PASADENA—The WCG honored the following employees for 25 years of service to the church.
Terry Lynn Akers, information center, WCG headquarters.
Joy Barlow, accounts clerk, United Kingdom.
Trevor J. and Vickie Gail E. Cherry, pastor, Yorkton and Moosomin, Saskatchewan, and Dauphin and Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, churches.
Walter Corson, electrician foreman, WCG headquarters.
Gary L. Leonard, lead pool maintainer, WCG headquarters.
Thomas Melear, pastor, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Kingman, Arizona.
Steven A. and Carol L. Schantz, pastor, Melbourne and Orlando, Florida.
Andrew J. and Dana Silcox, regional pastor, Watford, England.
Mark Stumpf, machine and office equipment technician, WCG headquarters.
Marvin Wegner, supervisor, digital imaging.
Michael J. and Dana L. Greider, pastor, Paintsville, Kentucky, and Charleston, Huntington and Ripley, West Virginia.
Yong Chin Gee and Yeong Yuet Siam, pastor, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
TUCSON, Arizona—Members of Grace of God Fellowship, a WCG congregation in Tucson, conducted their first regular Sunday service at their new location Jan. 4.
Thirty-eight members and seven guests attended the service. Selina Harding led the praise service, assisted by Gezzele Martin and James Snyder.
Curtis May, district superintendent, gave the sermon and led the quarterly communion service. After a potluck meal, Mr. May and his wife, Jannice, attended a meeting of the congregation’s pastoral council. Paul Pronze.
ATLANTA, Georgia—R.T. Byrum, a member of the Northwest Christian Fellowship, the
WCG congregation in Kennesaw, Georgia, signed the first two volumes of his Carver Cousins Adventure series for readers from 10 to 18 on Nov. 10.
|
| R.T. Byrum at book signing. |
The event was the Night of 100 Authors at one of the largest Barnes and Noble stores in the area.
Mr. Byrum, disturbed by the number of books for teens involving the occult, sexual situations and even drugs, wanted to do something about it. A longtime writer of ad copy, television programming and commercials, Mr. Byrum took on the task of creating a series that has been described as “the Hardy Boys meet Indian Jones and MacGyver.”
Seven of the books have been completed, with two of them, Mystery of the Shrieking Island and The Phantom Bridge, now available in stores and on the Internet.
Although the stories are filled with mystery, high adventure and villains to be overcome, Dave and Andy, the two cousins who are the heroes, have a sense of respect for law and parents. The books were named as the international poster books for “I Love to Write Day” in November.
Mr. Byrum was a producer and director of the World Tomorrow television program from 1970 to 1974.
For further information, contact your local or online bookstores or visit Mr. Byrum’s web site at rtbwriter.com.
CERTIFICATE OF
COMPLETION—
Violet Woolsey, a member of the San
Antonio, Texas, church, receives a
certificate from Pastor Rodney Schuler
for
completing Experiencing the
Word.
[Photo by Larry Scott]
Texarkana and Big Sandy
learn ‘Witnessing
Without Fear’
BIG SANDY, Texas—Members of the Texarkana and Big Sandy congregations completed a “Witnessing Without Fear” class in November developed by Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.
The video program has been successfully used by churches around the world. Nearly two billion copies of his booklet The Four Spiritual Laws have been printed in many different languages.
The Texarkana congregation went through the program’s six sessions over a three-week period.
The Big Sandy congregation conducted a one-day seminar, and invited other churches to participate. A Methodist pastor was invited to present one of the sessions.
Participants are now better prepared to go and make disciples and witness to others as Christ guides them.
Billy Graham said of the program: “If every Christian individual were to put these proven methods to work on a daily basis, it could change the entire approach to world evangelization.”
GLENDORA, California—One hundred thirty-one members and guests attended the Glendora congregation’s eighth annual Martin Luther King Day observance Jan. 18.
They were greeted by the voices of the black Gospel Choir under the direction of Bernice McDuffie after Pastor Neil Earle led the audience in a rendition of the 1960s folk song “Blowing in the Wind.”
Deacon Walton Brown shared recollections from his experiences with the Montgomery bus boycott of 1954-1955. “Those memories are still fresh and vivid in my mind though I was just a teenager at the time.” The boycott is widely recognized as beginning the modern phase of the civil rights movement.
“With the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 America officially repented of segregation,” Mr. Brown told the audience. He also emphasized how the black churches of Montgomery were the real rallying places for the movement.
Then David Lewis, a Jewish-Christian WCG member and history professor at Citrus College, addressed the issue of Jewish participation in the events of the 1950s and 1960s. “Jews were very much aware of the black struggle,” said Dr. Lewis, “since they had been under persecution for some 3,000 years.” He recounted how Dr. King had early seen the need for allies in the broader community if his movement was to achieve success.
Finally, Durrell Brown quoted excerpts from Dr. King’s most famous speeches, including: “This is not a victory for black Americans; this is a victory for all Americans. Justice threatened anywhere is justice threatened everywhere.”
