NATURAL MIND       Rev. DAVID R. SIMONS       1950



NEW CHURCH LIFE
     Vol. LXX     January 1950     No. 1

New Church Life
A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE TEACHINGS
REVEALED THROUGH EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.


The Natural Mind.
     A Sermon on Ezekiel 8: 12     David R. Simons      1
Hope.
     Charter Day Address     A. Wynne Acton 8
Rejection of the Lord's Divinity.
     A Review     Hugo Lj. Odhner 13
Music in Worship; Its Function and Quality.
     Paper at New Church Club, London     A. Stanley Wainscot 18
Church News     33
Announcements.
     Sound Recording Committee     45
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     46
     Nineteenth General Assembly-June, 1950     48
     Theta Alpha Offer     48
     Annual Council Meetings-Jan. 30-Feb. 4, 1950     48


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February, 1950 No. 2

David's Flight.
     A Sermon on I Samuel 19:12     Hugo Lj. Odhner 49
Spiritual Fishermen     F. E. Gyllenhaal     55
     The Lord's Disciples are Teachable and Leadable.
Belshazzar's Feast     Sydney B. Childs     61
Canadian Northwest.
     A Pastoral Visit     A. Wynne Acton     70
Editorial Department.
     Date of Swedenborg's Birth          81
     Dates in "The Spiritual Diary"          82
     Memorabilia          83
     A New Publication-"Our Daily Bread          86
     South African Mission-"Umcazi"               86
     New Church Day. An Address     M. M. Lutuli     87
Church News          89
Photograph. Sharon Church Group          90
Announcements.
     Nineteenth General Assembly-June, 1950          95
     Theta Alpha Offer          95
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths          96

Vol. LXX
March, 1950
No. 3

The Divine Providence in the
Establishment of the Church.
     A Sermon on John 7: 10     George de Charms 97
The Comforter     Hugo Lj. Odhner 103
The Priesthood and the Laity.
     An Address     Randolph W. Childs 109
Editorial Department.
     Revealed Knowledge of the Planets     118
     Presentation in the Writings     122
Where Did He Get It? A Review.
     "You Live After Death" (Sherman)     Richard R. Gladish 125
Church News     131
Announcements.
     Nineteenth General Assembly-June, 1950     143
     Visual Education Committee     143
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     144

April, 1950
No. 4

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS.
     Council of the Clergy Sessions     W. Cairns Henderson 145
Degrees of the Priesthood and their Respective Functions.
     An Address at the First Session     George de Charms 148
Joint Council Session     Hugo Lj. Odhner 160
Annual Reports.
     Secretary of the General Church     Hugo Lj. Odhner     165
     Council of the Clergy     W. Cairns Henderson     169
     Corporations of the General Church     Edward H. Davis     175
     Treasurer of the General Church     Hubert Hyatt     177
     Editor of "New Church Life"     W. B. Caldwell     181
     Religion Lessons Committee     Fred B. Gyllenhaal     183
The New Corporation of the General      Church.
     A Statement     George de Charms     184
Editorial Department.
     Revealed Knowledge of the Planets-The Satellites               187
Announcements.
     Nineteenth General Assembly-Proposed Program     191
     Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths     192

May, 1950
No. 5

The Pentecostal Gift of Tongues.
     A Sermon on Luke 24: 49     W. Cairns Henderson     193
Typical States of the Church.
     Address to Council of the Clergy     Morley D. Rich     200
     The Honeymoon State in Marriage     Ormond Odhner     217
Paul Synnestvedt.
     Memorial Address          George de Charms     226
     Photograph          227
     Biographical Sketch          228
Editorial Department.
     A Questionable Version          229
Church News          234
     Baltimore Circle Pioneers          237
Announcements.
     Swedenborg Scientific Association-May 24     238
     Academy Joint Meeting-June 3     238
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     239
     Nineteenth General Assembly-Program     240

June, 1950
No. 6

A Talk to Children.
     The Second Coming of the Lord     George de Charms     241
The Divine Human and the New Church.
     A Sermon on Genesis 28: 15     W. F. Pendleton     245
Holy Ground.
     A Sermon on Exodus 28:15     Hugo Lj. Odhner     254
The Gates of the Holy City     Arthur Clapham     259
Editorial Department.
     Revealed Knowledge of the Planets     263
     Worship on the Planets     273
     June 19th and the Calendar     275
Church News     277
Announcements.
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     286
     Academy Joint Meeting-June 3, 1950     287
     37th British Assembly-August 5-7, 1950     287
     Nineteenth General Assembly-Program-June 15-19, 1950     288

July, 1950
No. 7

     NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
     Bryn Athyn, June 15-19, 1950.

The New Church and the Second Advent of the Lord.
     Episcopal Address     George de Charms 289
Rev. F. W. Elphick,
     Photograph          300
     Memorial Address     Norbert H. Rogers     301
     A Mission Society's Tribute     Revs. Matshinini and Sibeko     306
     Biographical Sketch          308
Love of Country     F. E. Gyllenhaal     309
Editorial Department.
     Revealed Knowledge of the Planets     314
     A New Version of "Divine Providence     320
     A Testimony in Sweden     Alfred Acton 325
Church News     327
Announcements.
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Deaths     334
     Ordinations          335
     Thirty-seventh British Assembly-Programme     336

Vol. LXX
August, 1950
No. 8

     NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
     Report-Part II.

The Essential Use of the Church.
     Address at the Second Session     Elmo C. Acton 337
Vision and Humility.
     A Sermon on Psalm 19: 14     Norman H. Reuter 352
The Method of Giving Revelation.
     Address at Third Session     Martin Pryke 358
Conjugial Love.
          Address at Fourth Session     Willard D. Pendleton 375
The Lord Preserves the Church.
     A Sermon on Jeremiah 3: 15     Harold C. Cranch 385
Ordinations. Declarations of Faith and Purpose.
     David R. Simons and Kenneth O. Stroh 392
Assembly Impressions     W. Cairns Henderson 395
Publication Notes     398
Church News     399
Announcements.
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     406
     Ministerial Changes     408

September, 1950
No. 9

     NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
     Report-Part III.

Journal of the Proceedings     Hugo Lj. Odhner     409
Assembly Messages          428
Corporations of the General Church     Edward H. Davis     431
Reports to the General Assembly.
     Secretary of the General Church           Hugo Lj. Odhner     433
     Secretary of the Corporations          Edward H. Davis     434
     Treasurer of the General Church          Hubert Hyatt     435
     Religion Lessons Committee          F. E. Gyllenhaal     441
     Sound Recording Committee          Morley D. Rich     442
     Editor of "New Church Life"          W. B. Caldwell     444
     Societies of the General     Church-Statistical Table          447
The Nineteenth of June Banquet     W. Cairns Henderson     448
Assembly Notes          455
Church News          458
Announcements.
     Charter Day-October 13-14, 1950          463
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Deaths     464

October, 1950
No. 10

     NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
     Report-Part IV.

Our Responsibility to the Future.
     Address at the Fifth Session     Hugo Lj Odhner 465
     Discussion     478
The Holy Supper.
     Address at the Sixth Session     Alfred Acton 481
The New Beginning on Earth.
     Academy Commencement Address     Erik Sandstrom 494



Envy.
     A Sermon on Genesis 37: 11     F. F. Gyllenhaal 500
Wars of Conquest-Their Origin     504
Editorial Department.
     An Acknowledgment     W. B. Caldwell 506
Church News     507
Announcements.
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Deaths     511
     Charter Day Program-October 13-14, 1950     512

November, 1950
Vol. LXX     No. 11

     THIRTY-SEVENTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY.

Report of the Proceedings     Martin Pryke     513
Heredity and the Nature of Man.
     Presidential Address     Alan Gill     517
An Old Prophecy of a United Humanity.
     An Address     Gustaf Baeckstrom     527
Rev. Henry Leonardos.
     Photograph     538
     An Obituary     Joao de Mendonca Lima     539
An Address of Welcome.
     Opening Exercises of the Academy     William Whitehead     541
Editorial Department.
     A Productive Century     549
Church News     551
Announcements.
     Baptism , Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     559
     Academy Enrollment for 1950-1951     560

No. 12

December, 1950

Dedication of the New Benade Hall.
     The Chapel Chancel     Frontispiece
     An Account of the Ceremony     E. Bruce Glenn     561
     Dedication Address     Willard D. Pendleton     562
     Presentation by Building Committee     Harold F. Pitcairn     567
     Acceptance and Dedication                         569               
     The Chancel Described               570                    
Benade Hall-June 1950-Photographic Views      571
Sermons.
      "Born King of the Jews"     Ormond Odhner 572
     "Humility"     Gustaf Baeckstrom 577
South African Mission.
     Dedication Ceremony-A Report     S. E. Butelezi 583
     The New Church in South Africa. An Address     F. H. D. Lumsden     587
The Academy and the Growth of the Church.
     Charter Day Address     Harold C. Cranch     592
Directory of the General Church.
     Officials and Councils          599
     The Clergy          600
Church News          604
Announcements.
     Baptism, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths          607
     Annual Council Meetings-January 22-27, 1951     608

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
JANUARY, 1950
No. 1
     "Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth." (Ezekiel 8: 12.)

     The mind of man is his house. The structure of this house, its furnishings and decorations, he who lives in it, and those who by repeated invitation become closely associated with it, give that house its quality. Taken together, they make its character. He who occupies this house is free to make it beautiful and orderly, or to allow it to fall into disrepair. It can represent the order of heaven or the chaos of hell. Whatever the state of this house, such is the state of the man.
     The prophet Ezekiel was led by the Lord to make a strange visit into a secret chamber of the house of Israel: "And (the Lord) brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said He unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And He said unto me. Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about; . . . and a thick cloud of incense went up." (Ezekiel 8: 7-11.)
     This was no ordinary room that Ezekiel was shown. It was not some secret apartment in a Jewish city, although such apartments undoubtedly existed. But it was a chamber in the human mind. It was a representation of the natural mind before regeneration-a mind in which all manner of evil loves and fantastic ideas dwell, a room which is thought to be hidden from the Lord and forsaken by Him.
     While the prophet, externally as to his body, sat in council with the seventy elders of the Jewish Church, the Lord lifted him up internally as to his spirit into that realm between heaven and earth in which the human mind and its imagination operate, every man in the chambers of his imagery." In this way Ezekiel could be shown the true character of the men who sat before him, and could in some measure understand why the Lord was to bring a judgment upon them, saving. "Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." (Ezekiel 8: 18.)

     One of the functions of the mind is that of imagination. Out of the raw materials provided by the senses it fashions mental pictures and creates in full freedom a world of its own choosing. Here the inner desires of the heart become visible. Here our hopes and fears, our ideals and our ambitions, express themselves in symbolic imagery And here our ruling loves stand forth to view.
     These mental images are produced spontaneously by love. Love is the force which gathers and arranges the impressions made on our senses, and which portrays by means of them the goals and ends of its desires. As the life-force of a plant seed selects the chemicals necessary for its growth from the surrounding soil, so love takes what is harmonious to itself from the memory of past sensation and produces these in various combinations so as to represent itself in the mind. For love is a creative force; it is the master-builder of the spirit: it perpetually strives to construct for itself a world in which it can live-a house that it can call its own. The Jewish people were most external and worldly. They loved this world-its pleasures, its wealth, and its power-above everything else. Only by direct command and by punishment could they be kept in an order which qualified them to represent a church. Whenever they felt free, whenever the bonds of leadership were relaxed, they immediately indulged the profane worship of their hearts.

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Thus, when Moses lingered on Mount Sinai, they formed for themselves a golden calf which they worshipped. Although externally they were attentive to the prophet of the Lord, internally they revelled in idolatry.
     Since they were of such a nature, and only the crudest pagan idols could satisfy their sensual loves, they had to be commanded in the Decalogue: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." (Exodus 20: 3-5.) And later, in the law of Moses, they were adjured not to corrupt themselves, and make a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth." (Deuteronomy 4: 16-18.)
     Thus every conceivable object which these people might represent and worship as an idol was forbidden by the Lord, so that externally at least they might mirror the order of heaven. Yet, despite the law, the very ancients of the house of Israel-those men who were considered the wise and trusted leaders of the people-set up their idolatrous worship in secret rooms, or formed idols in the dark chambers of their imagination. The base loves of the Jews had to express themselves in creeping things, in evil beasts, in idols, and in defiled incense. So it is with the natural mind when it is interiorly governed by the loves of self and the world.

     The human mind was created to receive and respond to life from the Lord. The Writings teach us that there are three distinct degrees, three regions or planes, which react, each in its own way, to the influx of this life. The highest or inmost degree makes man capable of love to the Lord, the middle of love towards the neighbor, and the lowest of the loves of self and the world. These planes of life are built up by education and experience, but they are only opened when man acts from them. In his infancy and childhood, a man is merely in the life of his senses: for, as we are taught, he then receives only earthly, bodily and worldly things through the senses of the body, and from these things his ideas are then formed." (A. C. 5126.)

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In childhood and youth, however, he learns what the civil law requires, and what honesty and decorum are in his relations with the neighbor. And in youth and early manhood he learns moral and spiritual truths. Yet it is only "in so far as he does the truths which he learns that the rational is opened." (A. C. 5126.) The knowledges of sensual, civil, and spiritual things are vessels in the mind which react, on their own plane, to life from the Lord. Regeneration comes from the formation and use of the higher degrees of the mind, and from the final dominion of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor over the loves of self and the world.
     The process of regeneration is summarized in the Heavenly Doctrines where we read that "when man is born he comes first into the natural degree, and this grows in him by continuity according to his growth in knowledge, and according to the understanding acquired by means of knowledge, even to the height of the understanding which is called the rational. Yet it is not by this means that the second or spiritual degree is opened. This degree is opened by means of a love of uses which conforms to what the understanding has acquired, but a spiritual love of uses, which is love towards the neighbor. This degree may grow in like manner by continuous degrees to its height, and it grows by means of the knowledges of truth and good, that is, by spiritual truths. Yet even by such truths the third or celestial degree is not opened: for this degree is opened by means of the celestial love of use, which is love to the Lord; and love to the Lord is nothing else than committing to life the precepts of the Word, the sum of which is to shun evils because they are hellish and devilish, and to do good because it is heavenly and Divine." (D. L. W. 237.)
     Before the higher degrees are opened by regeneration, the lowest degree of the mind changes the inflowing life into all the evil forms seen in that secret room by the prophet Ezekiel. But when the spiritual degree of the mind has been opened, when spiritual truths are known and lived, then life from the Lord flow's first into these higher degrees, and thence into the lower, and a wonderful transformation takes place. The very vessels of the mind are reformed what was crooked is made straight: and life in the natural is purified.

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We are taught that when the natural mind acts from the enjoyments of its love and the pleasures of its thought, which in themselves are evils and falsities, the reaction of the natural mind removes those things which are of the spiritual mind and blocks the doors lest they enter. . . . But if the spiritual mind becomes opened, the action and reaction of the natural mind are reversed; for the spiritual mind acts from above or within at the same time it acts from below or from without through those things in the natural mind which are ordered so as to submit to it." (D. L. W. 263.)

     The age of youth prior to regeneration is represented by the state of the Jewish people. This period of life seems to be dominated by a quest for pleasure. The effort to have fun, to enjoy life, and to fill every moment with things which have no real value, is typical of this state. Nevertheless, such delights, for the most part, are not in themselves evil. Pleasures, which are pictured in the Word as "creeping things, can be useful as is evident from the fact that 'creeping things' were brought forth on the fifth day of creation, and were seen by God to be good. Yet, when these things become all-important, when they come first, then they are out of place, disorderly, and therefore evil. When the pursuit of pleasure endangers health, prevents the concentrated study so necessary to preparation for a use, leaves no time for daily reading of the Word, or interferes with regular habits of worship, then it becomes an evil that is to be shunned. A mind so absorbed with its own enjoyments that it is unable to give any serious thought to the Doctrines of the Church or to the life of Religion is the very mind Ezekiel was shown.
     The end which we love qualifies our every state. When this end is selfish and worldly, when pleasure becomes an end in itself, then its true delights-which come from its use in recreating and fitting the mind to perform uses better-are perverted. Thus we are taught that the things seen by the prophet in that hidden room "signify unclean pleasures whose interiors are cupidities, and the interiors of these hatreds, revenges, cruelties, and adulteries. Such are the 'creeping things,' or the delights of pleasures from the love of self and the world, or from man's proprium, which are his idols because he regards them as delightful, loves them, has them for gods, and so adores them." (A. C. 994e.)

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Then, instead of delight flowing freely from heaven, as it does when man is in order, it can only flow' in through a "hole in the wall," by which it is twisted and perverted into the delight of hell.
     The first thing that is to be done, if youth is to come of age, or if regeneration is to begin, is to recognize the state in which the mind ins. If the mind is to be changed, if it is to be purged of its creeping things, abominable beasts, and idols, these must first be seen and recognized for what they are. And this is only possible if man is willing to follow the injunction to "dig." The Lord said unto the prophet, "Dig now in the wall and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And He said unto me. Go in. and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went and saw: and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about."
     From the truths of religion the hard crust of self-esteem and the practice of self-justification must be penetrated, so that the purifying light and fresh air of heaven may enter. The fallacy that pleasure is an end in itself must be supplanted by a genuine affection of use. The false notion that self is inherently good must be replaced by the acknowledgment in heart and life that all good is from the Lord. Reason, guided by Divine Revelation, must reorder the mind; and an affection for spiritual truth must become the architect of our mental dwelling, if the vain imagery of the heart is to be replaced by a mansion of heaven. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." (Psalm 127.)

     It is to be noted that the imagery of the mind formed by any love, good or evil, appears in its own light as good. Thus the fatuous light produced by an evil love causes misshapen and fantastic forms to appear beautiful. Egocentric thinking creates thick clouds which so obscure and darken our minds that the truth has no real meaning for us. For self sees as good, delightful, and true only those things which contribute to its ends. But if we remove this illusion, if we "dig" into and see ourselves from the light of revealed truth, then we can shun the evils within us, and finally come to abhor them.
     The teaching that the understanding can be raised into the light of heaven, even though the will is in evil, means that from reason the mind can see in a borrowed light and from a love not yet its own.

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The Word of God sheds this light, and has within it the warmth of heavenly love. Only from the Word can we come to see the true character of our own minds. By the truths of the Word the Lord can lift us, even as He lifted Ezekiel the prophet, and show us the abominations of our own hearts. He alone can purify them. For the Lord seeth in secret; the Lord has not "forsaken the earth."
     Once evil is seen, it can be shunned. Once we recognize the vain imagery and the selfish pleasures which dominate our thoughts, we can shun them. In this effort to see and to control our natural loves, in this willingness to dig into and discover our evils so that we may uproot them, a new will is given us and the borrowed light becomes our own. When we learn to think and to live from the truth, the very organic structure of our mind is reformed for the reception of new life from the Lord. When we look to spiritual truth, and make it the center of our lives, the Lord becomes the Master-Builder of the house of our minds.
     The forms that are produced by a love of spiritual truth are heavenly and beautiful. The imagery of a mind that thinks first of God and the neighbor is the imagery of heaven. A mind in which the loves of self and the world are subordinate to the love of heaven is a beautiful house, richly furnished and decorated with things that mirror the Love and Wisdom of the Lord. Of such a house it is said: "Wisdom hath builded her house; she hath hewn out her seven pillars: she hath killed her beasts: she hath furnished her table." (Proverbs 9: 1. 2.) "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord." (Haggai 1: 7, 8.) Amen.
LESSONS:     Ezekiel 8: 1-12. Mark 7: 1-23. D. L. W. 262, 263.
MUSIC:     Revised Liturgy, pages 469, 471, 507.
PRAYERS:     Nos. 85, 90.

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HOPE 1950

HOPE       Rev. A. WYNNE ACTON       1950

     Charter Day Address.

     (Delivered at the Service in the Cathedral. October 21, 1949.)

     "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." Hardly a day passes in which we do not express our hope for the fulfilment of some desire,-that will be fine day, that some particular plan will succeed, or that our friends may have a happy outcome in their endeavors. In our day by day life, new hopes continually become active, looking toward immediate fulfilment.
     We also entertain larger hopes that look to the fulfilment of more distant and more permanent desires. While we are in school we hope for a successful outcome of our year: that we shall we able to fulfill all the requirements for the completion of our schooling. Within this gradually grows the aspiration that we may thereby be prepared to enter into our worldly uses with ability and confidence. We wish to be a success in our chosen use, to have the satisfaction of knowing that we can perform it efficiently, and to rejoice in the recognition and remuneration which that work can bring us.
     The hopes of many people never ascend to a higher level. But with those trained in the New' Church a more spiritual hope, which looks to things of eternal value, will be built. We are taught to desire that this training may prepare us for some spiritual use-that our affections and thoughts may be so formed by the Divine Truth that our uses in this world may prepare us for some eternal use in the heavens. The New Church teaching will enable us to turn away from having the focus and center of our hopes in the things of this world, to direct them, step by step, to the abiding values of the human spirit.
     In childhood our hopes are very temporal, seldom looking to any achievement beyond the immediate present. This causes a quick succession from joyful elation to deepest dejection, for we are in the state referred to in the Proverbs. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13: 12.)

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     In the time of youth, when we are filled with "long, long thoughts," we may look beyond the immediate present to an idealistic fulfilment in a distant future. Many times we become impatient, and want more immediate achievement, more tangible goals and definite results. This is one of the trials of use. Nevertheless, we may keep alive that broader hope to be of outstanding use in the world to our fellow men, to our country, and to our church.
     In adult years we must consciously foster and cultivate those hopes which look to the accomplishment of Divine uses among men. Our plans arising from natural ambitions, looking to the attainment of worldly advancement and recognition, must be subordinated to spiritual aspirations. Our minds must be made responsive to heavenly spheres, whence alone we can learn to center our lives in the things of the eternal world, looking beyond the disappointment of natural ambitions unfulfilled to think of those realities which do not pass away with time.
     In reality, all hope is a precious gift from the Lord; it is the means whereby He can sustain us in the time of trial and temptation. When states of doubt as to spiritual reality and purpose arise, we are told that "if man suffers himself to be cheered by hope, he will stand steadfast in what is affirmative." (A. C. 2338.) The hope of eternal life-the vision of a spiritual kingdom of love and use-is what the Lord offers us in His Revelation and if we suffer this to guide our lives, to cheer and sustain us in states of doubt and trial, we shall be prepared to receive the Divine mercy; for His "mercy is upon us according as we hope in Him."
     Remembering that hope is a precious gift from the Lord, directing our eyes upward to spiritual achievement, let us briefly look at the aspirations of our forefathers in founding the Academy. I will quote the words of Bishop Benade in laying the corner stone of a schoolhouse on Cherry Street, Philadelphia, in 1856-ninety-three years ago. This was twenty years before application was made for the granting of a charter to the Academy, but the thoughts and ideals expressed in these words have led to our present-day Academy schools. Bishop Benade said (in part):

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     "My brethren, we have this day actually begun a great work, however small and insignificant may be its first appearance, and however weak and feeble may be the hands which have been led unto it,-a work which, as I verily believe, has a future of unmeasurable extension and untold use. . . . In contemplating the future of this beginning, and looking down the vista of coming years, we may suffer our thoughts to run on other and many more forms of youthful life gathered together in the same place, and for the same end, and enjoying the benefits of that which we have begun to do. And then,-turning the eye to the right hand and the left, and all around,-may we not behold many, very many, other and like houses, smaller and larger, with their inmates and their labors and their uses and their irradiating spheres of New Church life,-and heavenly charity,-and, in the midst of all, and high above all, a great House, a wonderful house of science and knowledge, of instruction and education, with its youth and voting men, and middle aged, and old men, with learning and intelligence and wisdom, and its universal sphere of New Church educational life, extending on all sides and to all parts-flowing into, and forming and conforming all the lesser and least houses into accordance and agreement with itself, being to them as a perpetual fountain for the replenishing of their uses, and receiving from them its supply of needed material, to elaborate and send forth again and again, in the performance of its great universal use.
     "May we not-nay, should we not-look to these as ends also in our present work? Who shall say that these things shall not be? Who will gainsay, if we declare that they will be?"

     These words were spoken at the foundation of the first New Church school in the world which was established as a definite use of the church, and yet the vision was such that the words portray what is actual fact almost a century later. Could the speaker foresee the great institution of learning that we have here in Bryn Athyn? Could his supporters picture our Academy as it is developing the interior truths of the Heavenly Doctrine? They, of course, did not know what the future might unfold As a matter of fact, the school dedicated at that time lasted only a few years.

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But the hope expressed in founding it lives on; for it was an expression of a Divine use, and therefore could not die.
     The men who were instrumental in this work could not foresee the future. They did not know the trend of future educational development, the ways and means of advancing this distinctive use, nor the ultimate outcome of the work which they commenced. They simply saw a use which must be fulfilled, and an intellectual training which was necessary for the upbuilding of the church; it was sufficient for them to fill this use in their own day and age, confident that in the degree that it was in harmony with the Divine purpose that use would continue and develop. Without being unduly solicitous about external means, they fixed their attention upon the fulfilment of a Divine use among men.
     What a lesson to us! A certain pressing need of the church is seen; it is adopted by the church as a Divine use to be performed; it is commenced in the face of the greatest difficulty and strong opposition, and with scanty means available: but it is done with the intelligent and confident expectation that, with the willing co-operation of men, the Lord will provide for the development of the use. The success and the continuance of the work they commenced is a testification that it was and is a use in harmony with the Divine Order.

     It is inspirational to look back to the vision and the courage of these founders of the Academy, to whom, in Providence, we owe so much. But it is also necessary for us to look to our present hopes.
     Our greatest desire must be to keep before us the wide vision and high ideals for which the Academy was founded, namely, the development, in the light of the Writings, of a new theology, a new philosophy, and a new science-all as means of enabling the Lord to build His church in the hearts and minds of men. For the Academy was founded, not only to teach our children in the way of the New Church, but also to develop the distinctive doctrines given us in relation to every field of human endeavor and thought. And it is of the greatest importance that the teachers of the Academy should have the opportunity and encouragement to develop this vital aspect of the Academy's work.

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     At this day, great pressure is brought upon all schools toward a standardization, and the Academy is justly gratified that it has so far been able to meet the intellectual standards of the educational world. The Academy makes every effort to equip its students with the knowledges and skills that will prepare them for their uses in this highly specialized world. But the determination has been that this need to meet certain external standards shall in no wise detract from the spiritual training for which the school was founded. This supreme end must ever be most closely and zealously guarded, for without it our fundamental reason for existence would perish.
     In the higher Academy schools at Bryn Athyn we have that Great House of instruction and education, with its universal sphere of New Church educational life, which Bishop Benade foresaw: and it has extended its uses into the lesser houses, being to them as a perpetual fountain for the replenishing of their uses. The Academy s use ms to the whole church. The church looks to the Academy for the education of its ministers. The larger societies, with their elementary schools, look to the Academy for its supply of teachers, as well as for that deeper study of the educational principles of the Writings which alone can make our education distinctive.
     But the relationship is completely reciprocal, for it is from the church and from our local schools that the Academy receives the material and the stimulus of its work, and is kept in close touch with present needs. We may hope that in the future other New Church high schools will be founded in different countries, but always there will be the need of a center of learning such as has been developed here. Without the closest collaboration of the schools of local societies and the Academy school, the uses of both would be very seriously impaired. So a steadily increasing means of co-ordinating these uses must be another of our hopes for the future.

     We have selected hope as our theme, as the New Church doctrine on this subject is so essential to men at this day. We live in a world that is disillusioned, that is governed by a multitude of fears verging on despair, a world that is in constant dread of the threatening results of disorders and evils, and yet refuses to humble itself before the Divine Revelation of the Lord, to see the real nature of those evils and oppose them.

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This is the state into which the hells lead men, for in it they can work their purpose all unseen.
     At no time has it been more important that our students should go forth prepared to combat this false philosophy of despair. They know that the Lord rules the universe according to His Divine Laws of Order, and that everything opposed to that order is evil and from hell. These are the things that we as individuals and as societies must shun, in order that the laws of order may protect us, and enable the Lord to be present to bring contentment and true peace to mankind.
     The celebration of Charter Day marks another year in the Academy's history, and affords an opportunity for all to strengthen and reaffirm their faith in distinctive New Church education. It provides the whole church an occasion to look back to the hopes of our forefathers, to see how they have been accomplished up to the present, and to determine to carry them forward in our own day with full vigor. The hope of the Academy is the hope of the Church; it is the indispensable means of developing and entering into those interior Divine doctrines which alone can build the Church upon earth. Let the chief of all hopes be that Our Own Academy may flourish, and that every Academician may say in his heart, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it."
REJECTION OF THE LORD'S DIVINITY 1950

REJECTION OF THE LORD'S DIVINITY       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1950

     A REVIEW

     THE QUEST OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS. A critical study of its progress from Reimarus to Wrede. By Albert Schweitzer. D.Th.. D.M., D.Phil. With a Preface by F.C. Burkitt, D.D. Macmillan Co., New York, 1948. 413 pages.

     The book under notice is not new. It first appeared in its German original in 1906, was translated into English in 1910, and has seen many editions. For it is considered a classic in tracing the development of opinion in the Christian world of scholarship since the time of Reimarus, a contemporary of Swedenborg.

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The treatise, which starts out with a eulogy of German biblical research, is really a story of the rejection of the Divinity of the Lord in the post-judgment era of the Christian Church.
     To Dr. Schweitzer (who is widely lauded as a saint as well as a scholar) the problem confronting students of the "sources" for the life of Christ (by which he seems to mean the "synoptic" Gospels as revised by the critics) was that, while they "assert that Jesus felt Himself to be the Messiah" their record does not show "that He ever publicly claimed to be so." Christians had to test out two hypotheses, that Jesus felt Himself to be the Messiah, as the sources assert, or that He did not feel Himself to be so, as His conduct implies; or else "try to conjecture what kind of Messianic consciousness His must have been, if it left His conduct and His discourses unaffected." And for the latter they "have to fall back upon conjecture."
     As to the "eschatological expectations" of the Jews-their anticipation of a Messiah and a last day of judgment-these, in Dr. Schweitzer's view, were not consistent. The prophets had drawn one picture of the Messiah, the 'apocalyptic' books-among which he classes Daniel-another. Which was the popular form, we have no means of knowing. We only know what the Christians, "in consequence of the coming of Jesus." thought about how the Lord would return at the last day to judge the quick and the dead and initiate the Kingdom.
     The first real "light" came to students in 1835 through D. F. Strauss, who wrote "with hate" of the supernatural nimbus with which Jesus had been surrounded. Strauss's solution was to reject the Fourth Gospel and claim that all miraculous incidents recorded in the other gospels were simply mythical additions. The idea of a second coming of Christ, for instance was not derived from Jesus, but simply put into His mouth!
     It is not necessary here to trace the many interpretations (and interpolations) which mark the road towards entire skepticism, whereby Christianity becomes, in modern times, a mere conceit.-an emotional self-realization of man's immoral nature which sees a distant goal of perfection in its imagination and calls it the Kingdom of God. The figure of the historical Jesus is pared down to a man of deep moral insight who sends disciples to spread His call for repentance, and finally realizes that He must submit to death to dignify His message and to force the wheel of the world to turn its "last revolution which is to bring all ordinary history to a close." (Page 370.)

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     That He was the Christ, dawns upon Jesus at His baptism, according to this theory. In an ecstatic experience on the mount of Transfiguration, this conviction first strikes the three who belonged to the inner circle of the apostles; but Jesus bids them "tell no man." Peter blurts it out to the twelve at Caesaria Philippi.* Jesus, disappointed that the apostolic preaching of repentance did not gather the elect or "let loose the final tribulation, and so compel the coming of the Kingdom" (as He was supposed to have predicted in Matt. x. 23), began to feel that the prophecies of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah (liii.) applied to Himself, and that He, who was to rule over the Kingdom in the future age, must now give His life "as a ransom for many."
     * Dr. Schweitzer here reverses the events of Matthew xvi and xvii.
     For this reason He goes up to Jerusalem openly, and enters it riding on an ass to symbolize His Messianic office; yet He is greeted by the crowds, not as the Messiah, but as a prophet-as Elias that was to be the forerunner of the Kingdom. The multitudes were not aware of His Messianic claims, which Jesus kept confidential among a few. But at last Judas betrayed the secret to the high priest, and gave cause for a quick trial and conviction on grounds of blasphemy. Finally, on the cross, Jesus cries out, "It is finished!" This Dr. Schweitzer interprets as a desperate "abandonment of the eschatological future" and His acceptance of the idea that there will not be any "last day" in any supernatural sense, but that a new spirit of religious progress and experience will permeate history and bring it nearer to the Kingdom, right here on earth. "The Son of Man' was buried in the ruins of the falling eschatological world; there remained alive only Jesus 'the Man.'" (Pages 255, 285.)
     But the disciples and early Christians still expected the promised fulfilments of the Lord's predictions about the imminence of the catastrophic judgment. These faith-evoking apocalyptic hopes saw Christianity through its critical beginnings. Gradually the tension of prophecy lessened. And "in its death-pangs eschatology bore to the Greek genius a wonder-child-the mystic, sensuous.

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Early-Christian doctrine of immortality-and consecrated Christianity as the religion of immortality to take the place of the slowly dying civilization of the ancient world." (Page 255.) Whether Dr. Schweitzer approves of immortality-as a legitimate child-is not clear. Indeed, his voice, in this book, is one of disguised despair, as of one who seeks to hide the nakedness of present-day Christian faith. His mind fumbles for a new foundation of Christianity after the quest for the historical Jesus has been given up and the new wine which the Lord offered the world has been turned into vinegar It does not really matter, he seems to say. We must not look back to the historic. Even if Jesus on the cross did give up the hope for an immortal supra-sensuous world where He would rule, there remained, "as a spiritual reality," "the mighty spiritual force" which "streams forth from Him and flows through our time also." This, he says, is the "solid foundation of Christianity." (See pages 285. 399.) It is not the historic Jesus, "but Jesus as spiritually arisen within men," who is now significant.
     In effect this would mean: The function of the churches has passed. Theology is of merely historical value. From now on, men-each in his own way-must seek for inspiration from the life of the man Jesus, and from his arresting, challenging sayings, with the hope that His picturesque predictions and claims-though obviously unbelievable-may bolster up our bashful faith in better things to come!
     The Writings lead us to expect just this. "I fear," writes Swedenborg, "that these abomination-the Arian and Socinian doctrines which deny the Divinity of the Lord-he concealed in the general spirit of the men of the church at this day." "Arius will rise again, and rule secretly even to the end." (T. C. R. 380, 638.) The pronouns referring to "the Man Jesus" are still capitalized, but this is only a sign of respect.
     The attempt to reach an inner understanding of the Gospel-story without reading it in the light of genuine doctrine and some knowledge of correspondences can lead nowhere else. Yet it is pointed out by Dr. Schweitzer that the Lord, "whenever He desires to make known anything further concerning the Kingdom of God than just its near approach, seems to be confined, as it were by a higher law, to the parabolic form of discourse." (Page 354.)

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     But in his Preface, Dr. F. C. Burkitt, from his better acquaintance with apocalyptic literature, points out that one feature of thoroughgoing eschatology is "that absolute truth cannot be embodied in human thought, and that its expression must always he clothed in symbols. It may be," he continues, "that we have to translate the hopes and fears of our spiritual ancestors into the language of our new world." "The expectations of vindication and judgment to come . . . are not to be regarded as regrettable accretions foisted on by superstition to the pure morality of the original Gospel." Such things as the sacraments and the vision of the New Jerusalem are expressive of the Christian Hope. They are "to be allegorized and 'spiritualized' by us for our own use whenever necessary, but not to be given up so long as we remain Christians at all."

     *      *     *     *

     What remains, then, is the fact, already patent to New Churchmen, that the only hope lies in a Divinely revealed "translation" of these symbols into spiritual truths that can be rationally understood. No man-as Dr. Schweitzer shows from Christian church-history-can do this for himself!
     When the New Testament is read in the light of the spiritual sense, now revealed by the Lord through the instrumentality of Emanuel Swedenborg, the `historical Jesus" will emerge as an intensely real figure, without any contradictions with the "eschatological" Christ. The Gospel of John will be seen as perfectly compatible with the synoptic Gospels; and even the "psychology" of Jesus, of which Dr. Schweitzer despairs, will become understood; for the Arcana clearly reveals the inner life of the Lord.
     There is indeed a "spiritual force" streaming forth from the Lord and vitalizing the Church. But it operates through the acknowledgment of the sole Divinity of the Lord's Human and of the holiness of the Word. (Ath. 84, 95: T. C. R. 139, 142.) Where these are denied, men cannot receive good and truth as coming from the Lord alone as the Only Man, and the church is moved by bogus forces-those of personal merit, or of mystical self-satisfaction which confuses the human and the Divine, or of a sophisticated sentimentality which finds no heaven beyond the life of earth.

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MUSIC IN WORSHIP; ITS FUNCTION AND QUALITY 1950

MUSIC IN WORSHIP; ITS FUNCTION AND QUALITY       A. STANLEY WAINSCOT       1950

     (A Paper read at the New Church Club, London, 1949.)

     From creation, mankind has been endowed with the capacity to perceive and to appreciate Beauty. Man has also been gifted with an innate desire for it. Throughout history he has endeavored to record his occasional glimpses of it in terms of shape, color, and sound. His successes and failures have been crystallized in what we know as "the arts," which, for the reason that they are means to an end naturally display much diversity and instability.
     At times, however, within all these art forms, a gleam of something not of this world is seen. This perception fully justifies all the labor of mind and body, and all the apparent failures. It is as balm to the sensitive artist, for it testifies to the reality and the truth of that which he seeks to make known. In so far as any art is practised honestly and sincerely, in so far it can provide a genuine ultimate embodiment of the spirit of beauty. The nature of this spirit has been disclosed in the Writings of the Second Advent, namely, ". . . that it is from the good of the will through the truth of faith. The truth of faith itself presents beauty to view in the outward form, but the good of the will imparts and forms it. . ." (A. C. 4985.)
     By virtue of the increase of knowledge concerning the correspondential relationship existing between essence and form, or between cause and effect, we may look forward to a development of all the arts that will depend upon Divine Revelation as its main guide, rather than upon an arbitrary synthesis of conflicting schools.
     Man, in his more enlightened moments, has wished to dedicate his finest works of art to God. Thus in temple, church, and cathedral, the Architect, the Painter, the Woodcarver, the Stained-glass artist, the Sculptor, and the Musician, have lavished their skill and genius to the end that God's House might epitomize man's grateful indebtedness to his Maker for all that is good, true, and beautiful.

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     It is interesting to note that Music, although the most "abstract" of the arts, was the last to develop along what might be called formal lines. The history of this development, together with a study of contemporary movements, is not only fascinating, but also invaluable as a background for future growth and the preservation of a balanced outlook.

     To allay any misgivings that may be felt by those who think that the subject of the art of music is the sole concern of musicians, let us state emphatically that, in our discussion of the function and qualities of Music in Worship, we do not intend to introduce technicalities except in so far as they cohere with fundamental laws. Our attempt will be to examine music as it is used in worship, both as to its inner significance and its outward manifestation, and to display it in a dual role of a representative of corporate affections of good and truth, and as a stimulant of states of mind in agreement therewith. Stated very briefly, our main argument is as follows:
     Inasmuch as the ultimate or receiving vessel is the basis and containant of influx from the interiors, and inasmuch as all influx is received according to the state of the vessel, it follows that Music in Worship, being such a vessel, can the more fully perform its function as the correspondent and representative of affections of good and truth, the more nearly its qualities approach perfection.
     We hope to show, in the light of the teachings of the Writings, as well as those of accredited specialists in the art, that, far from being a haphazard and comparatively unimportant adjunct of the spoken word, music performed in worship has its own specific realm wherein definite laws of order are operative. The knowledge of these laws is a necessary preliminary to any positive approach towards perfection.

     Music is sound: but not all sound is music. This is so obvious that it hardly need be said. However, while it is commonly known that music, physically speaking, consists of vibrations, it is not always realized that a vital element exists in musical sound which is absent in non-musical sound. This element, we suggest, is ORDER. Order between successive notes of a melody, and between several notes sounding simultaneously, is the basis of what we call "harmony."

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Man selects those combinations of tones which he perceives as having definite relationship with each other, and having certain powers in evoking emotional experiences. These relationships, we contend, are universally constant, for they are part of the phenomenal world of effects. They lie ready and waiting for man to seek them out and then use them either to express his own states of mind or to glorify his God.
     Within the physical universe all possible combinations of vibration-frequency exist in potency. The human ear is formed precisely that it may receive and pass on to the brain an extremely wide range of aerial pulsations. Its sensitivity is so acute that in conjunction with the whole cranium, the ear presents to the brain an undistorted record of what it receives. Thereupon the mind is able to distinguish between harmonious and disharmonious sounds, and to make its own selection therefrom. Throughout life, by the acquisition of more and more knowledge, considerable modification may take place as to what is considered to be harmonious sound. The quality of musical appreciation in a child, for example, is radically different from that in a well-informed adult. The building up of even a slender store of knowledge is a slow process.
     Music, differing from the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture, makes its initial impact upon the brain only while it is actually being performed. As it exists on the printed page, or even in the memory, it is merely a symbol; but when it presents itself in aerial vibrations it becomes "actual." and is described as applied music. It is during those moments that music is in its fulness and power as an ultimate basis and containant. A picture, a statue, or a building, on the other hand, can be seen in its complete, fixed form, which does not change, for the artist has finished his work. A musical composition, confined to time-duration, passes in review, as it were, that point we call "the present." Only after repeated hearings, in the case of a complex work, do we find it possible to appraise it fairly, especially as each performance may display varmalions in details.
     Applied music is divided into two main groups: 1) that which is used in Divine Worship, and 2) that which is used for other purposes. The second group, being outside the scope of this paper, will be passed by, and we will therefore proceed to consider the first group only.

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     Music used in worship is itself subdivided into two distinct categories,-music in aid of worship, and music as a vehicle of worship. The importance of this distinction, we feel, has been but faintly recognized, both in the Old Church and in the New. Let us quote from a most interesting treatise on "Music and Worship." written jointly by Sir Walford Davies and Dr. Harvey Grace:

     ". . . An Anthem or a Voluntary is definitely music in aid; a Gloria or a Kyrie may he music as the very channel of worship itself. . . The aim of an anthem is to be fitly beautiful, and the aim of liturgical music is to be beautifully fitting. . . . Nevertheless, if liturgical music, forsaking its simplicity, tries to be beautiful in itself, it ceases to be fittingly lovely. On the other hand, music as elaborate and exactingly complex as the most elaborate architecture in the world can be devotedly offered by church musicians; and it can be as beautifully in place in Westminster Abbey or York Minster as the elaborated architecture itself is in place. On the other hand, it is equally clear that to attempt to make such elaborate music an integral part of the utterance of the musically unskilled worshippers themselves, whether in Westminster Abbey or anywhere else, is to defeat its true end."

     From these illuminating remarks we may arrive at the conclusion that the role played by music in aid of worship is similar to that played by the works of the architect, the artist, the sculptor, and the wood-carver. These, by their impact upon the senses, evoke states of the animus consonant with the spirit of worship, but which cannot he said to spring therefrom.
     To raise the question as to what constitutes the "fittingly beautiful" in connection with music in aid of worship would prove of little value, either at this moment or anywhere in this paper. It may be pointed out, however, that incongruity in any form can have no place; nor can slovenliness, triviality, banality, or eccentricity. There should be, behind and within, a general aim or motive, such as the desire to glorify God with the most beautiful sounds, which, exerting an all-over control of the complex details of the musical forms, gives them point and direction, coherency and power. In other words, whatever forms are used, complex or simple, they must exist only for the sake of the use. Provided this is so, the wisdom inherent in musical art is competent to provide the necessary means to the end.

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     With music as a vehicle of worship the case ms very different. What is here required is a blend of ordered spontaneity and unified simplicity directly arising from a corporate spirit of worship. It is something given out by a congregation as a unit, rather than a passive reception by a number of individuals. We quote again from "Music and Worship":

     ". . . The ideals of worship-music are those of primal simplicity. It inns: be art still: but, paradoxically, the art of the many at its best is artless. Beauty it must have, but the beauty of a simple, spontaneous utterance of natural and ordinary sense, in sung words, by natural, ordinary people, whose devotion impel; them to speak and sing as one. . . Congregations must sing as naturally, unaffectedly, and unlaboriously as they would speak."

     The distinction between these two types of worship-music is thus by no means a trivial one. Both are necessary in worship. But there is a world of difference between an individual listening to music, however exalted and perfectly performed, and the spontaneous expression of the unified affections of a body of sincere worshippers in simple yet ordered choral tones. The latter is active rather than passive; affections, both interior and exterior, are always urgent to descend into their fitting ultimates. It is a familiar phenomenon that strongly felt emotions or deeply stirred affections will often bypass articulated speech and flow directly into what we may term elemental or primitive "song." Particularly is that the case with the childhood states of both the individual and the race: for there the knowledge of the laws of order, or, in other words, the understanding of the art of music, is rudimentary and, generally speaking, intuitive.
     Education is a prerequisite, not only in the science and art of verbal and written ultimates of the thoughts of the understanding, but also in the science and art of vocal and instrumental ultimates of the affections of the will. Progressive development and consequent complexity need not bring am' lessening of the capacity to express or appreciate: rather would it provide for the ultimation of the more interior and less obvious affections, to the extent that such development and complexity are not sought otherwise than as means to an end.
     Unfortunately we must come to recognize the fact that the standards of musical achievement of congregations fall well below their facility in the spoken word.

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Much needs to be learned before bodies of worshippers, both great and small, can be as expressive musically as they are intelligible verbally. May the day be not too far distant when the educating of children in the art of music will be commensurate with that in the art of articulate speech and writing; when, as they are taught to form their letters and to spell short words, they will be shown how to form the musical symbols, and how to write down their own little melodies.

     Several statements in the Writings indicate very clearly that the origin of music is in the spiritual world. We read:
     The affections of good and truth are expressed by the sounds of musical instruments. "This does not come from an origin in the natural world, but from an origin in the spiritual world, and thus from the correspondence of things which flow from order in the natural world with things in the spiritual world. The harmony of sounds and their varieties in the natural world correspond to states of joy and gladness in the spiritual world, and states of joy and gladness in the spiritual world exist from the affections, which in that world are the affections of good and truth." (A. C. 8337.)
     It is a matter of interest that the phrase "things which flow from order in the natural world" has direct reference to the ultimate "harmony of sounds." This appears to confirm our statement, made earlier, that ORDER is that element which distinguishes musical sound from non-musical.
     "Joy of heart," we are told in A. E. 326, "puts itself forth bringing when it is in its fulness; and the reason that this is done by singing because, when the heart is full of joy and thence the thought also, then it pour itself forth in singing, the joy itself of the heart by the sound of the singing and the joy of the thought thence by the song. The quality of the joy of the thought is presented by the expressions of the song, and the quality of the joy of the heart by the harmony. . . Hence it is evident that the harmony of singing, and also the musical art, which can express the various kinds of affections, and be applied to things or circumstances, are from the spiritual world, and not from the natural, as is believed."

     From these passages alone we may realize that the relationship obtaining between affection and musical sound is a correspondential one. Let us remind ourselves that such a correspondence can only exist at the actual time of performance. Consequently all our attention must be concentrated upon what happiness then; and conclusions drawn, and criticisms made, then.
     However great, however fittingly beautiful, certain music-forms may be, if they are performed badly, inartistically, or carelessly, the correspondential relationship between the actual sounds and their inner content is thrown out of order, in that a restriction is imposed upon the influx of the one into the other.

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Inappropriate or feeble music, even if well performed, would produce a similar result, but not quite to the same extent.

     The Art of Music is elevated to its highest level when it is dedicated to the services of Divine Worship. As the manifest embodiment of spiritual affections of good and truth, it takes on qualities and functions remote from those of purely secular music. This latter, despite its intriguing and stimulating complexity and variety, ultimates merely the very mixed state of man's unregenerate natural mind.
     Let us quote one or two extracts from the Writings which deal with the nature of Worship. We read:

     "All things of worship are externals of the body and externals of the mind. The externals of the body are done by acts and by speech; and the externals of the mind are those which are done in will and thought, which cohere with the externals of the body." (Charity 173.)
     The externals of the body are then listed, and among them "singing devoutly." which we may justly identify with all liturgical music.
     "Man, while he is in the world, ought not to omit external worship; for by external worship internal things are excited; and by means of external worship external things are kept in sanctity, so that internal things may flow in." (A. C. 1618.)
     "When man is in genuine worship, then the Lord inflows into the goods and truths which are in a man and raises them to Himself, and with them the man himself so far and in such manner as he is in them. This elevation is not evident to the man if he is not in the genuine affection of truth and good, and in the knowledge, acknowledgment and belief that all good comes from the Lord." (A. C. 10299.)
     "The Lord is present with those within the church who are in spiritual love and thence in faith. With these there are good spirits and angels, not only in their external worship, but also at the same time in their internal; and therefore with them there exists a communication of heaven with them; for the Lord flows into them through heaven through their internals into the externals." (A. C. 4311.)

     We believe these quotations support the conclusion we have made that music as a vehicle of worship is the ultimate basis and containant of affections, just as articulate speech is the ultimate basis and containant of thoughts.

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The passages also teach that there is an influx into this ultimate basis from the Lord through heaven; and we now hope to show that this influx not only descends into its ultimate, but that it is qualified by the state of that ultimate. The following general spiritual law may be usefully stated in connection with this:

     "It is a universal law that influx accommodates itself according to efflux, and if the efflux is inhibited, the influx is inhibited. Through the internal man there is an influx of good and truth from the Lord and through the external there must be an efflux, namely, into the life, that is, in the exercise of charity. When there is this efflux, then there is a continuous influx from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord. But if there is no efflux, but resistance in the external or natural man. . . . it follows from the universal law just mentioned that the influx accommodates itself to the efflux, consequently that the influx of good draws back, and thereby the internal through which is the influx is closed. . . " (A. C. 5828:3.)

     According to our interpretation of this law, we can see that the external things of worship, of the body, called "signs of charity," must include the performance of liturgical music, which definitely is an effect of efflux into man's life. We feel strongly that inasmuch as it is necessary, particularly in worship, to attain to certain standards of articulate speech, embodying an efflux from the understanding, so is it equally necessary to reach commensurate standards of musical performance embodying an efflux from the will. In our opinion both are mutually complementary. Here are three more quotations from the Writings which amplify the matter:

     "The ultimate of man's life is in his natural, this ultimate being a base, as it were, for his interior and higher things, for these terminate in the ultimate and subsist there. Unless, therefore, life be in the ultimate, it is not full, thus not perfect; and moreover, all the interior or higher coexist in the ultimate as in their simultaneity; thus interior or higher things are according to the quality of the ultimate, because it receives them." (A. E. 666:3.)
     "Those things which inflow through heaven from the Lord with man inflow into his interiors, and proceed to the ultimates or extremes, where they become sensible to him; consequently they inflow even into the sensual, and through this into things which are of the body. If the sensual is filled up with phantasies arising from fallacies and appearances, and most especially if from falsities, then the truths which inflow are turned there into similar things, for they are received there according to the form induced." (A. C. 7442.)
     "What are truth and good in the hearing? Is not that the truth there which is called harmonious, and the good there which is called charming? For the charm is felt in hearing harmonious sounds." (D. P. 312.)

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     We trust it is not unreasonable to assume that any imperfection in the performance of worship-music is the result of imperfect efflux from the will, and, by thus impeding influx from within, produces a conscious lessening of both delight and evocative power.

     Practical Steps.-We have now come to the point where we should indicate briefly what are the practical steps we may take in order to reach standards of performance which tend to greater perfection. Before we do so, however, we would draw your attention to the constant emphasis upon the performance of worship-music which is made throughout this paper. The matter of the composition and choice of such music is highly specialized, and falls outside of our present limits of time and space. If we will continue to think of music as a vehicle of worship as it is in performance, viewing it as a temporal manifestation of a corporate effort, and as an embodiment in ordered sounds of the affections of a general body acting as one, we will the more speedily comprehend the practical issues involved, which have to do with the manner in which the music is actually produced, and thus with its states of efficiency or otherwise, as an ultimate vessel.
     Let us remember, too, that music is a gift from the Lord, and, like many other such gifts, it requires the exercise of faculties and powers. The more we endeavor, as of ourselves, to improve these faculties, the more perfect may the resulting ultimate forms become, and the more capable we may be in reacting fully to the stimulus they proffer. The training of faculties, we again emphasize, is not an end in itself, and should not exert an undue influence during public worship. As technical matters are involved, its proper place is in the home and at the singing practice. When and in so far as proficiency is gained, technical things recede into the background. In other words, we must learn in order to forget.
     Congregational or liturgical music is a blending of music and words. Words spoken by the whole gathering should ultimate the thoughts of the "general" understanding, and, in our Liturgy, are mostly taken from the Word itself. The music wedded to these words, and sung by the same gathering, should ultimate the affections of the "general" will, and thus it ought to take its place as an equal partner in the laying of a gift before the altar-a gift which is capable of being infilled with good affections as well as true thoughts.

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The necessary steps towards the achievement of adequate standards of performance are those indicated by the meticulous obedience to certain well-defined rules of artistic usage.
     The rules of artistic usage, or the laws of order pertaining both to speech and music, are as follows: Pitch, Rhythm, Volume, Speed, Spacing, Balance, Tone Quality, and Diction. We shall discuss these in turn, very briefly.

     PITCH, or the rise and fall of vibration-frequencies, although depending upon the written music-forms, and thus coming within the purview of composition, is yet necessary for us to know something about. In a spoken sentence, such as: 0 come, let us sing unto the Lord! we notice that certain words rise up the scale in a perfectly natural manner. If we said the same sentence in a monotone. or in one level "pitch," we would at once become aware of a great loss in the meaning of the words themselves. When we acid singing tone to them, those same prominent words demand to occupy the same situation in the melodic line as they did in the spoken sentence. The words "Come," "sing," and "Lord" are thus manifested the most important and significant in the whole sentence. The more we feel the urgency of the message we want to give, the more will certain `key" words stand out in higher relief above the rest, and the general trend of the accompanying musical tone will be always upward. On the other hand, a falling of tone, or lowering of pitch, clearly indicates and represents a return to normal, or to calm and peaceful states of mind. It is of the highest importance that these rises and falls be made with the most possible unanimity-and accuracy.

     RHYTHM, or the longs and the shorts, is one of the most important of these laws, and ret one of the most difficult to observe in practice. Examine again the sentence: "0 come, let us sing unto the Lord!" Do we not find that some of the syllables in it are long, while others are comparatively short? As it happens, the same three words "Come," "sing," and "Lord" are the long ones, and we again perceive this to be perfectly natural. Imagine the effect if we gave each syllable the same duration value, and what would result if at the same time the singing tone was all on the same note! If we are able to appreciate a proper observance of the law of rhythm as it affects us as individuals, we ought to begin to see its absolute necessity in congregational singing.

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No ideal will ever be reached if each member of a congregation, having a different idea of rhythm, proceeds to use it regardless of whether or not it fits in with all the others; for in this matter unanimity is particularly essential. Those of us who have practised the recitative portions of the chants during recent months have had a lively experience of the effects of both the right and the wrong ways to use rhythm in worship-music.

     VOLUME, or light and shade, provides the musical equivalent of distance in vision. The more significant features are naturally brought to the foreground, as it were, receding into the background again as the occasion demands. Think of our sentence again, and imagine it being declaimed with due observance of laws 1 and 2 in other words, the important words would be both higher in pitch and longer in duration than the others. Now we discover a natural inclination to make them also much louder than the rest, and that the whole phrase tends to get louder and louder, culminating in the word "Lord." Such an increase of tonal volume, leading up to a great climax, fittingly represents and evokes the spirit of sheer exultation and urgency, which, if unanimously made by the congregation, raises the music up to the very heights. Conversely, a decrease of volume, when properly done, manifestly reflects a withdrawal into states of humility, supplication, peace, or consolation. We must reiterate, however, that without unanimity of action our efforts are doomed to failure.

     SPEED, our fourth law, is also one that is open to misuse. Speed suggests energy or activity; the greater the energy, the faster the speed, and conversely. A too rapid delivery of momentous words, with or without musical tone, will inevitably suggest irreverence, casualness and even flippancy. On the other hand, a slow, deliberate, and portentous giving out of unimportant words, whether in song or speech, is both dull and uninspiring. Here we may recognize the need for a unanimous adoption of suitable speeds, guided. where possible, by the metronome indications on the printed music.

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The idea that music in worship ought always to be slower than secular music does not work out in practice, because, if it were rigidly followed, there would be many occasions where an unnecessary and arbitrary restriction would prevent the spontaneous observance of one or more of these laws of order.

     SPACING simply means the common-sense provision of relevant pauses during the delivery of either a spoken or sung sentence. Sir Walford Davies has said that the silences between words are an integral and even dynamic part of their utterance, and that the extra "edges" of silence around an important word are as helpful as the extra white mount can be around an etching. If we made no clear break after the words "Come," and "sing," to revert to our illustration, a certain amount of their significance would surely be denied expression. The running of successive words together without due regard for appropriate silences around them invests sung worship- music with such undesirable features as lack of intelligibility, lack of conviction, and a lack of reverence. It is much more simple and rewarding for a congregation to make the necessary endeavor to observe this rule, and all the others, than is generally believed.

     BALANCE has to do with the artistic blending of male and female voices singing in parts, or in harmony, as it is called. Our congregations are generally well provided with soprano voices, but sadly deficient in the others, particularly altos and tenors. It seems only right to ask the sopranos to listen carefully to the whole body of tone, and to reduce their own tonal volume somewhat, if the other parts cannot be heard. Altos, tenors, and basses, also listening carefully, should, if their numbers are few, try to increase the power of their contribution. The point and purpose of singing in parts is lost if there is an unreasonable absence of balance between them.

     The matter of TONE QUALITY is closely related to Balance, not only for the reason that it is concerned with making the best possible use of available material, but also because it requires careful listening on the part of all members of the congregation. In spite of great diversity of voice-quality, it is nevertheless possible to achieve requisite unity, provided every one conscientiously keeps that end steadily in view.

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If one's voice is naturally hard and piercing, or more powerful than most, the obvious thing to do is to try to soften the tone or moderate its power. On the other hand, if the voice is over soft, or lacking in definition, it is not too difficult to find means of acquiring greater power and thus the capacity to make a more useful contribution. It is largely a matter of recognizing the general requirements, and of appreciating one's own shortcomings.

     Our final law. DICTION, although not purely a musical one, is included because its non-observance seriously interferes with the artistic blending of music and words which is so necessary in worship. If initial and concluding consonants are not sounded clearly and unanimously, the result is an inconclusive and muffled jumble. Vowels that are given less than their rightful characteristic qualities take away a surprising amount of vitality from sung words. The tendency to compress the vowel sounds into too narrow a range seems to be greater, the larger the body of singers. Considerable attention to these two points is therefore required in order to invest liturgical music with clarity and precision.

     This cursory presentation of the laws or rules underlying the performance of music as the vehicle of worship has been made so that we may realize that some degree of observance of every one of them is required of us, if we are sincerely desirous of proffering a fittingly beautiful and efficient correspondential ultimate for the affections which we hope may make our public worship living. They provide the means for the acquisition of those standards in performance which we now perceive to be ideal. The existence of unavoidable limitations does not inhibit the possibility of such acquisition. Relative perfection can be attained within the compass of very modest powers: but, even within the most simple forms, obedience to the rules we have outlined is not only possible, but is obligatory.
     There is warrant in more than one statement of the Writings for the continual stress upon unanimity we have made in this paper. Here is one, from A. C. 1648: "There is a speech of good spirits, and of angelic spirits, of many simultaneously, especially in gyres or choirs. The speech of those who discourse in choirs flows with a kind of rhythmical cadence, . . . the reason being that they think and speak in society, and hence the form of discourse has cadence according to the connection and unanimity of the society. (A. C. 1648.)

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     If it be the destiny of the church to be the Lord's kingdom on earth, it is surely not out of place to study and to emulate the usages of heavenly society, particularly in connection with worship. Further warrant is offered in the book on "Music and Worship," page 60: "The principle of neighborliness . . . at once creates individual efforts to ensure unanimity by every instantaneous and unconscious process of give-and-take. Voice will wait for voice here and there instinctively, so that key-words may be synchronized strongly and the line of utterance kept. Extremes among individual voices will be unconsciously cut down and attuned, so that the natural inflections, rhythms, speed, and, in a lesser degree, volume, take on disciplined limitations which individuals speaking alone would never need to regard." Here is the keynote, uncovering for us an undoubted field for the exercise of genuine charity.

     It may be thought by some of you that a very large mountain has been made out of a very small molehill. Some may feel that it is unnecessary to enter so deeply into the details of worship-music, because it tends to distract the mind from spiritual things. Let us repeat our main general argument, stated at the beginning of the paper: "Inasmuch as the ultimate or receiving vessel is the basis and containant of influx from the interiors, and inasmuch as all influx is received according to the state of the vessel, it follows that Music in Worship, being such a vessel, can the more fully perform its function as the correspondent and representative of the affections of good and truth, the more nearly its qualities approach perfection."
     We believe that, so far from taking away from the spiritual things of worship, the habitual observance of these fundamental laws must inevitably lead towards a deeper and more full manifestation of them. At first, of course, there must be conscious effort: but, as we have been at pains to point out, this need be only temporary, as temporary as were our early efforts to learn articulate speech.
     Unified simplicity does not imply absence of real and living beauty. It does, however, imply fitness: and to be fitting, music as a vehicle of worship must be performed in accordance with standards seen to be implicit in the art itself.

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What is appropriate for one set of circumstances may not be so in others: but in all cases, and in all circumstances, there should be no room for careless, half-hearted, or inefficient performance.
     Bishop de Charms, in an address on "Ritual in the New Church," wrote.     The service of a cathedral may be equally as simple as the service in a home, but their simplicity will not be identical. The one would not be appropriate, and therefore would not be simple, in the other. Appropriateness arises from complete adaptation to the place, the need, the situation, the use. And herein lies true simplicity and genuine beauty." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1933, page 9.)
     We submit that this "complete adaptation," in so far as it applies to worship-music, demands a positive approach towards the ideal and the perfect, which will require the enlightened efforts of all. Technicalities cannot be lightly dismissed by being thought merely restrictive. They must be used, and their place and function understood. In so far as they are wanting, in so far there is weakness in the orderly progression of end, cause and effect; for the end cannot be in the effect without its proximate cause, or means.
     In conclusion, may we say that the whole object of this paper, despite its many faults, is to draw attention to a concept of worship-music that is perhaps a little unorthodox, but which we feel to be worthy of consideration.

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Church News 1950

Church News        Various       1950

     OBITUARY.

     Miss Anna Boyesen.

     Anna Boyesen has finished her earthly life. She was called to the spiritual world at Oslo on the 5th of October. She was then more than eighty-six years old.
     Together with her brothers and her Aster, she received the truths of the New Church as a child through her father, Carl August Boyesen, a captain in the Norwegian army. He had become interested in the Doctrines through his brother, the Rev. Adolf Teodor Boyesen, who became the first minister of the New Church in Stockholm.
     Anna Boyesen became a teacher in the public schools in Oslo. She was an able and energetic teacher, and much beloved. On the occasion of my first lecture in Oslo, in November, 1926, she helped me to arrange everything-to rent a suitable hall, to speak with the editors of the newspapers in order to get a favorable mention and to advertise the lecture, and to engage a room at a hotel. She was helpful in these things every time I visited Oslo, as long as her strength permitted.
     When the Norwegian Swedenborg Society (Norsk Swedenborg Selskab) was formed on the 14th of November, 1926-not a society or circle of the Church as yet-she became its treasurer and librarian, and from the beginning was the leader. For a long time all of our meetings, except the public lectures and services, were held in her hospitable home, which she shared with her brother Ragnar, the pharmaceutist, who died last year. (NEW CHURCH LIFE. December, 1948, p. 574.) But, because of an accident during the German occupation in the last war, she was thereafter prevented from taking any active part in the work, and we missed her help very much indeed.
     When she celebrated her 80th birthday six years ago, she wrote to me: "Since I was a child I have loved all the wonderful things we learned to know from Swedenborg, and I always dreamt of being able to do something for the New Church. And to some extent it has fallen on me to do so, praise be the Lord. And there is nothing which I am so thankful for as this."
     Yea, it did indeed fall on her-the faithful, loyal instrument in the hands of the Lord-to do a good deal for the foundation of the New Church in Norway.

     The funeral service was conducted by me in Oslo on the 11th of October, at the close of which I expressed our thankfulness to her for all she had done for the Church and all she had wished to do, for her warm and faithful love, her friendship, and the fulfilment of her duty in everything, her spiritual interest and her inspiring example. She was the first one to work, until her strength failed and she was sorry not to be able to do anything more. Now she can work again better and more than she could here, enlightening, assisting and helping others as she did here.
     She often said: "Let us do the good for the sake of the good V She said this so often that it may be said to have been her proverb. When the end was coming, she cried with a loud voice: "The Lord is King!" These were here last words.
     More than her memory will live. What she wished with all her heart to dye to others will live with them, and be a blessing to them for life and to eternity.

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     Dunning my stay in Oslo I also conducted a private service of worship with the Holy Supper, and there was an attendance of 15 persons.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

     NEW YORK.

     On a warm rainy evening, Sunday, September 18th, after three very hot summer months of inactivity, the members of the New York Society met its the home of Miss Cornelia Stroh. A delicious supper was served by Cornelia, after which all present settled back in their seats to listen to the Rev. Morley Rich report on his pastoral trip through the West, with the help of a large map of the United States tacked up in view where all could see it and follow his route as he described the scenery and the many church friends he visited.
     It was a very interesting and enjoyable evening, and we were sorry for those members who were unable to be there to enjoy it with us. Besides the regular members of the group, we had a newcomer, Mrs. Arthur Williamson, whom we were very happy to welcome among us. The Arthur Williamsons are now living on Long Island, New York.
     Also in September, the Society held its Annual Meeting in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Rhodes, at which time officers were elected to the Executive Committee for the new fiscal year. At the close of the meeting Mr. Rich flashed on a small screen pictures he had taken on his trip this summer, showing groups of New Church friends taken in various parts of the West, and some scenes along the way.

     Church was held on Sunday, October 2nd, at 4.30 in the afternoon, at the new location-The Green Room, Hotel Sutton. New York City. There were seventeen people present, which is always encouraging, as we have lost several members in the past few years. But we are hoping to gain new ones this year. There were three guests present, Miss Helga Thronsen from Oslo, Norway, who is visiting friends in White Plains. New York, and expects to be in the United States for several months, and two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Williamson. Following the service, a meeting was held and a vote taken, and the new location was unanimously approved.
     Doctrinal class was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hyland Johns in Flushing, Long Island, on Sunday evening, October 16th. It was a beautiful evening, and some arrived by subway and bus, and others by train. There were fifteen present, including two guests. Mrs. Joseph R. Kendig from Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, and Miss Helga Thronsen. After a delicious supper prepared by the hostess, Mr. Rich gave a class on Divine Providence, and this was followed by a very interesting discussion on the subject. The evening passed all too quickly, and, because of distance for some, it was necessary to leave early so as to make other connections for home.

