LCG Members Still Do Not Know How To Dress For The Feast And At The Beach

 

Big Brother seeks to control every aspect of members' lives. No one is allowed to think for themselves. This silliness reminds me of the current situation in Iran right now with the killing of a young woman for not dressing "properly". The church needs to stop lording itself over members' lives in every manner possible.

Appropriate Dress for Feast Services 

 

While Scripture teaches that God looks on the heart, dress and outward decorum are also important (Matthew 22:8–14). As we prepare to be “lights to the world” at the Feast, it’s good to review some basic principles for attire at Feast services. For men, in most modern cultures, coats, collared shirts, ties, and nice slacks are considered appropriate on special occasions. This may vary somewhat in tropical climates. For ladies, 1 Timothy 2:9–10 explains that dress should be “modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.” Short, tight, form-fitting dresses, necklines flaunting cleavage, bare shoulders, backless dresses, crop tops, etc., are not appropriate for Church services. We come to services to worship God, not to display our bodies. Our challenge as Christian men and women is to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 6:17) and be lights to a world that has lost its way (Matthew 5:14–16). This is especially true as we gather to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles—picturing Christ’s glorious reign on earth! 

 

 

What About at the Beach? 

Appropriate beach attire for women and men at the Feast of Tabernacles is swimwear that is modest and in good taste. We should be guided by the two great commandments—to love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39; Mark 12:29–31)—so as not to offend God or neighbor in our dress at the Feast. Accordingly, following our Living Youth Programs policy, beachwear at the Feast for ladies should be a modest one-piece or a modest tankini (covering the mid-section), and for the men, no Speedo-type suits (unless pool facility rules require them, as is the case in some countries). Fathers and husbands have a responsibility to be leaders in their families to teach and guide regarding what is appropriate and what is not (Ezekiel 22:26).

LCG Struggling To Keep "Students" Interested In Bible Study Course

 

It seems like LCG is having issues keeping people connected to the church no matter what they do. From intense disinterest in public speaking presentations in the U.S and Canada to enrollees of its Tomorrow's World Bible Study Course (a cheap imitation of the old Worldwide Church of God's rather sad, proof-texting extraordinaire, Correspondence Course).

Greetings from Charlotte, 

 

The Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course has garnered thousands of new students over the last three years, but most who begin the course do not continue all the way to the end. Most attrition occurs with students who do not progress to the second set of lessons. Our dilemma is, how do we move people along past good intentions? Recently, we began sending letters of encouragement to students at varying lengths of time after they receive their first set of lessons and found what seems to be the optimum time to touch base with them. We have since then seen a dramatic increase in those moving on to the second set of lessons and are on pace for September to set an all-time record for students requesting lessons five through eight. 

Weston never mentions what "dramatic" actually means. An increase of 1-2% would be dramatic for a course that fails to keep enrollees interested.  If the majority are requesting lessons 5- 8 that means they still have 2/3 of the enrollees not engaged.

Many ministers are traveling at this time. Mr. and Mrs. Dexter Wakefield left Tuesday to spend the Holy Days and Feasts in Kenya and Uganda. Dr. Winnail will be visiting Cincinnati for the Sabbath and Cambridge, Ohio, for Trumpets. Mr. Richard Ames is scheduled to be in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where four congregations will meet together for Trumpets. Be sure to keep up with, and be praying for, your Regional Directors and other ministers in your area who will also be traveling during this busy season. 

 

Our brethren in Haiti are living in a failed state, with unchecked crime spiraling out of control. Puerto Rico was hit hard with massive rainfall from Hurricane Fiona, causing landslides, road closures, and loss of electricity. The Dominican Republic was also badly hit by the hurricane. Please pray for our brethren in Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, that they will still be able to meet together for the Feast of Tabernacles.—Gerald Weston

PCG Members Giving Their Children Biblical Names

 

Armstrongism has always had a lot of quirks to its legacy. After the great apostasy (as PCG sees it) PCG set about restoring "true" biblical values. Gone are days of naming your children after COG evangelists, ministers, and other people. The trend in the PCG has been to name their children after Old Testament personalities. Very few ever get a New Testament name and God forbid if Spanish speaking member named the child Jesus.

PCG Members Naming Their Baby Boys Less Common Biblical Names

September 21, 2022

Ever notice how the “ministers/leaders” in PCG have been hung up on naming their boys “Bible names?” (I won’t mention the Bible names they’ve given their girls.) And realize when I say this I am not against Bible names since we “in the world” have heard of, or named our own children, good Bible names such as “David,” “Joshua,” “Philip” “Daniel” or “Jonathan” but these PCG members seem to choosing less common “biblical” names like: Jude, Ezekiel, Micah, Benjamin, Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jordan, or Jonah. Next thing you know one of them will be naming their baby boy Adaiah, Hosea, Obadiah, Azariah, Habakkuk, Elijah (no I don’t think they will choose that one), or how about Jaasiel (that one means “God’s Work”)–and who knows, maybe some PCG parents already have. I wonder if they think that if they give their boy a “biblical name” he will grow up to be just like his name and be a strong committed PCG member. To the contrary, many of these “biblically named children” have ended up washing their hands of PCG and leaving. –J. J.