GREETINGS! You hold in your hands a brand new publication which is being mailed to pastors of churches and those with key responsibilities at headquarters and our offices around the world; it will be sent exclusively to this list, each week! You should receive it in time to use in your Sabbath services, giving your congregation additional news about recent developments in God's Work.
All of you pastors of churches need to explain to your deacons and/or other men who formerly were receiving the BULLETIN that the BULLETIN is going to be dropped in its present configuration. We all have unitedly come to the opinion that much of the material presently appearing in the BULLETIN could very easily appear in the pages of The WORLDWIDE NEWS; and that we need a forum in which to provide you pastors of churches with top level information directly from headquarters on a par and of such a timely nature that it will be a superior service to you than was the BULLETIN.
This is the fruit of some of the inspirational, highly creative and refreshing pre-conference planning sessions here in Pasadena.
We have moved very quickly on this particular publication, when it was brought to our attention by any number of Area Coordinators the desire on the part of many pastors in their areas for more definitive information, ahead of other members of the congregation, their local deacons and/or assistants, which would give the pastors the same type of inspirational input for their announcement sessions and/or Bible Studies relating to the leadership in the church, the broadcasts and telecasts, publications and booklets, Subscriber Services and Mail Reports, income, new doors opening before the Work, and any and all developments, including Gene Hogberg's "Top of the News" comments for your own information and possible sermon inspiration, as well as letter excerpts from a sampling of our mail.
I can't tell you how deeply moving and rewarding these sessions have been with all the men in the several meetings I have been able to conduct; and how much I have appreciated the candor, the give-and-take and free-wheeling discussion of all relevant problems and questions pertaining to the upcoming conference in January.
Incidentally, I want to bring to your attention the recent flurry of scurrilous and irresponsible attacks against the Work being circulated to the media. I must make a serious request of you as a result. It is quite important that an official spokesman for the church be solely responsible to provide the news media with accurate and appropriate information... If any of you, for any reason, should be asked to comment by the media, please refer all such inquiries to the attention of my assistant, Dr. Robert Kuhn. It will be his responsibility to coordinate such requests and bring them to the attention of Mr. Rader, who, as General Consul, is the logical one to make public statements on such matters. Mr. Rader did a particularly outstanding and exemplary job in such capacity over the past years, and I sincerely appreciate his vigorous efforts on behalf of my father, myself, and all of the church in this current situation. Also, please forward to Dr. Kuhn any articles appearing in your local newspapers, magazines, or accurate reports of particularly offensive radio or television commentary. This will give us the proper information for appropriate legal action in the future, so that those who would seek to destroy this Work by such nefarious schemes can finally bear the full responsibilities for their actions.
The following statement is our official position. It is not required to be read publically, but portions of it will be used by our mail department and over our WATS lines, and you may use whatever portions you feel necessary at your discretion, though as mentioned earlier, not directly to the media yourselves.
The so-called Ambassador Report has been published by a handful of former students. The original co-publisher has already dropped out of the venture because it lacks any merit. It is being published by its remaining associates for the sole purposes of making money for themselves and harming the Work.
Ambassador Report was mailed without request to 500 newspapers, magazine’s, television and radio stations around the world and governmental agencies of one kind or another (in addition to several thousand being mailed to people who asked for it), in the hope of discrediting the Work and its leaders. Fortunately, responsible members of the media, the government and the community at large place no value on its contents and know that the material is scurrilous, essentially untrue, distorted and exaggerated.
The Work and all individuals connected with it are disparaged by the Report and will exercise their rights, as did Paul his Roman citizenship, to the fullest extent of the law, choosing their defendants, their actions, their issues and their forums to redress the wrongs and to punish the irresponsible who would attack God's Work.
Bobby Fischer, for example, has already asked Mr. Rader to represent him and to make those responsible for publishing material in his name, without his permission, and for surreptitiously recording his conversation, pay for their wrongs.
Our fiscal year-to-date shows a healthy and encouraging 10% increase in income. Keep inspiring the brethren!
I have been hard at work making new 30-minute radio programs from the the Harmony of the Gospels, and have contacted Henry Cornwall relevant to putting together a package of three to five radio stations in the South land area with a live hook-up to provide me once again with the stimulus of a live audience for production of 30-minute radio broadcasts.
I will visit my father once more before my Australian trip, and would appreciate you continuing to mention him in your prayers, and encourage your brethren to pray for his complete recovery. He is making slow but steady progress.
These meetings in Pasadena are making us all extremely enthusiastic about the upcoming conference, and we certainly hope to see everyone of you there.
To all fellow ministers in Christ's service
Worldwide Church of God