Christian celebrations

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Do you remember the song I Love a Parade? It celebrates our love for celebrations! Our calendars are filled with them—some national, some religious, some just bizarre. Did you know that January 6 is Sherlock Holmes’ birthday, that January 20 is Penguin Awareness day and that April 26 is Hug an Australian day? September has Video Game Day, Preserve the Ozone Day and Elephant Appreciation Day. Marking time with celebrations is as old as civilization itself.

Ancient pagans scheduled celebrations using various calendars. Perhaps the earliest is found in the cave paintings at Lascaux, France where time was marked using the phases of the moon. Ancient monuments in Central and South America and at Stonehenge in England marked time by observing the cycles of the sun and moon.

When God brought Israel out of Egyptian captivity and settled them in the Promised Land, he gave them a luni-solar calendar with annual festivals to remind them of the great events in which he intervened in their history and of the natural cycle of events that showed he alone was Creator. Since Israel was principally engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, the festivals centered on the harvests.

Israel’s sacred year with its festivals and holy days was determined by observing the phases of the moon, with Israel’s high priest serving as chief observer and calendar custodian. The exact method for determining new moons, the beginning of the new year and other days is not detailed in Scripture. It was passed down through the priests. Even though the temple in Jerusalem was not designed as an astronomical observatory, as were some pagan temples, it served as the base from where the Levitical priesthood decided, by observation, when new months and years began. Numbers chapters 28 and 29 detail the priest’s responsibility to perform sacrifices on new moons and annual festivals.

The Hebrew calendar was not intended to calibrate time for all people in all locations at all times. It was temporary, even as the tabernacle and temple from where it was issued were temporary. Jesus prophesied that the temple standing in his day would be destroyed. Matthew, Mark and Luke recorded Jesus’ prediction. Earlier, Israel’s prophets foretold the same thing: “Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets” (Micah 3:12).

When the temple was destroyed by the armies of Rome, the calendar went with it. However, even before that destruction, the rules for deciding calendar dates had become mired in political wrangling between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Those who rejected Jesus decided the calendar should be determined by calculation rather than by the observation of the high priest. All this may seem rather quaint in our “sophisticated” modern age, when we mark the year by the dates of seasonal sales at the mall!

It is not a sin to celebrate ancient events in Israel’s history, but in doing so—fair warning—you may become enmeshed in a contentious debate concerning how to schedule those celebrations. In any case, such celebrations most definitely are not required of Christians, nor do they have salvific value. Observing days does not make anyone righteous.

While some aspects of Israel’s festivals pointed to Jesus and his coming, their worship calendar was not intended to accommodate the dates for celebrating God’s pivotal intervention to save all humanity from its sins in the atoning ministry of Jesus. The Hebrew calendar is no longer used to mark “holy time,” especially since Jesus now lives in us making all our time holy. On the day of Pentecost, the symbol of God’s presence, the shekinah, bypassed the temple to alight on individuals.

Today, the people of God have a new calendar of events that centers on Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension and promised return. Christians celebrate these events at different times and in different ways. Exactly when these events in the life and ministry of Jesus are celebrated is not what is most important. Calendars come and go, but Jesus and his saving acts remain forever. As Christians, we celebrate these acts and respond in joyful obedience to our Lord’s command to go into the world as salt and light, pointing to Jesus, the Living Water who alone quenches our thirst.

Your brother in Christ’s service,

Joseph Tkach

Amazing birth story

This update is from GCI pastor George Hart who reports on the recent birth of his granddaughter.

The good news is that we have wonderful and precious new granddaughter, Elle Jolynn Dobson, born to our daughter Erin and her husband Craig Dobson of Nashville, Tennessee. However the blessed event wasn’t without some anguish and distress.

On Friday morning, August 16 at around 9:00am Erin was almost completely dilated, so the expectation was that baby Elle would be born in the early afternoon. However time continued to pass and it wasn’t until after midnight that Erin started pushing. She pushed for a couple of hours, but the baby’s head was turned to the side, and she would not rotate. They tried forceps, which only bruised and cut her head.

After 30 hours of being in the birth canal, baby Elle went into stress and the doctors did an emergency C-section. They would not let Erin see the baby and rushed her out of the operating room. The doctor’s comment to Erin was, “You have a very sick little girl.” Elle’s heart was in distress, she could not breathe on her own and there was cerebral hemorrhaging. At that point the doctors were not certain she would survive, and what damage would have been done if she did.

Elle was immediately placed in NICU, where she received therapeutic hypothermia to reduce the risk of brain injury. Her body temperature was lowered to 92 degrees for 72 hours and she was sedated with morphine to limit stimulation to her brain. My first view of my granddaughter was lying nude on a cooling blanket with electrodes attached to her head, IVs in her navel and arm and a rectal thermometer. They had just removed the oxygen tube in her nose, running to her lungs.

1235382_10101240739290525_1787486282_n — Grandma Vicki (George’s wife) with Elle

After 72 hours they gradually warmed her to normal body temperature and began to step down the treatment. For the first time, her mother could hold her. She began to display normal responses to touch and stimulation. But at this point they were still concerned about possible brain damage and seizures from the hemorrhaging. Each day you could see improvement in her responses and overall condition.

The last hurdle was an MRI which was performed this past Saturday, day eight of her life. They were looking for any dead brain tissue. The MRI showed a normal healthy brain! There is still blood between her brain and skull but the doctors said that if she hasn’t had seizures at this point she won’t and the blood will dissolve into her body.

On August 25 they kicked Elle out of NICU and sent her home!

It is amazing how God works. The mother of one of Erin’s best friends is the resource nurse for the NICU. She was able to assign the “best” nurses to care for Elle and checked on her frequently. The therapeutic hypothermia procedure used was invented by a doctor at the hospital, so they have a great deal of experience. Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital is one of the best at dealing with infant trauma.

I was so moved this past week with the faith of Erin and her husband Craig. There were times when I would hold Elle and tears would form in my eyes. Erin would comfort me with a pat on the shoulder and say, “Dad everything is going to be fine. She is in God’s hands. Don’t worry about it.”

Though I’m feeling a bit emotionally drained, I also am feeling the pride of a grandparent and the love of a loving and caring Heavenly Father. I apologize to all grandparents I’ve made fun of for their comments about their grandchildren. Now, I understand!

Women’s retreat

About 40 Canadian GCI women held a retreat recently in Cornwall, Ontario. Here are pictures of the group and of Brigitte Moore performing a worship dance during one of the gatherings.

Pastors recognized

This update celebrates milestones in the lives of several GCI pastors and pastor couples. Our sincere thanks and congratulations to these faithful servants of God!

The following individuals were recently ordained as elders and/or commissioned to serve as pastors:

Lascan Sikosi, Namibia (six Namibian churches recently joined GCI; Lascan pastors them)
Murray Tiegen, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Ruel Guerrero, Las Vegas, Nevada (Ruel was ordained in the Philippines in 1992 and recently commissioned to pastor the Las Vegas church)
Flora Mozon, Tampa/Lakeland, Florida
Randy Sorrentino, Orange County, California
Rodolfo Lomboy, Central Coast, California
Anthony Murphy, Central Coast, California
Danny Winger, Olympia, Washington
Sarah Miles, Denver, Colorado

During GCI’s recent International Denominational Conference, the following individuals were awarded for length of service as pastors.

The following employed pastor couples (pictured above) have reached the 25-year service milestone:

Gordon and Marilys Green
Bill and Harriet Ford
Mark and Joanne McCulley
Manuel and Soledad Ochoa
David and Jonnie Perry
Warren and Lorraine Wilson
Daniel and Mary Zachariah

The following bivocational and part-time pastors (pictured above) have reached the 10-year service milestone:

Thomas Davis
Walter Deptula
Robert Ehlen
Joseph Franklin
Richard Gonzales
Frank Howard
John Howard
Tobe Johnson
James Lewis
Alfredo Mercado
Richard Ridgell
Stuart Rising
Barry Robinson
Heber Ticas
Leonard Tillotson
Eric Vautour

Baptism service

CrossRoads Christian Fellowship, GCI’s church in Tipp City, Ohio, held a baptism service on August 25. Eleven were baptized in a nearby river.

One of those baptized, Tara Engel (at right in the picture above), wrote this in a Facebook post reporting on the service:

Finally back home, curled up and resting after an emotional but amazing morning. Went to church with my parents, hubby and son—a very powerful service after which we all went down to the river where 11 of us were baptized, myself included. The best part was that my son decided that he, too, wanted to be baptized and so he was baptized alongside me [see the picture below]. Words can’t describe how proud I am of that amazing young man and all the important decisions he has made recently…. We are so blessed to be part of the Crossroads Christian Fellowship in Tipp City— a group of diverse, unique and kooky folks who are NOT at all what I thought Christians were. Instead they are what Christians SHOULD be and I am so honored to know each and every one of them. If anyone had told me two years ago where my life would be today, I would hardly have believed it. I couldn’t ask for a greater sense of belonging, contentment and genuine peace. I also couldn’t ask for a better husband or son. Maybe it’s a little silly to put stuff like this on Facebook but I can remember so many times when I wondered how my life was going to unfold, or why things weren’t where I expected them to be, or whether I would ever be “happy”—life can change in the blink of an eye and sometimes we don’t even realize what is happening. When we are ready, God sends the people or situations or wisdom that will lead us to where we need to be. And if we fail to follow them the first time, He sends them again!! (Thankfully). We give up—too often—but God never does. And I am very, very grateful that He doesn’t.

Interning a new pastor

In the short video below, GCI pastor Rick Shallenberger reflects on his experience in serving as the pastor-trainer who mentored recently commissioned pastor Jason Frantz in the GCI-USA Pastoral Internship Program. For Jason’s recollection of that internship, click here.

This video is posted on YouTube at http://youtu.be/0EwW3S0enLo.

Jason Richards

This update is from Jason’s grandfather, GCI pastor Martin Manuel. Click here for a previous prayer request concerning Jason.

Jason remains in Seattle Children’s Hospital, where he has been for four months. His respiration has not recovered enough to enable him to be free of oxygen support. His doctors attribute the problem to a paralyzed diaphragm (from heart surgery), a damaged left lung (from Legionnaires disease) and smaller-than-normal pulmonary vessels. They suggest no medical treatments but anticipate that in time his lungs will become stronger.

In the meantime, he has begun to show symptoms of type one diabetes requiring insulin treatment and they are concerned about his kidney function. Also, he is on strong medication for various conditions including the recent heart transplant.

This has been a long episode for Jason and his parents, Colin and Janet Richards, who split their time between daily (and nightly) hospital attendance and care for their other two children at home. Jason and his family are strengthened by God’s gracious help through many prayers, which they continue to request. Thanks for your loving support.

Maceo Hampton

Please pray for retired GCI pastor Maceo Hampton. Last Friday, August 23, Maceo, who serves the church in Livonia, Michigan, suffered a heart attack. A cardiac catheterization revealed that his coronary artery was blocked 90%. A medical stint was successfully inserted and he is now recovering at home. Other arteries were blocked 30% and 50%, but are being treated with medication. Maceo’s prognosis is good and the doctor is positive of a full recovery. Lifestyle changes have been recommended.

Maceo and his wife Phoebe are deeply grateful for all the prayers offered up to our merciful God. Please pray for complete recovery, renewed strength and return of his appetite.

Cards may be sent to:

Maceo and Phoebe Hampton

30225 Summit Drive #107

Farmington Hills, MI 48334-2446

Death of Gloria Ortiguero

We are saddened to learn of the death of Gloria Ortiguero, wife of GCI-Philippines pastor Jerry Ortiguero. Jerry wrote this note:

Gloria is now free from the pain that wracked her body for months. The cancer had spread from her breast to her spine and brain. She died at a hospital in Baguio [Philippines] on August 20. Gloria turned 73 on July 3. Her last birthday was celebrated with our daughter from Dubai. My children want me to go back to Dubai and continue my apostolic mission there to my ten grandchildren. Life must go on—death is not the end but the pathway to life eternal.

GCI-Philippines director Eugene Guzon commented:

Gloria has been a tremendous inspiration to all of us as a mother and a wife and partner in ministry with Jerry. She has constantly demonstrated grace, dedication, enthusiasm and unconditional love. She will be greatly missed. We appreciate your prayers for Jerry and the rest of the family in this difficult time of loss.