     Reading-discussion classes, which were begun last year, are being continued, and the first one of the new season was held in the home of Mrs. Paul Carpenter on Friday evening. November 4th. The work being read and discussed is The Earths in the Universe, and we hope to complete this short work and begin another before too long. These classes are much appreciated and enjoyed by the members of this Society.
     Reading-discussion classes are held on the Friday evening before the first Sunday of the month. Services of worship are held on the first Sunday of the month, at 4.30 its the afternoon; and doctrinal class on the third Sunday evening of the month.
     Our group, like all other societies, look forward to meetings together, and we are always happy to welcome new friends to join us in our activities.
     JANET KENDIG.

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     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     An excellent supper prepared the society for the Annual Meeting that followed it. The pastor opened the meeting with prayer and a lesson from the book of Psalms. "The God of Jacob is our refuge." He then welcomed everyone, and expressed his pleasure at the good attendance. Seventy answered the call of the roll.
     The secretary reported 107 members. The house committee reported a busy summer devoted to maintenance of building and grounds, and hoped we would inspect the changes in the classrooms and the new glass "blackboards" which are green.
     "The Pittsburgh Reporter is now one year old, and we all applauded the editor and staff for this enterprise. Other regular reports were read, and were received with appreciative thinks.
     The pastor announced the following appointments: Pastor's Council-Messrs. Theodore N. Glenn, G. Percy Brown, Jr., Walter L. Horigan, Bert Nemitz, Edward B. Lee, Jr., J. Edmund Blair, Price Coffin, Daric E. Acton, Alexander H. Lindsay, and Russell Stevens.
     Church uses will be supervised as follows: Chancel Guild-Miss Madeline Horigan; Ushers-Mr. G. P. Brown, Jr. Singing Practice-Mrs. G. M. Smith; Music-Mrs. L. P. Smith; Reporter-Mr. Charles H. Ebert, Jr.; Stage-Mr. John Alden; Christmas Tableaux-Mrs. B. P. Nemitz; 19th of June Tableaux-Mrs. Ulrich Schoenberger; Library Committee-Mrs. Ulrich Schoenberger, Mrs. G. P. Brown, and Mrs. J. Murray Carr; NEW CHURCH LIFE Correspondent-Mrs. Frank L. Doering.
     The election of officers: Secretary, Mr. Charles H. Ebert, Sr., Treasurer, Mr. F. B. Lee, Jr.; two members of the Executive Committee, Messrs. John W. Frazier and Gilbert M. Smith.
     An active discussion arose in regard to the age requirement for entrance into New Church elementary schools. After a vigorous debate it was the consensus to invite Bishop de Charms to discuss this subject with us at the time of his forthcoming episcopal visit.
     The treasurer, Mr. E. B. Lee, Jr., explained his report in a clear and entertaining manner, which, however, left no doubt in our minds that the adequate support of church and school uses is distinctly a society responsibility.
     We all enjoy the conviviality and sociability of the Friday Suppers, which entail a great deal of effort on the part of those who plan and serve them. Inevitably there are dishes to wash Therefore we are grateful to Mr. G. Percy Brown, Sr., head of our Dishwasher's Local No. 1, and thank him for his endeavor and for his amusing report.
     The social program of the society will be planned and executed by the Young People's Class, with the advice of Mr. and Mrs. Daric E. Acton. We look forward to a "peppy" social season.

     Services and Classes.-The Children's Services were resumed on the 2d of October. The Doctrinal Classes, which follow Friday Supper and the congregational singing practice, are dealing with "The Authority of the Writings." The pastor is continuing the study of The Growth of the Mind with the Woman's Guild. The Sons of the Academy Chapter continues the study of the Journal of Dreams, and that period in Swedenborg's life, The High School Religion Class meets weekly on Wednesday afternoon in the pastor's study, and is taking the subject of the Creed, correlated with simple statements of the Doctrines.
     The Young People's Class meets biweekly in the homes of different members. This year a new procedure is under way. Philip Horigan is the president, and Rita Smith the secretary. At each meeting one or two members of the class present a topic taken from a docket suggested by the class. This is followed by general informal discussion in which the pastor participates.
     The Library Committee, on Saturday evening, October 29th, sponsored a "Library Benefit" in the form of a "Kiddies' Party" for pre-school adults to teen-age grown-ups.

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The purpose was to raise funds to put up-to-date books on our shelves, and to make good books and accurate reference material easily available to the children. It was a unique and successful affair, and provided a lot of fun for all.

     A Wedding.-The marriage of the Rev. Kenneth 0. Stroh and Miss Virginia Blair was solemnized in our church on Saturday evening. November 5th, the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen officiating. The nave and chancel were harmoniously decorated us autumn flowers and colors, and mellowed by candle light. A half hour of music preceded the ceremony.
     The majority of the musicians were from Bryn Athyn, where they are either residents or attending the Academy Schools. Mrs. Philip C. Pendleton was the organist, Miss Eleanor Stroh played the violin. Mr. Lachlan Pitcairn the cello, and our Mrs. Alexander H. Lindsay the harp. This ensemble rendered several beautiful selections in preparation for the service, which was heralded by the brass sextet: Trumpets-Messrs. Carl Gunther, Garth Pitcairn and Carter Smith; Trombones-Messrs. Lachlan Pitcairn and Peter Synnestvedt; French Horn-Mr. Gerald van Zyverden. They played selections from Beethoven's Emperor Concerto as the wedding party proceeded to the chancel,
     The bride was attended by Miss Doris Bellinger as maid of honor, the Misses Nancy Stroh and Miriam Smith as bridesmaids, and little Cora Schoenberger as flower girl. Mr. James F. Blair, eldest brother of the bride, was best man. The ushers were Messrs. Randolph and Eric Stroh, brothers of the groom, Robert and Kenneth Blair, brothers of the bride, and Lee Horigan, cousin of the bride. The autumn shades of the decorations pervaded the gowns and bouquets of the attendants. The bride was beautiful in white taffeta: the groom, best man, and the ushers wore the conventional black,
     The service opened with all singing, "O precious sign and seal of heavenly union." As a recessional, the Mendelssohn's Wedding March was played by the brass sextet. A trumpet solo by Garth Pitcairn. Bach's "Sleepers Awake!" closed the service.
     A delightful reception was held in the auditorium, where we gathered to offer the newly married couple our best wishes for a very happy future. Mr. J. Edmund Blair, father of the bride, proposed the toast to the Church, and the Rev. Norman Reuter responded to the toast to the bride and groom. A gala social time followed, with dancing, visiting, and refreshments.
     There were seventy-five guests from out of town who attended this happy occasion, which assuredly demonstrates the esteem and affection in our hearts for this young couple. We are confident that it was a mutual pleasure and delight that Kenneth's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Stroh, had come from Kitchener with their family. It is reported that 212 attended the church service, and about 200 the reception.

     Episcopal Visit.-It is always a privilege and a pleasure to have a visit from Bishop George de Charms. He met with the Day School on Friday morning, November 11th, and talked to them about the meaning of Armistice Day, and about the part the New Church doctrines may play in keeping the world at peace. In the afternoon the ladies of the society met the Bishop at a tea given at the home of Mrs. Edwin T. Asplundh.
     That evening the society met in the auditorium, and the Bishop gave us a talk on "The Guiding Principles and Requirements for (New Church) Elementary School Entrance." From doctrine and from experience he demonstrated the reasons and the qualifications necessary in children for school entrance; and he stated that the mental age and development of a child, not the chronological, should be the criterion. He urged intelligent parent-teacher relationship, with mutual confidence and faith in each other.

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We should indeed be grateful to the Bishop for so ably clarifying this problem.
     On Saturday evening 120 members, friends and guests enjoyed a delicious banquet supper which had been prepared by Mrs. Joseph A. Thomas, Mrs. G. P. Brown. Sr., and Mrs. Gideon Alden. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen, as toastmaster, proposed a toast to the Church, to which we responded by singing "First in our Hearts." He then introduced the Bishop, who delivered an Address on the subject of "Spiritual Perception" (December issue, p. 529). This was greatly enjoyed by all present, and was discussed by several speakers. In concluding the program, the Bishop said that it is by meeting together and discussing the doctrines and principles of the church that a more intimate knowledge and understanding of these may develop and grow.
     At the children's service on Sunday, November 13th, the Bishop spoke to them about "Powerful Words." The adult service of worship was conducted by the Bishop and our Pastor, and the Bishop's sermon was from the text of Matthew 5: 24, "First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." The prevailing sphere of these days will long remain with us.

     Parents of 7th and 8th grade pupils met at the school on the evening of November 22nd. Miss Rachel David, the "room teacher" for these grades, conducted the meeting. She described the course of study thoroughly, and explained the textbooks and the reasons for their selection. Mr. Boyesen and Miss Lois Nelson were present, and a question and answer period followed.
     On Thanksgiving Day a combined service for adults and children was held at the church. The procession of the children of all ages-pupils of the school, toddlers, and babes in arms, singing and bearing their offerings of fruit-impressed us with a deep feeling of thankfulness to the Lord for His manifold benefits. The text of the pastor's address was from Psalm 8, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!"
     There was a holiday dance on Saturday evening, for which the auditorium was seasonably decorated and most inviting. A good orchestra, a happy crowd, and bounteous refreshments, made a gay and entertaining evening. The members of the new social committee have surely given us a fine sample of their ability as entertainers.
     The society welcomes Mr. and Mrs. Russell Stevens and family as members, and regrets the removal of Mr. and Mrs. J. Price Coffin and the majority of their family to a farm near Freeport, Pennsylvania.

     The Pittsburgh Society extends heartiest greetings for Christmas and the New Year to fellow members and friends of the Church.
     ELIZABETH R. DOERING.


     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     The big event of early October was the Eastern Canada Assembly, held in Kitchener and recorded in the December LIFE.

     Doctrinal Classes.-In October and November our pastor cave an interesting series of classes on "The Tabernacle of Israel," outlining the representations of the Tabernacle as a whole, the materials used in building it, the furniture, the priesthood, the priestly vestments, and the sacrifices. Colored projector slides gave very clear illustrations at the lectures. The slides had been purchased in Bryn Athyn last spring by the Society in co-operation with Toronto.
     Singing practice, which comes between the supper and class on Friday, has been lengthened from fifteen to twenty-five minutes, with the hope that there will be 66 2/3 per cent improvement in our singing.

     A Wedding.-On the afternoon of October 15th the marriage of Miss Elaine Bellinger to Mr. Ronald Alan Smith, formerly of Montreal, was solemnized, with the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson officiating.

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The chancel decorations were white chrysanthemums, deep-red oak leaves, and ferns. Violins, flute, piano and organ music added to the delightful wedding sphere. The bride, in white satin, was attended by her sister, Mrs. Wayne Doering, as matron of honor, and Ronald's sister, Valerie Smith, as bridesmaid. Nieces of the bride, Carol Schnarr and Susan Doering, made pretty flower girls. The best man was Mr. P. C. Hannan, of Montreal.
     The reception, held at the church, was in the form of an afternoon tea party. Mr. Leigh Bellinger, brother of the bride, made a genial toastmaster. Ronald and Elaine are now living in Toronto.

     October Social.-The High School Young People entertained the Society at a Halloween costume party on October 28th. The lighted pumpkin faces gave an eerie touch to the roomful of odd characters that assembled. Prizes for the best costumes went to Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, both of whom were well disguised in clever creations-Mr. Henderson as "The Jolly Swagman," and Mrs. Henderson as a Negro mammy. Games and dancing followed the unmasking, and the evening ended with doughnuts and coffee.
     The following evening, Mr. and Mrs. Henderson gave the school children a Halloween party at the church. The children arrived in a wide variety of amusing and pretty costumes. The winners were Eileen Schnarr as Raggedy Anne, David Stroh as a pirate, Carol Schnarr as a Dutch girl, and Ian Henderson as a badly injured football player. A lively round of games gave the children hearty appetites for the sandwiches, sider, candy, cookies and pie.

     Society-School Meeting.-This joint meeting for the first time was held at the church on November 16th. Miss Nancy Stroh, teacher of the upper grades, gave an excellent paper entitled "Science in the Elementary School," outlining the New Church approach to science for school children and the three-year course its general science which she is developing for the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. One of the drawbacks she mentioned is the lack of textbooks and of equipment for experiments.
     The paper and the ensuing discussion left the members of the audience inspired to audit the course. A report on Faculty activities and the discussion of several school rules made a full program for the meeting. It was announced that the children are to give plays at Christmas. After adjournment the teachers served refreshments.

     Bazaar.-The November social, on Friday the 25th, took the form of a bazaar, organized by the Board of "The Carmel Church Chronicle" to raise money for a duplicating machine. It was a successful social occasion; everyone, including the children, had a good time; and sufficient funds were raised.
     Booths for candy, baked goods and handiwork looked very pretty in their colorful streamers. A fish pond, bingo, darts and bridge afforded entertainment at a price. When all had had their fill of buying and playing, the committee entertained with an exciting relay race followed by a Chronicle quiz which proved that not everyone reads the paper. Mr. Henderson gave a clever, original skit demonstrating the nightmare effect of an overactive radio dial switcher. For refreshments the committee sold hot dogs, coffee, doughnuts and chocolate milk.

     Theta Alpha gave the school children a picnic in October, and the society held two showers, the first on October 1st for Elaine Bellinger, the second on November 19th for Lillian Bond, our December bride.
     The new home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Knechtel was dedicated by the pastor on October 30th. Bob did a wonderful job of building the house, which is one of the first in this district with radiant heating.
     There has been a lot of coming and going in the past two months.

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First, there was a grand coming for the Assembly; then visitors for the Smith-Bellinger wedding; then a number going to the Stroh-Blair wedding in Pittsburgh; then a group to attend a joint Sons' meeting in Toronto. The American Thanksgiving week end brought seven Browns from Pittsburgh; and the steady exchange with Toronto keeps every week interesting.
     VIVIAN KUHL.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     We parted from one who had been a member of the society from its earliest days with the passing of Miss Roberta Carswell to the spiritual world on November 11th at the age of 81 years. She would have been quite overcome by the tributes paid to her memory by her many friends: for she went among us quietly and unassumingly, and was ever mindful of her neighbor's comforts to the extinction of her own needs. She won and merited the affection of all who knew her, and will assuredly find much happiness in performing her uses in the other world.
     One day later, on November 12th, Mrs. Eugene Roschman (Connie Spence) also passed to the other life. She had suffered a long illness, during which she and her husband had much time to contemplate their approaching separation. Even with the knowledge that this will be temporary, it will he a lonely period for Eugene, and he has the sincere sympathy of his friends in the society.
     Bishop Acton paid us a very brief visit on November 12th and 13th, and favored us with a lively and vivid description of his recent travels in Europe. He knows that he is always very sure of a hearty welcome in Toronto, but we reiterate in this column the pleasure we derive from his presence.

     The Halloween Party on October 29th was a gay affair. It was remarkable for the number variety, and effectiveness of the costumes worn by the guests. The judges had some difficulty in deciding as to who should receive the honors, but they, and all the guests, were unanimous in the verdict that the top prize should go to Mrs. Clara Sargeant and her living monkey. She appeared as an Italian organ-grinder, complete with a fascinating little monkey, who enjoyed a banana by way of his refreshment.
     It would seem that our ministers and their wives are particularly good at disguises, because we notice that in Kitchener as well as in Toronto the pastor and his wife won costume prizes! In Toronto, Mr. Acton came as a replica of the Venerable Judge as illustrated by Sheppard, and Rachel put her heart into an interpretation of the Spirit of Spring Cleaning. To our mind, the most beautiful presentation was given by Miss Katherine Barber, who was truly statuesque as The Statue of Liberty. Mr. Keith Frazee made his debut as Master of Ceremonies, and proved to be a popular and efficient one. The enjoyable refreshments were prepared by the Misses Lillian Bond and Katherine Barber,
     The children, of course, had a wonderful time at their Halloween Party, which included an excellent supper, with all the frills and thrills. A spooky Witch entered and told a weird story to the heterogeneous group of small people who were heavily disguised-Some in rags, and some in bags, and some in velvet gowns. This Party was provided by Theta Alpha, convened by Rachel Acton.

     Our pastor has been giving us a series of particularly fine sermons on The Lord's Prayer at our Sunday morning services. The doctrinal classes have been instructing us upon the truths revealed in The Divine Love and Wisdom. The classes have been well attended; indeed, the Wednesday Suppers of late have been growing out of bounds, with seventy and over at the tables.

     A beautifully Simple wedding took place in the Olivet Church on Saturday, November 26th, when the Rev. A. Wynne Acton officiated at the marriage of Miss Hazel Lyons to Mr. Jack Raymond.

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Miss Lyons came into town from Edmonton, Alberta, a few days before the event, to meet a group of people she did not know. And during that time she was baptized into the Church, betrothed, given a Shower by the Ladies' Circle, and married. Mr. Jack Raymond, who is also a resident of Edmonton, came to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Longstaff, who have acted in the capacity of parents to him since the death of his own. Jack's sister, Frances, and his brother Fred were attendants at the ceremony, and his brothers Robert and Hembert were ushers. A happy reception in the assembly hall followed the service.
     A very welcome addition to our society are Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Alan Smith (Elaine Bellinger), who were married in Kitchener on October 5th, and who are now happily established in Toronto.
     And since our last report a new potential member of the New Church has arrived in Winnipeg in the person of Margaret Ann, the fifth and very welcome daughter of Sydney and Mary Parker.

     The Forward-Sons entertained the Kitchener Sons on November 12th. It was surprising to learn that fifty-one gentlemen were present, though only eleven were able to come from Kitchener. The supper and meeting were evidently very successful. The Rev. Raymond Cranch delivered an address on "The New Church Teaching about the Welfare State," which brought the younger men to their feet in discussion.
     Mr. Arnold Thompson prepared a very satisfying supper. Mr. Robert Scott presided, and called upon the Rev. Cairns Henderson to propose a toast to "The Church." Mr. Harold Kohl a toast to "Freedom," and Mr. Keith Frazee to "The King."
     We take this opportunity to wish all the readers of NEW CHURCH LIFE, wherever they be, a very Happy and Useful 1950!
     VERA CRAIGIE.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The October meeting of the Women's Guild was held in the Club House, preceded by a very delectable dinner of which 104 ladies partook, Mrs. Kenneth Synnestvedt, president, called the meeting to order and announced the names of the heads of the various committees in charge of the uses of the Guild, and these in turn gave the names of their members.
     One of the various and sundry things that were decided was a lunch hour at the Dutch Kitchen where the pupils of the Elementary School who come from away can be served in the days they have afternoon classes. It was also decided to hold the Guild meetings at the Club this year.
     At the November meeting there was a record attendance of 135. After a short business session, the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton read a most interesting and instructive paper, the title of which was "The Doctrine of Remains and its Application to New Church Education."

     Too numerous to describe are the activities at the Club House,-the Young People's doctrinal class; Sunday night suppers; Sons' suppers; Faculty luncheons; informal dances; a Halloween Party for everyone and anyone who wished to come; many informal dances; and regular entertainment in the form of movies and television.

     Community Nurse.-On Tuesday evening, November 1st, a large number gathered at Cairncrest, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harald Pitcairn, to pay a farewell tribute to Miss Phebe Bostock, who has recently resigned as our Community Nurse after nearly thirty years of devoted service. It was a surprise party, and was given by her many friends to show their affection for her and their appreciation of all she has done and what she has meant to our community. When she appeared, she was greeted by an enthusiastic singing of "Here's to Our Friend!"

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     Don Rose, who was Master of Ceremonies, read one of his own poems. Songs were sung and speeches were made in tribute, and Miss Phebe was presented with a very lovely pin as a token of our high regard. It was a most enjoyable evening.

     Following the Friday supper on November 4th, Bishop Acton gave the Bryn Athyn Society a treat when he told us of his European trip, giving us a detailed description of his journey, from the time he left home until he returned. His account of his stay in England, of his meeting New Church people and others in Germany, Italy. Austria and Denmark, of his experiences while traveling to and in these countries, was most absorbing and entertaining.
     At the Children's Thanksgiving Service on the 24th, Bishop Willard D. Pendleton told them how Thanksgiving has been celebrated from ancient times. Always there has been a thanksgiving for the harvest, expressing gratitude to the Lord for what He has given men. For He has provided the seeds, the earth in which to plant them, the sun and rain that make them grow. And he has given us the knowledge of how to use what He has provided for us.

     Music.-In October we were favored with another fine piano recital by the talented Mark Bostock, who delighted an appreciative audience with a wide range of numbers, from Bach to Rachmaninoff.
     The Bryn Athyn Orchestra, under the direction of Mr. Frank Bostock, gave its first concert of the season in the Choir Hall on November 20th. This group of over thirty musicians, young and old, was heard by a warmly appreciative audience in a varied program of selections from Pergolesi, Grieg, Beethoven, Wagner, Debussy, and Johann Strauss.
     LUCY WAELCHLI.

     STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN.

     The so-called Providentia association was founded as early as 1901 for the purpose of establishing New Church schools and providing for children. So far, however, none of its magnificent plans have been carried out. But now that the Rev. Erik Sandstrom has taken the initiative in starting a Sunday School, and also in the distribution of Religion Lessons for isolated children, the Providentia will help to support these activities.
     The members of the present directing board are: Rev. Erik Sandstrom, president; Mr. Per Hultgren, vice president; Mr. Andreas Sandstrom, secretary; Mr. Arne Boyesen, treasurer; and Miss Ellen Jacobsson. A meeting was held on November 12th at the home of Miss Nordenskjold, attended also by two other members of Theta Alpha, Mrs. Erik Sandstrom and Miss Senta Centervall, the object being to discuss Mr. Sandstrom's projects and to secure mutual help.
     Mr. Sandstrom acted as chairman, and he announced that, every Sunday before the regular service, he would give religious instruction to two groups of children, the older and younger alternately. And he expressed the hope that the parents would take turns in accompanying their children to diur Hall, and supervising them during worship. Most of the families live out of town, and own no cars, but eventually this difficulty will be overcome.
     Several of those present at the meeting offered to carry out the work necessary to the establishing of a correspondence course. The Theta Alpha lessons have been greatly appreciated by those who know them, and it was unanimously decided that they should be used. The expenses, the heaviest of which will be the rent of a room where the classes can be held, will he met partly by Providentia and partly by means of voluntary contributions.
     During the three following Sundays. Mr. Sandstrom accordingly has held classes in religion, twice for a group of five older children, and once for a group of twelve younger children.

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We all wish him great success in this important work.
     SENTA CENTERVALL.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     True to form, the months of October and November brought us a variety of climatic conditions. Summer temperatures-then cold-then summer again-and now, during the closing days of November, snow. But during these changes we've had many unshiny days. As I write these notes in my living room, I can see time red roof of a large school building which is full three miles distant.
     Following the Chicago District Assembly, at a social gathering on Sunday evening, October 2, Dr. William Whitehead, of Bryn Athyn, presented a paper on The International Political Situation-of course from a New Church viewpoint. This learned discourse was followed by informal discussion during the serving of refreshments. For the many New Church people who are interested in this subject we wish that Dr. Whitehead's paper might appear in print.
     At a recent Sunday supper that was sponsored by the Park Social Club, Mr. McElvain, President of the Chicago World Federalists, addressed us, presenting the ideas of that organization as to how world peace could be brought about,-a very debatable subject that led to the airing of various points of view by many of those present.
     To Rockford, Illinois, on the evening of October 17, went thirty of our people to partake of one of the Axel Eklund's famous smorgasbords. This sumptuous meal was followed by a recorded doctrinal class on the subject of Conjugial Love by the Right Rev. Willard Pendleton.

     Meetings-The semi-annual meeting of the Immanuel Church was held on October 28th. Reports of the various committees were read, discussed, and approved, including our budget for the coming year.
     Another interesting meeting took place on November 3, when the members of Theta Alpha assembled at the Sydney E. Lee residence to hear the Rev. Harold Cranch tell of a college orientation course which he is preparing on the subject of "Effective Living."
     Another meeting, albeit of a private nature, but nevertheless a sign that time does indeed march on, consisted of a group of grandparents who met at the Oswald Asplundh home. Mr. Lee was invited to be toastmaster, and I understand that advice as to the attitude of those present toward their respective grandchildren was freely offered-particularly to the Rev. and Mrs. Elmo Acton, recent developments having made them eligible to attend this meeting.

     Five births and eight baptisms have occurred during the Past eight weeks. Notable among the baptisms were those of Mr. and Mrs. Chester B. Huestis and their three-year-old daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Huestis have recently become interested in the New Church, and they expect to move to Glenview shortly.
     Mr. and Mrs. John Howard (Eunice Nelson) came to live in Glenview shortly after the close of World War II. John is one of those earnest New Churchmen of the younger generation with whom it is a pleasure to associate. But, unfortunately for us, the Howards with their three children are moving away,-to Detroit, where John's work calls him. So about all we can say is that we are sorry to see them in-but Hurray for Detroit
     The Hubert Rydstrom and Stan ford Lehne families have moved into their new homes on Gladish Drive And it will not be long before the Ray Kuhns and the Kendall Fiskes move into theirs, located on the extension to Park Lane.
     Our Assistant Pastor, the Rev. Ormond Odhner, is a peregrinator, which is all very well for the many people he visits, but we dim miss him when he is away.

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Regular visits to Rockford, Ill., St. Paul, Minn., Madison, Wis., St. Louis, Mo., plus a tour of the Southeastern States lasting three or four weeks, keep him very much on the go. He just got back from the South in time to address our school children at the Thanksgiving Service on November 24th.

     From a Sermon.-For those of us who sometimes feel that we do not see evidence of the enthusiasm of the "good old days," the following quotation from a recent sermon by our pastor, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, will be of interest. In speaking of the states through which every regenerating man passes, as he progresses through a natural to a spiritual state, he said:
     "The whole history of the fight for freedom of religion and thought is an evidence of the same. And it must ever be so. For we cannot enter into the fruits of a past generation unless we, of ourselves, in some way make them our own by passing through similar states. That which is in itself living cannot he given by one man or one generation to another; it must be received by each from the Lord, who alone lives.
     "When a new generation is not willing to fight even unto death for that for which their fathers fought, it will lose that thing. A present generation of the church cannot repeat the enthusiasms and joys of a past generation, and slavishly observe all its customs. Each generation must, from the experience and wisdom of the past, enter upon new visions of truth and new states, even as a man growing from one age to another. We cannot live in the past without stagnation."
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.


     BALTIMORE, MD.

     The outstanding news of the Arbutus Circle is its recent increase in membership, and thereon hangs a story.
     Ten years ago a lady outsider" came to live in Bryn Athyn. As she walked along the roads of Utopia (as she now calls it), she gave a friendly salutation to those she met. Among others, Mr. and Mrs. Otho Heilman reciprocated her friendliness and introduced her to the New Church, with the result that she accepted the Doctrines and was baptized. She is now Mrs. Edward Seemer, and she and her husband live about a mile from the Arbutus chapel, and are regular attendants.
     This is Mr. Seemers first contact with the New Church, and he is standing the impact quite well-so well, in fact, that he and Mrs. Seemer donned their overalls last spring and gave the chapel a new coat of paint.
     At the same time another young couple. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Green, began coming to our doctrinal classes and church services. Our indefatigable pastor, the Rev. Morley Rich, provided a special class for them, with which they cooperated by reading the Writings on their own account. Soon after this, Mr. Greens mother, Dr. Ethel Green, became interested in the New Church. On Sunday, October 30th, all three were baptized, and were received as members of the General Church. Dr. Green has a calling of mercy, being a psychiatrist for a State hospital for the insane.
     Of the members of the "old guard," only three remain: Capt. Roscoe L. Coffin, and Mr. and Mrs. Herman Gunther. This year, Capt. Coffin completes his fiftieth year as organist for our little congregation. He insists that it is time for him to retire, but we have no substitute that can give even a fair imitation of his excellent rendition of sacred music.
     ROWLAND TRIMBLE.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Once again, at the threshold of a New Year, it becomes our privilege and pleasure to extend heartiest greetings from the Detroit Circle to our friends throughout the Church. May the year which lies before us bring many opportunities for useful service in the varied activities of the Chords.

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And if we gladly assume these duties and responsibilities, each one doing his full share, then the Church will grow in us, where it must grow first, and we won't need to be too much condensed over the Church's slow numerical growth. The Lord will provide for that in His own good time, if we but do our part.
     While we are happy to report a record accession of new members during the past three months, we realize that it has been at the expense of other societies of the Church. However, this fact his not lessened the heartiness of the welcome we have extended to those who have recently joined our Circle, who are the following:
     Mrs. Sanfrid Odhner (Aubrey Cole) from Bryn Athyn; Mrs. Kenneth Stroh (Virginia Blair) from Pittsburgh; Mr. and Mrs. John Howard and their three children, from Glenview. Mr. Howard has a position in the sales division of the Westinghouse Electric Supply Company, and his territory will cover Michigan and Northern Ohio. We are happy indeed to have all these people join us, and we believe they will find, as others have, that there is unlimited opportunity to serve the Church us a small, but growing and ambitious, Circle such as ours.
     One of our good members. Mr. Owen Birchman, who had left us to accept a position in Chicago, is once again within the orbit of the Detroit Circle. Owen, who holds the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Michigan State College, was recently appointed inspector of farms and dairies by the City of Saginaw, Mich. Thus he joins the Saginaw contingent of our membership, and is again able to attend our meetings. We are indeed happy to have Owen hick with us.
     Mr. David Lindsay, who is working and living in a suburb of Detroit, has attended several of our recent services, and is a very welcome and popular addition to our group.
     The Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth O. Stroh, following their marriage in the Pittsburgh Church on November 5th, returned to Detroit on November 12th, and Mr. Stroh officiated at our service of worship the next day, Sunday. After the service an impromptu reception was held for the couple, everyone especially wanting to welcome and chat with our minister, charming and vivacious bride.
     A surprise shower was given for the newlyweds on Saturday evening, November 19th, in their apartment, and they were the recipients of many useful gifts.
     The happiness of this occasion was saddened by the news that Vance Birchman, one of our most esteemed young men, had just met with a very serious accident. While riding his motorcycle he collided with a car, the driver of which had failed to stop at a legal stop street, Vance was very severely injured, and for a time was in a critical condition. But he is now showing encouraging signs of improvement, and, while it is going to take a long time, we are confidently looking forward to his ultimate and complete recovery.

     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter, our visiting pastor, was with us for the week end of November 26th and 27th. At a doctrinal class on Saturday evening at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William F. Cook. Mr. Reuter held us spellbound with a most interesting lecture on Modern Psychology in the light of the doctrines of the New Church.
     At the Sunday service, the subject of Mr. Reuter's sermon was "Thanksgiving" in which he contrasted the worldly idea of giving thanks for material blessings with the gratitude that can and should be felt by the true New Churchman for the rich spiritual blessings bestowed on him so bountifully by the Lord.
     Following our usual monthly luncheon came the semi-annual business meeting, at which Mr. Reuter presided as chairman of the executive board.

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As this meeting did not involve an election of officers, only routine matters came up for discussion, and no important decisions had to be made. Committee reports showed everything to be progressing satisfactorily.
     The following persons went from Detroit to attend the Stroh-Blair wedding in Pittsburgh: Mr. and Mrs. Norman Synnestvedt and their daughter, Sharon; Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Schoenberger; Mr. and Mrs. William W. Walker; Messrs. Alan Childs, Dick Doering, Wallie Bellinger, and David Lindsay. The consensus was that there never was a more beautiful wedding. The music and the decorations were exceptionally fine, and the entire affair was very charmingly and effectively carried out.
     And now to make 1950 another record year for the Detroit Circle
     WILLIAM W. WALKER.
SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE 1950

SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE       Rev. MORLEY D. RICH       1950

     A committee designated as The General Church Sound Recording Committee was appointed by Bishop George de Charms on October 31. 1949. Now fully formed, its members are: The Rev. Morley D. Rich, chairman; Messrs. Kenneth P. Synnestvedt, George H. Woodard. Ralph McClarren, and Robert Genzlinger.
     The duties of this committee are: 1) To record religious instruction, services of worship, and special events and functions of the General Church, as may be of historical and immediate use and value to her members; 2) and, when requested, to circulate these among the members and friends of the Church for their benefit and enjoyment.
     The committee already has a library of some 60 recordings of the material mentioned above. A catalog of these has been sent to pastors and officers of the various societies, circles and groups. Any of these records may be obtained upon request to Mr. George H. Woodard, 1500 Walnut Street, Philadelphia 2, Pa.
     This function receives no funds from the General Church. But voluntary contributions from chose participating and those interested in this service will be appreciated, and will enable the committee to carry on this very important work. Such contributions should be sent to Mr. Hubert Hyatt, Treasurer of the General Church. Bryn Athyn, Pa., and must be plainly designated as intended for the use of this committee.
     REV. MORLEY D. RICH, Chairman,
     General Church Sound Recording Committee.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1950

GENERAL ASSEMBLY       GEORGE DE CHARMS       1950




     Announcements




     The Nineteenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, from Thursday, June 15th, to Monday, June 19th, 1950, inclusive.
     The Program and other Information will be given in later issues of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS.
          Bishop.
THETA ALPHA OFFER 1950

THETA ALPHA OFFER              1950

     "The Function of Woman in the Life of the Church." An Address by Bishop George de Charms.
     Theta Alpha announces that copies of this Address are available by applying to Miss Alice Fritz, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1950

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1950

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 4, 1950.

