches, if he had turned loose instantly he might have broken an arm. I said, "leave him alone, broken bones will heal." My wife didn't think that was as funny as I did. He didn't break anything as he proudly climbed out of the tree.
Fear is taught. Confidence and courage are learned.
Let me share the following quotes on COURAGE given to me last week.
"Courage may be the most important of all virtues, because without it one cannot practice any other virtue with consistency." — Maya Angelou
"Without courage, we are bound to feel vulnerable. We cannot be generous because people will take advantage of us. We cannot be kind, because people will think we are weak. We cannot trust because we'll be stabbed in the back. In summoning courage, we must first be willing to challenge our fear.
Second, we must act in the face of it. And finally, we must have faith in the outcome. Each time we do this, we get a little stronger, a little braver." — Eric V. Copage
Have a great Sabbath everyone, and travel safely.
Carl E. McNair