Becoming a Sister Church

(Note:  Mr. Marvin Talbott died suddenly in 1996)

From Marvin Talbott (mtalbott@itg.ti.com)
To: Mr. Victor Kubik
October 15, 1995

Sir,

About five years ago our family had the opportunity to attend The Feast of Tabernacles in Uruguay. There were several dozen international visitors (like ourselves) and just under 200 South American brethren from Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and several other nearby countries. It was one of the most inspiring feasts we have attended in the 27 years we’ve been observing God’s Feasts. Much was made of the historic aspect of being the first ever Feast of Tabernacles to be celebrated in the nation of Uruguay, and looking forward to a time when it would be celebrated in all nations. We learned many personal lessons on this trip; for example, we had been praying for God’s work around the world for years - but it was distant and remote, the faceless masses that we didn’t really personally identify with. One week living with God’s people in a third world setting changed that forever. Even though very few of the local brethren could speak English, and few of us could speak Spanish, many friendships quickly developed. We enjoyed attending their talent show, we played volleyball, walked the beaches with them, and enjoyed dining together. Friendships came naturally, and easily - it was a wonderful environment where God’s spirit was evident in all that was done.

We had arrived with our suitcases bulging with used clothing. The local minister had requested that we bring some with us for the local brethren. Once there, we learned just how desperate the need was. Prior attempts to ship in help from the states on a more massive scale had not worked well. Due to realities of dealing with this world’s systems, duties and fees (both legal and otherwise) imposed by this world’s tax \collectors result in effectively taxing away any gifts sent by well meaning benefactors from abroad.

Our accommodations were luxurious; even by US standards - but none of the local brethren were staying with us; they had their own accommodations several blocks away. We were shocked to hear that they were staying in communal quarters, bunked down in a barracks style Quonset hut. We spoke to the minister, not feeling it right that we should be housed in such luxury while they were given such common housing accommodations. He explained that they were very grateful for the housing accommodations they had, which in many cases was the best they had ever had the privilege of staying in. He further explained that the only way they were given their quarters was through a package real-estate deal in which "the rich Americans" rented the luxury suites, so they could have their housing subsidized! It was a lesson in understanding the blessings God has poured out on America that we can never forget. We remember the gratitude in the eyes of the mother, pregnant with a seventh child, when we gave her our left over cooking supplies (half a bag of flour, several cups of cooking oil, some salt, pepper, sugar, a half pound of butter, etc.) - it still drives home the reality of the need for God’s Kingdom here and now!

That winter, once back in the physical abundance of our home community, we thought long and hard about what we saw, what we had learned, and those "real-live" brethren (in those days the slogan was "WE ARE FAMILY"). We prayed as never before for God’s work around the world, and his Kingdom - and we pondered how could we help. The next year a family in a neighboring church area transferred to Uruguay, so we loaded them up with all they could carry to deliver to our brothers down there. We began to formulate an idea centering around the idea of establishing "sister church" relationships. Building on the strength of the stronger to help the weaker, it seemed only natural to align domestic US churches with areas overseas that needed help. A centralized Headquarters (or Home) Office is obviously serving that role to some degree - but as we have all observed in our own lives, the personalized nature of identifiable one-on-one contact is far more powerful because it is more personal, more flexible, more timely, more individually tailored to specific needs, and far more satisfying than impersonal group bureaucratic efforts ever can be. We thought that the ministers could visit back and forth (such as when the field ministers came to the US for conferences and training. pen pals could be established between the congregations. Some members could plan on attending the Feast with the sister church, sharing gifts, photos stories, etc. As the congregations had more and more contact, special projects could be started and mutual help and benefit to all might ensue. As a concept it seemed the natural Christian thing to do, but there wasn’t much encouragement for input of ideas from the trenches, and it never developed beyond our local idea stage.

Today, in the aftermath of this year’s unique events, we are struck by the similar disparity in resources from one church area to another, but not just from US to third world nations! Some areas have multiple churches in a single metropolitan area virtually in-tact, with hundreds and hundreds of solid Christian households, able, willing and eager to assist others. Other areas have had their infrastructure shattered by recent events, and the few remaining families are struggling to form into viable congregations. Nationally, and internationally the home office is fully consumed endeavoring to assemble the resources to establish and maintain the work as we knew it, with media outreach to the world, literature, a training facility for the ministry, etc. How vulnerable are the weaker "congregations" in the meantime, until the infrastructure is re-established and rooted again, everywhere?

It seems to us that a concept of adopting "sister churches" could be of some value here. International partnerships would be fine, but there appears to even be a real need for many domestic helping hands as well, at this point. The resources we envision sharing might include some money, but that would be a very minor part of the total interchange, and it definitely shouldn’t be the emphasis. The focus we envision would primarily involve:

Some areas have more musical gifts than others and might supply special music numbers by audio, or even video tape. If one church needed a PA system and couldn’t afford it - perhaps its sister church might assist. How different that is - one on one, than an expensive national/international program where headquarters/home-office supplies every church with a standard issue PA system and spends hundreds of thousands of dollars! Another church might not need a PA system, but rather they might need a tape duplicator, or a piano, or a tape library, or used clothing, or toys, or - etc. On a broader scale, as an outsider visiting Seattle this Feast season, we were very impressed with the Feast Activity books they had made for the youth attending Whistler.

Geographically, God’s churches always worked with other churches in our local region. We’re used to having regional sporting events, some multi-congregation formal social occasions, regional work party opportunities to earn funds for local needs, etc. But in the modern age of telecommunications and the Internet, there should be opportunities to move beyond classical geographic limitations. It seems to us the real challenge here is to let two geographically distant areas work close enough to each other, one-on-one, that they really get to know each other. They recognize each other’s strengths, skills and needs. They assist, encourage, help and cheer each other on. Planned efforts are made to meet each other at Feasts. In some situations, when possible and the situation permits, perhaps there might be some common get togethers of deacons, and/or others to jointly plan and coordinate programs, as well as fellowship.

In summary, we identify and relate best to those we work with on a personal basis. While large remote institutional bureaucratic organizations are sometimes necessary to render effective, massive aid, history has clearly shown time and again that they can never substitute for individualized, personal care and attention. One of the beauties of God’s work has always been that his spirit works at the individual level, defying those that would control massive bureaucracies, to care for the individual’s needs. Some areas wouldn’t do much with such a program, while others might just "take-off", but hopefully it could help some, maybe even many.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Talbott

Dallas North
United Church of God

Hit Counter