Email To The Editor, Page 18

I was talking to an old friend the other day that had left the Worldwide Church of God many years before. Among other things she told me that her former son-in-law had committed suicide. I then wondered, just how many people have tried or succeeded in committing suicide in the worldwide churches of god or its offshoots? I realize that this is an unusually grim subject, but if you are willing I would like to request that anyone knowing any details surrounding the suicide or attempted suicide of a church member, or close family relative of a church member e-mail me at mmessmer@olypen.com.

Even though it is an incredibly difficult topic to discuss, I would like to compile as much information as I can on the subject. As much detail as possible would be helpful, such as; how old was the person when they started to attend, what calendar year did they start attending, what church area, who pastored their area, did both parents attend, did they get jobs inside or outside the church, did his (her) family situation change due to finances or divorce, what was the person's level of formal education, how were the survivors treated after the tragedy?

If you want, I will put a note on the page that people can send email to you for your project, if they want. What will you do with the info, once you have it? I will be keeping things pretty general because this is a very touchy subject and I don't want to hurt those who are affected by this any more than they already are.

One emailer that I asked about this page because her son committed suicide, wants me to have a section where I would "invite those who would want to, to tell their stories that are connected to the death by suicide." We had e'd about this about a year ago. She was going to write something for the PT but, understandably, put it off. I think she will post now. If I remember correctly, I told her that I didn't want to put her through the pain of thinking about what happened. She said that no day goes by where she doesn't think about it.

May make some resources available too if anyone can direct me to them on the web or otherwise.

I'm taking submissions for
The Worldwide Church of God Suicide page:
State
Last attended church area,
Approximate date of death,
Male or Female,
Age,
Comments.
Any mail sent to Dana will have
these statistics forwarded to me.
CLICK HERE FOR EMAIL ADDRESS.

It is so sad that you are blaming a man for all that you have. It is clear your mind is simple. You can't think for yourselves. You put all your stock in a man and what he says yet you wont dare to think for yourselves on the subject matter. I know that there is human kindness any who have wrote such hatefull (sic) words about a man that they can't stand to see be so differnt (sic) that the rest of what normal relgious (sic) leaders are like. So,he (sic) may have said some things that you don't like and he may have done some things you don't agree with. But he isn't you and so why should you worry about him and what he was all about be your own person and live as you desire but go around withsuch (sic) hatefullness (sic) towards him just because your little mind couldn't think for it's self.Sad (sic) little minds. Think of this would you want a web site out there to degrade your father,your mother,yor (sic) children or yourself in such a matter? It sure easy to cast stones but it isn't so easy reciveing (sic) them is it? Ever think of making a web site with postive (sic) things that you want to share without harming someone's name be it dead or alive? think about it!

I've seen hate mail before but you are personally attacking people that are human beings and we all make mistakes. I, personally, do not attend anywhere anymore but think back to my college days with fondness because I made some good friends. Do yourself a favor, try and dwell on the positive aspects of your past and move forward. Leave the garbage where it belongs. In the garbage can. Then maybe you can move forward and enjoy what God intended and which I hope you enjoy, a happy home life, possibly kids and a rewarding job that puts food on the table and clothes on my kids.

Good luck to you, I hope you can get over your past and start living for the future.

I forgot to thank you for putting some of the places to look for Worldwide Church of God people on your site. I had been looking to contact them to say hello.

Who are you? What relationship did you have with the WWCOG? Where did you get your facts?

Thanks. I couldn't find credentials anywhere, and was curious. I was also once a member of "The Church." I joined in 1973, and mostly because a friend got me to listening to GTA because she was excited and I felt she needed someone who would let her talk about it. I more or less got hooked because I was learning the truth of the origins of the "Christian" holidays that I had always disliked taking part in.

I was marked and cast out not long after Herbert kicked out Garner Ted, because I was an agitator who kept challenging the new minister. That was all right with me. I had started to see through them even before the casting of Garner Ted Armstrong, but then they started threatening that we would lose our place in the kingdom if we contacted Garner Ted Armstrong, Well, I had been taught to prove all things, and now being told to just "believe." No way!!

