June 1995
News from Local Congregations
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News from Local Congregations |
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This column includes information sent to us from a variety of groups. Servants’ News does not necessarily agree with the teachings or practices of these groups. Please ask about them before attending their functions. |
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This section is for short articles or letters about activities of local congregations. We will mention local congregations as they form or as we learn of significant news. Groups listed in this section may have some doctrines or policies which we cannot justify from the scriptures, but we believe most of them are a reasonable place for fellowship with the brethren. We believe the holy spirit will guide you in your fellowship decisions if you will study and ask.
We are a small congregation of about 70 people who are former members of the Worldwide Church of God. If you are one of the many who are upset with all of the changes and don’t know where to go or what to do, we offer you a gentle place to go to feel safe, unhurried and not pressured to join anything. We are a congregation of believers in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and we are part of the greater Body of Jesus Christ which is the Church of God.
For more information and to find out where we are meeting, contact our pastor, Mr. Lon Lacey, at 505-822-8709 or Mary Wendt at 505-345-6910.
—Mary Wendt
After two months, United Church of God, an International Association is already the largest organization to split off from the Worldwide Church of God. At Pentecost services, they had 11,890 people and an offering of $57 per person. There are over 150 congregations with about 100 paid ministers and 72 others serving as volunteers.
Temporary office space has been leased in Arcadia, California. You may call them at 818-294-0800 or fax to 818-294-0808. The mailing address is PO Box 661780, Arcadia CA 91066. An office staff of about 17 to 20 people is anticipated. Festival and summer-camp plans are well under way.
New Beginnings, a publication for the UCG membership, was born June 16, 1995, weighing in at 3 pages. It will certainly grow in future issues. Its purpose is to answer the United Church of God’s biggest challenge: staying United.
Friends of the Brethren has spoken with many members and found a great variety of thinking within the organization. According to the chairman, David Hulme, “Mr. Armstrong's 18-point list of restored truth, while not a doctrinal statement in itself, stand confirmed in its essentials by the board.” Yet the first one of Mr. Armstrong’s restored truths is the “government of God”—the hierarchical form of government described in Mystery of the Ages is nothing like the form used by UCG!
Some leaders within the UCG would like to see locally governed congregations, others would like to govern the way they always have. Officially, the UCG recognizes many other Sabbath-keeping organizations as brethren, but some heads of local congregations have told their members not to read other organization’s literature or attend with other groups.
The reasons that leaders have joined seem to be diverse. Some have preached few or none of the recent changes, having been continually demoted by their former employer. Others preached some of the changes, and a few were vigorously supporting their former employer only a few months ago. Which doctrines did they believe? Do some preach doctrines that they don’t believe? We have even heard several stories of men contacting multiple “Church of God” organizations to see which had the best employment package.
On the other hand, much good has been accomplished. Thousands of people now have a Sabbath-keeping congregation to attend that does not teach Protestant doctrines. Many others now have a choice of congregations to attend—a great help if some congregations insist that you see all doctrines their way.
Those interested in attending and serving a United Church of God congregation can contact the office listed at the beginning of this article. Local congregations are available in the following areas (listing is alphabetized by Country, State, then City):
Australia: Brisbane & Melbourne
Canada, British Columbia: Victoria.
Canada, Ontario: Toronto.
Scotland: Stirling
Switzerland: Geneva
Alaska: Anchorage, Wasilla.
Alabama: Birmingham, Geneva, Huntsville, Mobile.
Arkansas: Fayetteville, Jonesboro.
Arizona: Phoenix, Prescott Valley, Sedona, Tucson, Yuma.
California: Bakersfield, Chico, Crescent City, Eureka, Fresno, Garden Grove, Los Angeles, Modesto, Oakland, Redding, Red Bluff, Redlands, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Rosa, Stockton, Visalia.
Colorado: Ft. Collins, Grand Junction.
Florida: Deltona, Fort Myers Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, St. Petersburg, Tampa, West Palm Beach.
Georgia: Athens, Buford, Columbus, Dublin, Macon.
Idaho: Blackfoot, Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Twin Falls.
Illinois: Champaign, Rockford.
Indiana: Columbus, Elkhart, Ft. Wayne, Hammond, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Terre Haute.
Iowa: Des Moines
Kansas: Wichita.
Kentucky: Louisville.
Louisiana: Covington, Hammond, New Orleans.
Maryland: Baltimore.
Massachusetts: Boston.
Michigan: Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Lansing
Minnesota: Brainerd, Duluth, Minneapolis, Rochester, St. Cloud, St. Paul.
Missouri: Cape Girardeau, Kansas City, St. Louis.
Montana: Kalispell.
North Carolina: Ashboro.
North Dakota: Bismarck, Fargo.
