Warmest greetings to y'all!
The bewildering, senseless tragedy in the Milwaukee congregation last Sabbath continues to produce an outpouring of concern from hundreds of people, day and night. Never before have we received so many messages of sympathy, encouragement and love, not only from members of the Living Church of God but also from other sources. We are deeply moved by this warmth shown to us, and deeply grateful to God. Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Meredith addressed a powerful letter to all of our ministers. We expect it to be read this Sabbath in all our churches and video groups, along with his second letter in this Update.
FROM OUR PRESIDING EVANGELIST
Dear fellow ministers,
Greetings again from Charlotte. This is a follow through to the interim "update" which was sent to you two days ago. Mr. Bryce asked me to send the earlier one as well as this—as so many of you and your brethren are asking all kinds of questions. I can't begin to cover everyone's questions and concern in this brief message, but will try to give you some additional information. Again, Mr. Bryce, Mr. Millich and others are now in Milwaukee handling the situation there—and most of the brethren seem to be in basically positive spirits considering the circumstances. Our people know that God has allowed this, and will work it out for good in the end.
Here at Headquarters, I have asked Mr. Davy Crockett to handle the situation and be our "spokesman" in dealing with the press and the community. He has done an outstanding job, and has been under tremendous pressure the last few days. But the situation seems to be under control—and we are able to get out the truth of the situation to the press and others in a proper manner. He, assisted by others, will soon be getting out another "press release" which we will try to send to you as well.
Mrs. Gregory is continuing to improve and her breathing tube was to be removed today. A friend of her son, Jonathan, sent me a letter he wrote—which shows a wonderful attitude and a very faithful and dedicated young man. So we appreciate the way this thing is working out under the circumstances—even though it has been a truly horrible situation for those involved. We need to continue to pray for all of those involved even in the weeks and months to come. For, as one who suffered the loss of his wife to cancer many years ago, I remember that the "quiet agony" set in after the immediate trauma was over and after I was left alone for weeks and months remembering always "what could have been" if she had not died. So let us encourage our brethren to write, call and encourage these dear people who suffered the loss of relatives or loved ones.
After thinking and praying about it—and talking to some of our leading ministers—it is more evident than ever to me that Satan has indeed struck at us at a significant time. Truly, we were poised to grow more than ever before in the history of this little Work—and still are! But Satan knows this, and is trying to distract us and disillusion us and our people in every way he can. We need to realize this, fellows, and beseech God to thwart Satan's devices. We all know that—near the end of this age—Satan will be enraged against God's true Church and against His Work (Rev. 12:7-13). I do not feel that this final "heavenly" battle has taken place yet but this horrifying tragedy in Milwaukee certainly may have been a "prelude" to this driving us to our knees and focusing our minds on the frailty of human life and the very real need for Christ's return, the resurrection from the dead and the glorious loving and peaceful reign of Christ and His saints over this earth (Isaiah 11).
Knowing Mr. Gregory and his absolute dedication to the Work of God, I am sure that he would not want us to be too distracted by Satan from announcing Christ's powerful message to the world! So, fellow ministers, I hope all of us will press on and do everything we can to strengthen God's people, inspire God's people and help them see the Big Picture regarding the fact that the major prophecies we have taught for years are truly beginning to take place.
In fact, this latest outrage is—in one sense—the "September 11" attack against the Church of God! The nation suffered its attack over three years ago. But as the end of this age is truly drawing close, now the Church has suffered this kind of remarkable tragedy. Again, this should simply drive us to our knees, help us to be more totally focused on finishing the Work and preparing for the resurrection from the dead. In helping and counseling our brethren, let us all help them realize that the goal of a true Christian has never been peace and prosperity in this life, but the resurrection at Christ's coming and the glory to follow!
Please remember Isaiah's statement that those who die in God's service are now "taken away" from the "face of evil" as the last phrase of Isaiah 57:1 is often translated. Randy Gregory was a fine, dedicated and very humble minister of Jesus Christ. We do not know why he was singled out for this tragedy—along with other fine brethren. But we do know that in the very next split second of their consciousness they will awake in the resurrection and perhaps even hear the "last trumpet" still sounding (I Thess. 4:15-18).
The funeral for Mr. Gregory, his son James and Harold Diekmeier will be Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. in Milwaukee. Quite a number of ministers and brethren are expected to converge on this area for that occasion. We will let you know in a few days how it turns out. But I am sure that God will be with us and guide this for good and hopefully comfort the bereaved.
In closing, I do have one happy announcement, though I wish it could have been delivered at another time. I made this announcement in the sermon in Charlotte this past Sabbath just before hearing about the tragedy in Milwaukee. The announcement is that the Board of the Church unanimously approved the appointment of Mr. Crockett as a member of the Board itself and as a member of the Council of Elders! Mr. Crockett, as most of you know, was a "pioneer" with us in that he flew all the way from Little Rock to Los Angeles and attended the very first service of the Global Church of God on January 2, 1993. He has been faithful ever since and now is a tremendous help here at Headquarters in quite a number of ways. So I hope all of us can rejoice—even in these sad times—for this opportunity for Mr. Crockett, and offer prayers for God's guidance and blessing for him and for his dedicated wife, Barbara.
Fellow ministers, please pray fervently especially for those suffering at this time. But I do ask you to pray also for those of us here having to handle the pressure of all these events and situations coming at us in such an usual manner. God is certainly with us. We have seen His hand intervene again and again. But we are not "out of the woods" yet, and certainly will appreciate your prayers and your encouragement.
With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith
Among Messages Received, followed by flowers…
From the United Church of God
It is with deep sorrow and concern that we write to you about the senseless tragedy in the Milwaukee area. We want you to know that all of us in United are praying for your comfort and strength in this time of loss. We stand ready to assist in whatever way we possibly can. Words fail to convey our deep sympathy and concern for all involved.
In Christian love,
Roy Holladay, President
Words cannot convey the sorrow and grief we share with you today. We know you bear a heavy load yourselves in trying to deal with this situation and to help others cope, and we pray earnestly that God will grant as never before the peace that passes all understanding to everyone in this time of need. Our thoughts are with you.
With sincere condolences,
Clyde Kilough, Chairman, Council of Elders of the United Church of God
From the Church of the Eternal God
To the Living Church of God: We are praying for the injured and the families of the deceased. May God comfort and strengthen them all
Norbert Link and Edwin Pope
GREAT NEWS ABOUT THE BIBLE HYMNALS
The new Bible Hymnals arrived at our Charlotte office on Monday and the mailing process has already begun! The music and background singing CDs will be mailed at a later time.
The distribution of the Hymnals in the USA is being handled in following manner: The Hymnals for each congregation are being sent to our video recipients who will bring them to services. The quantity of songbooks being allocated to each congregation is based on the average attendance. In addition, two spiral Hymnals are being sent to each congregation, one for the song leader, the other for the pianist. The Hymnals should arrive at their destinations in two or three weeks.
The distribution of the Hymnals to the International regions is being handled somewhat differently. Shipments are addressed to the International offices. Subsequently, each office will in turn redistribute them to the congregations it serves, allocating two spiral songbooks to each congregation as well. International shipments will take five to seven weeks, depending on the country.
Many of you will be inquiring about purchasing personal copies of the Hymnal. Details will be given in the near future.
We truly appreciate the contributions, enthusiasm, zeal, and— above all—the prayers of all the brethren for the success of this project. A special express delivery of Bible Hymnals has been sent to our Milwaukee congregation, so that they will be the first ones to sing from the new songbooks this coming Sabbath where Mr. Charles Bryce and a few other ministers will be present.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PROPER CARE OF HYMNALS
As with any new book, it is important that the new Hymnals be handled properly when first used. The spine of a new book can easily be cracked if the book is forced to open flat. When opening the Hymnal for the first time, it is best to place the spine on a flat surface and turn one small section of pages at a time, pressing gently along the fold, and alternating one section on the front and then one section on the back until you reach the middle. Please repeat this process several times, and the new Hymnal should be nicely "broken in." It's important for everyone to do this so that the Hymnals will have the longest lifespan possible.
MEDIA
Two Tomorrow's World programs by Mr. John Ogwyn were taped on Wednesday. Program #250 "What is Sin?" offering the booklet The Ten Commandments, and program #255 "Nuclear Terror: Where Will It End?" offering the booklet Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled! Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames will each tape two programs next week.
COMMENTS
At this time of severe trial of our faith when our hearts are with our brethren in the Milwaukee area—and when our eyes are focused on God for His mercy and His infinite love for all of us—I am reminded of a heartwarming story some of you may have heard before. It tells about a young teenager carrying on his shoulders another teenager, much bigger and heavier than he—a young boy hurt in an accident. A passerby, noticing the teenager's pain under his heavy load, asked him, "Son, isn't that boy on your shoulders too heavy to carry for you?" The immediate, candid answer came, "No, sir. He is not too heavy. He is my brother!"
Y'all have an uplifting and restful Sabbath,
Dibar Apartian