By Mark McCulley
Festival Administration manager
The 1995 Feast of Tabernacles, dubbed "Festival of Faith '95" by Pastor General Joseph Tkach, is in the history books as the most Christ-centered Feast of Tabernacles ever celebrated by the Worldwide Church of God.
So what's next? Some think that under the new covenant observing any such festivals is legalism or harmful for a Christian. Others are more interested than ever, because of the heightened spirituality of the 1995 Festival.
Why celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles? First, we gather at the Festival to celebrate our new life in Christ, as well as to look forward to the hope of all saints--the resurrection of the dead at the second coming of Jesus.
Galatians 2:20 is a pivotal scripture in understanding that new life: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Here, Paul explains the post-baptism life of the believer in terms of a temporary physical life, lived through faith in Christ. A tabernacle is a temporary dwelling. God "lived" in a tabernacle as his physical point of contact with the Israelites, while they lived in temporary tents in the wilderness.
Today, Christ dwells within believers, not just among us; and we "tabernacle" in physical bodies until the resurrection. When we come together during the Festival, we celebrate together the joyous reality of Christ living in us daily.
That is why the theme for 1996 is "A Celebration of Salvation." A team of researchers and writers is already gathering material for sermons for next fall. We plan to deepen our understanding of salvation and of our obligation to live as regenerated people in a dark world.
The Festival is the church's "major collective worship event of the year," to quote from our Mission Statement. How does collective worship benefit us? By being mutually encouraged in the faith, and worshiping together in large groups, our confidence is strengthened. We return to our homes with a fresh love for our Christian walk. We find inspiration from the example of others we meet, and our bonds with our brethren in different parts of the world are strengthened.
We come back to our homes and jobs with fresh perspectives on our daily obstacles and new energy for resolving them.
The Festival offers church members all these benefits and more. In fact many denominations have seminars and spiritual retreats in the autumn for benefits like these. The Festival is not commanded, but it is a valuable experience when done in the right spirit.
In the United States the number of large sites will be reduced to be cost-effective while still serving the greatest number of members. Many members will still live within a day's drive of a site. Most of our sites are in or near resort areas, so members may take time to relax with their families in vacation activities.
Members will also be able to gather as local congregations in some areas instead of traveling. Plans for those sites are still being formed. However, most will operate only on weekends, plus perhaps a couple of evenings during the week. Live sermons by local ministers will likely be supplemented by tapes from headquarters, or by telephone links to the nearest regional sites.
Members in the United States will receive a mailing from headquarters in the spring, listing sites worldwide and telling how to register. Current plans call for including a form that each individual or household will use to register. The same forms will be used to transfer to overseas sites, cutting processing time and costs and giving better service to members visiting our brethren in other countries.
Registration at each site will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead of being assigned to a site according to one's local congregation, we will need to register for whichever site we wish to attend.
Those who register will receive a list of discounted lodging prices, a schedule of services and activities, and sign-up lists for their approved site.
When we considered saving 10 percent of our income for the Festivals to be mandatory, many of us came to the Festival site with a "wad of cash" to spend. That was good when we used it for the good of others instead of just indulging our own desires, but it could also lend itself to spending without a budget and coming up short after five or six days.
Some have tried to travel on a credit card, having to pay the money back with interest afterward, or to take the last paycheck before leaving and try to make that money stretch. Instead, we need to carefully count the cost of attending a regional site and plan accordingly.
A fresh look at budgeting our expenses and the requisite savings would be helpful. Some may need to save 10 percent as they always did. Others may need less. Some may even need to save more than 10 percent. And of course, we need to set some aside for the needs of others.
A budget form will be provided with a future Festival article to help you get an idea of what your expenses might be for 1996. We encourage you to take your budget seriously, and begin saving now for next fall!
The 1995 Festival of Faith was a time of excitement, healing, renewal and learning. The 1996 Celebration of Salvation will:
We hope you will commit to attend.
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