Council of Elders

The Council of Elders is established to provide oversight and guidance within the Church for the service and care of local congregations, the preaching of the gospel and the administration of God's tithes and offerings.

Back Row: Aaron Dean, Roy Holladay, Victor Kubik, Leon Walker, Bill Eddington, Bob Berendt
Front Row: Jim Franks, Richard Pinelli, Clyde Kilough, Robert Dick, Larry Salyer, Richard Thompson

Council of Elders Profiles
Please be aware that some of the biographies contain information (dates, locations, etc...) which might change and not be current within the written biographies below.

Bob Berendt
Robert Berendt was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He grew up in a small coal-mining town on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. Sports and the outdoors are a large part of his background.

The town closed down in 1953, and he left for the city at age 16. He got a job and met a lovely girl who also worked in the office. In time they were married, and soon they had two sons and two daughters. His lack of training was a frustration for Mr. Berendt, so he attended the University of Alberta and graduated with a degree in science and education.

In 1962 his mother began listening to Herbert W. Armstrong on the radio. She wrote in for the literature and soon Mr. Berendt also began reading the booklets. He had a summer job that allowed a lot of time for studying the Bible. By 1964 they began attending the first church service in Edmonton. He taught high school science for four years before attending Ambassador College, where he received a BA.

Mr. Berendt was hired into the Canadian ministry in 1970. His wife Joan died in 1983 of breast cancer.

He has pastored a number of churches in eastern and western Canada and then, upon marrying Valerie in 1987, they were asked to serve in Germany for five years. He was the Feast coordinator at three different sites and has conducted many youth campouts, hiking trips and hockey tournaments. He is still active in sports.

Currently Mr. Berendt serves on the Canadian National Council and pastors four churches. He serves on several committees and helps coordinate Ministerial Services in Canada. He writes articles that are placed on UCG Edmonton's very active Web site and appear in other Church publications as well.

Mr. Berendt sees being on the Council of Elders (starting in July) as a huge responsibility. He said, "'God so loved the world,' and our mandate is along those lines. UCG is to reflect the love from God and Christ to all the world and in our service within the Body of Christ." He said he is determined to strive to work together on the Council to serve the Church. "It is important that we stand up for the truth at all times and that we never forget the 'weightier matters of the law,' justice, mercy and faith." He said he hopes the love of God will flow out of all Council actions.

Mr. Berendt has 14 grandchildren. His two sons are both ordained ministers in UCG and there are three medical doctors to look out for him (Rick, Dan and Heather). His daughter Cathy is also a member, and his wife, Valerie, is a strong supporter who travels with him.

Aaron Dean
Aaron Dean was born on the Feast of Trumpets 1952. At age 3 his father died, and his mother moved to Big Sandy, Texas, and later to Pasadena, California. He graduated in 1970 with honors from the Church's Imperial Schools and in 1974 from Ambassador College.

At graduation, Herbert Armstrong personally asked that he become part of his traveling group and not go to his ministerial assignment.

In 1974 he married Michelle Gemon. "Michelle has been my greatest asset. [She came] to college with only a nominal Lutheran background. She knew nothing of the Sabbath or Holy Days. She gives me a perspective that I don't have.

"After the legal battles with the State of California in 1979, and the subsequent 'putting the Church back on track' by Mr. Armstrong, it was requested that I officially become his assistant. I refused three times, knowing what the job was," Mr. Dean said. But Mr. Armstrong ignored his objections. "If God makes you do something, you will not fail. I think this is part of the 'fear of God.'"

Mr. Dean wore many "hats" until Mr. Armstrong's death in 1986. Earlier travel involved being away from home around 300 days a year. He was appointed to the Council of Elders and made a vice president, where he was able to tighten the overseas schedule by 60 percent and costs by 75 percent.

He takes little credit, as "it was God who helped a 92-year-old man in his last year visit nine countries in 24 days."

