Cartwright’s Journal out: Leon Sexton, FOT, AC Reunion, and Unitarianism

COGwriter

The latest issue (says #189, print date October-November 30 2016) of The Journal: News of the Churches of God was sent out electronically and just received.

There was information regarding King Bhumibol, Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2016, an Ambassador College reunion, and Unitarianism.

Legacy Institute’s Leon Sexton had a lot of information related to the late King of Thailand and the old Worldwide Church of God. Here is some of that:

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand died Oct. 13, 2016, in Siriraj Hospital from complications in his recovery from heart surgery. He was 88 and the longest- reigning monarch in the world. Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will ascend the throne …

Since 1971

Radio/Worldwide Church of God founder Herbert W. Armstrong met King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand for the first time in 1971. That was the same year I was discharged from the U.S. Navy and started as a freshman at Ambassador College in Pasadena, Calif. As I understand it, Mr. Armstrong met the king as a result of an audience arranged by a wealthy Bangkok hotel owner, Mrs. Sunirat Telan. The king and Mr. Armstrong saw in each other kindred spirits about how leaders should lead their people.

King Bhumibol was quite a philosopher and immediately grasped the concept of “give” and “get” (in Mr. Armstrong’s words) as ways of life. Mr. Armstrong later said there were no greater examples of righteous leadership in the world in his time than King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. …

I remember an audience Mr. Armstrong had with King Bhumibol in the early 1980s. Mr. Armstrong was telling the king that AC had only a small student body. He told the king that Ambassador was interested in teaching a quality way of life and not in just getting many students.

The king commented: “It is better to teach 10 the right way than teach 1,000 the wrong way. The 10 will then be able to teach hundreds the right way.

“The 1,000 perhaps can teach many more, but it will be the wrong way.”

The queen visits Pasadena in 1985

In March 1985 Queen Sirikit visited Ambassador College, where she attended several dinners in her honor presented by Mr. Armstrong and attended by state and national dignitaries. She was so moved by Mr. Armstrong’s hospitality and what she saw at Ambassador that she commented at the end of her visit, “I have just been to heaven.”

She then presented two items to Mr. Armstrong. One was a golden peacock encrusted in gems made by hill-tribe craftsmen to whom she had taught goldsmithing at one of her Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupation and Related Techniques (Support) training centers. The other was a decoration from the king of his cipher (a royal monogramlike device) in diamonds on a yellow ribbon.

When the ladies-inwaiting told me she would present the golden peacock to Mr. Armstrong, they were crying. It was so highly emotional for them because that peacock was the first one ever crafted and was the queen’s favorite object. It was symbolic of the highest aspirations of what she wanted to achieve in her foundation helping the poor and uneducated in Thailand. The special decoration from the king was one of the highest a non- Thai can receive. A sharing of values These presentations came about because the king and queen saw in Mr. Armstrong someone who shared their values and desire to work actively to help the poor, underprivileged and uneducated of the world.

Mr. Armstrong died in 1986. The visit by Queen Sirikit to Pasadena in 1985 was the last time Mr. Armstrong met either the king or the queen (who is still alive but in poor health). Now King Bhumibol, who became a good friend of Mr. Armstrong, rests, as does Mr. Armstrong, until they meet again in the resurrection.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn accepted the official invitation to be the king of Thailand in a ceremony on Thursday. Leon Sexton currently lives in Thailand.

The Journal had reports from various groups related to the Feast of Tabernacles in 2016. The Journal also ran a nearly full version of my article related to the Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites of the Continuing Church of God in 2016.

The Journal once again had an advertisement related to Living University of the Living Church of God. The headline had to do with “the two trees” (which former WCG members will recall was something that Herbert W. Armstrong often brought up).

There was also this item on the front page of The Journal:

By Bob Gerringer

ALTADENA, Calif.—Two weeks ago 16 of us met in Las Vegas at the Orleans Hotel to prepare for the March reunion. Other than Australian Garry de Jager, all committee members were there, plus some volunteers. …

I can’t say for sure, but there may not be another reunion, at least not of this scope. Assume that this is it, so you won’t kick yourself for missing this chance.

So far more than 1,200 former students have been contacted or contacted us.

For details go to ambassadorbigsandyalumni.com or E-mail jean@ acpasadenareunion.com.

Committee members are Barbara Church Bruce, Robin Connelly, Garry de Jager, Cledice Decker, Jean Ehlert Updegraff, Bob Gerringer, Eileen McKinley, Dick Mills, Vicki Norman, Carol Shamus and Tom Williams.

Although my wife Joyce and I never attended Ambassador College (and hence will not plan to go to the reunion), we were married on the Pasadena campus of the college. We visited it a few months ago, and Joyce took photographs. To see some of how it once looked and how it now looks, go to the following: Joyce’s Pictures of the Pasadena Campus of Ambassador College and the former Headquarters of the old Worldwide Church of God.

There was an article in The Journal encouraging Unitarians and Binitarians to get along. Overall, The Journal tends to be more sympathetic to promoting unitarian views than I think it should. More about the Godhead subjects are in the articles Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? and Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning. And the most recent sermon from the CCOG was: Trinity: Fundamental to Christianity or Something Else?

As far as The Journal goes, it also had the usual letters to the editor and other advertisements, various comments, and opinion articles. The advertisements mainly seem to be from possibly Laodicean groups and/or individuals (not all seem to be COG) who seem to think that the ads are somehow doing the work of God. More of the real work that the COGs should be doing are in the article The Final Phase of the Work.

The Journal itself is available by paid subscription (though Dixon Cartwright says some subscriptions are free to those who cannot afford it). It tends to have a non-Philadelphian approach to many, but not all, matters.



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