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GC President's Message — Welcome to Roanoke!

August 14, 2015
For nearly three weeks (August 25 through September 13, 2015), Roanoke will be the meeting place for representatives of our people around the world. The 22nd GC Delegation Session and public meetings will be held in this area.

Roanoke [rōɘ nōk] means: (US, historical) White beads … made from shells, formerly used for ornaments and currency by Native Americans of colonial Virginia. Origin, from Powhatan rawrenock (“things rubbed smooth by hand").

 

History of Roanoke

According to information given by the Virginian government, “The first pioneers explored the Roanoke Valley region as early as the 17th century. An exploration party's report in 1671 told of the ‘blue mountains and a snug flat valley beside the upper Roanoke River.’ For the next seventy years, after this initial exploration, the region remained undisturbed by settlers.

“As the land to the east of the mountains became developed, pioneers began moving into the western regions of Virginia. These early settlers from eastern Virginia were joined by people from Pennsylvania seeking new lands in the rich Shenandoah Valley. The newcomers began farming in the Roanoke Valley by 1740.

“As tradesmen and farmers moved into the region, new counties and communities were established. Botetourt County, VA was created in 1769, with the town of Fincastle as its seat. For a short period, the vast county stretched westward to the Mississippi River. Roanoke County, VA was separated from Botetourt County, VA in 1838. Craig County was formed in 1851 from Botetourt County, VA, Roanoke County, VA, Giles and Monroe Counties, with New Castle as its seat.

“Towns formed within what is now the city of Roanoke in the first decades of the 19th Century. Antwerp was subdivided in 1801 followed by Gainesborough in 1825 (the present Gainsboro neighborhood) and Old Lick in 1834. The Gainesborough settlement remained the most populous community until 1874 when the Town of Big Lick was chartered. This tiny village of less than five hundred people was to become the town of Roanoke in 1882 and in 1884, the city of Roanoke. The new town was located along the old Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad later to become the Norfolk and Western.

“The completion of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad from Hagerstown, MD, to its junction with the newly formed Norfolk & Western Railway in 1882, marked the start of Roanoke's rapid growth. The adjacent town of Vinton, VA was also incorporated at this time.

“The town of Salem, VA, established in 1806, became the county seat for Roanoke County, VA. Salem, VA was the largest town within the area during these formative years and was located on two stage lines. Salem, VA remained the major center of activity in the Roanoke area until the mid 1880's and then became an independent city in 1968.

“A geographic location west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and midway of the "great valley" between Maryland and Tennessee, has been the key to Roanoke's growth. A transportation center, the community has flourished as the one of the major hubs of the Norfolk Southern Corporation. Air passenger and freight needs are handled at the Roanoke Regional Airport. A network of fine modern highways has attracted numerous interstate motor freight lines to establish terminals.

The SDARM in Roanoke

The message of reformation arrived here when the GC Headquarters was transferred from Blackwood, New Jersey, to Roanoke, Virginia, in 1984. The GC headquarters building was finished and dedicated in 1995.

Since that time, the local church, besides the GC officers and their families, has reached new souls with the everlasting gospel, and we have a growing congregation.

The GC delegation session and public meetings from August 25 to September 13, 2015, will be historic “firsts” for the work of the Reform Movement in Roanoke.

 

We foresee joyful young people trying to communicate with each other in spite of being from different areas and speaking different languages. As we have seen in other similar meetings, the true language used in these convocations is Christian love.

This period of meetings will be a very special occasion for deep communion with the Lord and fellowship with our brethren.

Before we meet, we make a special appeal to our brethren around the world to dedicate these previous days to pray in a special way asking the Lord to bless His people with a double measure of His Holy Spirit so that our people can return to their country with new spiritual encouragement and grace to be ready for the soon coming of Jesus and to tell to others of the “great things the has done for them, and how He has had compassion on them.”

 

GC Building Project (GC Educational Center)

In July 2015, the GC building project began to be implemented after a long time spent with the documentation of the County Regulatory Commission. Our building project includes a chapel, offices for GC Departments, room for a missionary school, and a hall for evangelistic purposes such as cooking classes and so on.

We take advantage of this opportunity to ask you for special financial support toward this project. At this moment, the available money is enough only to establish the foundation of the building.

The fund raising experience of Moses for the building of the sanctuary in the desert gives valuable lessons and principles that must be implemented today.

 

Let us review those lessons and principles:

“The LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. Exodus 25:1, 2.

Everyone was invited to give an offering “willingly with his heart”. The New International Version puts it this way: “each man whose heart prompts him to give”.

“For the building of the sanctuary great and expensive preparations were necessary; a large amount of the most precious and costly material was required; yet the Lord accepted only freewill offerings. ‘Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take My offering’ was the divine command repeated by Moses to the congregation. Devotion to God and a spirit of sacrifice were the first requisites in preparing a dwelling place for the Most High.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 343 (emphasis supplied).

 

Liberality of the people

“All the people responded with one accord. They came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all His service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willinghearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord. 

“And every man with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, brought them. Everyone that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord's offering: and every man, with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. 

 

“And all the women that were wisehearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair.   

“And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and the spice, and the oil; for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense” (Exodus 35:23-28, RV).   

 

While the building of the sanctuary was in progress the people, old and young—men, women, and children—continued to bring their offerings, until those in charge of the work found that they had enough, and even more than could be used. And Moses caused to be proclaimed throughout the camp, ‘Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.’ The murmurings of the Israelites and the visitations of God's judgments because of their sins are recorded as a warning to after-generations. And their devotion, their zeal and liberality, are an example worthy of imitation. All who love the worship of God and prize the blessing of His sacred presence will manifest the same spirit of sacrifice in preparing a house where He may meet with them. They will desire to bring to the Lord an offering of the very best that they possess. A house built for God should not be left in debt, for He is thereby dishonored. An amount sufficient to accomplish the work should be freely given, that the workmen may be able to say, as did the builders of the tabernacle, ‘Bring no more offerings.’ ”—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 343-347.

 

As the building project is going on, we will inform our readers with pictures and written reports so that all will be aware of the progress.

As soon as we have enough resources for the completing of the project, we will be more than happy to say like Moses: “Bring no more offerings.”

 

We hope to see you in Roanoke very soon! God bless you.