Along with setting up campaigns and meetings, Mr. Dean negotiated the student projects in foreign countries, which were very effective in demonstrating God's way of life.

He was kept busy seven days a week, usually 20 hours a day dealing with all aspects of the Church, college and Ambassador Foundation. Mr. Armstrong only allowed him one outside duty, a request by King Leopold III of Belgium that he serve on the board of Leopold's foundation.

"I was saddened at the death of my mentor in 1986. Michelle and I wanted a family, and God granted us a son, Aaron Jr., and daughter, Crystal Michelle. They truly filled a void for us," Mr. Dean said.

Mr. Dean completed an MBA with honors and began teaching at Ambassador University until its close in 1997.

Mr. Dean works in Texas for an agricultural company in domestic and international markets, which often allows him to visit scattered members.

He hopes to "help prepare the Bride of Christ," a promise he made to Mr. Armstrong. "I believe this is done on a personal basis. We can't afford complacency with the job Christ is about to give to us at His return.

"I hope to add to our world a perspective of the spiritual organism and to the personal growth of God's children to follow where Jesus Christ, the true Head of the Church, leads according to God's will and not our own, and to continue the enthusiasm of Herbert Armstrong.

"Council service is very demanding, and I must consistently pray my job allows me the blocks of time off to be helpful and effective. As long as God allows, I will serve God's people," Mr. Dean said.

Robert Dick
Robert Dick was born in 1943 in Caldwell, Idaho. His grandfather was the first to listen to The World Tomorrow in the early '50s and encouraged Mr. Dick's father to listen also.

In 1957, his father, Raymond, applied and was accepted to Ambassador College in Pasadena. He took his family with him and Bob attended Imperial High School for four years. Following high school he enrolled in Ambassador College, transferring to Bricket Wood, England, after his sophomore year.

The opportunity to visit in the homes of many members from central London to the English Channel and to preach in all the congregations of the Radio Church of God in England was a highlight of those two years.

Mr. Dick began corresponding during his junior year with Dyanne Moore, who was attending Ambassador in Pasadena. They were married following the Feast of Tabernacles in 1965.

After four months of ministerial training in South Bend, Indiana, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Dicks moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where Mr. Dick served as associate pastor for six months. His first full pastorate was in Mobile, Alabama, where both of their sons, Philip and Timothy, were born. Shortly after arriving he started the church in Geneva, Alabama.

Mr. Dick has since pastored Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; Elkhart, Plymouth and Michigan City, Indiana; Seattle, Bremerton, Everett and Federal Way, Washington; and Portland and Hood River, Oregon.

Mr. Dick has served in YOU administration as a district coordinator, and as regional coordinator for the Northeast, Great Lakes and Northwest. He has also served as a senior pastor in Columbus, Ohio, and as regional pastor for the Northwest.

One of the Dicks' greater ministerial pleasures was serving as a traveling speaker at the Feast of Tabernacles, providing an opportunity to meet and spend time with God's people in Europe, Africa, Canada, the Philippines and across the United States.

Mr. Dick has served on the Council of Elders for the last 12 years and currently serves as chairman.

Bill Eddington
Bill Eddington and his wife, Rae, live in Melbourne, Australia, and have six adult children.

He was baptized in 1970 and ordained as an elder in 1975. Since that time he has served the Church in many capacities—counseling, preaching, giving Bible studies, baptizing, acting as a Festival coordinator and a Festival elder and conducting weddings and funerals. He currently assists Australian Southern Region pastor Barry Williams and pastors a small congregation several hours' drive from Melbourne.

He has been a member of the Australian National Council since 1997 and chairman since 1999. He also serves on the Pastoral and the Policy and Planning Committees.

Mr. Eddington gained considerable experience in sales, logistics, strategic planning and human resources during his years of employment with several major companies and the state government of Victoria. For several years in the early 1980s he was a member of the governing council of the state's premier teacher training college, chairing the staffing and legislation committees. He is now retired.

