May 1, 2014 Member Letter

Dear Brethren,

The year 2014 is moving along at an incredible pace, with April being the busiest month so far! While the world was fixated on tragic news from Ukraine, Malaysia and South Korea, we observed the Passover, the Night to Be Much Observed and the Days of Unleavened Bread. We know that the forgiveness of sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the replacing of that sin with righteousness, as represented by the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, are essential steps in God’s plan of salvation. 

From all the reports we have received, it seems that the festivals we’ve just completed were much needed and very inspiring. In the U.S. we had an increase in attendance on the first day of Unleavened Bread and an excellent increase in the offering on both holy days. Attendance on the first day was more than last year and just a few less than our highest attendance ever on any holy day since our beginning in December of 2010.

Sharron and I had an extremely busy April due to all our travel. We were in Fiji, an island nation in the South Pacific, for the Sabbath of April 5 and in Auckland, New Zealand, for the Sabbath of April 12, the Passover, the Night to Be Much Observed and the first day of Unleavened Bread. We returned home on Thursday, April 17, and spent the Sabbath of April 19 locally celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Fort Worth congregation. Then we left for Memphis, Tennessee, to celebrate the last day of Unleavened Bread.

After the holy days, we traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, for the Sabbath of April 26 for a special tribute to Richard Pinelli, who formally retired from the employed ministry on April 30. Mr. Pinelli and his wife, Mary, have served in the ministry for 51 years. Once he is no longer pastoring a congregation, Richard and Mary plan to move from St. Louis to California to be closer to their daughter and granddaughter. Mr. Pinelli will continue to speak and serve as an elder wherever needed. His many years of experience will make him a valuable asset no matter where he attends. We will miss him in the pastoral ministry, but we are making plans to keep him busy in his retirement.

Clyde Kilough and I both spoke during Sabbath services in St. Louis, and after the service Doug Horchak presented an engraved crystal bowl to the Pinellis on behalf of the Church. It was a wonderful day, but emotional for everyone. There was joy and happiness over a remarkable ministerial career, but there was also sadness that Mr. Pinelli will no longer be serving in the full-time ministry.

My message was based on Hebrews 6:10: “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” I believe God is well pleased with Richard and Mary’s 51 years of service. They touched thousands of lives in that period of time and left a positive impact wherever they served.

Just as April concluded on a very busy note, May promises to be even busier! The second graduation of Foundation Institute is scheduled for Saturday night, May 17, when 16 students will receive certificates while their families look on. Beginning the next day, Sunday, May 18, and continuing through May 20, we will have our first U.S. regional ministerial conference for 2014 in Ontario, California. We have four more conferences scheduled in different locations in the month of June: St. Louis, June 1-3; Dallas, Texas, June 1-3; Atlanta, Georgia, June 22-24; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 29 – July 1. And, in addition to these U.S. conferences, we are also planning a ministerial conference in Ghana the first week of May and one in South Africa in August.

I also want to mention that in a few weeks our youth camp program will begin. This will be our fourth summer for the COGWA Youth Camps, and we are looking forward to another successful year. The theme for this summer’s camps (and our winter camp) is “The Narrow Way: Accept the Challenge.” Our goal each summer is to provide a safe place for our youth to have fun while they also learn more about God’s way. Everything we do must have a spiritual component, and that is definitely true of our camp program. We want our youth to make good choices, to choose God’s way, which is defined in Matthew 7:14 as the narrow way (King James Version).

This year we have four teen summer camps, one teen winter camp, six preteen camps and one challenger camp. The camps are located strategically around the country. They begin with the Sequoia (California) and Bob White (Missouri) preteen camps on June 22 and conclude with three camps the week of Aug. 10: Heritage (Pennsylvania) teen camp and Lone Star (Texas) and Wood Lake (Minnesota) preteen camps. The Challenger camp will be in Wyoming from June 29 to July 7. The winter camp will be held the end of December in Wisconsin.

If you are a teen or a preteen, I would encourage you to register for one of our camps. If you are an adult and have some time to share this summer, I would suggest you register as a volunteer staff worker. And if you just want to support our youth, please consider making a donation to offset the cost of the program. Just go to the member website at members.cogwa.org. Use the “Donate” tab and choose the category “Camp Fund.”

In contrast to the sadness in the world, I am pleased to report the positive news from the spring festivals and our plans for youth camps. It is our fervent desire to most effectively use the resources we have been given to expand the work of preaching the gospel and caring for the brethren, always giving the credit to God and praying for Him to open new doors. Thank you for your generosity and willingness to support our efforts.

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

 

Jim Franks