Journal of the Swedenborgian Church
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2017 Journal of the Swedenborgian Church No. 195 THE SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH UNITED STATES AND CANADA INCORPORATED 1861 THE GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ANNUAL SESSION “ROOTED IN OUR HISTORY, GROWING IN THE WORD” JULY 8 - JULY 12, 2017 WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY, WEST CHESTER, PA ANNUAL THEME THE YEAR OF THE NEW JERUSALEM JULY 1, 2017-JUNE 30, 2018 RECORDING SECRETARY KAREN CONGER 314 APOLLO CIRCLE BISHOP, CA 93514-7051 P: (760) 872-3392 E: [email protected] CENTRAL OFFICE SAMANTHA JOHANSON, OPERATIONS MANAGER 50 QUINCY STREET CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138-3013 P/F: (617) 969-4240 E: [email protected] W: www.swedenborg.org C The Faith and Aims of Our Church .......................................... 1 The Offi cers of The Swedenborgian Church............................ 3 General Council ....................................................................... 3 Council of Ministers .............................................................. 13 Roll of Ministers .................................................................... 16 Auxiliary and Associated Bodies ........................................... 28 Minutes From the One Hundred Ninety-Third Session .........30 Convention Preachers Since 1959 ......................................... 42 Memorial ................................................................................ 44 Reports of Offi cers, Boards, Committees, Support Units and Associated Bodies .......................................................... 48 Church Statistics .................................................................... 93 Reports of Associations and Churches ................................... 94 Act of Incorporation ............................................................. 111 Constitution .......................................................................... 115 Bylaws of the Swedenborgian Church ................................. 122 Standing Resolutions ........................................................... 141 Seven Year Cycle of Annual Themes ................................... 157 Bylaws of the Council of Ministers ..................................... 159 Council of Ministers Standing Resolutions ......................... 168 Guidelines For Ministerial Conduct ..................................... 169 Bylaws of the Corporation of the New Church Theological School DBA Center for Swedenborgian Studies ......... 179 Bylaws of the Wayfarers Chapel .......................................... 190 Bylaws of the Swedenborgian Community ......................... 196 Swedenborgian Bodies ......................................................... 200 Directory of Associations ..................................................... 208 Directory of Churches and Ministries .................................. 212 Directory of Camps and Conference Centers ...................... 226 Directory of New Church Libraries, Bookrooms and Publishers ..................................................................... 227 Directory of Church Personnel ............................................ 228 Index .................................................................................... 255 1 T F A O C The Swedenborgian Church believes that a new epoch is opening in the spiritual life of mankind. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, as he promised to do, has come again, not indeed in a physical reappearance, but in spirit and truth; not in a single event only, but in a progressive manifestation of his presence among people. Our Church regards as tokens of his coming the burst of scientifi c de- velopment, the rise of the spirit of inquiry, the progress toward political and intellectual free- doms, and the deepening sense of a national and international responsibility which have characterized the last few centuries. These are more remote signs, however, of epochal reli- gious change. More directly denoting a move- ment of the spirit of God on the human spirit are the stirrings in world faiths, the revisions of thought and outlook in them, the searching after standards and spiritual power adequate to the needs and problems of the times, and this notably in the Christian faith. The Lord is everywhere at work, mov- ing to the reestablishment of his kingdom, and specifi cally to the renewing of Christianity with the power and understanding to serve and speed his kingdom. In any coming of the Lord, he brings about many things which people are slow to see. Our unseen, spiritual environment is made over as well as our visible world. A greater awareness of the good that there has been, a fuller justice and truer peace off er themselves