He has never been employed by the Church and feels that his outside employment experience, noncareer Church involvement and hands-on knowledge of the operations and needs of a UCG IA international area may provide a different perspective during some Council discussions.

Mr. Eddington said, "This will be a new experience for me, and I look forward to making an effective contribution to the workings of the Council of Elders and the Church generally."

Jim Franks
Jim Franks was born on Jan. 21, 1950, in Memphis, Tennessee, and now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He has been married to his wife, Sharron, since 1974, and they are the parents of three daughters, Molly (married to Kris Kobernat), Jamie and Kimberlee (married to Aaron Greider). Jim and Sharron are also the grandparents of Austin and Kaden Kobernat.

His relationship with the Church of God began in 1952 when his mother (then 22 years old and the mother of two small children) began listening to Herbert W. Armstrong while living in Michigan City, Indiana. She was convicted of the Sabbath and began to observe it that year. For the next 10 years the family observed the Sabbath (and later the Holy Days) at home. Finally, in 1961, a congregation was formed in Memphis, Tennessee (the family was now living in Arkansas). In the spring of 1962, he began attending the Memphis congregation of the Radio Church of God with his mother, father and sister.

In 1968, a lifelong dream was fulfilled when he was accepted to Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas. He graduated in 1972 after four years of attending classes, working on the college ranch and later in the business office. Upon graduation, he was sent to the field ministry in Atlanta, Georgia, as a ministerial assistant. It was there he became acquainted with Sharron (they had met briefly at a wedding two years earlier). They were married in 1974 and moved to Athens, Georgia, in 1975. This was their first pastorate.

While in Athens they became involved in the early development of the YOU program. Mr. Franks served as the youth district coordinator in 1975 and then later the regional director for the Southeast in 1977. He has been very active in the Church's youth programs from that time on. He served again as district coordinator in New England (1981 to 1987) and later as district coordinator in Texas (1988 to 1993).

In 1979 the Franks were transferred to New England, where he pastored the Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, congregations for the next eight years. It was while in New England that he began to research the colonial Sabbatarians of Rhode Island. He says, "I found the history of these people to be quite fascinating. The research led to several articles and two television programs during our stay in New England."

The churches in New England experienced tremendous growth during these years. "We were thrilled to see them triple in size during that eight-year period." While in New England he was the Festival coordinator for the Feast of Tabernacles on Cape Cod. Later, he coordinated the Saratoga Springs, New York, site.

In 1987 the Franks were transferred to Houston to pastor the Houston North congregation. In 1990, the Houston North church became Houston North A.M. and P.M. He was the pastor in Houston for the 35th anniversary in 1993 and continued to pastor in Houston until 2006 for a total of 18½ years. In March of 2006, the Houston congregations celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Church in the city of Houston. This was also the year the Franks were transferred to the home office for a new assignment. Mr. Franks took over as the operation manager for Ministerial Services in January of 2006.

"My wife and I have enjoyed each and every area where we have been asked to serve. The people of God are the greatest treasure we have ever known. Our experiences over the past 30 years with these people have provided the true joy in our lives.

"We are now looking forward to the future with hope and conviction."

Roy Holladay
Roy Holladay and his twin sister, Roberta, were born in Glasgow, Kentucky, in 1940 to Robert and Grace Holladay. He is firstborn of five children—three boys and two girls. The family moved to East Tennessee in 1949 where his dad worked on the railroad and sharecropped. He grew up on a farm and played basketball and football in high school.

It was Mr. Holladay's interest in sports that led him to hear the World Tomorrow radio program in 1958. His mom was an ardent University of Kentucky basketball fan. While trying to listen to the basketball games on radio station WHAS out of Louisville, Kentucky, the World Tomorrow broadcast would overpower the station and grabbed their interest.

