Yesterday Tom Disher, one of our United Church of God Web gurus, noticed an amazing thing, and our United News editor, Liz Cannon, got the news out right away on Twitter and Facebook:

Elizabeth Cannon: UCG is #1 when you Google “after church snacks” OH YEAH!

Besides the 16 people who “like this,” here are some of the other comments her post elicited:

Gina: hahaha that’s awesome

Yesterday at 5:06pm

John: that’s cool

Yesterday at 5:14pm

Talitha: LOL – I love it

Yesterday at 5:14pm

Nick: United Church of God – Truth and Snacks Since 1995

Yesterday at 5:29pm

Rudy: Haha “truth and snacks” we should run that by the branding committee.

Yesterday at 5:37pm

Jeremy: What’s up now, SEO?

Yesterday at 6:21pm

Rosanna: UCG – Preparing the people and consuming mountains of snacks.

Yesterday at 7:26pm

Gary: Tom’s aggressive snack marketing campaign is going well I see for the church.

Yesterday at 9:00pm

Though I am pretty sure we were not optimizing our Web sites for snacks, I guess that’s a pretty cool thing to be known for. I just might mention it to the team that is working on the branding project.

I just wish the key words and phrases we are working on would hit number 1 on Google! Forward to the Kingdom!

Victor Kubik writes in the latest Nordic/Baltic/Eastern European Newsletter: “We are currently making an effort to make more of our literature available in the native language of the various countries in our region. Sofie Banham, a United Church of God member in Australia, will be helping to translate some of our material into Polish.

Currently four of the 20 UCG fundamental beliefs (“God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit,” “The Church,” “The Word of God” and “Satan, the Devil”) are available in Polish.

“The word of the Kingdom of God begins small—as a mustard seed, but we have expectations of effective growth in Polish content and its proliferation,” Mr. Kubik wrote.

You can see all the Eastern European literature on the United Church of God Web site at www.ucg.org/easteuropean.

In the Oct. 29 Ministerial Services Newsletter and Journal, United Church of God Council of Elders Chairman Roy Holladay gave a summary of the special closed Council meetings held Oct. 19 and 20:

“During the reign of Christ on this earth, unity and peace will reign. At the Feast we all strive to set an example to the society around us and to cooperate with one another in a spirit of harmony, unity and peace. In our local congregations we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. Those of us on the Council and the administration have been striving to do the same! Let me explain.

“In the August Council meetings we set aside time for the Council and administration to discuss ways that we could work with more harmony and unity. After the meetings had concluded, Bill Eddington suggested to me that we needed additional time to discuss how we could serve more effectively as the Council and administration. Doug Horchak also detailed a number of areas for discussion. We simply ran out of time to do this before the Feast. Consequently we decided to assemble again on the second week after the Feast of Tabernacles. We met on October 19 and 20 and discussed the relationship of the Council and administration and how we can work more closely together not merely in an organizational sense, but as spiritual brothers in Christ. We considered and agreed on a number of ways that we might move forward together. Those on the Council and in the administration expressed our earnest desire to reflect what is mentioned above in serving God, serving every member of His Church in a Christlike manner and bringing the gospel to a spiritually needy world.

“After these two days of Council and administration meetings, the Media Committee of the Council and the administration met together on Wednesday to focus on our approach toward media. Darris McNeely, chairman of the Media and Communications committee, led a discussion on where the committee sees our media efforts going. We discussed the placement of the Beyond Today television program on commercial outlets with the intent of creating a network of coverage across the United States. This would be in conjunction with the branding discussion currently underway.

“The discussion gravitated to the Internet as an ongoing tool for preaching the gospel as part of our long-term goals. Presently the Internet is a vital support to other media tools such as print, television and radio. Its importance will only grow as media technologies continue to merge into an Internet-based delivery system. It is the Church’s intent to use all forms of media in the most effective way. While we desire to have a wide reach, we must also continually evaluate the impact of all our efforts.

“We discussed the need for compelling content that conveys the gospel message to this world in video and words. Much of the discussion centered on the short, medium and long term for a seamless strategy using all available tools effectively. We are striving to implement our media mix for optimum ability to preach the gospel.”

In the same issue, President Clyde Kilough also mentioned the Council meetings:

“As you read in Roy’s letter, the first major activity after the Feast was the two-day Council meeting, in which I also participated. I think we all appreciated being able to cover important issues besides the usual ‘business’ items that consume so much attention during regular meetings, and we’re hopeful of seeing beneficial results come from this time together.”

O prefeito Iris Rezende recebeu hoje pela manhã, em seu gabinete no Paço Municipal, os membros da nova diretoria da União Estadual de Estudantes, eleitos no último dia 5 durante o 22º Congresso Estudantil de Goiás, realizado na cidade de Anápolis. O encontro foi acompanhado pelo assessor especial da Juventude, Cristian Gomes; o secretário municipal de governo Mauro Miranda e a vereadora Tatiana Lemos.

Segundo o presidente da UEE, o estudante Pablo Henrique Silva, o objetivo da visita, além de apresentar os novos dirigentes da entidade, foi também de propor parcerias com a Prefeitura e de buscar apoio para a reconstrução da entidade e reorganização do movimento estudantil em Goiás. Pablo Henrique, que é estudante de direito, já foi presidente do Centro Acadêmico do curso de Relações Internacionais da Universidade Católica de Goiás (UCG) e coordenador geral do Diretório Acadêmico da UCG, lembrou que essa é a primeira vez que um membro do PMDB assume a presidência da UEE.

Um importante mudança já proposta por esse nova diretoria da UEE-GO segundo, Pablo Henrique, é a mudança do sistema de eleição da entidade, que no próximo pleito será de forma direta, com a ampla e democratica participação dos estudantes.

Leia mais

Tresa Baldas reported in the National Law Journal Aug. 28, 2009:

“Just two months ago, UPS settled a religious discrimination lawsuit with the EEOC in Tennessee, in which the company was accused of requiring a 19-year driver to work past sundown on his Sabbath, which violated his beliefs as a member of the United Church of God. UPS denied that it engaged in discrimination, but agreed to pay $23,500 in damages to the employee.”

Lots of congratulations to share today!

Carol Zamora now zips around on her motorized wheelchair. Her faith and positive attitude are an inspiration!

I just saw a prescreening of the incredible United Church of God Festival sermon video, weaving together amazing stories of Church members who have faced great difficulties. We’ve covered Carol Zamora and the survivors of the Rwandan genocide in the blog, but the video really builds on those stories, and adds several others from around the world. The theme is based on Romans 14:17-18, about the essential building blocks of the Kingdom of God, “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” My congratulations to Clay Thornton and all the others who put together this excellent presentation. After the Feast of Tabernacles when it is posted online, I hope to provide a link.

Also congratulations to Victor Kubik and LifeNets, the effective grassroots charity he founded 10 years ago. On Sept. 1 LifeNets will be 10 years old! The amount of good done for people from Chernobyl to Malawi, from Guatemala to Sri Lanka is incalculable. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Whitney Smith, a student at Ambassador Bible Center who will start Monday as an intern in the UCG Media area! I hope to get some of her writing up on the blog as well.

