The following letter pertains to the trademark issue. This not being made available to the general public, but only to the believers who financially support the ministry of Voice Of God Recordings. We feel that you have a right to review this material, just as we did, in order to understand our position and the decisions that we have made.
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On January 16th, the day we sent a letter to each of our supports outlining the trademark issue, we mailed the following letter to each of the brothers who opposed our application for the trademark: VIEW LETTER
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The official response from our opposers to the above letter: VIEW LETTER
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Christian Fellowship Ministries
P.O.Box 246, Riner, Virginia 24149 Ph. 540-381-9484 Fax: 540-381-9485
www.cfmministries.com e-mail: bbcoffey@earthlink.net
Tuesday, January 21, 2004
Dear Brother Joseph,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My purpose in writing to you today is two fold. First of all, I would like to notify you that we have decided not to pursue making arrangements for the proposed meeting on Friday, January 23rd. The reasons for this decision are as follows:
1) A meeting in te future could be possible, however, the time frame for this meeting on Friday is simply too quick for all of the interested brethren to be assembled. There is a willingness on our part to meet face to face with you. In any meeting concerning such vital issues, we would like to have everyone assembled who would be affected by such discussion.
2) We also would like to sincerely say that we are not against you, nor VOGR in any personal way. It is our desire to see you continue the printing, copying and distribution of the Message worldwide. The differences we have are not personal in nature.
3) We want to assure you that our interest in opposing the trademark application is still paramount. We have no intention of dropping our opposition to that, nor making some mediated compromise. At this time we can see no middle ground on this point.
4) If in the future we can arrange a meeting at a mutually convenient time and place, we will gladly consider participation in it, again, including all the brethren involved. We also might add a word of thanks to the William Branham Evangelistic Association for the generous offer to pay our travel and accommodation expense.
Secondly, in your letter of January 15, 2004 which was mailed simultaneously to all of us, you requested a response to the issue at hand by January 26th. To say that we write with a heavy heart would be an understatement considering the outlandish proportions to which this whole disgrace has grown. In your own words, this is truly "an uncalled-for and wasteful conflict" between men who have in common the greatest and most powerful Gospel Message ever to strike the human race. As Christians, it would be our Scriptural and moral duty to ask forgiveness from you if we had erred or deviated from the Word. It is our sincere position that we have not done either.
In your general letter to the public (also dated January 15, 2004) you present yourself as one with "an outreach ministry." We respect your desire to continue the good work of disseminating the Message of the Hour. However, we feel it is also the desire and spiritual burden of many God called men and ministries to labor in their respective fields. It is not our intent to prevent or hinder you or VOGR from accomplishing your desire, nor should it be yours to hinder anyone else's desire by pursuing a trademark on the name of William Branham.
We would hope that any future meeting would dissolve any misunderstanding on our part concerning your motive and objective in so desperately pursuing this trademark, especially since it was offered to you by the previous trademark holders. It would not be enough to say that you are simply complying with a few select statements of the Prophet, for we indeed share a fervent desire to comply with all that Brother Branham taught.
Rather than expend our energies on endless argument, let us expend it on a righteous cause, the one that is vital to the Bride of Christ. We stand together, with many ministers and Churches worldwide, to discuss these things with you in the future. Please do not hesitate to contact us at anytime.
In His Service,
Bro. Barry Coffey, for
Bro. Dan Daisley
Bro. Lonnie Jenkins
Bro. Paul LaFontaine
Bro. Tim Pruitt
Bro. Donny Reagan
cc. Bro. David McGeary
cc. Bro. Rod Bergen
