Greetings from Charlotte,
We had a disruption in power last week due to a powerful thunderstorm, which is why there was no video update. On Monday, Dr. Winnail oversaw an online meeting for Regional Pastors. Senior men who have served as Regional Pastors shared lessons they have learned over the years, especially for the benefit of younger men who have been appointed to that position. However, all who attended found the meeting very beneficial, and we plan to conduct more of these in the future. This is a shortened week here in Charlotte, as the United States celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Earlier this week, Canada Day was celebrated by our neighbors to the north.
The Adventure Camp is now in the books for this year, and all returned from their successful 45-mile trip in Voyageurs National Park. Many staff members will be traveling this week or Sunday for Staff Orientation to prepare for the start of Teen Camp in Athens, Texas, on Wednesday of next week. Your prayers for all these activities and everything else we do around the world are heard and appreciated.
—Gerald E. Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week, we held six follow-up Tomorrow’s World Presentations: in Baton Rouge and Alexandria, Louisiana; Framingham and Mansfield, Massachusetts; Midrand, Gauteng Province, South Africa; and Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom. These events drew a total of 50 guests. This week, we will hold one presentation in Roanoke, Virginia. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Living Education
We are down to the last few weeks before the start of our eighth year of Living Education-Charlotte. We still have space available for students who may be considering the program. Living Education-Charlotte is a nine-month program focused on building solid knowledge of the Bible and lifelong relationships with other young people seeking to live godly lives. The tuition is very reasonable—and the experience is priceless. For more information, just go to https://www.lcgeducation.org/apply. You can also reach Mr. Jonathan McNair by emailing [email protected] or by calling or texting 516-724-4452.
Feast of Tabernacles
Speaking Schedules Sent (U.S. Only)
The United States Feast of Tabernacles speaking schedules were sent early this week. If you should have received one but did not, please check your LCG email address. If you do not have access to your LCG email address, please contact Tyler Wayne a [email protected]. We hope to send the international speaking schedules within the next couple of weeks.
Living Youth Program
Living Youth Camp – Texas
We are only a few days away from the start of LYC 2025! If you are a parent of a camper, you should have received an email reminder, highlighting important points to remember as you prepare your camper for a great experience! Please read the email, as well as other information you’ve received, carefully and thoroughly. If you are serving on our staff, a separate email has been sent your way, with reminders to help you to be ready for a great camp! If you have any final questions about camp, feel free to call, text, or email. —Jonathan McNair, Camp Director 2025, [email protected], 516-724-4452
Exciting Music Opportunities at Teen Camp – Repeat Announcement
Preparations are underway for an amazing Teen Camp in Texas this summer, and we’re looking forward to two weeks filled with fun, fellowship, and music!
If you’re interested in participating musically, please fill out the Music Sign-Up Form: https://bit.ly/LYCMusicSignUp25. Once signed up, you’ll receive rehearsal materials and music updates as camp approaches.
We’re also excited to host the talent show again this year! If you’d like to be considered for a performance, please indicate your interest on the Music Sign-Up Form and upload a personal recording of the piece you’d like to perform at https://bit.ly/LYCTalentShow25.
Please note: No auditions will be held at camp, so be sure to submit your recording soon!
If you have any questions, contact Mr. Chris Pringle at [email protected].
TrainRight Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training – Repeat Announcement
All Living Youth Camp staff members who are 18 years of age or older are required to participate in an online training program for awareness and prevention of child abuse: TrainRight Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training Program. It is an online training course that takes about one hour to complete. Once you have been accepted as a staff member at one of the LYP camps, you will receive an email from [email protected] titled “Invite - Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training Program” with a link through which you must register for and complete the training online.
Note: The Certification for this TrainRight course is good for two years—the year it is taken plus the next year. For example, if you took the course in 2023, the Certification was valid in 2023 and 2024—therefore, you would have to retake the course in 2025 to receive Certification for 2025–2026. If you have any questions, please contact Jill Ewers ([email protected]).
First Aid/Lifeguard Certificates – Repeat Announcement
If you have a current Certificate in First Aid or Lifeguarding and will be serving in either or both of these capacities at any of the U.S. camps in 2025, please send a copy of your Certification to Jill Ewers ([email protected]). Your Certification must be current and valid through the entirety of the camp(s) where it will be used.