Congratulations to a friend, Judy Swanson, who was recently hired to write the Lexington Christian Living Examiner articles! Check out “Teach Your Children to Pray and Build Their Faith in God” and her other articles!

And a congratulations to my wonderful wife, Becky, for sticking with me these 24 years! Happy anniversary!

Who would you like to congratulate today?

In the United Church of God Council report the committee assignments were not included. Here they are:

 * denotes chairman

These letters,  DAM, UGC and RM, will be the new buzz words of 2010 and on.  If you have an idea of what I am talking about congrats.  If not, then let me bring you up to speed.

DAM  is the acronym for Digital Asset Management.   This is taking all your digital assets, copy, video, audio and creating a platform that allows the assets to be utilized and re-purposed for collateral, blogs, web site and other social media and editorial means.

UGC is User Generated Content. This when your clients, customers or prospects or strangers, create the digital assets for you.  Thus they create the content through their search on your web site, through ratings, reviews, forums, blogs and twitters. This is a key way to improve content search and discover-ability.  The goal is to have your content discovered on the web, not advertised on the web.

RM is Rich Media. Those are images that give the visitor to your site more visual information and content about the subject, which reinforces your messaging, image and brand. These RM initiatives are usually hosted by a third party, since you do not want to slow down the band width of your website.

So why are these important? Now there are three ways content is coming to you that you need to manage as a CMO. The content is coming text and media from writers or your agencies, management and editorial team for your web site. Social commentary as a listening post and feedback through twitter, blogs and search. We now add user generated content such as surveys, recommendation, ratings, posts, wikis, discussion, and file shares.

                                                                                    Aug. 20, 2009

Dear Fellow Elders,

Certain sections of the Bible grab your attention and focus you on God’s plan for all humanity. Ephesians 1 is such a chapter. Verse 4 reveals that our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ was thought out “before the foundation of the world.” God is following a plan to achieve His overarching purpose for creation to bring many sons to glory. Verse 11 adds clarity to God’s plan by stating that we are “predestined according to the purpose of Him…according to the counsel of His will” (emphasis added).

The August Council meetings addressed several significant issues facing the Church that have to do with our working with God to fulfill that plan. The Council addressed the long-term issues and plans for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, as well as educating our youth and ministry. Let me explain.

The groundwork is now laid for our administration to carry out an effective ABC and pastoral training program. The green light has been given to the administration by the Council to develop the curriculum for ABC and pastoral training that will serve the Church well over the next decade. Quoting from the Curriculum Development Plan: “The curriculum of ABC and the Pastoral Training Program would be reviewed by a task force of individuals from inside the current education administration and members outside the administration. It is recommended we have a two-tier task force. The first task force would review the curriculum and recommend any changes. The second would review the recommendations and recommend a final curriculum…”

The Council to a person wholeheartedly concurs with the development of full-time church pastors who can serve the local congregations. Management has the directive to provide adequate facilities for the training of future ministers—thus fulfilling the Strategic Plan. We look forward to 2010 for the start of the updated pastoral training program. As this develops, you will be hearing more about it.

With the branding discussion we have taken another step to position our message before the world. We all know our message is the gospel or good news of the Kingdom of God. No one has to tell us what our message is. In discussing our message with branding agencies we have emphasized the uniqueness of our message:

1. We offer the path to a direct and personal relationship with God. Our members are living examples of this message.
2. We offer authentic Christianity. We are an extension of the first-century Church.
3. We offer understanding. We provide a biblically based explanation of the meaning and purpose of life. We provide life-changing biblical truths and the answers to tough questions.

When people search for news, they go to their favorite Web site such as CNN, Fox News, CBS, NBC or ABC. When people search for religious information, we want them to think of the United Church of God—we want them to come to our Web sites. We want to rise above the crowd and become the source of religious information and understanding that people go to. A branding company will assist the Church in achieving that goal.

The Council will be working with the administration to produce both an effective message and a media mix in the coming months. We believe a proper media mix (the appropriate use of all available media tools), combined with positioning our message, will greatly aid in propelling the work forward. This is a dying world that desperately needs to hear a message of hope and truth regarding what biblical salvation entails.

Two years ago the decision was made to relocate to Texas. Over the last two years dramatic financial changes have occurred on a global basis. As a result of this crisis, the Council and administration had reevaluated “Where Do We Go From Here” for nearly a year. The economy has faltered, the housing market has collapsed, bankruptcies have soared, and millions of people have lost their jobs.

These trends are also having an impact on the Church. Last year God blessed the United Church of God with a 1.5 percent increase in income. As responsible stewards, we are striving to take a measured approach to expansion at this junction. Over the next three to five years we will have a clearer understanding of the impact this financial crisis will have on the nation and the Church.

Thus, the Council has made a strategic decision based on financial considerations to maintain our presence at our current facility. This was one of the options put forward by the administration. Therefore the Denton property will be placed on the market. Please pray that God would send a buyer to allow us to recover our investment in the property in Texas so those funds can be put toward the vital need of preaching a gospel of hope, as well as preparing a people that God is actively striving to bring to the full measure of Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures clearly teach that “the laborer is worthy of his wages” and “let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine” (1 Timothy 5:17-18). We have many long serving ministers and wives and employees who have labored long and hard, some up to 50+ years in the work of God. They have worked tirelessly and sacrificed their health and time in service to the Church. We all are very grateful to them for their years of service. We cannot neglect them in their later years. We are committed to providing a reasonable means of retirement-age income for them. Britt Taylor led the Council through a review of how this can be made possible. There is a biblical duty and responsibility to look after the needs of our employees, and the Council plans to continue that support. More details will be distributed to the employees soon on this plan.

One highlight of the meetings was the approval of 11 new men to be ordained into the ministry of Jesus Christ. This is the largest number of ordinations that I remember at any one time. This speaks well of the dedication, humility and faithfulness of many families within the local congregations of the United Church of God. God is providing more laborers for the harvest.

With all these exciting opportunities before us, we need to unite together as never before to preach the gospel and serve “the elect” of God. God has given His children into our care to love and guide. As we move away from these meetings that deal so much with facts, figures and policies, let’s never lose sight of the grand focus of Scripture that God is calling us to relationships with Him and His Son, with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and with a world that so desperately needs His message. It is a privilege to serve alongside you in this great calling.

In Christ’s service,

Roy Holladay

Chairman

This report is condensed from the reports by Council reporter Gerald Seelig. See coe.ucg.org for full reports.

