A big hello from Charlotte,
A number of ministers from Headquarters will be traveling to various Church areas to spend the Feast of Trumpets with our brethren. Mr. and Mrs. Roderick Meredith will go to Canada, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ames to Puerto Rico, Mr. and Mrs. Dibar Apartian to Tampa and I'm truly looking forward to visiting the congregations in Alaska. Please remember all of us in your prayers.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Val Burgett, Area Pastor in Bluefield (West Virginia), writes the following about the sad loss of his wonderful wife:
"My beloved wife, Elaine Marie Burgett, passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours this past Thursday, August 26th, having won her long struggle against cancer. With steadfast faith in God and Christ and in His sacrifice, she looked beyond her suffering and death to the glory of the resurrection of the just, and eternal life in His everlasting Kingdom.
"She faced her death with courage and faith, and without fear. She loved God, His Word, and His way unto the very end, and died with the joy and strength and the peace of God filling her mind and heart and spirit. She has now passed into the stream of history with the many other heroes of faith of God's Word, awaiting the glory of His Kingdom and her place in that eternal City of God that He has prepared for her.
"She was very grateful for every one of you, and for all of your cards, gifts and expressions of love and support, but most of all for your prayers. You gave her strength. Thank you, Brethren, for the tremendous outpouring of love and kindness that you have shown to her and to our family throughout this difficult time."
You may send cards and letters of encouragement to: Mr. Val Burgett & family, PO Box 61, Narrows, VA, 24124.
Council of Elders
There will be a Council of Elders teleconference on Thursday, September 9, 2004. Your prayers for God's guidance will be greatly appreciated.
Ministerial Transfers
The following transfers have been approved by Mr. Meredith:
Mr. Gerald Weston writes: Mr. and Mrs. Eng Monson are being transferred to Ohio, after almost 32 years in Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Best will be moving to Saskatchewan to fill the void left by the Monsons. These changes are scheduled to take place December 1. When I asked Mr. Best if he thought he could handle the move, he responded very enthusiastically—"Wherever you need me." That kind of selfless dedication is what makes working with all of these men and women such a joy. We are still looking forward to Mike and Roslyn Elertson moving to Canada sometime in the first part of next year.
Church Survey 2004
We have mailed out another packet of Church Survey forms to all of the U.S. Area Pastors. Please put some quality time on carefully processing this information. It is vital to our efforts to develop an accurate database here at H.Q. The deadline for returning the corrected and completed forms to us here in Charlotte is Friday, October 29, 2004. Thanks for your help!
Southern Region Update
Mr. John Ogwyn writes about the Southern region: As you know, our group in Shreveport had dwindled to nothing, but we have been on TV over there the last two years. I have been getting increasing PM visit requests from there as a result. Yesterday [Saturday] we reactivated our Shreveport congregation and had 27 in attendance. We had 15 new folks from the telecast. There was a really positive atmosphere and people stayed around and visited afterward. We will have to see what happens, but I was really on a "high" yesterday after the service.
Kenya Update
Dr. Douglas Winnail writes about the trip he and Mr. Ernest Owino recently undertook in Kenya: Greetings from Nairobi. We have completed our travels. We met with a group in Embu (north of Nariobi) on the Sabbath then took the loop road home around Mt. Kenya on Sunday-Monday, spending the night (Sunday) in the Mt. Kenya region. We looked at a hotel in that area as a possible Feast site for next year. It is at about 7,000 feet elevation with a very favorable climate without mosquitoes.
There was some rioting in Nairobi over the weekend while we were away. The government was attempting to demolish some substandard kiosks—that was not appreciated by those who were being evicted. However, we were in the downtown area of Nairobi today [Wednesday] doing some business and things were very calm.
Yesterday we drove about 3 hours south of Nairobi for visits and a Bible Study in a rural area. Tonight we have a Bible Study here in Nairobi. I plan to fly out of Nairobi tomorrow night and hope to arrive in London on Friday morning.
Feast of Tabernacles 2004
Hymnals (please announce in all congregations at services this Sabbath)
Song books for the Feast should be brought from the local congregation's supply by each household to meet its needs. Pastors should have someone who has space in his vehicle take the remaining books to the site he attends. The person accepting this responsibility should be sure to collect the same number of books and return them to the congregation after the Feast. Those families borrowing books should also be sure to bring them back when they return home. Have a great Feast and a safe journey!
Barbados
The Barbados Feast site requires a Festival Pianist and Choir members. Any transferring brethren willing to serve in these areas please contact our Festival Choir Director, Mr. Austin Gill, at [email protected]. --Clyde Skeete
MEDIA
Mr. Richard Ames reports: The program topics for the September 1-2 telecast tapings were:
| Presenter | Title & Offers | Airs | |
| #226 | RFA | Origins of Christmas The Holy Days—God's Master Plan |
Dec 26 |
| #227 | RFA | 2005 and Prophecy Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled! |
Jan 2 |
| #228 | RCM | Christ Is Coming SOON Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return |
Jan 9 |
| #229 | RCM | Tomorrow's World: What Will It Be Like? How God Intervenes in World Affairs |
Jan 16 |
COMMENTS
Psalms 100:1-2 says, "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing." Everyone enjoys doing this at all of the Sabbath services. It is clearly part of worshipping God. Soon we will have the exciting opportunity to sing to God out of our own Living Church of God hymnal! It is in the production stages right now. Our little team of volunteers has transcribed more than 32,000 notes and 22,000 words, mostly from the 1974 hymnal authored primarily by Dwight Armstrong. This is a lot of work but it is happy work and we're getting there.
Mr. Meredith has personally approved the color, cover material and layout of the hymnal. It will contain 125-130 hymns and 90% of them will be Mr. Dwight Armstrong's as he wrote and composed them. The hold-up has been obtaining the copyrights, and also the cost of completing this undertaking. Thankfully, we have finally obtained the copyrights. Now we need to find the money to pay for it. We will print 10,000 copies at about $6.00 each, which covers copyright cost, printing and distribution. In order to help with the $60,000 required to finish this project we are planning to do the following:
- Ask for voluntary contributions at the Feast of Tabernacles. It is certainly appropriate to use Second Tithe to pay for these hymnals. Just as Mr. Herbert Armstrong concluded that it was proper to use 2T to purchase the Envoy, Mr. Meredith and the rest of the ministers here at HQ feel it is proper to donate 2T for the cost of the song books. Remember, they are used at all of God's Feasts listed in Lev. 23, including the weekly Sabbath.
- We will collect these contributions in blue envelopes at the Feast and send them to Headquarters right away so we can then send the hymnal to the printer providing we receive enough funds to help defray the costs. Our goal is to distribute them in November of this year.
- We will have to wait and see if we have enough hymnals to meet each congregation's need before we allow anyone to purchase a personal copy. As soon as we know, we'll let you know, but first we have to print and distribute the hymnals to all of the Living congregations around the world.
- We want to make sure that no one takes from their Holy Day offerings to donate to the Bible Hymnal fund. Also, we are not expecting anyone to take from their 2T funds if it will prevent them from meeting their Feast needs. However, if we all can dig down and sacrifice a bit to get this long-awaited project done, it will meet a great need in the Living Church of God! We'll have more to say on this subject at the Feast but in the meantime, please think and pray about this whole matter asking God for His guidance and blessing on it.
Have a delightful Sabbath,
Charles E. Bryce