CHURCH of GOD

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Volume 2, Issue 6

eW{J Chicago - Midwest Edition

June, 1963

Pentecost •In Chicago - 3 Ordained!

Mr. Roderick C. Meredith, God's Evangelist, evoked a bit of humor when the photographerwas trying to take his picture during the announcements. He obligingly posed for this photo.

GRAND RAPIDSREPORTby Victor Johnson

Truly the windows of heaven opened witha BLESSING when the latest of God'schurches was raised up May 25 at GrandRapids, Mich. Located directly in "themiddle of a mitten" that is Michigan, 131attended initial services at the Ladies' Lit­erary Club, 61 Sheldon St., S.E.

Church-goers were ushered into a theatre­like auditorium with green, cushioned seatsm fan-shaped rows tiered in levels descend­ing to the podium. Grey, decorated wallsof Shakespearean motif, and white, chan­deliered ceilings completed the setting. Am-

(Please Cont'd on Page 3)

A SECOND NEGROSPOKESMAN CLUB!

by Elisha CrimGod is tremendously blessing the Chicago

Negro Church in many ways in addition tonew records that are set in church attend­ance. The Spokesman Club has continuedto increase until it has become absolutelynecessary to begin a second one. The form­ing of this club has given opportunities formore men to hold office, as well as oppor­tunities for all the Spokesmen to participatetwice as often as before.

The first club continues to meet on Sat­urday night. Yours truly has been blessedwith the honor of remaining as the presi­dent of that club, with Mr. Charles Watsonas the vice-president, Mr. Maceo Hampton

(Please Cont'd on Page 4)

by Ken Westby

Powerful sermons, three ordinations, finemeals, a church social, a wedding, and acombined Spokesman Club were all part ofa jam-packed, never-to-be-forgotten, 3-dayPentecost Festival!

Once again, beautiful, spacious McCor­mick Place was host to 1,700 of God'speople in the Northern Mid-West area. Godblessed His people with warm weather, abright sun, blue skies, a refreshing view ofLake Michigan. and an air-conditioned hall!These were just a few of the physical bless­ing God granted us-the priceless spiritualblessings came from the sermons and fellow­ship with the brethren.

Services were conducted by Mr. RoderickC. Meredith and Mr. Dean Blackwell. Mr.Meredith and his charming wife had toleave Pasadena during graduation servicesat the college to catch a plane late Fridaynight for Chicago. Mr. Meredith, an Evan­gelist, is superintendent over all the churchesand ministers in America. We were all veryhappy to have Mr. and Mrs. Meredith backin Chicago again.

Several other ministers joined Mr. Mere­dith and Mr. Blackwell in giving us movingand dynamic sermons stressing our needfor more diligent prayer, Bible study, andfasting. As individuals, and as a body, weneed to have the very mind, character, andpower of Christ-and that comes only thruzealous prayer, study, and fasting!

Other sermons were given on prophecy,brotherly love, and on an exciting, eye­opening account of just what it will be liketo be a spirit being in God's government.Let's not permit these much-needed ser­mons to slip by and be forgotten. Reviewyour notes and put the instruction we re­ceived to practice immediately!

Saturday night Mr. Peterson andCarol Volkema became Mr. and Mrs. just

(Please Cont'd on Page 2)

NEWS BRIEF We have a long summer ahead of usbefore the next Holy Day. Until then, let'suse the spiritual food we received dur­ing Pentecost to keep us growing, to keepus 'charged up' with zeal for God's Work,all summer long!

Combined Spokesman Club largest ever held.

in time for the combined church social anddance! God not only gives us meat in dueseason-but with this feast He includeddessert!

Several "outsiders" were greatly im­pressed by our conduct at McCormick Place.One lady said, "I've never before seen somany little children in a meeting . . . butthey are so quiet you wouldn't even knowthey were here!" A man attending a busi­ness meeting couldn't resist taking a 'peek'into one of our services. He remarked tosomeone nearby, "I've never seen so manyhappy people in one place!" God's peopleare different!

The day of Pentecost itself was a day ofsurprises! Mr. Blackwell rounded one ofthe corridors in McCormick Place and cameface to face with Dr. C. Paul Meredith! To­tally shocked and taken aback, Mr. Black­well took a second look-yes, it was Dr.Meredith all right!