I'm sorry to hear that you fell for that tithing thing. After I read the bible, I knew they were misinterpreting the tithing law, and pointed out the scriptures to the new minister. I was more or less told that women have no voice, and to sit down and shut up. Well, that put one more step forward onto the path of departure. After the Feast of Tabernacles when they had Herbert speaking to us via a movie screen, I was done with WWCOG. I went with Garner Ted's group for awhile, but just couldn't stand "The Church" anymore.

I've been reading your site, and lots of memories are flooding back. The part I don't recall is about Herbert sexually abusing his daughter, but maybe that revelation came after I'd decided to leave.

Well, yesterday I received your URL from an email friend who wanted me to give him my impressions.

Thanks a million for posting my e-mail invitation on your web page! I just got an e-mail from an old friend I never thought I would hear from again! It just made my day!

It has been some time since we e-mailed you with our experience of leaving the Worldwide Church of God cult. We still have very few friends....just a few ex-wcgers who have also been there & done that. However, in spite of the loss of relationships, which we now realize were so shallow & insincere, we have peace of mind in our freedom. It is truly amazing how long it takes to get over it. It is very difficult to rid our minds of the cult teachings & doctrines....they still linger on & probably will forever. What a horrible legacy they left us !

We have always enjoyed shows, concerts & travel; but the cult always made us feel guilty for spending the money on such things. We heard comments like...."They should have sent the money to headquarters." Well, now, WE GO & ENJOY.

We have been very negligent, Ed, in letting you know how helpful your website has been in our de-programming process. We know that we represent the majority of visitors to your website who really appreciate what you are doing....yet fail to let you know the great service you are providing us ex-wcgers. So, from all of us.....a heartfelt thanks.

Please pass on our gratitude to John Ouvrier, Bruce Renehan, Ken & John B., whose writings really touched us deeply. Before closing, may we recommend to your readers 2 books by Wayne Dyer which have helped our understanding..."Your Sacred Self" & "Manifesting Your Destiny". They have given us an entirely new concept & perception of God.

Thanks for your support. Nice to get some positive feedback sometimes. Lots of times it is only when we disagree with someone that we will bother to send that email.

Congrats and thanks for the new section on suicide. As serious and as heartbreakingly tragic as this is, it is MUCH needed. Something needs to be said about the irresponsible, sub-human madness that has precipitated this wanton destruction of these many lives. I don't blame any victim. I BLAME WHAT CAUSED IT.

Although I've been asked not to submit any of my personal email on this subject to anyone (and I won't), I'm encouraging anyone who feels so inclined (and when they're fully ready) to open up to and with others like you on the subject. This sharing will hopefully serve as a catharsis and help folks move on with life, maybe a little more at peace with the past. Such a tragedy has our full empathy going out to all of the individual families of those poor victims. We're all so very sorry for each of those dear families that have needlessly suffered.

What a gruesome legacy this cult has left! Our dear, precious little ones killing themselves because of the madness of the "tares." I spoke with a friend of mine yesterday who said that he doubted my estimation that the worldly proportion of Wheat to Tares was only fifty-fifty. He felt it was more like 85% to 15% . . . with the higher figure going to the tares. The more that I hear, the more I think my buddy may be right.

This exchange with these Yarbrough loonies (and whatever pseudonyms they come up with--is this Christian maturity?) is so highly instructive. Their paranoid madness is swirling ever higher. They seem to like to quote scripture to condemn you and the rest of us who don't conform to their life-rejecting world-view; so I wonder if they've ever bothered with the beatitudes? Being meek, being poor in spirit, being peacemakers--these are the ideal attributes that their Jesus supposedly propounded. Guess they still have some growing up to do.

Thanks for simply posting their own words, which shine a klieg light on their hatred and on the huge padlock fastened on the door of their minds.

I have read most of your Website but have not seen any mention of a particular system of control that existed in the Bethlehem, PA congregation of the Worldwide Church of God -covert attendance taking.

There were several individuals (non-deacon and elder members) who were responsible for keeping a small notepad with checkmark record of people's attendance at the weekly Sabbath service. Each of them had a set of families to "surveil." The designated individual would usually approach the CHILDREN in the family to ask if the mother or father was attending that day.

Our family became "marked" when my mother began to attend approximately 2-3 times a month instead of the usual 4-5 times a month. She was disconcerted with the type of sermons that were being given by Mr. H. -i.e. very authoritarian, fear-inducing, condemning -and spent those Saturdays she "missed" with her two elderly aunts who needed assistance with shopping and other errands. She felt that this was better time spent that sitting in a service.

