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In this issue: UCG up -
LCG slips, Gerry's bad hair day, Grand Disjunction
and more.
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Issue XXV - October 18
2002
UCG Feast attendance
up: The United Church of God has reported
increased attendance and donations at this year's
Tabernacles festival. These comments from a
member letter.
Success is measured in
different ways, and gauging the success of the Feast is
somewhat subjective, of course. Statistically, we see
some very encouraging trends as reported below... We have
not received all of the international reports yet, but
here in the United States the attendance at the Feast was
up about 6 percent compared with 2001. The offering on
the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles represented a
10.4 percent increase over 2001. The offering on the Last
Great Day was 5 percent more than the offering a year
ago. Attendance and offerings on the Feast of Trumpets
and on the Day of Atonement also showed
increases.
Likeminds contributor
Bill Lussenheide commented:
I am wondering why this
[is] happening. Is UCG viewed as sort of the "Mother
Church" these days and is attracting scattered
independents to attend? ... I predict that over time in
the future, UCG will attract most of the remnants from
collapsed icon churches (Churches headed by one man i.e.
Flurry, Meredith, Ritenbaugh etc) after the death of
their leadership in the next 15 years. UCG will die the
slowest death because of this consolidation trend, but
age demographics will eventually do them in
too...
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Safe
email: There has been a recent rash of
suspicious email directed to The Missing
Dimension address. While some have been random
virus carriers - the sort we all get from time to
time - others appear to have been deliberately
targeted, containing WCG-related headers along with
a virus attachment. Correspondents sending a
legitimate attachment need to let me know it's
coming first. Anything that could possibly contain
a virus will be deleted unread.
I'm also aware that the
MD address has been appropriated on several
occasions to piggyback both spam and viruses.
Any legitimate email from MD will NOT
contain attachments unless you've been advised to
expect it. If you find an unexpected MD email with
an attachment, please delete it immediately and let
me know.
I'll be following
through and laying complaints over all incidents of
viruses targeted at - or posing as coming from -
MD.
Meantime, thanks for
your patience and understanding.
Gavin
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Perceptive comments, but
worrying too for the various independent groups which would
surely collapse in the absence of any "like-minded" larger
body with sufficient size, coherence and public presence to
draw attention to the generic COG brand. In the short
term at least, it seems UCG may continue its ascendancy as
the largest inheritor of the Armstrong legacy.
Meantime, it appears the US
attendance for the Meredith-led LCG was significantly down
this year. The official explanation is that more US members
packed their bags and headed to foreign feast venues, where
attendance is supposed to have been higher. The LCG has
also cancelled the scheduled "ministerial conference"
planned for February, ostensibly because of the move to
North Carolina in March.
Send Gerry a Xmas
Card: Gerry Flurry's personal contact details
were published this week on two PCG related discussion
groups (Flurry
and PCG, both on Yahoo) and also supplied to
Ambassador Watch. In the covering email the
following statements were made:
"I double checked this info
on Yahoo.com, Oklahoma City White Pages and it is
correct... I'm posting this to you in case you might
think anyone would be interested. I would
just ask that people use common sense, and not send hate
mail or threats - don't want anyone to get in
trouble." (emphasis in original)
Sentiments which we should all
share. The writer goes on to say:
But people should have
the right to contact and question the "human leaders" of
their church.
Which also seems a very
reasonable statement! We were able to confirm that Flurry
is indeed publicly listed on Yahoo with both address and
telephone details. While AW won't be publishing those
details here, anyone interested in sending Gerry a Xmas
card could certainly access that information easily from
the Yahoo
People Search page.
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Dateline
Pasadena:
WCG has been blanketing the Pasadena area
for the last week with numerous letters sent to
homes, occupants, P O Box holders, church
members, etc with the following letter:
YOU ARE INVITED
The Worldwide Church of God is planning a
distinctive residential neighborhood on its
property in Pasadena. For over 50 years,
the Church has guided the development of this
land. Now, together with Shea Homes and
the team of Van Tilburg, Banvard &
Soderbergh and EDAW,Inc., we will continue our
thoughtful stewardship by designing and
building a residential neighborhood of which
all Pasadena can be proud. The Church,
utilizing the master development expertise of
Shea Homes, is directly managing the planning
and development process.
As we begin our planning process, we have
several goals in mind. We hope to:
*Embrace and build the existing sense of
Pasadena distinction and character.
*Offer a broad variety of home ownership
opportunities - different
styles, types and sizes to address a range of
desires in Pasadena.
*Support Old Pasadena by providing nearby
long-term patrons.
Harmonize new development with the preservation
of key elements of the existing property.
*Encourage pedestrian and bicycle circulation
and enhance linkages to public transport.
Determine the future of the Ambassador
Auditorium.
As a Pasadena resident, you are an
important stakeholder in this plan and we want
to hear from you!
Open House
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
6 pm to 9 pm
Ambassador Campus Administration Building
300 West Green Street, Pasadena
This is an Open House. You may drop
in anytime to talk with us. We look
forward to hearing from you and exchanging
information in a productive environment.