Dr. Meredith, Mr. Roderick Meredith'suncle, had just flown in from South Amer­ica, and was en route back to Pasadena.Dr. Meredith's presence was especially ap­preciated by all of us enrolled in the Cor­respondence Course.

More surprises! Just before the final ser­mon, Mr. Meredith announced three ordina­tions--One Deacon and two Local Elders!Mr. Fred Mancewicz, our enthusiastic, smil­ing song leader, was ordained to the officeof Deacon. Then, two men who have servedthe brethren faithfully for years-Mr. Jo­seph Tkach and Mr. Martin FilippelIo­were ordained Local Elders! We can all re­joice that God has given more qualifiedlaborers to serve in this area.

After the Sabbath had ended there wasstill more in store for us. Ten SpokesmanClubs from four states joined for a com­bined meeting with all the church invited!For many this was the first time they hadseen the Spokesman Club in action. Mr.Meredith was the over-all evaluator of themeeting.

Chicago Pentecost (Cont'd)

A SCRAMBLED VERSION

Jon Johnson, student from Ambassador,arrived in time to attend Pentecost serviceswith his folks (the Raymond Johnsons) atChicago. Welcome home, Jon.

NEW DEACONSFOR SOUTH BEND

First-Unscrambk these Biblical names:Thatmew, Abojc, Meelrusaj, Viadd, Omess,Hurt, Herset, Ittyhara.

Second-Insert under the numbered solu­tion at the bottom of this puzzle the letterfrom each name as plotted.

The final solution will give a correct an­swer to the question above the numberedriddle.

Check your answer with Psalms 119:103.THATMEW (4)ABOJC (5)MEELRUSAJ (6)VIADD (7)OMESS (8)HURT (1)HERSET (2)ITTYHARA (3)

2 3 4 5 678

What is sweeter than honey?

b)' Victor Johnson

The South Bend Church, God ordained itsfirst two Deacons Mr. Raymond J. Johnsonand Mr. James E. Hambrock, on May 25.Both men have served the church with faith­fulness and vigor ever since its inception inAugust, 1961. The Chicago Church stilllays claim to Deacon Roland Van Slootenwho "grew up" there.

Mr. Johnson and wife, Dorothy, reside atKenwanee, Ind. They have five children

Robert, 25; Jon, 22(and now a sopho­more at AmbassadorCollege); George, 17;Winston, 15, and Pen­ny Rae, 10.

Mr. Hambrock andwife, Alice, make theirhome at Fort Wayne,Ind. They have threechildren: Lor i, 5;

Danny, 3, and Rhonda, 9 months.Ordained on the same day, Mr. Johnson

and Mr. Hambrockshare the further coin­cidence of being bap­tized only a weekapart, March 25 andMarch 30, 1961, re­spectively.

Thes- two men,HAVING SERVED,now are called to s1'll

MORE SERVICE III

God's Church.

Letter To The Editor

REPORTERSDick Alexander Roland Van SlootenMartin Filippello Emma DaytonElisha Crim Gene ScarbroughEdwin Marrs Jos. Lyle VershowskeElaine Tkach Raymond JohnsonFred Mancewicz Edward RudicelJohn Freel

Circulation Gene MadisonHope Brassine

Art. John Moore

Food Advisor Kenneth May

Photographer Robert Einersen

General StaffJack Smoot Grace Sienkiewicz

Winifred Keough - DwyerBusiness Manager Clarence Svehla

© 1963 by Radio Church of GodAddress all correspondence to the Editor.Published monthly by Chicago, SouthBend, Indianapolis, Milwaukee andBloomington Spokesman Clubs. Notifyus immediately of any change of address.

Circulation over 1400

Dear Mr. Ball,I enjoyed a very wonderful festival of

Pentecost in Chicago and was very happy

to see all the brothers and sisters again and

to meet new ones. Like many of the breth­

ren I attended all three days and afterwards

the combined Spokeman Club meeting

also. All was very wonderful.

God certainly has enlarged the ministry

lately and also the entire church. I'm very

thankful for all of them. It will give many

more people an opportunity to hear the

word of God, locally. Of course, we really

have high hopes for a church in Minneapolis,

also.I had never seen an ordination before

so when the two elders and a deacon were

ordained I appreciated the privilege of wit­

nessing it very much. It was a very moving

occcasion.While in Chicago I picked up a back

issue of the Church of God News. It was

the Jan. 15, 1962, issue and said on page 3

contributions are needed very much. So

I've enclosed $5.00.In Brotherly Love,

Karl Schroeder,

Lake Crystal, Minn.