The attendance-taker would often approach either me or my brother and ask "Where's your Mom?". I told them in the first few instances, thinking that they were merely being friendly, "She's not here today." But then the attendance-taker began to ask less discreet questions, such as "Why isn't she here today?" or "Is she sick?" or "Why has she been missing services lately?".

I can only imagine that these types of attendance records were being submitted to the ministry. Or perhaps they were presented at the monthly DELS meeting.

But eventually we became marked as a truly "spiritually-at-risk" family in that my brother and I would no longer respond appropriately to such attendance queries. When asked where our mother was, we would reply, "Why do you need to know?" or "She's not here." It eventually came to the point that we ran in the opposite direction of the person taking attendance when spotted. Or, we would arrive one minute before the start of services and leave during the last song in order that the attendance-taker have no opportunity to see us.

Somewhere along the line my husband was 'blessed' with attendance duty. we did keep track of who came and who didn't and what their excuses were for not being there.

I was under someone else's record while in the hospital for major Problems. Guess what? Someone forgot to tell the proper people; I got a ministerial visit in hospital.

To understand the why of it all , is very , very hard . Roy Masters of The Foundation of Human Understanding has been of great help to me . His radio talk show ( on the air for 40 years ) and his web site , is really waking me up to the painful truth . His fruits are good . I am not walking on water yet , but maybe one day . ( smile )

Only the few understand the truth in the man , women relationship . In the beginning Adam and Eve we're hole . He failed to love his wife and watched her eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil . ( pride and ego ) He doubted God ( ambition ) and the two of them became dysfunctional beings. ( wanting to be as God ) They became male and female ( animal ) All of humanity , except a few , are carbon copies of our first parents . ( generation to generation ) to this day . The man is the blame , his doubt is the cause . A man failed to love his wife that God gave him and most men have been failing ever since .......

Dennis Pelliccia Vietnam Veteran ( freedom of speech , what would we do without it? )

I don't suppose you could give any proof for this, outside of the bible, which I think has been successfully proved to not be written by any God that I could have any respect for?

Looking at our country today and what it's become ..... , are we one nation under God ? Maybe at our beginning 200 years ago . But the God today , Mr. . Bill Clinton's God , is not my God . I seek the God I can respect and trust like you Ed . At times , It's a very lonely road . To totally reject the Bible , I can't do . It has been corrupted so many times over the centuries . What it said at first is not what it says now and many vital books are missing !!! The churches never gave us the hole truth and nothing but the truth . If they did , who would need them . Tyrants that want power , can't have it if the people are independent and free .

Ed, I thought I'd mention that in the new & update section, the suicide box update of 10/21/99 is a link to the dead church scrolls.

You are obviously a hateful and bitter person to point out that something is wrong with my Website. Can't you just forgive and move on? Don't you realize that you made the choice to click on that link? If it didn't take you where it said it would, that is your problem, you had free choice. Jesus has forgiven me for that bad link and you need to also, even though I am not sorry a bit for leading you astray or for any damage that you may have incurred as a result. And, if you don't forgive me, you are in danger of losing your eternal life!

Don't you realize that, because you are such a bad person, God allowed you click on that link and be misled? He is trying to teach you to be humble and poor in spirit. Nobody else has harassed me with the truth that the link is bad. They all realize that they deserve to be misled and they are just grateful that there aren't more bad links. Don't you have anything better to do with your time than to pick on me?

(Dorothy, I'm sure you will realize that this is just a mad attempt at sarcasm and humor and pulling on the chain of Tkach and gang. Thanks for helping me make the PT as error free as possible. Best, Ed)

Thanks for the comeuppance. I needed that and now i must go and repent in dust and ashes. Or maybe I'll just go shopping.

While I'm at it, let me add my voice to those who appreciate what you are doing. It's way past time for someone to stand up and boldly speak the truth.

For myself, until now I never had a platform to speak my own thoughts, and you've given me not only a chance to sound off but to let others hear my experiences as well. I had no idea that revisiting my own Worldwide Church of God incarceration might be helpful to others, but apparently it has helped a few, and that is most gratifying.

