A time of testing for WCG UK
Good friend Anne Hannah gave me permission to republish her article original published on Mark Tabladillo's message board Jesus Loves Fellowship (JLF). I have given
her a lifetime invite to have any article she writes on my blog anytime she feels or chooses. She always has something interesting to say. A very thorough and detailed researcher to say least, Anne knows how to keep the reader focused and stimulated. Enjoy this recent one called WCG UK and Timeline!
WCG UK and Timeline:
(A while ago someone on JLF asked me about the UK. Sorry I was so LATE in following up)
When congregations have been content for many years after the doctrinal changes to maintain certain customs how disruptive and even intrusive is it for someone from a foreign country, but with over-ruling authority, to come and make change for change sake?
This, from someone who has not been successful in other regions of the worldwide denomination over which he also has total authority.
Imagine ten years after the fact. “New” changes? Hardly. There has been plenty of opportunity for other customs to be adopted … why now?
It has been often speculated that one of the reasons has been the inability to sell the campus. Now that it has sold, a “new” change that is years old in other parts of the “Worldwide” Church of God is being imposed on the UK. A church home for the UK members that now changes after decades even generations. Their choices in the matter are no doubt not much different than it was for those in North America. This was previously voiced by a US WCG pastor as ... “like it or not.”
In the UK the changes mercifully are more straight forward compared to the painful bit by bit treatment in North America.
That North American disaster resulted in members drifting away over those years and becoming separated from friends. Will this happen in the UK or will they see that leaving en mass to form their own fellowship may perhaps be a better support system than going it alone?
Here is a rough timeline of some events in the UK in recent times:
Not long prior to 2005 - The Church UK Calendar was wiped of the WCG traditional days and replaced by Orthodox only. This despite the fact that all WCG UK congregations meet on Saturday (save for a monthly London service) and support for the days is evident.
(Note: The Reading UK website still describes itself as “We are a Sabbath-observing congregation, about 30 strong, meeting on Saturday afternoons all year round, although not always in the same location. “ This is significant in that this is the home congregation of the editor of the UK Worldwide News.)
(A review of Worldwide News articles prior to David Silcox’s replacement of John Halford show an abundance of “holy day” articles. Only in the last couple of years have articles begun to appear that start to negatively portray the “days”. An example is below. Even in 2003 the use of both sets of days is mentioned as church policy)
May 2003 - (excerpt from UK WN) “As painful as it was at first, I am, for example, glad that I personally am no longer required to de-leaven my house and eat unleavened bread for a week. I don’t ever remember thinking that this represents Christ putting leaven out of His house and that the unleavened bread that I’m eating depicts Him, the bread of life. I was more concerned with keeping these symbols properly (which I understood was ‘me’ putting sin out of my life) than I was of Christ. I guess I was hanging on to the scaffolding that He was trying to remove, and perhaps even building some of my own. How about you?... He is the reality portrayed by the symbols within all the Holy Days, and what peace of mind that gives me that I no longer serve these symbols, but Christ. Now I can use either ‘our’ traditional Holy Days, or the mainstream ones, to focus entirely on Christ in grateful worship and celebration for all He has done for me.”
Passover 2003 - I am enclosing with this letter three Offering envelopes and ask that you use them for the Offerings that will be taken up on the two Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost. Your Offerings are a very important contribution to the work of the Worldwide Church of God as we strive to bring the good news of the Gospel of peace in Jesus Christ to all the earth. (David Silcox, National Director UK WCG)
(Note: WCG UK offering envelopes were for three days. Absent is any mention of Easter)
http://www.wcg.org.uk/coworker/index.htm
Sept 2003 - “… The fact that other Christians ignore the Millennium is no reason for us to copy them. If our fellowship or as individuals, we continue in a belief concerning a Millennium, if that is important to our faith and helps us in our Christian walk with God, there is Scriptural basis for that belief, as we have seen.
