Herbert W Armstrong

   Greetings from Pasadena! Mr. Herbert Armstrong is back from a successful trip to the SEP camp at Orr, Minnesota. He wanted to go back to speak to the kids for the final session this year, and I'm sure it was very encouraging and inspiring to everyone concerned.

   Dennis Luker just got back from a conference of the ministers in the Northwest — in Portland, Oregon. He reports that over fifty ministers and wives were there in a very warm and upbeat conference. He said all of the men and wives were very positive and reaffirmed their loyalty to Mr. Armstrong and this Work.

   Many doctrinal and Christian living questions came in, however, and we have already planned to see Mr. Herbert Armstrong soon — in a series of meetings — on doctrinal questions such as the details of divorce and remarriage, beginning this week.

   Everyone is fine here in Pasadena. The students had a great beach party yesterday, and a few of next year's class are already starting to arrive. They look like very fine young people.

   On the sad side, it is my duty to inform you that Mr. Jack Pyle and Mr. Bronson James have both been disfellowshipped from God's Church. They are to be marked in all areas of their activity, as both are consorting with and helping the enemies of the Work of God.

   Now for some INSTRUCTION: Please, all ministers get in your own festival applications soon so we can have up-to-date information for your housing, etc. Mr. McMichael reports that some areas are already heavily booked and we don't know how many units to reserve for the ministers and families until we hear from you. If some of you are going to bring a relative or friend to share your accommodations, etc., arrangements for this must be made NOW. So please, everyone get in your forms to the Feast Office immediately — even those of you here in the Pasadena area who may be traveling from site to site — so the Festival Office may know how many members of the family to plan for, etc.

   Looking forward to the festival season, I want to ask all of you to prepare a sermon soon pointing toward and preparing the brethren to go to the Feast, keep all eight days of the Feast, and truly worship God during this coming, glorious festival season. Be sure to remind everyone that they should be saving their second tithe and preparing themselves in every way for "the best Feast ever."

   Also, I want to ask all of you ministers to take more care to oversee and "screen" the type of music and dancing your individual churches are participating in. We want to upgrade the type of music presented during Church services. And we definitely want to upgrade the type of music played at Church and Church-related and YOU dances and parties. We are going to send you more definitive information on this within a couple of months, but all of us who have been around Mr. Armstrong and have had any type of cultural training whatever certainly can help our areas to avoid the extremes so often found in the world which are beginning to creep into God's Church! Truly we want to honor God in every phase and facet of life — and that includes music, dancing, dating, courtship, how to handle liquor, the type and atmosphere of socials we participate in, etc. Christ is moving to clean up His Church and prepare it as an unblemished bride. Again, I hope all of us will catch this vision and do all that we can to follow Mr. Armstrong's lead in this matter with all of our hearts. This is where Christ is leading His Church now.

   That's all for this time.

With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith