Greetings from Charlotte,
Today we heard more tragic news from the Mediterranean, that a ship capsized carrying 500 people attempting to flee from the chaos in the Middle East. So far this year, thousands people have perished seeking a better life away from the fighting and killing in their home countries. We certainly need to pray "Thy Kingdom Come." Here in Charlotte, Dr. Meredith held a number of meetings and has written a short article about the life and service to the Work of God of Mr. Bruce Tyler, who died in Australia on Tuesday, after suffering another stroke. Mr. and Mrs. Weston have returned to the UK after he filmed new Tomorrow's World programs in Charlotte and Toronto. Mr. Weston and Mr. and Mrs. Ray Clore will be in Paris this weekend to encourage our brethren and the family of Mrs. Dalle, the member who was on the jetliner that crashed in the Mediterranean last week. I will be in Phoenix this weekend for services and a Leadership Conference before flying on to Australia for the funeral of Mr. Tyler and to make several congregational visits. This coming weekend, the Charlotte congregation will host a singles event for more than 75 individuals. Also this weekend, Tomorrow's World Presentations will be held in Victoria, British Columbia, Ottawa, Ontario and Pawtucket, Rhode Island. We are encouraged to report that Mr. Rand Millich is feeling better after a recent fainting spell, and Dr. Scott Winnail is recuperating after breaking his leg at an activity for Church young people. As we strive to do God's Work in a very challenging age, let's keep each other in our prayers.—DSW
Church Administration
Funeral for Mr. Bruce Tyler
The Tyler family would like to express their appreciation for the cards, e-mails, well wishes and prayers extended over the past few days and months. We know that for many of you, Dad was just as much a part of your lives as he was ours. It is our pleasure to share this time with you and so we invite you to join us for a Memorial Service on Thursday, June 2, at 1:00 p.m., honoring the memory of Dad, Bruce Clifford Tyler (1944-2016). A reception will follow. It will be held at:
Serafina Winery
39 Kangarilla Road
McLaren Vale, SA 5171
If you plan to attend, please RSVP me at [email protected] by Sunday 29th May.—Rob Tyler
Tomorrow's World Presents in Rolla and Columbia, Missouri
Twenty-three visitors were warmly greeted by our kind and serving brethren when they attended Tomorrow's World presentations in Rolla and Columbia last weekend. The messages, "Has God Abandoned Us?" and "The Pathway to Hope," were well received and appreciated. We're confident that the presentations and love of the brethren served as mighty witnesses to those in attendance. Many of the guests stayed after the presentations to enjoy good fellowship and homemade cookies! We do look forward to some of the guests visiting with us next Sabbath. Additionally, the brethren in Rolla and Columbia appreciated the opportunity to serve in this capacity and look forward to hosting future TWPs in their area.—Richard Franz
Cards for Dalle Family
Mrs. Monique Dalle, a much loved and faithful long-time member of the Paris congregation, died in a tragic airplane crash last week. Your continued prayers for Mr. Dalle and their children are appreciated. Cards and letters of sympathy and encouragement for the Dalle family may be sent to Headquarters or to your closest regional office and will be forwarded on to them.
Eighteenth Annual Saratoga Family Weekend—August 5-7
The 18th Annual Rocky Mountain Saratoga Family Weekend, an annual get-together for spiritual food and fellowship, fun and just plain relaxing down by the river, is scheduled for August 5-7! It will again be at the Riviera Lodge, 104 E. Saratoga Ave., Saratoga, WY 82331. Plan on coming to Saratoga to be with family and friends and special visitors... we're looking forward to seeing you. Our Special Guest Speaker this year will be our very own Dr. Jeff Fall, the Regional Pastor for all of the western states. You won't want to miss hearing from Dr. Fall. We're all looking forward to his presentations.
Plans include:
- An early dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Friday will be served for the "early birds."
- A Friday evening Bible Study at 7:30 p.m. will start the weekend.
- Sabbath brunch at 10:00 a.m.
- Sabbath services at 2:30 p.m. with a covered-dish meal and steak cookout afterwards.
- Saturday evening Bible Bowl.
- A Sunday morning workshop will follow breakfast... then family recreational time on your own for the remainder of Sunday.
- Lunch at Alan and Sarah Williams' home will wrap up the morning and the weekend.
