Greetings from Charlotte,
This has been a busy week here in Charlotte. Mr. Meredith has written a co-worker letter that is currently being printed and mailed. We also had two of our television production staff, Mr. Tom Baca and Mrs. Sue Ruddlesden, attend a workshop in Orlando, Florida, on using new TV editing equipment. Last weekend, Mr. Charles Ogwyn and his family visited the Asheville, NC, congregation. Mr. and Mrs. Crockett visited the Anderson, SC, congregation and I spent the Sabbath with brethren in the Bluefield, WV, congregation. This coming weekend, we will conduct a Regional Conference in Tennessee. Mr. Rod King has just returned from a profitable trip to Mauritius, Johannesburg and Nairobi. See his report below.
Church Administration
Mr. Rod King's report: I returned yesterday from a ten-day trip to Africa. The first visit was to Mauritius where the population speaks Hindi, French and English. A young couple had requested baptism and after three counseling sessions, I baptised them in the Indian Ocean at Point de Sable. I conducted five visits and held several phone conversations. Mr. Pieter van der Byl from South Africa will now take care of them and we will send them literature. We hope that once again God will have His Church in Mauritius. These people are in one of the most remote areas of the planet, east of Madagascar and several thousand miles from Western Australia.
The next port of call was Johannesburg, capital of South Africa, where the bulk of the members are located. We had two days of meetings, Bible Study and Services. Our Office Manager, Mr. Christoffel Botha, gave an excellent report on the growth and stabilization of the Church since the disruption of last September.
On Sunday, I travelled to Nairobi, Kenya, where our deacon, Mr. Simon Muthama and our man in Tanzania, Mr. Jerome Chembe, met with me for two days of meetings and pastoral training. It was good to see the readiness of these men to learn God's way of servant leadership. We also had a Bible Study with the local members and others who travelled from Sultan Hamud and Embu. One sobering reality was brought home when Mr. Chembe was about to leave his hotel to attend our meetings. A bomb blast a few hundred yards away shook the area. One innocent shoe-shine man was killed and thirty-seven people were injured, four critically. The sound of sirens lasted all morning as we conducted our meetings.
On my return to England, I found that the responses to the semi-annual letter continue to arrive, with 731 requests so far. On the letter, Mr Meredith approved a "P.S.", announcing Bible Lectures in London, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow. We expected about 40 or 50 would want to attend, but as of today, 400 people have told us they will be there. Several have said that they will bring friends and relatives. In London alone, we will need at least two venues to accommodate the 252 who plan to come.
South Africa Update
According to South Africa Regional Office Manager, Mr. Christoffel Botha, our Tomorrow's World magazine mailing list in South Africa stands at 5,859 subscribers as of June 6. They hope to reach the 6,000-level by the July-August issue. In addition, 330 people have responded to Mr. Meredith's semi-annual letter offering the booklet Successful Parenting: God's Way—and requests continue to be received. Approximately 670 students are following the Bible Study Course in English or Afrikaans in that country—in addition to 22 students who have already completed the course. The Tomorrow's World telecast in South Africa received 757 responses in the past seven months, an average of 25 responses per program; about 65 percent of all those responses were from first-time responders. From October 2006 through May 2007, a total of 15,618 literature items were downloaded, read or printed from the Afrikaans Web site, www.wvm.co.za. The Work in South Africa currently has 157 co-workers and 22 donors. Mr. Botha commented in his report, "The Work is going well here in South Africa and we are very happy with the progress at the moment. There is an obvious increase of interest on all areas, the telephone calls, the Internet, the 'go-tos' and the income," for which we are very grateful to God.
Northern Florida Update
Dr. Scott Winnail reports: We are seeing slow, steady, but exciting growth in the Jacksonville, FL, congregation. We have seen several individuals begin attending with us who had previously been members of the Worldwide Church of God. Also very exciting is the fact that in the last two and a half months, we have had five baptisms in the Jacksonville congregation. This group is small, but God is definitely adding to His ranks in this congregation of dedicated and caring brethren.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Employment Opportunities
Please review the following job descriptions. If there are any candidates in your Church Areas who might fulfill the requirements for the Television and Information Technology Departments, please encourage them to send a résumé to Suzanne Pyle in the Human Resources Department.
Local Network Specialist in the Information Technology Department. Candidate has experience in providing technical support and guidance to end users for all LAN-based and non-networked applications; experienced in installation of upgrades, patches, new applications and equipment; experienced in installation and configuration of workstations; has knowledge of the latest technology as well as older technology. Candidate must be familiar with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 including Microsoft Active Directory, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and Microsoft Terminal Server. The job requires a technical certificate; or two to five years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Television Production Assistant in the Television Department. Qualifications: Comprehensive experience with non-linear editing systems such as Media 100i or Avid XpressPro and experience with Adobe Photoshop, After Effects or Boris for graphic design. Experience should include working within a studio environment, which would include working with cameras, lighting and audio recording. Candidates should be highly organized and creative with the ability to multi-task between several projects to meet strict weekly deadlines. One to three years editing experience in a broadcast/production studio environment is preferable.
