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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JUNE 28, 1985
PAGE 3
Circulation of La BONNE NOUVELLE DU MONDE A VENIR, the French GOOD NEWS, is
currently 18,887, up 72.5% over last year. We expect circulation to short
ly surpass the 20,000 mark.
Presently, we have 3,919 donors--up 29.8%--having added 1,105 new donors
year-to-date. Co-workers total 2,062, 527 of whom were added this year.
Part of the increase in donors and co-workers may be attributed to the im
proved reporting by various regional offices in conjunction with our new
receipt system.
Our total membership is 1,423, up 7.6%: while the number of prospective
members is 193, up 62%. Total income through April 1985 is up 9.1% over
1984, counting France, Switzerland, French Canada, Guadeloupe, Martinique
and Belgium.
Mr. Bernard Andrist left Geneva on May 28 to visit Cameroon and Zaire, two
of the twenty-three French-speaking African countries. We currently have
60 members in Cameroon and 31 in Zaire. In Cameroon Mr. Andrist has so far
met 55 people in Yaounde and 35 at Makak. Unfortunately, we are still hav
ing difficulties in Cameroon (where services have been suspended for over a
year) getting authorization to allow our brethren to assemble on the Sab
bath. We used to have three churches meeting regularly--Yaounde, Makak and
Douala.
We have just mailed 140,000 direct mail packets from the United Kingdom to
addresses in �ranee. Similar types of direct mail packets have worked well
for us in Quebec. This is our first direct mail effort in French Europe.
Finally, we are happy to announce that Joel Meeker--1984-85 Student Body
President at Ambassador College in Pasadena--has been hired as a full-time
ministerial trainee to serve in the region of Alsace Lorraine, France, un
der Mr. Olivier Carion. Unfortunately, we couldn't give Mr. Meeker a year
off to spend time with his new bride, Marjolaine, who worked in the French
Department while attending college!
From Mr. Carn Catherwood The incoming mail figure of 10,537 pieces for the
month of May nearly equalled the record set in the Italian Department in
December, 1984 (11,082). May incoming mail was up 113% over the previous
May and the year-to-date increase over the same period last year is 28%.
Even with this very good figure, we have seen only the beginning of a surge
of responses resulting from Mr. Armstrong's semi-annual letter and three
ads, one of them in READER'S DIGEST.
Nineteen prospective members were visited on a seven-day tour conducted by
Mr. Mike Caputo around the spring Holy Day season. As has been the trend in
past tours, there was lively interest shown in the Church and its teach
ings, with several of those visited well on their way toward baptism.
Mr. Caputo and his family will be moving to Rome near the end of July. They
have been in Pasadena for the spring college semester, where Mr. Caputo
worked in the Ita�ian Department and was a full-time student. Having spent
two years at Ambassador College in the mid 1970s, he now has non-graduating
senior status. With Rome as home base, he will be serving the brethren and
prospective members throughout Italy.
Also moving to Rome is Mr. Carmelo Anastasi, an Italian citizen who at
tended Ambassador College for one year and now serves the department from