Behind the Work provides news of the Philadelphia Church of God—the organization that publishes this magazine—headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma. Here we discuss three other pcg projects: a series of personal appearance campaigns by Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry, excavations in Jerusalem in which Herbert W. Armstrong College students are currently participating, and the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation Performing Arts Series.
Publisher Speaks to Trumpet Readers
In 2006, Trumpet publisher and editor in chief Gerald Flurry launched a series of personal appearances for Trumpet readers. Themed “America In Crisis,” the lectures warn that “America and the entire world are staring blindly into the face of the same conditions which twice in the 20th century led to world war.” Since July, he has visited eight U.S. cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas and New York City.
When the campaigns move to a new city, invitations are sent to Trumpet readers, who can register for the event through a website or by calling toll-free. As of this writing, over 33,000 invitations have been sent out. Mr. Flurry then delivers a two-day conference in each city. Admission is free.
Public lectures were part of Herbert W. Armstrong’s “three-point plan,” a strategy that involved preaching God’s message through radio and television, publishing it via booklets and periodicals, and proclaiming the message personally via public campaigns.
College Students Volunteer in Jerusalem Excavation
In 2005, Israeli archeologist Eilat Mazar made what many in her field called “the find of the century”: She believes she has unearthed the palace of biblical King David. As we reported in the March 2006 Trumpet, she used information from the Bible itself to locate the site.
Realizing the importance of her find, Trumpet executive editor and Herbert W. Armstrong College President Stephen Flurry contacted Dr. Mazar, offering to send college students to help with the second phase of her excavations.
This offer was not unprecedented: Under Mr. Armstrong’s direction, Ambassador College formed a partnership with Hebrew University in 1968 to conduct archeological digs with Dr. Mazar’s grandfather, Dr. Benjamin Mazar. Mr. Armstrong called those digs “the most important archaeological excavation of our time.”
Nearly 40 years later, Dr. Mazar’s granddaughter enthusiastically accepted the college’s offer to work with her on this exciting project. In October 2006, three Armstrong College students joined the excavation team.
When announcing this project, Stephen Flurry wrote, “How incredible it is to think that as we work to revive Mr. Armstrong’s legacy and work, we might now have the opportunity to raise up the very stones of King David’s fallen palace.”
Concert Series Features World-Class Performers
In 1998, the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation (then the Philadelphia Foundation) began a small concert series in hopes that it would one day grow to be a grand series in the tradition of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation’s concert series founded by Mr. Armstrong, which showcased world-class performers from all over the world during the 1970s and ’80s.
This season, the Performing Arts Series concerts include Grammy-award-winning cellist and member of the Eroica Trio, Sara Sant’Ambrogio; musical comedian Peter Schickele, creator of P.D.Q. Bach; and the royal family of the Spanish guitar, the Romeros Quartet. Previous seasons have included concerts from the Eroica Trio, the Canadian Brass, the Vienna Choir Boys, the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet and other world-class performers.
The foundation has finished plans to build a new auditorium—a beautiful concert hall modeled after Ambassador Auditorium.