I have had several reports over the last several days about Sheryl Meredith. She has been struggling with cancer for a while now. The report that I got from Charlotte said that she is now receiving hospice care. This certainly is not a good situation for Rod Meredith since he also lost his first wife to cancer.
I have been amazed through the years at the number of ministers wives that have battled cancer or died from it. I am sure the stress of being a ministers wife plays a large part of the equation.
For those moved to do so, they are recommending cards be sent to the Meredith's at:
Mrs. Sheryl Meredith
Living Church of God
P O Box 3810
Charlotte, NC 28227
19 comments:
Stress can reduce the body's ability to fight off diseases, it diminishes the production of lymphocytes. Stress won't cause cancer, but it can make things worse.
I am sad to hear this. I wish she completely recovered from the cancer. That is sad news.
I have no respect for Rod Meredith, but I have enough human compassion to feel for him in this situation and especially for his wife. I hope her suffering, and his, is short and mollified as much as possible by medical science.
Stress from living with a narcissist.
Rod Meredith was at one time one of my professors, but I only recall having had one personal conversation with the man, having accidentally been walking down the sidewalk on Grove at the same time as we both walked towards the site of his Bible class. Still, I feel as if I knew him from his lectures and sermons over the years. It is tragic that two wives would be afflicted with cancer.
Certainly, some of us prayed for Shirley Pack, and I will be adding Sheryl Meredith to my prayers as well. There are times when it is appropriate to put theological differences aside, and this would appear to be one of them.
BB
If he marries a third wife, I hope she doesn't die of cancer like the first two. The stress of that might be far too much even for Rod Meredith to bear.
The stress of being a minister's wife? Her husband had a cushy job from which he could not get fired and set his own salary. She was treated like a princess and did not have to work for a living. What stress? Might be hard to think of a job with less stress.
I have no idea why people feel sorry for this woman. If you want to feel sorry for someone read the obituaries and feel sorry for some real people who were not spoiled elites.
I feel sorry for RCM and his wife.
It's bad enough that Rod was so naive to have believed as a young man the many lies of HWA, but then to remain unrepentant after the failed prophecies, scandals, cover ups, etc. and continue perpetuating the various "doctrines of devils" HWA taught. It makes me sad everytime I hear about him. (BTW I'm not saying everything HWA taught was false, but much of it missed the mark!) So I just wonder if in his old age he ever thinks if he could turn back time knowing what he knows now would he have indulged in the warped fantasies of Armstrongism or ignored it totally for a more fuller life without the perpetual fear-based, superficial nonsense that HWA spread throughout his lifetime.
I'm sorry for Sheryl too. Obviously when a woman falls in love with a man (whether she believes his worldview or not) she usually takes on aspects of his habits, beliefs, traditions, etc. for love. It's a pity that she has succumbed to cancer. I wonder if she's had any misgivings in the Armstrongist belief system in recent times?
Either way I wish them and their families well. I can only hope that (if not them) their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren at least will see through the lies and errors of Armstrongism in time and come to a more deeper relationship with the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ whom He sent (and will resend in His good time).
A bachelor friend of mine who worked in the Editorial Dept in Pasadena had the uncomfortable experience of having Rod Meredith ask him for dating advice back when Rod was looking for his second wife. I wish Sheryl well in her present troubles.
How much suffering did these false leaders impose on others when they themselves took advantage of every medical advance and pain relieving treatment that is out there? Some have placed such heavy burdens on others that they themselves were not willing to carry themselves. May God have mercy on them.
I am wondering if RCM's church believes in medical care. I know some splinters still are suspicious of doctors and think everything including cancer can be cured with diet, or some kind of herbal cure which the pharmaceutical industry has blacklisted because it can't make money on it.
All this often makes church people reluctant to seek medical assistance, and when it comes to cancer quick action makes a big difference.
But then I do remember RCM availed himself of medical help for some of his problems long ago before the regular church changed its ideas.
As for stress, we all suffer that, and there is no scientific proof that stress causes cancer, it's just a little accident of cell replication, and happens more and more frequently as we age. It does seem that some are more genetically predisposed to cancer where their body fails to recognise the cancerous cells, but if we get it at least there is a chance for survival with good medical care, it beats baking soda and apricot pits in most cases.
The good news is that if you are a member of one of the more oppressive ACOGs that rejects the medical profession, then, hey, a disease can be your ticket out of all of the misery your church brings into your life!