The United Church of God Council of Elders decided to place the property in Denton, Texas, on the market and to reexamine how to use the space at the home office facilities in Milford, Ohio.
The Council also approved working with a company recommended by the Branding Task Force and approved a Council communication strategy.
Denton Sale; Home Office Space-Needs Study
After discussion Aug. 10, a resolution was passed Aug. 13, with 10 Council members voting “yes” and one “no” (Doug Horchak). Jim Franks was not in attendance that day. The resolution says:
Whereas, the Council recognizes the need to preach the gospel, yet recognizes that the deteriorating economic and job situation in the U.S. will most likely result in decreased income, and
Whereas, the Denton property is an isolated asset that tied up considerable cash, and
Whereas, the Council wishes to reevaluate its space needs and options locally,
Now therefore, it is hereby resolved, that:
1. There be no new study on home office relocation at the present time.
2. The Denton property will be listed for sale and sold when an acceptable offer, as determined by the Council in conjunction with the treasurer, is made.
3. A space-needs study be undertaken to determine what we can do with and without expansion of the present home office building.
4. Administration do a cost-benefit study of off-site space relating to residential housing for approved UCG education/training programs.
5. Although some pastoral trainees may need to take part in the ABC program, it shall remain a nine-month program. An additional period of education/training, if implemented, will be part of the pastoral training program, not ABC, and will be for pastoral candidates and the occasional ABC student who would be asked to participate in the additional period.
Branding
Darris McNeely presented the findings of the Branding Task Force to the Council Aug. 13. Branding, for the Church, is about a compelling story of the gospel—a story of telling people what the meaning of life is. It is about creating a crystal-clear message about what God the Father and Jesus Christ are doing.
Clyde Kilough was chairman of the task force and the other members of this task force were Roy Holladay, Larry Salyer, Darris McNeely, Peter Eddington, Linda Register, Scott Moss and Brian Shaw. Four agencies made presentations to the task force, and the task force recommended that the Northlich Company of Cincinnati would serve the needs of the Church the best.
The 11 members of the Council present voted unanimously to approve using the recommended agency to assist the Branding Task Force in establishing a brand for the United Church of God.
Council of Elders Communication Strategy
Darris McNeely distributed and discussed a proposed Council of Elders communication strategy. He stated that the Media Committee unanimously approved this document going forward. The various strategies are as follows:
1. About Our Father’s Business. During quarterly meetings, have the chairman interviewed by the president. Various Council of Elders members can be interviewed as well. We could also have the chairman interview other Council members. At least two to three interviews could be done each quarter.
2. Council travel. Reinstitute travel of Council members to congregations. Use the budget allocated for travel and interaction with various groups. Send Council members to churches on Holy Days and other special occasions.
3. Council speaking at Annual Meeting of the General Conference of Elders (GCE). Consideration of Council members speaking at services during the annual GCE meeting, giving two split sermons each year.
4. Consideration of Council members or GCE members giving keynote address at the annual meeting of the GCE.
5. Council recordings of opening session of each meeting. Archived recordings of president’s report and selected business discussions?
6. Write and send to the GCE a chairman’s letter and agenda before each quarterly meeting. The chairman can emphasize particular issues facing United and the Council’s role in addressing them.
7. Write and send to the GCE a chairman’s summary at the end of each quarterly meeting. This gives the chairman a chance to review what was actually discussed and decided from the agenda. He can put emphasis where needed and give a preview of what will be done in advance of the next meeting.
8. In December take one hour and go into the Ambassador Bible Center classroom to talk and have a “town hall meeting” with the students. Let the students get to know the Council and what it does within the Church. We should not assume they understand the role of the Council. In fact, most of them have no clue. We need to educate them. Do this for an hour or so before lunch and then treat the students to a pizza “lunch with the Council.”
9. Rename the MSNJ as The Ministerial Journal: A Publication for the General Conference of Elders. The lead letter each month would be alternately written by the chairman and the president. Operation managers give reports within the publication. Committee chairs can provide updates on the business of their committees. Other Council members may contribute occasionally. Production of this publication would stay within Ministerial Services and would liaison with the Council Media Committee.
10. Regularly put Council member sermons on sermon DVDs. Have a Council member speak in the home office congregation at every quarterly meeting to facilitate taping.
11. Produce occasional sermons by Council members to be played in all churches (start with one on the need for preaching the gospel).
12. As needed, have a town hall meeting with home office employees and Cincinnati area elders. This could be held at the end of a day’s session and combined with a meal at the office.
The Council members present unanimously approved the Council of Elders communication strategy. However, point 9, the renaming of the MSNJ, is pending based on further input from Jim Franks, operation manager for Ministerial Services, who was not present at the meeting.
Proposed Amendment to the Bylaws
Paul Kieffer discussed a proposed amendment to Article 8, Section 8.6.2, of the Bylaws. The proposal was submitted at this point by six members of the Council—Scott Ashley, Bill Eddington, Roy Holladay, Paul Kieffer, Victor Kubik and Robin Webber.
Roy Holladay commented that over the years many of the members of the General Conference of Elders have quoted the Bylaws—the Council only has oversight—while others have quoted the Constitution—the Council has direct involvement in the affairs of the Church. This amendment will make it consistent between both of those governing documents.
After discussion, the amendment was supported by three more Council members: Robert Berendt, Aaron Dean and Darris McNeely.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, the Council assessed the treasurer, Jason Lovelady, in executive session, then discussed some proposed changes to the retirement policy. The retirement policy will be discussed further in a teleconference Sept. 10. After that, the Council discussed budget priorities.
Restructuring Budget Priorities
Roy Holladay stated that, in the recent Strategic Planning and Finance Committee meeting, it was determined that the upcoming December and February Council meetings were too late to begin discussions with regard to the next year’s fiscal budget. Therefore, it was decided to begin preliminary discussions for the 2010-2011 fiscal year at these meetings.
Paul Kieffer mentioned that the opinion of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee is that more weight should be given to preaching the gospel, involving a rebalancing of the priorities. The committee suggested reallocating 1.25 percent, or $300,000, of the current fiscal year budget to Public Proclamation. The committee further suggested that, at the end of a fiscal year, any funds allocated to proclamation, but not spent, be allocated to the next fiscal year and not be put into the general reserve fund.
The committee proposed that the percentage allocated to Public Proclamation be increased by 1 percent annually for the next five years starting with the 2010-2011 fiscal budget. As well, the committee proposed that, if overall spending needed to be reduced, priority be given to maintaining the level of funds allocated to Public Proclamation.
Roy Holladay said that this is a good-faith attempt to “get the ball rolling” on reexamining our budget priorities. He agreed that the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee and the administration should sit down to discuss these issues. He said that this whole issue cannot really be finalized until the branding discussions are completed in December.
President Kilough said that media has always been a difficult area to get a handle on. The biggest challenge is getting a balance in media. He mentioned that anything that is done symbolically will be short-lived. In the last two years, there has been positioning to make the Web the primary mode of media and proclaiming the gospel, but not the only focus. He said that what will change the perception of the membership is when a clearly defined plan is put into place. We need an outside-in view of what we need to do, but without the defined plan, we will just waste time. He said that the money is not the issue, and the money is not the solution. People want to see results once a plan is defined and the priorities are laid out for all to see. Plans must drive the budget. Without a plan we are simply reallocating funds.
After much discussion, Mr. Holladay asked that, over the next couple of months, the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee, in conjunction with the treasurer, establish an access to reserves policy. He then requested that Clyde Kilough, Larry Salyer and Darris McNeely get together and ratchet up the recommendations for a media mix. He also asked the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee to meet with the administration to propose a plan as to how the proposed reallocation of funds would be used.
Concerns With the Outside Speakers Policy
Also on Aug. 11, Jim Franks discussed the recently updated outside speakers policy. He asked what the intent of the policy is since the word “permission” or “approval” is not used. He also referred to a case where the pastor of an elder gave approval, but the pastor in the area where the elder will speak is very much against it. Mr. Franks asked that the Roles and Rules Committee reconsider the policy with regard to these two issues. Committee chairman Bill Eddington said that the committee will do so.
For the meetings on Wednesday, Aug. 12, the Council was in executive session.
Upcoming Teleconference
At the end of the meetings Aug. 13, Chairman Holladay mentioned that there are three issues the Council still must address, not including the retirement policies presented earlier in these meetings. These issues can be addressed by teleconference. Chairman Holladay then called a teleconference of the Council for Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss those issues.
As well, Mr. Holladay called a Council teleconference for Thursday, Sept. 10, to consider and discuss the treasurer’s market analysis and other issues with regard to the property in Denton, Texas, as well as to address the retirement issues discussed earlier in these meetings.
Acknowledgement of Service on the Council
Chairman Holladay, on behalf of the Council of Elders, acknowledged the eight years of service by Clyde Kilough on the Council of Elders with a plaque and gifts for both him and his wife, Dee. Chairman Holladay stated that gifts will be sent to John Foster, previous Council reporter, and Richard Thompson, who served many years on the Council of Elders.