They met a baptizing tour in the summer of 1958, and in 1959 Roy Holladay was accepted to Ambassador College. It was there that he met Norma Cowan—his future wife. They were both in the freshman class that year. Her dad had heard the World Tomorrow radio broadcast in the mid-1930s, sent money in to help start Ambassador College in 1947 and attended the first Feast in Big Sandy, Texas, in 1953 with his family.

In the summer of 1962 Mr. Holladay went on a 12-week nationwide baptizing tour. He and his wife were married in June 1963 and sent out to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Akron and Toledo, Ohio, congregations as an associate pastor. He was ordained as a local elder on Pentecost 1964, preaching elder at the Feast of Tabernacles in 1964 and a pastor in 1968.

Mr. and Mrs. Holladay have served in Pittsburgh, Akron, Toledo, Wheeling, Charleston, Uniontown, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, Uvalde, the Rio Grand Valley, Richmond, Norfolk, Arlington, Hinsdale, Chicago North, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, Fort Myers, Miami, West Palm Beach, Big Sandy, Texarkana, Chattanooga and Rome congregations. He served as a senior pastor in 1976, regional pastor from 1992 to 1998 and Festival coordinator in Mt. Pocono and St. Petersburg for 10 years, 1983 to 1994.

Mr. and Mrs. Holladay attended the preplanning meeting for the Indianapolis Conference in 1995, and he was selected to the interim board and served on the Council from 1995 to 2002 (the last two years as chairman). He stepped down from the Council when he became president in 2002 and served as president of United for three years. In 2005 they moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and presently pastor the Chattanooga and Rome, Georgia, congregations

They have five sons, five daughters-in-law and 10 grandchildren who are scattered worldwide—South Africa, Australia, California, Colorado and Texas.

Mr. Holladay sees the responsibility of being on the Council as a wonderful opportunity to serve the membership of the Church (the responsibility to care for, serve, love and look after God's flock) and to help humanity through the preaching of the gospel.

Mr. Holladay said, "I could not have served all these years without the love, help and strength of my inspiring wife—we truly are a team that works together in every phase of God's work."

Clyde Kilough
Clyde Kilough was selected by the Council of Elders in May of 2005 to serve as president of the United Church of God, an International Association, and moved with his wife, Dee, to Cincinnati to assume those responsibilities on July 1, 2005.

Mr. and Mrs. Kilough graduated from Ambassador College (Big Sandy) together in 1974, married two days later and moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the first stop in a string of ministerial assignments that included Evansburg, Alberta; Winnipeg and Dauphin, Manitoba; Yorkton, Saskatchewan; Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Poplar Bluff, Missouri; Wilkes-Barre and Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania; Akron and Youngstown, Ohio; Sacramento, Santa Rosa and Stockton, California, and Reno, Nevada.

They have two grown children, Dave, and Becca Washington; one son-in-law, Brett; and one granddaughter, Jazmin.

Mr. Kilough was born in 1951 and came into the Church in Houston, Texas, with his parents in 1963. Mrs. Kilough grew up primarily in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and began attending Church services in 1965.

He was appointed regional pastor of the Northern California and Nevada area in 1996, and served in that capacity until being named to the Council of Elders in May 2001. His experience with the Council had begun earlier, when he worked as the first Council reporter from 1997 to 1999. Later, from May 2002 until May 2005, he was the chairman of the Council.

"We are now well into our second decade as the United Church of God," Mr. Kilough observed, "and God has blessed us immensely to be positioned more strongly than ever to fulfill our mission of preaching the gospel to the world, making disciples through that process and caring for those disciples as they strive to live God's way of life."

His emphasis for the Church has been that of being zealously focused on fulfilling that mission in every arena—individually, collectively and administratively. "God's calling and working in our lives is a miracle, and we must treasure this as a gift and a responsibility to help others.

"Understanding the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, and all that it encompasses, is one of the greatest things that can happen to an individual," he said. "In that knowledge we find the purpose for our existence, insight into both the history and future of humanity, and why and how God is involved with this world. It gives us tremendous hope for the future as well as marvelous understanding about how to live today."

