From the President . . .

Greetings brethren around the world,

The Council of Elders met this week in Cincinnati. As you may have seen from the agenda that was sent to all elders last week and encouraged to be shared with the brethren, the agenda was quite full, with meetings extending into the evening each of the first three days.

The Council has quite a responsibility to the Church. There is much work associated with serving on the Council, but most importantly is the direction and example they set as they, like all of us, strive to follow God and Jesus Christ, who is the Head of this Church. We must all stay committed to God, seek His guidance and direction daily, yielding ourselves to His will and not our own.

Council reports will be released within the next few days. Let me assure you that the Work continues to move forward as we strive, under Christ’s leadership, to fulfill the commission He has given us to preach the gospel boldly and clearly to the world, to make disciples of all nations, and to care for, nurture, and shepherd the people of God.

Please always ask for God’s guidance and will to be done in His Work. As we live in a troubled world that will only become more troubled and uncertain as we move into the coming months, we all need to remain focused on God and be ever drawing closer to Him.

Take care, brethren. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

In Christian love,
Rick Shabi

---

Update on Acapulco Relief Efforts

Here is a report from Gabriel Garcia (pastor, Mexico City) and Jesse Api about their visit to Acapulco to assess the damage from Hurricane Otis:

“On Wednesday, Nov. 29, we made a visit to all the houses of UCG brethren in Acapulco, Mexico. Those who went were Antonio Aguilar (from Iguala), Roberto Hernandez (Mexico City), Jesse Api (Ohio), and Gabriel Garcia (Mexico City).

“To get to Acapulco, we used the church vehicle from Tabasco to take all the donations that came from members in Mexico, both physical and monetary, as well as all the goods purchased with the money from Good Works. The vehicle is a 2014 Toyota HiAce van, with capacity for 15 passengers and the ability to remove the seats to make it a cargo van.

“The roads in Acapulco had been cleared up and there was a large military presence. However, the side streets leading to the hills and other towns were still cut off by trees and telephone poles.

“All the brethren received us very well, and we could see that they were protected by God. The night of Hurricane Otis, they thought that they were going to die. In the darkness, with the wind, noise, rain, and even screams of neighbors asking for help, they prayed to God and He heard them.

“Most of the houses in Acapulco are made of light material. The tin roofs were easily blown off by the force of the hurricane, and about 7–8 roofs of the members’ houses we visited suffered this fate. Because of this, some of them had their clothing, household appliances (large and small) and beds ruined.

“Their current condition is stable, but they obviously need help to rebuild their roofs, as well as to better fix their homes; several have all their belongings temporarily stored elsewhere.

“In the meantime, we gave them food, water, cleaning and hygiene items, as well as a loudspeaker with 60 sermons on a USB memory stick for Sabbath services.

“Five different houses were visited, some with multiple roofs, and about 15 people visited, all members of the church. Measurements, photos and assessments were prepared by Mr. Jesse Api for a future visit where the damaged parts of the houses will be rebuilt.”

—Mario Seiglie, senior pastor, Spanish-language areas

(Good Works is accepting donations to the Acapulco disaster relief fund; donations can be made at goodworks.ucg.org and clicking on Hurricane Otis Relief 2023.)

---

Agape Love Sermon Series

As we work through the winter months here in the northern hemisphere, we would like to direct your attention to a very helpful, eight-part sermon series given by Gary Petty titled, “Agape Love.” Please join us together as the Body of Christ in enhancing our study and understanding of God’s Word.

We know that our Great God speaks to us through His inspired Word—the Holy Bible. Here is another opportunity to deepen your understanding of God, and gain insight as we look forward to the spring Holy Day season.

This week’s study is titled: “Agape Love: Part 1.” You can listen to it online at ucg.org/sermons/agape-love-part-1or download it to your favorite mobile device. Subsequent parts of the series will be posted on the home page of ucg.org each week.

All eight parts are available as a sermon series at ucg.org/sermons/sermon-series/agape-love.

—Peter Eddington, Operation Manager, Media and Communications Services

---

Winter Family Weekend

Updates Posted

We are only two weeks away from Winter Family Weekend 2023! An “updates” link is now located at wfw.ucg.org. It is STRONGLY encouraged that you visit the update page to see new information, requests and important suggestions that will help make the WFW experience better for yourself and all those attending! Additional updates will be posted to that page between now and opening night. Be sure to check back frequently!

Webcast Information

The Cincinnati congregations will provide a webcast of services from the Winter Family Weekend on Dec. 23, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. The webcast page is: ucg.org/sabbath-services/sabbath-webcast-cincinnati-december-23-2023.