Greetings from Charlotte,
Most members have returned from the Feast and reports indicate that God blessed our Festival sites this year. Panama City, Florida, was threatened by Hurricane Nate, but it moved westward and did not disrupt the Feast other than to shut down swimming in the Gulf for a couple days as the “waves roared.” In our Executive Luncheon this week, Mr. Mario Hernandez gave us a very inspiring report on the Feast conducted by non-U.S. affiliates in Cuba, where there were 60 locals and ten visitors for a total of about 70 at the first Feast held on that island nation. It appeared that it would be shut down the day of the Opening Night, but God intervened in a powerful way and the Church was shown great favor by the end of the Feast. We have been in contact with Mr. Raul Colon, our minister in Puerto Rico, and although the island was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, all our members are okay and no one has sustained any serious loss. (See report below for more details.) The Church is working with Mr. Colon to provide disaster relief assistance to members who have need for it. We are also encouraged to learn that all our members are safe with homes intact in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is remarkable, considering that 90 percent of these islands were destroyed. Life is not going to be easy for those affected by these powerful storms, but our members are doing well under the circumstances and the Church is monitoring the situation.—GEW
This is the same line the church has feed members for decades. Hurricanes turned around and left feast sites undamaged but in turn destroyed Cuba along with peoples lives. It was a miracle! Tornadoes turned around and spared members homes, but in turn wiped out entire neighborhoods. It's a miracle! Earthquakes wiped out out cities, but every single church member escaped unscathed. Its a miracle!
19 comments:
Scientific enquiry has shown that in Florida stone/brick houses/ have more chance of getting through storms unscathed.
Of course these are the more affluent neighborhoods as compared to houses made of wood.
Could it be that members from those far away places but dedicated to an american type organisation are the more affluent members of their community or at least middle class. Not living on the slopes of mountains but in reasonable circumstance according to western standards and perhaps living in stone houses in a geographical more secure place?
Of course there is chance, luck and perhaps divine intervention.
At least in Florida consider building stone.
nck
This is actually a difficult one.
A few years ago there was a terrorist bomb that killed several, and injured dozens of others in an area where several of my relatives lived.
My first thought was to phone around my relatives to check they were OK, before giving thought to all the others?
Was that a wrong action? I didn't think so – maybe you do.
Whether or not the damage report is true, they present it in a gloating, offensive way. I'm also wondering if they don't build up unreasonable expectations, meaning that if in some future disaster, one or more members suffer probability along with everyone else, members will assume secret sins, or unfaithfulness of God. But, I doubt that they do any really deep thinking about the implications of this. No need to. They parrot the statements HWA made in the "golden" era. He's still doing all their thinking for them.
BB
So did any of the church members reach out to others who lost their homes?
It they had all lost their homes it would have been Satan’s doing “but our members are doing just fine and their faith is stronger than ever.” However a disaster goes for members, the church is always able to find the appropriate spin to avoid the concept of “time and chance happens to all men.”
How shocking to see these people gloat. Don't they realize that it is statistically far more likely that an LCG member will be shot dead during Sabbath services than that he or she will be injured in a hurricane?
Those who fail to remember the Brookfield shooting had better hope that they are not doomed to repeat it.
Im glad that they are fine. However, time and chance is a strange thing, and believers are not promised , nor have "charmed lives".
Anon 10:45, a young woman in LCG is statistically more likely to have sex with a member of the Presiding Evangelist's family than to be injured in a hurricane.
The last time I visited Charlotte, I marvelled at the two-faced nature of so many LCG members, who act one way among their close circle of friends, but act very differently when the ministers or their toadies may see them. The amount of fear and depression I saw among those brethren, who are supposed to have the "peace of Christ," was shocking.
Anonymous said...
How shocking to see these people gloat. Don't they realize that it is statistically far more likely that an LCG member will be shot dead during Sabbath services than that he or she will be injured in a hurricane?
___________________________________
Spot on! Excellent observation.
Who got shot at sabbath service?
Gary, You could have mentioned this: https://hwarmstrong.com/ratzmann.htm
Sorry, James, I had it as one of them I copied and it did not transfer over along with two others.
https://hwarmstrong.com/ratzmann.htm
http://armstrongismlibrary.blogspot.com/2015/02/living-church-of-gods-10-year.html
http://armstrongismlibrary.blogspot.com/2015/03/10th-anniversary-of-living-church-of.html
http://www.wordofhisgrace.org/wp/ratzmann/
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiD1NzLvJ7XAhVFx2MKHXNXDv0QFghSMAY&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhwarmstrong.com%2Fratzmann.htm&usg=AOvVaw3mVuUyowN-DXVo-diJxwrp
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiD1NzLvJ7XAhVFx2MKHXNXDv0QFggrMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTerry_Ratzmann&usg=AOvVaw0Bm6K_6ohvUBst-B2V2gO_
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/church-police-probe-7-murders/
http://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/ratzmann-terry.htm
https://www.culteducation.com/group/1289-general-information/8628-killings-shed-light-on-church.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/us/gunman-kills-7-in-church-group-near-milwaukee.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7167861/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/relatives-struggle-answers-after-shooting/#.WfpZrbaZMXo
Bob, your comments are usually thoughtful and insightful, but I think you missed with this one. I don't see any gloating. I see rejoicing and gratitude.
I just made a comment to Byker Bob to the effect that I see no gloating in the article, but now I notice that a few others think it's there. I just don't see it. I think we get too hard on these people sometimes. We become awfully judgmental. We have an opinion about them and we see everything through the filter of that opinion. And of course someone will now think I am an LCG person under an assumed name. No I'm not. I'm just that fool pictured at my blog and am certainly not in LCG, nor am i a fan. But when I see someone thankful, I'll take the gratitude at face value.
I don't know, Gordon. Sometimes I think there's just a fine line in so many of these matters, and interpretation can easily fall on either side. About ten years ago, when my son was delivered from so many things, and I thought it might be encouraging to share his experiences, a more spiritually mature lady privately emailed me, and mentioned that while she shared my joy, there were other parents on the forum who had seen things go badly for some of their children, rather than turning around. Obviously, neither one of us wanted to see any of them feel worse in any way. Seems like there's a lot of wisdom, discernment, and carefullnes that needs to be part of any of our sharing of positives. Narrowcasting as appropriate is probably much preferable to broadcasting. Otherwise, it comes off as a commercial for groups or agendas. And, in my opinion that's the way it came off in the case of this Puerto Rico LCG damage report.
Unfortunately, when we see something happening in the present that appears to be just like the entire history of the Armstrong movement, it's hard to cut them any slack. And everything that Jerry Weston has said or written so far could have easily been written by HWA back in the '60s. In a strange way, for LCG members, this must be like dealing with a scripted telemarketer. Unlike with the telemarketer, as an LCG member, you can't tell ol Jer that you are simply not interested in his script.
BB
Bob, I get your point about narrow casting, but given that the essay appears to be Weston writing to his members, isn't that what he's doing? I think Matthew 7 verse 2 is fully on point in this case. Foreign the way you judge, you will be judged, and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And by the way, I think you did the right thing by sharing your good news about your son. In fact even 10 years later, it might be good for some people to hear it in detail.
Our daughter's best friend lives in Cabo Rojo. Their home was not destroyed either and they are Roman Catholic. What does that tell you Church of God. They are very devout Catholics too and God blesses them strongly.
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