Greetings from Charlotte,
Dr. Douglas Winnail, Mr. Rod McNair, and I conducted a three-day Regional Conference last week in South Bend, Indiana. On the Sabbath prior to the conference, we had a “packed house” with 44 guests and 17 members for the Tomorrow’s World Presentation in Fort Wayne. One of the “Signs of Christ’s Return” (the theme of the TWP) is violence, as in the days of Noah (Luke 17:26; Genesis 6:11). Even as I was speaking, a deranged young man drove three hours to carry out a racist attack in a black Buffalo neighborhood, killing ten and wounding three others, while people were going about their normal routines (Luke 17:27). Racially motivated violence in quiet neighborhoods casts a chilling spell. As our world hurtles toward the climax of this age, let us never forget the love of God that begets us and makes us brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter our race or ethnicity (Galatians 3:28–29). There is no place for racial animosity in the Church of God.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
United Kingdom Tomorrow’s World Presentations Planned
Mr. Peter Nathan reports that he plans to resume Tomorrow’s World Presentations in the United Kingdom this summer, with one in Belfast on July 9 and one in London on July 16. Dr. Douglas Winnail is planning to conduct both events.
In other TWP news, last weekend, 141 visitors attended nine TWPs in the USA, Canada, and Australia. One of those events was in Edmonton, Alberta, with 32 guests. Mr. Wachowicz wrote, “Many were very supportive and a number expressed interest in attending, and some asked for visits… Interestingly, some were the children or grandchildren of people who had in times past attended WCG in the 70s and 80s, and had ceased attending 20 or 30 years ago.”
This coming weekend, initial presentations are scheduled for Winchester, Virginia; Allentown and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania; and Baltimore, Maryland. Follow-up presentations are planned for six other cities.
Great Lakes Regional Ministerial Conference
Last weekend, the first of four United States regional ministerial conferences was conducted in South Bend, Indiana. Thirty ministers and wives from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee attended the three-day conference that began on Sunday afternoon, May 15. Mr. Gerald Weston, Dr. Douglas Winnail, Mr. Rod McNair, and Mr. Bob Rodzaj (Area Pastor for Wisconsin and portions of Illinois and Iowa) addressed such topics as: “Leading vs. Managing,” “Having a Hearing Heart,” “Promoting Growth as a Minister,” “The Importance of Counseling,” “Coordination Between Pastors,” “Sermon Preparation,” and “Giving Feedback.” A number of Question and Answer sessions on doctrinal and administrative points were also conducted. The participants took full advantage of the shared meals and breaks to enjoy conversation and get to know each other better. The conference concluded at noon on Tuesday, May 17.
Living for Tomorrow—Repeat Announcement
One of the responsibilities historically given to the leadership of the Church is to train next-generation leaders. Paul trained Timothy and Titus, and Peter taught and mentored John Mark, calling him “my son,” as we read in 1 Peter 5:13. To continue fulfilling this mandate, the new “L4T” or Living for Tomorrow program is being launched. If you are a young adult between 18 and 30 and want to learn more about Living for Tomorrow, join us from May 27 to 29 at Blowing Rock, North Carolina. We will have a full weekend of intensive focus on building successful lives based on accurately understanding the Bible and its application in our modern world. Arrival is on Friday afternoon, May 27, with departure on Sunday afternoon, May 29. The cost is only $135, including food and accommodations. Join us as we launch our new L4T program! To register, just go to Login to MyLCG for more details and a link to register. Questions? Contact Mr. Jonathan McNair at [email protected].
Living Education
Registration Open for Men’s Training Camp—Blowing Rock, North Carolina—Repeat Announcement
The Blowing Rock Conference Center will again this year host our North Carolina Men’s Training Camp. Now is the time to register! The dates for the program are June 24–26. We will be focusing on a brand-new theme that will serve to strengthen our men, in a culture that is undermining any sense of what it means to be a man. For more information and to register, just go to Login to MyLCG for more details and a link to register. .—Jonathan McNair
Feast of Tabernacles
2022 Feast Registration Now Open
As of this writing, more than 3,000 Living Church of God brethren and guests have successfully registered for the 2022 Feast of Tabernacles. This year, we have approximately 91 Feast sites around the world, with 16 in the United States and 75 outside of the United States.
If you are waiting for transfer approval…
If you have requested a transfer and have not yet been notified by email of an acceptance (or denial), please be patient. A number of sites are nearing capacity. These sites are Boerne, Texas; Branson, Missouri; and South Padre Island, Texas. Due to the unpredictable nature of government regulations, we are also exercising caution about the numbers of accepted transfers in several other sites. These are Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Midway, Utah; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and St. Augustine, Florida.
We may be able to accept more transfers in the future, but we cannot guarantee it. If you applied for transfer to one of these sites and have not been notified of your acceptance, please consider transferring to another site. You are welcome to stay on the waiting list; however, we cannot guarantee that your transfer will be accepted.
