News of people

News of people,
places and events

Church announces
employee transitions

PASADENA—The WCG announc-ed that the following employees have retired. Their years of service to the WCG are in parentheses.

Gene Michel (51 years), Facilities; Ralph Helge (46 years) and Earle Reese (41 years), Legal Department; Gerald Chapman (39 years), Publishing and Security; and Bill Kubon (17 years), Security.

The church also announced that with the sale of the remaining portions of the Ambassador campus, the following employees are leaving the employ of the Worldwide Church of God. Their years of service to the church are in parentheses.

Gary Leonard (25 years), Cheryl Corson (20 years), and Reggie Nicholas (5 years), Facilities; Amy Pieper (18 years) and Ruthie Fuller (17 years), Finance & Planning; Hank Trujillo (13 years) and Patrick Murphy (6 years), Security; and Ron Grassmann (36 years), Carlos Garcia (23 years), Ramon Basulto (5 years), and Jose Santos (5 years on-call), Landscape; and Eric Helge (21 years part time), Legal Department.

“I thank all the employees for their dedicated service to the church and its mission,” said Joseph Tkach, WCG president. “For those who are retiring, as well as those who will be seeking other employment, we are deeply grateful for them, their devotion to Jesus Christ and their excellent quality of work. It has been a privilege to work alongside such fine people. We pray that God will bless these outstanding men and women in every way. They will truly be a blessing to their new employers.”

Pasadena Spanish churches
combine to meet on Sunday

PASADENA—Raul Ramos, pastor of the Congregacion Hispania de Christo in Pasadena, noted that his Saturday and Sunday congregations decided to combine and meet regularly on Sun-days.

“We had our first service as a new combin-ed group on Feb. 27,” Ramos said. “Members brought their favorite dish from their place of origin, so we had food from Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States.”

The leaders of the Saturday worship service had approached Ramos about combining with the Sunday congregation. “On the couple of occasions they visited the Sunday worship service and attended advisory council meetings, they were impressed by the excitement and growth of the Sunday group,” Ramos said.

After surveying the Saturday members, it was unanimously decided that the two groups should combine and meet on Sundays.

Spokane church celebrates
Black History month

SPOKANE, Washington—Spirit of Grace Fellowship participated in Black History month with a variety of activities.

The first two weeks, Valerie Zorn, an African-American member, commented on some of her experiences and played songs from the African-American experience in history.

The third week Pastor Glen Weber read prayers from black pastors of the 1800s, particularly noting their hope and expectation even though they were living in difficult times as slavery was being challenged by society.

Wilma Bob, a Native American minister, her husband, Tom, their two adult children and their spouses, and several grandchildren presented songs of worship, along with traditional Native American dances and drums, which told lessons about God in people’s lives. One of the dances performed was “Warrior Dance,” which tells the story of overcoming Satan.

Rev. Bob spoke about the challenges they have faced in recovering aspects of the Native American culture while leaving out the parts that come from the occult. She also spoke about the hard times Native American Christians have faced from the “white church” in expecting them to be white rather than to walk in their own cultural ways.

The Bob family sing a worship song in their language
and style. [Photo by Wayne Fogle]

Beaumont conducts first
Sunday service

BEAUMONT, Texas—Beaumont members enjoyed their first worship service on Sunday morning, Feb. 6, after previously meeting on Saturdays. A potluck lunch followed.

The congregation previously rented a facility from a church that conducted Sunday services. God has blessed the congregation with a new building in Fair Park near Interstate 10 that gives them better public visibility. By meeting on Sunday they can better accommodate the unchurched and those who couldn’t formerly attend because of work schedules and children’s school activity conflicts.

Average attendance has increased from last year.

James Scales and Gene Koch co-pastor the congregation. Charles Hyatt.

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