The Journal: News of the Churches of God

Notes and quotes

Mammy Watkins dies

GLADEWATER, Texas--Evelyn "Mammy" Watkins died April 4 at the age of 91. Mrs. Watkins, a widely known member of the Church of God, was married to the late Mansel "Pappy" Watkins in 1925. Mr. Watkins died in 1983.

'Born to Win' Broadcast tops 100 stations

TYLER, Texas--The Born to Win radio broadcast, by Christian Educational Ministries founder and evangelist Ron Dart, is on more than 100 stations across the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe.

Anyone interested in sponsoring the half-hour radio program in his area can contact CEM for a free informational and advertising packet. Call (903) 509-2999, or write P.O. Box 560, Whitehouse, Texas 75791, U.S.A.

CGI issues booklet about the Sabbath

TYLER, Texas--The Church of God International has published a new booklet on the Sabbath. Sunday, Saturday: What Difference Does It Make? addresses such issues as: Does God care which day of the week we set apart? Do we know when the seventh day is? Has time been lost? Was the Sabbath made for man or only for the Jews? Is the Fourth Commandment among the "moral aspects" of the law? Or is it a "ritual law"?

For a free copy, write the CGI at P.O. Box 2525, Tyler, Texas 75710. Or E-mail address is cgitylertx@aol.com.

Visit the CGI web site at www.cgi.org to listen to the latest Armor of God program, check Feast information, download literature, listen to selected sermons in their entirety and find out about events in the CGI.

CEM offers Sabbath-school lessons

TYLER, Texas--Five festival lessons for four age-groups are available free from Christian Educational Ministries while they last. The levels include: primaries, first years in school; juniors, preteens; intermediates, early teens; and older teens. Teachers' editions are also available in each category. For more information or to order, write CEM at P.O. Box 560, Whitehouse, Texas 75791, call (903) 509-2999, or fax (903) 509-1139.

The lessons are produced under CEM's Youth Educational Adventures program.

You may also visit CEM'sWeb site at www.cemnetwork.com, or send E-mail to cem@ballistic.com.

Reward offered

APELDOORN, Netherlands--A Dutch foundation is offering a reward of 100,000 guilders to anyone who can prove from the Bible that the biblical rest day was Sunday.

De Sabbat Stichting (The Sabbath Foundation) is an independent organization in the Netherlands that spreads the word about the Sabbath. Some years ago the foundation challenged people to prove that Sunday was the rest day of Scripture and offered a monetary reward to anyone who could.

The latest issue of Sabbat Nieuws states that none of the entrants proved that the Bible rest day was Sunday, and an independent jury could not pay out any prize money. The prize money now has been raised to 100,000 guilders.

Anyone interested in entering or subscribing to the newsletter (which is in Dutch) should write Sabbat Nieuws, Postbus 31, 7300 AA Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

Tulsa, Okla., congregation in three-way split

TULSA, Okla.--The Tulsa congregation of the United Church of God, an International Association, seems to be in the process of splitting three ways. On April 17, during the Unleavened Bread observance, 16 of the brethren attended the new congregation of the Church of God, founded by friends of former UCG-AIA president David Hulme.

Also, 24 of the brethren met May 23 in West Tulsa for a potluck and to make plans for a new-as yet unnamed-independent congregation.

Attendance at the UCG-AIA congregation, pastored by Mark Welch, that same Sabbath was 52.

The Tulsa UCG-AIA congregation's peak attendance during the last three years was about 120. Attendance of the Worldwide Church of God in Tulsa in the 1980s, before many of the splits, was more than 600.

Congregation changes to Sunday

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.--Another Worldwide Church of God congregation has opted for Sunday services, reported The Worldwide News in its June edition. Pastor Bob Persky said he discussed the prospects of meeting on Sunday with members of the congregation, and they agreed, except for four members.

The first Sunday service was April 19 with "above average" attendance, according to the church newspaper. (The article did not give the actual number of people who attended.) Some members attended that day who had not attended recently because their jobs had conflicted with Sabbath services.

"Many went out to eat together and joined the many hundreds of other Christians from other churches eating lunch," commented Mr. Persky, who later said that first Sunday was "a wonderful day of renewal."

Mr. Persky said he offered to meet with the four Sabbath-keeping holdouts in a "house church." The article did not say if the four people took Mr. Persky up on his offer.

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