The Feast of Tabernacles is a wonderful time of year for members of The Restored Church
of God.
They follow the biblical command to leave their homes and gather at festival sites where
God has placed His Name, to spend eight days rejoicing and learning to fear Him.
Leviticus states of this festival, “You shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven
days in the year.
It shall be a statute forever…You shall dwell in booths seven days.”
The 2019 Feast was tremendously inspiring for Christians of all ages.
A sense of joy and unity was present like nothing seen before!
Sites included Rogers, Arkansas; Safety Harbor, Florida; St. John, New Brunswick, Canada;
Flagstaff, Arizona; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and the Church’s World Headquarters in Wadsworth,
Ohio; as well as many international sites.
The festival began with an Opening Night video message by Headquarters Pastor Larry McElroy,
which emphasized the importance of strengthening others during the time to follow.
For a second year, Pastor General David C. Pack presented a message on the First Day
that was livestreamed in video.
Well, greetings, brethren around the world, worldwide.
Like we are the Worldwide Church of God today, for sure, live.
Welcome to the Feast.
As you heard, twenty-one sites.
I should say “Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.”
The opportunity to fellowship was greatly enjoyed.
With Church members assembling from locations all over the world, this festival is a perfect
setting to interact with and build friendships with fellow believers.
Fellowship at the Feast is crucial.
Unlike any other Holy Day where you get together for a very brief period of time, the Feast
is day in and day out interacting with people.
God’s people love to talk and they love to eat, and what better way to fellowship
than do those two things together.
We come together during this special time to build bonds that are so valuable to keeping
brethren in the Church together and remaining faithful to God.
“Behold how sweet it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”
And that is speaking about fellowship.
It goes to the heart.
There’s so many of God’s people in one place at one time.
Brethren long for it all year.
They meet new people and develop new relationships, and those tie them into the Church.
It’s that cement that keeps people stationary when times get tough, and it’s so important
for brethren to fellowship here at the Feast.
Social events were held at each site.
These included a Dinner Dance, in which an elegant meal and lively dancing were enjoyed;
a Seniors Luncheon, which was an occasion to honor those 55 and older; and Family Day,
which featured an afternoon of stimulating games and activities.
God is in the people business, and not only in the people business, He’s in the family
business.
He’s a father, and so Family Day is our opportunity, right in the midst of the Feast,
to come together on a day to put into practice what we have learned in terms of being the
children of God, the family of God and enjoying each other’s company.
One activity I really enjoy at the Feast is the Dinner Dance.
Because I always enjoy to see people fellowshipping, rejoicing, eating good food, the smiles on
everyone’s face.
The Conga Line and seeing everybody bouncing by.
There wasn’t a frown in the place.
All the brethren always say, “Oh, it started!
Oh, it’s over already.”
They wish it could go on a little longer.
So it’s always, it’s always a highlight.
One event that I especially enjoy is the Seniors Luncheon.
You have long, longstanding experience and history in that room, and you can get any
senior talking about that history.
And it is so fun to hear that and learn from them, and learn from each other during those
events.”
At each location, the ministry delivered messages that explained the meaning of the Feast, and
how to qualify for the soon-coming Kingdom of God.
Special music performances added an edifying dimension to services.
One of the things that we do at the Feast of Tabernacles is to learn to fear God.
It’s moral reverence.
We respect God’s will, God’s commandments, and we learn of Him.
It’s not a fear, as if we’re afraid, but more of a reverence that we are supposed to
have for God.
And as a father, He wants His children to respect Him.
And when we respect Him, then we will obey Him.
We will do all the things that He wants us to do, because He knows what’s best for
us.
We have to learn to fear God, here at the Feast, because we need to understand and get
re-energized as to who our Creator is, as to who the Sustainer of all life is, and to
understand His great, awesome power by understanding and having a foretaste of the culmination
of what His Plan is.
We’re all in this, in a group, together.
God’s Spirit is there and its an environment that’s conducive to really meditating on
serious matters such as the fear of God.
The documentary film Behind the Work 2019: Fitly Framed Together was premiered during
this time.
It gave an in-depth look at how God continues to build His most important construction project:
His Church.
Church Administration works with leaders at Headquarters to plan the Feast each year.
They select field ministers to serve as Festival Coordinators at each site.
These are supported by Assistant Coordinators and Department Heads, who help ensure everything
runs smoothly.
Areas of responsibility include the stage crew, setup crew, registration, ushering,
security, choir, sound, photography, videography, and more.
It’s a big learning opportunity for how the government of God works.
That’s what makes feast sites run, and what lubricates the gears is God’s Holy Spirit.
The main thing that I can see that we get God’s Spirit basically, is that everybody
pitches in wherever they need to pitch in, and it’s “Where can I help?”
Some of the elements that help to make the Feast are each department understanding that
everybody’s volunteering to serve one another.
From a Coordinator’s perspective, it’s getting everybody involved and letting them
know what everyone else is doing so there’s just not one person who knows what everybody’s
doing, but the collective as a whole, which helps everything to run smoothly.
If you’re not running a feast site, you have no idea what goes into the background
of a feast site.
I remember the first couple of years when I was attending and just went to the Feast
thinking, wow!
This just runs so smoothly, until I started to run feast sites and realized all of the
logistics that go into it.
But the key, the absolute most important thing to make a feast site run smooth as an engine
that just purrs, are the people.
People are zealous.
All the brethren are zealous at the feast sites and they want to contribute.
And everyone’s rejoicing at the feast site increases when that happens.
After the festival’s conclusion, leaders in God’s Work came together to discuss how
to make next year’s Feast even better.
The Feast of Tabernacles is an incomparable blessing for Christians.
It renews their zeal for God’s Work, and their commitment to fulfill their awesome
potential by entering the Kingdom of God.
The memories they create at the Feast and the Last Great Day is a preview of the way
of life all nations will ultimately experience under God’s coming rule.
To learn more about the Feast, and how you can be involved in this festival next year,
visit rcg.org.