The Kiloughs especially enjoy visiting the congregations and members of the United Church of God around the world. "We are always encouraged and inspired to see so many people from all walks of life, some in extremely difficult circumstances, unified in purpose and understanding. It is a continual display of God's Spirit, and it is such a blessing to be part of His work at this time."

Victor Kubik
Victor Kubik was born in Hannover, Germany, in a United Nations Displaced Persons camp in the aftermath of World War II. He immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1949.

He is married to the former Beverly Skogen. They have three children: Kim in New Jersey, Kevin in Minnesota and Michael in Indiana. Michael is married to Alix Rhodes, and they have one daughter, Alyssa.

Mr. Kubik studied the Bible through his high school years and became convicted of the Sabbath and other truths. He applied to Ambassador College in 1965 before hearing about the Church. He was accepted to the Pasadena campus and later transferred to and graduated from Ambassador College in Bricket Wood, England, in 1969. After graduation, he served in the ministry in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, South Dakota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Paducah, Kentucky.

In 1990, Mr. Kubik was transferred to Pasadena, where he served as assistant director of Church Administration until his resignation from the ministry of the Worldwide Church of God in March 1995.

He was the first director of Ministerial Services in United. In 1996 he and Beverly were transferred to Indianapolis where he pastors congregations in Lafayette and Terre Haute, Indiana, to this day.

He also oversees the work of the United Church of God in Eastern Europe, which includes a congregation in Tartu, Estonia, and a working relationship with Sabbatarians in Ukraine, and he travels regularly to those regions. He is fluent in Ukrainian and also speaks Russian.

Mr. Kubik has served on the Council of Elders through the entire history of United. He currently chairs the Media Committee and enjoys seeing the dynamics of constantly changing technology being used to proclaim an unchanging gospel message. He also serves on the Education/Ministerial Services Committee.

One of his passions is to help our brethren in developing areas. In 1999 he founded a nonprofit organization, LifeNets, which helps people in practical ways, helps them become self-sufficient and encourages even the poor to focus on others.

He gives special credit to his wife, Beverly, who has been an integral part of his ministry. Her full-time work is his ministry. "Without the devotion and dedication of Bev to all the things that I try to do, I wouldn't even begin to see the successful outcomes I have experienced."

His pastimes include playing the piano, bicycling and hiking.

Richard Pinelli
Richard Pinelli was born and reared in Chicago, Illinois, going through what he describes as a normal childhood and finishing grade 12. He then went to and graduated from Ambassador College.

He married his wife, Mary, in 1960, and they were transferred after graduation to Vancouver, British Columbia. They worked in Canada pastoring in 12 church areas for 23 years. They moved back to the United States in 1984 where they pastored three areas before the church split in 1995.

He has been a pastor for 43 years and has 12 years of experience as a Feast coordinator, 14 years as a regional pastor, two years as Ministerial Services operation manager in Canada and 10 years as operation manager for Ministerial Services in United.

Currently Mr. Pinelli serves as coordinator of ministerial development programs, focusing on training the trainers of future ministers. Mr. Pinelli has mentored 36 trainees in his career and is very enthused about his new job and about serving on the Council.

"I appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Council at this time," he said. "I have worked with the Council closely for 10 years when I worked in Ministerial Services as well as with the home office administration. I hope this experience will be helpful in my time on the Council."

Larry Salyer
Larry Salyer and his wife, Judy, began attending God's Church exactly one week after their wedding in 1963. Then in 1965, they and their 1-year-old daughter, Lisa, moved to Big Sandy, Texas, when Larry was accepted to Ambassador College. Born in northern Indiana in 1942, the eighth of 10 children, Mr. Salyer remembers when his parents began listening to Herbert Armstrong in 1954. His mom was baptized in 1960.

