Course Content
Recent events held by Church family and news from members.
Leadership Seminars Held in Mexico
At the UCG office in Mexico, two special leadership weekends were held: Nov. 16-17, 2024 and Feb. 1-2, 2025.
“Also Me”
The first weekend was themed “Also Me,” based on Proverbs 16:3. The seminars encouraged collaboration among members for both individual and collective edification. We were blessed to have the pastor from Chile and Argentina, Marcelo and Marcela Saavedra, as well as Marco Medina from the area. Also, brethren from Acapulco, Monterrey, Chiapas and Tabasco traveled to attend the seminars.
The weekend began with Sabbath services, where we had a record attendance of 91 people. Our mini-choir and live keyboard accompaniment supported the hymn service led by Moisés Cruz. A special music presentation by the Alvarado children from Chiapas, who have long-awaited the opportunity to share their music live, graced this well-attended service.
The messages, which supported the theme, were delivered first by Mr. Saavedra with his split sermon titled “The Importance of Collaboration” and the second message by Mr. Garcia titled “The Four Commitments.”
During the second message, 10 children moved to a small room for a small Sabbath school class, directed by Sara Cruz, focusing on a fruit of the Holy Spirit: faith. The children were attentive and pleased to be together and learn the Word of God.
After this spiritual meal, we began the physical one, with abundant and delicious food in which all the brethren collaborated. After lunch, we prepared to hold the men’s club and the ladies’ club. For the ladies, a cafe was set up just a few meters away from the offices. After enjoying mojitos and berry (without alcohol), chicken nuggets, potato chips and sweet potatoes, over 30 ladies enjoyed presentations and reflected on the commitments in their lives, with examples such as Lois and Eunice.
At the same time, the men’s club was held in the main hall, in its classic hybrid format, with several members who had never participated in person before. It was an exciting session that included an “expressive reading” exercise, allowing participants to practice with the tools learned in the club. In all, five speeches were presented and evaluated by the men. More than 30 men participated in person and 10 connected from Guatemala, Chile and Peru.
The day finished with fellowship, snacks and table tennis. Then our visitors went to the homes of the local brethren who were generously hosting them.
Sunday’s itinerary included five presentations titled: “God Begins with Your Story” (Saavedra), “Participate with Purpose” (Cruz), “Yes We Can, Yes We Can, Yes We Can” (Medina), “My UCG Purpose” (Delgado) and “Ignition” (Garcia). The master of ceremonies was the young Jair Ventura, who led with joy and characteristic joviality. More than 60 people attended these well-directed talks, which complemented each other and focused on God.
We are grateful to God for such a successful event, and we are thankful for all who collaborated in every aspect of this weekend.
“I’m a Pillar”
The theme of the second leadership weekend was “I’m a Pillar” (Revelation 3:12). Picking up where the previous weekend left off, we welcomed numerous guests from Guatemala, the United States, and all over Mexico: Acapulco, Veracruz, Chiapas, Tabasco, Monterrey and Toluca.
On the Sabbath, 83 people joyfully gathered to worship God at the UCG Mexico office. Songleader Carlos Merida (Guatemala) led hymns, accompanied by a foreign mini-choir and piano by Sanchez.
The first message, delivered by Gabriel Garcia, was titled “A Holy Appointment,” analyzing the importance of the holy convocation on God’s Sabbath. The second message titled “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit” was delivered by Israel Robledo, who spoke to us about the humble attitude we must have in the Church. In between the two split sermons, little Gema Alvarado performed hymn number 100, “Seek Ye First.”
In addition to the spiritual food, we enjoyed nutritious physical food prepared by the local members before continuing with the men’s club and ladies’ club sessions.
In one room, 32 ladies played entertaining games and participated in three exhibitions and a workshop, strengthening their bonds with one another. They were reminded to obey and trust in God because He will take care of our battles.
Simultaneously, 25 men, as well as the nine connections (from Peru, Guatemala, Chile and Mexico) connected over table topics, lessons, tongue twisters and a final conference shared by the minister, Moisés Cruz.
After the respective meetings, attendees were able to continue sharing camaraderie in the hall, taking pictures and eating snacks.
