Dear Friends,

One of our staff members is a faithful reader of Ann Landers. Recently the well known columnist was asked decisive questions concerning subjects very close to the heart, spiritually. The topics are of great interest to this ministry and therefore to you, the ministry’s owners.

Bear in mind as you read the following two columns that Ann Landers probably reaches almost every home in the country and has a daily influence far greater than any religious television program, certainly including ours.

Here are the two columns I wanted to call to your attention:

Dear Ann Landers: I would like to comment on the letter from the person who criticized you for “pushing God in your column.” He said you were not respectful of the rights of atheists and agnostics.

I am an agnostic who is frank to admit that I am deeply envious of the true believers who view God as a personal friend. I have searched for such a relationship for many years and never found it.

I hoped I would find God before I needed him. It didn’t happen. I sometimes wonder if this void in my life is really the biblical hell. The alienation and aloneness I feel are indescribable.

So, dear Ann, please keep plugging God in your column. If you can help someone find Him you will have done a beautiful thing.—D.C.C. In Buffalo, N.Y.

Dear D.C.C.: Are you open to just one suggestion? Look in the phone book and call a Unitarian clergyman. Make an appointment and take this column with you. Let me know what happens. I am betting you will make the connection you have been searching for.

Dear Ann Landers: Can a person who was born of Jewish parents become gentile if he would rather not be Jewish?

This subject was discussed by some highly intelligent people at a dinner party the other night and there were convincing arguments on both sides. What are your views on this subject?—The T’s in Madison, Wis.

Dear T’s: To be born a Jew is to become a member of a worldwide constituency whose roots go back 5,000 years. One’s ethnic makeup can neither be chosen nor changed.

A Jew who wishes to disassociate himself from Judaism and take up Catholicism, Christian Science or Confucianism, for example, is still a Jew by heritage. No amount of disavowing will transform him into a gentile.

Too bad these people can’t be something else because they certainly are no credit to the race. Unfortunately, we are stuck with them because the blood of our common ancestors flows in their veins.

Let me resist the desire to comment on either of the above until I hear some of your opinions. I think you can easily surmise what I would say in both cases but I would like to survey our viewers before sounding off. I’m not here to tell you what to think but I’m very interested in knowing what you think.

Our financial position is good right now and I am delighted to report that folks everywhere love the Seven Feasts programs and are giving generously in support of them. Please accept my thanks for helping out.

Please know that I only ask for funds when we need them. We received some comments on the fact that I asked for money in one letter and then stated that our recent fin­ancial statement covering the past two years was very good. Please understand that our operations over a long period, like two years, can be very good overall but there can be many times of difficulty throughout the period. I know you are tired of hearing crisis stories from the big ministries and so am I. You deserve a clear understanding as to what this ministry’s needs are and how you can best further the work toward the Kingdom in general. Please know that you can trust me for an accurate report of where we stand.

Our needs are not desperate right now and the new programs are doing a good job. As the year’s end comes on, you enjoy a greater tax advantage with contributions to non-profit organizations. We look forward to your help in the upcoming two months. I’m thinking of another series of programs to be made on location in Israel if we can possibly get the funds.

We are enclosing our last Christmas brochure for this year. Again, I hope you will make use of our materials in your shopping for the holiday season. This helps us very much not only financially but in getting out our message. We’ve already had a wonderful response to the brochure this season and we are gratified by that. The three items on the cover make especially appropriate and inspirational Christmas gifts.

Thanks again for your help, constant prayers and encouragement.

Your messenger,