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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, AUGU ST 30, 1985
This principle would also apply to women who are breast-feeding children.
Most mothers do not find it difficult to breast-feed while fasting.
A
mother's milk may become depleted toward the end of the day, but will return
when she resumes eating normal meals. Mothers should prepare for the fast
by making sure they eat nutritiously the day before, not skipping any
meals. However, a few mothers find that they are barely able to produce
enough milk even on days when they are eating and drinking normally. Their
milk production might cease if they were to completely fast. In such cases,
water is all that is usually necessary to continue milk production while
abstaining from solid food for a day. The need to take liquids should be a
real one and not an excuse to avoid a complete fast.
The ministry should counsel privately with those individuals having special
needs, emphasizing the fact that the Day of Atonement is a fast day. It
should also be emphasized that the individual should carefully consider his
or her motives and attitude to be sure they are pleasing in God's sight,
because God looks on the heart. But let the individual know it is possible,
in some cases, to take a little nourishment on Atonement and still keep it
as a day of affliction in God's sight.
The ministry should not tell any members with serious health problems what
they should or ·should not do on Atonement. Each member must make his or her
own decision in the matter. Any questions having to do with health should
be directed to a licensed MD. The ministry should simply teach the meaning
of this festival while realizing there may be a few rare exceptions where a
small amount of liquid nourishment would be proper in God's sight. This is
in keeping with Christ's statement in the latter part of Matthew 23:23.
International News
From Mr. Dibar Apartian We have much good news in the July report from the
French-speaking areas of God's Work!
• La PURE VERIT E subscription list reached an all-time high with 174,047
subscribers, up 34% over July 1984.
• "White mail" January through July totaled 31,750 letters, up 46% over
the same period last year.
• Regular mail for the year to date has increased 45.5% with 62,143
pieces of mail received.
• Outgoing mail through July rose to 331,934 items, not counting the PV,
an increase of 62% over 1984. (The above mail figures do not include
French Canada.}
• The French GOOD NEWS, including French Canada, shot up to 24,191 sub
scribers, an increase of 120.8%. We have had a very encouraging 34%
response from .PV subscribers who received offers to subscribe to the
French GN.
• Members, including French Canada, now total 1,432, up 7.6% over 1984.
•