November - December 1999 The Sabbath Sentinel
Royce Mitchell, Jr.
The Sabbath Sentinel Editor
Royce Eugene Mitchell, Jr., has been set by the Board of
Directors to be the Editor for The Sabbath
Sentinel (TSS). Having been elected to the
Board of the Bible Sabbath Association in the 1999
elections, he also agreed to remain in service to the
Board by continuing in the Editor's position.
Royce first came into contact with God's Sabbath as a
youth in the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). It was there
that the "Sisters" taught him how to find the commandments
of God in Exodus 20. Finding the command to keep the
Sabbath holy, he questioned why the RCC did not keep the
Sabbath as commanded. The answer did not satisfy the young
man, who responded, "Who is this pope that he can change
the law of God?" Before long, he was no longer an altar
boy!
The incident was forgotten until years later when God
began to open his mind to the truth about His
Sabbaths. The calling was done through the work done by
Herbert Armstrong. While in the Worldwide Church of God
(WCG), Royce continued to study and to meditate on the
meanings of the Laws and other Commands of God.
In 1995, as the WCG, under direction of the Tkachs, made
known its descent into heresy by rejecting God's Sabbaths,
Royce and his wife Susie, made the decision to leave the
WCG and to begin attending with the United Church of God,
an International Association (UCG). They still attend UCG
in the Houston South Congregation.
In the spring of 1998, Royce was made aware of
TSS through the auspices of our
recently elected Recording Secretary, and Board Member,
June Harrison. June encouraged Royce to begin writing
again, something which he had not done since college. In
the WCG, the brethren were not encouraged to use those
types of talents unless specifically asked to do so. So,
at the urging of Mrs. Harrison, and another occasional
TSS contributor, Royce began to
write articles for TSS.
With the resignation of Lars Harrison as Editor of
TSS, the search went out to find
a new editor. Again, at the suggestion of June Harrison,
and others, Royce accepted the challenge on a temporary
basis, awaiting one more qualified than he to come forward
and take on the responsibility.
The 1999 elections found Royce elected to the board, and
reappointed to the Editor's position. He still maintains
his willingness to step down if a more qualified editor
can be found.
Royce brings to the Bible Sabbath Association the desire
to see cooperation amongst all of those called to
understand the truth of God's Sabbaths, without regard to
the organization with which they fellowship. He sees
TSS as the vehicle with the
potential to bring that vision to pass. In a world
increasingly fraught with dangerous attacks on the Way of
Life described by Christ, among which is the Sabbath, he
sees TSS as the vehicle to
promote similarities between all Sabbath keeping brethren,
rather than to broadcast the differences.
As Editor, Royce asks that all of us, who desire the
fellowship of God's people, might work together to make
TSS the best magazine it can
be. The TSS is our
magazine, and it is up to all of us to do our part in
making TSS that best
magazine. Surely, our God, the Lord of Sabbaths, will do
the rest!
TSS
November - December 1999 The Sabbath Sentinel
|