Don't let the bastards grind you down, Ed. You're doing a more godly work than all the preachers in hell (which is where most of them would go if there really were such a place).

I'd like to add my voice to that of Joanne, who wrote the article "A Personal Concept of God".

I think Joanne stated the case very well about personal perceptions of God, and how God was invented in the first place. Human beings, aware of their own mortality, must find some way to deal with it. Some can do so intellectually, others cannot handle it at all. Most people need a god of some kind. Thus we find gods in many forms from the very beginning of recorded history. The God of the Hebrews was just one more variation on an already ancient theme.

I appreciate Joanne for stating it so clearly. Basically, what she articulated is pretty much the same conclusion I have come to about the subject.

Say, there's all kinds of stuff on your web site that I haven't seen before. You've been busy--thanks!

In my earlier (long) message I mentioned a little about LGATs (Large Group Awareness Trainings). I spent many, many hours in those things and experienced some pretty surprising things. One of the areas I had a chance to explore was "intention." Intention is something we direct, not something "God does" (given a conservative view of what God is).

Intention is a subject where if you look at it straight on, you don't see much happening, but if you observe it casually it over time you start to notice that there's considerably more to what goes on in life than what we learned in science classes.

After noticing my own intention process for a while, something dawned on me. There's no way to tell the difference between intention and "answered prayer." The nice thing about intention, though, is that it's something we all direct, not something that only dues-paying, God-fearing Christians have access to. And you know what, the stories about answered prayer know no denominational boundaries either. Every religion has them.

I wouldn't worry too much about messing up the future through intention. The mess we see NOW (each person sees it differently) is the current state of our intention! Get to like it. It's the first step in moving on.

It struck a cord. How often did we see someone making note? Horror of all horrors!

Later my husband and I were asked to take attendance. It was interesting, we were told that it was to make sure that people were not being forgotten. We had a large congregation that we were attending at the time, and the minister figured that we would know who was there and not there since; we were "in charge of tape library." Since neither one of us was ordained we couldn't be in charge, but there was a deacon over us, who hadn't a clue.

My husband's father, as a deacon, was later put in charge of keeping attendance; it was always interesting to hear what ministers would tell him of why people had to be kept track of.

I was a small group leader for a time, I had the minister tell me he want to know who was there and how they were doing because he was to busy.

Yes, fishing and hunting two weeks a month takes us to much time to spend on the people you are suppose to be ministering to.

Hi Ed. It's heartening to see more and more thinkers appearing on your web site, and less and less of the diehards, unless they are starting to think also. (Maybe pigs would fly).

Anyhow, while reading the Sunday paper yesterday I ran across a caption over "Dear Abby" that read: Creed celebrates American values It seems as though a retired patriotic grunt with 35 years of service wanted Abby to put it in her column for those who forgot it or don't know it exists. I thought some who click onto the Painful Truth would be interested.

The American's Creed "I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and defend it against all enemies".----William Tyler Page '

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, I believe in Jesus Christ His only son, our Lord, He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died for our sins, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and was seated on the right hand side of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting". -I added the Apostolic Creed merely for comparison..

It would be interesting to take a poll and find out how many believe in one or the other, or both creeds.

Thanks for relaying the message from John B.. Just the feedback I needed to keep thinking and writing. I enjoyed his articles too. I'll have to contact him when I get time.

I have a notice form Karen M. If you think its worth while to post ,go ahead. It is regarding the file://www.the hungersite.com. Every time you click on, someone gets fed around the world at the cost of corporate sponsors. Only allowed one click a day, until they have enuf sponsors. The 100% donation goes to the hungry. I don't want to add more work to you on the site, yet in the future it may be interesting to have a place to "get to know your "web reader/writer". by just introducing self, with or without an email address. I'd like to know more about these neat people who share our wwc history. Just a thought. Perhaps you could delegate the job to someone else.

We are writing you with good news, in spite of what we see in the world around us. Satan continues to bombard the world and has seemingly intensified his attacks on the people of God. Nevertheless, we can give thanks and glorify God that He continues to deliver those who trust in Him. He will never leave us nor forsake us if we yield ourselves completely into His hands. As Christ said: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20).

