The Mouse that Roars

(HT to Living Armstrongism)

Here are the PCG Feast sites for 2016 according to an anonymous source. There are fewer sites this year, but look at the "expected attendance" figures.

Edmond, OK 700
Lexington KY 650
Palm Harbor, FL 600
Ogden, UT 300+
Bellingham, WA 225
Huntsville, Ontario, Canada 200
Invermere, BC, Canada 200
St. Lucia, Caribbean 150
Enfield, Ireland 275
Tweed Heads, Australia 350
Clark, Philippines 350
Limpopo, South Africa 125
Medellin-Guatape, Colombia 60
Huanchaco, Peru 25

If you take time to do the maths, the result is interesting - 4210. The disclosure prompted these comments on Living Armstrongism.

In reality the PCG is much smaller. Remember these numbers give the capacity of the sites, not the actual attendance. I have visited some of the places listed and attendance there during the feast was nowhere near these figures.

Also remember site capacity numbers also take into account infants, children and unbaptised youths/adults. Actual baptised PCG members would be much closer to 3,000 globally.

It is also an old church. For example, in two of the church areas I have visited I am the youngest baptised male, and I am over 50!

PCG talks up big and spends up big, but it's tithe-bleeding base is extremely modest. Their "business manager" must be a worried man.

Number crunching and the 2016 FOT

One very effective way of judging growth and member satisfaction in the larger WCG spinoffs is attendance at the annual Feast of Tabernacles observance. Brethren are able to literally "vote with their feet" - the only kind of vote most of them are permitted.

Prestige comes with big feast sites. But just as important (perhaps more so) is money. Holy Day offerings are a huge boost to the sponsoring church's income stream. If people stay away, income will fall.

News is that LCG feast enrollment this year is sluggish, and the enforcer-ministry has been told to kick the sluggards into action quick-smart. There are growing indications, however, that LCG isn't an outlier in this trend. Other COGs may be facing an embarrassing decline in attendance this year too.

Herbert Armstrong created the Feast of Tabernacles traditions as we know them today. He ignored the Jewish precedents and largely made it up as he went. The proof texting basis for the way WCG did it - and now UCG. LCG, PCG, CGI and others - is shaky at best, and verging on dishonest. If you wanted to honor the Old Testament Holy Days, there are better alternatives.

How many brethren really, honestly save a full second tithe? How many can really afford the week away from work and school? How many despair when it comes to scraping up those additional Holy Day offerings?

And how many are heartily sick of the annual refrain "best feast ever" when clearly it wasn't.

This year's attendance figures may indicate the way of things to come.

The Haj

Every year tens of thousands of Muslims gather in the holy city of Mecca. The haj is a pilgrimage all good followers of Islam are encouraged to make at least once in their lifetimes.

The haj is prefigured in, of all places, the book of Exodus, chapter 23:17. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

John Collins (Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, page 133) comments.

These were occasions when the males were to “appear before the Lord” by going to a sanctuary. The Hebrew word for such a pilgrim feast is hag, which is related to the Arabic name for the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the haj.

In a sense, then, the Church of God observance of the Feast of Tabernacles is a haj. Thousands of people travelling to far away places in obedience to what they believe is a divine command.

The similarities don't end there. Islam has a prophet, Muhammed, and so does Armstrongism. At a minimum we're talking about Herbert Armstrong (Apostle, Elijah), but others have claimed a similarly exalted status (Gerry Flurry for example.) The COGs talk about dwelling in tabernacles or booths (though they prefer nice solid motel rooms) while the Muslim pilgrims literally do dwell in tents, whether rich or poor. And as anyone who has read the embittered ravings of Mark Armstrong will know, there is a certain mullah-like disposition to many of the preachers of Armstrongism. As worshippers in some (but by no means all) mosques are exposed to disturbingly overt political messages, just so are many (but not all) Church of God members lambasted with not-so subtle conservative political rhetoric parading as “Bible truth”.

For others the Feast is a great occasion, and they return home feeling genuinely recharged and renewed in their sense of identity as Christians. More power to them. I've listened to a number of feast sermons that were positive and upbuilding. It's simply not true to characterise the Feast as something inevitably negative or legalistic. I've never attended a Friday prayer service at a mosque, but I suspect something similar is true there too.

For those departing for the eight days, happy haj!

Trumpeting on

Today, September 23, is the Feast of Trumpets. Next up, the Day of Atonement, and then the FOT.

At least, that's the calendar cycle for faithful Church of God households. But what, in particular, is Trumpets all about?

Wikipedia to the rescue. The biggest encyclopedia in history has an article dedicated to the "Christian holiday" of that name. "Disciples of Herbert Armstrong observe the day." As the article winds on it gets quite herbertesque with stuff like this:

"...when they are seven years apart and when they comprise 86 moons on the metatonic cycle, (and not 87 moons), is 2550 days.

"86 moons = 86 x 29.530589 days + 10 days = 2550 days (inclusive). This is the timespan that begins on Tishri 1 in year X and extends out seven years to Tishri 10 on year X + 7.

"2550 days is a very special number of days. It happens to very precisely encompass the timespan of the 70th week of Daniel with the 30 day extension of the second half of the 70th Week going beyond the 1260 days to the 1290 days. This period of 1290 days was prophesied by Daniel in Dan.12:11. The number of days for the final seven years of this age then becomes, - 1260 days + 1290 days = 2550 days.

"There is a perfect agreement of the two timespans..."

Yeah, okay, if you say so. Dear old Ron Dart is a bit more to-the-point when he concedes:

"The Feast of Trumpets is an anomaly among the holy days. When it was instituted, it had no obvious meaning... it has no particular meaning attached to it, there is nothing specified. It doesn't say "You're going to have a memorial of blowing trumpets because we blew trumpets at such and such a time or in such and such a situation" or "all you people are to blow trumpets or all of you people are to do this." There is nothing..."

Of course, Ron goes on to find this hugely significant for determining the true significance of the festival. If you're sufficiently desperate to find out how he pulls it off, here's the link.

Or, you could just hunker down with a collection of Ritenbaugh audio sermons on the subject, but be sure to prepare thoroughly with a wide margin KJV, highlighter, cushion, a six-pack of Red Bull and a lobotomy.