|
|
News at a Glance
Thompson Added to MS TeamRichard Thompson, pastor of the Orlando, Ocala and Jacksonville, Florida, congregations, joined the Ministerial Services Team again at the request of Jim Franks, Ministerial Services operation manager. Mr. Thompson previously served on the original Ministerial Services Team in 1995. Mr. Thompson replaces Dennis Luker, who stepped down from the team effective July 1. "This will leave Denny with only two jobs—church pastor and regional pastor!" Mr. Franks said. "I sincerely want to thank Denny and LeeAnn Luker for their contribution to the Ministerial Services Team for the past several years." The team now consists of David Register (Education Program director), Doug Horchak (overall coordinator for Festival planning), Mr. Thompson and Mr. Franks, the team manager. According to the job description for the team, "The president is also involved in all major decisions and attends meetings as he is able." [ back to top ] Education Task Force MeetsThe Education Advisory Task Force met in the Los Angeles, California, area on Saturday evening, June 24, and Sunday, June 25, for a discussion about the Church's education programs. The task force is made up of elders and members who have experience and background in education and several of our current education programs (see list of task force members in the June issue, page 4). The purpose of the meeting was to brainstorm ideas and suggestions for the overall structure of the education area and outcomes for our education programs. We made considerable progress in formulating recommendations that will be presented to the president and the operation manager of Ministerial Services. After review and editing, recommendations will be brought forward in a proposal to the Council of Elders at their August meeting. —David Register [ back to top ]
List of Top 12 Booklets ReleasedA total of 4.2 million copies of UCG's 32 booklets have been printed since United began in 1995. To keep up with the growing demand, 17 titles (totaling 670,000 copies) were reprinted in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year (620,000 copies) and an increase of 52 percent over the year before (440,000). (In the 2004-2005 fiscal year we reprinted 22 titles.) The top 12 titles printed to date are: • The Book of Revelation Unveiled (231,000). —Peter Eddington [ back to top ] 11 Percent of Bible Study Course Grads Become DonorsLast fiscal year 135,000 copies of the Bible Study Course were reprinted, for a total of 1.18 million copies of all lessons printed so far. An interesting note about Bible Study Course graduates: 11 percent of them are either coworkers or donors right now, and 95 percent of them have ordered other pieces of literature beyond The Good News and the BSC. In contrast, only 2.8 percent of UCG's entire subscriber base are coworkers or donors. Therefore, it seems that BSC readers are four times more likely to make a donation. —Peter Eddington [ back to top ] E-mail Updates Show Significant GrowthAs of June 2006 there were 15,407 subscribers to the weekly www.ucg.org Web site updates, a 44 percent increase over a year ago! This service provides users with the latest new items on the Church Web site. In addition, there are 8,682 people receiving UCG Member updates (a 13 percent increase), which gives members updates of Church news and other important developments. Of interest to teens and young adults is the Vertical Thought magazine e-mail update that alerts them to new material posted at www.verticalthought.org. There are 1,903 current subscribers to this service (a 40 percent increase over a year ago). Another exciting development is the number of Good News readers who are now signed up to receive the monthly "GN Reader e-Letter." At present there are 19,850—a very encouraging 59 percent increase. Samples of what GN readers have been getting can be seen at www.gnmagazine.org/gnupdate. The latest e-news program is titled "This Is the Way" and goes to 3,176 readers—a 76 percent increase over a year ago. You can view samples of past items at www.thisistheway.org. —Peter Eddington [ back to top ]
Free Braille Bibles AvailableThe Braille Bible Foundation provides KJV and NKJV Braille Bibles to blind and visually-impaired people anywhere in the world at no cost. The NKJV edition is a hard-covered 20-volume set. Other versions are also available in Braille, and the foundation can put people in contact with those who publish these other versions. Other languages besides English are available also. More information is available by writing the Braille Bible Foundation at P.O. Box 948307, Maitland, FL 32794-8307, U.S.A. or calling (407) 834-3628. [ back to top ]
Federal Court Rules in Favor of Sabbath-KeeperA U.S. federal district court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, ruled for a Seventh-day Adventist who sought accommodation for his Sabbath-keeping beliefs. The worker was awarded $311,166.75 in lost wages and punitive damages. It is believed to be one of the few such cases in which punitive damages—designed to "reform or deter the defendant," as one definition puts it—have been awarded to a Sabbath-keeper. Todd Sturgill, age 41 and a resident of Springdale, Arkansas, was a 19-year driver for United Parcel Service when he joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in May of 2004. In July of that year, Sturgill asked his employer for accommodation on Friday evenings during the upcoming holiday delivery season. After three months, Sturgill was told he would receive no accommodation. Though Sturgill was happy to perform his job, his conviction about observing the biblical Sabbath on the seventh day of the week would not allow him to perform work during that time. Despite these roadblocks, Sturgill was able to make arrangements with his coworkers to adjust his schedule and keep the Sabbath until Friday, Dec. 17, 2004. On that day, despite repeated requests for assistance and accommodation, managers at the firm took no steps to enable Sturgill