If you are interested in one of these positions, please submit a résumé to:
Living Church of God
Human Resources Department
Attn: Suzanne Pyle
PO Box 3810
Charlotte, NC 28227
FAX: 704-844-1973
Email: [email protected]
Feast of Tabernacles 2007
Festival Registration Update
As of Thursday, June 14, we have 70 percent of USA and Canadian brethren registered. If you have not yet registered, please do so as soon as possible. This will help us greatly in our planning efforts, although the deadline for registration is July 15, 2007.
Update on Newport, Oregon
Almost 50 individuals are on the "hold" list waiting for transfer approval for Newport, Oregon. While we will be approving some few of these transfer requests, we simply won't be able to approve all of them. If you are on the hold list and can consider re-registering for another site, please do so.
Change in COLORADO Festival site
Please note that we have a change of venue at our Colorado Feast site. It was previously announced that we would be meeting at the Snow Mountain Ranch at the YMCA of the Rockies, near Winter Park, CO. However, a decision has been made to move the meeting place to the Silverado II, an Alpine Resort Property at Winter Park. Please refrain from reserving rooms or condos there until the property has us in its system. This should take about a week. Its website gives information about the property and can be seen at:
www.alpineresortproperties.com/lodging/condominium_silverado_2.htm
For those who may wish to move their accommodations from the YMCA at the Rockies, there may be a cancellation fee for doing so. If you encounter this situation or need assistance, please contact the Festival Site Coordinator, Mr. Ben Whitfield. More details will be posted on our MyLCG web site very soon.
Comments
Perspectives on Trials: Sometimes, when we encounter trials and difficulties, we wonder what is happening and whether God has forsaken us. However, in challenging times, we need to remember several fundamental scriptures. Jesus told His disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). God has also promised never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). The Apostle Paul reminds us that, "all things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28) and that even in trials, God will "make the way of escape" if we look to Him (I Corinthians 10:13). James records that trials are opportunities to exercise faith in God and His promises and to build patience—while we do our part to work through the challenges we face. Let's strive to remember and maintain this godly perspective when we encounter trials.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—June 14, 2007
Europe Moving Closer to the Holy Land. In a recent interview with the London daily The Times (May 18, 2007), King Abdullah of Jordan expressed frustration at the situation in Israel and the Palestian territories. He stated that "the only glimmer of hope was Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel… 'I have been extremely pleased here… If you are talking about Middle East issues, they are in good hands with the German leadership.'" Meanwhile, according to its Foreign Policy Chief, the EU would be willing to consider a military role in Gaza if asked to do so by the major players: Israel, the Palestinians, and Egypt. This comes as a reaction to a recent statement by the Israeli Prime Minister suggesting an international force could help stabilize the region (Associated Press, June 13, 2007). Germany's prowess is growing on the world-stage. And that same stage appears to be being set for the future welcoming of a European force into the Holy Land—a force that the Bible indicates will play a major role in end-time world events in and around Jerusalem (Daniel 9:26-27; Revelation 17:12-18).
United Kingdom Threatened by Scottish Independence Movement? According to the Scottish National Party, a January 2003 poll showed that 44 percent of the Scots want to separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Separation would end a union that has existed since the Scottish King James VI succeeded Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne in 1603 and bound the two nations under one crown. The union grew tighter under Parliamentary Acts passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland in 1707, which implemented a Treaty of Union between the two countries, creating the Kingdom of Great Britain and replacing the separate English and Scottish Parliaments with a new elected body called the Parliament of Great Britain. The Scottish National Party, along with its political allies in the recently reconstituted Scottish Parliament, is moving Scotland toward full independence from the British government in Westminster. Can Wales be far behind? What will this mean for the British monarchy? Speaking of Ephraim, God says in Hosea, "All their kings have fallen. None among them calls upon Me. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned. Aliens have devoured his strength, but he does not know it" (Hosea 7:7-9).
Rising Dairy Costs. "An acute drought in Australia and in parts of the United States has led to a shortage of milk powder—a key ingredient for some of the world's biggest food manufacturers. This has come at the same time as demand for dairy products from Asia has soared, in large part because of increasingly affluent consumers in China switching to westernized diets… The combination of the two factors has led to a surge in wholesale milk prices." The dairy demand from China is expected to rise with its economy, impacting the world dairy markets even more (Telegraph, June 12, 2007). Dairy is one of many industries that is suffering worldwide because of both drought and China's insatiable appetite for goods. God warned Israel and its descendents of a time of major inflation of food prices prior to Christ's return: "A quart of wheat for a denarius [day's wages], and three quarts of barley for a denarius…" (Revelation 6:6). God also warned, "Cursed shall be the… produce of your land" (Deuteronomy 28:18) and "A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor…" (v. 33). The world dairy market is one more sign of God's advancing judgment on the British-descended peoples at the end of the age.—Don Davis, Dan Bennett, Scott Winnail