Lake Brownwood State Park, 

Brownwood, Texas

Feast of Tabernacles 2019

Lake Brownwood State Park, Brownwood, TX    September 15 - 22, 2019

Site Summary

Howdy, Y'all! We welcome you to join us for the Feast of Tabernacles at Lake Brownwood State Park, located just outside of Brownwood, Texas.

Location of Services

Services will be held at the state park's Group Hall with Kitchen (a.k.a. Dining Hall). 

NOTE: The screened-in dining hall does not have air-conditioning, but it has a portable evaporation cooler and ceiling fans. The hall has a kitchen and an outdoor grill. Restrooms are in the nearby bath house. No pets are allowed inside the Group Hall.

Services will be comparable to traditional Churches of God; (i.e. sing a couple of hymns, have an opening and closing prayer, maybe some special music or scripture reading.) But our main focus will be on the meaty messages. Our services will be structured, but it will not be a "stuffed-shirt", hierarchical atmosphere.

Services will be recorded each day. We respectfully ask that the messages be presented, in full, without interruption from the audience. If you have any questions about what is being said, we ask that they be written down and asked after services or at a Bible study. We also ask that any crying, loud or disruptive children be taken outside until they quiet down. This is also asked to be done out of respect for the other festival attendees who may not be able to hear what the speakers are saying over the noise. Cell phones and other electronics will be permitted. We just ask that all devices be silenced during services.

SIDE NOTE: Cell phone service and internet network signals are touch and go throughout the state park. But there ARE designated areas with wifi. You will need to ask a state park representative for specific details and locations.

The attire for our services is casual to fancy. We will leave that decision up to you. 

NOTE: Due to the much warmer temperatures in Texas and the open air/screened-in meeting hall, our services will begin at 10:00 am, each day. Please keep that in mind when choosing clothes for our services. Shorts, sandals, flip flops and sun dresses are welcome. We just ask that you dress modestly and respectfully, in accordance with a church environment.

Accommodations

Camping & Cabins:

• Campsites: You can choose from water-only tent sites and sites with water and electricity. They also have 20 full hookup sites and 10 screened shelters.
• Cabins & Lodges: Reserve a two-person cabin, a four-person cabin, or go big and rent out a lodge. Lodges hold from four to 26 people. (Some cabins and lodges have views of the lake.) Photos of cabins and lodges
  

SIDE NOTE: Cabins, lodges and camp sites do NOT have televisions and/or wifi. So if you are an introvert or if you have device-addicted children, you might want to plan ahead and preload your devices with things to keep you entertained.

You can make reservations to stay in the cabins & lodges beginning on Monday, April 15, 2019. To make reservations or if you have any questions, please contact the Lake Brownwood State Park Reservations Desk, Monday through Wednesday (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or Thursday and Friday (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at (512) 389-8900.

Hotels & Other Lodging Options:

• If you prefer to stay in hotel/motel/B&B accommodations, the city of Brownwood, TX is about 30 minutes from the state park. (It will be up to you to make your own reservations with the place of your choosing.) 
   

Service Opportunities

To be announced - as needed.

Registration and Contact Information

Please email us and let us know if you're planning to feast with us this year. We want to make sure that we have everything that we might need on our end, to accommodate all of our fellow feast goers. Just send us your name, address, a total headcount for your group and contact number. E-mail us at: thewildernesscog@gmail.com  (The Wilderness Church of God)

Also note that a daily entry fee of $5.00 per person is also charged when entering or staying at a Texas state park. But there is an option to buy an annual state park pass for your family vehicle, for $70.00. The vehicle pass will cover everyone with you, up to 14 people.

More information or to purchase an annual pass

Feast Schedule

About Our Speakers:

• The two men that have organized and will be leading our Feast of Tabernacles are Tim West and Adam Vestal. We plan to have other speakers that might give a sermonette or lead a bible study, as well. Their names and speaking slots have yet to be announced.
• Tim came into a knowledge of the truth back in 1990. He moved from Nevada to Texas and was baptized in 1994. In 2009, he was asked by the head of his church to begin preaching. He is a seasoned speaker who is comfortable in front of larger groups. Along with his ministerial position, Tim has also conducted multiple funeral services and has plans to perform his first wedding ceremony next month. Over the years, Tim has given many messages. After the head pastor's passing and the church he belonged to was dissolved, he continued to study and work on messages. Some of which he plans to share at our feast. 
• Adam was called into the truth in 1998 and baptized in 1999. He relocated from Nebraska to Texas for the sole purpose of being a part of his church's ministry. Unlike Tim, Adam worked behind the scenes at church. And although he never stood in front of the congregation, he played a big role in getting the word out. He was in charge of the video production, editing and television advertising for his church's ministry. He was the only one that was ever credited for increasing that ministry's outreach program tenfold, with the commercials that he produced for their television spots. Over the years, Adam has put together several studies-turned-sermons, and he is looking forward to sharing them at our feast.
  

Activities and Events:

We plan to have several group activities during our feast, because we'd like to give everyone many opportunities to get to know each other better. Tentatively, along with Bible studies and potluck meals, we'd love to have a get acquainted night, a group game day, a nature-based scavenger hunt, a campfire cook-out and some group water recreational activities like swimming and fishing. We also plan to organize a couple of group outings to Brownwood for some extra feast fun.

(NOTE: For more accurately planned activities, please be sure to register with the total headcount of your group so we can be sure there is enough fun stuff for everyone.)

This Feast site sponsored by:  The Wilderness Church of God

About Our Group:

• Right off the bat, you should know that this will be our group's inaugural Feast of Tabernacles. This is FAR from our first feast, but it's the first year we've collectively decided to do one of our own. Many of our members have been "in the wilderness", without a shepherd or a large church congregation to meet with, for over 10 years. We were scattered sheep, doing everything we could to stay close to God's will, while we were out on our own. About 10 years ago, our group began meeting together on a weekly basis. Each year, we visit this site to find a group to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with. We have tossed around the idea of hosting our own feast for a few years now. And this year, due to the differences in our calendar versus most of the other groups on this site, we felt that we had no other choice but to move forward with hosting our own feast.
• We are a small, home church group, but most of us have been brethren for about 25 years or longer. Some of us grew up in WCG or one of its offshoot groups. Others came into the church later in life. But a majority of us come from a background in a church that taught world news in the light of bible prophecy. So along with deep scriptural studies, you will also find that there is an emphasis on world news and politics in our group.
• Other Important Information About Our Group: We say Jesus Christ is our Lord & Savior. We pray in His name and often end our prayers with "in Jesus' name we pray...Amen." We don't have a problem if you choose to refer to Him by other names. We just ask that if YOU have a problem with others referring to our Lord as Jesus Christ, that you will keep those opinions to yourself during our feast.
• Our new year/new month/calendar determinations are based upon the sun, the moon, AND the stars, as well as other earthly signs--such as agricultural and animal life signs. We realize that the calendar can be a very touchy subject among many of the brethren, and we feel that it is not our place to condemn anyone for keeping the holy days on schedules that differ from ours. If you are keeping the feasts and holy days in accordance with the understanding you have gained from your studies, then we feel your calendar convictions are between you and God.
• Our Sabbath begins every Friday night, at sundown and continues through Saturday night, at sundown. We do not conduct any sort of business during the Sabbath; no working for an income, buying or selling. Therefore, we do not go out to eat during the Sabbath. But we do not have a problem with cooking meals for your household or preparing food for a potluck meal on the Sabbath. If you choose not to cook, or if cooking is burdensome (takes away from your peace or ruins the Sabbath for you), then we will leave the decision to cook (or not cook) up to you.
• As with most churches of God and Worldwide offshoots, we obey the laws of clean and unclean meats that are stated in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 of the Bible. We request that, if YOU do not follow these laws, you will at least be respectful to our beliefs, and only bring foods that are considered clean to any potluck meals that we might have during our Feast of Tabernacles. If you are unsure of what is acceptable to bring, you can ask one of the festival coordinators before a planned pot luck. 
• NO ONE in our group is perfect! We are a group of sinners who are striving daily towards eternity in the Kingdom of God. We are imperfect, down to earth, honest and REAL people. So please be aware of the fact that there will be people at our feast who drink, smoke and might occasionally have a swear word slip off the tongue. However, we do ask that everyone will please be mindful of their language and topic of conversations at our feast site, out of respect of others. Please refrain from immoral conversations, gossip and speaking evil of others, in general. *SIDE NOTE: We feel that NO ONE, at any time, should take God's name in vain; (i.e., cursing with God or Jesus' names.) If anyone does this, the matter will be addressed immediately and the person will be asked to apologize. There should be zero tolerance for that in a commandment-keeping, kingdom-striving, Christ-centered group.