Due to many issues during these covid years with job loss and reductions in hours, some Philadelphia Church of God families do not have enough 2nd tithe to attend the Feast. PCG expects these families to send the men while everyone else stays home. While the Flurry clan flies around in their private jet and the elite of PCG travel anywhere they want with Feast allowances, those families struggling are told to stay home while sending their men to the Feast. If they are already having financial difficulties why in hell would they take off work to attend a fake festival that is not required of them? Can the COG get any more disgusting?
Another valid reason for not attending the Feast is financial hardship. God has instituted second tithe as the way to provide the financial means to attend the Feast (Deuteronomy 14:22-23). But due to our weakened national economies, some members have found themselves with little or no work for a long period of time. If you have been out of work, and have not been able to save sufficient second tithe, then there is the possibility that you may not be able to attend the Feast this year. You may request second tithe assistance, but realize that funds are limited and not everyone who requests assistance will receive it.
Festival assistance has been a joke in the COG for decades. They either did not help at all or would give such ridiculous small amounts that people would be lucky to cover a couple meals or groceries for the week. On top of that, they were expected to tithe on it or add it to the offerings.
Some men undergoing financial hardship have asked if they should attend the Feast without their families. There is a biblical principle to follow with regard to this issue. “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty” (Deuteronomy 16:16). If you do not have sufficient second tithe for you and your family to attend the Feast, but there are enough funds for you as the head of household, then you should plan to be at the Feast. It is not easy leaving our families behind to attend the Feast. We must look at this issue God’s way. All males are to appear before God at the Feast. If for some reason you are not planning to be at the Feast, please counsel with a minister.