We just completed a ministerial conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Twenty-three elders from the United States (12 paid, 11 unpaid), Rob Barnett from Australia, and Brian Gale representing the United Kingdom and about half the wives were able to attend the three-day session. We reached a number of important decisions for going ahead in fulfilling the purpose of Christ's ministry. But first, a brief recap of why we held the conference.

As you know, the Global Church of God entered into a legal process known as Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors on September 17, l999. This process allowed the Global Church of God to pay bills rather than engage in a costly legal action. Since the end of Global, the brethren in our fellowship have continued to worship together each Sabbath and at the Feast. A new corporation was formed, temporarily organized under the name Church of God, a Sabbath Fellowship. In that context, most of the ministers in our fellowship were able to meet October 17-19 for the purpose of making plans to go forward.

Christian Fellowship. A number of the ministers, as well as others, had sent in thoughtful comments that aided our discussions. We considered several of these suggestions and concluded that the phrase "Church of God" should appear first and that the word "Sabbath" should be changed to "Christian." In some areas of the world, "Sabbath" would elicit a negative response-that the fellowship was a "cult." Others thought the word made it appear that we placed more value on the Sabbath commandment than any other of Gods laws.

The ministry agreed to retain the word "fellowship" in the hope that we would all see ourselves as builders of bridges rather than walls.

The conference encouraged all of us as we saw that we share the same goals: to seek God's will, to serve His people, to preach the Gospel and to work together in all this in peace and harmony. We agreed upon a simple statement: "The mission of the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship is by teaching and example to fulfill the purpose of Christ's ministry as stated in Ephesians 4:11-13 and to share God's Truth with others as He grants us

We decided, by consensus, to form a Council of all the current elders of the Church, with Raymond McNair serving as president of this spiritual-decision-making body. Of all the elders who constitute this body, six serve as corporate directors, making the operational decisions for the organization: George Meeker, Rex Sexton, Larry Salyer, Rick Railston,

Rob Barnett and Rick Stafford. Jack Hendren will serve as managing director of the business operations. The six men who serve on the operations-decision-making body will rotate out of this responsibility after a term. This will give other men the opportunity to serve in this capacity.

Bible Reading Program and member letters, and set up a small, one-man "office" in Fort Worth, with Rob Hasanen handling the bookkeeping and tape-distribution functions. The plan is that those of you who normally get audio tapes will soon receive some Feast tapes to play on the next several Sabbaths. For our local congregations and video groups, we plan to get videotapes in from every minister in our fellowship so that you can "get acquainted" with some of the men you may not know or perhaps have not heard speak. We will have an expanded Internet cybercast of Sabbath services "up and running" right away for those of you who tune in live to participate.

We had some long, heartfelt discussions aimed at deepening our relationships and searching out ways to mutually support one another, being a little group and quite spread out. We would like to position our ministry within the U.S. to better serve everyone as God makes the need clear. We intend to live within the income God provides and expand operations only as He makes that possible. And, we plan to provide print and electronic materials to members, prospective members and others around the world as part of fulfilling our mission.

praying for God's direction that we might work through the power of His Spirit. For brethren, the plan of God marches on! He continues to do a work in each one of us, changing us from what we are to what He wants us to become. And He gives us a collective work to do-whether we meet in a small video group, or a larger congregation, or even if we have no one close by

for regular fellowship. That work involves preparing the Bride, the Church of God, for the return of Jesus Christ. And the greatest part of this job

must be done on our knees and in our Christian walk. As Mr. Meeker reminded all of us last Sabbath, we must offer the sacrifices of living at peace with one another, of living joyfully in spite of difficulties, of expressing gratitude to God for His many blessings, of living righteously

We also ask that you pray for the dedicated men and women who served so faithfully on the staff in San Diego over the last year. They worked above and beyond expectations and proved themselves faithful to the work entrusted to them. Most of them must now find other employment. Please ask God to open the right doors for each one of them. And please pray for us to get up and running smoothly in our new mini-structure. We ask your patience as we try to serve you and request that you help each other stay encouraged. Review

Hebrews 10:23-25, Malachi 3:16-17, and Psalm 133 as you go to God in prayer and certainly be praying for one another.

