Notes and Quotes
from the church of God

Betty Bates Michel dies

CASTAIC, Calif.--The first female student of Ambassador College, Betty Michel, died at her home in Castaic Jan. 28, 2009.

As one of the first four students of Ambassador College, Pasadena, Calif., in 1947, she was Betty Bates.

After her graduation, in 1951, she was employed on the AC campus until 1958.

Survivors include her husband, Gene Michel, who receives mail at 30445 Byfield Rd., Castaic, Calif. 91384, U.S.A.

Mark Robinson dies

PLANO, Texas--Mark Robinson, a former elder and pastor of the Worldwide Church of God, died Feb. 1, 2009, in a Dallas hospital of heart failure.

Mr. Robinson, 58, earned his master's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Arlington and was a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan.

He is survived by his wife, Dianne Robinson, and son, Alexander Robinson, both of Plano; a brother, Robert Robinson of Bullard, Texas; and two sisters, Felicity Reedy of Tyler, Texas, and Mary Robinson of Austin.

He was preceded in death by his father, David Robinson, and brothers John and Tommy Robinson.

In lieu of flowers, a scholarship fund has been established for Alexander Gray Robinson, c/o Dianne Robinson, at Bank of America, 1925 Dallas Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093, U.S.A.

See Bob Ellsworth's remembrances of Mr. Robinson on page 3 of this issue of The Journal.

Five keys to understanding

TULSA, Okla.--The Churches of God Outreach Ministries (CGOM) offers a free 38-page booklet about one of the "great keys essential to understand what is going on currently in the world, Bible history and prophecy."

The book is The United States and Britain in Prophecy.

A recent letter to "Brethren and Friends" sent out by the Tulsa office listed the five essential keys to understanding as:

• Divine revelation.
• Observance of the Sabbath.
• Observance of the biblical holy days.
• Knowledge of the identity of the nations, especially the United States and Britain.
• Knowledge of the Father and Jesus.

Contact the CGOM at P.O. Box 54621, Tulsa, Okla. 74155, U.S.A., or cgom.org. Or phone (800) 611-8080.

One-God Seminar set for near Dallas

SEATTLE, Wash.--Ken Westby announces plans for his One-God Seminar, the eighth annual discussion of the nature of Jesus, for Grapevine, Texas, near Fort Worth and Dallas, the weekend of June 13-14, 2009.

"We have chosen the Hilton DFW Lakes Hotel for our location," Mr. Westby said. "It is just two miles from DFW airport and has shuttle service so out-of-town folks need not rent a car.

"It is a five-star 90-acre resort-type hotel with lots of amenities and nearby attractions. They have offered us an excellent rate on sleeping rooms and a meeting room.

"I thank my old friend Merle Vines for helping secure these arrangements. Merle is head of security for the huge hotel complex."

For more information see the Web site of the Association for Christian Development at godward.org, or write the ACD at 2303 W. Commodore Way, Suite 206, Seattle, Wash. 98199, U.S.A., or acd@godward.org. Phone Mr. Westby at (206) 453-5241. See the hotel's Web site at hiltondfwlakesecc.com.

Introducing Jewish roots

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--The online campus of the American Institute for Advanced Biblical Studies is up and running, announced Ron Moseley.

The first online course is Introduction to Jewish Roots.

"Additional courses are to be added over the next couple of months," Dr. Moseley said, "with all courses available online by late spring."

See www.aihls.org.

Record numbers

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.--Biblestudy.org is already having a banner year, reported Alan Ruth. Mr. Ruth said his Web site attracted 571,000 visitors in the first 56 days of 2009, an average of 10,500 visitors per day.

Those figures represent a 35 percent increase over the same period in 2008.

Mr. Ruth expects the site to attract 3.6 million visitors by Dec. 31, 2009.

COG perspective

CLEVELAND, Ohio--John Carnack has a new Web log called "COG Perspective" at cogperspective.blogspot.com.

"It is a blog to discuss major doctrines of the Church of God movement and current events through that filter," Mr. Carnack said. "It is not tied to any one COG organization, and discussing difference in doctrines is permitted.

"It is not a site for bashing HWA, GTA or even AC, as we have far too many sites for that already. All you need to participate is a Blogeer, Google or OpenID login."

Write Mr. Carnack at johndcarmack@gmail.com.