to complete his work before sundown, and he returned to the UPS center with roughly 35 undelivered parcels, and then went home. He was fired the following Monday for what UPS called "job abandonment." —Mark A. Kellner/Adventist News Network [ back to top ] Dwight Armstrong Hymns Unleashed"Worldwide Church of God officials announced on June 26, 2006, that it is placing all Dwight Armstrong composed hymns to which it owns the copyright into the public domain. Effective immediately, any person or group who wishes to copy or use these hymns may do so without receiving permission from the Church" (www.wcg.org). [ back to top ] Vertical Thought Article QuotedThe Traditional Values Coalition Web site quoted Mario Seiglie's article from the latest Vertical Thought magazine, including a link to the article on the Vertical Thought Web site. Under the headline "The Fish That Shoots Down Evolution," traditionalvalues.org said July 6, 'In a recent commentary on evolution by United Church of God Pastor Mario Seiglie, he points out that the archerfish is so uniquely designed that it could not have evolved with slight modifications." A summary and a quote from the Vertical Thought article followed. The Web site explains that "Traditional Values Coalition is an inter-denominational public policy organization speaking on behalf of over 43,000 churches." [ back to top ] Ski Weekend Set for Feb. 16-19, 2007The Salt Lake City, Utah, congregation will be hosting its annual Ski Weekend Feb. 16 to 19, 2007 (Presidents' Day weekend). Advance planning is underway to secure hotel accommodations and line up the guest speaker and seminar presenters. The Salt Lake City congregation invites members to start making plans now to join their brethren from around the country for this fun-filled family weekend. Activities and venues will be available for skiers and non-skiers of all ages and abilities, at bargain prices. Details to be announced in future issues. For more information, contact Larry Salyer at (801) 495-0412 or larry_salyer@ucg.org. [ back to top ] 13 Couples Invited to Fifth Leadership WorkshopMinisterial Services has invited 13 men and their wives from local congregations in the United States , Canada and South Africa to the fifth Leadership Workshop. The seminar will run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 (Labor Day weekend) at the home office in Milford, Ohio. The invitees are: Bill and Joanna Bradford, Chicago, Illinois; Dempsey* and Susan Bruton, Williamsburg, Virginia; Kevin and Debbie Call, Portsmouth, Ohio; Grant and Kim Chick, Durban, South Africa; Frank and Sue Dunkle, Columbus, Ohio; Joe and Brenda Greene, La Crosse, Wisconsin; Barry and Sandy Korthuis, Seattle, Washington; Scott and Peggy Moss, Fort Wayne, Indiana; Rob and Jennifer Poffenroth, Calgary, Alberta; Chris and Katharine Rowland, Lafayette, Indiana; Gary* and June Steeves, Sussex, New Brunswick; Lloyd* and Helen Teetaert, Regina, Saskatchewan; and Don* and Donna Turgeon, Lafayette, Indiana (*elder). There will be five days of classes covering topics such as: teaching as we have been taught; relevancy in speaking; developing sermonetttes, split sermons and sermons; working with your pastor; history and overview of UCG's governing documents; the importance of sound doctrine; appreciating differences— understanding yourself and others; a women's section on how to be all things to all people without losing yourself; Church ceremonies; the heart of a servant; developing wisdom and judgment; working with the next generation; preparing effective messages: research and the Internet; the importance of discernment; and answering doctrinal hot topics. [ back to top ] Calendar of EventsAug. 4-9: Council of Elders meetings, Cincinnati, Ohio. Aug. 5-6: Denver, Colorado, 50th Anniversary (larry_neff@ucg.org). Aug. 6: Ocoee white-water rafting trip, hosted by Cleveland, Tennessee, congregation. For more info, contact Allen Dance at (423) 855-0868 or at allendance@hotmail.com. Aug. 13: ABC graduation, Cincinnati, Ohio. Aug. 21-25: ABC Continuing Education Seminars, Cincinnati, Ohio. Aug. 31-Sept. 4: Leadership Workshop, Cincinnati, Ohio Sept. 1-4: Young Adults Christian Living Conference, Williams Bay, Wisconsin, $125. Contact: Gale Black, galeblack@earthlink.net or (651) 769-8802; www.ucgstp.org/conference. Sept. 3: Second Annual UCG Houston Music Festival. Sept. 9-10: ABC Continuing Education Seminars, Denver, Colorado. Oct. 28-29: ABC Continuing Education Seminars, Atlanta, Georgia. Nov. 4-5: ABC Continuing Education Seminars, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Nov. 11-12: ABC Continuing Education Seminars, Calgary, Alberta. Nov. 18: Milwaukee 50th Anniversary (see article July issue, page 16). Nov. 18-19: ABC Continuing Education Seminars, Morton, Illinois. Dec. 22-26: Winter Family Weekend, Louisville, Kentucky. Feb. 16 to 19, 2007: Presidents' Day Ski Weekend, Salt Lake City, Utah. C ontact Larry Salyer at (801) 495-0412 or larry_salyer@ucg.org. Please send calendar items to mike_bennett@ucg.org. [ back to top ] What's New on the Web?Sabbath School Lessons Check out the preteen Sabbath instruction program for teachers of those in kindergarten to fifth grade at www.ucg.org/youth/ss/levelk/. Sermon Audio and Video Listing New sermons are posted online every Thursday. Watch with Windows Media Player or listen to MP3 files at www.ucg.org/sermons/. Beyond Today Programs Is the Beyond Today TV program airing on your local cable-access station? If not, then watch or download past programs at www.beyondtoday.tv/programs/archive/. UCG Commentary "What's Behind the Middle East Conflict?" Featured Link UCGNews pages with Council meeting reports, letters, Home Office Updates, etc.
If you have questions or comments, please contact: webmaster@ucg.org |
|
© 1995-2006 United
Church of God, an International Association | Request
Free Literature Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@ucg.org. Send inquiries regarding the operation of this Web site to webmaster@ucg.org. |