Monday, January 30.
     8:00 p.m. Consistory.

Tuesday, January 31.
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy.

Wednesday, February 1.
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy.

Thursday, February 2.
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3:30 p.m. Headmasters' Meeting. (Teacher Placement)

Friday, February 3.
     10:00 a.m.     Council of the Clergy.
     3:30     p.m.     Executive Committee of the General Church.
     3:30     p.m.     Educational Council Committee. (Headmasters)
     7:00     p.m.     Supper.
     7:45     p.m.     Open Session of the Council of the Clergy.
               Address by the Rev. Morley D. Rich.

Saturday, February 4.
     10:00 a.m. Joint Council.
     3:30 p.m. Corporation of the Academy of the New Church,

Sunday, February 5.
     11:00 am. Divine Worship.
     8:00 p.m. Evening Service.

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DAVID'S FLIGHT 1950

DAVID'S FLIGHT       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
FEBRUARY, 1950
No. 2
     "So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped." (I Samuel 19: 12.)

     No great achievement is without its cost in labor, in mental turmoil and anxiety, nor without its moments of despair. It is not easy to readjust one's life to make room for new uses. Every use earns for itself privileges and powers which men jealousy defend, even when the use itself has passed away.
     These commonplaces find their illustrations in the sacred story of Saul and David. David, secretly anointed and later hailed as a popular hero after his triumph over Goliath, was plunged into a crucible of temptations which tested him for something more than physical prowess-tested him for endurance, patience, loyalty. He was to taste the bitterness of persecution, the loss of home and wife, friends and possessions.
     Saul, too, was being tested; but he was weighed and found wanting. Because of what he had once been he still wore the crown of authority, although his victories were now few. He still held the powers which represented justice, although his judgment was now warped by rankling envy and fear. The sacred text does not disguise Saul's faults. But despite his manifest degeneracy, he was still king, and David continued to endow Saul's person with an almost superstitious sanctity, as "the Lord's anointed." And indeed, upon this primal fact of his kingship rests the spiritual representation of Saul as "truth Divine defending the church."

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David also, since he was anointed and destined for the throne, represents Divine truth. And so the onesided conflict between Saul and David comes to mean-in the spiritual sense-a conflict between truth and truth and both in themselves Divine truth!
     Actually there was no conflict between Saul and David, for David never threatened the office of Saul. Nor does natural truth conflict with spiritual truth. Yet the appearance, to the natural man, that there is a rivalry between truth and truth is what causes those spiritual anxieties and temptations which are inevitable before man can be made spiritual. Men can be reformed and saved without facing such severe spiritual tests; reformed by some combats against obvious evils and falsities, by a simple obedience to doctrine as they know it. (A. C. 8975-8977.) But if man is to be regenerated, and furnished with a conscience of spiritual truth, he must go through states of spiritual temptation, and be torn by the contentions that seem to exist between a conscience of natural truth and a conscience of spiritual truth. And it is these two types of truth that are described by Saul and David.
     Saul, in his royal office, stands for Divine natural truth, as this is present in men's minds from the literal sense of the Word. But when Saul is infested by an evil spirit, he represents teachings from the merely literal sense perverted and put to use in the interests of evil. We are therefore told that David was invited to play upon his harp before the king, to dispel his evil mood. For David's harp signified a "confession of the Divine Human from spiritual truths or from a spiritual affection of truth, which is charity. (A. R. 276; A. E. 323:12.) If the literal sense of the Word is read in harmony with such an affection, its genuine sense will be restored and its inner purpose revealed.
     But the evils of man's nature are not easily removed or softened. The natural man cannot easily give up the appearances of truth by which he can confirm his pride and love of power, his vanity, his impatience and contempt of others. He does not wish to give up his pleasant illusions and submit his mind to the government of a conscience that is the servant of charity. He strikes out against the doctrine of spiritual charity; even as Saul-when David seemed to become his rival in the affections of the people-hurled his javelin at David when the music of the harp displeased him.

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     It is thus that man, thinking from his proprium and its sullen passions, seeks again and again to kill the higher concepts of duty as these are seen to demand a life of deeper repentance. In such a state a man thinks only from the light of the world in which piety and forbearance appear only as obstacles to success and pleasure, as something requiring a sacrifice of prestige and an entire reorganization of the mind. His proprium sparks with resentment against the glaring fact that spiritual progress is impossible unless he learns to view truth as a means to charity and love.

     But the story of our text describes, not an evil state, but a state of temptation. There are saving elements in the mind. Jonathan, Saul's son, had a love for David which exceeded that of man for woman! By Jonathan is represented the genuine truth of doctrine which the understanding of man's natural mind has drawn from the literal sense of the Word in previous states of illustration,-open teachings like the Ten Commandments that shine out from the Biblical text. And this genuine truth now seeks to protect the concept of spiritual charity. There is also genuine affection of truth, albeit of natural origin, which comes to love spiritual truths. This is represented by Michal, Saul's younger daughter, who fell in love with David and was given to him for wife as a reward for his exploits against the Philistines.
     It is this Michal whom we find, in our text, arranging for David's secret flight, letting him down through a window and delaying pursuit by a wifely ruse; so that when Saul's soldiers seek him in the morning they find but an image in his bed.
     The spiritual life of man is fostered by means of a marriage or conjunction between the good of a lower degree and the truth of a higher degree. (A. C. 3952.) A higher or spiritual truth is received and sheltered by a lower or natural affection, which then in its turn is elevated and ennobled by the higher truth. Thus a good natural affection, that is born from a sincere acceptance of the literal commands of the Scripture, is open to receive and cherish the interior truth of the spiritual sense of the Word-the doctrine of heavenly charity. Thus it is that Michal protected her David.
     But David was actually beyond the power of Saul to harm. Spiritual truth, as to its inner essence, escapes the comprehension of evil states or of merely natural thought.

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The evil as well as the good can indeed grasp the doctrine of charity so long as they are not inflamed with passion and self regard. Saul could at times feel a certain affection for David, an appreciation of his worth, could listen to his music, and could call him his "son." But when the evil spirit possessed Saul, and he sent his minions to kill David, they found but his image-his lifeless parody! In its external form, a spiritual truth may to all appearance be confuted by reasonings-torn to shreds. But its living spirit is unassailable-its essence escapes.
     David himself escaped. He offered no opposition to Saul, made no move to wrest the kingdom from Saul. For David stands for spiritual truth, and this must be freely accepted if it is ever to form a spiritual conscience by which the mind is to be ruled. It must develop as it were in secret, in the hidden depths of the mind, as a strong new motivation, before it can take conscious issue with the disorders of the external mind and with the inadequacies of that conscience which is instructed only from truths seen in worldly light; such as is represented by Saul and his house.
     Spiritual truths are from the internal sense of the Word; and such truths must not be turned in derision or accusation against the similar and more general concepts of duty which spring from the literal sense or from doctrine superficially understood. And if opposed, the inner truth which is to form our spiritual conscience as it were withdraws before the temporary pressure of worldly states. It must retire inwardly, to mature in wisdom and patiently await its season.

     And where should David flee in his distress, if not to Samuel, his spiritual father-Samuel who had himself withdrawn from Saul and established a school for prophets at the high place in Ramah? For the truth of spiritual love is inviolate. It finds sanctuary in the holy places of the mind, where evil cannot penetrate. And "if a man, by combat against evils as sins, has in the world acquired something spiritual, be it ever so little, he is saved; and his uses afterwards grow as a grain of mustard seed develops into a tree      (Div. Love xviie.)
     To this spiritual security the persecuted Singer of Israel often unwittingly refers, when he says: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

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"In the time of trouble shall He hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me." "Thou shalt hide me." he cried to the Lord, "in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of man: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."
     This sacred hiding place is called in the Writings the `spiritual mind," or the spiritual degree of the rational mind which is opened with those who are regenerated. It is there that the truths of spiritual love find rest and protection-being lifted out of the sphere of man's knowledge. The conscious thought of man on earth cannot penetrate into the interiors of the rational mind, and cannot profane that sanctuary with worldly states. Neither can any man measure his own interiors as to their discrete qualities, or tell with certainty if a conscience of spiritual truth is established therein. This is hidden from the pride of man, which, if it could reach into this sanctuary to see if "David" was indeed there, would forthwith destroy him by that act of desecration.
     Saul, sending three groups of his messengers to take David, represents just such an effort on the part of the natural man. But the Spirit of God fell upon them, and upon Saul himself. Before the company of prophets they were seized with a prophetic ecstacy, and Saul stripped off his clothes and lay there naked for a day and a night.
     Saul and his messengers were under compulsion to prophesy! And this was because Saul represented the natural truth Divine of the literal sense of the Word which, from the Spirit of God, in reality testifies of the Divine spiritual truth of its internal sense. But in order that it may do so, the literal sense must be stripped of those appearances which cause it to be abused to confirm evil states.
     Saul also is among the prophets! The conscience formed from a simple obedience to the literal sense of Scripture cannot be raised to see eye to eye with the conscience of spiritual truth and spiritual charity, or enjoy the illustration which a spiritual love brings with it. But it is not ignorant of the higher ideals which it cannot as yet embrace. It sees and confesses the need for a purer charity, a state when the spontaneous love of the heart shall make self-compulsion effortless, and when-instead of a fickle and obscure faith-there will be a clear understanding of the laws of life.

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Like Saul, it recognizes the will of God that David will indeed become king!
     Doctrine, as seen from an external conscience, is prophetic of charity and spiritual truth. It is compelled to prophesy, to strip itself of appearances and admit that the object of all its conflicting phases is that the mind might be prepared for the perception of charity and eternal use.
     But the natural mind, where this doctrine rules, goes back again and again to these worldly vanities and fears which mar man s sporadic attempts to defend what is of the Lord's kingdom within him. Man forgets that that kingdom cometh not with observation, but is within-deeply within-and is not of man's making. Man, with whatever strength he can muster from genuine truths which he gathers from the Divine teachings, must fight repeatedly against the recognizable evils that infest the external realm of his thought. But it is the Lord who prepares the final victory-not for "Saul," but for "David." It is the Lord who displaces the lusts of evil in man's interiors with goods and truths which He insinuates and inscribes in the hidden places of the mind.
     This secret work of the Lord-the interior opening of man's spiritual mind, the unconscious development of "the spiritual rational"-gives significance to David's flight. David must hide in the sanctuary, flee into the mountains, hide while gathering wisdom and strength. At length he must conquer Saul by a power mightier than the sword-conquer the very heart of Saul through persistent loyalty through forgiveness, through generous and self-effacing charity. Amen.

LESSONS:     I Samuel 19. Matthew 4: 1-11. Apocalypse Explained. 376:3.
MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 443, 458, 464.
PRAYERS:     Nos. 46, 48.

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SPIRITUAL FISHERMEN 1950

SPIRITUAL FISHERMEN       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1950

     The Lord's Disciples are Teachable and Leadable.

     We know that the Lord's twelve disciples were chosen because of their personal characters, the meaning of their names, and the significance of their occupations. Thus the first He called were fishermen, who were to become "fishers of men,"-apostles, evangelists. Of this we read: "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him." (Matthew 4: 18-20.) In the verses following we are told of the call of the brothers James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were also fishermen.
     The Gospel of Luke relates these events as having occurred after the Lord had performed the miracle which is known as "The Miraculous Draught of Fishes." This miracle gave the disciples confidence in the Lord's power, and taught them His purpose in summoning them to follow Him, as well as the nature of the work they were later to do, namely, that they were to be the apostles by whom His doctrine was to be preached to all men. After the miracle, Simon Peter fell down before the Lord, saying, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." To this confession the Lord replied, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." (Luke 5: 8-10.)
     The Lord's purpose in calling these fishermen to become His disciples was to collect the salvable remnant of the ancient churches, and to instruct certain of them in leadership, so that with them and by means of them He might establish a new church. The Lord always works among men, and for their good, by means of men, spirits, and angels. He chooses such men as can best serve His purposes, and provides that they shall be prepared for the chosen service.

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     The particular men who became the Lords twelve disciples were chosen because they were teachable and leadable, and because they were unlearned and humble. (S. D. 1216.) These qualifications were necessary, because the church to be established in them, and by means of them, was to have an internal quality. The disciples were to be taught something of the internal meaning of the Divine laws which had been given to the Israelites and Jews. For example, they were to be taught that all the ancient prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures had respect to the Master who had chosen them as His disciples, and not to the Jewish people and nation.
     They were also to be taught the difference between the letter and the spirit of those Scriptures. Learned men can learn and even believe such truths, but the Lord Himself has now revealed that the learned of two thousand years ago were not acceptable for such service as He then required. The men learned in the Hebrew Sacred Scriptures were priests, rabbis, scribes, pharisees, lawyers, who by their interpretations had closed their spiritual minds against any light to be derived from the Lord through the heavens; and because of pride in their learning they were incapable of becoming disciples of one commonly known as a "carpenter's son." Greek, Roman, and other alien learned men were ignorant of the Hebrew Sacred Scriptures, and lacked any traditional faith in their Divinity: and they were rarely to be found in the impoverished subject provinces of the once mighty Land of Canaan,-the ancient Garden of Eden.

     The Lord chose fishermen to become His disciples because of the correspondence, representation, and signification of fishermen, or of that use and work among men. "A fisherman, in the Word, in its spiritual sense, signifies a man who investigates and teaches natural truths, and afterwards spiritual truths in a rational manner." (Influx 20.) The Epistles show that the disciples, after the Lord's resurrection, made a beginning of teaching spiritual truths in a rational manner.
     The demonstration of this spiritual meaning of fishermen in the Word is made extensively in the Writings. The point to note and to meditate upon is that the essential qualification for discipleship and apostleship was a love of investigating and teaching, in a rational manner, the natural truths of the Word, and afterwards the spiritual truths of the Word.

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Spiritual truths relate especially to the spiritual world and the Lord; and the disciples, from the beginning, preached Christ risen, and the resurrection of all men.
     The natural truths here referred to are the natural truths of the Word, not those of any merely worldly science. The Lord explained to the disciples the interior meanings of the Ten Commandments, of the Mosaic laws concerning the sabbath day, marriage and divorce, forgiveness, offerings, and many other subjects; also of the doctrine of the prophets, more particularly whatever related to Himself, His kingdom, and the attitude of people toward Himself and His kingdom. The disciples began to think from the Lord concerning the letter of the Hebrew Scriptures, to think from His explanations about the law of Moses,-the essence of all genuinely rational thought. In this manner must we think-beginning with the two Testaments, just as did the disciples, but proceeding to thought from the Heavenly Doctrine concerning the two Testaments, thus approaching the Lord immediately in His final and supreme revelation, and by its light perceiving that the infinite truths contained in the letter of the Testaments are like the innumerable precious stones hidden in the bosom of the earth, but seen and marvelled at for their beauty when found by man.
     The teaching of the natural truths of the Word in a rational manner, or the teaching of the rational meaning of the natural truths of the Word,-that is, their spiritual use,-is the Divinely appointed way of gathering men to the Lord's church. And as men are gathered to the church, the teaching or doctrine, signified by the nets of the fishermen, reforms them, and so reforms the church and the world. This reformation by the doctrine of the church when it is grasped and applied to life and thus catches men as a net catches fish, is signified by the fish caught in the nets. Fish signify the knowledges of truth and good of which the doctrine is made, and also the men who are to be reformed by such knowledge and doctrine. The Lord's words to Peter, that Peter "would catch men," signify that there would be men in the love of truth, and that such men would be gathered into the church by the rational explanation of the natural truths of the Word. His words also signify that the doctrine would prepare men for eternal life in heaven-a goal to which He constantly pointed, and which He exhorted men to attain, throughout His ministry.

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     The explanation of the choice of fishermen as the first disciples by whom the Christian Church was established is given to enable us to understand rationally the manner of the establishment of that church. It also enables us to understand rationally the Lord's choice of Emanuel Swedenborg as His servant in revealing the Word of the Second Coming,-the Heavenly Doctrine by which a new and crowning truly Christian Church is established. Swedenborg was chosen by the Lord for this office, because from early youth he had been a "spiritual fisherman," that is, "a man who rationally investigates and teaches natural truths and afterwards spiritual truths."
     Natural and spiritual truths are from the revealed Word of God, that is, from the written Word, but they are not to be limited to what is written. Creation is also the Word of God. And the natural truth of nature, especially when it is perceived in the light of Heavenly Doctrine, is able to render much service to the reforming and regenerating man, because it develops the rational faculties and matures the mind, so that the mind is able to understand spiritual truth. Swedenborg's mind was developed, matured, and made strong by means of natural truths. His mind was reduced to order, purified, and enabled to think clearly by means of the temptations of regeneration. The storehouse of his mind, or the natural memory, was abundantly filled with natural truths of wide variety. All this to the end that he might be capable of understanding the spiritual experiences that were to be his after the call to the service of the Lord, and might also be able to write from the Lord alone a Divine and Heavenly Doctrine adequately accommodated to the rational understanding, even of uneducated and simple good men.
     Differently from the twelve disciples, Swedenborg was a learned man when he was called by the Lord to a service of thirty years as revelator of the spiritual world and its inhabitants to men, and of the natural world and its inhabitants to spirits and angels; but, like them, he was teachable and leadable, for he had a humble disposition. He had an unquenchable love of knowing, which had been purified and refined until it became a burning love of truth for the sake of truth, and thus for the sake of the good of the human race. He was a true spiritual fisherman.

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     And just as the disciples were to catch men by their preaching of the Divine Truth which they received by inspiration from the Lord who had been their earthly Master, so Swedenborg was to catch men by the books he wrote under perfect Divine inspiration, and which, with unabated zeal, he published and distributed to innumerable men as the Divinely given means by which there might be raised up in full freedom and according to clear reason a new church among men stirred by the love of truth and willing to walk humbly with the Lord. Without miracle or sign, with the fullest possible regard for human freedom and reason, yet by means of a man, as had ever been done, the Lord again gave the Word, and again raised up His church, for the sake of man's redemption, salvation, and eternal happiness.

     The evident lesson to be drawn from the significance of the disciple as a spiritual fisherman is that the church can be established only with men who are teachable and leadable, and then only on a foundation of a rational understanding of natural and spiritual truth. We must be teachable and leadable, if we would have the church established in us. This means that we must desire to be taught the truths of faith and of charity, which are the truths of the Word and of the church. We must have a love of truth, and this love must be gradually purified until it becomes a love of truth for truth's sake. Then there will be both the love of understanding the truth and the love of living according to it. We find this teachable quality in all little children. Therefore they are the most fruitful field for our work as disciples of the Lord. But we can, and should, extend our work to include all men who are teachable, which we do in part by our public worship.
     To be teachable, however, does not mean to be attentive only to the teaching imparted by men. In reality, and especially as to spiritual life, the Lord alone teaches, or He is the only Teacher. We may be seemingly attentive to instruction given by men, and yet he untaught by the Lord, because we are inattentive to the spirit of what is taught, and indifferent to the application of it to life. The Lord teaches us by His Word, and by all the works of His Providence. We can know whether we are teachable by noting our reactions to the lessons of life, and whether we desist from evil and press on in pursuit of what is good.

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     To be teachable is also to be willing to follow the Lord in the way taught. Willingness to be led by the Lord cannot be an abstract idea in one's thought, or simply a pious desire. There is no willingness if there is no action. The test is in what we do day by day. We have only to examine our daily life, if we would learn whether we are led by the Lord or by entirely different influences. Little children are leadable as long as innocence and humility are preserved with them, for then they can be led by the truth and in the way of truth. If their educated)n and training is such as to build up in their minds a strong, true conscience, this conscience will be the means by which the Lord can continue to lead them in later life. If we are not led by the Lord, if we are not following Him in the way of truth,-of His truth revealed by Himself-we either lack a genuine conscience or else our conscience is feeble.
     The men called by the Lord to follow Him, and afterwards chosen to be His disciples and apostles, were not children, nor were they old men. They were young men,-men in the early years of manhood. This is significant, because it is an example to all young men. Early manhood should be an age of discipleship. The discipline needed for regeneration belongs to that age. Those years should not be wasted in unprofitable pursuits. On the contrary, there should be a diligent pursuit of a rational understanding of natural and spiritual truth. If the Lord's call to follow Him has not been heard as an internal voice-as the voice of conscience-there should be a serious endeavor to dispose one's self to the hearing of such a call. The rich young man, who asked the Lord what he should do to inherit eternal life, undoubtedly heard the Lord's summons to follow Him, but did not hear it as an internal voice, because his loves were centred upon worldly possessions, and made him deaf to any voice out of heaven. Possibly he followed the Lord later, but the story's lesson is that selfish and worldly loves withheld him from following the Lord when the call came, to the peril of his salvation and eternal happiness.
     The men who became the Lord's disciples were called to the new priesthood of the new church which the Lord then established-a priesthood without any external continuity with that of any former church; but what is related of them signifies the regeneration of all those who are to be of the New Church, and not merely the qualifications for those who are to be of the priesthood.

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Swedenborg's call was to the office of revelator, but what is related of his life also has its lessons for those who are to be of the New Church. And let us note that both the disciples and Swedenborg heard the Divine call while they were actively engaged in their uses of life, diligently pursuing their work with earnestness and zeal. They were able to hear the call because of their love of the truths and goods of the Word, because of their humility, and because they were eminently capable of being taught and led by the Lord alone. So shall it be with us, if we cultivate the love of truth by a diligent reading and meditation upon the Word of the Lord.
BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST 1950

BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST       SYDNEY B. CHILDS       1950

     In the book of Daniel we read: "And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." (Daniel 5: 22, 23.)
     Belshazzar's feast was not one of charity but of desecration. An absolute and decayed monarchy had enslaved Judah, representing the Jewish Church. Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar's father, had besieged Jerusalem. "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god." (Daniel 1: 2.) The banquet of Belshazzar, attended by the courtiers and minions of his court, was to memorialize the subjugation of the Jewish people by Babylon.

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     It was not enough to conquer and enslave the representative church of the true God, but a feast must be held to drink wine from the holy vessels of a now captive religion. This feast was one of keen enjoyment to those who willingly pandered to an all powerful dictator, Belshazzar. His mind, swollen with pride and the lust of dominion, became satiated with the magnificent display of wealth and power that characterized the customary revelry of this ruler of an ancient kingdom. "Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, that the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines, might drink therein." (Daniel 5: 1, 2.)
     But a miracle brought a sudden end to the profane revelry. `In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote." Belshazzar's alarm must have spread to the entire gathering. The queen appeared, and at her behest Daniel was summoned. He was a Jewish prince who had been brought as a child to Babylon, and under the Lord's protection had risen high in the favor of the Babylonian monarchy. Daniel interpreted the fateful writing upon the wall, announcing the destruction of Belshazzar and the rending in twain of his kingdom.
     All who read the Word must have been impressed, even from early childhood, with the poignant drama of Belshazzar's feast, and with the preceding chapter which tells of the life of his father, King Nebuchadnezzar. The two chapters are essentially one. While these events occurred thousands of years ago they epitomize the life of every human being who has lived in our world since the dawn of creation.

     Man is born into the world to face a final destiny,-that he may accept or reject God. He is free to do either. The Lord alone knows which choice the man has made. The man himself does not know until his own last judgment, irrevocable following death. The choice is one between heaven and hell, between acceptance of the Lord or partaking of His crucifixion.

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If a man accepts the Lord, he will follow the dictates of God. If he denies the Lord in this world, the choice is deliberate. Denial of the Lord culminates in a life of evil, and the final lot of such a man is hell.
     Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a tree and Daniel's interpretation is a beautiful illustration of a man who sinned and thereafter repented, the familiar theme of the Prodigal Son, and of every man who finally has chosen the way of salvation. The life of Nebuchadnezzar's son, the saddest story ever told, depicts the fate of every man who has chosen hell as his final abode; and this accounts for the existence of hell and its present large population. The comparison, however, is made from the appearance, since it is not permitted us to judge the final lot of Belshazzar as a man.
     Though every man who sins and repents achieves salvation, the most wonderful story of all is that of the Lord's coming on earth, known familiarly throughout the world as the Divine conception. The Christian Church is built upon that event, and the New Church, through the Second Coming of the Lord, is its fulfilment. The Writings are the Lord's Second Coming, the final and crowning gift of God to His erring creatures. The whole of the Old Testament is a prophecy of the Lord's coming. The whole of the New Testament records the Lord's life on earth, His glorification, and the prophecy of His Second Advent. The Writings are the fulfilment of both Testaments-a rational and Divine revelation of the interior truths and goods involved in the Lord's glorification of His Human manifesting the Divine Human to men.
     The General Church of the New Jerusalem is built upon a rock,- the acknowledgment from mind and heart that the Writings are the Word of God. If that acknowledgment be genuine with the man of the church, and persists with him throughout life, it will inevitably open the way to eternal life in heaven.
     The Lord, during His sojourn on earth, offered the key of heaven to mankind, and freely offers the same gift to all men living upon the earth today. His voice stirs our hearts in the words: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.

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And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it." (Matthew 7: 24-27.)

     The story of Belshazzar's feast is that of all men who have chosen hell. There is the sin of denial, and of profanation. The latter is the more dangerous. "They have brought the vessels of His house before thee." How familiar this sounds when interpreted in relation to events today! Evil openly works its dreadful toll of havoc in our world.
     The murderer, if caught and found guilty, is subject to the swift and dreaded penalties of the law. The spiritual murderer escapes such penalties, as do all who interiorly reject and break the Ten Commandments. Society cannot attempt to regulate and punish the thoughts of man. Yet it is the mind of man that commits the most shocking evil. Hatred and contempt of the neighbor, the turning away from God and His revelation to man, with a consequent life of concealed evil, convert such a man into an abject slave of the hells. His lot after death is damnation.
     Among the truths given in the Writings are those revealing the spiritual and celestial meanings of the Ten Commandments. The Lord while on earth was in communion with the precepts of His own soul, the Father. Revelation from within was available to Him through His Divine origin, enabling Him to reject all evil from His infirm human. Thus He conquered in His temptations, notwithstanding ever increasing assaults from the hells, even to the final glorification of His Human at the time of the Last Supper and the crucifixion. His resurrection then followed. At long last those whose spiritual eyes were opened witnessed the mightiest of all miracles,-the sight of the God of heaven and earth in His glorified Human.
     We in turn can experience this same miracle, if our spiritual sight is opened through acceptance of the Writings and enlightenment of the understanding. The Writings unfold and illuminate the words of Scripture. The glorification of the Lord's Human is portrayed and revealed, giving a finite understanding of transcendent wisdom, now for the first time proffered to mankind.

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And there is also a representative analogy of the Lord's life on earth in the regeneration of every man who hears and obeys the Word of God, and who thereby prepares for a life in heaven.
     The man, by teaching and instruction in childhood, comes to know of the Lord and His precepts. If later, during adult life such a man makes Divine order his own, through worship of the Lord and the endeavor from the heart to follow the teachings of revealed truth, he is destined for heaven. Such a person will undergo the trials and tribulations of life with calm assurance, not of salvation, but of the Lord's beneficent mercy toward His creatures.
     The hope of salvation will be both given and withdrawn. In states of spiritual temptation the assaults of the hells will increase in severity, bringing a deluge of falsity, darkness, and denial even to the verge of utter despair. The pride of self-intelligence, through inherited and acquired evil, does not readily give up its hold on man's life, however well-intentioned he may be. The hells would destroy a man, particularly as to his spiritual life.
     A man may find himself as did King Nebuchadnezzar when he was warned by Daniel: "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." (Daniel 4: 27.) Yet at the end of twelve months this same king vaunted his material power: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" These words epitomize what we know Babylon signifies-the love of dominion. Retribution was swift. The king lost his mind, became insane. Yet, after a prolonged interval, his reason was restored and he was gifted with spiritual sanity, repented of his former evil, and acknowledged God: "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven, all whose words are truth, and His ways judgment; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase."
     The well-disposed man, as he achieves maturity and reflects upon his previous life, will discover that he has often "walked in pride." He will realize that many of the aspirations and ideals of early life were loaned rather than his by right. In fact, as a man attains some degree of spiritual development, he more and more recognizes that all worthy aspirations and ideals of life are the Lord's possessions, and not man's.

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For a man's power to reason, his ability to live as a man, his every breath, are constant gifts from the Lord. And a man will, in time and in the Lord's mercy, receive the precious gift of humility. He will realize that all events of his life, and of every man's life, are under Divine auspices and direction. If, by inadvertence, or his inability to withstand evil in temptation, a man finds that he has committed grievous sin, he will not be utterly cast down. He will reflect upon the implications of King Solomon's words at the dedication of the temple: "If they sin against Thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), . . . and repent, and return unto Thee with all their heart. . . . then hear Thou their prayer, and forgive thy people." (I Kings 8: 46-50.)
     Man-having sinned-will either repent and return to the Lord, or he will deny the Lord and turn to profanation. In the latter event he will find himself a participating guest at Belshazzar's feast. He will delight in praising "the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know." His life will then become wholly concerned with self-aggrandizement and the pursuit of the vainglory of the world. Pride and the love of dominion will flourish in the banquet hall of his mind. Restless anxiety, and satiated senses through self-indulgence, will corrupt all his earlier ideals and aspirations. He may, for purely selfish causes, observe and follow the rituals of the church and outwardly obey its teachings, but within will be a total denial of God. His own self- love will be the only god to one who is a willing guest at Belshazzar's feast.

     With a good man, the whole course and tenor of his life will be different. He will come to know that anything and everything of good that enters his life is a gift of God. He will diligently heed the precepts of God and the rituals available to him in his church, evincing his delight in receiving instruction and inspiration to renew his ideals of life. At times, indeed, he will be subject to temporary states of anxiety and despair, but, in the Lord's mercy, these states will be shortened. He may attend Belshazzar's feast in the person of Daniel, who came to alleviate the further condemnation of the wicked, and by interpretation to relieve the king from the smothering fear of doubt.

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When Daniel, at the king's behest, interpreted the meaning of the miraculous writing "upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace," Belshazzar's doubts were resolved and some preparation given for the termination of his life.
     So will it be with a man who is essentially endeavoring to lead a good life. He will look upon the ghastly falsity, evil, and profanation of which the willing guests at the feast have partaken, and which they will continue to share with one another while the love of dominion flourishes on the earth; he will be saddened by the inevitable tragedy of life which even the well-disposed cannot wholly escape; but he will become less and less devoted to the material welfare of his life, and more and more deeply concerned to eschew evil.
     For shunning evil as a sin against God provides the gateway to heaven and eternal life. The well-disposed man will not rest with the mere acknowledgment that he is in evils. He will follow the teaching of the Word in the Lord's Second Coming, where, again and again, the emphasis is placed upon the necessity for self-examination and the avoidance of some particular evil that is disclosed to a man as detrimental to his spiritual life. Self-examination is not exactly a pleasant occupation, and what it reveals is wont to be disturbing to a man's proprial equanimity.
     But the real battle starts when an evil is discerned and must be resisted and combated. The hells then get busy. As though a signal had been given to them through a silent observer of a man's most hidden thoughts, by some diabolical communication system the word gets around that a given man on earth is endeavoring to shun as a sin against God an evil he has discovered in himself. The whole of the hells, by well-chosen representatives, then initiate a process of infestation which, in cunning and deceit, is beyond all the machinations of the most evil on earth.
     Disclosure of a single evil in one's self tends to disclose others. Even the well-disposed man becomes weary with the seeming hopelessness of attempting to eradicate an evil long entrenched in his proprial inclinations. That evil has been-without his knowing it-a source of gratification at times; if a sense of humor remains, the man max even foresee feeling rather lonely without it.
     This is where the Lord enters a man's life!

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It is the Lord, through the angelic heavens, who has enabled the man to discover that evil in the first place. It is the Lord who has endowed a man with the ability to raise his rational and intellectual sight above the clouds and darkness of natural cupidities.
     Consider the evil of slander. That evil can be evidenced in a guise of seemingly harmless gossip and a human interest in ones neighbor It may exhibit itself as a sort of conversational and intimate form of communication among friends dwelling upon the inconsistencies and foibles of some absent associate, friend or relative. Yet slander, in its essence can approach the hatred of murder when flourishing unchecked in one's mind. Indeed perhaps unknowingly, it may lead to direful consequences against an individual neighbor.
     We all tend to magnify our own troubles and to minimize the troubles of another. This is a dangerous approach in our relations with one another. The particular neighbor, perhaps totally unaware of our malice, may at a given time be on the verge of despair by reason of calamities, spiritual or material, of which we have no knowledge. In an extreme instance, unchecked malicious gossip. if prompted by the spirit of slander, could result in the ruination or even the death of a given neighbor.
     The repentant man discovers that he is inclined to take an inordinate interest in the more intimate problems or the seeming weakness of a neighbor. If he then begins to combat that evil in himself as a sin against God, the chances are that his progress will be slow. It may even be a lifetime job really to conquer that single evil. But the Lord has aroused in that man the determination to resist evil; and in due course His Providence will impart the ability, not only' to shun the evil of slander, but also to come into a charitable and genuine state of respect and helpfulness toward the neighbor whom he formerly regarded with contempt.
     It is the Lord, not man, who can deliver one who has determined to shun evils as sins against God. By almost miraculous means a man is given assistance. Thought, inspired by angelic spirits, will warn him that he is in a danger zone. The acceptance of responsibilities toward the neighbor in a man's various relationships with him will serve to protect his mind, and will illuminate a wise and just course of action in the conduct of his affairs. At times he will not know which turning of the lane to follow, but frequently his rational insight will dictate the true branch of life's winding roadway.