On Sunday morning, Moisés Cruz gave a short recap of the previous weekend “Also Me” and introduced the new theme. Manuel Bolio enthusiastically served as master of ceremonies, introducing the first speaker of the day, André Delgado with his talk titled “What Personality did God Give You?” Next, Israel Robledo presented his talk “Let’s be Efficient Counselors.” Gabriel Garcia closed with his presentation “Ostinato in Crescendo,” discussing two musical principles that he used as an analogy for the perseverance and growth needed in God’s Church.
After a good cup of coffee, Gabriel Guzman delivered his interactive talk “I am a pillar in God’s plan,” identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) in our performance within the Church. The seminar closed with a question-and-answer session, in which attendees participated, interacting with all four presenters. The Robledos concluded the event by presenting a gift of appreciation to the speakers for the event.
We are thankful to God for the success of these seminar weekends. We also thank the technical team, those who made the hall beautiful with flowers, those who hosted their brothers and sisters, and those who prepared the food. We are grateful for the enthusiastic attendees who traveled up to 17 hours for each of these weekends. We also thank the home office in Cincinnati for their help in financing these events.
Gabriel Garcia
Lexington, Kentucky Congregation Holds Craft and Bible Trivia Night
On Dec. 7, 2024, after a later afternoon Sabbath service and a delicious potluck, the church family got together to spend some enjoyable time relaxing and learning different crafts. There was a table set up for making bracelets at which the younger girls and boys made jewelry for themselves and their parents. There was a Lego table and a crocheting table. One 8-year-old girl was teaching a 75-year-old to crochet! The congregation seemed to love how they were able to interact and mix the young with the old and enjoy each other’s company!
After completing the crafts portion of the evening, the congregation was divided up into two different teams of mixed ages for a spirited and rousing game of Bible trivia. Each team had to wait until a question was read and then one member of the team would ring a bell to answer the question first. A moderator ran the projector and placed the questions on the screen at the front of the hall for all to see. One lady read the question and then it was time to see who could ring the bell faster. The quickest responder got to answer the question! There were many challenging questions, and everyone seemed to enjoy the activity. Valuable prizes (jars of home-produced jellies and bags of popcorn) were given to the team who won. The winners even shared some of their gifts with the other team! It was a fun and enjoyable night!
Kerby and Ellen Burton
Columbia, Maryland Chili Cook-off
The Columbia, Maryland congregation had their last chili cook-off seven years ago and it was time to have another one! On Saturday evening, Dec. 14, 2024 participants entered eight pots of chili in the contest. There were sides of rice, corn bread and green salads as well as a table filled with fixings to add to your bowl of chili.
The three categories in the cook-off were “Best Flavor,” “Best Overall” and “Most Like Mom’s.” Three winners were given certificates and awarded prizes.
The evening was filled with fun and meaningful fellowship with shared interests and a delicious chili meal!
Rhonda Diggins
Pastoral Development Program
Ministerial and Member Services held a Pastoral Development Program at the home office Jan. 19–23. We had 11 men and nine of their wives spend 35 hours in intensive instruction and workshop time together.
The inspiring week of in-depth topics provided important material for our newer pastors and ministerial trainees to help further their service to the brethren. Everyone was encouraged and energized by the teamwork and camaraderie built throughout the week by this very fine group of Church leaders.
British Isles National Council Meeting
Members of the National Council of UCG – British Isles met by Zoom on the evening of Monday Feb. 10, 2025.
The minutes of this meeting will be distributed to the members of the UCG – British Isles Charity once they have been approved by the National Council at its next meeting.
The Council received reports from the chief executive officer and treasurer and discussed progress in planning for the Feast of Tabernacles in 2025 and 2026, the Family Camp in 2025, and an update concerning the Speaking Club. The Council also discussed the need for a five-year strategic plan for UCG – BI, a Churchwide skills audit, and the current vacancy for secretary. Further discussion of these topics is necessary.
Under the heading of circulation, it was reported that print copies of the Jan.-Feb. 2025 Beyond Today magazine and British Isles Supplement were mailed to 6,562 subscribers. Also reported was that to date in the current 2024-2025 year over 2,700 booklets and study aids have been mailed from the UK Church office, and over 2,000 requests for the magazine and other literature, mostly coming from the Internet, have been received and processed.
The National Council’s next meeting will be held on Monday evening, April 28, 2025 by Zoom.
