Greetings from Charlotte,
This will be the last World Ahead until after the Feast of Tabernacles. Some of you will be on your way to the Feast and visiting a congregation along the way by the time you receive this. This is a highlight of the year for us and God intends it to be that way. During this time when most of us are a “little bit richer” than we are the rest of the year, because we have saved our Festival tithe faithfully, we have the opportunity to share meals and experiences with others. Even if we do not have financial resources to serve others, we have some of our time to give. Teens can volunteer to babysit for a couple who would appreciate an evening or afternoon to spend together with other adults. And, a warm smile and a hearty hello to someone sitting by himself is usually welcome. We often say, “Have a great Feast” or words to that effect, but let us remember to think in terms of “Give a great Feast.” When Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), He proclaimed a counterintuitive truism. It is human to think the opposite, but many of you have learned that the One through whom God created all things, including us, knew what He was saying is true. So give a great Feast and learn to fear the Lord your God always!—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Update on Mr. John Meakin’s Health
Because of continuing health problems, Mr. John Meakin will retire from the full-time ministry but continue to serve part-time in editorial functions as he is able. Please pray for Mr. Meakin’s health so that he can continue contributing his experience and abilities to further the Work of which he has long been a part. In November, Mr. Stewart will assume the pastorate of the Kettering and Pontefract congregations while continuing to serve in London. For now, the Manchester/Chester and Glasgow congregations will be served mainly by the ministry based at the UK Regional Office in Kettering.
Feast of Tabernacles
Staying Healthy Before and During the Feast
As we prepare to depart for the Feast of Tabernacles, it is not uncommon for many of us to get run-down even before we arrive at the Feast! Take appropriate measures now to not “burn the candle at both ends.” Get enough sleep, eat nutritious food, and get plenty of exercise. And while at the Feast, be careful to maintain healthy habits as well. If you are sick before the Feast, practice the principle of quarantine and stay away from other brethren until you are well. If you come down with illness during the Feast, show love to your brethren by staying in your hotel room until you are symptom-free. Most of all, pray that God would grant all His people an inspiring and meaningful, safe and healthy Feast.
Children and the Feast
- Blessing of the Little Children: It is the practice of the Living Church of God to have the Blessing of the Little Children at the Feast. This practice follows the example of Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16). When parents of small children came to Him and asked Him to bless their children, He did not forbid them. If you have small children (“babes in arms” whom you can pick up for this special blessing), listen for announcements from your Festival Site Coordinator to find out which day the Blessing of the Little Children will take place. If you have any questions, please contact your Festival Coordinator.
- Caring For—and Watching—Our Children at the Feast: Parents, please remember that children are not permitted to run or engage in horseplay before, during, or after services at the Feast. Children playing on the stage or near speakers and microphones can damage expensive equipment. Children darting in and out among fellowshipping brethren can be a trip hazard. For the elderly, this can be dangerous, even life-threatening.
- Children Must Be Supervised: Parents should always be vigilant when it comes to their children at the Feast. Parents have full responsibility for their children at the Feast of Tabernacles, including at services. Although precautions are taken and there are activities for children, the Church meeting or event is not a childcare facility. The Church does not take responsibility for the care of children at Church meetings or events. Their absolute safety cannot be guaranteed. The ultimate responsibility for the care of children always remains with parents or guardians. Please ensure that the conduct of your children and young people is adequately supervised throughout their attendance, and that your children are fully under your control. Parents should be aware of where their children (including their teens) are, and not allow small children to wander around unsupervised.
- Children Sitting with Parents: Experience has shown that children and teenagers pay better attention and therefore learn more from the messages when sitting with a parent than when sitting elsewhere with a group of other young people. Therefore, it is the policy of the Church to have children and teens sit with their parents during services. An exception may be where an individual child or teen may sit with a friend’s parents and family. Obviously, a teen attending whose parents are not also in attendance would be exempt.
Taking a Hymnal… Brethren who don’t have a personal hymnal are encouraged to bring a hymnal (one or two songbooks per household) from their local congregation’s supply for use at the Feast. For those who do take a blue congregational hymnal, please be sure to bring the same hymnal(s) back to your congregation after the Feast, so that the number of hymnals returned to each congregation is equal to the number of hymnals taken. Please make sure that all hymnals are clearly marked as to which congregation they belong.