Si en algo tiene consistencia la historia de los grupos étnicos indígenas y campesinos es en que siempre han sido ignorantes, analfabetos y marginados por la población ladina que habita en la ciudad capital y otros centros urbanos.  Su vida en la ignorancia y la pobreza es inmanente a su condición como campesinos y la única manera de modificarla es tomando un bus con destino a la selva de concreto.  Una vez en la ciudad, es el trabajo duro la única receta para salir adelante y progresar.

Pero los viajes de estas personas hacia la “selva de concreto” son usualmente organizadas por personas perversas que desprecian la dignidad humana y abusan de la ignorancia de las masas.  Ejemplos hay por montones en la historia de Guatemala sobre las movilizaciones de indígenas y campesinos hacia la ciudad y siempre han sido utilizados como instrumentos de presión política, confrontación socioeconómica y de creación de bases de apoyo popular electorero.

El caso más reciente de estas manifestaciones de indígenas tuvo lugar en la ciudad de Guatemala en julio de 2009 con la movilización de miles de campesinos que a bordo de buses provenientes del altiplano del país reclamaron,

• la “defensa” de sus territorios,
• el “derecho” a la tierra para trabajarla y la entrega forzosa de fertilizantes financiados con el dinero de los guatemaltecos
• y el desarrollo rural a partir del Plan de Desarrollo Rural Integral que proponen los perversos dirigentes de Plataforma Agraria.

Así, los campesinos fueron una vez más utilizados por los intereses de líderes que diciendo representar los intereses de los pobres tan sólo buscan extender sus tentáculos para aprovecharse del gran botín nacional.  Columnistas, políticos y grupos de presión insisten en la reivindicación de derechos que sacrificarían a guatemaltecos en nombre de otros guatemaltecos; su único interés es hacer una ganancia personal a costa de los pobres y desafortunadamente han sido exitosos.

Tan sólo recordemos que aprovecharse del débil y del ignorante es una de las cosas más viles que el ser humano es capaz de hacer en busca de réditos ignominiosos.  El éxito de estas movilizaciones de gente pobre ha sido implementada por los gobiernos corruptos e ilegítimos en la historia universal y los dejo con la historia de una movilización indígena que tuvo lugar en el año 1944 en pleno auge de la revolución que acabaría con el gobierno dictatorial del general Ponce Vaides,

El hecho más notable ocurrió el 15 de septiembre (del año 1944), aniversario de la Independencia, cuando se organizó un desfile de apoyo a su candidatura (Federico Ponce Vaides, general y dictador de Guatemala del 04 de julio al 20 de octubre de 1944) que con contó con fuerte presencia de indígenas, muchos de los cuales marcharon por las calles de la ciudad con sus machetes y con la fotografía del general prendida en sus ropas (ver: Vivencias de la revolución del 20 de octubre de 1944).

Era visible ya, por las medidas que se iban tomando, que Ponce trataba de manipular a los indígenas, amañar las elecciones y permanecer en el poder por cualquier medio (…) La presencia de indígenas en los actos, y la forma en que parecían traídos a la ciudad (…) significaba que Ponce estaba dispuesto a basarse en los sectores menos cultivados de la población.  (…)

Fuente: Guatemala, la historia silenciada tomo 1. Carlos Sabino

Ponce trataba ya de convertirse en dictador y lo hacía ganándose a los indígenas y organizando a una población que podía manejar con facilidad tal y como lo hacen ahora “representantes” del pueblo en movimientos agrarios que gritan un discurso plagado de resentimiento y recriminaciones colectivistas.

Apresentação durante a premiação dos Melhores trabalhos de Publicidade e Propaganda da UCG/GO.

É um projeto pioneiro para o curso, pois será o primeiro realmente executado. Um orgulho para o criado, Beto Machado, responsável pela montagem de um modelo de negócio focado em marketing digital.

A prévia do portal está hospedada aqui

Fotos da apresentação:

Pablo Miranda, Hélio Lopes, Cleonice Dourado e Roberto Machado

Painel utilizado para demonstrar a construção passo a passo das categorias do portal.

Galeria de Fotos

]]> http://ucgmikebennett.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/ucg-general-conference-of-elders-meeting-report/ Tue, 05 May 2009 16:18:00 +0000 ucgmikebennett http://ucgmikebennett.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/ucg-general-conference-of-elders-meeting-report/

It’s been a busy and exciting weekend here in Cincinnati as United Church of God elders from around the world gathered for the annual meeting. Since I was assigned to write up the official report, I’ll go ahead and share it here. Check out the UCG fan page on Facebook for lots of great photos!

General Conference of Elders Meetings: May 3-4, 2009—Cincinnati, Ohio

The theme of the 2009 Annual Meeting of the General Conference of Elders was “Making Disciples: A Whole Church Effort.” Beginning the weekend at a special Sabbath service May 2, Council Chairman Robert Dick gave a sermon on seven factors that affect the Church’s efforts to make disciples. In addition to the 447 elders, elders’ wives and others meeting at the Holiday Inn Eastgate, there were 70 congregations on phone hookups, 449 video Web connections, 37 English audio connections and four Spanish connections.

The business meeting of the General Conference of Elders began on Sunday morning, with Mr. Dick introducing the elders of the United Church of God ordained or credentialed since last year: Alfredo Arboleas, Andy Buchholz, Martin Cole, Dave DeHart, Barry Howdeshell, Mike Iiams, Barry Korthuis, Charles May, Peter McNair, Arnold Mendez Sr., Homer Moore, David Pavlik, Patrick Read, Jeff Richards, Phil Sandilands, John Trotter and David West.