for us to realize. Today, in a world that has contracted into a neighborhood, the responsibility to the neighbor makes its demands on all people of good will. Evils that have been long established begin to look as though they could be conquered. We believe that the Lord in his second coming has “reordered the heavens and subjugated the hells” as he did at his fi rst coming. This coming of the Son of man, “as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west,” making the salvation of all people possible, is the direct and sole work of the Lord—a redemption of the world by the Redeemer of persons. Our Church is also convinced that the Lord has given his followers word of all this, and done so by means of a servant from among them. We 2 believe that Emanuel Swedenborg thus served the Lord. A person’s destiny beyond the earthly life needed to be placed in fuller light; the Scriptures needed to be reestablished as the Word of God; and the Christian message was in need of renewed and contemporary expression. To supply these needs Swedenborg devoted half a lifetime, and an insight born of a regen- erating experience. He was enabled “by the Lord’s mercy” to inform the Christian hope of immortality with knowledge of the world of the spirit; in Old and New Testament he set forth a meaning which speaks timelessly of the spiritual life and can nourish it now; and he freed Christian teaching from many crippling errors and formulated it anew from the Word of God. In the theological works of Swedenborg the message of Christian- ity is restated to inspire the spiritual life of all anew. Its truths present themselves as truths of life here and hereafter. They invite inquiry and ask understanding. They open the door to spiritual renewal and urge upon everyone the personal responsibility to participate in this renewal. The Lord has taken initiative in his coming. We have our response to make. In that response three essentials are urged: that we acknowledge God in the Lord, and that he alone can bring about our redemption and regeneration; that we acknowledge the holiness of the Word and the inspiration which the Word gives us to seek and promote his kingdom; and that we live the life of charity, the exercising in all our relationships, large and small, the neighborliness enjoined by his commandments. The Swedenborgian Church believes, then, that under Providence the world has received, through the instrumentality of a man, a revelation which confronts it with the universally valid truth of the spiritual life of all human beings. It believes that the Lord Jesus Christ, availing himself of human agency to give us this explicit guidance, has done a sweeping if hidden work of redemption, and created a new heaven and a new earth about us. He is ushering in the epoch, if we will, which he foresaw and which he promised at his fi rst coming. In John’s vision on Patmos, the Ris- en Christ once more promised the dawn of this epoch in the descent of the Holy City, New Jerusalem, to earth. To signalize our conviction that the Lord is fulfi lling his promise, we originally organized under the name the Church of the New Jerusalem. The spirit and the humanity which longs to be united to the Lord alike cry, “Come.” We lift our voice and pray, “Come. Even so, come Lord Jesus.” Offi cers, Support Units, Representatives & Committees 3 T O T S C Rev. Jane Siebert, President Cell: (620) 727-2371 3450 N. Ridgewood St., Apt. 303 E-mail: [email protected] Wichita, KS 67220-4428 Tom Neuenfeldt, Vice-President Phone: (989) 285-2903 850 N. US 23 E-mail: [email protected] East Tawas, MI 48730-9534 Karen Conger, Recording Secretary Phone: (760) 872-3392 314 Apollo Circle E-mail: [email protected] Bishop, CA 93514-7051 Jennifer Lindsey, Treasurer Phone: (415) 706-6155 601 Carolina Street E-mail: [email protected] San Francisco, CA 94107 G C The General Council consists of the Offi cers of the Swedenborgian Church and the elected members listed below. (Constitution, Article II, Section 2.) The chair of the Council of Ministers has tradition- ally been invited to participate in General Council meetings. Numbers in parentheses are the terms currently being served for the positions so indicated, persons are limited to two consecutive three-year terms. Those fulfi lling unexpired terms are indicated by (*). Term Expires 2018 Term Expires 2019 Term Expires 2020 Stan Conger (1) Deborah Dolley (2) Barbara Halle (1) (760) 872-3392 (207) 510-1900 (219) 363-0528 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Robert Lawson (1) Carl Helm (1) Lon Elmer (2) (802) 579-8585 (620) 792-4295 (206) 903-8043 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Rev. Dick Tafel (*) Rev. Betsy Coff man (1) Rev. Junchol Lee (1) (239) 543-2263 (937) 631-0899 (415) 533-5714 [email protected] bcoff [email protected] [email protected]