Festival coordinators from the United States met with home office personnel in Dallas, Texas, Feb. 7 and 8 to make plans for the Feast of Tabernacles this fall. The four Festival coordinators from Canada were invited as well.

Last year these meetings were held at the home office but preconference planning indicated that holding this meeting in Dallas would be comparable or less expensive for the Church due to cheaper airfares and less expensive hotel costs.

Meeting in Dallas turned out to also be a good decision because extremely cold weather in Ohio disrupted air traffic and led to the closure of the home office on portions of Tuesday and Wednesday. The temperatures in Dallas were balmy (mid-60s and later, the mid-40s Fahrenheit) by comparison.

Jim Franks, Ministerial Services operation manager, opened the meetings by reporting that 671 more people attended the Feast of Tabernacles with the United Church of God in 2006 than did in 2005. He also explained that the overall purpose of these meetings was for this group to compare notes, discuss policies and grow as a team to produce a better product—the best possible experience at the Feast for God's people.

Clyde Kilough, UCG president, then explained that in many ways the goals we have for the Feast of Tabernacles are similar to those of United Youth Camps. As he put it, "The strength of the Feast is measured in people's changed lives. The best way to learn a language is to be immersed in it—24/7 immersion is what we want at the Feast. We want the Feast to be the 'Zone'—the environment—in which God changes lives. The Feast represents the very best of good news. And while God is the One changing people's lives, we need to create the best environment possible where this can occur."

Following these foundational concepts, discussions began on the many details involved in planning and running a Feast site. A main topic of discussion was the preparation that goes into the actual services that are held at each site daily during the Feast, as the sermons and sermonettes, coupled with special music, are the centerpiece of the spiritual component at our Feast sites. Issues of Festival registration, housing and site selection were talked about in detail.

Along with the Festival Youth Instruction and the teen and young adult Bible studies, the additional seminars offered at some Feast sites were also discussed. Last year there were 12 such seminars, and exit surveys indicated that these presentations were appreciated by the brethren.

Of special note, we are anticipating having a new hymnal in time for the Feast this fall. In conjunction with this new hymnal, coordinators requested that advance cop ies be sent to the Festival pianists and son gleaders.

Additional discussions centered on reports from this year's Religious Conference Management Association Conference, facility contracts, industry trends, budgeting, Web sites and activities.

New sites for 2007 will be Alaska and Jordan. We will not have the Feast in Hawaii this year but anticipate returning there in 2008.