These sites have ample space and are welcoming more transfers:
- Florence, Oregon
- New Bern, North Carolina
- Poconos, Pennsylvania
- Sandusky, Ohio
- Williamsburg, Virginia
Even if you are going to your assigned site, please register!
If you have not yet registered for the Feast, please do so, even if you plan to attend your assigned site. Registering helps us know how much open space there is for those on waiting lists.
Living Youth Program
Teen Camp Registration Closing—Must Read if Applicable
Staff, high school staff, and mini-camper registration for Teen Camp in Texas will close this Sunday, May 22. If you have not yet registered and wish to attend camp this summer, please register at https://camp.livingyouth.org by midnight on Sunday. We will not be able to accept late registrations. If you are a staff member who will be bringing mini-campers with you, please note that you will need to submit applications for all your mini-campers.
Teen camper registration will remain open until June 3, but it really helps us in planning to have registrations completed as soon as possible. If you are a camper (aged 13–17), please register right away.
Registration for both Adventure Camps will also be open until June 3, both for campers and staff. —Joshua Penman
Comments
God Guides History: Today, critics claim that God does not exist, that no one can predict the future, and human beings must determine their own future. However, the Bible reveals that only God can predict the future and bring it to pass (Isaiah 46:9–11). Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that God removes kings and raises up kings and determines how and when specific events will occur (Daniel 2:21)—and that what God reveals is sure to happen (Daniel 2:45). The Bible is a uniquely inspired book that contains specific prophecies recorded thousands of years ago that predicted events that are making news today. The prophet Amos states that God reveals His intentions to His servants, so they can alert the world about the real significance of coming events (Amos 3:7). All this is possible because God guides the course of history. This is why we need to watch and understand the real meaning of current events—so we can be prepared for what lies ahead.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—May 19, 2022
Poisoning the Earth! The Guardian reports that the Environmental Working Group, an American activist organization, has found that about 20 million acres of U.S. farmland may be contaminated with PFAS, a class of substances known as “forever chemicals,” that include about 9,000 compounds used to make substances resistant to fire, water, or heat (May 8, 2022). Many industries use PFAS in a wide array of consumer products, and the substances eventually find their way into the nation’s sewer systems. They then make their way into farmland via fertilizer obtained from sewage treatment plants—fertilizer that is actually “repackaged” sludge composed of a combination of human and industrial waste, which is expensive to otherwise dispose of.
Regulators do not require sewage sludge to be tested for PFAS. “All sewage sludge is thought to contain the dangerous chemicals,” according to The Guardian, “and the compounds have recently been found to be contaminating crops, cattle, water and humans on farms where biosolids were spread.” It has been found that PFAS wind up in crops grown in affected soils. PFAS do not easily break down, and they “have been linked to cancer, thyroid disruption, liver problems, birth defects, immunosuppression and more.”
The Bible clearly shows that God intended humans to dispose of their waste far from their living spaces (Deuteronomy 23:13). However, human greed has inspired many practices in which the long-term consequences are not known or are ignored. The Scriptures reveal that all of creation cries out in agony as it awaits the return of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:19–24). At His return, God will institute good agricultural practices that will yield both abundance and human well-being (Amos 9:13–14). To learn more about the future of the earth, be sure to read or listen to our encouraging booklet The World Ahead: What Will It Be Like?
Food Scarcity Ahead! United Nations secretary general António Guterres recently expressed grave concern over world food shortages in the wake of the Ukraine conflict (EU Observer, May 11, 2022). Prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel, and fertilizer are rising steeply. “For the first time ever, farmers the world over—all at the same time—are testing the limits of how little chemical fertilizer they can apply without devastating their yields come harvest time. Early predictions are bleak” (Bloomberg, May 1, 2022). Farmers around the globe face decreasing crop yields as fertilizer becomes less available and more expensive—a challenge for large farms that depend on fertilizer to push crop yields. A senior fertilizer market specialist in Ivory Coast in West Africa predicted, according to Bloomberg, “Probably farmers will grow enough to feed themselves. But the question is what they will have to feed the cities.” When fertilizer is scarce, people turn to alternate sources of soil nutrients, such as sewage sludge. But there are problems with using these often unsanitary or poisonous resources.
Estimates of the drop in crop production vary from location to location, ranging from 10 percent to as high as 40 percent. Decreasing crop yields mean less food availability and greatly increased food prices. When food prices rise without corresponding income increases, social unrest can set in, and nations that cannot produce their own food will suffer the most. Our interconnected world has created a situation of interdependency. When nations are interdependent and one nation fails to provide products (like Ukraine or Russia), other nations go without.
Bible prophecy foretells a coming time when oil and wine will be luxury items and a day’s worth of wheat will cost an entire day’s wages (Revelation 6:5–6). Difficult times are ahead, but thankfully, a time of great abundance will follow when Christ returns. For more on this topic, be sure to read or listen to our booklet Armageddon and Beyond.—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater, and Deborah Quance