We will update you with more news as things unfold. Thank you again for your personal faithfulness in following Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church.

that He will not put upon us more than we can bear. Furthermore, He assures us that trials give us an opportunity to build patience and faith, that we may be made like Him. Let's look forward in hope of salvation to the time

I love the "we intend to live within the income God provides" bit. As long as we can live good off the income, we will. If we have to let some of the lower class ministry go, well, that is god's will; you wouldn't expect us to cut our own pay, would you? If there is extra money to share with fellow con-men and we think they can bring in extra business, we will expand.

"God has promised that He will not put upon us more than we can bear." Like getting an honest job?

But, I guess they are just giving people what they want. People want religion. They want someone to tell them that there are answers to life's mystery, that there is hope for a life after death. They have been indoctrinated with religion from an early age and it is a part of their very life. They can no more give it up than they could heroin. Religion is just another rotten, addictive drug. And the "ministry" are the drug dealers. But it is a legal drug and dealing it is legal too.

And so we have Tkach's drug house and McNair's drug house and Meredith's drug house and Garner Ted Armstrong's drug house, etc. Different variations of the same drug, so come, all you addicts, and get the drug of your own choice. It will make you feel good, a spiritual high, superior to those that are not as close to God as you are, give you hope in life after death, but you have to give up this present life and your money to get it.

I've been meaning to update all of you "out there" in Atlanta! Now is as good a time as any.

First, as a result of Global being shut down, we have incorporated here in the northwest under the name: "Church of God Fellowship." This was accomplished the week before the feast. Harold Smith is the only employee. Larry Slayer is NOT a part of it. Most of the membership in Washington and pockets of members in other parts of the country are supporting Harold's ministry for obvious spiritual reasons. But furthermore, Harold, Rick Railston (LE in Yakima) and myself are the "Council of Elders." The board of directors includes the above three, but

two "business savvy" members will also serve on the board of directors making a total of five.

Paul Miller and I will be traveling to the tri-cities for services today and the first meeting will be held at Harold's home tonight at 7pm.

We continue to be "aligned" with the remainder of the Global leadership/membership as they have also formed a new corporation (Church of God a Sabbath Fellowship) through the efforts of Jack Hendron. Jack is the only board member and has offered to temporarily hire all employees/ministers at minimum wage. A 3 day meeting is scheduled in Dallas to try to "start over" and "do it right this time." I will not be going down due to cost and time. However, Harold will be along with Rich Railston.

Harold has no intention of coming under this "new structure" however we all desire to stay aligned in spirit and cooperation. But, the CGF will run efficiently and intelligently. We hope to provide each local congregation with computer and video equipment so as to be connected with

the other congregations for services each week. Quincy will be able to view live Harold giving the sermon in Richland, etc.

All business management, accounting, budgeting, etc. will be out-sourced to my CPA firm for a flat amount per month about the cost of one FT employee at about $8.50/hour! This includes all rent, equipment, software, furniture, and services. Global had at least 3 full time people pushing $80K to $100K per year for the same services!

We also hope to centralize the tape distribution function because Harold's tapes go out all over the world through the "black market" so to

speak. Now, they can be freely distributed with original, quality copies with no HQ censorship or judgement.

which to duplicate. A lean, efficient model that has as its #1 priority the taking care of the flock. As resources permit, we can preach the gospel too. We hope to have a nice web-page, and one strategy would be to run 15 second TV commercials pointing people to the web page. All literature will be available to download in .pdf format as will communications to the membership. The phone # of the church is Harold's home telephone! He desires to personally field all calls at least until he's overwhelmed! But such

I think the remaining Global "management" are a little jealous, because it appears Harold will personally carry 15-20% of the membership of the Church! The remaining Global "leaders" ill not be allowed to squander God's tithes and offerings from NW members ever again! We have a high level of respect

for each dollar that comes in because it is often the result of the sacrifice of people without many resources. In the past, it seems that the funds were taken for granted and NOT carefully managed. How else could Global management run the organization into the ground in 10 months - starting with $500,000 cash and collecting over $1 Million in contributions during these 10 months. Seems hard to me! They should be in the Guinnes Book of World Records for ineptness (and trying at the same time!).

We hope to survey and get input from the membership on how they could be served better and upgrade the member service department dramatically. Then, once 6 months worth of reserves are in place and we are satisfied the membership is being taken care of to their satisfaction, then allocating resources for out-reach programs will be put into place.

Will be happy to answer any questions you all may have and would be happy to provide you with "original" tapes in the near future if desired!

