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The Messenger the Messenger Published by the Swedenborgian Church of North America Volume 241• Number 10 • December 2019 Creating the George Dole Chair at CSS, A Letter from the Board of Trustees Dear Members, that we wish to cre- into a re- Associates, and Friends, ate an honor that stricted fund will be fitting and for the pur- Chances are that, at some point in long-lasting. pose of your life, Rev. Dr. George Dole has in- This humble funding the fluenced you through his books, talks, but spirited lead- George F. sermons, film scripts, and conversa- er will soon cel- Dole Chair, tions. Perhaps you’ve been blessed by ebrate sixty years for the long- George and his wife, Lois, at Rev. George in his their beloved Fryeburg New ministry through one of his many stu- early career of ordained minis- range future. dents, or possibly you yourself are a try performed as a Using only Church Assembly spiritual leader educated by him. May- scholar at our theological school and the prudent growth generated each be you’ve been helped by one of his as a congregational leader. In recogni- year, your gift will keep on giving for a revolutionary translations of Sweden- tion of his immeasurable contributions very long time. borg’s works to grasp new understand- to the Center for Swedenborgian Stud- For those who would prefer to do- ing and insight. Possibly, you even were ies (CSS), we are establishing a named nate to the general fund or other proj- fortunate to have been part of a con- chair to be launched at the upcoming ects, these options are also available. gregation where 2020 Swedenborgian Church Conven- So please contribute an amount that Rev. Dole served tion in Bridgewater, Massachusetts— is feasible for you. If you cannot con- as minister. You the summer of his ninetieth birthday. tribute immediately, please pledge an may also be a amount that you can contribute be- friend, neighbor, We Need Your Support fore June 30, 2020. We will be pub- or relative. For a named chair, we do not have lishing all the names of those giving to It is challeng- a requirement for the amount of your the George F. Dole Chair to represent ing to capture contribution although, of course, our the loving community he has nurtured the widespread goal is to raise as much as possible. But so well for so long. and deep inspi- since this is a lov- —The CSS Board of Trustees: ration Rev. Dole ing tribute to a Robert Carr, Jenny Caughman, has had on our de- very important Terrie Crenshaw, Jim Lawrence, nomination and person in our tra- Jennifer Lindsay, Gard Perry, on so many of us. dition, we need Lewis Shaw, Jane Siebert, Young George in His presence of you to join us in John Titus, and Anna Woofenden racing form thought and vi- the widest possi- To donate please send your check to the sion is alive and working through ble participation. Center for Swedenborgian Studies, 1798 so many publications and the work For this special Scenic Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, or you can donate online at https://center-for- of those whom he helped shape. His purpose, we are Professor George Dole swedenborgian-studies.webflow.io/support- in later days reach has been so wide as well as deep, putting donations the-center-for-swedenborgian-studies. Supporting our Vibrant Church: The Annual Appeal More Inside The Philadelphia Bible Christians: Early Swedenborgian Vegetarians Contents: page 154 Position Statement Regarding the Interface of Swedenborgian Faith and Politics 154 the Messenger December 2019 The Editor’s Desk them experience joy: a joy of materi- Rich Tafel writes in “How to Experi- al gifts, yes, but also a joy in receiving ence Joy” (p. 158), that joy of giving is The Spirit of love. As children grow, the gifts they best expressed by loving God in being receive gradually shift from toys to of use to our neighbor. Christmas games as their intellect increases, and In the natural world, the material I have shewed you all from games to adult gifts. At the same gift of money helps our beloved institu- things, how that so la- time, children begin more and more to tions continue to be of use. The end of bouring ye ought to sup- feel joy in giving gifts as much as re- the year brings many requests for ma- port the weak, and to re- ceiving. This is a material expression of terial support, and we must, of course, member the words of the Lord Jesus, burgeoning spiritual growth. make our own choices of to whom to how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. I can attest, as a senior citizen, that, give and how much to give, but please —Acts 20:35 (King James Version) with age, ones’s gift focus becomes giv- give thoughtful consideration to sup- ing more than receiving. With spiritu- porting your own church community, As we know from experience and as al growth comes the realization that the