Larry and Judy met in high school. Judy had no previous knowledge of the Church. But her future mother-in-law introduced her to the booklet on the subject of marriage and divorce and the Bible Story, which Judy found agreed with the Bible. Within a week after their marriage, studying and talking led them to ask permission to attend the Elkhart, Indiana, congregation where some of the family already attended. Both were baptized on the same day in November 1963 by George Meeker.

Mr. Salyer graduated from Ambassador College in 1968. He was ordained an elder the next day and immediately sent to Houston, Texas, as an assistant pastor. In January 1969, he took up his first pastorate in Abilene and Odessa, Texas. Subsequently, he pastored in Houston North and South; Big Sandy; Washington, D.C.; Hagerstown, Maryland; Pasadena Auditorium and San Francisco, California; and St. Louis and Wentzville, Missouri.

From 1982 to 1986, as dean of students at Ambassador College in Big Sandy, he worked closely with Les McCullough, Don Ward and Dick Thompson. After Mr. Armstrong's death, Mr. Salyer was drafted away from "the best job in the world" to become the director of Church Administration in Pasadena. By 1988, Church Administration was reorganized and Mr. Salyer became the director of Church Administration, International, overseeing all aspects of the international work until 1992. In addition, he was responsible for all YOU programs, summer camps and Imperial Schools. He served on the Council of Elders and taught in the Ministerial Refresher Program.

Working in Pasadena, Mr. Salyer became aware of the negative trends in the Church. In the summer of 1992, with the job becoming impossible due to doctrinal changes, Mr. Salyer volunteered for a pastorate in the field. The Salyers moved to the St. Louis and Wentzville, Missouri, circuit, thinking it would be possible to teach the truth without interference. That would soon prove to be untrue.

In 1993, Mr. Salyer was asked to serve as a regional pastor. He cautiously accepted the role, alongside other senior ministers now serving in the United Church of God. He thought perhaps this team would be used by God to restore the Church's traditional teachings. But within a few months, the apostasy had become egregious and doctrinal division in the congregation and local ministry were intolerable. He resigned from the ministry of the Worldwide Church of God in February 1994.

As faithful members left the WCG, a small congregation was formed, meeting in homes. They soon found the Global Church of God and merged with that group at Pentecost. The Salyers pastored the Midwest churches until 1996, when Mr. Salyer became director of editorial services in San Diego, California. By 1998, internal conflicts led to a split in Global. Later, a number of ministers and members formed the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship, which then merged with the United Church of God in 2001.

Mr. Salyer has served on the Godly Leadership Task Force, the Expelled Elder Appeal Committee and the Bible Reading Program editorial team. He pastored the congregations in Salt Lake City, Utah; Grand Junction, Colorado; and Twin Falls, Idaho, before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, to become operation manager of Media and Communications Services in 2007.

The Salyers have four children: Lisa (Mrs. Andy Burnett), Jeff, Julie (Mrs. Royden Morgan) and Randy (married to Stephanie Millan); and four grandchildren.

Richard Thompson
Richard C. Thompson was reselected by the General Conference of Elders to serve another three-year term on the Council of Elders in May 2006.

He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and was raised in a family with two brothers and a sister. His family was close-knit and very supportive of one another.

Mr. Thompson attended Mississippi State University and received a mathematics degree, with emphasis in science, in 1964.

While there he began listening to The World Tomorrow broadcast in the fall of 1963, became interested in the message and made plans to become a part of the Church in early 1964.

He taught eighth-grade mathematics in Avondale Estates, Georgia, until he began attending Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, in the fall of 1965. During his three years as a student at the college, he enjoyed working on the plumbing crew, in the Science Department and in the business office.

He married Onnie Guarnieri from Grove City, Pennsylvania, in 1967. He spent his last year in Big Sandy as a married student, and was hired as a Worldwide Church of God ministerial trainee in the Los Angeles, California, area in the spring of 1968. After serving there one year, he was ordained an elder in April 1969.

