Greetings from Charlotte!
Everything is holding steady here and moving forward. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith, Mr. and Mrs. Ames and Mr. Apartian are traveling out to various congregations for the Pentecost weekend. Please remember them in your prayers and ask God to bless their Church area visits and bring them back home safely and in good health.
Church Administration
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Elertson have arrived at H.Q. to begin their pastoral training. Mike and Rosalyn have moved here from their home in the Milwaukee area and are already settling in well. We are very happy to have them on board!
Feast of Tabernacles 2004
Everyone should be receiving their Festival Planner 2004 about now. We are right in the middle of putting together the Feast speaking schedules. Once Mr. Meredith gets back and gives final approval to them, we will notify the ministry ASAP—hopefully no later than Friday of next week.
Living Youth Camp
The Living Church of God is sponsoring three camps this summer: Preteen Texas, Preteen Missouri, and LYC Teen Michigan. There are still spaces available for campers, High School Workers, and Adult Workers. Please get an application and send it in as soon as possible if you are interested in attending or working at one of these camps. All applications can be found at the unofficial church member-sponsored website: www.youth-web.org. For a Teen Michigan application you may call Sue Ruddlesden at: 704- 844-1960, ext 235. For Preteen Texas call Mr. David Crockett at 682-518-8292. For Preteen Missouri call Mr. Randy Gregory at 847-249-1057.
Living 4 Tomorrow—A Time 4 Young Singles
Singles ages 18 to 30 are invited to attend Living 4 Tomorrow—A Time 4 Young Singles at beautiful Thunder Bay Resort near Hillman, Michigan, July 14-18. We still have room for both men and women, but right now we need more men. Please fill out the very simple application found at the unofficial church member-sponsored website www.youth-web.org if you are interested in attending this activity. Those who have attended past L4T sessions have found this activity to be very rewarding. L4T is filled with learning, fun, and fellowship. Get your application in quickly, as there is a limit to how many we can take.
E-mail "Virus" Messages
Headquarters staff and field ministers have been receiving numerous e-mail "virus" messages in the past week. So far, we have not been able to track the origin of the viruses, but we are continuing to investigate, and we would like to request your help. We know that the "virus" messages are coming from a recipient of The World Ahead ("weekly update"), so we need to ask you to please make sure that your anti-virus software is working properly, and that it has been updated with the latest virus definitions. A free online virus scan for Windows users is available at http://housecall.trendmicro.com. TrendMicro's online virus detection utility may be helpful for initially checking for viruses, but should not be used in place of stand-alone virus software because it only checks for viruses when you initiate a check. Your help and cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. – Josh Beattie
Comments
We will observe the annual Feast of Pentecost on Sunday, May 30. This festival is one of the most spiritually rich Holy Days kept by God's true Church. It is replete and layered with profound meaning. This is the day, in 31 AD, that Jesus Christ started His Church and it has continued down through time to our day. During that same Feast of Pentecost God poured out His Holy Spirit and made it available to everyone who surrenders to Him. It seems certain that God gave the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai on Pentecost. The Jews have never lost that historical tradition. In fact, the expanse of land where Israel heard the voice of God is known as the "plain of the law." One of the most important things we celebrate on this wonderful Holy Day is the calling of the "firstfruits"—our early calling to live God's way and do His Work. I'm sure there will be additional lessons brought out from God's word by His true ministers as we all assemble before Him. Please remember Mr. Meredith's letter in last week's "update" regarding the Holy Day offering. Let's examine ourselves and be willing to sacrifice a bit more than usual as we present our offering before God to be used in His Work. We are still running behind on the budget, and we need to catch up now so we can follow through on the plans for the Work and Church for the rest of the year. And let's make sure we have the same determined attitude as the Apostle Paul, found in Acts 20:16: "For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost."
We send our love and appreciation out to everyone. May you all have a great Feast of Pentecost!
Charles E. Bryce