Greetings brethren around the world,

There is always a lot of activity in the home office with so much going on in every department. In the Mail Processing department, for instance, employees are daily opening and sorting incoming mail, answering letters, inputting data and processing donations. Every month tens of thousands of booklets and other Church material is prepared and mailed not only to destinations in the United States, but also to other nations that do not have a national office. A lot gets done with just a few employees and we are grateful for their efforts.

Ministerial and Member Services, under the direction of operation manager Steve Myers, and the Media and Communications Services department, under the direction of Peter Eddington, are also busy at work as we have begun implementing several operational initiatives in the Strategic Plan for the Church. The Plan was presented to and approved by the Council of Elders earlier this week to send for ratification to the General Conference of Elders. You will learn more of that Plan in the weeks and months ahead.

This week was especially active and productive, as the Council of Elders was in for meetings that just concluded around noon today. It was a productive time, as many items, both spiritual and physical in nature, were discussed. Having the opportunity to work with the Council and to sit in on most of their meetings, let me say it is a pleasure to see the camaraderie and the respectful way the 12 members interact with each other as a body, discuss and process matters brought before them, and how the will of God is consistently sought in prayer and deliberations.

One of my favorite verses which you may have heard me quote a few times over the years is from 2 Chronicles 26:5, when speaking of the earlier years of King Uzziah’s reign as a king of Judah: “As long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.” Seeking God’s will and direction in all we do must be consistent and a very part of our beings as we do His Work, in the work of the Church as a whole, as well as in our personal lives.

Within the next day or two a report of the Council meetings will be disseminated to all elders with more detail, including a report from Treasurer Barry Korthuis that speaks of the strong financial position of the Church, in which God continues to bless us. You are free to pass that report on to our members.

Until next week, brethren, take care, be well and grow increasingly closer to God with each day. He is our strength and refuge, our loving God whose will it is that we all become part of His eternal Kingdom.

Have a wonderful rest of the week and Sabbath.

In Christ’s service,
Rick Shabi

---

U.S. Print Advertising—March 2023

We have greatly appreciated your prayers for the success of our 2022-2023 print advertising campaign in Sunday newspaper coupon inserts. By the end of Feb. 2023, the United Church of God will have reached nearly 184 million households in the United States with 12 different ads offering Bible study aids (booklets) and Beyond Today magazine subscriptions. Response by mail, telephone and our website has been very good since it began arriving at the home office in Sept. 2022.

Next month, in March 2023, the campaign continues with an additional 25 million ads offering our study aid “Jesus Christ: The Real Story,” as well as 25 million ads for “Angels: God’s Messengers and Spirit Army.” Since these were the highest responding ads this fiscal year, we have decided to run them once again in various regions of the country.

As always, God’s guidance and direction on this effort is imperative. People really need to learn about their awesome Creator, His teachings and His wonderful way of life. Therefore please pray that many people will not only see our ads but will respond to them. Thank you for your dedication to God and His great work around the world.

—Peter Eddington, Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services