September 29, 2005
Greetings Everyone,  
Unless unforeseen circumstances dictate, this week’s Update will be the last one until after the Feast of Tabernacles. Next Tuesday we will be celebrating the Feast of Trumpets and most of Headquarters’ ministers will be traveling to various cities. Before continuing this Update, here is an important letter from Mr. Roderick C. Meredith. 

Dear Fellow Ministers, 

At this Feast season, I again want to thank you, very much, for all of your help and service to God’s people! Many of you are certainly going above and beyond in serving the flock in addition to your regular duties and jobs. Thank you so much. With the massive intervention of God in the weather of recent date and with the growth which He has been giving us in our television impact on the world, I am sure that over the coming months we will begin to see more growth in this Work and in the Church than ever before. We need to prepare for this in every way we can. Bit by bit, we are trying to build a stronger and more flexible “team” here at Headquarters and we appreciate your prayers in this regard.

One bit of very encouraging news is the recent ordination of Dr. Douglas Winnail as an Evangelist in God’s Church! I am very happy to announce this as Dr. Winnail is extremely dedicated and is already doing a fine job on our team here—working into his new responsibilities as Director of Church Administration. In addition, he will need to continue writing his articles and doing research for the articles and for the Church which he does in an outstanding way. Dr. Winnail graduated from Ambassador in 1970—first began teaching—and then was first ordained into the ministry in 1982. So he has been around for a long time in God’s service—having served in many different areas of the United States and now for the past four years in the British Isles. He brings a wealth of experience and background to his office, and we are pleased to have him “on board” here at Headquarters. Congratulations, Dr. Winnail!  

Also, we are very grateful for the increasing responses to Tomorrow’s World television program. As you may have heard, the Inspiration Network has done an outstanding job for us and we are getting increasing responses from that outlet as well as from WGN, and from VISION up in Canada. In addition, we just went on a relatively small local station here in Hickory, NC—in the Charlotte area and covering Charlotte. We are very grateful for the outstanding response from the first telecast, which bodes well for the future of this station!  

However, perhaps because of the terrible hurricanes recently affecting our members in the southern U.S., our income is dragging somewhat so far this year. So I want to ask all of you who are the leaders in God’s Church to please pray fervently that God will grant us a much greater income as the weeks go on so we can begin to truly finish the Work to which Christ has called us! I especially request that you encourage the brethren to give generously—as they are able—during this coming Holy Day season. This will enable us to do the Work much better in the near future and be very pleasing to Christ. Please ask the brethren to pray fervently and do their level best during these coming festival offerings. Thank you! 

Your brother in Christ,
Roderick C. Meredith 

FROM FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING 

Tuesday, October 4, marks the beginning of the fall Holy Day season. As we plan our Holy Day offerings, let’s keep the following in mind.  

Please use the green pre-coded envelopes which were sent to you before the Holy Days. This will greatly speed-up the counting and receipting process at Headquarters, as well as save the Work time and money. 

If you did not receive the pre-coded envelopes, please let us know as soon as possible and we will mail you a new set without delay. If you must use another envelope, clearly print your personal identification number that appears on your Church literature, along with your name, address and zip code. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. The Finance and Accounting staff in Charlotte wish you a wonderful Fall Holy Day season.—Jerry Ruddlesden  

CHURCH ADMINISTRATION  

FEAST OF TABERNACLES 2005 

Attending Services at the Feast  

God has given us a tremendous blessing and a unique understanding of His Festivals, and how they picture the plan and purpose He is working out on earth.  We read in Leviticus 23:34-44 that we are to “keep the feast of the Lord for seven days.”  Attending services to worship God, and hear sermonettes and sermons expounding the Scriptures that explain the plan of God are primary aspects of keeping the Feast.  Regrettably, sometimes we can get so involved in serving in various capacities or we are so focused on other peripheral activities (such as sightseeing, eating out or shopping) that we lose sight of the primary purpose for being at the Feast.  Let’s plan to be on time every service.  Let’s pray daily for God’s inspiration on the messages we will receive, and that He will open our hearts and minds to hear what we need to hear, individually.  Let’s also strive to be a light—of thoughtfulness and concern—to all those with whom we come into contact at the Feast, because we each have that opportunity.  Sometimes our example can have an even greater impact than a sermon on those with whom we come into contact at the Feast. I hope the Fall Holy Days will be most profitable for each of you.—Douglas Winnail 