“The whole presentation reminded me of the terrible struggles people endured, and a renewed commitment to strive for reconciliation,” said Traule Soetebier, a longtime WCG member. Neil Earle.
HONOLULU MARATHON—Linda Helscher of the New Hope Christian Fellowship in Pasadena finishes the 26.2 mile Honolulu Marathon Dec. 14. “This marathon was the hardest physical thing that I’ve ever done,” Mrs. Helscher said. “Spiritual analogies were reinforced in my mind such as courage, commitment and dedication. Also, it’s harder or even impossible to accomplish a goal without the support of others.”
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras—The WCG conducted a conference in San Pedro Sula over the weekend of Dec. 11 to 14, according to Charles Fleming, mission developer.
Sixty-one people came from Honduras, El Salvador and Colombia. Hector Barrero, Colombian pastor, presented material from Sonlife Ministries and from Dan Souterland’s transitioning conference on mission and vision.
David Agreda, web site manager for Latin America and chairman of the pastoral team in El Salvador, gave a presentation on evangelism, using material compiled by Ted Johnston, northeast regional director. The conference ended with communion.
“This was our fifth annual conference in Central America,” Mr. Fleming said, “and it was incredibly inspiring to see the growth and maturity of our leaders.”
The two churches in Honduras (Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula) have “effective youth ministries,” Mr. Fleming said. In both churches those younger than 18 make up more than half the congregation.
“The El Salvador church is strong on discipling and is developing an increasingly strong focus on community outreach,” he said.
Reaching out with a treat
GREENVILLE, South Carolina— The Way of the Cross Fellowship, the WCG congregation in Greenville, carried out a community outreach and open house in October and November.
The congregation decided to hand out packages on Halloween that contained a Gospel of John, an introductory card about the church with meeting times, some candy with Bible quotes on the wrapper, bookmarks, and an RSVP to an open house in November.
On the afternoon and evening of Oct. 31, six members of the fellowship, David Goode, John and Jackie Huffman, Henry Merrill, Paul Titus and Pastor Hasadore Hall went into the nearby neighborhoods and delivered 124 bags to homes and residents.
Members were encouraged to invite family, friends and co-workers to the Nov. 16 open house, which was primarily a praise and worship service followed by a catered Thanksgiving style meal.
Eight guests joined the 35 members for the service and meal.
REDDING, California—The Redding church had a combined service Dec. 14 with its host church, Cornerstone Community Church, and the Iglesia de Dios, which also uses the facility.
Pastor Ralph Johnson of Cornerstone gave the sermon. All three congregations provided different parts of the praise service, with Judy Van Landuyt and Carol Wertz, the pianist from Cornerstone, playing a piano-organ duet to open the service. They also played duet accompaniment throughout the service.
Later a group of members from the Spanish congregation sang several seasonal hymns in Spanish.
Larry Van Landuyt, pastor of the Redding church, provided a prayer of petitions, and the Spanish pastor offered prayer in Spanish (with a brief explanation in English beforehand) to close the service.
“It was a uniting experience for all,” Mr. Van Landuyt said. “It was a time of mutual rejoicing in the Christian miracle of reconciliation through the incarnation and arrival of Immanuel—God coming to live with us and provide a means of perfect redemption from human sinfulness.” Larry Van Landuyt.
HOUSTON, Texas—The Community Christian Fellowship senior citizens Wednesday Bible study group had a fellowship meal after the Bible study, Dec. 17.
Susa and Mary Washington prepared the food. After the meal, Lois Mason presented gifts to Ester Reed for his 76th birthday (Dec. 25). Each study participant brought Mr. Reed a small gift, and a group gift was also presented in appreciation for the many years he has served as teacher and elder. He also brings people to the weekly study in addition to providing transportation to doctor visits, shopping trips and giving help wherever needed.
The gifts were placed under a Christmas tree. Afterward, the tree was given to Mr. and Mrs. John Thiessen for their years of service. Lue Ennis.
The paid duties of the following Church Administration employees have ended: Barbara Egbert, Spiritual Enrichment Program assistant director; Lloyd Garrett, pastor of the Washington, D.C., East church; and Steven Ramos, pastoral intern, Pasadena Spanish church.
Retirement
Joel Lillengreen, pastor of the Portland East and Hood River, Oregon, churches.
Ordinations
Church Administration announced the following ordinations:
Arthur Carlisle, Montgomery, Alabama.
Eric Dreibelbis, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
David Howe, Flint, Michigan.
Jean Leprohon, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (English).
James Lewis, Montgomery, Alabama.
Paul Miller, Mountain Home, Arkansas.
Rudolph Mills, Castries, St. Lucia.
Henry Pokrywa, Batavia, New York.
Stephen Posiak, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (English).
Steven Ramos, Pasadena Spanish.
Claude Rochon, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (French).
Lynton Silva, Badulla, Sri Lanka.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2004