Spread Some Cheer: Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Toy Drive

About the Toy Drive 

Lash LaRue Toy Drive 

The Toy Drive for Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is back! Since 2003, Omaha rockabilly musician Larry Dunn has organized a toy drive for the children of the Porcupine District of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. According to the 2000 census, Pine Ridge’s Lakota Sioux community is one of the most poverty stricken communities in the United States. The children of the reservation are desperately in need of some sunshine and cheer, especially during a time of cold, harsh winds and immense desolation like winters on the reservation can be. The majority of gifts for the children are collected at benefit concerts put on by Omaha-area musicians. The show dates, times and venues for this year’s shows are listed below. Audience members can either bring in an unwrapped gift or donate $10 at the door. 

Every dime raised goes toward buying additional gifts and stockings. We cover all administrative fees, the cost of transporting the toys to the reservation and any additional travel expenses. David Swallow, Jr., a Lakota spiritual leader and Medicine Man from the Porcupine District and He Ska Tokala Warrior Society, organizes gift distribution in the middle of December. It is usually hardest to get gifts for the teenagers. This year we would love to see all of the kids walk away with at least two presents and a stocking. Any input you or your organizations and sponsors can give toward getting gift donations for these kids who really need a helping hand would be an amazing favor that we at the toy drive would appreciate for the rest of our lives. And so will the children of Pine Ridge. 

Countless friends and sponsors (see the links page) assist in reaching our goal of making the holidays a little happier for those who deserve it most: needy children. If you are interested in helping please contact us as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for all of your help. From our families to yours, we hope your holidays are bright, warm and safe.

Deck The Halls

Maybe we should all get together and do one of these at Six-Pack Flurry's Feast site.

Imagine doing, "Blest and Happy Is the Man" with three hundred of your closest non COGers!

We could get Big Beak to accompany us along with Six Pack's Young Ambassadors.

Biblical Inerrancy

Did you know that the belief in inerrancy of the Bible is an American invention within the last 200 years?

People Are Not Impressed By Meredith's Fasting Plea

Some comments from Apostle Malm's acolytes.  It's pretty bad when even diehard believers find it troubling that Meredith has declared a fast for his own healing.

Some I have talked to in LCG said that they will NOT be fasting this weekend.  They said that Meredith won't fast for regular members when they are ill, so why should they fast for the bigwigs when they are ill.  They are no more important than the regular folk.

One thing should be noted about LCG’s fast: it deeply troubles me that R. Meredith seems to use repeated enforced fasts not as a spiritual tool for his people, but more a political tool to his own benefit. He always uses terms like “leading ministers” or “leading elders” which explains to anyone that he Meredith is the “leading leading” minister. This latest fast is mainly for the health woes of LCG leadership. Boy when the Supreme Leader and/or his Lieutenants don’t feel well, the whole world should care! It’s odd that bizarre sicknesses keep striking LCG leaders more so than any other group I know.

So now members of the ekklesia of God, one of the most controversial (and the truth to tell one of the most detested)leaders in Church of God history has asked for your prayers for himself and others suffering from health problems and for his corporate business, LCG Inc.

I don’t know much about LCG, but if Rod M is very old and it is time for him to die (it will happen to us all), then perhaps we should pray that he will be able to finish off his last days, allowing God to work with him and helping him to give up his leadership of LCG.
Does he need to just accept that it is time for his life to end? I

A very large percentage of members of the COGs are dying either of disease or old age. Maybe it is just time to go and be in their place of safety (the grave) before the tribulation. If people are fasting perhaps it should not be for healing but that the members concerned straighten out their lives and repent of sin while we can. God is giving these people time to get their spiritual lives in order.

We can’t twist God’s arm into giving someone more time to do the things they want to do before they die.

What we should be concerned about is getting rid of the idolatry of putting ministers and the organisations on a pedestal as this letter from LCG is doing again. The death of a leading minister is no more important in God’s sight than the death of any other church member.

Rod Meredith over the years has consistently linked fasting with asking something of God, because there was a lack of faith, sicknesses and not as many healings as he wanted from God, yet his current letter indicates things are worse, not better. So, what “good” has been accomplished by those past fasts (usually on the Sabbath too)?

Rod Meredith (RM) wants those of his group to be: “…asking for His special mercy at this time and for the supernatural healing…”

But, as RM not read what God said about fasting and people lifting up their voices to Him to get something?
“Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:4

I thought more about RM’s letter…where he wrote: “…let us all cry out to God for more of His Spirit, more of His power…” Isn’t that making one’s voice to be heard on high? Also, is God a respecter of persons? Why would God give more of His Spirit, and more of His power, to some sealed Firstfruits and NOT to other sealed Firstfruits of God’s Church? Does God have “favorites?”

I feel the leadership have used fasting to beat us over the head and convince us that any problems in the church organisation are our fault, not theirs.