Make reservations at the Riviera Lodge in Saratoga by calling 866-326-5651 or 307-326-5651. Just mention that you are with the Living Church of God. Book your room now before the summer reservations come in. For more hearty souls, there is camping for a nominal fee at the Saratoga Lake just a short distance from the Riviera Lodge... the fishing should be great!—Ben Whitfield
Feast of Tabernacles
Registration Continues… Successfully!
We hope your plans are coming along well, and that your Festival registration process has gone smoothly. The Festival Office staff greatly appreciates everyone's cooperation in registering promptly for the Feast. It helps the Festival Site Coordinators immensely in their planning to have a good idea what numbers to expect. The Festival Office records show a few hundred brethren in the United States have still not yet registered. With over 4,200 brethren in the United States already registered (and approved, if transferring), that means that the vast majority of everyone in the U.S. has settled on the site they will be attending the Feast for this year. If you have not yet registered, please do so.
Many of our international brethren have less access to the Internet, so our computer registration numbers are lower there. Still, we have over 2,000 brethren registered online for the Feast in international areas. If you are in an international area and have Internet access and have not yet registered, please do so. It would be greatly appreciated!
All told, around the world, 6,247 brethren and guests are registered and approved for the Feast.
Sites with More Capacity
If you have not yet registered and are still deciding on which site you will attend within the U.S., you may wish to consider the historic and idyllic city of Traverse City, Michigan, on the clear, blue waters of Lake Michigan. As the Festival Web site states, "this hidden gem is adjacent to breathtaking natural surroundings." Or you may wish to consider lovely Osage Beach, Missouri, "a popular American vacation spot" in the heart of the Ozarks. Both sites have lots of capacity left. Currently, we are under our room-block obligations, so if either of these sites fits your taste and needs, you could help the Church out as well by choosing these sites. For more information, check out the site descriptions on the Festival Web site, at fot2016.lcg.org or lcg.org.
Sites with Limited Seating Capacity
As mentioned in last week's The World Ahead, we currently have limited seating capacity at four sites:
- Montego Bay, Jamaica
- Lake Conroe, Texas
- St. George, Utah
- Carry-le-Rouet, France
If you have applied for a transfer to any of these sites but have not yet received a transfer approval e-mail, you may wish to re-register at another site.
Register for the Feast at: fot2016.lcg.org. (You can also access it by going to the Living Church of God Web site, lcg.org, and clicking on "Feast of Tabernacles.") If you do not have Internet access, please contact your Festival Advisor. If you do not know who your Festival Advisor is, please check with your local pastor. If you have any technical problems registering, please e-mail [email protected].
Living Youth Program
Camper Opening for Banff Adventure Trip
Due to a couple of camper cancellations for the upcoming Adventure Trip in Banff, Alberta, we have one additional opening for a camper who would like to experience this adventure. If you missed your opportunity to apply to the trip and would like to join us, please contact [email protected] immediately. If you live outside Canada, you'll most likely need to have a passport already, or apply for an expedited passport right away, because of the short time between now and the beginning of Adventure Camp on July 5. Camper tuition cost is $450USD. More information is available at https://camp.livingyouth.org/camps/Adventure. It's going to be a spectacular trip this year and we'd love to fill the empty spot, so if you're interested, please let us know!
Texas Preteen Camp 2016—No Longer Accepting Applications
All Texas Preteen Camp dorms have been filled; we are no longer accepting applications. All staff positions have also been filled and all staff were notified of their assignments this week. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Camp Director Bob Rodzaj at 505-209-1497 or [email protected].
Ohio Teen Camp Update—Repeat Announcement
The master schedule of activities for this year and a revised Staff Assignments List have been posted on the Living Youth Web site, www.livingyouth.org. Be sure to check it for any changes.