denomination (p 164), and the new Swedenborg reminds us, as children we joy flows from giving, and that, as Rev. George F. Dole Chair at the Center for are interested solely in ourselves—our Swedenborgian Studies (p. 153). own needs and desires. Childhood is —Herb Ziegler the beginning of a lifelong journey of Letters to the Editor becoming—becoming an adult and, we hope, becoming a more spiritual Faith Statement the Messenger being, replacing our childhood love of © The Swedenborgian Church of North America Thanks to Rev. Jim Lawrence for his self with love of the neighbor and love Published monthly except July and August by excellent take on the Adoramus (No- the Standing Committee for Communication and of the Lord. Information of the Swedenborgian Church of vember 2019 Messenger). I am one who North America (founded 1817, incorporated 1861 For most of those who celebrate fondly remembers reciting this weekly as the General Convention of the New Jerusalem Christmas, it has become common to in the United States of America), Rev. Jane with my fellow congregants, a famil- Siebert, president. shower children with gifts. We love iar, unifying moment in which all of December 2019 them and want to give to them, to see our differences were harmonized—not Volume 241, No. 10, Whole Number 5445 Editor, design and production: Herbert Ziegler eclipsed. Copy editing and proofing: Robert Leith & Trevor Contents Although it is brief, it is not sim- Standing Committee for Communication and ple, nor should it be. It is essential- Information: Kevin Baxter, Elizabeth Blair, & Val Creating the George Dole Chair Brugler ly our Christology—our shared un- at CSS, A Letter from the Printing: Gnomon Copy, Cambridge MA Board of Trustees ..................................153 derstanding, drawn from Sweden- Editorial Address: The Editor’s Desk ........................................154 borg’s theology, of what the Christ Herb Ziegler, the Messenger 2 Hancock Place Continues on page 162 Letter from the President ........................155 Cambridge MA 02139 The Philadelphia Bible Christians: Tel: 617.388.0252 Early Swedenborgian Vegetarians .156 Email: [email protected] How to Experience Joy .............................158 To subscribe to Business and Subscription Address: The Messenger, Central Office Resources for Worship Music the Messenger online, scan this image with a 50 Quincy Street and Meditation ....................................159 Cambridge MA 02138 QR reader on your cell Sunday School Activity Books Tel: 617.969.4240 phone or tablet. Back in Print ..........................................159 Email: [email protected] Free Hosanna Hymnals .............................159 Subscriptions: free online subscription at http://swedenborg.org. Printed and mailed to US What’s in a Name? address, $20/year; to Canada address, $30/year; The SCYL Fall Retreat ..........................160 to all other addresses, $35/year; single copies, The Year of the Lord: Understanding Church Calendar $2.00, Libraries & prisoners, free. Send check December 27–30: made out to “Swedenborgian Church” with Jesus Christ as a Process ....................161 • SCYL (ages 13–18) “Messenger” on the memo line. Other requests, Changes at Central Office ........................162 Winter Retreat, Almont New Church write or call Central Office. Assembly, Almont, MI Position Statement Regarding the Deadline for submissions is three weeks before March, 2020: the first day of the month of issue. Interface of Swedenborgian • Palestine and Israel Trip, CSS January term The opinions and views expressed are those of Faith and Politics ..................................163 the authors, not of the Messenger, the Standing August 28–31, 2020: Supporting our Vibrant Church: • Gathering Leaves, Committee for Communication and Information, The Annual Appeal ..............................164 Purley Chase, England or the Swedenborgian Church. the Messenger December 2019 155 it started. It even varies in length—it seems very short this year. Letter We do need Christmas and Advent every year? We probably need it even more than year- from the ly. Look back with me on your memories of previ- ous Christmases. Who was God to you? Who was President Jesus? Has your understanding of God changed? I remember when I accepted Jesus into my heart, as my Baptist upbringing called it. I was at a Billy Graham crusade in Nebraska, and about ten The Year of the Lord: 2019–20 or eleven years old. My idea of God was the size of —The Primacy of Spirit my childhood world. I expected Jesus to give me what I wanted when I prayed. I thought of God The Lord’s presence is perpetual with everyone both evil as up there, a heaven in the sky, watching over me and good . but His advent is only with those who receive and yet also getting angry when I did something Him, who .
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