I was moved by Joseph Tkach's Personal in the April Worldwide News.
I related to his story of the Jewish-American tailor and his wife who felt compelled to leave their abundance in America and move to Israel, a nation of uncertainty, because they yearned to be home.
Because of my need to celebrate the joy and gratitude of God's greatest gift to us--the birth of his Son--I attended a Christian church for Christmas Eve services this past year.
This congregation probably has the most elegant and largest church building in town. It seats 1,000, has a membership of at least 500, a splendid choir of 75 or more, a 30-piece orchestra, a great pipe organ and golden harp, wonderful ministries, gifted leaders and even a televised worship service.
The Christmas worship service was beautiful and so inspirational--a grand celebration for our King! The brethren there obviously have much love for Jesus, and they welcomed me with love and kindness.
Yet, I would have much preferred to celebrate our Savior's birth in my Worldwide Church of God congregation, which meets in a small hotel meeting room, with a sound system not much bigger than a boom box, with not even a piano but tapes and compact discs instead, a praise and worship team of five people and a regular attendance of perhaps 40.
See, this is my home, my family, my Christian brothers and sisters with whom I share my daily life, traditions and past with. And even though I know that I am connected to the entire Christian community, the Worldwide Church of God has become my church home.
This is where I am abundantly loved and nurtured spiritually, but more important, where the grace and love of Jesus reside for me.
I'm so grateful to our Father and to our leaders who allowed him to transform our home, the Worldwide Church of God, with his abundant grace, hope, faith and love. We have so, so much here. It's good to be home!
Anilda Bostian
Panama City, Florida
I appreciated Don Mears' article "Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus" that appeared in the Feb. 24 issue of The Worldwide News.
It opened my eyes to the fact that Easter is not the evil thing I thought, but can be a valid celebration of our Savior's resurrection.
However, I was disappointed to read, "It is becoming increasingly clear to the WCG, however, that there is certain validity in celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord at the same time...."
Does this mean that we are doing away with the traditional Nisan 14 celebration?
Isn't there a certain validity in both celebrations?
D.T.
California
Thank you for asking. Actually, the sentence you question should have read, "It is becoming increasingly clear to the WCG, however, that there is also validity in celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord at the same time...."
There was no intention to imply that Easter celebration was replacing the Nisan 14 celebration.
The intention was to explain that our former rationale for condemning Easter celebration was based on faulty information and that there is validity in both celebrations.
May WN page 4
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