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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, APRIL 29, 1983
PAGE 5
We hope these encouraging trends continue throughout 1983 as Christ directs
and blesses His Work in this part of the world.
Activities in Asia During March, Mr. Mohan Jayasekera, our minister in Sri
Lanka, completed a very productive trip in southern India. Mr. Jayasekera
visited 24 new people who had requested personal contact with the Church,
and he baptized three people. We now have a total of 92 members in India,
served by Mr. Spaulding Kulasingam in the northern states, and by Mr.
Jayasekera in the south. PLAIN TRUTH circulation in this vast country is
currently 11,365.
In the latter half of March, Mr. Colin Kelly visited India, Sri Lanka and
Malaysia accompanied by our head accountant, Mr. Robert Kelly. The purpose
of their trip was to secure Feast sites in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, meet with
Mr. Kulasingam and Mr. Jayasekera, and have financial meetings with the
Church's new auditors in India. In addition, Mr. Colin Kelly visited with
several new people in Malaysia. He said that the trip was very successful,
and reflected the strong interest in God's Work being shown by people
throughout Asia.
Re � ort From U.K./Eire PLAIN TRUTH subscriber circulation is now at 91,800
which is 38% over the same period in 1982. This is the highest level we
have ever achieved while renewing on a monthly basis. Circulation was
boosted to this level at the end of 1982 and early 1983 by responses coming
in from ads in TIME and NEWSWEEK, and has been sustained by a steady two
percent response to our blow-in subscription cards. Perhaps better news
still is that newsstand response is running between 3.5% and 3.8% from our
programme in London and Birmingham.
We believe these high response rates have been caused by the change in the
size of the magazine from 32 to 48 pages along with the distribution policy
of not oversupplying our outlets. By doing this we avoid wastage and also
encourage readers to write in for a subscription. We are indebted to God's
Work in Canada for supplying our newsstand copies starting with the April
issue, considerably relieving pressure on the U.K. budget. In the near
future we plan to open up Manchester as our third city for PLAIN TRUTH
distribution.
Attendance at both the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread holy days
was up three percent over last year, and offerings increased 19% and 17%
respectively.
In Scandinavia, attendance at the Passover was up nine percent. For the
first time in perhaps hundreds of years, the Passover was kept by members of
God's Church in Finland at Helsinki. Mr. Tony Goudie and his wife flew
across for the Passover ceremony and the first day of Unleavened Bread.
Throughout Scandinavia attendance on the holy days was up 18% and 35%
respectively, with offerings increasing overall by 25%.
Seventeen people kept the Passover in Malta this year and then gathered for
the Night to be Much Observed and the first day of Unleavened Bread. Again
this year there will be a Feast of Tabernacles site in Malta with many
visiting from abroad.
East/West Africa Subscriber circulation in Africa has now risen to 38,000
after being held down for some time at 30,000 for budgetary reasons. There