Business Office
Check-Printing Schedule—Repeat Announcement
Please note that our last scheduled day to print checks will be Tuesday, September 26. After that date, we will not be able to print any checks again until Thursday, October 12. Any invoices we receive by September 21 will be paid before the Festival break. Any invoices we receive after September 21 may not be able to be paid until October 12.
If you have any questions concerning specific invoices or payments, please contact Michelle Greene in the Accounts Payable Department at 704-708-2234 or Kezia Ciesielka at 704-708-2237. You can also e-mail [email protected].
Comments
Hope for the Future: Many sense the world is heading in a dangerous direction. Modern Israelite nations are increasingly troubled and divided, and they are perceived by other countries to be nations in decline—morally, spiritually, politically, economically, and militarily. It is no surprise that many are concerned and anxious about the future. However, the biblical Holy Days of Trumpets, Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day reveal how the cause of this world’s problems—Satan—will be removed (Revelation 20:1–3) when Jesus Christ returns to set up the Kingdom of God and “restore all things” and eventually offer salvation to everyone who has ever lived (Acts 3:19–21). As the troubles of this world spiral out of control, we need to stay focused on this big picture. The biblical Holy Days constantly remind us of the real hope for the future.
Have a profitable Sabbath and Holy Day season,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—September 21, 2023
Deadly Viral Outbreak in India: A province in India is experiencing another outbreak of the Nipah virus—the fourth in the region since 2018 (Telegraph, September 14, 2023). Deaths have occurred with each outbreak, and so far, two have died in this one. There have been 800 suspected contacts. These numbers might seem low, but the fatality rate for infection with the virus can be up to 75 percent! Should the virus break through containment, the results could be catastrophic in a nation with India’s population densities.
Public officials have “declared containment zones in at least eight villages, where public offices, schools, government buildings and religious institutions have been temporarily closed” in an attempt to curb infection rates. The virus was first observed when it jumped from pigs to farmers in Malaysia and Singapore in 1999. It is spread through bodily fluids of infected animals or people. Bats and other small animals have also been known to pass the infection to humans. The director of epidemiology at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has called the Nipah virus “one of the deadliest pathogens known to infect humans.”
This current outbreak is also likely to be contained, hopefully with minimal deaths. However, Bible prophecies clearly indicate a time coming when the world will see major disease outbreaks, including in many prominent Western nations (Revelation 6:7–8; Leviticus 26:16). These future days of unprecedented contagion and disease will take place not long before Jesus Christ returns to change things for the better. To learn more about end-time events, read or request Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return.
Mediterranean Devastation: Signs of Things to Come! In recent weeks, devastating events have occurred around the Mediterranean. Libya saw massive flooding as intense rain of more than 16 inches (40 cm) over two days caused dams to break (AP, September 13, 2023). In the coastal city of Derna, over 11,000 people were reported dead and thousands more were still missing (Euronews, September 15, 2023). Aside from the driving rains, officials are blaming the catastrophe on the government’s neglect of dam maintenance.
To the west in Morocco, a major earthquake registering 6.8 struck last week near an area very popular with tourists (BBC, September 10, 2023). The quake killed over 2,900 people with thousands more still missing at the time of this writing. Meanwhile, some are calling the recent wildfires in Greece the largest ever recorded in the European Union. The fires in Greece were followed by major flooding in Italy. These catastrophic events have turned the Mediterranean into a zone of tragedy.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ foretold climactic events in human history that would eventually grow to dwarf all others that had come before. As rescuers in the Mediterranean region search for survivors and citizens seek to rebuild their lives, students of Bible prophecy should both be moved to compassion and to consider Jesus’ admonition, “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:37). As assuredly as these sobering disasters are changing life for tens of thousands in the Mediterranean, the disasters to come will forever change all of humanity—and literally, even the face of the earth!
Few today realize the connection between end-time events and the biblical Holy Day season we are now in. However, not all the events prophesied for our future are devastating. Many are also encouraging. To learn more about what the Festivals of the Bible picture, be sure to watch “The Biblical Holy Days, Part 3.” These biblical Festivals provide a special understanding that is a mystery to most who call themselves Christian.—Scott Winnail, Matthew Ellison, Chris Sookdeo, and Francis Prater