Food Handler Training Program – Repeat Announcement
If you have received certification through an ANSI-accredited food safety program for the State of Texas as a Food Handler or Food Manager and will be attending the Texas Teen Camp or Texas Preteen Camp in 2025, please send your certificate to Jill Ewers ([email protected]), copied to Joshua Penman ([email protected]).
Comments
Are You Prepared? We are living in increasingly uncertain times, with unstable economies, weather disruptions, political demonstrations, and terrorist activities that can suddenly disrupt our daily lives—which means we need to plan ahead for unexpected emergencies. Solomon wrote, “A prudent man foresees evil [danger] and hides himself [takes refuge], but the simple [the naïve and unsuspecting] pass on and are punished [have to face the consequences of not being prepared]” (Proverbs 22:3). God’s Church has long encouraged members to prepare for unexpected emergencies by keeping a supply of bottled water, a stock of non-perishable food, first aid supplies, extra batteries for flashlights, heating devices, and other items that may be needed if normal public services are disrupted. While God’s people look to Him for their ultimate protection, we also need to do our part to be prepared—so we are not taken by surprise.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy – July 2, 2025
Landmark UK Abortion Ruling: Until recently, UK women seeking abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy were breaking the law, for which they could be legally prosecuted (BBC, June 17, 2025). British members of parliament (MPs) recently voted to rescind the penalty for having an abortion after 24 weeks in both England and Wales. Although it will still be illegal for health care providers to perform abortions after 24 weeks, this bill paves the way for pregnant women, themselves, who have such abortions—even up until birth—to avoid punishment.
One MP attempted to attach an addendum to the bill, requiring that women receiving abortion pills by mail must have a face-to-face medical consultation prior to receiving a prescription. However, the measure failed, and the “pills-by-post” abortions will continue. Abortion advocates view this new bill as validation that “women’s rights and autonomy matter,” but what about the rights of the unborn child?
The Bible warns that at the end of the age, people will be “brutal” and “despisers of good” (2 Timothy 3:3). Isaiah warned that they would descend to the point where they “call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). As humanity slides further from biblical morality in the selfish pursuit of personal pleasures, we should expect to see a decreasing desire to preserve and protect life—including the life of a defenseless child in the womb. It is difficult to convince people to protect life when they believe that there is no transcendent purpose for that life, as the doctrine of evolution dictates. It will ultimately take the return of the Messiah to teach individuals and nations the true and awesome meaning of life. You can learn more by listening to or reading What Is the Meaning of Life?
Return of the “Man-eating” Screw Worm! Most health professionals thought the screw worm had been eradicated from Central America—but, three years ago, these worms reappeared, mostly in cattle, and now they are making their way back into the human population in Honduras and Nicaragua (Telegraph, June 24, 2025). The worms are maggots, hatched larvae of a particular type of fly—Cochliomyia hominivorax. The fly lays eggs in soft tissue, often in the nasal passage or the throat. From there, the maggots eat their way into the flesh. Depending on where the eggs are laid, they can cause greater or less damage. In one recent case in Honduras, the worms ate their way from a woman’s larynx to her lungs, ultimately killing her. Thus, the scientific species epithet for the worm: hominivorax, or “man-eating.”
The apparent source of the problem is cattle illegally raised in nature reserves. They are often smuggled by truck or boat to Mexico, and infected cows bring the flies with them. One official observed that “cows and bulls moved illegally, without health controls, are transporting larvae along cross-border corridors.” United States officials are concerned that the flies may cross the border to infect cattle there, as well, and perhaps eventually the U.S. population. They could also cause the price of beef to rise. The U.S. government plans to build a factory in South Texas to once again create sterile flies to slow the spread of this deadly pest.
From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, the natural world has not been man’s friend (Genesis 3:17–18). Pestilence has long been a part of mankind’s experience, but it is prophesied to play a devastating role at the end of the age, before Jesus’ return (Revelation 6:7–8). Screw worms are terrible, but prophecy indicates that there is worse ahead. You can learn more by listening to or reading Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return. —Scott Winnail, Wyatt Ciesielka, and Francine Prater