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Responsibility is a beacon by which the good man can steer a course to avoid shipwreck on the shoals of disaster.
     Above all, the well-disposed man will be blest at times with the realization that, through the Lord's help, something of accomplishment has been attained in the reception of genuine charity. A wise discernment can be given as to the immediate duties of an upright life. A desire for the welfare of the neighbor can be accompanied at times by a spirit of love for the good and compassion toward the frailty of all human beings. The admonition of the Lord is recalled: "to love one another."
     To shun evil as a sin against God is to glorify God. No other glorification of God is possible from finite man. In such glorification is eternal life and happiness. A man who on earth rejects evil becomes a steward in the Lord's kingdom, even though he cannot be assured of salvation until after death. He will seek Divine aid by endeavoring worthily to partake of the Lord's Supper, and by shunning as the lakes of hell any willing participation in a Belshazzar's feast.
     When this man arrives at the judgment seat, the exact reverse of Daniel's interpretation of Belshazzar's acts will be made. This could be the reworded judgment: "God hath numbered thy kingdom and will continue it. Thou art weighed in the balance and art not found wanting. Thy kingdom is not divided. . . . For the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou glorified."

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CANADIAN NORTHWEST 1950

CANADIAN NORTHWEST       Rev. A. WYNNE ACTON       1950

     A Pastoral Visit.

     It was my privilege during the summer of 1949 to go on a tour of pastoral visits to the New Church friends in the Canadian West and Northwest. I visited no less than thirty different places, and, because of the great distances involved some 9000 miles were traveled by train, bus, private automobile, steamer and airplane.
     Most of the people whom I visited had received instruction from the Rev. Fred E. Waelchli, either they themselves or their parents; and they all remembered him with high esteem and deep personal affection. He indeed did invaluable work for the Church in this district, under real pioneer conditions. When he had to retire from the field in 1921, the Rev. Henry Heinrichs carried on this work until 1931, when the visits had to be discontinued. It was unfortunate that these good friends had no ministerial visits from the General Church during the hard years of the depression. As a consequence. contact with some of them, especially with the young people, was lost. In 1939 the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, accompanied by Mr. Otho W. Heilman, took up the work again and made many fresh contacts. In successive years thereafter, pastoral visits were paid by Bishop George de Charms, the Rev. Karl R. Alden, the Rev. Elmo C Acton twice, and again the Rev. Karl R. Alden for five consecutive years.

     My first visit was with Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Hatle at Emo, Ontario. Arriving at 2:30 in the morning, I was met by a taxi, driven to the hotel, and told by' the taxi driver the number of the room which had been reserved for me. The next morning, after calling on Floyd at the sawmill where he was working, I took a taxi to their home and visited with Mrs. Hatle and her two children. That evening there was a service at which their 9-months old baby, Ilene, was baptized. Afterwards some slides of Old and New Testament pictures were shown, which a few other children attended, followed by the slides Mr. Alden took last year of the people he visited. These latter slides were shown at almost every place I called, and were always very welcome. I stayed at the Hatle's the next day, reading a sermon to Mrs. Hatle after lunch, until a taxi called to take me to the afternoon bus for Kenora, Ontario.

     Arriving at Kenora I was met by Miss Alice Rempel and a friend, and despite the lateness of the hour, 10:30 p.m., we took a taxi out to see her sister, Mrs. Ruth Atkins.

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After some general conversation we planned the service for the next evening before I returned to the hotel at midnight.
     The next morning I called on Colonel C. Nelson Schnarr. I was made very welcome, and thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with him. Col. Schnarr, very sprightly despite his advancing years, took me on a boat trip through the upper end of the Lake of the Woods that afternoon. It was most interesting to travel on this beautiful lake, with its 16,000 islands, in the company of a man who seemed to know every inch of it.
     I returned to the hotel in time to meet Alice and Susan Rempel and a friend, and to go with them to the Atkin's for supper. After supper we had a service at which I spoke of the Descent of the New Jerusalem. In addition to Mr. and Mrs. Atkins and the two Rempel girls, two visitors were present. Later I showed some of the Bible pictures, as well as Mr. Alden's pictures of Northwest groups. The next morning I again visited Mrs. Atkins. Later that afternoon, on arriving at the Kenora station, I had one of those pleasant surprises which occur on such a long trip. Who should be there, also waiting for the Winnipeg train, but Jack Hamm I had written to Jack and his wife (nee Doris Bond) at Red Lake, but we were not able to arrange for a visit. This was, therefore, an especially fortunate meeting.

     At Winnipeg I was met by Mr. E. D. Reddekopp, who is the Missionary for the Board of Missions of the General Convention. On hearing of my intended visit, he had written me a very cordial letter, inviting me to visit him that evening, and to hold a service at his home if I desired This invitation of the Convention leader in Winnipeg was very welcome to me as a minister of the General Church, and I gladly availed myself of the opportunity of having a visit with him and his wife in their home that evening. We had a friendly and useful talk about the Convention and the General Church, their differences as well as their common ground, and also about the work in the Canadian Northwest. It was after midnight when I returned to the hotel. This was my only chance of seeing Mr. Reddekopp, as he left for Alberta in the morning.
     The next afternoon Mr. Jake Funk and his son. Paul, called at the hotel and drove me out to see the Shellenberg family. After a pleasant visit there, I drove to the Funks for supper, and that evening showed slides. Mr. and Mrs. J. Funk are the parents of Henry and Edna, who attended the Bryn Athyn schools. Three of their daughters were at home-Elsie, who was about to move to Centralia, Ontario, with her husband. Mr. Walter Steward, Jean, and Anne. Several other New Church friends also saw the slides that evening. The following morning Mr. Funk again called for me, and after we had lunch at Elsie Steward's we drove to the Royal Templar Hall where a service was held at 2 p.m. This is the hall where Mr. Reddekopp holds services every 3rd Sunday. I addressed the children on the subject of the Manna, and the adults on "The Bread of Life," after which the Holy Supper was administered. Altogether some 15 persons were present. Here, as elsewhere, I did not have Mr. Alden's advantage of playing the violin, but Anne Funk played the piano, and we had a very delightful service.

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     After tea at the hospitable Funk home, I picked up my bags at the hotel and caught the night train to Roblin, Manitoba. I was met there at 6.30 a.m. by Mr. Dave Friesen who drove me to his farm, a distance of 10 miles. After breakfast and some conversation we drove another 3 miles to see his son Ed and his wife, where we had lunch Another son, David, and his wife and child called. All afternoon there was animated discussion of the various doctrines of the church. I was driven to the farm of a third son, Pete, in time for supper.
     It was most delightful visiting Mr. and Mrs. Friesen and their three sons, each of whom has his own half-section farm within a few miles of the others, and each of whom takes such an intelligent and active interest in the church. That evening a service was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Friesen. After a talk to the children I preached on the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, and then introduced the Holy Supper with a short talk on its meaning. Ten adults and seven children were present. Unfortunately Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Friesen were unable to attend, as this was the Dominion Election Day, and Mr. Friesen was on the election board; however, they called later in the evening.

     The next morning Mr. Dave Friesen drove me the 20 odd miles to San Clara, where Mr. and Mrs. Dave Klassen and their family were awaiting us. After a sumptuous chicken dinner in very pleasant company we settled down to more serious things. At one o'clock we commenced with an hour's class on The Three Essentials of the Church, followed by slides until after four o'clock. It was my practice throughout to tell the story of each Bible picture as it appeared, or to ask the children to describe it, So that these slides were not only a means of teaching the stories from the Word, but also of explaining their meaning.
     After supper I was driven to the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Middleton. Mrs. Middleton is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Friesen, who had driven up for the evening service. Again we had a service followed by slides for over 2 hours. More than five hours of instruction were given that day. I had planned to drive to Boggy Creek that day, but it was so late when we finished showing the slides and the supper which followed that Mr. and Mrs. Middleton invited me to spend the night with them. They' would drive me to Boggy Creek in the morning.

     Owing to my late arrival at Boggy Creek, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sawatzky were not at home when I called, but their fifteen year old daughter, Theresa, and three younger sons made me feel completely at home. Here I saw the church building which the New Church people had themselves erected, cutting the timber, sawing it in the mill of one of the members, and doing all the construction work. At that time (1940) there was a large congregation living within a few miles of the church, but many have moved away since then, and now only a few families are left.

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     That evening we had a service in this church, at which I spoke to the children on the Book of Judges, and to the adults on the subject of Self-Examination. The following morning I called on the Jake Funks (a distant relative of Mr. Jake Funk of Winnipeg and had lunch there. Here, as elsewhere, I heard deep appreciation of Mr. Waelchli's pioneer work. Later in the day I called upon Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Hiebert. They had lost their house by fire last Easter, and Cornelius was busy building a new home, in the meantime living in the granaries. That afternoon we had slides at the church for two hours, followed by a service at which I spoke of how we may think of the Lord. The next morning came the final service, at which the Holy Supper was administered to eight communicants. After lunch at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Pete Wiens, Cornelius Hiebert drove me 30 miles to the nearest railway station at Benito. This concluded a delightful and inspiring visit during which one felt a deepness of desire to receive the ministrations of the church, expressed more ultimately by a warmth of hospitality.

     At 11 o'clock the following morning I arrived at Flin Flon, which is in Northern Manitoba. In this town of 11,000 inhabitants, built up during the past twenty years, almost everyone is in some way connected with the enormous mining industry. Although no road as yet leads into the town, it is filled with automobiles. I was met by Mrs. Dalmar Funk, who recognized me by the copy of the LIFE I carried in my hand. We took a taxi to her home, or as near to it as the taxi driver would venture through the gumbo mud. That evening a service, attended by 15 persons, was held for adults and children at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lester. The next day, being Sunday, there was another service, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Funk, at which the subject was The Life of Religion. Present on this occasion was a Salvation Army Officer and his wife, and his guitar greatly assisted in the singing. Then pictures were shown to the children for over two hours. It amazed me at every place I visited that the children never got tired of looking at Bible pictures. Indeed, they' would fall asleep in their chairs before they would willingly leave. While we were having supper, Mr. Julius Hiebert and two daughters and Mr. Henry Friesen called. Mr. Hiebert's wife had been rushed to the hospital the previous day; so I had not as yet seen him. For the benefit of the newcomers another service was held after supper, and the subject of the Divine Providence as presented. And for the second time Mr. Alden's pictures of Northwest groups were shown. The following morning instruction was again given the children by means of pictures After lunch at the Ernie Funk's home, a group drove to the station to see me off. It had been a busy and very enjoyable visit with both the adults and the children.

     I was met at The Pas that evening by Mr. Ed Wiens. There is only one New Church family in The Pas, but about half a dozen neighboring children came to see the Bible pictures shown later that evening. The following morning I officiated at the baptism of Robin Rodney Wiens, and there was a very lovely sphere, with just Mr. and Mrs. Wiens and their two other children present.

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After driving 17 miles in the afternoon to see their farm, it was pictures again that evening. The following morning there was a service at which the subject was The Life of Abraham. Besides the services and pictures, there was opportunity for much conversation about the things of the church, extending well into the night.

     After an overnight train journey I arrived the next morning at the town of Rosthern, Saskatchewan, and was met by Mr. Jacob Epp. I was glad of the opportunity to visit the home of Marth Epp McMaster, whom I see on my visits to Montreal. I also visited Mr. Ens, who was the pioneer both of the town and of the New Church there. Rosthern, and Hague nearby, were the places where Mr. Waelchli used to have his largest congregations, but many of the families have moved away-the Hamms, Heinrichs, Lemkys, and Becks.

     After spending a night in Saskatoon, I caught the train to Benton, Alberta, where I was met at 12.30 a.m. by Mr. William Evens. This was my first visit with friends I already knew; for Mr. and Mrs. Evens, with Mabel and Ted, had visited Toronto the previous winter. The following evening we were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Evens and their son, Norman, who live a few miles away, and a doctrinal class was held. As the next day was Sunday, a full service was held in the afternoon, during which there was the baptism of Candida and Angelica, the two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. William Evens, Jr., and the administration of the Holy Supper. The service was followed by slides, the whole lasting about three hours and a half. The following morning another service was held.
     In the village that evening there was a ceremony of dedication of a playground surrounded by trees in memory of those who had served in the war, especially of Leslie Evens and one other boy from the neighborhood who had not returned. This had been arranged for that Monday evening in order that I might take part in it. I gave an address on the reasons for the permission of wars, and also on the spiritual world. This led to several interesting conversations afterwards. Following the ceremony we adjourned to the community hall, where an ample lunch was provided, and where dancing, including several square dances, continued until after midnight. All of this was so enjoyable that we didn't get to bed until 1 a.m. Two hours later Norman drove me to the station to board the train for Saskatoon.

     In Saskatoon I called upon Mr. Ernest Reddekopp, a Missioner like his brother at Winnipeg, but unfortunately he did not return home from his holidays until late that night. He telephoned me in the morning, and although there was not time to accept his cordial invitation to his home, he came to the station for a very brief visit before I boarded the train for Regina After a night there, I arrived at Broadview, Saskatchewan, where I enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Middleton.

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A new experience was added to my ever growing list,-that of riding in the cab of Bruce's locomotive while he shunted freight cars back and forth in the yards. In Broadview there are four Loeppky girls and one brother (originally from Secretan), all of them married. Two services were held, at each of which I addressed the children as well as the adults, and pictures were shown. One of the services was held on a day when the temperature had reached 104 degrees in the shade.

     On the journey to Secretan I took with me the 12-year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Ross Larter to visit his grandmother. The Canadian Pacific Railway had agreed to stop its transcontinental train at Secretan (a general store and about a dozen homes), both for detraining and for entraining three days later. The train was late, but we were met at 11 p.m. by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rempel and his sister, Mrs. Peters. We drove eleven miles to their home, where I stayed.
     We planned to hold a full service the next afternoon. Sunday, at the Ike Loeppky home in Coderre, about 20 miles south. But as the weather was so threatening, and the gumbo roads are almost impassable when they are wet, we held the service at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rempel, only a couple of miles away. Alter the service, which included a talk to the children on the Holiness of the Word, slides were shown. As the weather had cleared we decided to drive to Coderre that evening Accordingly, after supper we all gathered at the home of Ike and Harriet Loeppky for another service, and more slides. Twenty-two persons were present. A delicious lunch was served, and it was after midnight before we returned to Secretan.
     The next day I had lunch with Mrs. Jake Loeppky, alter which eight children arrived for a Sunday School lesson. With a little prompting, most of them could recite "Hagios," which Mr. Alden had taught them the previous year. That evening there was a full service at the home of the Henry Rempels, and the Holy' Supper was administered to 13 persons. I spoke to the children about the way in which the Lord gives us our Daily Bread, and, after they were dismissed, I addressed the adults on the spiritual significance of the same subject.
     At the lunch which followed we had a jolly rune, as it was the birthday of Mrs. Peters and also of the Rev. K. R. Alden. He had celebrated it there every year for the last five years. The following day I had lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rempel, four of whose daughters I had met at Emo and Kenora, but I found that there were still two charming younger daughters at home, as well as their two sons After an enjoyable lunch another service was held, followed by, Sunday School and mere slides. We then had a big supper, and I had to take my leave of these staunch and hospitable people. Because of a small black cloud which Mr. Henry Rempel mistrusted we left early for the station, and he must have barely had time to get home before there was a veritable cloudburst. This left me a couple of hours to talk to the station master, who remembered Mr. Alden when I described him with his violin, although he had never spoken to him. The next morning brought me to Calgary, where a days rest was very much appreciated.

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     The following day I took the night train to Cranbrook, British Columbia, missing the beauty of the Crow's Nest Pass in the darkness. However, there was some compensation the next afternoon, in the beautiful 60-mile drive through the mountains with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tonkin. Frank met me at the station at 6.45 am., and we drove to his home for breakfast. Later in the morning I showed slides to their two children. Frank and I then called on Mr. William Epp, whose address had been given me at Rosthern. The Tonkins had not been aware that there was another New Church family in Cranbrook. We received a cordial welcome from Mr. and Mrs. Epp, and arranged to have a service there that evening. It was an enjoyable service, with 4 adults and 6 children present. After talking to the children, I dismissed them and addressed the adults. Some slides of the Old Testament pictures were shown, and also pictures of the Northwest groups. Supper then brought a happy evening to a close. I was sorry I could spend so little time with these new friends.

     Mr. Peter Letkeman, who met me at Castlegar at noon on Sunday, is a young man who came into the New Church through the friends at Renata. About a dozen of us sat down to a delicious Sunday' dinner at his home, after which a service was held for the baptism of his infant son, Robert Peter, and for the administration of the Holy Supper. We then had instruction for the other three children, and slides. I had been informed in Toronto that the Canadian Pacific Steamer Minto left on Monday morning for Renata, but now found it did not leave until Tuesday. So I had the opportunity for another visit with the Letkemans the following afternoon and evening, conversing and showing more slides.
     The Minto leaves Castlegar on the Columbia River, which, after a few miles, branches out into the beautiful Arrow Lake. This lake, with its picturesque shoreline of majestic mountains, is over 130 miles long and from 1 to 2 miles wide. Renata is 18 miles from the southern extremity of the lake, and is only accessible by boat. Its main livelihood is fruit farming, and I was fortunate in arriving there just toward the end of the cherry season. I have never tasted such delicious cherries. I was met at the pier in the late afternoon by a group of Church people, and driven to the home of the Henry Funks for supper. Later I went to the Abe Harm's where I stayed.
     There are a number of New Church families in this beautiful town. During my stay there, three services were held with a usual attendance of about 24, including the children; and there were three Sunday School classes for about a dozen children. Besides instructing the children, I reviewed "Hagios," which Mr. Alden had taught them last year, and I taught them some new recitations. Also, showing slides on six different occasions to both children and adults. I almost exhausted the supply which I had brought with me. Mr. Jake Friesen's violin was a great help in the services.
     As the time came for me to leave Renata, and the boat departed in the late afternoon, the whole group had a picnic beforehand on the lawn of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Toews (pronounced Taxes). They had discovered that the day of my arrival had been my birthday, and to my great surprise a large birthday cake now appeared.

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It was with regret that I had to say good-bye on the pier to these friends who had so cordially taken me into their midst.
     After a night spent on the boat at Nakuep, we continued the journey up the lake in the morning to Arrowhead, where I boarded a bus for Reveistoke, and from there went by the transcontinental train to Kamloops. On this train I did not meet the colored porter with whom Mr. Alden talked last year, but I did have a long talk about the Church with the conductor.

     I arrived at the Plaza Hotel, Kamloops, B. C., late Saturday night, and the next morning called upon Mr. and Mrs. George Owens (Sadie Funk) After lunch Mr. Owens drove me to the home of Mr. A. G. McDonald. It was a real pleasure to meet this staunch and well-informed New Churchman. Although he is in his 92nd year, he looks after himself, and is only troubled with failing eyesight, having to use an extremely powerful magnifying glass for his daily reading of the Writings and of NEW CHURCH LIFE. He told me how, while prospecting thirty-one years ago, he had come across a copy of Heaven and Hell in a deserted cabin, and how, upon reading a page or two, he was immediately convinced that this was the Lord's Truth. A long and delightful conversation about the Church followed. He could not hear too much about the doctrines, about what was happening in the Church, and about the people who wrote "those splendid articles" in the LIFE.
     On my taking leave of Mr. McDonald at the end of the afternoon, I called on Mr. Leslie McLean, a young man in whom Mr. Alden had been interested last year. I was cordially welcomed, and within two minutes we were discussing the doctrine of Salvation. Mr. McLean had completed his course for the Pentecostal Ministry, but because he no longer believed in instantaneous salvation, nor in the predominantly sacrificial nature of the Lord's life, he had not been ordained. While he professed to receive much light from the Writings, there were many things in them which he could not yet see. It was a most thoughtful and stimulating conversation. Mr. and Mrs. Owens called for me about 9 p.m. I showed some slides to their two children, and we talked until it was time for me to leave for the midnight train to Vancouver.

     In the morning I got off the train at Mission City, 45 miles from Vancouver, and was met by Mrs. Fairburn and her two children. We went to her home for breakfast, and later she drove me into Vancouver, stopping en route at Haney and Enneedale to enable me to make two short visits.
     At Vancouver it was very delightful to see Mr. and Mrs. Alec Craigie and their two children again. After much conversation about Toronto, and about the uses of being isolated, I showed them some slides of New Testament pictures and of the Northwest groups taken by Mr. Alden, Mrs. Fairburn and her two children still being present. Later Mr. and Mrs. Craigie drove me to the midnight ferry for Victoria.

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     Mr. Fred Frazee met the boat at seven o'clock the next morning. Returning to his home, it was a great pleasure to meet Mrs. Frazee (nee Olive Bostock) and to find that her sister, Miss Margaret Bostock, was visiting them. During the two days I was in Victoria we had one service with the Holy Supper, three classes, and also some slides one evening. Attending all the classes was a friend of the Frazees, Mr. Robinson, who has a wide and intelligent interest in the Writings.
     The third day of my stay, Mr. and Mrs. Frazee, Miss Bostock, and I drove 70 miles along the beautiful scenic road to Ladysmith. On the way we stopped at Langford to visit Mr. and Mrs. Peter Wiens, whose children and grandchildren I had visited in Manitoba. Here an informal service was held and slides were shown. It was a most delightful visit, and a truly affectionate welcome from this elderly couple whose whole life has been in the Church. Just before 7 p.m. we arrived at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. William Harms, Ladysmith, and in no time an ample supper appeared on the table. At the service which followed some dozen persons were present, and I addressed both the children and the adults. Although we had had a late supper, another feast was at hand before we retired for the night.

     The next day Mr. and Mrs. Harms drove me to Nanaimo to board the boat to Vancouver. Alec Craigie met me at the wharf, and on driving home I was delighted to find Miss Vera Craigie of Toronto staying with them. I soon caught up on all the Toronto news-the people who had moved, the engagements announced, and the Bradfield-Bellinger wedding which I had been obliged to miss. That evening I talked to David and Faith Craigie, and later held a class for the adults. The following morning I had a very enjoyable visit with the Rev. John Zacharias, the Convention Minister who has labored for the Church so faithfully and so diligently all his life, from Winnipeg to Vancouver.
     That evening Mrs. Fairburn and her two children arrived, and also Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas (Arthura Bond). We had a service, at which I talked to the children on the Vision of Elisha, and to the adults on the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Men. Conversation continued until late in the evening. The next day being Sunday, the Holy Supper Service was held at 11 am. After a talk to the children on the subject of "Holy Ground," they retired and the Sacrament was administered to four communicants. We had dinner at the beautiful Horseshoe Bay, afterwards viewing some of the lovely scenery that surrounds Vancouver. It will be a surprise to friends in the East to hear that on that evening early in August we had a fire in the fireplace, and sat around its cheerful blaze while having a long discussion on the subject of Self-Examination.
     The following morning I was sorry to have to say good-bye-a continuous necessity on this journey, and one of the hardest features of the trip. I left Vera and Alec at the airfield in a rainy mist, but a few minutes later, at over 10,000 feet. I was in brilliant sunshine above the clouds. Snow-capped Mount Baker was the only object to be seen, apparently only a few miles away, but in reality 75 miles distant.

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This was a beautiful airplane ride over the ranching country of British Columbia and then the Rocky Mountains, whose craggy peaks could be seen through breaks in the clouds. This plane trip of 4 1/2 hours saved a roundabout train journey which would have taken 3 1/2 days.

     At Fort St. John I was met by Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Miller (Jean Evens), and they drove me 60 miles on the Alaskan Highway to Mile Zero at Dawson Creek, B. C. Also in the car was a lady school teacher who had heard about the New Church teachings, and I was able to explain various doctrines more fully to her. The Millers have four married daughters living in Dawson Creek, all of whom I visited. That evening we all gathered at the home of Mrs. John Peters (Marjorie Miller) for a sumptuous supper, after which I talked to the children and showed slides.
     Later in the evening Mr. and Mrs. Miller drove me out to the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Erdman Hendricks, where I stayed for three days. During the stay I had several Sunday School classes with the four younger Hendricks children and a neighbor's child. There were also several services, including the Holy Supper Service. For two of the services, Mr. and Mrs. Shearer, and also Dave Friesen, drove out to the Hendricks farm from Dawson Creek. One night their son, Fred, who drives a truck on the Alaskan Highway was able to be home and attend a service. And one afternoon we drove out to their old homestead where I held Sunday School under the trees, and later Erdman and I enjoyed a swim with the children.
     After the service on the last evening, I drove back to Dawson Creek with Mr. and Mrs. Shearer, and had the pleasure of spending two nights with them. The following evening there was a class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peters, which Erdman and Lena Hendrieks also attended. Afterwards, over refreshment, we had a long discussion on the question of how to overcome the difficulties experienced by isolated members in bringing up their children in the Church. This visit to the Peace River District was very interesting and delightful, and the hospitality extended me was most warm.
     I regretted that Mr. and Mrs. Ted Hawley had not yet returned from Lethbridge as planned. Mr. Hawley's health has detained him there for some months. This also prevented my seeing Grady Moore and Alvin Nelson. as I had asked them to meet me at the Hawley's home.

     A four-hour train journey brought me to Gorande Prairie, Alberta, where I was met by Mr. John Lemky and Mr. and Mrs. Ed. Lemky. I had not seen John since he was my classmate at Bryn Athyn in 1921, and it was interesting to discuss old friends and old times with him. After lunch and a short visit at Ed's, John drove me to the farm where he and his mother are living. It was very delightful to meet Mrs. Lemky, and to receive her gracious hospitality. She and her husband have been associated with the New Church in Western Canada from its very early days, being active supporters of Mr. Waelchli's work at Rosthern. That evening a class was held.

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     The following day, Sunday, a full service was held in the morning, during which there was the baptism of Chesley Carsen Lemky, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Lemky, A veritable feast followed, at which more than a dozen persons sat around the table. In the afternoon there was a class, and in the evening a couple of hours of slides. Present for the day were Mrs. Lemky and her four sons, with their wives and children. The following evening there was another service, with the administration of the Holy Supper to 8 communicants. On this occasion I officiated at the confirmation of Mr. Lawrence Wilfred Lemky, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Lemky. At their hospitable home, the next afternoon, I had the pleasure of again joining with the Lemky family for a delicious dinner. This was indeed a most enjoyable week end, and it was with a great deal of regret that I had to say good-bye at the airfield, where I took the plane to Edmonton.

     I arrived at the home of Dr. and Mrs. C. J. Madill in Edmonton in time for supper. That evening, Mr. Jack Raymond, formerly of Toronto, and his fiancee, Miss Hazel Georgina Lyons, called at the Madill home, and we all sat around and talked about many things pertaining to the church. The following evening I addressed a dozen members of the Edmonton New Church Society on the subject of Our Thought About The Lord. An interesting discussion followed. On this occasion I was pleased to meet the Rev. and Mrs. Peter Peters. Mr. Peters is the Convention Minister living in Edmonton and visiting nearby places. This visit in the hospitable home of Dr. and Mrs. Madill was all too short, but I had to catch the plane for Winnipeg the following morning.
     Although I had already visited Winnipeg, I broke my return journey by a stop there because Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Parker and family had moved there from Toronto in the meantime. Sydney met me at the airport, and drove me out to their new home in time for supper. They had only been there for a couple of weeks. After conducting their family worship that evening, I showed some slides to the children. Sydney drove me to the Funk home for a short visit, and although Mr. Funk was unfortunately away, it was good to see Edna this time. My visit with the Parkers was brief, as I had to catch the early morning plane for Toronto, but it was a very happy conclusion of a most enjoyable trip to the Canadian Northwest.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1950

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager      Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 30 cents.
     DATE OF SWEDENBORG'S BIRTH

     January 29th, 1688-Julian Calendar, or Old Style.
     February 8th, 1688-Gregorian Calendar, or New Style.
     A Difference of Ten Days.

     The Julian Calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., and was in general use until AD. 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII instituted a reform to correct the gradual departure from the astronomical year which had taken place under the Julian Calendar. This he did by a decree that October 5th, 1582, should be called October 15th, 1582. Under the Gregorian Calendar, now in general use, there was to be a difference of 10 days from 1582 to 1700, 11 days from 1700 to 1800, 12 days from 1800 to 1900, and 13 days since 1900. (See Webster's Dictionary under "Calendar.")
     Mr. Alexander McQueen called attention to this matter in a speech published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1943, p. 49, in which he stated that the date of Swedenborg's birth, under the Gregorian Calendar, would be February 9th, not January 29th.

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He cited the birthday of George Washington, February 11th, 1732, now celebrated on February 22nd, eleven days later. In 1688, however, the year of Swedenborg's birth the difference was only ten days, and January 29th would be February 8th, according to the Gregorian Calendar, as Mr. McQueen has now written to explain.

     Dates in the "Spiritual Diary."-The Gregorian Calendar was not generally accepted at once, but was adopted by some countries, and not by others, and therefore it was necessary, when giving a date, to designate whether it was Old Style or New Style. This explains why Swedenborg, in the Spiritual Diary, where the entries are dated, designated that they were "o. s."-old style-thus adhering to the Julian Calendar. This he did in the early part of the Diary, nos. 149-268. Thus no. 149 is dated "1747, Oct. 9, o. s."; no. 220 is dated "1747: in the night between the 27th and 28th of October, o. 5."; no. 268 is dated "1747. November 24, o. s." (Latin "st. a."- stylus zetus.)
     From nos. 269 to 463 the "o. s." is omitted from the dates of the entries in the Diary. But at the beginning of the year 1748, nos. 464-467 are dated "1748, January 11, o. s." and no. 468 is dated "1748, January 12, o. s." So far as we have observed, the "o. s." does not again occur, but from the fact that the dates are consecutive it would seem that the Old Style is used throughout the work.

     An interesting example where two dates are given is no. 1499, which reads as follows:

     With how many I haze conversed who were known
          to me in their lifetime.

     1499. I have computed the number of those whom I had known in the life of the body, with whom I had conversed after death. They exceed 30, so that they are more than 30, at the least; for I could not remember all. With some I conversed for days, with others for weeks, and with two individuals for about two months. I also spoke with them about their family affairs in their lifetime, and about very many other things, just as a man converses with men, as also about things that had happened after their death, and many like things-1748, March 18.

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I can now augment the number to 60.-1748, September 24.

     Few dates occur in the latter part of the work, nos. 4550 to 6097, and these cases are listed in the Documents, Vol. III, p. 980. One of these gives both the day and the hour. It is where Swedenborg gives an account of his meeting and talking with Louis XIV, King of France-no. 5980, which closes with the words: "This took place in 1759, on the 13th day of December, round about the eighth hour." That it was about eight o'clock in the evening, is stated where the account is repeated in Continuation of the Last Judgment, no. 60. This interview with Louis XIV in the spiritual world took place forty-three gears after his death in the year 1715. He had reigned as King of France for seventy-two years (1643-1715), and we are now informed that "while he was in the world he worshiped the Lord, read the Word, and acknowledged the Pope only as the highest one of the church; in consequence of which he has great dignity in the spiritual world, and rules the best society of the French nation." (C. L. J. 60.)

     Some Further Comments.-Doubtless it was the dating of the paragraphs in this work which led Dr. Immanuel Tafel to give the title of "Spiritual Diary" to it when, in 1844 and 1845, he published the original Latin manuscript in printed form. For it was known to Swedenborg under the title of "Memorabilia." This word is from Memoria-the Memory-and literally means things to be remembered-recorded-the record of Swedenborg's experiences in association with spirits and angels. The dates which are appended fix the time-the year and day-when certain of these experiences occurred, written down the same day or the day after. This confirms the actuality of the experiences, which we may regard as one of the chief uses of the dating.
     The word "Memorabilia" occurs throughout the Writings, and has been commonly translated "Memorable Relations," suggesting that they are "notable" or "remarkable" experiences of the revelator in the spiritual world.

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They are that, of course, but it is not the actual meaning of Memorabilia-things to be remembered-the records of actual experiences, given as confirmations of the doctrine of spiritual truth, and of the reality of the life after death. Therefore we read in the opening words of the work on Conjugial Love:

     "I foresee that many who read what follows, and the Memorabilia after the chapters, will believe that they are inventions of the imagination; but I asseverate in verity that they are not inventions, but truly done and seen; neither were they seen in any state of the sleeping mind, but in a state of full wakefulness. For it has pleased the Lord to manifest Himself to me, and to send me to teach those things which will be of the New Church, which is meant by the `New Jerusalem' in the Apocalypse; for which end He has opened the interiors of my mind and spirit, from which it has been given me to be in the spiritual world with the angels, and at the same time in the natural world with men, and this now for twenty-five years." (C. L. 1.)

     Such declarations on the part of the revelator anticipate the incredulity of the man of this age as to the reliability of his claim that the Memorabilia are the records of actual occurrences. Again, in the final work. Invitation to the New Church, he declares that the Memorabilia are in the place of miracles at this day-miracles which compel belief, whereas the accounts of things heard and seen in the spiritual world may appeal to the rational mind, and confirm a rational faith. There we read:

     "Manifestation of the Lord in Person, and introduction into the spiritual world, both as to sight and as to hearing and speech from the Lord, is more excellent than all miracles, since we do not read anywhere in histories that such intercourse with angels and spirits has been granted from the creation of the world. For I am daily with angels there as in the world with men, and this now for twenty- seven years. Testimonies of this intercourse are the books published by me concerning Heaven and Hell, and also the Memorabilia thence in the last work, called The True Christian Religion. . . Tell me, who ever before has known anything about heaven and hell, the state of man after death, and about spirits and angels?" (Inv. 43.)