Hymnals at the Feast sites

Each household should take enough songbooks (one for every two persons) from their local congregation’s supply. Video Recipients should take a few extra songbooks for general use at the Feast.  Please be sure to return to your area the number of books taken. 

Rapid City, South Dakota

A Formal Dinner/Dance is scheduled on Sunday evening, October 23. Long dresses/tuxedos or Sabbath wear will be appropriate.  The cost is $20 adults and $10 for children under 12.

Children's Choir: For all information, please contact Mrs. Katy Elertson at (920) 262-1795 or e-mail: time@firstech.net.

Opening Night Service:  Opening Night Services are scheduled for 7:30 pm at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center (Rushmore E Room)—Sheldon Monson 

Canmore, Alberta 

There will be a brief meeting for all volunteers at the Radisson on Monday, October 17 at 3:00 pm. Reservations for the Holy Day buffet must be received by October 9. If you did not receive a reservation request form, call 509-486-4240 (USA) or 604-539-5459 (Canada). Please remember to pack a board game and dancing slippers for the Family Night.—Eldon Davis

Taos, New Mexico

Those planning to attend the Feast in Taos, NM, are encouraged to bring board games for Family Night. If you want to share your talents with us at the Fun Show, please contact either Joe Rosignolo at (858) 335-7298 or e-mail: ventureback@yahoo.com , or contact Patti Forsness at (406) 442-4137 or e-mail: littlenut@myexcel.com  -Harold Way   

Clearwater, Florida

Dinner-Dance Cruise – As announced last week, the Dinner Cruise is for adults and singles 18 years or older.  There will be an expanded dinner menu available for the cruise. The cost is $40 per person with tax and gratuity included. If 80 people sign up, we will have our own private deck.  If 120 people sign up, we will have the entire boat. Please read item #2 verbatim: 

  1. Please get a count of those planning to attend the dinner cruise from each congregation, and e-mail those numbers to Mr. Fritz Winnail by Sunday, October 2, at: fswinnail@ij.net  
  1. For those planning to attend, checks should be mailed by October 3, and made payable to:         

Mr. Fritz Winnail

7037 Sunset Drive, Suite #505

                        St. Petersburg, Florida 33707 

Cruise tickets may be picked up at the Clearwater Festival site Information Table. 

COMMENTS

September 2005 is a month Americans will not forget. Two major hurricanes, hundreds of deaths, incalculable material destruction. Rita was predicted to be much more damaging than Katrina, but God heard our prayers—ours as well as the prayers of millions of people. Most of us followed on television the heartbreaking reports of newscasters, day after day.  The repair work is now in progress, and the media is praising man’s ingenuity in rebuilding what was destroyed. But we don’t hear the media—at least I haven’t heard the media—praise God for having heard the millions of prayers addressed to Him. Although the damage Rita caused is beyond words, it could have been much worse. Why, as a nation, are we so ungrateful to God? Have we forgotten that ingratitude was one of our forefathers’ major sins? Have we forgotten the story of the ten lepers Christ healed? Only one of them returned to thank Him. And, as Christ pointed out, that individual was not even an Israelite. He was a foreigner. Today, authorities and newscasters in the U.S.A. are telling us the valuable lessons they learned from these two catastrophic hurricanes. But how about us—God’s people? What valuable lessons have we learned? Shouldn’t we better understand how to be grateful to God—and how to thank Him with all our hearts when He hears our prayers?

You all have a happy Sabbath and a wonderful Feast of Trumpets,

Dibar Apartian

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COGwriter 2005