What Guides Policy in the General Church?
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A bimonthly magazine devoted to the teachings revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg, as they apply to life. MARCH/APRIL 2014 What Guides Policy in the General Church? Whatever the issue, we should always be looking to the Lord in His Word, not to our own thoughts and feelings. See an article by the Rev. Jeremy Simons, page 126. Note: There is no extra cost for the use of color on the front page. new church life (usps 378-180) published bimonthly by the general church of the new jerusalem Bruce Henderson, Editor Rev. Walter Orthwein, Spiritual Editor subscription: $30 to any address. To order: 267-502-4990 or [email protected]. Postmaster: Send address changes to: New Church Life, PO Box 708, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 e-mail: [email protected] Vol. CXXXIV March-April 2014 No. 2 New Church Life A bimonthly magazine devoted to the teachings revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg, as they relate to life. 101 In this Issue 104 Editorials: Death With Dignity: Reflections on Good Friday • Stirring Things Up at Easter • New Church Virtues: Prudence and Trust in Providence 111 Letters to the Editors 121 The Priesthood and Gender: The Clergy Process for Reappraisal – The Rt. Rev. Brian W. Keith 123 Easter Message: ‘That Which Reigns Universally’ – The Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss Jr. 126 Not Going Beyond What God has Spoken: What Guides Policy in the General Church? – The Rev. Jeremy F. Simons 131 ‘For He is Risen’ – A Sermon by the Rev. Bradley D. Heinrichs 137 Boynton Beach Retreat – Bruce Henderson 149 Boynton Beach Retreat Banquet Address: Bryn Athyn College – Dr. Kristin King, President 161 Introducing Our Ministers: Focusing on the ‘Big Picture’ in Religion – The Rev. Barry C. Halterman 165 Palm Sunday: A Different Kind of Kingdom, a Different Kind of King – A Sermon by the Rev. Barry C. Halterman 173 A Search for the Truth – Doug Webber 177 Another Way to Look at Women in the Priesthood – The Rev. Robert S. Jungé 181 My Ministry of Care – Tryn Rose Seley 186 General Church Education: 80,000 and Counting… – Rachel Glenn 189 Church News 206 Life Lines 210 Announcements NEW CHURCH AUDIO RECENT LISTINGS Moses to Joshua: Transition to Fighting Truth Sermon – The Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton II The Causes of Stress and Some Solutions Sermon – The Rev. David C. Roth The Spiritual Significance of Palm Sunday Sermon – The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem Sermon – The Rev. Jeremy F. Simons Easter sermons and classes available online: www.newchurchaudio.org More recordings will be added to our website thanks to private donations. To support this effort please contact us. Connect on Twitter and Facebook www.facebook.com/NewChurchAudio New Church Audio P.O. Box 752, Road, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 267-502-4981 E-mail: [email protected] in this issue he Rt. Rev Brian W. Keith, Executive Bishop of the General Church, Tpresents a process for the Council of the Clergy meetings this June in Bryn Athyn: The Priesthood and Gender: The Clergy Process for Reappraisal. This includes: study of the Word prior to the meetings; sharing with clergy of themes from various presentations and social media discussions; presentations at the meetings on both sides of the women-in-the-priesthood issue; processing clergy responses to develop a consensus; and reporting the findings to the Church at large, with the goal of bringing some resolution to the question, rather than leaving it open-ended. (Page 121) This issue also includes a number of letters in response to the paper published in the September-October 2013 issue by the Rev. N. Bruce Rogers, Gender and the Priesthood of the New Church in the 21st Century; responses to criticisms of that paper; a response from Mr. Rogers himself; and an article by the Rev. Robert S. Jungé with a new way to look at the issue. We believe we have given a fair balance of the many views on both sides of this active debate, and while we still have several lengthy articles from both perspectives, we will hold off on any further presentations until the process for the Council of the Clergy plays out in June. (Page 111) The Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss Jr. offers an Easter message, That Which Reigns Universally. The words, “I am the LORD your God,” which introduce the Ten Commandments, reign in every truth that follows, and must reign as the central organizing force in our lives. This is the same God who rose on Easter Sunday as our Regenerator and Savior – to the extent that we allow Him to “reign universally” within us. (Page 123) What should guide the policy of the General Church in all issues – including the current debate over women in the priesthood? The Rev. Jeremy F. Simons uses the story of Balaam to say that we must always look to the Word and what God teaches – not to our own thinking. “The question is not what the people or the leadership think is right,” he writes, “but what the Word teaches when fully understood – whether we like it or not. This is the question we look for consensus about.” (Page 126) The Rev. Bradley D. Heinrichs, pastor of the Carmel New Church in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, offers an Easter sermon, For He is Risen. “Let us teach all nations,” he writes, “our friends, our neighbors, the wonderful truths we have been given in the Writings, which will help them to gain a clearer idea of God, to be nearer to Him, and more perfectly to worship Him in His 101 new church life: march /april 2014 Divine Human. Let us dispel the darkness and confusion about three gods and loudly proclaim the good news that ‘the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages and ages.’” (Page 131) This year’s Boynton Beach Retreat in Florida – formerly known as Eldergarten – featured three excellent presentations: Dr. Wendy Closterman on Ancient Greek and Roman Religion; Dr. James de Maine on End-of-Life Issues and Medical Ethics; and the Rev. Dr. Jonathan S. Rose on Swedenborg, Scripture, and What the New Church is Going to be Like. Much of their material is available at www.newchurchboyntonbeach.org. You can read a summary of all three presentations, beginning on page 137. Dr. Kristin King, President of Bryn Athyn College of the New Church, gave the banquet address at the Retreat, focusing on three aspects of the College: developments at the College; the context of higher education in America; and the mission and future of the College. It is a clear-eyed assessment of the many challenges the College is facing, but optimistic about a bright future. (Page 149) Introducing our Ministers focuses on the Rev. Barry C. Halterman, chaplain and religion teacher in the Academy Secondary Schools, who was studying for a career in finance at Temple University when he took a course of Comparative Religions that changed his life. Now he loves teaching New Church theology and comparative religions – finding where the distinctions are and the common ground. (Page 161) We are happy to include a timely sermon by Barry: Palm Sunday: A Different Kind of Kingdom, A Different Kind of King. (Page 165) Doug Webber, a software architect and consultant in New Jersey, tells the fascinating story of how he came to discover Swedenborg and the Writings – stimulated by haunting questions and curiosity, and having to overcome his own doubts. He convinced himself that this was Divine truth, and counsels: “Do not take the truths that you know for granted. Try to live them, for they become life changing. They have great value, and many are still seeking for the answers.” (Page 173) The Rev. Robert S. Jungé offers Another Way to Look at Women in the Priesthood by focusing on a sequence of 22 quotes from Conjugial Love on the distinctiveness of the male and the female. “It is my hope,” he writes, “that careful reflection on the order of (these) teachings will be helpful in letting the Lord form how we think regarding the fundamental difference between men and women, as I believe this is the key to making a wise decision regarding women in the priesthood.” (Page 177) Tryn Rose Seley writes from Scottsdale, Arizona, about My Ministry of Care – the work she does as an Alzheimer’s caregiver, with inspirations from the Word and the Writings that guide and inspire her passion. (Page 181) 102 in this issue Rachel Glenn of General Church Education – formerly the Office of Education – tells about the exciting work going on in serving General Church Schools, families and interested people throughout the world: 81,000 and Counting… This refers to the department’s online video channel and its success in reaching out with 35 in-house videos, viewed more than 80,000 times so far in 122 countries. And this is just the beginning of exciting new possibilities. (Page 186) Church News includes a report on the February meeting of the General Church Board of Directors, with positive financial progress; exciting development with the New Church in Cuba; plans for serving Dawson Creek and Grande Prairie in Western Canada, after their pastor moves on to serve in South Africa; and news about summer camps at the Academy and in Canada. (Page 189) 103 Editorials death with dignity? reflections on good friday In the New Church we are not fixated on the Lord’s crucifixion because we do not believe that His death on the cross constituted the whole of redemption. We believe it was the last of the temptations by means of which He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human nature.