UCG Feast Attendance Down 35%

The November 2011 edition of the United News of the United Church of God (UCG) just came out. Including “shut-ins” it reports UCG’s attendance at the 2011 Feast of Tabernacles at 12,823. This is down by 6,839 people (2010 attendance was 19,662), or roughly 35%. And from 2009’s attendance 20,419, UCG’s 2011 attendance is down by 7,596 people, or roughly 37%.

This is not as bad as it could have been as COGWA, a group that broke away from UCG in 2010 and early 2011, reported “close to 9,500” attendees at their Feast of Tabernacles’ sites in 2011.

The combined total for the two groups for 2011 was 22,323.

Since neither group seems to have attracted much in the way of outside growth, the increase in their combined totals seems to be the result of probably two factors: 1) some people from both groups probably attended at the other’s sites and 2) some people who were not in either group decided for whatever reason (more total Feast sites, proximity, changes in leadership, etc.) to attend.

We will see what the combined totals will be next year as some people are apparently still sorting these groups out.

On another note, I was disappointed that UCG’s audited financial statements were not in the current United News. UCG used to publish these prior to the Feast of Tabernacles, but in the past several years, they have waited until the November edition. Either I have missed it or perhaps it will be in the next issue (UCG’s fiscal year ends on the 30th of June and UCG has not published an audited financial statement that I have seen since prior to the COGWA split).

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time for Christians? Is this pilgrimage holy day still valid? Does it teach anything relevant for today’s Christians? What is the Last Great Day? What do these days teach?
Attending the Church of Choice This article discusses whose choice is important to worship God; should you attend the church of your choice or the church of God’s choice?
Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government What form of governance did the early church have? Was it hierarchical? Which form of governance would one expect to have in the Philadelphia remnant? The people decide and/or committee forms, odd dictatorships, or the same type that the Philadelphia era itself had?
Should a Christian Vote? This article gives some of the Biblical rationale on this subject. Would Jesus vote for president/prime minister? Is voting in the Bible? This is a subject Christians need to understand.
Unity: Which COG for You? Why so many groups? Why is there lack of unity in the Churches of God? Has it always been this way? What can/should be done about it?
Differences between the Living Church of God and United Church of God This article provides quotes information from the two largest groups which had their origins in WCG as well as commentary.
There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to more easily sort out the different COGs. It really should be a MUST READ for current and former WCG/GCI members or any interested in supporting the faithful church. It also explains a lot of what the COGs are all about.
Concerns about Church of God, a Worldwide Association This is the largest group that came out of the United Church of God. Here is some history and concerns about it.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. These are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG.