Greetings from Charlotte,
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Weston and a number of others in the Headquarters office are traveling to be with family this week for Thanksgiving. It will be a short week here, with the office closed on Thursday and Friday for the American national holiday. Our final attendance figure for the Feast of Tabernacles was 9,760. This is in addition to the 1,382 individuals online or on the phone hookup, as well as an additional 311 shut-ins who received the Feast DVDs or CDs. Overall, it is about a 0.8 percent increase over last year. We are excited to announce the new TWP theme being planned for the next several years: “Beyond the Chaos: Hope for Humanity.” This title seems to capture the anxiety of people in the world—and the hope that God offers through Christ’s coming. The suggested follow-up title is “God’s Plan for Mankind: Prophecies Revealed by the Holy Days.” It seems that many who come to our TWPs have interest in the Holy Days. For those in the United States who are traveling to be with family and friends this week, be careful and have a good Thanksgiving! – Rod McNair
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last weekend, Mr. Simon Roberts gave an initial Tomorrow’s World Presentation in Bristol, England. This presentation drew five guests. Unfortunately, attendance was likely limited due to Storm Bert bringing high winds and heavy rain to the area. This week, Mr. Roberts is scheduled to give a follow-up presentation in the same city. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Northeast Men’s Training Camp
The Northeast Region will be hosting a Men’s Training Camp in Bloomingdale, New Jersey. The event will take place at Star Lake Camp from Friday, February 14, through Sunday, February 16. The total cost is $115 per person, inclusive of food and accommodations. If you are interested in attending or have questions, please contact Mr. Brent Mitchell at [email protected] at your earliest convenience. Registration is open until January 30, 2025.
Regional Winter Weekend Activities—Repeat Announcement
Get ready for this winter’s Family Weekends! As in previous years, a number of areas plan to host overnight Family Weekends during the coming months. These are not intended to be huge gatherings, but rather local events where brethren from surrounding congregations can come together to learn, grow, and fellowship in the midwinter months.
The following congregations have Family Weekends planned:
· Montgomery, Alabama, December 20–22 (Mr. Stroud, [email protected])
· Dallas & Big Sandy, Texas, December 20–22 (Mr. Stein, [email protected])
· Charlotte, North Carolina, December 20–22 (Mr. Pomicter, [email protected])
· Jacksonville, Florida, December 27–29 (Mr. Dawson, [email protected])
· Kansas City, Missouri, December 27–29 (Mr. Populo, [email protected])
· Merrill, Wisconsin, February 14–16 (Mr. Sandor, [email protected])
We encourage you to attend your own region’s winter Family Weekend. However, there may be a few reasons to attend another region’s Family Weekend—for example, your congregation may not be associated with a region’s Family Weekend, or you may have family you wish to visit in another region. If you do plan to attend a Family Weekend outside of your area, please contact the organizing pastor for details.
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What Are You Thankful For? Today, many are obsessed with getting—getting ahead, getting their “rights,” and getting what they want out of life. Yet the Scriptures emphasize the importance of being thankful for what God provides (Psalm 95:1–2). The Apostle Paul said to be thankful “for all things” (Ephesians 5:20)—including our daily food (1 Timothy 4:3) and the gift of salvation (2 Corinthians 9:15)—and that our prayerful requests should be made with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). We should be especially thankful for our calling to understand the truth about God’s plan and purpose for human life (John 8:32). The Apostle James writes that we should even be thankful for trials that help us grow (James 1:2–4). When was the last time you made a list of what you are thankful for—and thanked God for those blessings? Now might be a good time to make another list!
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy – November 27, 2024
One Step Closer to WWIII? In a controversial move, the Biden Administration recently approved the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine to attack targets within Russia (USA Today, November 19, 2024). Within days, Ukraine used these missiles to attack a Russian weapons storage facility 70 miles from the Ukraine border. Unsurprisingly, Russia responded with a bold revision to its nuclear doctrine, making it easier to retaliate with nuclear force against aggressive actions from other nations.
Russia will now “consider using a nuclear weapon if it or its ally Belarus faces aggression from ‘the use of conventional weapons that created a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity.’” In addition, “Russia will also consider a conventional attack against it by a state without nuclear weapons but supported by a nuclear power as a ‘joint attack.’”
Later last week, UK-supplied Storm Shadow long-range missiles were apparently fired from Ukraine into Russia (BBC, November 20, 2024). Russia then launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) at Ukraine—a missile that did not carry a nuclear payload but is fully capable of doing so (US News, November 21, 2024).
The war in Ukraine has now passed the 1,000-day mark, and events there are certainly escalating. Will the conflict grow into a war between Russia and the West? While Russia is issuing nuclear threats, we also need to watch how Europe, and Germany in particular, responds to these recent events. To learn more prophetic context behind this ominous situation, read or listen to The Beast of Revelation: Myth, Metaphor, or Soon-Coming Reality?
Devastating Drought in Southern Africa: The nations of Southern Africa are no strangers to drought. Historically, one in five years is a drought year in the region. But in recent decades, that number has risen to once every three or four years (The Guardian, November 14, 2024). Experts say the current drought is a once-in-a-century situation. The “lean season” with very little rain, which usually runs from October to April, began in August this year, two months early. “Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have declared national disasters, while parts of Angola and Mozambique are also badly affected.”
The numbers are staggering, with 27 million people affected—including 21 million children who are malnourished. Many governments and relief organizations lack adequate supplies to manage the situation, and many people are living on one meager meal per day. In predominantly agrarian societies, when the crops fail, there is nothing to sell or trade—so there is simply no food! Sadly, in these dire situations, many women feel forced to sell their bodies for a very limited amount of food to feed their families.
The extreme drought in Southern Africa is only a foretaste of the far more widespread famine that will come in the last days, when an entire quarter of the earth’s population will be affected by hunger and other global tragedies. To learn more, be sure to read “The Black Horse of Famine.” For many living in the affluent West, and even in developing nations that have adequate rainfall, the extreme drought in Southern Africa can feel remote and unreal. Yet followers of Christ who look around the world and see their fellow human beings suffering in any nation should be moved to beseech God for His mercy and for the speedy return of Jesus Christ, our Savior! – Scott Winnail, Chris Sookdeo, and Francine Prater