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     And so, going back to the first recordings of the Memorabilia, in what we now call The Spiritual Diary," we may see the importance of the exact dates of the spiritual experiences of the revelator, as an ultimate confirmation that they actually occurred, and that they came after his first call to his office of revelator in the year 1743, and his intromission into the spiritual world.
     We have heard it said that the work is "merely the personal diary of Swedenborg." We fear that this is a hasty and ill considered judgment of the work from its form and its name. No work should be judged from its form, but from its content and its essence. And those who are well acquainted with the content of the Spiritual Diary from a reading and study of many years find it of the same essence as the rest of the works, from the Arcana Coelestia to the Coronis and the Invitation to the New Church. Indeed, the revelator himself declares that the wonders of spiritual doctrine he has recorded in the Spiritual Diary are from the Lord alone, and not from any spirit or angel with whom he was associated on the occasions there described. For we read in the Diary:

     That the things which I haze learned in representations, visions, and speech with spirits and angels are solely from the Lord.

     1647. Whenever there has been any representation, vision and speech, I have been held interiorly and inmostly in reflection upon it, as to what was useful or good from it, thus as to what I might learn; which reflection was not so much attended to by those who presented the representations and visions, and who spoke; nay, sometimes they were indignant when they perceived that I was reflecting. Thus have I been instructed, consequently by no spirit, neither by angel, but by the Lord alone, from whom is everything true and good. Nay, when they wanted to instruct me about various things, there was scarcely anything but what was false; and therefore I was forbidden to believe anything they said; nor was I allowed to introduce anything whatever which was their own. Moreover, when they wanted to persuade me, I perceived an interior or more interior persuasion that it is not as they wanted, at which also they wondered.

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The perception was a manifest one, but it cannot easily be described to the apprehension of men. 1748, March 22.
NEW PUBLICATION 1950

NEW PUBLICATION              1950

OUR DAILY BREAD. A New Church Manual of Meditation and Devotion. Rev. Richard H. Tafel, Editor. Issued monthly by the New Church Book Center, 2129 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia 3, Pa. Subscription price, $2.00 a year. Volume I, Number 1, 32 pages and cover.

     Replacing THE HELPER, which has been published by the American Tract and Publication Society of Philadelphia since 1888, this new publication is designed to serve a similar use, but in a somewhat different way.
     For each Sunday it provides an Order of Service for Home Worship, with Bible Reading. a Prayer, a passage from the Writings, a Sermon, and Hymns. And under the title, "Meditation for the Week," it gives for each day a brief quotation from the Writings, assigned Bible Reading, and a Prayer.
     In the Introduction, the reader is asked "to use it day by day and see if it does not fill your needs-daily food from heaven for heart and mind and spirit. We pray each day to the Lord to "give us this day our daily bread." It is in this spirit that this new publication is sent to you." The Manual is well planned to meet this worthy object, and should perform this use in larger measure for the individuals and homes which THE HELPER has served for over sixty years.
SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION 1950

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION              1950

UMCAZI. (The Expositor of the Revelation of the New Church.) Edited by the Rev. F. W. Elphick. Editorial Staff: Revs. S. E. Butelezi, A. D. Vilakazi, and A. B. Zungu. Durban, October, 1949. Mimeographed, 16 pages and cover.

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     This Official Organ of the South African Mission of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was formerly issued regularly in printed form, but in consequence of the need for economy it has not been published since May, 1945. It was decided, however, at a Meeting of the Native Ministers during the Third General Assembly, October, 1948, that the journal would be published once a year.
     The number before us is the first to appear under this plan, and the Editors state: `We trust that readers will subscribe towards the cost of production. For there is need for a journal of this kind to serve as a bond between our widely separated Societies. All should help in this objective."
     The contents of this issue are almost wholly in the Zulu language, being made up of a number of short articles, a Letter of Greeting from Bishop George de Charms, and a Report of the Nineteenth of June celebrations at the Mission centers, with an Address delivered on one of those occasions. A Directory of the Native Ministers, and a list of the Mission Societies, are useful features of the cover-pages. The Address referred to follows:
NEW CHURCH DAY 1950

NEW CHURCH DAY       Rev. M. M. LUTULI       1950

     Today we are celebrating the 179th birthday of the New Church which is called the New Jerusalem. (Rev. 21: 2.) In this celebration we commemorate that wonderful day of days which is a mystery to the Christians of the Old Church, because while we see the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Word internally, they, hoping and believing to see Him in person, are still waiting for that day when they shall see Him coming in the natural clouds of heaven.
     But we of the New Church have seen the Lord through the truths in which and by which He has revealed Himself in the Writings. For we read that He called His twelve disciples together, and on the next day sent them throughout the whole spiritual world to preach the gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns.

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     This is the truth we believe in, which also was foretold in Isaiah in the following words: "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." All this happened in the spiritual world on the 19th day of June, in the year 1770.
     We of the New Church are now called upon by the Lord to spread this great truth to our fellow Christians, by sacrificing the truth of the Old Church, which is only natural, and preach the new, which lies hidden within the natural sense of the Word. This natural truth, which has no life, because it is natural without spiritual, is what we must reject.
     The old Christian Church came to its end, preaching to the world the same natural truth as it is doing today. They believe and preach the doctrine of the coming of the Lord in person. They believe in miracles, although miracles compel, and what compels does not remain in the man; and by this belief they disregard the spiritual substance altogether.
     All this and more is what led to the coming of the Lord, in order to reveal Himself and the spiritual sense of the Word, and establish the New Church, of which we are gathered here today to celebrate and rejoice. For He has visited us in the time of our great need of the true meaning of Himself and the Church.

Mayville, Durban, 26th June, 1949.
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1950

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW              1950

Arcana Caelestia. By Emanuel Swedenborg. Volume I of the Third Latin Edition, containing Genesis, chapters i-xv (nos. 1-1885). Edited by the Rev. P. H. Johnson, BA., B.Sc. London, Swedenborg Society (Inc.), 20/21 Bloomsbury Way, 1949. Cloth, octavo, pp. 786 + xi. Price, 12/6.

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

     Sharon Church.

     December 30, 1949.-The society has seen a great deal of activity in the last few months.
     On Sunday. October 9, during the morning service, Michael Edward, the six year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Guinn, was baptized. For the past several years he has attended our Sunday School, and his parents have been frequent visitors at our services.
     Our Thanksgiving Service was held on Sunday, November 20th, with an attendance of about 90 persons. The church was so crowded that some of the seats extended into the kitchen. All available chairs were brought down from upstairs, but they were not quite enough, and in some eases two of us shared a chair.
     As usual for special occasions. Mr. Cranch had used his art to make lovely folders, with the words for the service enclosed in an artistic, colorful cover. The baptism of a baby is always a delightful addition to a service, and this tune it was Barbara Blanche, the year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Betz (Gladys Helen Brown).
     On the evening of Thanksgiving Day. November 24th, we had a wedding at the church, our pastor officiating at the marriage of Mr. Edward Charles Anderson and Miss Emma Jean Seidat. With an attendance of 110, our church was filled, but chairs had been rented for the occasion, and all were seated. It was a lovely service, and it was followed by a reception.

     Bazaar.-Last year we decided that bazaars would not be held oftener than once every two years. As we had one in 1948, and so did Glenview, we decided that it would be better if each society held one in a different year. But this year we wanted to wipe out the $400 loan still on the books for the remodeling of our church building. So it was agreed that we would have a bazaar this fall, and it was held on November 26th. We cleared over $400, but of this $30 goes to the Sunday School supply fund. Mrs. Charles Lindrooth again took charge and, with her excellent leadership, the cooperation of our members, and the help of our kind friends in Glenview, it turned out to be another big success.

     Doctrinal Classes.-This year we have been trying a new experiment. by having supper and class every two weeks, with no class in between, and it seems to be working out very well.
     Mr. Cranch is conducting an outstanding series of classes on the subject of "Effective Living from the Principles of the New Church." It has four main sections: I) In the Beginning-God and His Creation; II) The Crown of Creation-Man and his Attributes; III) Development of Mankind; IV) The Man of the New Church. Each section has several subdivisions with very interesting headings.
     At each class Mr. Cranch gives us a mimeographed sheet upon which he summarizes the subject of the class and provides a list of supplementary readings. We all know the value of meditation, and this summary of the class seems to be an excellent aid to a later mental review. The present hectic rate of living makes it difficult to find time for meditation, and anything that helps in developing it is of inestimable use to the members of the church.

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[Photograph.]

SHARON CHURCH GROUP.

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     It is hoped that, when this series of classes is completed, the text will be published in pamphlet form, so that many may enjoy its benefits. With our next report we shall comment further on the series.

     Obituary.-The passing of a member to the other life arouses the mixed feeling of a rejoicing in the happiness of the one who has left us and the sense of our own loss. So it was when Mrs. Louis V. Riefstahl passed into the spiritual world on November 14th in her 78th year. Her husband preceded her five years ago.
     Amy Synnestvedt Riefstahl was born in Nebraska, and her family came to Chicago when she was eight years old. She married Mr. Riefstahl in 1900, and their union was blest with seven children, all of whom attended the Academy in Bryn Athyn, except one whose ill health prevented it.
     Mrs. Riefstahl was one of the charter members of Sharon Church in 1903, and her husband was the first Secretary. They were both very active and valuable members until his work took him away from Chicago. Later they moved to Glenview so that their son Robert might attend the school there. In time they moved back to Chicago, and again became active members of our society, although Mrs. Riefstahl could hot participate as before because of ill health. But she was always actively interested in what was going on, and we can rejoice with her in the knowledge that she can now enter fully into the uses she loved.
     VOLITA WELLS.

     Photograph.-The picture on the opposite page was taken last fall in front of the house at 5220 Wayne Avenue, Chicago, North Side, which is the home of Sharon Church. It contains a room for worship and other meetings, and kitchen facilities for society dinners and suppers, while the upper floors provide a residence for the pastor and his family.
     The Rev. Harold C. Cranch explains that the 57 persons, old and young, shown in the photograph represent an average attendance at worship, but that there are at least 50 more belonging to the congregation. As many reside at a distance from the Church, transportation problems make it difficult to assemble them all on any one occasion.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     December has been a busy month-but which month and season are not busy? There were two Friday suppers and doctrinal classes, the subject being "The Lord's Incarnation and Glorification" in preparation for the Christmas observance.
     On Sunday, December 4th, Miss Rita Smith, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert M. Smith was confirmed. It is indeed a happy and gratifying time to us all when our young people make this decision. The sermon by our pastor was devoted to the subject of The Ten Blessings.
     The society was invited to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Horigan on Wednesday evening, December 7th, to hear a recorded address by Mr. Richard R. Gladish, as released by the General Church Recording Committee. It is hoped to have more such programs from time to time.

     Christmas.-Our celebration this year was somewhat different, in so far as the events were separated.
     The Woman's Guild sponsored a Christmas Parts on Sunday afternoon. December 18th. The auditorium was decorated with pine branches and a Christmas tree; the chairs were arranged in a semicircle the length of the room, which gave an air of informality. Mrs. Gilbert Smith conducted the singing of favorite hymns and carols. Miss Phyllis Schoenberger was chairman of the gift committee, and assisted the pastor in presenting gifts to each child.

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This committee is to be commended for its hard work and its handiwork, especially the variety, size and shape of the stuffed animals for the "younger set." The afternoon closed with enthusiastic singing, and refreshments were served. Having this meeting as a unit did not tire either parents or children, and it was much enjoyed.
     The Annual Christmas Sing was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander P. Lindsay on Friday evening, December 23rd. In addition to the hearty chorus singing, solos were sung by Mrs. Gareth Acton, Mrs. Alexander H. Lindsay, and others. It was a pleasant way to welcome our visitors and the returning students. The Elementary School holidays began on this date, and will continue through January 8th.
     The Tableaux Service was held on Christmas Eve, conducted by the pastor and prepared under the capable direction of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Nemitz. There were four beautifully depicted scenes: 1) The Appearance of the Angel to Zacharias in the Temple; 2) The Annunciation; 3) The Shepherds Abiding in the Field; 4) The Nativity. The pastor read selections from the Word, and recitations by the children introduced each scene. A special group, directed by Mrs. Gilbert Smith, sang a suitable hymn or chant, back stage, during the scenes.
     The Representation, without which no Christmas is complete, was again arranged by Mr. and Mrs. John Alden. They are to be congratulated upon the birth of a daughter on Christmas morning.
     Caroling is a time-honored custom, and a group of our young people drove by cars to different homes and sang the old favorites.
     On Christmas morning our service of worship was enhanced by a beautifully decorated church and special music. It was a combined service for adults and children. The pastor's sermon was in the nature of an address on the meaning of the words. "For unto you is born this day a Saviour who is Christ the Lord," and dwelt upon the significance of the angel's words, "Fear not," the "tidings of great joy," the "swaddling clothes." and "the manger." The congregation returned to their homes for their own celebrations and dinners with a deep feeling of the sphere and the meaning of Christmas.
     Now we embark upon a New Year. May it bring progress, health and happiness to each and every one!
     ELIZABETH R. DOERING


     FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

     Pastoral Visit,-In November the Rev. Ormond Odhner was with us for two days. On the first evening, at the Cyrus E. Doering home, he conducted a service of worship and administered the Holy Supper. The sermon eloquently brought out the Divinity of the Lord while on earth, from childhood on, culminating in the union of the Divine and the Human in Him at the time of the crucifixion.
     The next day a luncheon was given for Rev. Odhner by Mrs. George W. Fuller. In the afternoon a children's service was held for the five little ones of this group, to whom Mr. Odhner showed slides of the Christmas Story, and then a series of pictures starting with the Creation and on through the Old Testament. This was so interesting to the two adults who were there that the presentation went on despite the twistings of restless children.
     A group supper was held at the Robert T. Pollock home, after which the pastor conducted a class on the subject of "Sleep," reading to us a most unusual paper. This brought forth much comment, and I am sure it would have gone on much longer if Mr. Odhner had not found it necessary to leave that night on his homeward journey.
     At Christmas we received a very nice message from Bishop de Charms, and also greetings from many friends. Though the holiday season is now past, it is the sincere wish of all of us that each of you was blest with the true spirit of Christmas, and that the New Year will bring to each and all the fulfilment of all your hopes.

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     A Wedding.-Last fall, on Saturday, October 15, 1949, Mr. Thomas F. Pollock and Mrs. Amy Marelius Rex were united in marriage at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Fuller (Elizabeth Pollock). The candlelight ceremony took place amidst quantities of roses and in the presence of friends and relatives. The bride wore a teal blue dress, with a lovely gardenia corsage pinned to her shoulder. Recorded music played "I Love You Truly" and the wedding march. After the ceremony, which was performed by a local minister using our Liturgy Service, the wedding cake and wine were served to all present, and toasts were honored to the Church and to the bride and groom.
     Out of town guests were Mrs. John D. Pollock, of Chicago, and Mrs. Alvin E. Lindrooth, of Glenview, both sisters of the bride.
     RAYE POLLOCK.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     As there has been no news report of the Washington Society for a long time, this one covers the greater part of 1949.
     Services have been held every third Sunday, as usual, and the attendance has been very good. Dr. Acton has continued his Saturday evening doctrinal classes on Heaven and Hell, taking a whole chapter at a time. Some of us feel that we now grasp what he has been trying all these years to tell us about the relationship of the two worlds. His very practical interpretation of the well-known doctrine that neither heaven nor the church is self-sufficient, but that they are as interdependent as the internal and the external of man, leaves us in a state of mental shock, but with an eager desire to understand its application to all that has been revealed about the spiritual world.
     While our pastor was absent on his trip to Europe, we celebrated June 19th at Dr. and Mrs. Philip Stebbing's renascent colonial estate on the Maryland side of the lower Potomac River. It is located on tidewater, near the Morgantown bridge, 45 miles from Washington. We find it a superior place for associating the delights of the spiritual and natural man.
     On his return from Europe, Dr. Acton devoted his first class to an account of his travels. On this occasion (as on several others) Mr. Owen B. French, of the Washington Society of the General Convention, opened his home both to us and an equal number of his own Society. His spacious house was well filled with an appreciative audience, who listened with rapt attention to the adventures of this aged traveler whose spirit is ever young. We were grateful for this opportunity to maintain friendly relations with our New Church neighbors.
     ROWLAND TRIMBLE.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     Christmas.-Our observance of the Advent season in church and home seemed especially delightful this year. The services in the Cathedral before and on Christmas Day were marked by special sermons, singing and instrumental music which brought new meaning and affection to the traditional customs by which we celebrate the Lord's coming into the world to redeem and save mankind.

     Tableaux.-On the Sunday before Christmas a gathering that filled the Assembly Hall in the afternoon saw the incidents of the sacred story depicted in beautiful tableaux. There were five scenes: 1) Mary and Joseph seeking a room at the inn; 2) The Shepherds beholding the Angel; 3) The Wise Men seeing the Star; 4) Mary, Joseph, and the Babe in the stable, with the Shepherds worshiping Him; 5) The Wise Men arrived with their gifts.
     The Rev. Hugo Odhner read from the Word before each scene, and the audience joined in singing the Christmas hymns. Before the scene of The Nativity, the music of "Unto Us a Child is Born" was played back stage, and after the final scene the horns played "Break Forth, 0 Beauteous Heavenly Light!"

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     These fine representations were prepared under the supervision and direction of Mrs. Viola Ridgway.
     In the evening many assembled at the Club House to sing carols and hymns, and there were also solos and duets and the ensemble of the Campus Quartet. Mr. Lorenz Soneson was the organizer of this meeting.

     Christmas Sing.-In response to the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn, almost 500 persons, old and young, thronged the great ball at Glencairn on Thursday. December 22nd, for a joyous evening of song and instrumental music. All joined in the favorite hymns with an orchestral accompaniment under the direction of Mr. Frank Bostock. The horns played a number of appropriate selections; Mrs. Aidwin Smith sang "So Sweet and Clear"; the Seminary rendered choral recitations under the direction of Miss June Macauley; and the Whittington Chorus sang under the direction of Miss Hildegarde Odhner.
     Mr. Pitcairn welcomed the guests in cordial words, and introduced Bishop de Charms who delivered a Christmas Message to the society.
     The program of this fine occasion closed with the singing to horn accompaniment of "Break Forth. 0 Beauteous Heavenly Light!"

     Services.-The Children's Service was held in the Cathedral on the afternoon of December 24th. The beautiful decorations, the procession of the children, their recitations and singing, were impressive as always to the large congregation. The sphere of worship was enhanced by the singing of the Whittington Chorus from the balcony.
     The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton spoke to the children, telling them the meaning of the gold, frankincense and myrrh which the wise men offered as gifts to the Lord, why they brought these things, and how we, too, are to bring to the Lord what they meant by these gifts.
     After the service had ended, the children and others went to the Choir Hall to view the very beautiful Christmas Representation.
     On Christmas Eve the voices of the carolers who went their rounds were heard throughout the community, though without the traditional accompaniment of sleigh bells which we had last year.
     Our Advent Service on Christmas morning was featured by special music and by a sermon on "Bethlehem" by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner.
     LUCY B. WAELCHLI.

     OBITUARY.

     Mr. Dominique Berninger.

     An earnest and faithful member of the Bryn Athyn Society, a gracious and friendly man, departed from among us with the sudden passing of Mr. Dominique Berninger to the other life on December 5th in his 52nd year. He and Mrs. Berninger became interested in the Doctrines of the New Church about twenty years ago, and from the time of their baptism and enrollment as members in 1931 they have taken an active part in the functions and the social life of the society.
     Mr. Berninger will be remembered also as the architect of the new De Charms Hall, and of many homes in the community, where he has been esteemed for his high standards and his skill in his profession. He held a prominent place in this field, being a member of the executive committee of the American Institute of Architects, director of the Art Alliance, and a member of the French Engineering Society.
     Dominique Berninger was born in Strasbourg, Alsace, on May 31, 1898. He received his secondary education in Darmstadt, Germany. After 1918, he studied engineering for four years in Paris, and then came to America, first to Boston, and then to Philadelphia.
     In 1927 he visited Germany, and there married Miss Clara Eigenbrodt, whom he had met during his school days in Darmstadt.

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On their return to America, they took up their residence in Bethayres, Pa. Mrs. Berninger survives him, together with a daughter, Maude Anita, age 20, and a son, Carl Johannes, age 15.
     The Memorial Service in the Cathedral on December 7th was conducted by Bishop Acton, who spoke words of comfort in the assurance that those who are taken to the other world are not far off, but are close to their loved ones on earth. He also dwelt upon the Providence which governs from Divine Love, which "gives the laws of order by which the universe is governed-laws of love by which the Lord designs to give every man blessings-the blessings of heaven, so far as the man will receive.
     "In the tragedy of a sudden bereavement we are to resist the doubts and the despair of the natural man, and confirm ourselves in the faith of the spiritual man. And so doing, we can hear the Lord's words, 'Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.' Ye believe in God, believe also in the Lord as revealed to us in His Divine Human. Ye believe in God, believe also in the laws and the teachings and the truths that He has given us."
     "We are in this world that we may remove ourselves from the domination of the natural world, and come into thought concerning the spiritual world. And every time a man conquers the doubts and denials of the natural man, he as it were rises from death to life, so that his life is a continual resurrection. Let us pray to the Lord that we may so live this life that when we die it may not he death, but the continuation of the heavenly life."

     GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

The Nineteenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, from Thursday, June 15th, to Monday, June 19th, 1950, inclusive. The Program and other Information will be given in later issues of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop.

     THETA ALPHA OFFER.

     "The Function of Woman in the Life of the Church." An Address by Bishop George de Charms.
     Theta Alpha announces that copies of this Address are available by applying to Miss Alice Fritz, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.

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DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH 1950

DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1950




     Announcements






NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. LXX
MARCH, 1950
No. 3
     "But when His brethren had gone up, then went He also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret." (John 7: 10.)

     While He was in the world it was the Lord's custom to go up to Jerusalem each year to attend the Feast of the Passover in accord with the requirement of the Law of Moses. Twice He had done this during the years of His ministry. On the first occasion, at the very beginning of His public teaching, He had cast the money-changers out of the Temple, and on His return to the city a year later He healed the infirm man at the pool of Bethesda. As His fame and His influence spread, however, the enmity of the Jews increased until they sought by every means in their power to apprehend Him and put Him to death. For this reason, the Lord did not go up to Jerusalem for the Feast at the time of the third Passover, but remained in Galilee, where He miraculously fed the multitudes with five loaves and two fishes. We know this because it is said in John, just before this event took place, that "the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh." (Chapter 6: 4.) In the following chapter we are told that "After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him." (John 7: 1.) It is clear therefore that He remained in Galilee for six months, teaching, healing, and doing wonders.

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     At the end of that time the Feast of Tabernacles drew nigh. Then it was that the sons of Joseph and Mary, the Lords brethren according to the flesh, knowing that He had not gone up to the Passover, urged Him to attend this other feast, saying, "Depart hence, and go into Judea, that Thy disciples may see the works that Thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou do these things, show Thyself unto the world." (John 7:2-5.) This they said, knowing full well how the Scribes and Pharisees plotted against Him, lying in wait, and seeking to take Him prisoner, if He should come to Jerusalem. They said it, hoping that He might either be compelled to perform some great miracle to protect Himself against His enemies, and thus gain temporal power, which alone, they thought, could prove Him to be the promised Messiah, or, failing this, they felt sure that His extravagant claims would be disproved, and all would know that He was an impostor. "For" we are told, "neither did His brethren believe in Him."
     The Lord knew what was in their hearts. He merely replied. "My time is not yet come: but your time is away ready. The world cannot hate you but me it hateth, because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not yet up unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When He had said these words unto them, He abode still in Galilee." (John 7: 6-9.)
     It was not fear of the Jews that withheld the Lord from acceding to the demand of His brethren. His time was not yet come. Much still remained to be done to complete His Divine work before He could lay down His life on the cross. Divine preparation must be made for the establishment of the Christian Church after His resurrection. The nature of this preparation is indicated in the Gospel of Luke, where we read that, "when the time was come that He should be received up. He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him." (Chapter 9: 51, 52.) As He drew nearer to the Holy City, He "appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place whither He Himself would come." (Chapter 10: 1.).
     Advancing thus in a leisurely manner, after the multitudes going to attend the Feast had already departed, the Lord went "as it were in secret."

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No one along the way supposed that He was going to the Feast, and He arrived in Jerusalem only after those who had lain in wait for Him had given up the search. Then, when the Feast had already been in progress about four days, the Lord suddenly and unexpectedly appeared in the Temple. Taking the Scribes and Pharisees by surprise, He was able to gather the friendly multitudes about Him. In their presence His enemies feared to arrest Him, lest there be an uproar among the people, and the wrath of the Roman government should be roused against them.

     The Lord's First Coming, as recorded in the Gospels, in all respects foreshadowed His Second Advent. What He did then naturally, representatively, He is now to accomplish spiritually for the final establishment of His Kingdom. As He journeyed then from place to place, teaching by parables, healing diseases performing miracles, so He comes today in the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine, revealing His Law to men in every state of life, proclaiming the everlasting Gospel, setting forth the spiritual sense of the Word, imparting a sure knowledge of heaven and the life after death, that men might cease to do evil and learn to do well, and thus be healed of their spiritual diseases. All who become His disciples now may, like the simple fishermen of old, forsake everything to follow Him in regeneration.
     But fortunately they do not foresee the long and increasingly bitter struggle this involves. We today, like the Jews of twenty centuries ago, are prone to think of heaven in terms of an earthly kingdom. Our first idea is apt to be that this new faith must at once engulf the world, instilling charity and good will in the hearts of men, restoring peace and harmony among nations, insuring natural prosperity and happiness to all its adherents. And when these hopes are disappointed, when men reject the Truth, and when our own efforts to live according to it fail to yield any immediate and tangible reward, doubts multiply. If, we ask, these Writings are indeed the Lord Himself come to redeem mankind, why does the Church grow so slowly? Why do we not see signs of spiritual improvement in the world? Why do we not find the members of the New Church further advanced in regeneration, giving greater evidence of the charity and mutual love toward which the Writings point?

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Why cannot we ourselves realize these spiritual blessings more obviously in our own lives, but instead are called upon to face the same hardships, disappointments, failures, and sufferings as those who know not the Lord?
     Such is the state that is represented by the demand of the Lord's brethren that He should go up to the Feast of Tabernacles, saying, "Depart hence and go into Judea, that Thy disciples also may see the works that Thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou do these things, show Thyself unto the world." Such is the demand of the human proprium, seeking to bend the Divine Providence to our own will. And when the Lord does not yield to our idea of how the Church should be established, the love of self and the world, into which each one of us is born, rises in rebellion, attacking our faith with the powerful persuasion that, after all, however beautiful this new Truth is, it is visionary, impractical, out of keeping with the actual conditions of the world in which we live, and therefore to be accepted only so far as it does not interfere with the attainment of our personal ambitions. This spiritual conflict is what was represented by the growing opposition of the Scribes and Pharisees, and their increasing hatred against the Lord. If this proprial interpretation should prevail, all spiritual faith would at last be utterly destroyed the Lord at His Second Coming would be crucified in the hearts of His followers.
     Yet, if we were compelled prematurely to make a choice between our natural idea of the Lord's Kingdom and the spiritual concept of it as it most appear to the angels. we could by no means resist the blandishments of our innate will. The Lord, therefore, in mercy delays the judgment, permitting us to retain in our faith many fallacious appearances, that we may not be deprived of our childish hopes and aspirations. Gradually, gently, secretly He operates to strengthen our faith, and elevate our understanding, so far as we are willing to hearken to His Word. Therefore it is said that "Jesus walked in Galilee; for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him." He tempers our temptations to our power of resistance. And meanwhile, He teaches us progressively, sending "other seventy also, . . . two and two before His face, into every city and place whither He Himself would come."

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     Unknown to us, He insinuates affections that protect the seed of Truth, and allow it to germinate slowly in the soil of the mind, until it can spring up and bring forth fruit. When, in our impatience, we demand that the Lord immediately demonstrate His power as we think He should, causing the Church rapidly to grow in numbers, bringing its influence to bear upon world affairs, overcoming the frictions, the enmities, the selfish passions that produce such widespread suffering among men, the Lord says to us, even as He said to His brethren so long ago, "My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil: go ye up unto this feast: I go not yet up unto this feast: for My time is not yet full come."

     The salvation of the race, and indeed the regeneration of the individual, is a Divine work of infinite patience. While the Lord requires of us that we faithfully learn His will, and daily strive to keep it, within the limits of our human ability, He operates secretly within us, gently leading us toward a truer vision of the real end and purpose of His Providence. The strong affections of the body and the world into which we are born must be loosened gradually, with tender care, lest our spiritual life be utterly destroyed. All He asks of us is that we should love the Truth, search it out, and strive, as He may give us strength, to keep it faithfully. This task is ever before us. In regard to this, our "time is always ready." If the brethren go up first unto the Feast: if we elevate our minds to the contemplation of spiritual things; if we "search the Scripture," and treasure up its riches in our hearts if we apply its teachings to our lives with persistent endeavor day by day; then we can rest assured that the Lord will perform all else that is needful for the ultimate accomplishment of His Divine will. Although He go not up to the Feast at our demand, still He will come, not openly, but as it were in secret, appearing in His Temple about the midst of the Feast, to reveal Himself more perfectly and more widely to the world.
     The Lord today is preparing all nations for the reception of His New Church. He gives something of this preparation into the hands of men-all, in fact, that they are able to do. But this is little indeed when compared to the Divine work which He Himself is performing "as it were in secret."

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He is preparing each one of us, in whose hearts He has "steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem," sending messengers, the apostles of Truth from His opened Word, before His face, "into every city and place whither He Himself would come."
     If we but prove faithful to the few things that lie immediately before us, and meanwhile resist that spirit of impatience which be-tokens a desire to impose our own will upon the Lord, trusting in Him, willingly yielding to His providential leading, however rough our path, however slow our rate of progress seems to be, the Lord will surely guide our steps, and in His mercy will bring us in His own good time to the goal of lasting happiness and use which His wisdom has foreseen, and which His Love has provided for us. For this is the promise of the Lord: "So shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Amen.

LESSONS:     Psalm: 31: 14-24. Luke 9: 51 to 10: 1. D. P. 211.
MUSIC:     Revised Liturgy, Hymns, pages 456, 437, 500.
PRAYERS:     Revised Liturgy, nos. 12, 106.

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COMFORTER 1950

COMFORTER       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1950

     The Christian doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit was largely derived from the last discourse of the Lord before His crucifixion, as recorded in four chapters of the Gospel of John. (XIV-XVII.) It is recognized that in this discourse the Lord gives profound teachings concerning His relationship with the Father, speaking, according to the manner of the times, in enigmas which the listening disciples could not understand. "These things," He said, "have I spoken unto you in proverbs." (John 16: 25.) "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come. He will guide you into all truth. . . " (John 16: 12, 13.)
     The Lord had eaten the Passover with His disciples; He had washed their feet: and He had revealed that one of them would betray Him. And now He sought to prepare their uncomprehending minds for His imminent death and departure from them. He was going to prepare a place for them in the many mansions of His Father's house. "No man," He said, "cometh unto the Father but by me." And when they desired that He would show them the Father, He said: "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." "I am in the Father, and the Father in me." "I go unto my Father." "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him: for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." (John 14: 16-18.)
     Who was this "Comforter," or-to use the Greek word-this "Paraclete," this helper and companion, called "the Spirit of Truth"? To none of the disciples did it occur that the Lord was speaking of another Divine "person" or another "god"! For it was the custom of the day and the nature of the current speech to speak in similes and comparisons; and the Lord had ended the prediction of the coming of the Comforter with the reassuring words, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."

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     He Himself was the Comforter. He was to come again, but in a new form which the world would not recognize. Only to one that loved Him by keeping His commandments could the Lord manifest Himself. In such a one the Father and the Son would make their abode. Such a one would know the Spirit of Truth. which would then not only dwell with him. but would be in him!
     It is notable that it was only where the Father and the Son were together in man that the Holy Spirit is said to be "in him." The Son must return to the Father; otherwise the Son could not send the Comforter "from the Father"; nor could the Father send the Holy Spirit "in the name" of the Son.

     *     *     *     *     *

     There was no abstract theology in the Apostolic Church. Yet these teachings of the Lord were pregnant with a meaning which was felt rather than analyzed by the disciples. "I am in the Father," He had said, "and the Father in me." "The Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works." "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him."
     They had known Divine love in human form, had seen Divine wisdom couched in human words. That the invisible God dwelt in Christ as a soul in its embodiment, they felt in their hearts, but could not as yet grasp with their understanding. "For the Holy Spirit was not yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7: 39.) The Divine essence of the Lord could not be known until after the Lord's glorification, after His resurrection, when He breathed upon His disciples, and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." It was the Holy Spirit that was to "guide them into all truth." "He shall glorify me," the Lord promised, "for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you, . . . because I go to the Father." He would bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever the Lord had said. When the Holy Spirit was given, the Lord would no more speak in proverbs, but would show them plainly of the Father.

     *     *     *     *     *

     In a historical sense, this coming again of the Lord as the Holy Spirit of enlightenment refers to His "second advent" when, in the fulness of time, He disclosed the spiritual sense of His Word in the Writings given for the New Church.

