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Busy weeks for the Church in Tennessee

Those of you who follow our daily blog know that travel is the principle thing covered here, but today I thought I would share with you a number of events that have been taking place in the last few weeks in Tennessee.

As you know, the International Offices for the Church of God of Prophecy are located geographically in the here, and at times Cleveland is buzzing with activities as the work of the International church continues. My past two plus years of involvement in the activities of the Administrative Committee have put me in Cleveland at least once each month as we review the ongoing work, and fulfill the role of the corporate board for the General church. Let me what with you some of these events and highlights for your information:

1. White Wing Christian Bookstore. Not long ago, the decision was made to revert the bookstore to the business model of a regular Christian Bookstore instead of a "Resource" Center. This has been a good move and sales continue to increase, and there is rarely a time you can go into the bookstore without seeing shoppers there. A part of this increase has been caused by the closing of a competitor in Cleveland, but as the White Wing Christian Bookstore continues to evolve, we anticipate a future of "the customer comes first" attitude by the staff.

2. The Leadership Development Institute was a great success, with people from all over the United States and many of the nations of the world in attendance. Although Tennessee had the largest registered attendance, I am certain we can have a better representation for future events like this one.

3. International Assembly Committees have been in town (Finance and Stewardship, Bible Doctrine and Polity Committee, Administrative Committee) for meetings, as have the General Presbyters from around the world.

4. Work is still underway on our project at Fields of the Wood to upgrade the pavilion, and we are anticipating completion/and a dedication service of the newly upgraded site, and will invite all of you to join us for a dedication of the pavilion.

5. The new fiscal year is just around the corner (June 1, 2009) and everyone is looking forward to anticipated projections as our church continues to grow, now at over 1.4 million members.

6. We just finished our Men's Retreat which was a great success, and we look forward to Tennessee Ladies Day this coming weekend, followed shortly by summer youth camps, and Tennessee State Convention to be held in Murfreesboro at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center.

Finally, I want to remind you that you are a part of something much greater than the local area where you serve. You are a part of a great team of ministers and laity dedicated to prayer, leadership development and the harvest, and I am humbled to be a part of such a great leadership team! God bless you!

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