If you are unable to attend, please fill
out and return the enclosed, postage-paid
card. You may also call our information
line (626)304-6180. By contacting us, you
will be invited to future workshops about this
new neighborhood.
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An interesting side note: Obviously
the WCG has been stung by the public displays
of resentment by employees and church members
over not being kept informed about the sale,
the Church is now planning a meeting in the
Ambassador Auditorium for Church members and
employees on Tuesday night October 29 to let
them know what is supposedly going on.
This meeting is before the public meeting the
next night in the Hall of Ad.
The WPRA is becoming very vocal in their
meetings in that they have no intention of
seeing the number of homes and the over
development that Legacy had planned. The
Church is going to have some stiff resistance
to fight and overcome.
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Split the Church -
the Professional Approach: The following
hilarious missive was sent on to us by a reader from one of
the forums.
SPLIT THE CHURCH
LETTERS
For the sake of
continuity, and for those who have been barred from their
office and typewriter, the following questionnaire is
designed to help us provide you with a coherent,
to-the-point, split-the-church letter for mass mailings
to the mailing list of your choice.
There are fourteen areas
of particular concern. Please check all that
apply:
1) Your
title(s):
__ Anointed One
__ Member of Board of Directors
__ Member of Council of Elders
__ Minister (all ranks)
__ Bookkeeper
__ Usurper
2) Your
church:
__ The only true one
__ One of the true ones
__ Began Pentecost AD 31
__ Began last week
__ Begins next week
__ Unsure
3) Your
spouse:
__ Stands behind you
__ Stands in front of you
__ Was appointed to the Board
__ Was removed from the Board
__ Is starting her own church
4) How many are
against you:
__ 1
__ 7
__ 12
__ the world
__ lost count
5) Satan
is:
__ Striking at the top of the church
__ Striking at the bottom of the church
__ Seeking to destroy your work
__ Seeking to encourage your work
__ Laughing all the way to the bank
6) Your calling
is:
__ Uniquely special
__ From birth
__ From the last split
__ From the last takeover
__ From Fox's "Book of Martyrs"
7) Your mission
is:
__ Restoring the truth
__ Most important in 1,971 years (103.73684
time cycles)
__ Getting church on track
__ Running others off the track
__ Crying aloud, sparing not
__ Crying out loud, sparing
yourself
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8) Preaching
the gospel is dependent upon:
__ Your inspiration
__ Your interpretation
__ Your exclusive revelation
__ $$$
__ All of the above
9) Your
members:
__ Give tithes and offerings
__ Look to you as their spiritual leader
__ Haven't a hint of what's happening
__ Financially support your work
__ Need a crisis to donate more bucks
__ Have begun attending elsewhere
10) Scope of
your work:
__ Worldwide
__ International
__ Intercontinental
__ Global
__ Living
__ Resuscitating
__ United
__ Humongous
__ Need a bigger thesaurus
__ Haven't a clue
11) Church
government is:
__ From you down
__ From the Board down
__ From the Council down
__ From the members up
__ Dependent upon swing votes
__ Non-existent at this time
__ Haven't a clue
12) Your
observations:
__ Church president is against you
__ Church president is the anointed one
__ Board members are against you
__ Board members are the anointed ones
__ Council members are against you
__ Council members are the anointed ones
__ Church members support you
__ Church members are dumb sheep
13) Those
against you:
__ Don't understand you
__ Won't play by your rules
__ Locked you out
__ Locked you up
__ Want to sit in your chair
__ Want to sit on you
14) Your
goals:
__ Complete takeover
__ Ouster of opponents
__ Have people listen to you
__ Have others shut-up
__ Absolute power
__ Absolute corruption
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Your selections will
enable us to draft a split-the-church letter for you.
Additional accusations, justifications, whining,
rebuttal, new bank account, PO Box number, and a list of
radio and television time-slots vacated as a result of
previous church splits are available in our deluxe
version. Deluxe version has additional benefit of free
counseling with a CEM representative on the turf of your
choice.
Price:
--Initial Letter: Free-of-charge; at no cost to
you
--Deluxe Version: One tithe of the tithe of the tithe;
non-refundable
Sorry, no
COD's.
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In Brief
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New Ernest
Martin site: Ken Nagele has drawn MD's
attention to his new website,
ernestlmartin.com.
How fares
the Rock? These comments from the
Flurry Yahoo group:
... the [prayer]
rock is lovingly displayed with moss growing
around it and a chain linked fence guarding
it. There is also a plaque to commemorating
HWA and the Prayer rock.
New
PCG-buster site: Robert Kuhne, an 18
year veteran of the WCG (followed by 9 in
Flurrydom), has
created a new site "intended for anyone who
needs factual information to help family or
friends see the light about Gerald Flurry."
While Mr. Kuhne seems to be harboring illusions
about Herb, some of his material may be helpful for
those most attracted to Gerry's moonshine.