Still get coworker letters you are going to "love" this. I received this morning and had to pass it along to you.

Late fall and early winter is traditionally a time of thanksgiving--and the most important reason to be thankful is that God has given us the greatest gift imaginable, Jesus Christ, as the song lyrics above remind us. In Jesus, our live have hope and meaning. Without him, all the "things" of this world would be vanity--utterly meaningless.

Thursday, November 25, is Thanksgiving Day, in remembrance of the Pilgrims, who were eager to thank God for the bar necessities of life. By modern standards, they were deep in poverty--but they were rich in gratitude.

--The previous winter, more than half the Pilgrims had died from bad weather, hunger and illness. But the Pilgrims were not shaken in faith. Their grief did not paralyze they were thankful for the life they had.

--They were thankful for the food, even simple actions. Today, we live in a land of plenty, where overeating is more common than malnutrition. It takes only 3 farmers to fee every 100 people, which means the other 97% can produce other goods and services that raise the standard of a living for all. This is good and we should be thankful.

--The Pilgrims were thankful for peace. They were fleeing religious persecution, and felt blessed to be on good terms with the Native Americans. They knew they were strangers and pilgrims, guests on land that had not been theirs. We are also pilgrims and strangers on heart, seeking a better county, a heavenly inheritance (Hebrews 1113-16)

-They were so thankful for the small amount they had, that they were willing to share it with their potential enemies, the Indians. This was not a shrewd political maneuver--It was an honest expression of being thankful for what God had given. The Pilgrims always kept God in the pictures. Whatever happened, he allowed, and whatever the circumstances, they were to be used for his glory. With that conviction, we can indeed be thankful for all things.

This year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 28 is known as Advent Sunday in many churches. This is an annual commemoration celebrating the Second Coming (the Advent) of Jesus Christ. We eagerly await our Savoir to bring even greater blessings upon his return. for this, too, we can be supremely thankful, for he who promised can be counted on to bring this blessing to us: the presence of God, with peace and joy and greater than we can imagine!

Then comes the Advent season, when churches traditionally begin to go through the Gospels, starting with John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for the Lord. Again, what a great cause for thanksgiving, for celebration--to realize that God did not leave us in our sin, did not punish us according to our transgressions. Instead of giving us what we deserved, he gave us Jesus Christ, his Son.

How should we respond to such a gift? With grateful hearts, with generosity. We should be generous with others, just as God has been generous to us. Throughout the New Testament, we see that our attitude and behavior are to be a reflection of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We are to be like him, to be Christ-like, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, as we let his mind be in us, as we let his humility and compassion be ours.

Jesus was a thankful person, not griping about things he didn't have, but simply saying what he did have for God's glory. He didn't have much in the way of silver and gold, but what he did have, he give: He gave healing, cleansing, freedom, forgiveness, compassion and love. He give himself--in life as well as in death. He was a living sacrifice, not jut one who died. He continues live as our High Priest, giving is access tap the Father, government is assurance that God loves us, giving us hope in his return, giving us himself.

This year, may Worldwide Church of God congregations will take a special offering at this late-autumn season of thanksgiving. For some, it will be on Thanksgiving Saturday or Advent Sunday. Many will also have an offer on Saturday, December 25, Christmas. The enclosed envelopes may be used for they offerings..........

Read the history of this country. Do a little digging and don't accept text books. I also read about the pilgrims...........terrible people.

They want us to give at Thanksgiving and Christmas after all the years of telling us these were pagan holidays.

Still trying to use guilt and shame to separate people from their money. Still telling the believers how awful they are and how grateful they should be that God doesn't give them "what they deserve." This God is a fable, a big bad bogey-man who does not exist.

What they and all human beings deserve are encouragement and respect. In my opinion, these vile, money-grubbing, self-righteous, smug, lying TARES are nothing more than a pustulating boil on the buttocks of humanity.

Their brand of "love" makes me want to vomit. I wish that I could reach out and put my arms around every poor sucker that this cult has deluded into believing that they are worthless and deserving of abuse and tell them that they are instead deserving of all the love and joy and acceptance they have been denied by this bunch of bigoted, thieving scum.

Who could ever forget both Dennis Luker and Wilbur Berg as names for the disfellowshipped list? Both would be in the "Little guys" category of the United Cult UCG.

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