Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends:
Many of you who observed this year’s Feast of Tabernacles have told us how thankful you
were for being able to participate in this meaningful occasion. Individual comments included
the following:
Our Feast was very fulfilling. There wasn’t enough time for close visits with everyone, but, then again, perhaps next year!
The Feast was excellent! It was so good seeing everyone and all the messages were fantastic. One of our best Feasts ever!
We are back home safe and miss you all!! It’s amazing how fast the Feast went by.
Indeed, it is a privilege to be able to understand the truth, as revealed through God’s annual Holy Days, and to obey the truth by keeping God’s Feasts. When we do, we truly ENJOY the spiritual and physical blessings, which are associated with Feast observance. (For more information, please read our free booklets, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days,” and “The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days.”)
To elaborate on this, note the following Feast report from Brian Gale in England:
For the tenth year, the Global Church of God in the UK held the Feast of Tabernacles at Chatsworth House in beautiful rural Derbyshire. It is difficult to find new superlatives to describe this outstanding Feast site and it has to be seen and experienced to fully appreciate how millennial it is. With deer freely roaming the grounds and sheep in abundance, it is easy to visualize this as the sort of area as one where “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them,” as Isaiah 11:6 so strikingly portrays.
New visitors were warmly welcomed, along with many who have become regular attendees who never tire of the beauty and tranquility that is a feature of this particular Feast site. Everyone enjoyed and appreciated outstanding messages. While the spiritual food is the reason for attending the Feast, many other activities were arranged and enjoyed by all. As in previous years, the Feast dinner was again a highlight, with everyone enjoying good food and great company.
The Feast was over all too soon and time to return home. Those who attended will remember for a long time this unique site with all its beauty, peace, serenity and camaraderie with
others of a like mind. We are all now waiting for it to become reality!
The following Feast report was received from Dave Harris in the USA:
Each year of observing the Fall Feast Days is marked by experiencing a deeper understanding of God’s Will for His people. Several individuals have said that this Feast was personally moving and inspiring. And there seems to be a carry-over as we have all returned home. More than ever, the lessons learned are providing opportunities for personal growth and a revitalized commitment to the Church of God and to fulfilling our priceless calling.
The meeting facility in San Diego, California, the rooms and so many accessible services all contributed to an outstanding environment in which to observe the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day. To be able to rejoice with brethren in such a setting was truly outstanding. Especially the Dinner Banquet and Dance, as well as the Talent Show, constituted social highlights during the Feast.
Another very special highlight was the attendance of our German brethren, Thilo and Anita Hanstein, and their Church marriage during the Feast. Their joy of “first love” for God’s truth and His people was contagious, and helped make this time all the more rewarding. Additionally, everyone seemed to display extraordinary cooperation, and this attitude of willing service was what is so memorable of our time together.
Pages could be filled describing the specific Feast activities, sermonettes and sermons, as well as the opportunities of social fellowship at both Feast sites. Feast sermons are posted on the Web (www.eternalgod.org, under “Audio”), and they are also available, upon request, in the form of CDs.
But the Feast of Tabernacles 2009 is now over. What have we learned during the Feast? And how should we live now, having returned to our daily challenges? We are including Norbert Link’s recent Editorial with this member letter, titled, “Very Soon…” This article addresses the status quo of world affairs today, where they are leading, and what they mean in the light of God’s promise to send back His Son to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth.
The Feast of Tabernacles portrays what we will soon experience. In the meantime, let’s make
every effort to overcome this world, Satan the devil, and our own carnal desires, so that we WILL become born-again sons and daughters in the very Family of God. And when we let Jesus Christ live HIS LIFE in and through us, we WILL succeed.
In Christ’s service,
Norbert Link
Dave Harris
Rene Messier
Brian Gale