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But even to the disciples the Lord "opened the Scripture" after His resurrection (Luke 24: 45), showing the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and revealing His Divinity. His promise of the Comforter was extended to all Christians,-to all who kept His commandments, in whom He and the Father could abide. To such the Lord would speak openly of the Father.
     The Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem discloses that the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord as an outpouring life is present universally in all creation, in all and everything, living or inanimate. It is the creative Law which gives substance and reality to all things, spiritual and natural, proceeding from the spiritual sun as heat and light which in their essence are love and wisdom. And this Divine proceeding inflows perpetually into the souls of all men, whether they be good or evil, endowing them with the faculties of freedom and rationality. This is the Word which was "in the beginning with God, and was God": in whom was the light which was the light of men. (John 1.) It is the Spirit of God which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, but which the world cannot receive because it seeth it not. It is the Holy Truth which inspired the ancient scripture with a content of infinite wisdom. It was the truth which the Lord in the world taught His disciples. It is the Word as given by inspiration in its various forms.
     This Divine Truth proceeding may in a general sense be called the Holy Spirit, whether we view it as an influx into men's souls which gives them the faculties of rationality and freedom, or whether we view it as the Word in its various written forms and dispensations. (Inv. 23, 50; S. D. 6025; T. C. R. 142.) In this sense the Holy Spirit is with every man of the church; for every such man has the written Word, and also the imperceptible but perpetual presence of the Lord in the faculties which give him reason; and this even if the man does not receive the Word except as a mere matter of memory, and does not use his God-given human faculties to acknowledge the Lord.
     But to the disciples who love the Lord, and are loved by Him, He promises another Comforter which may abide with them forever. "He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" the Lord said.

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A Comforter whom the world cannot see, but who would reveal the Lord even when He had returned unto the Father in heaven and was seen no more among men. A Spirit of Truth which would open the proverbs of the Lords literal teaching, and cause the disciples to be called no longer "servants," but "friends." (John 15: 15.)
     The Gospel of John shows that neither our God-given reason nor the Word, though spoken by the Lord Himself, can suffice to invite this Comforter, this Holy Spirit. Only love can open our minds to its influx. Therefore the Lord in His discourse stresses two things: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me" and, "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you."

     *     *     *     *     *     *

     By influx the Lord is present in every man, and constantly urges him to receive the truths and goods of religion. But that man may receive the Holy Spirit, it is needful that man abide in the Lord. "Abide in me, and I in you," the Lord said. To abide in the Lord means an introduction of man's spirit into heaven, a consociation with the angels. For heaven is the Lord's kingdom. It is the Divine of the Lord which makes heaven, even as the soul orders and fashions and rules the body. To be in heaven is to abide in the law of love and charity and use, which is from the Lord and is His Divine Human. The Lord's Human, when glorified, is therefore said to be "formed according to the idea of an infinite heaven." (S. D. 4845.)
     The purpose of the Lord's glorification was that the Divine might become perceptible in Human Form, and become the pattern of an infinite heaven, so that the genuine heavens could be ordered and purified, and the power of the false heavens be taken away. This ordering of the heavens took place by stages during the Lord's whole life on earth, while the hells were also subjugated, and all salvable spirits were released from spiritual captivity. But not until the Lord's resurrection was this redemptive work completed. Until then the Lord could not send out the Holy Spirit through the heavens, for the heavens were not yet ordered. Not until then could men "abide" in the Lord, and thus receive the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the glorified Human of the Lord.
     The Writings therefore define "the Holy Spirit" as "the presence of the Lord with man through angels and spirits, from and according to which (presence) man is illustrated and taught." (Doctrine of Life 46.)

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While the Lord was on earth He indeed taught Divine Truth, but His hearers could understand only its external significance. To them, Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews, not the Saviour of mankind. For every man can think only in accord with the spirits and angels with whom his mind is consociated: and consociation with heaven was not possible until a judgment and redemption had been wrought by the Lord.
     Only those who are in heaven abide in the Lord, and the Lord in them. These are they who receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit and Light of Truth which keeps the mind open to all truth. This enlightenment is what opens the mind to the truths of life in the Word. It is from the Lord alone, and is called the operation of the Holy Spirit; yet it is effected by the mediation of those angels and spirits who, more than others, receive illustration from the Lord. (D. L. W. 150.)
     The Word as written on earth is indeed the source of spiritual illustration. But its sacred contents do not affect the interiors of man's spirit, and are not seen in heavenly light, unless man "abides in the Lord" or is consociated with angels in a love of the uses of charity. He can indeed confirm the doctrines of the church and the opinions he has adopted as to the contents of the Word: he can indeed think and speak from memory and knowledge but he cannot perceive truth, and cannot see the presence of the Lord in the truth, unless he is associated with the angels in a common good, a love of truth and of the uses of life, which comes from being taken up in the sphere and gyre of the Lord's kingdom of uses which binds together all the separate lives of men into a Gorand Human Form, an organic unity of mutual love in which the Lord in His glorified Human is the Soul.
     It is the function of the heavens to mediate the influx of good. Good cannot exist without influx through societies. For good is the conjoining bond which unites the many into a one, a whole. It unites men into societies, and it also conjoins God and man. Hence the Lord said concerning the state when the Holy Spirit would be received. "In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." Divine Love and Divine Truth-the Father and the Son-can be seen as One only in the Divine Uses which are accomplished in the angelic heavens.

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Therefore He prayed for those who would believe, when He said. "I pray that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may he one in us." (John 17: 21.)
     There is no confusion here intended between God and His creatures. The Holy Spirit, which is the presence of the Divine in the heavens, is not from men or from angels, but is what conjoins man with the Divine Human. It is in this conjunction, this perceptible unity of use and purpose, of good or love, that the blessedness of heaven consists. It is in the light of this unity, this communion of mutual love, that the final purposes of the Creator may be visioned, and the uniting thread of truth be seen within all revelations. The Spirit of Truth can then be perceived as leading into all truth. For truth is one, even as good is one.
     Truth is seen as one when the Lord comes again as the Holy Spirit and speaks no more in proverbs. In a historical sense, this Second Advent came about when the Lord revealed the spiritual sense of the Word and gave the reconciling Doctrine of heaven to men. Yet, even in the New Church, the Lord is first received in a general and sporadic acknowledgment even as He was received by the disciples before His resurrection. Only when and if our spirits can be lifted up by love into the midst of the societies of heaven can we feel His presence as the Comforter who abides with us forever.
     For enlightenment is not from knowledge, nor from the triumph of reason. It cannot be captured on the printed page, nor cramped into the forms of mortal logic. Both the written Word and the faculty of rationality are from the Divine Truth with men. But the Holy Spirit comes to those alone who abide in the Lord and recognize His Divine leading in the truths of His Word, knowing that the Holy Spirit does not inhere in man and is never transcribed into man, but that it passes as a Divine breath through the heavens and thence passes among men. (Canons, Holy Spirit, iv; A. R. 802. 962.)
     But it cannot inflow into ignorance or into empty minds. Its function is to enlighten and glorify the Divine Truths which men already know from the Word. It comes to open the proverbs and the parables of human life, and to bring a perception of the inner purpose of the Divine doctrine-which is to unify men within the laws of mutual love and so conjoin them with the Lord.

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PRIESTHOOD AND THE LAITY 1950

PRIESTHOOD AND THE LAITY       RANDOLPH W. CHILDS       1950

     THE ROLES OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE LAITY
     IN THE USES OF THE GENERAL CHURCH
     OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     (A paper read before the Bryn Athyn Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, November 27, 1949. The simultaneous publication here and in The Bulletin is due to a misunderstanding.)

     I.

     THE USES UNDER CONSIDERATION ARE THOSE OF THE
     CHURCH SPECIFIC, AND NOT OF THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL.

     In any treatment of the respective uses of the priesthood and the laity we must distinguish between the Church Specific and the Church Universal.
     In number 246 of the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine it is written:

     "The Church exists specifically where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, and thus where Divine truths are revealed. . . . The church of the Lord is with all in the whole world who live in good according to their religious principles. . The universal church on earth before the Lord is as one man. . . . "

     The distinction between the Church Specific and the Church Universal is a practical one. For example, while a person who persistently disturbs the Church may be separated from the organization, he thereby is not removed from the Church Universal. No excommunication is involved, for no man, whether priest or layman, can judge another's spiritual state.
     Incidentally, the Church Specific may be divided into a number of general bodies.

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We are taught that differences of doctrine will not divide if there is charity.

     II

     THE PRIESTHOOD.

     The doctrine of the priesthood recently has been treated of by the Reverend Hugo L. Odhner inn a series of classes dealing with internals and externals of the church. Doctor Odhner read a number of passages from the Writings which are cited in WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH (Volume 1, page 209). In order that we may view the doctrine of the priesthood in the light of the Writings, a number of these passages will now be quoted:

     "There are two things among men which ought to be in order; namely, the things which are of Heaven, and the things which are of the World. The things which are of Heaven are called Ecclesiastical, and those which are of the World are called Civil" (H. D. 311.)
     "Governors over those things among men that relate to Heaven are called Priests and their office is called the Priesthood." (H. D. 314.)
     "Priests are appointed to administer those things which belong to the Divine Law and Worship." (H. D. 319.)

     The Doctrine of Charity (62-70),-after stating that the common good requires that in a society or kingdom there be among the people what is Divine, justice, and morality-continues:

     "What is Divine exists there through the ministry; justice through the magistrates and judges; and morality through what is Divine and what is just.
     By ministries are meant priestly offices, and the duties annexed to them.
     They who belong to the ministry provide for the existence of things Divine."
     In Conjugial Love (308), it is written:

     "As the ecclesiastical order on earth ministers those things which appertain to the Lord's priestly office, that is, which are of His love, thus also those things which are of benediction, it is proper that marriages be consecrated by His ministers. . ."

     In Arcana Celestia (6822), in treating of the ascending degrees of the neighbor, it is written:

     "The church is more the neighbor than our country. The church is eared for when man is led to good, and he who does this from charity loves the neighbor, for he desires and wills heaven and happiness of life to eternity for another. Good can be insinuated into another by any one in his country, but not truth, except by those who are teaching ministers; if others do this, heresies arise and the church is disturbed and rent asunder."

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     The need for three degrees in the priesthood is taught in Coronis No. 17, where it is written that "in the church, there must be a mitred prelate, parish priests and curates under them."
     Other passages on the subject of the priesthood are T. C. R. 147 and 155.
     On the basis of these and other passages in the Writings, the General Church has formulated its doctrine of the priesthood. This doctrine is set forth by Bishop N. D. Pendleton in his statement on "The Order and Organization of the General Church of the New Jerusalem" (1927, revised 1935), as follows:

     "It is of faith that the Lord leads the Church by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and that this operation manifests itself at this day, and in the New Church, by spiritual enlightenment granted to those who are appointed and ordained to serve the Church through the instrumentality of the Priesthood.
     The General Church recognizes the Priesthood as sanctioned by the Writings, and therefore as the Lord's office by Divine appointment in the Church, given for the administration of the Divine law and worship with a view to the salvation of souls.
     To this end, men are to be instructed, set apart and inaugurated into the priesthood by the laying on of hands in the solemn act of ordination.
     The Priesthood thus initiated is a threefold ministry, namely, the ministry of instruction, of worship, and of government."

     It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the application of the passages quoted above from the Writings and the principles set forth by Bishop Pendleton.
     (a) There should be a priesthood in the New Church, composed of men trained and set aside for this use.
     It may seem strange that such an obvious statement would be made. Yet throughout the history of the New Church this simple, fundamental principle has at times been denied. As the Reverend Hugo L. Odhner said in a recent doctrinal class, there have been men who believed that the only use of the Church is to translate and publish the Writings. Some persons have contended that the New Church is not an organization separate from the Christian churches, and that, consequently, the New Church is not to have a separate ministry.

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     (b) The Church is to be led by spiritual enlightenment granted to the priesthood.
     This principle may be called the leadership of the priesthood or the government of the priesthood.
     This is a distinctive doctrine of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, inherited from its predecessor organization, The Academy of the New Church.
     The following are instances of practices of other bodies of the Church which are at variance with this doctrine.
     In some cases laymen have been appointed to head general bodies of the Church. Committees of laymen have been set up to restrict or prescribe the utterances of ministers in sermons and classes. To use Doctor Odhner's expression in his recent doctrinal class, the minister is regarded as "a paid servant of men." Such a subordination of the priesthood to the laity represents a reversal of true order. Thereby the priest is barred from the performance of his Divinely ordained use as a "teaching minister."
     Another theory that has been held in some New Church circles is that the priest teaches from the good of life. This idea has expressed itself in the insistent statement that the priest must be a regenerate man in order rightly to perform the duties of his office. This view is reflected in the congregation's comment on "What a good man our pastor is!" "What a good example he sets!" etc. The practical result of this attitude is to establish a personal rule of the minister,-to substitute a government of man for the government of the Divine Law. The Academy recognized that the regeneration of a minister, like that of a layman, gives him a perception of truth not enjoyed by the unregenerate man. But the Academy stressed the truth that, as the spiritual state of man is known to the Lord alone, the pertinent inquiry is not as to a minister's good, but as to whether he is teaching and governing in accordance with the law of the Lord.
     In recent years a variation of the theory last discussed has been put forward. It is claimed that the Church is to look for enlightenment, not to the priesthood, but to the perceptions of the regenerate man. Apparently this enlightenment is manifested in those perceptions of truth that are enjoyed by all the members of the church, whether priests or laymen. It is not unnatural to find that the proponents of this new theory are divided in their attitude toward the priesthood.

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One group regards the priest as an elucidator or scribe of the perceptions of the people, and possibly, as an administrator of the ecclesiastical affairs of the Church. The other group contends that the passages quoted above from the Writings, dealing with the priesthood, are to be understood only in a spiritual sense. According to this idea, the priesthood is the charity of the regenerate man. The latter theory in effect involves a nullification of the plain teaching of the Writings. Thereby the Word of God is made of no effect through the teachings of men.
     The following brief comments may be made on this new view that the Church is to be led, not by the priesthood, but by the perceptions of the regenerate man.
     (1) It is contrary to the tenor of the passages from the Writings quoted at the opening of this paper.
     (2) It fails to recognize the principle, quoted from the Order and Organization of The General Church of the New Jerusalem, that:

     The Lord leads the Church by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and that this operation manifests itself at this day, and in the New Church, by spiritual enlightenment granted to those who are appointed and ordained to serve the Church through the instrumentality of the Priesthood."

     Incidentally, Bishop N. D. Pendleton, in his address on "The Ministry of Blessing" (Selected Papers, page 190),-after stating that the priesthood stands for the communication of the Divine, for which cause the priesthood is an accommodating medium for the transfer of that Divine to men which is called the Holy Spirit-adds:

     "Not that the priesthood is the only medium of conveyance; but that it is a needed additional means, as evidenced from the fact of its authorization."

     (3) The perceptions of the regenerate man are not subject to identification or evaluation. They are sensed only obscurely by the regenerate man while living in the world.
     (4) Even in the other life, perceptions are limited and imperfect. Only "the Word of our God shall stand forever."
     (c) The Academy principle of the leadership of the Priesthood has many applications.
     We of the General Church of the New Jerusalem recognize that both priests and laymen should "read and meditate upon the Word of God." It is desirable that there be a free interchange of the results of this reading and meditation among ministers and laymen.

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Each has something to learn from the other. The la man ins interested in the application of doctrine to uses with which he may be more familiar than the minister. This greater specialized knowledge on the part of the layman is frequent in the field of education. Aside from all this, it will always be true that a simple layman can ask questions that a wise minister will find difficulty in answering.
     Yet the priesthood must lead in the ministry of instruction. The priest must be free to preach and teach what he believes to be the truth. He is charged with the duty of administering the ecclesiastical affairs of his society. He is ex-officio the head of its schools.
     Experience demonstrates the wisdom of looking to the priesthood for instruction. Laymen may speak and write on doctrinal subjects, but generally their views lack that learning and perspective that are possessed by those who dedicate their lives to a profession. Examples are to be found in the relations of laymen to other trained men-journalists, doctors, engineers, educators, bankers, military commanders, etc. And in the case of the priesthood something else is added-a sacred use established by the Lord for the salvation of men's souls.
     To this ministry of instruction is added the ministry of worship and of government. We laymen acknowledge the leadership of the priesthood in the worship and ritual of the Church. No layman or lay body can chart the readings from the Letter of the Word or the Writings, or formulate the offices and services. The layman who would interfere with the priest's administration of the duties of his sacred office should heed the fate of Uzzah who put forth his hand to steady the Ark.
     So in the ministry of government, the priest is to be the leader. We of the Bryn Athyn Church recognize this principle. For example, even the uses of the Civic and Social Club, a separate corporation by common consent, are subject to the general direction of the pastoral office.
     Time does not permit an extensive treatment of this ministry of government. But it has proved adequate for the protection of the General Church. At one critical period in the life of the General Church it exercised the power to separate from its membership a minister who was seeking to have himself, or one of his associates, ordained into the third degree in order to carry on an independent ecclesiastical movement within the General Church.

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That separation was based, not on doctrinal difference, but on a persistent disturbance of the Church.

     III.

     THE LAITY.

     In the General Church, as in its predecessor body, The Academy of the New Church, the acknowledgment of the paramount place of the priesthood does not involve a laity which surrenders its rationality to the priesthood.
     Unlike the Catholic, the man of the New Church looks only to the Word of God for authoritative teaching. No edict of an ecclesiastical council can compel him to accept any tenet which he does not find in the Writings. No bishop may force him to accept an interpretation of the Heavenly Doctrines which he himself does not find reasonable. He is encouraged, indeed he is bound, to read the Letter of the Word and the Writings for himself.
     A study of Bishop N. D. Pendleton's Order and Organization makes it clear that ecclesiastical government is to be carried on with the consent of the governed.
     Thus the ample powers of the Bishop are to be exercised with "council and assembly,"-the words which appear on the banner of the General Church. This feature is the fruit of the tragic situation arising out of the extreme position taken by Bishop William H. Benade in the assertion of unlimited prerogatives of episcopal government.
     A permanent pastor cannot be assigned to a society without its approval. A bishop cannot govern a body of the General Church without first being named by the Council of the Clergy, and then being chosen by the General Assembly. This procedure was followed in the case of Bishop N. D. Pendleton and in the case of Bishop George de Charms. When Bishop de Charms was chosen Assistant Bishop of the General Church, he was first named by the Council of the Clergy, and later by the General Assembly. The same course was followed when he became Bishop of the General Church.
     Indeed, the Order and Organization of the General Church prescribes the mode by which the Bishop may be unseated.

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     In these fundamental matters, the layman as a member of a society or of the General Assembly plays an important part.
     The Order and Organization of the General Church recognizes the duties, rights and prerogatives of the laity. Thus it is said:
     "Since the administration of the Divine law and worship is the function of the priesthood, and the administration of the civil law and justice is the function of magistrates (H. D. 319), and as there are Church uses corresponding to civil administration, it has been a principle of the General Church that its civil affairs should be administered by laymen,"

     Thus, on the plane of power, the laymen chosen by a society or General Assembly administer the financial and business affairs of the Church. They raise funds, employ teachers and officers, fix salaries, invest funds, administer pension funds, and determine how funds shall be spent.
     On the other hand, while the ultimate power in these financial and business affairs is vested in laymen, the interior leadership of the priesthood is recognized.
     After the statement last quoted from the Order and Organization of the General Church. Bishop Pendleton adds:

     "This call for unity of minds as a necessity of good government and to further this end, joint meetings of the ecclesiastical and lax officials have been encouraged; and to a like end it has recently been provided that the Bishop should preside over the civil corporation and its executive committee."

     Incidentally, this "recent" provision, now well established, has proven most successful. It has led to the practice of having the pastor of a society preside over the finance committee of the society.
     The responsibility of the laity for the administration of the financial and business affairs of the General Church was also evidenced by the formation, under the laws of the State of Illinois, of the corporation known as The General Church of the New Jerusalem. As stated in the Order and Organization of the General Church:

     "On June 20, 1907, the General Assembly voted that the offer of the Corporation known as The General Church of the New Jerusalem to take over and carry on all the civil uses of the ecclesiastical body known as the General Church of the New Jerusalem, other than those performed by the Corporation known as the Academy of the New Church, be accepted."

     It may be of interest to note that, under a plan initiated in 1945, the property of the Illinois corporation is to be transferred by the end of this year to a new Pennsylvania corporation.*

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This step is being taken for convenient administration, and because of restrictive provisions contained in recent amendments to the Illinois statutes. For example, the Illinois law requires that the presence of a majority of the members of the Executive Committee at a meeting is necessary in order to constitute a quorum. In consequence, it is necessary that a safe working majority of members of the Executive Committee consists of residents of Bryn Athyn. Under the By-Laws of the new corporation a quorum of the Board of Directors consists of seven members. This will permit the members of the corporation to elect a majority of directors who reside outside of Bryn Athyn.
     * This plan was consummated as of December 31, 1949.
     Thus the layman participates in the affairs of the Church in various ways. He has a vote in determining his pastor and his Bishop. He votes on the election of the trustees or directors of his society. Provided he joins the corporation known as General Church of the New Jerusalem, he can vote for the members of the Executive Committee. As a member of the General Assembly, he has a part to play in the formulation of the policies of the General Church.
     In addition to all this, the layman has the ultimate power to support or abstain from supporting the uses of the Church, both the society and the General Church. Without adequate support the uses of the Church will fail. With such support, they will flourish.

     IN CONCLUSION.

     This paper has discussed briefly the respective parts played by priests and laymen in the uses of the Church. But in so far as the members of the Church are regenerate, the Church, is not a man-made institution, and is not governed by the prudence of men. In such a Church, it is only an appearance that the members of the Church, whether priests or laymen, carry on its uses. As stated in Arcana Celestia (1051):

     "In respect to what is their own, the men of the church do not make the church, but in respect to what is Divine which they receive from the Lord.
     The Divine of the Lord makes the church, as it makes heaven. Moreover, the church is the Lord's heaven on earth; consequently the Lord is also the all in all in the church, as He is in heaven, and there dwells with His own with men, as He does with the angels in heaven."

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REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLANETS 1950

REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLANETS       Editor       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager      Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 30 cents.
     Among the most interesting and fascinating things which have been revealed by the Lord at His Second Coming are the knowledges concerning the earths or planets in our solar system and beyond it, concerning the human race and other forms upon them, and concerning the spirits and angels who have gone from them into the other life. In the spiritual world anyone who genuinely desires this knowledge can obtain it. For we read:
     "That there are many earths, and men upon them, and from them spirits and angels, is very well known in the other life: for to everyone there who desires it from the love of truth and thence of use it is conceded to speak with the spirits of other earths, and from this to be confirmed in regard to the plurality of worlds, and to be informed that the human race is not only from one earth, but from innumerable ones, and to know moreover what their genius and life are, and the nature of their Divine worship." (E. U. 2.)
     "They who are in heaven can speak and converse, not only with the angels and spirits who are from the earths in this solar world, but also with those who are from earths in the universe which are outside of this solar system; and not only with the spirits and angels thence, but also with the inhabitants themselves whose interiors have been opened so that they can hear those who speak from heaven." (A. C. 9438.)

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Indeed, the celestial from all earths are consociated in "one universal heaven, where there are myriads of myriads, but all are known by each, and the province in the human body to which each corresponds." (A. C. 6701, 7078; S. D. 4670.)

     But abundant information is now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines for the use of the man of the New Church, and it is provided not only to gratify his love of knowing, but primarily to enlarge and enlighten his understanding of the universe, and to exalt his life by the acknowledgment and worship of the Creator to which he is led by such knowledge. For only one whose mind is open to a rational and spiritual faith will wholeheartedly receive as the truth what has now been revealed by the Lord.
     Like all else that is given to the New Church in the Writings, this information was disclosed by the Lord by means of a human instrument as revelator-Emanuel Swedenborg, whose very presentation of the subject begets complete confidence in him as a credible witness. When he was first brought by the Lord into association with the spirits of other earths, he records the fact in the Spiritual Diary in these words:
     "Because of my desire to know what kind of men live on other earths, it was permitted me to know the inhabitants of Jupiter; for if there are earths, there must also be rational and intellectual beings upon them, who refer all things which they see there to the glory of the Creator: for there is nothing in the universe which does not ultimately redound to the glory of God, and this by means of those who can perceive things celestial and Divine." (S. D. 519.)
     And further he states: "The things contained in the little work called The Earths in the Universe were revealed and shown to me for the end that it may be known that the Lord's heaven is immense, and that it is wholly from the human race: also that our Lord is everywhere acknowledged as the God of heaven and earth." (H. H. 417e.)
     Again: "The Kingdom of the Lord is a Man, because the Lord is the only Man, and is His Own Kingdom, . . . and unless there were innumerable worlds or earths which together constitute such a Man the souls of one world or earth would by no means suffice, because there must be endless varieties, and in each part innumerable souls who confirm and establish it." (S. D. 1145e.)

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     "That there are many worlds, may be evident to anyone from this, that so many constellations appear in the universe, and it is known in the learned world that every star is like a sun in its own place: for it remains fixed like the sun of our earth in its place, and distance is what makes it appear in a small form like a star: consequently, that it has planets which are earths around it, in like manner as the sun of our world. To what purpose otherwise would be so great a heaven with so many stars? For the end of the creation of the universe is man, and that from man there may be an angelic heaven. But what would the human race and an angelic heaven from one earth be for the Infinite Creator, for whom a thousand, yea ten thousand, earths would not be enough!" (A. C. 9441.)

     In these devout expressions of the revelator we find an acknowledgment of the main purpose in revealing the knowledges concerning the planets which he was given by the Lord to set forth in writing and printing-namely, that they are for those who are willing to believe that the revelation is from the Lord, and is the Divine Truth for the New Church. In other words, they are primarily for those who have faith in their truth,-first the faith of childhood when those knowledges are taught as stories of other worlds than our own: then, the faith of the youth who reasons affirmatively; and finally for the rational and spiritual faith of the adult who accepts in joy of heart and full confirmation.

     Reception.-But the revelation also anticipates the various states of acceptance or rejection among men in the world, both within the former Church and outside of it.
     A new revelation from the Lord is rejected by those in the Church who have no faith of heart in the Lord and a spiritual world: yet there are some who incline to a simple belief that other earths, like our own, are inhabited by human beings, and that the universe was not created by an all-wise and infinitely loving God for the sake of one earth alone. There are also those who come to a like conclusion from reason and common sense, and the Writings appeal to men to think "from reason" on the subject.

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     Among the learned, however, the investigations of the material universe with the aid of mechanical devices and the wonders of astronomical science still leave doubts as to the existence of human life on the planets of our solar system. It is held, for example, that the atmospheres of some of the planets, and of our moon, would not sustain human life. And at the same time there are those who would like to communicate with the inhabitants, if any, who live on the planets, and those who believe that we shall some day travel to the moon. Well, let them keep on trying; it is good exercise for human ingenuity, and can do no harm. Meanwhile we may be certain that whatever of truth men discover by science and mechanical art will confirm what the Lord has revealed, which is now of interest to so few.
     Let us recall a few statements of the Writings bearing upon this phase of the subject:

     "Spirits and angels know that there are also inhabitants on the moon, because they often speak with them equally that there are inhabitants on the moons or satellites around the earth Jupiter and the earth Saturn. Those who have not seen them and spoken with them still do not doubt that there are also men on those moons, because they are equally earths, and where there is an earth there is man; for man is the end for the sake of which an earth is, and nothing has been made by the Most High Creator without an end. That the end of creation is the human race, and from it a heaven, may be evident to anyone who thinks from reason. The angels also say that an earth cannot subsist without the human race, because the Divine provides all things on an earth for the sake of man." (A. C. 9237.)
     "Because at this day with most who are in the Church there is no faith concerning a life after death, and scarcely any concerning heaven, nor concerning the Lord as being the God of heaven and earth, therefore the interiors which are of my spirit have been opened by the Lord, so that I am able, while in the body, to be at the same time with the angels in heaven, and not only to speak with them, but also to see the stupendous things there and to describe them, lest perchance it will also be said hereafter. "Who has come from heaven to tins, and told us that there is a heaven and concerning the things that are there?'

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But I know that they who have heretofore in heart denied a heaven and a hell, and a life after death, will also harden themselves against the things now revealed, and will deny them; for it is easier to make a raven white than to effect belief in those who have in heart once rejected faith. But let the things which have hitherto been shown concerning heaven and hell and the life after death be for those few who are in faith. But that the rest may be brought to something of acknowledgment, it is granted me to record such things as delight and allure the man who is desirous of knowing, which will now be concerning the earths in the universe." (A. C. 9439. Italics ours.)
     "To be led to the earths in the universe is not to be led and transferred thither as to the body, but as to the spirit and the spirit is not led through spaces, but by variations of the state of the interior life, which appear to him as progressions through spaces. . . . But to do this is in the power of the Lord alone; for there must be continual direction and foresight from first to last, going and returning, especially with a man who is still as to the body in the natural world, and thus in space. That it was so done, they who are in sensual corporeal things, and who think from them, cannot be induced to believe: but still they who think interiorly in themselves from the sensual of the spirit somewhat removed or withdrawn from the sensual of the body may be induced to grasp it. . . . For such, therefore, are the things that follow concerning the earths in the starry heaven, but not for the former, unless they are such as suffer themselves to be instructed." (A. C. 9579-9581. Italics ours.)

     Presentation in the Writings.-The information concerning the planets is given in three parts of the Writings: 1) In the Memorabilia or Spiritual Diary, where the revelator, from day to day, records his experiences in meeting those of other earths; 2) In the Arcana Coelestia, following each chapter of Exodus, beginning at no. 6695. 3) In the little work, The Earths in the Universe, which the revelator extracted from the Arcana Coelestia, with changes and additions here and there, and omitting the Fourth Earth (A. C. 10585-10590; 10708-10712). Thus the Fourth and Fifth Earths in E. U. are the same as the Fifth and Sixth in A. C. As to why the Fourth Earth was omitted, we merely note what is said of that Earth: "I was not conveyed to this Earth as to the others, but the spirits who are of that Earth were brought to me." (A. C. 10585.)

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     In the Harvard College Library there is a copy of Volume VI of the original Latin edition of the Arcana Coelestia which Swedenborg himself used when preparing The Earths in the Universe. An account of the volume, and of Swedenborg's annotations therein, was given by Mr. Alfred Henry Stroh in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1904, pp. 599, 656.
     To obtain a complete picture of all that is revealed on the subject of the planets, it is necessary to read what is set forth in the three parts of the Writings where it is treated, as we find information in one part that is not given in the others. In the Spiritual Diary the revelator records his experiences with the spirits of other earths as they occurred, and from this storehouse he drew largely, though not entirely, when writing the accounts given in the Arcana Caelestia. He was first associated with the spirits of the planet Jupiter (S. D. 519, as before noted), and then with the spirits of the planet Mercury; and his experiences with the spirits of these two planets were more extended than with any others. Let us cite an example.
     When he first came into association with the spirits of the planet Mercury, they concealed their identity, because of their nature, which is to acquire knowledges, but not to divulge them. They are interested in the cognitions of things abstracted from earthly and material things, and they are averse to any thought that they ever lived in a body. Since they cultivate the memory, they lack judgment, and on this account are not permitted to impart their vast store of knowledge to those of other earths, though they share it with spirits of their own earth. And they were gradually induced to tell Swedenborg many interesting things, at the same time disclosing their own characteristics, which form an important part of what is now revealed to us in regard to their place in the Gorand Man of the universe. To quote:

     "Concerning the spirits of another earth, and, as I think, of the planet Mercury. Spirits came to me whose disposition it is granted me to describe, because they constitute those things in man which are called the internal sense, and who thus in a certain way belong to the memory. They came to me, and were inquisitive about the things which were in my memory: and when I recalled various places where I had been, also the streets, houses, temples, and the like, they did not wish to know them, but immediately, with skill and dexterity, they aroused the memory of things which had been done in those places. . .

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In a word, from the fact that they were unwilling to give their attention to corporeal, mundane, and gross material things, it was given me to perceive that they were from another earth. . ." (S. D. 1415, 1416, 1417,)
     "When I represented other earths to them, because they could not say from which earth they were, they said that they know there are many earths, and other things which pertain to the inhabitants of those earths, because they are delighted with cognitions. And when, in a spiritual manner, I represented to them the planets which are called Mercury and Venus, they led my vision to the planet Venus. But I perceived that they wanted to conceal something, and thus that they were from the planet nearest the sun, where are such as are delighted with cognitions, which was also given me to perceive from its proximity to the sun: namely, that they are such as commonly constitute the internal senses, and thus those things which are of the internal senses, which are cognitions." (S. D. 1425.) "They were not willing to instruct me concerning the things which they know." "And when I asked whether they wish to perform any use from their cognitions, seeing that it is not enough merely to be delighted with cognitions. . . they still said that they are delighted by cognitions,-and that that is a use," (S. D. 1427, 1429.)
     "There are spirits who relate to the Memory in the Gorand Man, and they are from the planet Mercury. It is allowed them to wander about and to acquire for themselves the cognitions of the things which are in the universe: and it is allowed them to go to others outside of the world of our sun. They said that there are not only the earths in this solar system with men upon them, but also in the universe, to an immense number," (A. C. 6696.)
     "The spirits of Mercury, counting up the number of earths (they knew), said they amounted to about 600,000." (S. D. 3264.) "They enumerated many kinds of respirations" with which they were acquainted, and communicated some of them to Swedenborg. (S. D. 3318.) They said that, although their planet is nearer the sun than the others, the rays of the sun are tempered by the atmospheres, and the inhabitants do not suffer from excessive heat. (A. C. 7177.)

     (To be Continued.)

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WHERE DID HE GET IT? 1950

WHERE DID HE GET IT?       RICHARD R. GLADISH       1950

     YOU LIVE AFTER DEATH. By Harold M. Sherman. Creative Age Press, New York. 1949. Pp. 205, $2.00.