Can we then—may we then—be permitted to continue to think of all those Scriptures as referring to the Millennium? Certainly. …(SNIP) Whether or not we as a fellowship are to continue to observe and enjoy the autumn Festival season—and we need to realise that we don’t need to keep days to understand their symbolism, although it may help—Romans 14, etc, gives us as individuals as much right to continue to observe whichever days help us more closely to identify with our God, as it does others to embrace the days of traditional Christianity.” (The Feast and The Millennium by John D. Stettaford, pastor of the Reading congregation and UK WN editor)
(In 2003 the official message is very much along the lines of Romans 14-15 by 2005 the WCG UK officials attend a series of conferences in the USA and the tone is much different)
March 2005 - WCG Official Tony Goudie sent to Pasadena conference: “David Silcox has kindly sent me over to Pasadena this week to attend the first Regional Conference of the year. David and Audrey Stirk are also here, David in his capacity as company secretary … The conference theme is continuing the efforts of the past 3 years and is entitled ‘Church Forward’. ‘Living and Sharing the Gospel’ is of course the heart and core. Dan Rogers had started off the conference with a presentation called ‘’Planning the journey’. Ron Kelly continued after a break with one titled ‘Funding trelevant to the American ministry with their financial model. .. We spent the remainder of the evening in a presentation entitled ‘Discussing the journey’ (which we did) and a colourful hour with Dr Tkach which he called ‘Travelling together’… I would highlight Messrs Tkach, Dick and Feazell for the gracious way they gave so much time to us from the UK. Nothing seemed too much trouble. Their secretaries were outstanding in their attention and care – Debbie Nickel, Barbara Edwards, Nancy Akers and Shirley Faulkner were around to do all they could for us.”
July 2005 - “David and Nancy Silcox came back from Lexington Kentucky today (Thurs June 30th) following the Regional Conference.”
July 2005 - (Notes from July UK WCG ministers meeting in UK Update) “I followed with some housekeeping matters, and a presentation from the LA conference referred to above (which is being given at each site across the States) concerning each church having a youth ministry. ‘But we don’t have any youth in our church’ is a common cry both here and across the pond. … “We used much of the afternoon time reviewing the liturgy in the WCG this year, with emphasis on how things went in the congregations when Maundy Thursday was a month earlier than the WCG’s traditional Lord’s Supper.
Needless to say there were differing views around the table on how it had been handled this year, as well as differing preferences regarding the WCG traditional calendar and the orthodox calendar.
I have to say that despite the varied input, we were amicable!”
(Anne: the law is then laid down about what is the official calendar)
“Ten years have not brought unanimity in all areas of course. But the Church’s position was certain and stated: we have one calendar – the Orthodox – especially in regard to the birth and the resurrection of Jesus. There is no mixed message and no hybrid calendar, either from HQ or on our WCG websites.
For those who have a conscience difficulty with the Church’s new position, this then becomes a pastoral (and not a management) matter. People must to be handled with love and concern and care, but there is to be no going back and no ‘mixed messages’.
I also briefly covered our use of the word ‘Sacred Calendar’ and emphasised that we had misused the word ‘sacred’ in the past. We had always looked to the Jews for our traditional ‘Israelite’ days, but our liturgy in the past was not ‘sacred’ as one would properly use the word. Because we were so thoroughly taught, it was (and is) hard for some to change. "
July 2005 - (In this update it reflects the WCG UK HQ’s opinion and support of Tkach)
“He (David Silcox) has recently returned from Lexington Kentucky, and the penultimate US Regional Conference prior to Florida, so I will let him and our web site tell you more about it.
David said it went very well – about 400 attended so it was the largest so far this year. Dr Tkach had been in South Africa for their conference and arrived naturally quite jet-lagged. That did not stop him taking a number of sessions that David related to me.
Joe is very much loved, admired and cherished amongst the ministry, and his sessions, including appropriate stories to illustrate his points, were as always much appreciated. He seems to have a knack of choosing such material, as well as a never ending such supply.”
SIDE BAR: What was Joseph Tkach’s time in Africa like? What was his message?
http://www.wcg.org/africa/WN/July%202005/12%20Joseph%20&%20Tammy%20Tkach%20RSA%20National%20Conference.pdf
“Dr. Tkach questioned strongly why people would want to continue with Old Testament holy day observances seeing that Christ’s sufficient to us.”
(Please note the word “strongly” because Dr. Tkach then went to the UK at the end of July 2005 for the board meeting)