Editor-in-Chief Dean BlackwellEditor Wilbur BallNews Editor... . Kenneth Ellis

2

Mr . J. Tkaeh and Mr. M. Filippello

7A/*ee £et Aptl/*tby Ken Ellis

Pente cost Monday; 1,932 years after thatday when the Spirit of God descended fromhea ven ar:d filled tho se set apart by God tobegin the Ne w Testam ent Church (Acts 2).

Mr . Roderick C. Meredith, Evangelist inthe Church of God, was telling the assem­bled members about a phone call. It was atrans-Atlantic call to London which wouldhave a great bearing on the lives of thehearers. Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong hadauthorized an ordination!

An air of expectancy stirred the crowdas the familiar word s of I Tim. 3:8-10 were

read and then oursong leader, Mr. FredMancewicz, was calledforward. Mr. DeanB I a c k well led inprayer while Mr. Mer­edith and Dr. C. PaulMeredith (visitingEvangelist) joined himin laying hands uponour new Deacon! Thus

one mo re laborer was set apart for evenmore abundant service in God's Church.

Then Mr. Meredith read 1 Tim. 3:1-7 andMr. Joseph Tkach was called forward andraised in rank from Deacon to Local Elder-thus becoming a member of the ministryin God's Church.

NEWS BRIEFThe Bloomington Church now has a Bible

study after Sabbath services. Then, afterthe Sabbath, the Spokesman Club meetsto round out the evening.

Th e third wonderful surprise took placewhen Mr. Blackwell called Mr. Martin Filip,pella, Deacon , forw ard . Mr. Blackwell ex­plain ed the importance of growth and yield­edness-which Mr. Filippello exemplified.Th en Mr. Blackwell led in prayer and oncemore the symbolic ceremony of the layingon of hands was used. Mr. Filippello, too,became a Local Elder!

As in John 4:35 , it is plain that the har­vest is great-but now the laborers are notquite so few.

After refreshments were served, dancingunder colored light s continued until Mr.Foster announced the last dance and the"end of a perfect day ."

Grand Rapids (Cont'd)

pie counseling rooms are adjacent to theauditorium. In decor and elegance the fa­cilities are said to rival the ShakespeareClub in Pasadena .

But now for the BLESSING! About 12in attendance stated it was their first servicein God's True Church! With the mailing ofa letter announcing the new church, at least50 scattered brethren are expected to swellthe congregation.

LAST YEAR 70% OF MICHIGAN'S

BAPTIZED MEMBERS DID NOT AT­

TEND THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES!

The real BLESSING to scattered brethren

is yet to come!

Opening day sermons were given by Mr.

De an Blackwell , are a Pastor, and Mr . Les­

ter McColm, who will minister to both

Grand Rapids and South Bend churches.

Mr . and Mr s. Jo seph Tkach, Mrs. Black­

well, a nd a score or more of enthusiastic

South Benders were also in attendance. In­

cluded were two newly ordained Deacons,

Mr. James Hambrock and Mr. Raymond

Johnson (story on page 2). Mr. Raymond

Van Slooten, formerly South Bend Deacon,

has now transferred to the Grand Rapids

church.

The South Bend church, wall s bulging

with a 414 congregation on May 18, counted

its loss of Grand Rapids members and had

an attendance of 341 on May 25, AND IS

STILL GROWING!

Shirley Ochs , Kitt y Runice , Ken Peterson,and Ruth Ann Scutt, high school grads of1963. The elementary school graduates wereMaureen Burkland, Don Davis, John Fos­ter, Mark Jauch, John Karwacki, Leslie Ol­son, and Sandra Scutt .

At Formal PromGraduates Feted

The bride was adorned in a lovel y street­length blue dress with matching short veiland shoes. She was escorted down the aisleby her father. The lovely maid-of-honorwas the daughter of the bride, Nancy Vol­kema, dressed in a lovely pink street-lengthdre ss with matching short veil and shoes.Best man was Kenneth Peterson, son of Mr.Elmer Peterson .

Ca ke and wine were served, and therefollowed an enjoyable evening of dancingto a four-piece band which was providedby Mr. Ochs. Baby-sitters were providedfor children up to two years of age . Movieswere supplied for children from two to eightyears of age , with relay races and gamesentertaining the children eight year s andolder.

Mr. Elmer Peterson came to the rescue byreplacing Chicago's 10 ';5 of Miss Emma Day­ton (now Mrs . LaSocha), with Miss CarolVolkema. She became Mrs. Peterson on thenight of the social at Logan Square MasonicTemple during the Feast of Pentecost. OurPastor , Mr. Dean Blackwell , performed theGod-given ceremony of marriage.

Score Is Evened

Graduates of eighth grade and highschool were honored at a formal prom heldon Saturday evening, June 9. Billowinggown s and a gay atmosphere permeated theKeyman's Club on this special occasion.

Highlighting an evening of dancing andsocializing was an introduction of the grad­uates and then their presentation of a cardof thanks to Mr. Dean Blackwell , Pastor ofthe Mid-West area. The card was signedby Andria Beyersdorfer, Bonnie Landes

3

NEWS BRIEFSCongratulations-To Mr. and Mrs. Bill

McDowell, Pastor of the Pittsburgh-AkronChurches, on the birth of their new infantson.

Mrs. Gierman's relocation to Texas waspostponed because of her chronic illness.Remember her-

After a prolonged illness, Mrs. Arlie Pat­terson died this past month. We rejoiced inthat she recently was baptized and took thePassover.

Also one of our older members, Mr. Wil­liam Tkach, died a very peaceful deathafter faithfully enduring a siege of stomachcancer.

We missed the Robert Skaggs family thisPentecost because of malaria. See you atthe Feast of Trumpets'

Mr. and Mrs. Zacharias and family haveleft Chicago to move to Wisconsin. We'llmiss them but we need some pillar mem­bers for the soon coming Church in Minne­apolis.

Mr. John Wood and son accompanied Mr.Harold Jackson to Meridian. Miss., forPentecost services.

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Fowler attendedtheir SOil Roy's graduation from ImperialHigh School in Gladewater.

Roy Fowler is back with us for the sum­mer. Welcome home, Roy!

That picnic-going South Bend Church hadtheir first turnout at Plymouth, Ind., with acrowd of 350 attending (practically thewhole church). There's a lot more to come.

Eugene Dumas, grammarian for the col­ored Spokesman Clubs, and teacher by pro­fession, will claim Vivian Yvonne Ivey ashis bride in August. Miss Ivey hails fromthe city of "brotherly love."

PehteCCJt Nel"jn jh4illhllpCliJ

by Fred ThomasThe day of Pentecost in Indianapolis was

cloudy. However. the people of God werenot dismayed by a little cloudiness. Thoseattending numbered 476.

We were given three powerful sermons­two by Mr. Cam Catherwood and one byMr. Joseph Tkach.

After the afternoon service, God addedmore to His Church--Mr. and Mrs. JamesApostolou, Mr. James Ray, Mrs. Maruri­ette Hudson, and Mrs. Robert Caylor-witha baptism service. Congratulations to allfive!

Elbert Atlas and Patricia Cunninghamwill take the big step in September. Mr.Atlas will assist Mr. Jackson as over-allevaluator for the colored Spokesman Clubs.

Needless to say, Mr. Clarence Wadleywas only too happy to make the diamondrings for the two couples.

Mr. Marrs on fulltime BasisOur brother and former Chicagoan, Mr.

Edwin Marrs, is now in the work on a full­time basis. He is working with Negrobrethren in the Mississippi, Georgia, andAlabama area. Remember him.

Negro Spokesman (Cont'd)

as secretary, Phillip Penson as sergeant-at­arms and Mr. Walter Burtin as treas­urer.

The second club, which meets on Mon­day night, has Mr. John Wood as presidentand Mr. Robert Jones as vice-president,Mr. Maurice Welch as secretary and To­motha Adams as sergeant-at-arms and Mr.George Bailey as treasurer. Mr. EugeneDumas is the grammarian for both clubs.

As God continues to extend His manyblessings to this congregation, we hope toremain in the Spirit of thankfulness andstrive to become profitable servants.

4

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