Ballot Results

Mr. Dick then led the elders in balloting. An outside auditing firm oversaw the ballot counting, and Mr. Dick read the preliminary ballot results at the end of the day.

The General Conference of Elders selected William Eddington (international), Scott Ashley, Melvin Rhodes and Richard Thompson to the Council of Elders.

New Council member Scott Ashley chats with outgoing Council Chairman Robert Dick.

The Strategic Plan was ratified with 253 votes yes and 46 no.

The Operation Plan was ratified with 243 yes and 51 no.

The budget was ratified with 235 yes and 54 no.

Keynote Address

After the balloting, President Clyde Kilough gave the keynote address and asked a question that seems to have many different answers in the world of religion: What does it mean to make disciples? A Google search returns huge numbers of sites dealing with the subject, but most operate from typical misunderstandings and assumptions, such as heaven and hell, this is the only day of salvation and that all people can become disciples now.

But the best place to find the answer is in the Scriptures, Mr. Kilough said. Matthew 28:18-20 says we are to baptize those who become disciples, which shows that making disciples is more than just preaching the gospel and spreading the seeds. In fact, becoming disciples is a lifelong process. John 4:1-2 shows that Jesus made disciples who then were instrumental in baptizing other disciples. Acts 13:48 shows that disciples have to be “appointed to eternal life,” and verse 52 shows the results: “The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

The Greek word translated “make disciples” means to enroll as a pupil of a scholar. Vine’s says a disciple is an adherent, an imitator. The word disciple is only used in the Gospels and Acts, Mr. Kilough explained, and after that other words used to describe Christians can give us a fuller picture. They include: brother (which shows the bond we must have), saint (which shows God’s holiness and the holiness of His followers) and believer (which stresses our shared faith).

The parable of the sower (Matthew 13) shows that the seeds growing in the good ground are those who understand. In John 8:31 Christ said, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples” (New Revised Standard Version). Luke 14:26-27 shows we must love Christ more than all or we cannot be His disciples.

The word make doesn’t imply that making disciples is something totally in our control, Mr. Kilough explained. God controls the calling, the individual controls his response, but to a great degree we control the environment we create in the Church. He said we have a great model for making disciples: United Youth Camps. We work to create the Zone, which we define as “the environment in which God changes people’s lives.” Shouldn’t every person work to create the qualities of the Zone in every congregation? This is a very important aspect of the “whole Church effort” of making disciples. Every person in the Church should think about sharing the life-changing benefits of God’s way of life when he or she has the right opportunity. Mr. Kilough said that some of the most influential people when his family came into the Church were those who invited them to their homes, who shared their experiences, who were examples of faith.

Acts 2:41-47 demonstrates the environment in the early Church where those who gladly received Peter’s word were baptized and then shared the qualities of fellowship, joy and oneness of heart.

If you want a formula for making disciples, it is Acts 9:31, Mr. Kilough said. We need to exemplify to new disciples how to be peacemakers, how to edify one another (such as in speaking to build up others) and how to live in the fear of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Christ stressed at His final Passover that we must love one another, which shows that we are His disciples (John 13:35). We are a work in progress. In the early years of the GCE Bob Dick said in a sermon, “We must be a work before we can do a work.” Likewise, we must be disciples before we can make disciples. In the Bible we are told to wait on God, but Mr. Kilough asked, “Are there times God has to wait on us?”

Mr. Kilough encouraged us all to be about our Father’s business, being better disciples ourselves, helping others become stronger disciples and preparing them for greater service.

International Reports

Five international reports were presented this year. (International regions present reports to the GCE on a rotating basis.)

Carmelo Anastasi reported on the work of the Church in Italy. He mentioned that as a cost-saving measure the Italian Good News is now mailed only four times a year. They also produce newsletters for members and coworkers. He said that now 35 percent of new subscribers come through the Internet, and the Web site is the main low-cost promotional tool. In order to be more effective with Web searchers, the Church in Italy has a new approach on its Web site. We call ourselves a community of believers, and only mention the Church at the end.

Donations have stayed about the same, though some members have lost jobs. There are two congregations, in Milan and Catania, as well as two Bible studies, in Bergamo and Naples. The Church in Italy has a leadership program to prepare future leaders. The Church is small but has been blessed with two new members recently.

Mr. Anastasi explained the difficulty in following our doctrines in a society that is completely opposite of what we teach. He mentioned the strong move toward ecumenicalism in Italy. Those who don’t accept the Catholic Church’s overtures toward ecumenicalism are seen as sects. Mr. Anastasi said the Italian brethren are enduring, and they appreciate the prayers of the brethren around the world.

Saul Langarica reported on the work of the Church in 16 countries in Latin America. There are 19 ministers in the Spanish-speaking area (nine are employed by the Church) and 43 congregations. There are also 22 video and audio groups. Regional Director Leon Walker visits each area about twice a year.

There has been slow but constant growth in Latin America, from 865 baptized members in 1996 to 1,167 today. Attendance has gone from 1,754 in 1996 to 2,485 today. There were 44 baptisms in the region last year.

The Internet plays an important role for the Church in Latin America. Besides the Spanish Good News Web site, there is also a central Church Web site with local Web sites for each country with the same design and information as the central site, but with local information as well. There is also a site for the youth. They also use the Internet to transmit live services from Mexico and Chile. Our new elder from Argentina, Alfredo Arboleas, has introduced an innovative Web program that has made it possible for them in the same service to have a sermonette from Argentina, a sermon from Bolivia—or vice versa—while special music and the opening and closing prayers come from other areas!

Family relationships and delivery of extra magazines by members are key ways the gospel is spread in Latin America.

Mr. Langarica mentioned that the Santiago, Chile, congregation was growing so rapidly, they needed to build a building. Through the generosity of the brethren they were able to do this with no debt! He mentioned that they are beginning to fill the new hall already, and may have to have morning and afternoon services in the future!

Summer camps are held in Mexico, Guatemala and Chile. They also recently had leadership conferences in Chile and Guatemala and are sending ministers to the Pastoral Training Program at the home office. Plans are to offer some ABC classes in Guatemala.

Members in some areas face dangers, such as kidnapping. For example, one member in Mexico was kidnapped after the Feast and had to pay a ransom to be released. Please pray for the safety of the brethren.

Mr. Langarica said he believes our greatest work is ahead, and we need to learn to work together as never before.

Victor Kubik reported on Nordic/Baltic/Eastern European area. He called Johnnie Lambert, who volunteers his time to serve in the region, the “patron saint” of the area.

Mr. Kubik pointed out that Russian is the fifth-largest language in the world, so there is a large field in front of them. He gave a number of statistics. They send out 1,600 Good News magazines, including two articles in the local language with each magazine. So far 220 have finished the Estonian Bible Study Course, and 100 are taking the Bible Study Course in Russian. At this point there are no local congregations, since the members are scattered throughout the region.

Mr. Kubik thanked many volunteers who have helped serve the region. For example, Linda Saar, a member in Ohio, has helped with layouts for the publications and Ryan Foster, a member in Oregon, has helped with Web work.