New Living Youth Programs Logo!—Repeat Announcement
We want your input for the new Living Youth Program logo! Over many years, God has blessed the Living Youth Program as a vital tool to make a positive impact on the lives of Church youth all around the world, giving them opportunities to make friends, develop character and learn about God's way. To better reflect the growth in what LYP is all about, we are excited to be rolling out a new LYP logo in 2016/2017 and we want your input as we make the final decision! The designs are posted on our LYP Facebook page and livingyouth.org Web site and youth and members alike can simply select the one they like the best. Your responses will be considered as the final selection is made. Pray about it, and as you consider the logo options, think about not only what camp means to you, but also what the Living Youth Program means to you. Over this year and next, we will begin to implement the new designs in various ways, including a couple surprises that we think you will like!—LYP Staff
North Carolina Preteen Camp Update—Repeat Announcement
Staff assignments are being finalized as we are now only four weeks away from the beginning of camp! The deadline for Staff applications will be May 30; the deadline for Camper applications is June 6. Space is still available, but please be sure to sign up soon! We're looking forward to a great year!—Jason Fritts
Comments
Be Prepared! We are living in an increasingly uncertain world with unstable economies, job insecurity, storms, floods, droughts, earthquakes and terrorist activities. Because of our modern dependence on technology, these dramatic events can cause serious disruptions to normal and necessary activities of daily life—thus there is a need to plan ahead to meet unexpected emergencies. This is reflected in the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared! Solomon offered this same advice when he wrote, "Ponder the path of your feet"—think about where you are going and how you are going to get there (Proverbs 4:26). Solomon also observed, "A prudent man foresees evil [danger] and hides himself [takes refuge], but the simple [naïve] pass on and are punished [face consequences]" (Proverbs 22:3; 27:12). God's Church has long encouraged members to prepare for unexpected emergencies—keep a supply of bottled water, a stock of non-perishable food, extra vitamins, first aid supplies, extra batteries for flashlights and a battery-powered radio, some matches and candles, and a camp stove or heating device—things that may be needed if normal public services are disrupted. While God's people will look to Him for their ultimate protection, we also need to do our part to be prepared!
Have a profitable Sabbath
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—May 26, 2016
Rebirth of Nationalism: For decades, the European press and influential politicians have proclaimed that nationalism is dead in Europe and an "ever closer union" is the real hope for all Europeans. However, a surging wave of nationalism is threatening to swamp that dream. In Austria, a nationalistic candidate nearly captured the presidency "for the first time in postwar history" with over 49 percent of the vote (The Wall Street Journal, May 23 and May 24, 2016). In June, the British will vote on whether to leave the European Union. In Europe, anti-EU sentiments are gaining strength in France, Holland, Denmark and Germany as voters express their frustrations with the encroaching EU bureaucracy and growing concerns over immigration, financial debt and terrorism (ibid.). The rebirth of nationalism in country after country now threatens to scuttle the European project of 28 nations that was conceived to prevent war and bring lasting peace to a troubled continent. Bible prophecies have long foretold that just before the return of Jesus Christ, ten kings or groups of nations with links to the ancient Roman Empire will "surrender their sovereignty" to a single European leader and play a major role on the world stage (Daniel 2:40-44; Revelation 17:12-14). The break-up of the EU could lead to the fulfillment of these prophecies. To learn more about prophetic end-time events, see The Beast of Revelation.
Spreading Moral Chaos: For nearly two thousand years, the foundation of Western civilization rested upon Judeo-Christian values found in the Bible. Those fundamental values set the West apart from the rest of the world. Yet, in recent years, that foundation has crumbled under the relentless onslaught of secular forces that permeate our increasingly godless societies. In place of biblical morality, our modern world is deluged with propaganda promoting homosexuality, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, gay Mardi Gras, cohabitation, divorce, fornication, pornography, prostitution, recreational drugs, gambling, corruption, murder, and the list goes on (see The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian). Looking far into the future, the biblical prophets foresaw this tragic turn of events. God revealed through Moses that the Israelite nations of the West would "become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands" (Deuteronomy 31:29). Isaiah warned the time would come when people would "call evil good, and good evil" and he lamented that "truth is fallen in the streets" (Isaiah 5:20; 59:14-15). We are watching all this happening today! To understand the importance of the Laws of God, read our informative booklet The Ten Commandments.
The Plague of Plenty: A recent British study reports, "About a fifth of all adults around the world and a third of those in the UK will be obese by 2025" (The Guardian, April 1, 2016). With obesity comes a host of health-related issues: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, joint problems, cancer, shortened life span. According to the study, "The English speaking world is particularly badly affected… Almost a fifth of the world's obese adults… live in just six high-income English-speaking countries—Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the US" (ibid.). Long ago, God told the Israelite people they would be blessed if they obeyed His laws, but disobedience would bring consequences: "if you do not obey the voice of the LORD… The LORD will make the plague cling to you… The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation… The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed" (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 21-22, 27). Few today understand the biblical injunction that we are to glorify God in our bodies" by obeying the physical laws that promote health. To learn more, see Biblical Principles of Health.