United News Weekly

Ministerial and Member Services

Go Forward! Carry the Feast Into the Months Ahead

The final hymn has been sung, the goodbyes said and the suitcases unpacked. Yet the vision, faith and joy of the Feast were never intended to remain at the Feast site.

The first workday after the Feast has a feel all its own. The alarm goes off early, the inbox is full, and the refrigerator is empty. Only a few days ago, we were singing with the brethren, listening to messages on the various aspects of the coming Kingdom, and having meals with both new and old friends.

Now that the routine is back, we have two options: we can allow the Feast to become just a pleasant memory, or we can put into practice what God showed us in the months to come. God’s message He gave to Israel when they were discouraged at the edge of the Red Sea still applies: “Tell the children of Israel to go forward” (Exodus 14:15).

We are still pilgrims

We stayed in temporary dwellings for a week, just as God commanded (Leviticus 23:42-43). If we stayed in a hotel, a cabin or a campground, the lesson was the same: this life is temporary, and our true permanent home is the coming Kingdom of God.

Returning back home doesn't change that. As Peter wrote, believers are “sojourners and pilgrims” (1 Peter 2:11) and those who are in the “faith hall of fame,” “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). It’s good to remember that a pilgrim is not a drifter. A pilgrim is a traveler with a destination and one who refuses to put down roots in a place that isn't home.

The Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in December 1620 understood this. Although that first winter cost them nearly half their number, they kept moving forward instead of turning back. Their leaders wrote, “It is not with us as other men, whom small things can discourage.”

Spiritual pilgrims walk with the same focus and determination. We need a vision that not only sees God's promises “afar off” but also a faith that holds on to them even when circumstances seem bleak. We’ve been given a Spirit that is different from the world, so we decide never to return to the life God called us out of.

Let the vision shape ordinary days

We understand that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures Jesus Christ ruling over the whole earth, and the Eighth Day symbolizes salvation offered to billions who never had the opportunity. Yet those truths don't belong to one week in the fall; they give meaning even to an ordinary Thursday.

Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10), and to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). If we keep the Kingdom in mind, it will help us right now:

• It puts first things first. The pressures caused by work and bills shrink to their proper size when our aim is the Kingdom.
• It protects our minds. Paul referred to “the hope of salvation” as a helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
• It explains our trials. God is shaping the character we need in His family, and trials serve as part of that training (1 Peter 1:6-7).
• It gives us strength in an unjust world. Today’s wrongs will not stand; Christ will judge “with righteousness” (Isaiah 11:4).
• It develops endurance. Jesus “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).

Here’s a simple thing to do: open your Feast notes this week and choose the message that moved you the most, then write down its key point and pray about it every morning until it has become a part of you.

Go forward in faith, not fear

When Israel was on the edge of the Promised Land, the twelve spies saw the same land and the same giants. Ten returned and said, “We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes” (Numbers 13:33). But Caleb saw it differently and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30).

The difference wasn't what they saw. It was whom they trusted. As Joshua and Caleb told the people, “The LORD is with us. Do not fear them” (Numbers 14:9).

In the coming months, we might face giants of our own: a diagnosis, a job loss, a strained family, troubling world news. God’s promise applies to all of these situations: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Just as Paul did, we can say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Keep walking

The Feast is over, but the journey continues. We’ve left our temporary dwellings and gone home, yet we are still pilgrims: people with a destination, a promise and a God who is always with us. The Feast showed us where we are heading, to the day when “the tabernacle of God is with men” (Revelation 21:3) and He wipes away every tear.

So keep that vision before you. Face the giants with faith. Give thanks every day. And, as Israel did at the edge of the sea, go forward!

Steve Myers | Operation Manager, Ministerial and Member Services

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon

Watch this year’s inspiring Feast of Tabernacles message from President John Elliott, “The Wonderful Kingdom of God.”

Feast of Tabernacles

Post-Feast 2026 Member Surveys for U.S. Sites

We hope everyone experienced a spiritually rewarding Feast of Tabernacles.

In this survey for members who attended a U.S. Feast site, your individual comments are important and helpful. If you didn’t already fill out a survey during the Feast, the links will remain open until Oct. 16.

General Festival Survey

Festival Housing Survey

Share Your Feast Photos!

As we look back on the wonderful Feast memories made this year, it’s time to share your photos with brethren in the UCG Photos Facebook group! Photos may be selected for inclusion in United News or other Church publications, so we encourage photographers of all ages to get involved!

UCG: Behind the Scenes

Guess the Feast site! (Photos submitted to UCG Photos Facebook group by Kristen Hernandez, Michael Snyder and Devin McCaulley)