Unfortunately, though, most of the members are conditioned to believing that their "prophet" or "apostle" is going to co-opt the Kingdom, and be just as overbearing there as he is on the present plane of existence. The only molifying factor would be the knowledge that Jesus will be present to correct him.
BB
Question was asked: "I am wondering if RCM's church believes in medical care. I know some splinters still are suspicious of doctors and think everything including cancer can be cured with diet, or some kind of herbal cure which the pharmaceutical industry has blacklisted because it can't make money on it. All this often makes church people reluctant to seek medical assistance, and when it comes to cancer quick action makes a big difference."
Answer: LCG is HWA-lite on medicine. Medicine and doctors are not prohibited, but not encouraged. This definitely makes some reluctant to see doctors. Others show no reluctance at all, and embrace western medicine whole-hog. Many COG traditionalists are greatly annoyed that LCG allows this along with many other things that HWA prohibited. However, RCM has so effectively preached hatred for all the other groups and their leaders, very few leave.
When RCM had his detached retina surgically repaired, there was an outcry by some. RCM could have surgery; but others, mere mortals could not. I think it was described as "repair surgery." What other kind is there? Is there recreational surgery? "Say Bob, what are you doing this weekend?" "Well, I thought I would take some time for my new hobby. I'm going in for some surgery. It's cheaper than ski boat I used to have."
yes I do remember the question of RCM's retina surgery. It was likened to setting a bone which sometimes requires surgery. Well I really think that if I have a tumor preventing a major organ from functioning, it is also repair to try to remove it.
I knew a young lady in our local church who had a genetic heart defect. People said she had a hole in her heart. I still wonder if this could have been repaired with surgery. She was very weak and eventually died, although many were confident she would be healed. Of course I know not everything is correctible by surgery.
The thing about WCG when they didn't believe in western medicine is that they did believe in all kinds of natural medicine and diet to solve health problems. I have argued with many people about not being able to cure cancer with diet, and cancer being caused by vaccinations..... but they prefer to believe all the hokey ideas on the internet about how to cure cancer. So they are not totally relying on God either, they are trying to use 'natural methods'. So glad I left before I had children. I can't imagine having to deny a child medical attention for something life threatening, or trying to cure appendicitis with diet.
Hey, you could also say that penicillin G is repair for an invasion of spirochetes.
These idiots base their eschewing of medical science on the fact that in the ancient times of human evolution, medicine was the province of pagan shamans. You didn't go to a doctor back then, you went to the "witch doctor". It was akin to going to Satan for your healing. Now, medical science is secular by nature. It's not as if your oncologist dances around in a grass skirt with a bone in his nose, chanting "Oogah Boogah" as he supervises your radiation therapy, but these religious fools are incapable of perceiving the difference, because Herbie dumbed them down. The idea of going to the doctor, to them, serves up images of Nimrod and Semirammis, because they have imbibed of Hislop.
Fact is, I have a number of doctors in my family who actually pray for God's guidance in treating their patients. I suspect that there are no witch doctors amongst the AMA members here in the good ol' USA.
As the Festrunk Brothers (early SNL) would say to those in the ACOGs who do not consult medical professionals, "Tuu bad for yuuu!"
BB
I think it was described as "repair surgery." What other kind is there? Is there recreational surgery?
Yes, perhaps "recreational surgery" is the type that won't piss off the 'Ghost of HWA' in the eyes of those who still cling to his teachings.
While Rod's wife Margie had skin cancer, my mom who also had cancer met with and had a warm meeting with Margie Meredith during a Feast in Florida, in the hotel suite where the Merediths were staying.
My dad was rather irked by Rod's comments- because when dad came to fetch my mom after her meeting with Margie, he met Rod who was arriving at the same time, and Rod laughed about his wife's cancer calling it "only a skin condition ha ha ha"
Margie died from that cancer.
I know I've written this before, and Dennis remarked how truly sad Rod was when Margie died, which in my view at least shows Rod had a semblance of humanity.
I think lots of the Armstrong-worshiping offshoots are now "HWA-lite on medicine" in their teachings, while the actual beliefs of many of them actually are more in accord with the old-timey WCG teachings on the subject. I recently spoke with a person who told me her dad has serious ailments he complains about, but, "He won't go to a doctor because he's in the UCG"
The Fact is RCM was known for preaching faith healing; but God was more concerned about him repenting of the overbearing way of the old WWCG;
I hope that Dr. Meredith will ultimately come to understand what they who were sick and dying in the old days were actually going through, and develop some empathy and repentance.
God is not mocked; what goes around comes around.
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