They will be greatly streamlining the Good News mailing, which has been handled by Mr. Lambert when he traveled to Estonia. It will now be handled from the home office.

Mr. Kubik mentioned the stories of several people in the region who have become interested in the United Church of God. The pastor of a Baptist church in Latvia has started keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days, and many of his congregation are keeping them as well. Other members have relocated to the region from the tropical jungles of Thailand. Mr. Kubik also mentioned a man who typed in “what is the meaning of life?” on a search engine and found us among others. (He said he liked our tone—that UCG was not shouting at him.)

Mr. Kubik also mentioned that Dan and Cindy Harper, who live in France, and a couple from Indianapolis helped with teaching English as second language to street children in Ukraine.

Bill Bradford reported on the work of the United Church of God in Australia. He said there are 14 elders and one ministerial trainee serving the country. Recently Grant Chick moved in from South Africa and Matt Sieff was hired as trainee. Steve Clark, who had been training with Mr. Bradford since 2002, took over Melbourne congregation and also travels to the growing area of Western Australia.

The Church in Australia has been growing. There are now 22 congregations (up from 16 with four video groups in 2004). Attendance is now 643 (up from 502 in 2004). The growth is like adding a small congregation of 28 people every year. There are now four Feast sites in Australia, and there has been a 28 percent increase in Festival attendance over last four years.

In the last 30 months there have been 55 baptisms, and of those, 62 percent have no Church of God background. Mr. Bradford also pointed out that that 69.1 percent of those were under age 50, and 52.7 percent were under age 35.

The Good News circulation has grown from 20,830 in 2004 to 37,017 this year. Now they are cutting back hard with renewals. Mr. Bradford also mentioned that Australia’s Web site now has inquiry and comment opportunities to encourage visitors to have direct contact with the local pastors.

Tony Levy reported on the work of the Church in the eight countries of Southern Africa (currently we have no members in two of those, Namibia and Swaziland).

Morgen Kriedemann serves Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as Malawi and scattered members. André van Belkum serves Durban, South Africa, but will soon be moving to New Zealand. He is assisted by Neville Smith. Neil Becker serves East London, South Africa, and handles the office. Stan Botha serves Cape Town, South Africa.

We have two congregations in Malawi, the third-poorest country in world. We are helping with grants to help with education to improve the members’ lives.

Attendance in Zambia is now about 300. They are served by Kambani Banda, who is assisted by Jerrison Shachoongo and Derrick Pringle.

Mr. Levy mentioned that there are no elders or deacons in Zimbabwe now, but three capable men help look after the 43 members in this very troubled country.

In Southern Africa there are a total of nine elders (six full-time) and 19 leading men (nine in South Africa and 10 in rest of Southern Africa). Leaders are being trained through a monthly standardized leadership training program.

After the international presentations, Ken Giese gave tribute to the deceased elders and wives. Honored this year were Charles “Chuck” Eugene Bailey, John Bald, Carl Dailey, Joanne Dickinson, Danny Lee Good, William Robert (Bob) Hedge and Joy VanSchuyver.

President’s Address

In President Clyde Kilough’s address, he said he would tell us about what keeps him awake at night.

He said he is thankful that the income has still increased slightly in these tough economic times, when some churches face 25 percent decreases. He is thankful for the great blessing of having a church with faithful, committed members.

He said we face many challenges, however, but that they can be met.

Mr. Kilough organized his presentation around the three Positioning Statements in the Strategic Plan. The first one deals with preaching the gospel. Mr. Kilough pointed out that in 1995, our main media option for preaching the gospel was through print. Now we have print, television and Internet. He asked: If we were starting over in 2009, how would we apportion these? If we add up all the parts of the media budget dedicated to print, it would be 68 percent! How can we realign our priorities in order to use lower-cost media such as the Internet? We have to remodel our media house, but to remodel the house while we are still living in it is challenging. We can’t start from scratch, but we can’t have it all, he said. We don’t want to scrap print, but we do have to realign our spending and priorities. We need a coordinated plan to use our money and manpower wisely. The Internet and television both have a potential for reaching greater numbers of people, but they must not compete. They must be coordinated.

In addressing the Positioning Statement on providing leadership for the Church, Mr. Kilough had the elders in the room who were over 55 stand up. This was by far the largest group, and they will all be over 70 in 15 years. Mr. Kilough presented several scenarios contrasting the numbers of potential retirees with the numbers of potential hires over the next 15 years, showing the great need for training more pastors just to maintain our current care for the churches.

On finances, the needs in both media and the ministry offer a challenge. This is not just about this year’s budget, but we have to be thinking ahead for the years to come. Mr. Kilough pointed out that we face increasing legacy costs for retirement and health care. Our retiring pastors have given a wonderful legacy in the lives of the members of the Church. We do not consider it burdensome. But as these costs grow, the reality is that it will impact our budgets and we will have to plan ahead very carefully.

The third Positioning Statement is on unity. Mr. Kilough said that shows the manner in which we should make decisions. Tough decisions generally require sacrifice. Making disciples requires two legs on the same body—preaching the gospel and preparing a people—which must not compete but work together. There is still a great work to do, and we must do everything in a unified manner. Our governance structure makes the wheels of innovation and change move slowly, but we cannot delay making some of the difficult decisions on how we implement our education and training programs, and how we prioritize our gospel media efforts.

These are the things that keep him awake at night, Mr. Kilough said. But on the other hand, we know who the head of the Church is, and in that confidence we can rest easy.

Treasurer’s Address

Treasurer Jason Lovelady talked about “aligning people, technology and strategy.” He reported on the four primary categories of expenses: programs (mission specific), facilities, management and general, and legacy (insurance and benefits). Programs were by far the largest budgetary items.

Mr. Lovelady showed that the media share of the budget has grown from 19 percent ($3.668 million) in 2003-04 to 25 percent ($6.134 million). The congregational care budget has increased in dollar amount but decreased as a share of the budget pie from 42 percent in 2003-04 to 39 percent.

In the management and general area, dollar amounts have gone up, but percent of budget has declined from 7.0 percent to 5.9 percent.

Legacy costs include discretionary assistance to retired pastors. The Council decided about 10 years ago that estate donations (unless otherwise designated) be used for retirement purposes (discretionary assistance). As such, these funds are not included as part of the operational budget. One of the primary reasons is that they fluctuate dramatically from year to year. Last year we had over $300,000, while this year only $10,000. In addition the Council determined that the Church’s discretionary assistance be maintained at its current level of $523,000 per year and that any amounts needed above that figure would come from the retirement fund. Due to the demographics of our employees, we expect discretionary assistance to increase rapidly over the next five to 15 years. Mr. Lovelady said the future increase in legacy costs must be planned for now.

He said that the United States in many ways faces the greatest economic crisis since the Depression, which will lead to at the very least a weakening of the dollar and high inflation in the future.

Mr. Lovelady pointed out that U.S. attendance figures over the last six years have increased 1.9 percent, while income over the same time period increased 33.3 percent. Can we expect income to continue to increase with little or no increase in attendance? He said that despite both external and internal trends, he is confident that God will bless us with the resources we need to do the work. He also said he is confident of the members’ faithfulness, if we, in turn, do our part and are good stewards with the resources that God provides. We can only be good stewards if we are united and work together.