PCG
continues nosedive: "The Greenville
News reported that the PCG FOT attendance for the
Southeast was down to 1,400 this year (it hit a
high of more than 2,000 in the mid to late 90's
when the Southeast FOT for PCG was in Chatanooga
and Charleston). And that worldwide
attendance was at 7,000 - that's down from a high
of around 8,000. so, It looks like PCG is
slowly but surely dying out." (Posted to PCG
discussion group)
Last free
PT: From Joe's weekly
update:
I would like to
ask all pastors in the United States to remind
their congregations, verbally and in your
announcement bulletins, that each member's
subscription to The Plain Truth will expire with
the November/December issue.
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Bad hair
day? One last Gerry story from the
Flurry Yahoo forum:
I'll never forget
one Holy Day in College Station. I happened
to be in the restroom just before the afternoon
services when Flurry was in there. He was
at the sink washing his hands when I saw him open
his brief case and pull out a large can of
hairspray! He touched up his bouffant hair,
checked his face a little and then put the can of
hairspray back into his brief case. I
remember noticing that their wasn't much in his
briefcase other than the hairspray and his
bible!
Fairfield
WCG - A Taste of the Past: So, what
would happen if you typed
www.worldwidechurchofgod.com into your browser?
You'd end up at the distinctive Fairfield,
California WCG congregational site. Here they're
promoting a book on the Holy Days, and tracking
"prophetic" events in the EU. Hoo-boy!
Toll free
becomes toll fee: From a posting this
week on JLF:
Joseph Tkach
keeps trying to wave the flag but there is little
good news. I continue to wonder [about] the true
state of the church. There are indicators here
and there that are not hopeful signs. Gloomy
communications from a depressed Pastor General
... the British PT in jeopardy ... the fact that
those resources had to "suddenly" be pulled ... a
friend tells me the 1-800 number for Canada has
been dropped and now members will be changed for
calls as it has been replaced with their regular
"area code" ... all a trail leading back to
Pasadena.
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Jim Baldwin is back, with a new essay:
Why They Stay. Check it
out.
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Grand Junction
Again: Bob Thiel, the LCG's amiable host in
Arroyo Grande, has published comments by a woman who
attended the Grand Junction festival, specifically in
relation to items carried in AW 23. The correspondent is of
the traditional Armstrong persuasion (as you can tell by
the obsessive use of the honorific "Mr."), and confirms
some of the information we carried, while questioning some
of the details. The following comments are excerpted from
Bob's site:
I don't know of any in
the Wallen Feast-site group who attended last year, and
there were only two who attended part of the time this
year as they have their own Feast site around
Denver.
I never saw or heard of
any shouting matches; but if they did happen, they must
have happened during the first Saturday and Sunday
Seminars entitled, "Tools for Bible Study", held at
2-3:30 pm by Mr. Greg Albrecht.
[The festival
co-ordinator] and his wife received a gift of crystal
from the people who attended the G.J. Feast: there was no
award from the City of Grand Junction. About twenty
minutes after all church was entirely over and about half
of the people had left on the Last Great Day, Mr.
Schnarrenberger passed by Mr. Leger on the way out and
said to him that he was fired. It was very shortly after,
that someone announced it to all who were left in the
hall...
Mr. Schnarrenberger never
once spoke to us or even got on stage during church... We
were wondering why he was there since he wasn't on the
speaking schedule. Mr. Ted Johnson gave the sermon and
spoke quite a bit about the Last Great Day giving his
slants here and there. He seemed to be quite defensive by
this time because so many had gone to talk with
him...
I never saw anyone sit
down in protest to the songs. Many of us simply stood
quietly and respectfully without singing.
Everyone who registered
was supposed to wear their name tag and proof of
registration to insure that everyone who had registered
had a place to sit in the auditorium... I forgot mine at
least twice and was not prevented from going
in.
For various reasons we
believe God wants us to stay here quietly but firmly
refusing to go along with the apostate teaching. For that
we all have suffered a great deal from critics both
inside and out of WCG... In my opinion, we are the
toughest group around because we have taken ridicule,
harassment, and persecution from all the other groups. We
take it because we realize it's just "par for the course"
and part of God's training program for us.
Faith
Rape: These comments taken from a recent
thread on JLF.
Tkach has the power.
Those who resist are virtually powerless to defend
themselves. The entire WCG system is against them and the
true irony is that WCG HQ is STILL telling them they can
choose but refuses to take "No" for an
answer.
Joe claims to have an
episcopal form, but actually that is incorrect, because
even the episcopate is elected. Therefore Joe is more of
a monarch. Like Musharaf in Pakistan, he planned to move
towards a more democratic style, but somehow likes the
power and doesn't want to give it up.
... we have [freedom] in
Christ to choose to worship him as we see fit, not as
some authoritarian, money-grabbing, control-freak
monarchial overlord wants it done.
I say to Joe, LET MY
PEOPLE GO Pharaoh! Give each local church and each local
member the freedom that grace demands, and that extends
to FINANCES! Stop taxing us at 50% Lord High Sheriff of
Nottingham! Stop lording it over our faith! Stop the
faith-rape!