Nevada: Reno.
New Jersey: Montvale, Union.
New Mexico: Albuquerque, Farmington, Roswell, Santa Fe
New York: Elmira, New York, Utica.
Ohio: Akron, Athens, Cambridge, Chillicothe, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Mansfield, Marietta, Toledo, Youngstown.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City, Tulsa.
Oregon: Albany, Bend, Eugene, Portland, Roseburg, Salem.
Pennsylvania: Bethlehem, Erie, Pittsburgh.
South Dakota: Brookings, Sioux Falls, Rapid City.
Tennessee: Nashville.
Texas: Austin, Big Sandy, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Ft. Worth, Harlingen, Houston, Lubbock, Midland, San Antonio, Victoria, Waco.
Utah: Salt Lake City.
Washington: Kennewick, Olympia, Seattle, Sedro Woolley, Spokane.
West Virginia: Charleston, Parkersburg, Princeton, Wheeling.
Wisconsin: Eau Claire, Janesville, La Crosse, Milwaukee.
Wyoming: Dubois.
A number of organizations are planning festival sites that will accept people without regard to their corporate affiliation. The festival dates are October 9-16 unless listed otherwise. (Some organizations calculate the calendar from their own understanding of the Scriptures rather than using the traditional Hebrew calendar which uses a complex set of rules not derived directly from the Bible.)
Only the initials of the organization are specified for sites run by organizations listed at right.
Australia, Qld., Noosa. UCG
Australia, Wollongong. GCG
Belgium, Hengelhoef. GCG
Canada, B.C., Whistler (90 minutes from Vancouver). CGI.
Canada, B.C., Whistler. UCG
Canada, Ontario, Collingwood. CGI
Canada, Ontario, Hull. UCG
Canada, Ontario, Niagra Falls. GCG
England, Berwick-on-Tweed. UCG
Guyana, Georgetown. GCG
Malaysia. GCG
Philippines. GCG
South Africa. GCG
Arizona, Tucson. UCG
California, Kings Beach (near Lake Tahoe). CGI
California, Del Mar (San Diego). GCG
California, Morro Bay. Talents Ministries. 707-864-2250
California, Redding. UCG
Colorado, Colorado Springs. GCG
Colorado, Glenwood Springs (90 miles East of Grand Junction). CBCG
Colorado, Keystone. UCG
Florida, Destin (East of Pensacola). Computer conference is at this site! See story on page 4. CP
Florida, Orlando. GCG
Florida, Orlando. UCG
Florida, Panama City Beach. CGI
Florida, Pensacola. CBCG
Florida, St. Petersburg. Ministries of Yahweh. 705-696-3111
Georgia, Jekyll Island. UCG
Kentucky, Lexington. UCG
Kentucky, Land-Between-the-Lakes. (near Paducah) CGI
Massachusetts, Lowell. UCG
Minnesota, Minneapolis. UCG
Missouri, Lake of the Ozarks. GCG
Missouri, Schell City (SE of Kansas City) Oct 8-15. Church of Israel, 417-432-3119
Oklahoma, Wagoner. (near Muskogee) CGI
South Carolina, Myrtle Beach. CGSD
Texas, Corpus Christi. UCG
Texas, Tyler. CGI
Virginia, Virginia Beach. GCG
Washington, Spokane. GCG
This list contains a number of organizations with many Sabbath-keeping congregations and/or regular sermon-tape mailings. There is a diversity of doctrinal teachings so we encourage everyone to study the scriptures and prove doctrines for themselves. Most of these organizations welcome visitors, though individual congregations greatly vary. We encourage the people of the Eternal to fellowship and serve each Sabbath if practical.
Christian Biblical Church of God (CBCG). PO Box 1442, Hollister, CA 95024. 408-637-1875.
Church of God, 7th Day [Salem WV]. PO Box 328, Salem, WV 26426. 304-782-1411.
Church of God, International (CGI). P.O. Box 2530, Tyler TX 75710. 903-825-2525
Church of the Great God (CGG). PO Box 471846. Charlotte, NC 28247. 800-878-8220 or 704-544-2100
Congregation of God Seventh Day (CGSD). PO Box 2345, Kennesaw, GA 30144.
Cornerstone Publications (CP). 3802 Olive Street, Texarkana, TX 75503. 903-792-1352
General Conference of the Church of God 7th Day. PO Box 33677, Denver, CO 80233. 303-452-7973.
General Council of the Church of God (7th day). 1827 W. 3rd St. Meredian, ID 83642. 208-888-3380.
Global Church of God (GCG). PO Box 501111, San Diego CA 92150. 619-675-2222.
United Church of God (UCG). PO Box 661780, Arcadia CA 91066-1780. 818-294-0800.