Ministerial Services

Jim Franks, Ministerial Services operation manager, thanked all the elders for their service and gave a snapshot of Ministerial Services as UCG enters its 15^th year.

Average U.S. attendance has increased from 11,346 in 2006 to 11,522 in 2009. This is about a half percent increase per year, or less than one person per congregation.

The demographics of the Church (from U.S. Festival registration in 2008):

• Under age 30, 35 percent (4,699).
• Over 60, 28 percent (3,663).
• Ages 30 to 60, 37 percent (4,878).

New people who contacted U.S. pastors, by quarter:

• 398 in the third quarter of last year.
• 354 in the fourth quarter.
• 515 in the first quarter this year (Mr. Franks mentioned this was a very encouraging increase).

Baptisms from 2003 to 2008 have been fairly consistent, with a range from 163 to 196.

Currently Ministerial Services employs 87 pastors, three associate pastors and three assistant pastors, for a total of 93. From 2001 to now, 20 men have been hired.

Altogether, there are 253 elders, and 247 of these have their ages on file.

• Over 80, 11 percent.
• 70-79, 30 percent.
• 60-69, 32 percent.
• 50-59, 20 percent.
• 40-49, 7 percent.

Mr. Franks also mentioned that 83 percent of the Ministerial Services budget goes directly to the pastors and local congregations.

Media and Communications Services

Larry Salyer, Media and Communications Services operation manager, started by asking: What do we want most? We all want the return of Jesus Christ. We love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8), and we know the gospel must be preached before Christ’s return (Matthew 24:14). So we must love the gospel being preached before Christ returns.

Mr. Salyer pointed out that the budget for media has nearly doubled from 2003-04 to now. He said about $36 million has been spent on media over those years, but we haven’t made the impact we want yet. It’s not just about the money, he said.

The Internet gives us far and away the greatest potential for reaching the world. Mr. Salyer reported that we have made strides in this area and will have more than the 4 million first-time visitors we projected. However, we won’t reach the 42 percent visitor loyalty rate we aggressively projected.

We are having good responses to Internet ads, and our cost per response has dropped from $3.31 in March 2008 to $3.04 in March 2009.

Mr. Salyer also highlighted the trends toward social media as part of word-of-mouth promotion. He stressed that “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” Social media is more than just a buzzword. It’s about listening to what people are saying.

Mr. Salyer showed a clip of a GN Commentary Ralph Levy did using British singing sensation Susan Boyle to make a point about superficiality. This demonstrates how our message can be shared by others. There were 1,232 views on YouTube, but there were another 3,369 video views and 23 reviews on the Susan Boyle Fan Web site!

Print makes up 68 percent of the media budget. To fulfill the Strategic Plan and stay within budget, Mr. Salyer asked, can we migrate more readers to the Web? He said we can’t continue to measure success only by the number of English Good News subscriptions. There are other measures we need to consider as we move more to the Web. In the coming months we will have to make some hard decisions. In his judgment, the Internet should be the key element.

Mr. Salyer concluded by reminding everyone that we have been given the best message in the world and we are excited about proclaiming it.

Address From the Chairman

Mr. Dick mentioned that he has given the chairman’s address eight times in the last 14 years and has noticed that certain major themes tend to reoccur. Among them are the following:

We recognized at our beginning that if we don’t have doctrine right, we have nothing. But if we have nothing but doctrine right, we still have nothing. This is still true.

Further we recognized early in our existence that in order to do a work, we had to be a work.

At the first meeting of the General Conference of Elders we recognized that, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1).

Mr. Dick also mentioned that we realized that United is in reality a journey, and we are still traveling toward that destination.

“Guns or Butter,” or the hard choices between our priorities, became an issue early on and was emphasized again in 1998 and is still a major issue today.

Last of all Mr. Dick repeated that we need to be a “fruits-based” work and thanked the Council from 2005 on for developing the strategic planning process. We all want to please God and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Presentation to Mr. and Mrs. Dick

Roy Holladay took the floor to give honor to Mr. Dick. He mentioned that Mr. Dick was very instrumental in the founding of United in 1995. He was the chairman of the first Council selected in 1996. He and his wife, Dyanne, have devoted a tremendous amount of time and work. He is going to leave a big hole in the Council, Mr. Holladay said.

Vic Kubik, who is the only other Council member to have served continuously since the beginning of United, mentioned that they have gone through at least 75 Council meetings together. He praised Mr. Dick for his statesmanship and tact in very difficult situations. Mr. Dick knew how to use the rudder on the boat and was driven by what is best for the Church, irrespective of what people felt.

Gifts and flowers were presented to Mr. and Mrs. Dick for their years of service.

Monday Seminars

May 4 elders and wives were able to attend a number of workshops based on the theme of making disciples. The sessions covered: “Making Disciples While Preaching the Gospel,” “Getting Personal—as Disciples of Christ” women’s workshop, “Delivering Relevant Messages,” “Retirement Planning for Full-Time Ministers and Wives,” “The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment,” “Elements for a Happy and Contented Congregation” and “Growing Kids God’s Way.”

Mike Bennett

-end-

© 2009 United Church of God, an International Association

by Beyond Today host Gary Petty

What would make you truly happy—a new car, a new job, a different husband or wife, more money, or to be better-looking?

Or maybe you’re a young person and your definition of happiness is to find a special someone, get married and have a family. Maybe your definition of happiness is to become a doctor and help others or perhaps you want to be an entrepreneur and be your own boss.

Now imagine what it would be like to have everything you think would make you happy—and then to suddenly lose it all. That’s exactly what happened to Viktor Frankl.

Viktor Frankl was one of Austria’s most promising and well-known neurologists and psychiatrists in the 1930s. He was highly successful, happily married and admired by his colleagues.

One day his entire life came crashing down as he and his wife found themselves forced from their home, robbed of everything they owned and crammed into a boxcar bound for a German concentration camp. There Frankl was separated from his wife—whom he would never see again—was stripped of his clothes and had all the hair of his body shaved off.

Viktor Frankl would spend the next few years living in indescribable horror. He slept with nine other men in a bed only 6½ to 8 feet wide with no mattress and only two blankets. He received so little food that his body looked like a skeleton with skin. He endured beatings from SS guards and fellow prisoners. He watched countless people suffer and die.

Yet in the midst of the most unbelievable hell on earth, Viktor Frankl claimed to find the important keys to happiness.

What is happiness?

What is your definition of happiness? Be honest with yourself and see if any of these sentences describe your approach to life.

• You constantly suffer from feelings of anger and bitterness toward others and life in general.

• You’re always struggling with perfectionism and feelings of never measuring up.

• You see other people as barriers to your happiness.

• You measure happiness by what you own or how much money you have.

• You are obsessed with your appearance, clothing, jewelry, makeup and body shape.

• You suffer from excessive shyness.

• You have difficulty experiencing meaningful relationships with others.

