This past Thursday, August 22, Mr. Leon Walker came to my office to report that he had just learned that one of our ministers in South America had been shot. Mr. Reginald Killingley, pastor of the Lima and Huaraz, Peru congregations, had been robbed and shot about 30 minutes earlier. Mr. Killingley had just withdrawn money for a second tithe subsidy from a Lima bank and was on his way home when the robbery occurred. Mr. Walker and I decided that he should travel to Peru as soon as possible to be with Mr. Killingley. After his arrival in Lima, Mr. Walker related more details of the robbery and Mr. Killingley's condition.
Not realizing he had been shot (he saw neither blood nor a bullet hole in his sweater), Mr. Killingley ran to a nearby maternity hospital to call the police. It was there that he noticed he was having difficulty breathing, and was taken to the emergency room.
He was then transferred to the Anglo-American Hospital in Lima, where doctors inserted a tube in his thorax to help drain fluids from his lung. The bullet had deflected off one of his ribs, punctured his right lung and lodged in his right armpit. On August 27 the tube and the bullet were removed. Mr. Killingley is expected to recover completely, and to be released from the hospital in early September.
We are all very thankful to God for His intervention and mercy in what could have been a tragedy. Once again, this points up the need to be diligently praying for God's protection for one another. Many of our fellow ministers live and work in extremely dangerous areas and situations all around the world. Of course, there is no place on earth that can be considered really safe. God's people, especially His ministers, are targets for Satan the devil wherever they may live. Let's thank God for the protection He has given Mr. Killingley, and continue to earnestly pray for God's safekeeping and preservation of His ministers as they go about doing the work He has given them.
On another subject, Mr. Armstrong has discussed with me a few principles regarding fasting on the Day of Atonement that I want to share with you as we approach the fall festival season. As you know, the Bible teaches we are to fast on the Day of Atonement, abstaining from both food and water for 24 hours. Most members are able to observe this festival without adversely affecting their health. In fact, the physical benefits from the fast are likely to improve their health.
However, we live in a degenerate age and a total fast may cause serious repercussions for some individuals with long-standing health problems such as diabetes. For this reason, God's Church believes the Bible does allow some exceptions for liquid nourishment on the Day of Atonement. For example, if a diabetic must take insulin on Atonement to maintain proper body functions, he or she may also take whatever amount of juice is necessary to prevent insulin shock.
This principle would also apply to women who are breast-feeding children. Most mothers do not find it difficult to breast-feed while fasting. A mother's milk may become depleted toward the end of the day, but will return when she resumes eating normal meals. Mothers should prepare for the fast by making sure they eat nutritiously the day before, not skipping any meals. However, a few mothers find that they are barely able to produce enough milk even on days when they are eating and drinking normally. Their milk production might cease if they were to completely fast. In such cases, water is all that is usually necessary to continue milk production while abstaining from solid food for a day. The need to take liquids should be a real one and not an excuse to avoid a complete fast.
The ministry should counsel privately with those individuals having special needs, emphasizing the fact that the Day of Atonement is a fast day. It should also be emphasized that the individual should carefully consider his or her motives and attitude to be sure they are pleasing in God's sight, because God looks on the heart. But let the individual know it is possible, in some cases, to take a little nourishment on Atonement and still keep it as a day of affliction in God's sight.
The ministry should not tell any members with serious health problems what they should or should not do on Atonement. Each member must make his or her own decision in the matter. Any questions having to do with health should be directed to a licensed MD. The ministry should simply teach the meaning of this festival while realizing there may be a few rare exceptions where a small amount of liquid nourishment would be proper in God's sight. This is in keeping with Christ's statement in the latter part of Matthew 23:23.
FROM MINISTERIAL SERVICES
Worldwide Church of God