It is that time of year as people look forward to Christmas and all of its pleasures. From beautiful music to amazing Christmas light decorations. From delightful and delicious seasonal food and drink to Christmas services where the amazing birth of a child that COG groups like to push to the side is celebrated. Since the day after Halloween, various COG are belching and squawking about how pagan everything is and do their utmost to make everyone around them miserable. But since COG groups are more enlightened than the heathens in the world around them, they look forward to Winter Family Weekends at Christmas time.
Nothing irritates some of these Churches of God more than Christmas does. As they are imploding with schisms and losing disgusted members who are sick of being spiritually abused, they find fault in all the world around them while never keeping their own houses in order.
As the shrinking Church of God movement moves into 2021 and as their congregations are getting older and older some are trying to do what they can to attract the younger crowd and look cool. Having these winter family weekends is more about looking cool to the world around them than it is about ignoring Christmas. Almost all of them have picked hotels and resorts that are decked out to the nines with Christmas decorations, food and music. Apparently, they assume that all of the COG members attending these locations put on blinders and wear earplugs to drown out any sight and sound of Christmas. They pack turkey ham sandwiches on whole wheat bread and eat carob brownies so as not to look like they are participating in the pagan food around them. God forbid if they took a sideways glance or ate some Christmas cookies or drank some eggnog or, ghastly days, hummed a Christmas tune.
For all of the years these groups have been doing this it has looked hypocritical but this year with the COVID hysteria it is even more shocking that some still plan on letting family groups gather playing sports and games where the spittle will be flying. One would think that of all years to take the time off and just let families rest at home with loved ones it would be this year. During these COVID times, it surely does not set a good example for the world around them which they seek to impress with their coolness. this is especially true after quire a few COG members caught COVID at COG Feast sites this year. These groups should have learned their lessons but they did not. So far UCG and COGWA have canceled their WFW.
Sheldon Monson's group is doing winter family weekend this year in Murfreesboro, TN at the Embassy Suites while the Living Church of God plans on being in Charlotte where they will restrict their "fun" weekend to members only. God forbid if they were a light to the world around them!
Also joining this COG trend is the Common Faith Network, a loose conglomeration of Churches of God who have made a concerted effort to cooperate and associate with one another. Church of God Cincinnatti and the Common Faith Network is looking to take their WFW to Tanglewood resort in Texas, though they are only currently asking for member's input. The one advantage of this site is that it could be relatively free from Christmas decorations. This site is also the site this same group used for the Feast this year. Of the many COG sites, this one was apparently run rather well as there are no reported cases of COVID arising from meeting together for the week.
COGWA and UCG have canceled their Winter Family Weekends
COGWA