• You feel stressed much of the time and can’t relax when you’re not busy.

• You are in constant conflict with others and always trying to bend everyone else to your will; you feel that you are right in almost all situations.

• You have a preoccupation with sex outside of marriage.

• You find yourself always comparing yourself with others and judging others by your personal criteria.

• You experience an inability to trust God or even believe that He exists.

If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms much of the time, you have to admit you aren’t very happy.

Happiness is an approach to life

Viktor Frankl arrived at some profound conclusions resulting from his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. He concluded that the more a person tried to be happy, the unhappier he or she became.

Instead of trying to be happy, we should be thinking more in terms of becoming spiritually, mentally, socially and physically healthy. This moves us away from becoming increasingly self-centered, and we can begin to understand that there are principles to happiness we can learn.

At this point you may be saying, “But this isn’t what I need to be happy; I need a new girlfriend”—or “a new boss” or “more money!”

It’s true that other people, places or things can give us temporary happiness. It’s also true that other people, or lack of health or deprivation of basic human needs can cause us to suffer and feel unhappy. But if that’s all there is to life, then all of us are no more than victims of our environment—jerked back and forth between good times and bad with no control of how we think or feel. Ultimately, happiness is a product of how we think.

Happiness is more a product of attitude than situations. A positive attitude looks for the good, even in the most difficult of situations, while a negative attitude always sees the bad.

Steps on the journey of life

Happiness isn’t a destination. It’s not as if one day you discover it and it never goes away. It is part of the journey of life. If happiness is a way of thinking, then maybe it’s time for some mind surgery. Here are four steps to take every day to help you along the journey of happiness:

1. Take responsibility for your life. We can never be mentally, emotionally or spiritually healthy until we are willing to take responsibility for our own actions, thoughts and emotions. Happiness isn’t found by concentrating on yourself—it is discovered in objective truth, not in basing right and wrong on your immediate feelings.

It is discovered in relating to other people. It is discovered in work that uses your talents. It is ultimately discovered in a relationship with your Creator.

2. Learn to control your thoughts. The more a person fills his or her mind with negative thoughts, the unhappier that person will become. Many people waste their entire lives feeling controlled by hurt, hatred, feelings of being a victim, and other negative emotions. We can’t always control our environment or what happens to us. We can’t even always control how we feel, but we can control what we choose to think about.

3. Learn to be thankful. We can either concentrate on what we don’t have or be thankful for what we do have. If we concentrate on what we don’t have, we doom ourselves to frustration and unhappiness. Victor Frankl, for example, wrote of finding beauty in the midst of the oppressive bleakness of Auschwitz in a sunset or flower.

There’s an old story of an immigrant to America who arrived at Ellis Island, the port of entry in New York, with nothing more than the shirt on his back. He worked hard and eventually had a small business and a nice house, living in relative comfort. He even managed to help his son graduate from college with an MBA.

When the son returned from college he looked at his father’s books. The son complained, “How do you even know what is your profit?”

The father replied, “I first take out the cost of the shirt I had on my back when I arrived in this country. Everything else is profit.”

How different would your life be if the last things you thought about before going to sleep and first things you thought about when you woke up were all the good things in your life instead of the negative?

4. Ask God to reveal His plan for you. God has created you for a purpose. He wants you to be His child. He wants you to be happy. And He has a marvelous future planned for you if you want it and are willing to accept it.

Change is never easy, but it can be exciting. If you are going to discover and respond to the Creator’s purpose for your life, you are going to have to make some radical changes in thinking. It will take effort and dedication, but the rewards are worth it on the journey of life! GN

It was announced yesterday that Thornton New Energy has been granted the UK’s first licence from the Coal Authority to use a process called underground coal gasification. Steve Walters, a director of Aberdeen-based Thornton New Energy, a subsidiary of BCG Energy, said that producing electricity from gas generated underground from coal allowed it to be processed so that CO2 could be removed, ensuring very low emissions.

Thornton plans to drill into massive untapped seams under Fife and the Firth of Forth and convert coal into combustible gas while it is still underground. The article goes on to explain that the gas can then be used for electricity generation, industrial heating and even the manufacture of hydrogen or ultra clean diesel fuel. So, it’s ‘business as usual’, as usual!

What is UCG?
The article doesn’t explain exactly what underground coal gasification (UCG) is, but a nice wee diagram on BCG’s website shows something called an ‘ignition well’. Hmmm, let’s Google.

Wikipedia is a bit more enlightening, explaining that  “the coal seam is ignited…and burns at temperatures as high as 1,500 K” – that’s almost 1,220 C or 2,240 F – a bit toasty! But we shouldn’t worry as “coal can only burn in the presence of air, and UCG is completely sealed from the surface by the geological strata above and interruption of the air/oxygen supply will stop the process completely. In short, there is no possibility that uncontrolled fire could arise with modern UCG technology”. Oh well, that’s OK then.

So, we are now resorting to setting fire to coal as it lies beneath the ground. Is this better than opencast coal mining – we just can’t decide! But it does demonstrate our complete inability to face up to the idea of weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels. BCG’s website also trumpets 300 years of clean and secure energy from UCG. What they think the world will be like in 300 years they don’t say.

The old CCS chestnut
You may think SANC is being unnecessarily sceptical about this new technology, but here’s the rub. UCG is only clean if combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS), and even then its cleanliness is open to debate. Yes folks, it’s another clean coal story which relies on an unproven technology.

In 2004, the Tyndall Centre conducted research into public perceptions of UCG and one of the conclusions was that UCG “should only be considered in combination with carbon capture & storage” and given that CCS is not a ready-to-use technology, UCG “should be viewed primarily as a potential back-stop technology.” Obviously things have moved on since 2004, i.e. we’ve dithered and swithered over truly clean energy technologies and policies and are now returning to coal – with a vengeance.

As with all other ‘clean’ coal technologies, what if CCS never proves itself? Well, we can worry about that later – or can we? The amount of media coverage on new coal in Scotland, such as calls for new deep mining, is extremely worrying to environmental groups like SANC, who are working hard on retaining any belief that Scotland’s climate bill is worth the paper it’s written on. So much talk of targets and so little action on change.

Against everything?
Well, SANC, what do you want – coal or nuclear? We want neither. We want real change. We want decentralised, localised, renewable energy systems which supply a much-reduced energy demand. But while the current administration says it’s against new nuclear power, it’s worth noting that Scottish & Southern Energy and Iberdrola, the Spanish energy company that owns Scottish Power, said on 20 January 2009 that they had formed a joint venture “to secure sites suitable for nuclear power stations”. They will be submitting joint bids for land at three locations owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority thought to be suitable for new reactor development: Wylfa in Wales, Oldbury in Gloucestershire and Bradwell in Essex. Will Hunterston be next in line if we have a change of Government or if the current Government has a change of heart? Only time will tell and if you believe the climate science, we really don’t have much of that left.

Someone had a great idea. Take the most famous Orchestras in the world and have a worldwide competition of musicians on YouTube, where people vote for the musicians who should play a finale at Carnegie Hall.

http://www.youtube.com/symphony