Mr. Thompson returned to work in the business office in Big Sandy from 1969 until 1972. He was transferred to pastor the Baton Rouge and Alexandria, Louisiana, churches from 1972 until 1976. He then pastored the Dayton, Ohio, churches from 1976 until 1983, when he returned to Ambassador College in Big Sandy. This time he taught theology and speech classes, served as dean of students, dean of student affairs and acting provost until being transferred to pastor the Athens and Buford, Georgia, churches.

Mr. Thompson also served as a Festival coordinator for 13 years and supervised sites in Penticton, British Columbia; St. Petersburg, Florida; Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri; Hampton, Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Dayton, Ohio.

The Thompsons' two sons, Scot and Brett, were both born in Tyler, Texas. They both now live and work in Eustis, Florida. Mrs. Thompson died suddenly and unexpectedly of a massive stroke Feb. 4, 2006 (see "Tribute," March/April 2006 United News, page 23).

Mr. Thompson now pastors the Ocala and Tallahassee, Florida, churches and works on the Ministerial Services Team. He has taught the Gospels class at ABC for many years.

Mr. Thompson enjoys sports, especially baseball and football (LA Dodgers and Dallas Cowboys, along with adopting the Jacksonville Jaguars since living in Florida). One of his favorite pastimes is reading, especially history or biography in addition to religious books. He enjoys spending time with his sons. "We enjoy barbecuing at home and eating out together," he says. "They enjoy NASCAR, and that has been a favorite TV viewing time we spend together when possible."

He says he is hopeful United will continue to be "helpful and positive" in filling "the needs of God's people and in the preaching of the gospel as God enables the Church to continue doing His work. There is much for all of us to do before God's Kingdom comes."

Leon Walker
Council of Elders member Leon Walker and his wife, Reba, have five children and eight grandchildren.

While studying at Ambassador College (1956 to 1960), Mr. Walker worked in the Spanish Department as a student assistant to the director, Benjamin L. Rea.

When Dr. Rea was named dean of faculty at the new Bricket Wood, England, campus in 1960, the Spanish Department was transferred to England. Mr. Walker, having graduated from the Pasadena campus that year, was also transferred to Bricket Wood to work full-time in the Spanish Department. At the time, he and Dr. Rea were the only two members of the department.

Mr. Walker also became a faculty member at Bricket Wood in 1960, and continued as such until the college closed in 1974. He taught a number of classes, including Old Testament Survey, Epistles of Paul, Harmony of the Gospels, Intermediate Speech, Advanced Public Speaking, International Relations and Spanish. He was also dean of students from 1972 to 1974.

While in the United Kingdom, Mr. Walker served as associate pastor in the Birmingham congregation from 1963 to 1965, pastor in Bristol from 1965 to 1968, pastor in Warrington from 1968 to 1971 and pastor in London from 1971 to 1974.

He was transferred to Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, after the Bricket Wood campus closed in 1974, and served as chairman of the Theology Department until the Big Sandy campus also closed (1977).

The Walkers then transferred to Pasadena where he was on the theology faculty from 1977 until 1979; he was also dean of faculty in 1979, and became regional director of the Spanish region that same year. When the Advisory Council of Elders was formed by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1981, Mr. Walker was named a member of the Council and served in that capacity until 1995.

When the Texas campus reopened as a junior college in 1981, he was named deputy chancellor and served one year in that capacity. He was still regional director of the Spanish region, wearing both hats. In 1982 he transferred back to Pasadena. In 1990 he and the Spanish Department were transferred to the Big Sandy campus of Ambassador University. Since 1995 Mr. Walker has been directing the Spanish work from his home in Big Sandy.

Mr. Walker was elected to the Council of Elders of UCG in December 1995 and has remained a member of the Council since then. He is one of the three Council members from the international region.

He is currently chairman of the Doctrine Committee and also served in that capacity from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Walker has also served on the Education Committee, the Ethics, Roles and Rules Committee, the Executive Committee, the Media and Communications Committee and the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee.