Category: Stay Connected

During recent meetings in Charlotte, NC, various GCI leaders who have recently retired, or are about to retire, were honored for their years of service as GCI employees. One of the honorees was Gary Moore, who retired at the end of August from serving as National Director of GCI-Canada.

Following graduation from Ambassador College in Pasadena, CA, Gary entered the employed ministry of Worldwide Church of God (later Grace Communion International). Over the next 24 years, Gary pastored WCG congregations in the Canadian provinces of Ontario (including a US church in New York State), New Brunswick, Alberta and Nova Scotia. Then in 1997, Gary left the pastorate to begin serving as GCI-Canada’s National Director.

At a celebration of his retirement, Gary mentioned that he feels “blessed and privileged to have experienced the life I have had.” He explained that his journey from a legalistic approach to Christianity to one firmly anchored in the grace of God in Christ has been “a wonderful experience.” In retirement, Gary hopes to continue serving God and his people as long as he has the energy and health to do so. Bill Hall has replaced Gary as National Director of GCI-Canada.

Thank you Gary and Wendy for the many years of service to GCI!

The two videos embedded below show segments of the Passing of the Baton worship service held in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday, October 14, 2018. For a third video that addresses the lead-up to this historic change in GCI’s presidency, click here.

Joseph Tkach’s Legacy

In this video, several GCI leaders recount key contributions made by Joseph Tkach during his tenure as GCI President:

To watch on YouTube, click here. To download a copy at GCI.org click here.

Presidency Hand Off

This video includes addresses from Joseph Tkach and Greg Williams, the baton-passing ceremony (at position 24:00) and the Communion service:

To watch on YouTube, click here. To download a copy at GCI.org, click here.

In late September, 34 GCI members (pictured above) from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, gathered in Tickfaw, LA, for Resting in Jesus—a spiritual formation retreat facilitated by Dr. Larry Hinkle and Gracie Johnson of Odyssey in Christ (OIC). It was the third OIC retreat held in that part of the GCI-USA Southeast Region. Here are comments from participants:

What greater desire could any of us have but to deepen and strengthen our relationship with God? For two days I left everything behind and came with an open heart to hear from God. He spoke and I listened as his grace, love and presence became real. (Michael Horchak)

My wife and I left the Resting in Jesus spiritually rejuvenated. The way Larry and Gracie conducted it was awesome. The Spirit of God was clearly present from the outset! We know the Spirit is always in and around us, but setting up the atmosphere and tone to contact and commune with our Lord is vital and so often neglected in our personal relationship with God. I was deeply touched and plan to participate again. (Rannie Childress)

Resting in Jesus was a new idea for me, but I was soon able to see the impact it has on those who practice what the retreat taught. It does take practice to know Jesus more fully. Prayer was emphasized—its importance and impact on our lives and on those we pray for. I’m now able to pray with more depth. I’m learning to listen to Jesus in prayer, and through listening, learning the importance of obeying. Obeying then opens the door to closer relationship with our Lord, which helps us listen even more attentively as we realize how much we are loved, wanted, accepted and included. (Walt Baudoin)

Back at my home church after the retreat, I asked those who attended to share their experiences. As a group we’ve attended many retreats: Women of Faith, Promise Keepers, Walk to Emmaus and Kairos, among others. But as one of the members who attended Resting in Jesus said, this one was truly “transformational.” “Rest in Jesus” focused on rekindling our spiritual flame and it was awesome! Thank you Larry and Gracie for sharing your gift with us! (Anthony Rice)

Resting in Jesus allowed me to move away from day-to-day concerns and distractions and become energized, establishing new spiritual disciplines that are proven and effective. The retreat topics were relevant to all who attended. I drew especially on The Spirituality of Aging and The Sacrament of the Present Moment. I also appreciated one called Wasting Time with Jesus—I have found it to be a great help. (Dave Huffman)

Chula Vista Resort and Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells, WI, was home to more than 350 people attending EngageGCI 2018. With the theme, “The Great Invitation,” the event pursued faith, family and fellowship through general and breakout sessions, plus activities for all ages that included meet-and-greet, senior’s luncheon, praise café, family fun night, midnight church (for teens and young adults) and bowling. The event ended with a worship service on Sunday.

One of the highlights of EngageGCI 2018 was the opportunity to reconnect with friends and make new ones within the GCI family. As one attendee noted, “I enjoyed the company, the reunion and comradery.” To enhance the opportunity to connect, breakout sessions began immediately after morning devotions and just before general sessions. Doing so provided lots of free time for family and friends to fellowship. Here are pictures from the event (click on each to enlarge):

This announcement is from GCI-USA Regional Pastor Randy Bloom.

I’m happy to announce that Timothy Brassell, Lead Pastor of GCI’s Baltimore, MD, congregation, will also be serving as Assistant Regional Pastor for the GCI-USA East Region. Tim has God-given gifts and experiences that will enable him to assist me in various ways as we, through support and supervision, help the pastoral leaders in our region pursue GCI’s healthy church vision. Congratulations Tim!

An important event in GCI history will occur in a worship service to be held on October 14 in Charlotte, NC. In this setting of worship, we’ll be celebrating Dr. Joseph Tkach’s many years of service to our denomination, and the installation of Dr. Greg Williams as GCI’s new President (Dr. Tkach will continue as GCI Board Chairman). In the video below, Greg interviews Joseph concerning his tenure as GCI President and the preparations that have led to the passing of the GCI presidency baton to Greg. That weekend, we’ll also celebrate the retirement of a few other GCI leaders—we’ll include pictures and additional details in a special issue of GCI Update published on October 24. Thanks for your prayers concerning this event, including safe, trouble-free travel for those attending, some from overseas.

On YouTube at https://youtu.be/duxak38hoyU, and available for download at www.gci.org/media/videos/a-presidential-interview/).

We reported last week on the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in the southeastern United States. Sadly, the death toll has risen to over 40 people. So far as we know, all GCI members in the affected areas are safe, though a few have not been heard from yet (we ask for your prayers about this). Pastor Bill Boney in Wilmington, NC, reports severe flooding in his area. Though his home was not damaged, the roof of a neighbor’s home was ripped off. The Boneys feel very fortunate. We’re thankful to report that our Home Office building in Charlotte, NC, was not damaged.

We recently received a report from GCI Philippines Director Eugene Guzon concerning the aftermath of Super Typhoon Mangkhut (called Ompong in the Philippines). It devastated the northern part of the Philippines (around Baguio City) on September 14-15. Eugene reports that though some members in that area were affected, all are safe. For that we give God thanks.

As noted by Greg Williams in his cover letter in this issue, 52 GCI members gathered recently in Columbus, OH, for Together in Christ 2018. This is the second year TIC has been held (it met last year in Atlanta). The purpose of the summit was to address issues related to reconciling people both within and beyond GCI across the boundaries that tend to divide us (things like race, gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic class, etc.). Those attending represented the wide diversity found within the GCI-USA membership (attendance was by invitation, to achieve the desired diversity and to stay within the limited capacity of meeting venues).

Various voices—young and old; black, brown and white; female and male—spoke into small and large group discussions with a focus on the message of reconciliation in Christ found in 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2. The discussions were sparked by a group visit to the National Underground Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH (for reflections on that visit from GCI Pastor Linda Rex, click here).

Here is a short video from the summit, beginning with the visit to the Freedom Center, followed by the closing worship service (held at GCI’s congregation in Columbus, one of the TIC hosts).

GCI’s Queens, NY, congregation (New Life in Christ) held its annual Back-to-School event on September 8. The congregation served over 100 in their local community, distributing specially designed bags of school supplies, serving lunch, and having special face painting and arts-and-crafts activities. The congregation’s Richmond Hill, Queens community is the most diverse community in the most diverse borough of a very diverse city (New York). As noted by the congregation’s pastor, John Newsom,

We are always faced with the challenges of diverse cultures and languages in conducting outreaches. For this outreach, the need was for Spanish and Mandarin and we were blessed to have these skills among our volunteers. Thus, we were able to translate our gospel message in these languages!

Here are pictures of the event:

Thanks and congratulations to Steve and Mary Ann Brown! Steve recently retired from 40 years of GCI employment, pastoring churches in Michigan, Missouri, West Virginia, Ohio and Florida. Here are pictures of a party in the Browns’ honor, held recently in Bradenton, FL (Mary and Steve are at left in the picture below, left). Four of the couple’s five children joined in the celebration.

Cards may be sent to:

Steve and Mary Brown
4350 Genesee Lane
New Port Richey, FL 34655