Herbert W Armstrong

Mr. Dibar Apartian followed up on the Sabbath with a dynamic message about our commitment to the Church of God and the special calling God has given each of us as a part of the body of Christ. His sermon was an excellent example of the kind of messages we need to be giving in order to follow Mr. Armstrong's admonition to stir God's people to a sense of urgency.

On Tuesday evening, December 18, Mr. Armstrong delivered a 20-minute address to a group of lawyers and civic leaders gathered in the Ambassador Auditorium. The group was assembled to hear California Attorney General John Van de Kamp speak about the Community Dispute Resolution Center, a nonprofit agency in Pasadena that charges $5 for mediation and arbitration services to solve disputes before they turn into lawsuits. The agency is totally funded by Ambassador Foundation, and has been in operation since August, 1983. During the evening, Mr. Armstrong was presented with a plaque thanking him for the Foundation's support of the program.

Mr. Armstrong's message turned out to be a meaty sermon. He began by discussing the basis of law, the Bible. He explained how men try to settle their disputes based on their ideas of law, having rejected the real source of the knowledge of peace. Mr. Armstrong took the group right back to the Garden of Eden to the two trees, and very clearly showed the causes of the problems humans face today. I overheard a man sitting behind me remark, "I've never heard anything like that before in my life! That was fantastic! How old is he, anyway?" I turned around and said, "Ninety two." All who were present, including Mr. Van de Kamp, heard quite a witness!

This was a very encouraging evening for all of us, and quite a different relationship with the California Attorney General's office than we had five years ago!

Mr. Guy Ames' return to the United States from Manila will now be delayed for about six months. He will be able to use that time to familiarize Mr. Dean Blackwell and Mr. Rod Matthews with their new responsibilities. Mr. Ames hopes to depart in late June. He will continue in his post as Regional Director until that time.

A conference for the Regional Directors, to be held during the last week of January, has been approved by Mr. Armstrong. Please keep this conference in your prayers, both for its success and for the safety of the men and their wives in transit.

I hope all of you are reading the reports from the Regional Directors that we include in the PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT. We should all rejoice together in the continued blessings and growth God is giving His Church around the world. I'm sure the brethren would enjoy hearing some portions of these reports read to them from time to time.

Please keep two things particularly in your prayers at this time — the SEP camps getting under way in the Southern Hemisphere, and the efforts of Regional Director Mr. Colin Adair to obtain a second class mail permit for The PLAIN TRUTH in Canada. Although our final appeal for this permit had been turned down, Mr. Adair has since been able to meet with the Canadian Revenue Minister. He has promised to once again review our application with the Chairman of Canada Post. Approval would mean a savings to the Church of up to $200,000 Canadian per year. This could be a long process and could mean the changing of the law regarding periodical rates for everyone.

Ministerial Feast Transfers for 1985

All ministers employed by the Church are required to attend their assigned Feast sites with their local congregations. The Feast of Tabernacles is considered a part of your routine responsibilities in serving the brethren, even though you may have no specific assigned duties at the site your congregation will be attending.

Only those who are requested to fill a need at another site will be permitted to transfer. However, if you feel there are extenuating circumstances in your case, please send a written request and explanation to Ministerial Services for consideration. All international ministers requesting transfer should send their requests to their Regional Directors.

Note: All ministerial requests for transfer to U.S. or international sites must be received by February 15.