     Lured between its covers by the starkly positive title, I found myself alternately warmed by delighted wonder and chilled by regret. The wonder was for the author's ability to state clearly and forcefully an amazing number of ideas which I thought must have come from the Writings. The regret was for the author's enthronement as spiritual criteria of certain mental flotsam that has been knocking about the world of the human mind ever since the Flood.
     One effect of a belief in the Writings is to make a mind more tolerant of new ideas, to widen the scope of a person's indulgence. That is why many of us whose minds have been influenced by the Writings tend to take a great interest in such books as the one under review. There have been others, such as the Betty Books of Stuart Edward White, in which the one-time adventure-story writer tells of the laws that govern the world beyond the grave as they are revealed mediumistically by the spirit of his departed wife. There is Good God, by John Hadham, an Englishman, which delighted some of us as we read it aloud at Linden Hills a few summers ago with its clever, down-to-earth argument in favor of the Divinity of Christ. And there are the dozen or so small volumes of C. S. Lewis, the Oxford don, which penetrate into some inlets of truth that seem to sparkle with concepts that could hardly have come into being without the Writings.
     Perhaps a New Churchman's interest in such books as I have named-and there are many more-can be summed up in Hamlet's conviction. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." And this idea may also come to us from reading the Writings.
     But where "in heaven or earth" did Mr. Sherman ("a successful author, radio man, lecturer, and scenarist," according to the book jacket) get such ideas as the following?

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. . . you find yourself (after death) in an existence not too unlike your state on earth, with duties to perform, responsibilities to assume, and opportunities for development which may have been denied you here. . .
This life is but the beginning of an ever-continuing unfoldment of your real inner self. . .
You have a physical body and a spiritual body, and you at present dwell in both of these. . .
. . .each soul is distinctive and different, as though created with the free
will and opportunity to occupy a special place no other soul is designed to
occupy to all eternity. . .
The true language of the soul is expressed in feeling, not words. . .
The highest concept we can have of God is love. . .
. . . Unthinking humans could not comprehend an Intelligence as stupendous that it could exist as a part of individual consciousness and also permeate every portion of creation throughout the boundless reaches of time and space. .

     Some may say that these are ideas which run at large in the world, and some of them certainly do. But still our author goes on to talk about "faith alone," to say that "Children and infants who arrive on the other side are cared for in loving homes and schools. . . " that they grow up to take their places in heaven. He scouts the old notion, foisted upon a gullible Christendom by Paul, that "the dead shall be raised incorruptible" when the last trumpet shall sound. He affirms that marriage continues after death because it is the basic creative principle of the universe.
     And he speaks all this as one having authority, although he does not name the source of his assurance, beyond mention of "meditation, concentration, and reflection,
     He likewise maintains the air of authority while trying to peddle such shoddy propositions as the following:

There never could have been a time when you or any other human creature was totally non-existent. . .
Experience is the one and only great teacher. . .
Mohanelas K. Gandhi will surely be just as revered as our memory of the
Man of Galilee. . .
. . . Are we to believe that He foreordained the Jews to crucify His Son? If God had the power to send His Son to Earth. He had the power to have protected Him against this crucifixion.

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The Revelation of God is written forever in His books of Nature, and not in the words of Man.
If the only Way to God is through His Only-Begotten Son, who visited this earth, what chance for salvation would souls of human status have on other worlds?
You are a part of God. The Great Intelligence, in process of eternal evolvement. . .

     It almost hurts me to have to quote such items as the foregoing, because I fear that possible readers will throw out the whole thing at this point and stop being readers. And I feel that this man has something to teach me, at least, in spite of such heresies as his failure to believe in a written word, his rejection of the Lord's Divinity, his half-formed concepts of pantheism and metempsychosis.
     For one thing, Mr. Sherman has had some mighty uncanny experiences involving mental telepathy and the separation of the spirit from the body. Some of these were his long-distance telepathic tests conducted between himself and Sir Hubert Wilkins, Arctic explorer, under the supervision of Dr. Gardner Murphy, of Columbia University; leaving his body and at the same time living through experiences which were in the future, and therefore living through them more than once; and his receiving a visit from a fellow telepathist's soul (fully clothed in informal Los Angeles garb) while the f. t.'s body stayed at home on the other side of the city! This visitant, by the way, a former policeman named Harry J. Loose, told of repeated spirit meetings between himself and a South American priest named John Carlos, carried on when both of them were out of their bodies!
     If we New Churchmen had not more immediate problems, such as cultivating our own soul-gardens, there would be some challenge in trying to explain such things. Speaking as a layman, and one more or less conversant with the Duke findings in parapsychology, I am willing to grant the probability of all these things being genuine until I can figure out from experience in the light of the principles of the Writings what the complete answer must be. As a matter of fact, it doesn't worry me. Granted that there are such things as souls, and that there is a world of spirits, a heaven and a hell, all telescoped as to space, so to speak, why should I debate too long and loud over the means by which communication can obtain between the various divisions of the creation?

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     Of course, nobody today believes that what we call "magic" ever could or ever did exist in this world. But I do; and anyone else who believes in the Writings as Divine Truth has to believe so, too, I was reading just the other day where Swedenborg tells of a man he met in the other world who, by means of magic, had taken away another's man life while he was in this world. If this is news to any reader, let him turn for proof to "Magic" in the Potts' Concordance, and look over the pages of reference to magic in this world and the next, and at the definition of magic as an "abuse of correspondences."
     I am grateful to Mr. Sherman for some insights that I value, and for the trenchant expression of certain truths which I have learned through the Writings, and which he has apparently learned somewhere else. Here are some ideas I like:

No one human can be any less "a child of God" than another. We are all on different rungs of the ladder of self-development. . . . The higher and finer your development, the greater responsibility you should bear to those less fortunate and less illumined.
Some religions have painted the picture of a sexless life beyond     This concept is in direct violation of all law and reason, since it is everywhere evident, throughout the universe, that the Male and Female principles of Creation are everlastingly at work forming new universes through the attraction and repulsion of positive and negative forces, thus bringing about constant evolutionary and expanding changes and developments in all forms of life.
It is unthinkable, then, that man and woman surrender their sex upon entering the so-called "life of the spirit." To do so would be to surrender their very personalities, to give up the very core and center and nature of their creative beings, and to exist as sterile non-entities (Pp. 155-156.)
. . . Each race was created for some specific purpose and place in God's Creation. Each should be interested, then, in striving to achieve his own perfection rather than trying to donsinate or emulate another.

     That last quotation can be applied successfully to the individual as well as to the race.
     Although there are many attractive statements in You Life After Death, still this LIFE does have space limitations, and so I shall quote but one more statement, poetical and inspiring, as it strikes me:

     (He has been describing the vastness of the universes, new ones being still created). "And God, the Great Intelligence, is within, behind, and beyond all of this, mindful in an inconceivable way of every pulsebeat of every living creature in all the worlds within worlds, high and low, big and small, throughout His ever-expanding, boundless, endless, and surpassingly glorious creation!"

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     The question which interests me in reading such a book as this is. How are we to think of such an achievement? What about the Writings as a source of some of his ideas? I wrote to him, and Mr. Sherman was a little vague about that. He did not give me any reply as to the source of his ideas, although he said that he knew about Swedenborg, and honored him as a "great soul." Dr. Hugo Odhner suggests that ideas from the Writings have colored the thinking of a whole generation of psychical researchers and spiritists, and might very well have been absorbed by Mr. Sherman without awareness of the original source.
     I am inclined to give Mr. Sherman considerable credit for stating some genuine truths very ably, whatever their source, but it is scarcely necessary to point out that what he has is not, from our point of view, a real religion.
     I think that, ideally, there is a point to the statement. "It isn't what I think that is true, or what you think, but what we all think put together. The truth is the whole." But there is obvious danger in taking a permeationist's delight in "the spread of the New Church" by such books as this.
     There is a warning here for those who put their faith in permeation. Permeation concepts raise false hopes, defer their fruition, and finally disclose "a goodly apple, rotten at the core." For what else can we think about the theological individualist in the light of the Writings? The man who makes up his own religion, discards the Word, and especially the doctrine of the Lord as God, we read, faces a dangerous, a terrible spiritual fate.
     Let me say that this is a very hard teaching for the present reviewer, who has carried on a correspondence with the author, and has read the book with great interest. The author seems to be trying, a bit conceitedly, perhaps, to instruct and help his fellow men. Just how dire an error is it for a man like this to reject the belief in the Lord as God? It is a widespread error. Perhaps the clergy can instruct me about this.
     One more lesson did the reviewer derive. There is abroad in the world today a virulent hatred and detestation of the idea of revelation as scripture.

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If you would be acceptable in the so-called "educated world," avoid like the plague all appearance of belief in any written statement of absolute truth, With few exceptions, a writer will be allowed to advance any idea, so long as he has come by it "honestly"-that is, by thinking it as himself. But if someone arrives at a great and self-evident truth through following a written revelation, he is laughed out of court. The truth may not be refuted, of course, but in the resultant confusion you gather that it doesn't really matter,
     What matters is man's being untrammelled and free, God, we gather, is in some quarters a necessary postulate, a Great Intelligence, but He has no right to use so obnoxious a means of conveying truths from Himself to His creature, man, as pen and ink or the printing
     It must be done with mental telepathy, meditation, concentration, staring at sunsets, and examining biological specimens under microscopes.
     That way you don't have to pay any attention to anybody else's revelation, and, in the words of Gilbert and Sullivan, "You are right, and I am right, and everyone is quite correct."
     In his last letter to me, Mr. Sherman wrote at the end. "Enlarge your concepts-it will not destroy your faith." I am ready to concede the point, but would ask in rebuttal, Just what is so large and fine about denying the Lord's Divinity?"

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     As Mr. Emanuel Francis passed into the spiritual world, and the task as Leader of the Hague Group of the General Church is now laid upon my shoulders, I will give a short review of the events in the second part of 1949.
     At first we had the great honor to see Bishop Alfred Acton in our midst. The Harwich boat brought him to the Hook of Holland where Mr. Hess and I were waiting to welcome him. Arriving at The Hague, we went to Hotel Pomona. where we booked a room for the Bishop. It was a pity the cheese was still rationed and not available at that hour, for Mr. Acton was very eager to have some of our Dutch cheese. But on the following days, when he stayed at my home, we were glad his desire for good Dutch cheese could be satisfied. These days were very pleasurable to us. Everyone was surprised at the vitality of the Bishop.
     The first meeting was on the 19th of July in the evening. In connection with the deaths of two of our members. Bishop Acton gave a lecture about "The Arrival in the Spiritual World." On Sunday morning the subject of his sermon was "Conjugial Love." The meeting and the service took place at my home.
     On Wednesday, the 13th of July, there was a young people's meeting at Mrs. Francis' home, where the Bishop spoke on the subject of "The Resurrection and Glorification." All who attended these meetings were greatly impressed, and afterwards there was a very animated discussion.
     One of the days the Bishop and I went to the Academic Library and the old bookseller's shop "Templum Salemonus" at Leiden, where the Bishop wanted to make some inquiries about the writings of Em. Swedenborg.
     We appreciated his stay at The Hague very much, and it will remain in our remembrance as most delightful.

     In October our Pastor, the Rev. Martin Pryke, came to Holland for his periodical visit and the occasion of my marriage on October 21st to Miss Dalebout. The legal wedding took place at the Town Hall. It was a pity Mr. Pryke could not understand the words spoken by the registrar, as he took great interest in the ceremony.
     The consecration took place at my home, the Rev. Pryke officiating. The members of our group and many other friends attended, and were greatly impressed. Afterwards there were many good wishes, wine was served, and the family and a few friends staved for a little dinner.
     On Sunday morning, the 23rd of October, Rev. Pryke conducted a service at my home. His sermon was on the text of Apocalypse xi, verses 3 and 4, "The Two Witnesses," treating of the two essential doctrines of the New Church: that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, that His Human is Divine, and that He is to be worshipped in a life of obedience to His commands. The Holy Supper was administered.
     After the service there was a nice lunch, and the flowers of our wedding still ornamented the table. My daughter Hetty was hostess.
     In the afternoon the future plans of The Hague Circle were discussed.

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As there is not yet a Pastor in Holland, we came to the conclusion to hold services alternately at Mrs. Francis' home and mine, once a month, followed by a lunch.

     On Christmas Day there was a service at my home. The subject of my reading was Luke 2: 12. Then we gathered around the Christmas tree, and many songs were sung, accompanied at the piano by my daughter. The little Tatjana Keuls was delighted by everything, and danced on her little feet all the time. Little presents were given, and there was much laughter. We ended with a delicious supper by candle light.
     HERMAN G. ENGELTJES.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The Christmas festivities are now definitely in the past, but during December they were much in evidence. They commenced, as in our custom, with the Tableaux on Sunday evening, December 18th, when there were five scenes portraying living pictures from the Word, the first of which showed "The people that walked in darkness saw a great Light." This was followed by The Nativity, which is always a favorite. Theta Herod was seen as he sent the Wise Men in search of the Young Child; and this was followed by the arrival of these Wise Men with their gifts. The final picture gave us an impression of John on the Isle of Patmos seeing the Holy City, New Jerusalem.
     Between the scenes the audience, led by the children, sang all the familiar Christmas hymns and carols. The Pastor explained and introduced each tableau, and accepted the offering from the congregation which is used for the Orphanage Fund.
     Later in the evening each child received a bag of fruit and candy; and each family with children was given a book on a religious theme. This gathering is always well attended, and this year was no exception; indeed, the assembly ball was filled to capacity. The preparation of the Tableaux was under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Keith Frazee, but, in accordance with custom, the members of the cast go unmentioned.
     Our Christmas Representation was on view throughout the Christmas season, and was enjoyed by both children and adults. It had been very well arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Longstaff, Jr.
     On Christmas morning the chancel looked particularly attractive, with its living greens and numerous bright red candles and a star shining over the Word. This was a pleasant result of the efforts of the Misses Ethne Ridgway and Marion Swalm and Mr. Harry Coy. During the services we all heartily joined in singing the ever loved old Christmas hymns, and the Rev. A. Wynne Acton delivered an appropriate sermon on "The Glory of Christmas."

     Reverting to December 5th, the Ladies' Circle was held at the home of Mrs. R. S. Anderson, and was a special occasion, in that a florist by the name of Mr. P. Bone gave a practical demonstration of the way to arrange flowers. As this was of interest to the Chancel Guild, the ladies extended a wide open invitation, with the result that there was quite a large attendance. Lucky numbers were drawn at the end of the evening, and Mr. Bone gave each of the fortunate holders thereof one of the arrangements he had made. It was an educational evening which we all enjoyed.

     On December 28th the Ladies' Circle gave the children a Christmas Party-a real one with ice cream and cookies, games, recitations, songs and dances, and seems to have been enjoyed by the guests.

     New Year.-There was quite a bit of discussion as to what would happen when our New Year's Party had to close at midnight, as was the case this time. In Toronto we not only overcame the difficulty, but we sky-jumped it. The affair was such a success that it is possible a precedent had been established.

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     The party commenced at 7:30 p.m. with a real Turkey Dinner which would have made Tiny Tim gasp. When the one hundred and ten or so guests were seated at the gaily decorated tables, music sounded and in paraded four stalwart New Churchmen, each bearing a turkey of the largest size, of golden brown, and exuding the most delightful aroma. They proceeded to carve the birds and social history at the same time. It was just the beginning of one of the best New Year parties we ever had.
     Merriment was the theme of the evening, expressed in song, prose, and rhythm. Dancing began about nine o'clock, and just before the midnight hour we gathered in a large circle to listen to a few thoughtful words by the Pastor before singing Auld Lang Syne and the usual commotion of everyone wishing everybody else a Happy New Year.
     Some cocktail parties preceded and followed the party in private homes. When an event is successful it is usually because a great deal of willing work and effort have been put into it. Mrs. Clara Swalm and the Messrs. Ivan and Bruce Scott held the key positions for this particular evening, but a long list of people deserve the credit for such a happy closing to 1949 and beginning of 1950.

     This gay time, however, did not interfere with our worship of the Lord on the following morning,-Sunday, January 1st. The Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered at this service, and it was felt that this was a most appropriate manner in which to commence a new year.
     Some of our "pillar" were absent during the festive season, but we were happy to receive telegraphic greetings from them-Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Rothermel, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Knight, Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Parker, also Mr. and Mrs. Alec Craigie-all of whom we toasted at the various private parties. The Ray Ore family, while not out of town, were out of luck by reason of whooping cough, and were much missed.
     A Christmas present to Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Thompson was the arrival of a great granddaughter on Christmas morning born to John and Joan Alden.
     Mr. and Mrs. W. Bainbridge have announced the engagement of their daughter, Katherine, to Mr. Gordon Anderson, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Reginald S. Anderson.
     Mrs. Clara Sargeant and Mrs. Ray Orr entertained in honor of Miss Ethne Ridgway on January 19th, which evening proved to be a surprise shower of the pleasantly practical nature.
     It was a great pleasure to have with us a number of visitors from various points of the compass, and they also helped to fill in the gaps made by absentees, a number of whom we have not mentioned.
     VERA CRAIGIE.

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Here we are in 1950! The uses of the London Society have been well maintained during the past few months. Congregations have maintained their strength and interest, and there has been a tendency to increase the number of activities, which is always a difficult matter in a city society where traveling is such a problem, and motor ears and petrol scarcer than beefsteaks to the rarity of these delicacies I imagine Mrs. de Charms could testify after her experience of English hotels!

     Repairs. After several years of delay in making the necessary repairs on our church premises we have noticed considerable activity, and, sad to say, more is to come. The War Damage Commission has disagreed with our claim for repair to the roof, and so the society will now have to save hard to meet the bill from its own resources, and this on top of the expenses already met. We mention this merely because many of our overseas visitors have seen the premises, and will easily visualize what is to be done.

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When it is all complete, we shall hope to see them again in our reconditioned home.

     Visitors.-During the last year we have been favored with several visitors from overseas, and these include Bishops Acton and Pendleton. Both very kindly devoted time to meet the members and friends, and gave us the benefit of sermons and addresses.
     Along with Bishop Pendleton came Mr. Charles Cole, and we held a reception for them in the church just prior to the British Assembly, at which our own Pastor appointed Mr. Cole private secretary to the Bishop,-a post which became more onerous as the days went by. For, not content with the purely secretarial aspect of the post, it fell out that the Bishop imposed on his secretary the duty of wearing the Bishop's shoes-a form of martyrdom which caused much merriment among those who witnessed the fortitude with which Mr. Cole fulfilled the duty!
     The former friends and acquaintances of Bishop Acton were delighted to see him looking so fit, and were amazed at his activity. And many will feel that they now know something about the Bronchial Artery! It is recorded that, during his short stay in a London Hotel, Bishop Acton was out by six in the morning watching the activity of early morning business in Covent Garden market.

     Changes.-Amongst the changes which inevitably occur in the life of a society. Michael Church has lost the services of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, who were resident at the church for so many years, and who will be remembered by the many visitors. The reception given in honor of Bishop Pendleton and Mr. Cole was also made the occasion for presenting to Mr. and Mrs. Cooper a testimonial to their long and faithful service. Although they have left the duty of caring for the premises, they are still with us at services, having taken up their residence some little distance away. This occasion was also one at which we bade farewell to Monsieur Roger Hussenet, who had been in London just over a year. We were sorry to lose him, and trust that some day he will return.
     Among the young people we note that the Misses Olive Norma and Patricia Mary Lewin were confirmed during the morning service on November 13th. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Boozer (Brenda Dale), of Colchester, and Mr. and Mrs. Keith Morley (Rachel Howard), are new additions to the young married group. Miss Marjorie Patient is engaged to be married to Mr. Roy Warwick, and Miss Brenda Shepherd is engaged to Mr. Philip Waters. At the really junior end of the scale, Stewart Clennell Law, born just in time to be baptized at the last British Assembly, and Richard Hugill, a great grandson of the late Mr. Godfrey, make two entirely new additions to our numbers.
     Against these two "items" on the credit side, we must record the defection from the Church in England of Miss Beryl Howard; but in this case Bryn Athyn gets the advantage. At a social just before her departure for the American Eldorado last October, the good wishes of the society were extended to Miss Howard with what we trust were suitable tangible mementoes by which she could remember us. One was a dictionary, the donor expressing the hope that it would enable her to remember her mother tongue! But, alas, by Christmas, when we heard from Beryl, we were told that she had just "gotten around" to writing!

     The general activity of the society remains at a high level, and, in spite of difficulties of distance, the doctrinal classes, the young people's classes, the groups at Finchley and Chadwell Heath, continue with varying attendances, but with maintenance of interest.
     The Chadwell Heath group recently celebrated its 50th meeting, and took occasion to hold a dinner there to which other friends were invited.

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A report of the event appeared in the "News Letter" for October, 1949.
     The current session of our doctrinal class has just completed a course of lessons written by Bishop de Charms on the subject of the attitude of the General Church towards other church bodies of the Christian world. The classes form a short restatement of the position as it applies to the modern age, in the development of which many changes in generally accepted beliefs have occurred. This course was preceded by one on the subject of Revelation.

     Christmas.-One interesting matter which calls for special mention is the nature of our Christmas celebration, held on the 18th of December, 1949. The Pastor provided the commentary to the lessons read in the afternoon meeting by composing it in blank verse. The result was stimulating and the verse ran smoothly.
     One feature stands out in the life of this society, and this despite a high average level of attendance at worship. Special celebrations are always occasions when there is a greatly increased congregation. Even those for whom distance is a great hindrance somehow manage to overcome the disability several times a year, and especially at Christmas, Easter, New Church Day, and Harvest celebrations.
     PERCY DAWSON.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     New Year's Party.-In reviewing the activities of the Detroit Circle for the first month of 1950, the event which comes most vividly to mind is the New Year's Eve party given by Mr. and Mrs. Norman Synnestvedt at their home. For some years this party has been an annual affair to which the Synnestvedts have invited all members and friends of the Circle. This time their generous invitation brought out practically our entire membership, making it necessary to divide the activities of the evening between the living room, where Canasta was the principal diversion, and the basement recreation room, which was largely given over to other card games.
     But as the stroke of midnight approached all gathered in the recreation room, where, as bells and sirens were announcing the birth of a New Year, there was general handshaking and the interchange of good wishes. Then toasts were offered, first to "Our Glorious Church," then to the Rev. and Mrs. Norman Reuter, the Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth Stroh, to our host and hostess, and finally to our hospitalized member, Vance Birchman. This was offered by Mr. Geoffrey Childs, who paid high tribute of praise to Vance's fortitude and extreme patience throughout his ordeal. He never complains and is most optimistic, in spite of the fact that it will be many weeks before he will be able to walk again. We are happy to say, however, that he is now at his home, and is making satisfactory progress toward complete recovery.
     Following the toasts our Pastor, Mr. Reuter, addressed us and reviewed the progress of the Detroit Circle over the years toward the fulfilment of the hopes for its eventual status as a full Society of the Church. He expressed his opinion that our hopes might be realized in the not far distant future. And this conviction he voiced in the following verse, composed by Mrs. Reuter and sung by both of them to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne":

Should tales of progress in the Church be sung about with cheer,
This group would hold the record for advancement in last year.
Let's sing a song for our Detroit, the finest place to be,
The largest Circle in the Church and the next Society.

     After this fine bit of musical teamwork, copies of the verse were passed around, and the whole company joined in a hearty rendition of this tribute to our Circle.
     By this time everyone was ready for the substantial lunch which our hosts had provided, after which the festivities were resumed and January 1st was several hours old before the last guest departed.

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     Yet there was a good attendance at our Sunday service on New Year's Day, this being conducted by the Rev. Norman Reuter.

     During the week of January 2c1 we enjoyed a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Blair, of Pittsburgh, parents of Mrs. Kenneth Stroh. Several social affairs enabled them to meet their old friends in Detroit, and to become acquainted with those of our members whom they had not met before. The Blairs remained over to attend our service of worship on Sunday, January 5th, this being conducted by the Rev. Kenneth Stroh.
     Our monthly dinner came on Sunday, January 22d, which followed the service of worship, and, after an interval, was followed by a doctrinal class. Mr. Stroh preached a very fine sermon to a congregation numbering 47 adults and children. His text was, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it," and it was a very clear and interesting unfolding of the spiritual sense of the 127th Psalm. For the doctrinal class his subject was "Swedenborg's Inspiration."
     A tribute of praise is due our Women's Guild for the very fine dinner we enjoyed on this occasion. Heretofore each family has brought its own food, but a Guild committee now plans the meal and instructs each member what to bring. Then, with the aid of the men in setting up the long tables, the dinner is served by the ladies with less confusion and in a much more congenial atmosphere than was possible under the family-by-family plan. No charge is made for these very satisfying meals, and the excellent efforts of our Guild ladies are sincerely appreciated.

     Our newest members, Mr. and Mrs. John Howard and their three children are now settled in their new home at 264 West Woodland Avenue, Ferndale, Mich. May we here express the great pleasure of our entire membership in having these grand people join our Circle? It is a substantial addition to our numbers, and we are most happy to have them with us, particularly on account of the enthusiastic way in which they are entering into all our activities.
     Thus the Howards have joined the growing contingent of our members who have established homes in the vicinity of the Ferndale Community Center where our meetings are held. Three families are now living within easy walking distance, and several others have bought homes only a short drive away. Does this suggest that there may be a new General Church community in the making?
     At two of our recent services we have had with us Miss Stella Bellinger of Kitchener, who was visiting at the home of her brother and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bellinger of Windsor, Ontario. And at the service and dinner on January 2nd we were joined by Mr. Bruce Scott of Toronto, who is always a welcome guest.
     WILLIAM W. WALKER.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     Could it be that the writer of these news notes is losing his grip? A good friend said to him recently: "Harold, your notes don't seem to have the sparkle they used to have; I get the impression you are tired." Well, that could be; but it was nice to hear that there once had been a "sparkle" in his work.
     Which brings up an idea. Maybe we scribes should form a club. We could call ourselves "The Royal Order of News Notes Writers for NEW CHURCH LIFE," Then the members of TROONNWFNCL could write to each other, telling of the various means they employ to make their news notes interesting and entertaining. This might have the effect of bringing back the sparkle and getting rid of the tired feeling. Anyway, here goes for December 1949 and January 1950.

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     During this period we have had less snow and severe cold weather than for many years. This suits most of the adults, but the children miss their sleigh rides, and there have been too few skating parties.
     Early in December we enjoyed an informal evening of music, featuring a string quartet, solos, both male and female, and piano numbers, which entertained us for the better part of two hours. Light refreshments brought the evening to a close.
     On December 10th the Robert Leeper family moved to Glenview, and with this welcome addition it is interesting to note that our congregation now numbers 394 people-a far cry from the small group of pioneer New Churchmen who moved out here from Chicago over fifty years ago!

     Christmas.-A special preparatory doctrinal class was held on December 21st, and this was followed by the singing of practically all of the Christmas songs in our Liturgy.
     The Children's Christmas Service on Saturday afternoon, December 24th, following the pattern of previous years, began in the church, and then continued in the assembly hall, where Christmas Tableaux were shown. These tableaux seem to increase in beauty and effectiveness each year. Accompanied by the singing of a special choir, the scenes were: Mary bringing word of the prophecy to Elizabeth; then the Wise Men; the Shepherds; and the Nativity.
     At the close of this portion of the children's service, gifts from the Immanuel Church were presented to all the children. In the evening, about thirty young people went from house to house caroling-a custom that creates a really peaceful Christmas sphere.
     On the following day the church was filled for the adult Christmas service, and we were once more reminded of the extreme importance of a rational consideration of what was involved in the First Advent.
     The annual New Year's party consisted of entertainment by local talent, dancing, refreshments, and much noise, this last to the satisfaction of most of those who were present.
     On January 1st the Holy Supper was administered at our regular Sunday service-a fitting way to begin the New Year.
     Sons' Meeting-The week end of January 13-15 was a gala period for the Immanuel Church. On Friday evening the Rev. Norman H. Reuter conducted a very interesting doctrinal class on the subject of "The Omnipresence of the Lord." The following afternoon, the members of the Executive Committee of the Sons of the Academy held a business meeting, attended by visiting members Norman Synnestvedt and Walter Childs, of Detroit, Charles Ebert and John Frazier, of Pittsburgh, and James Junge and Garth Pitcairn, of Bryn Athyn.
     On Saturday evening the entire society attended a Glenview Chapter Banquet. The President of the Chapter, Mr. Warren Reuter, was toastmaster, and the Rev. Norman Reuter was guest of honor. Speaking from notes, he gave us "some thought about psychology in the light of the New Church." Songs and toasts with responses by visiting Sons added much to the enjoyment of the evening
     On Sunday we had the pleasure of hearing the Rev. Norman Reuter preach the sermon at the service in the church. In the afternoon Miss Miriam Pitcairn showed pictures she had taken during her last summer's European trip. They came out clearly on the screen, and were much enjoyed.

     Classes and society meetings persist with unmitigating regularity: Young people's classes (single)-Young people's (married)-Woman's Guild-Theta Alpha-Sons of the Academy-Friday suppers and lectures: also that small group of men who meet weekly at the residence of Mr. Henry Maynard to read what to some would be considered "deep stuff." At present we are studying The Fibre.
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.

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     TUCSON, ARIZONA.

     Undoubtedly the biggest thing to come our way since the visit of the Rev. and Mrs. Morley Rich in August is that little machine called a tape recorder. We heard it for the first time after a church service on December 11th, and we were thrilled beyond description by the messages from Bryn Athyn and Glenview. That very day some of us began recording messages to send back.
     But it was not until the 29th of January, Swedenborg Birthday, that the machine was really put to use. On that occasion we were gathered together at the home of Bob and Barbara Carlson for a buffet supper. The already festive atmosphere-helped along by the ladies' gay skirts and aprons suggestive of costuming, and the blue and yellow decorative scheme centering about the newly framed picture of Swedenborg-reached its peak when the tape recorder went to work.
     First, we heard greetings suitable to the event from Morley, Stella, and our own Dan Wilson, who could not be with us in person. Then we listened to an inspiring talk by Dr. Acton on "The Divine Providence in Relation to Swedenborg's Life." Far from being tired after such a long session, everyone clamored for more. So we played the songs and the Talk to Children by Louis King. Curiously enough, the children also wanted to hear more than the one reel allotted to them, even though it seemed to us to be over their heads. So our celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday, 1950, is one long to be remembered by us, and our heartfelt thanks go to the Recording Committee and those who made the recordings.

     Our lovely Christmas Day pageant deserves describing. It was directed by Mrs. Irma Waddell who costumed the children simply and rehearsed them but only in order to create a feeling of spontaneity. Appropriate passages from the Word were read between stage entrances, and everyone joined in the singing of the carols descriptive of arriving groups of angels, shepherds, and wise men.
     The pageant was followed by the presentation of gifts to the children by Pat Waddell. As he did this, our hosts. Guy and Helen Alden served wine, and that was a signal for toasts to the Church, the Circle, committees, and guests.

     We have been fortunate in having many guests this season. Miss Karen Synnestvedt, of Bryn Athyn, and Miss Judith Cooper, of Riverside, California, are students at the University of Arizona this winter. And by the way, our male representatives at the University will be increased to four this second semester when Bruce Wilson and Guy Alden join Seid and Tom Waddell.
     Two other frequent visitors at our gatherings are the Misses Janet Lindrooth and Helena Junge, of Douglas, Arizona, who often make the two hour trip to Tucson, even though Helena has had but one or two hours of sleep after coming off duty at the Douglas Hospital.
     Way back in late September and early October our meetings for doctrinal classes were enriched, first by the presence of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Alden and then by Mrs. Henry de Maine and her daughter, Nanette. In each case we tried to convince them that they should stay in Tucson or come back soon. We had no luck in keeping them, but maybe they will come back.
     Before closing this report I should like to mention two things more, one the lovely combination altar and bookcase which Dan Wilson and Guy Alden have made for use in our services, and the other, little Miss Martha Hartter, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hartter (Marion Gyllenhaal), who made her first appearance at a group activity on Swedenborg's Birthday, although she had already made the acquaintance of most at us when we went to the Hartter home for an evening of caroling on December 23rd.
     BARBARA G. CARLSON.

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     NEW YORK, N. Y.

     Since the beginning of November we have had four services, three doctrinal classes, one reading class, a Christmas party, and an invitation from the New Jersey Circle to attend a joint Christmas service and party for the children of both societies, held in the home of Mrs. Frederick Tahk (Jean Moir) in Englewood, New Jersey. We are now making plans for a joint celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday to be held in this city.
     In past years it has been the custom of the two societies to have as many joint activities as possible throughout the year. In December there has been a joint Christmas service and party for the children, in February a Swedenborg's Birthday celebration in New York, and in June the Nineteenth of June celebration in New Jersey. When possible, we have also had a joint Easter service.

     Since the last news report, we have come in contact with the tape recorder, which has proved helpful to our Pastor and to us in this short period of time. We have had one doctrinal class on the machine-the recording of a class held in Philadelphia on the subject of the Divine Providence. It has been helpful in providing recorded talks to the children, beautiful Christmas horn music, and a musical accompaniment for our Christmas service, which was held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Rhodes.
     Perhaps you are wondering how we provided music for the Christmas service. I would like to point out that it has been one of the major problems of this society to find a way in which some form of music accompaniment could be provided when a service is conducted in a home, since there are no pianos. Mr. Rich has solved our problem by using the recorder.
     Before coming to New York to conduct the Christmas service, he prepared a tape recording of music to be used in the service, with the able assistance of Mrs. Douglas Halterman (Faith Childs), who is the pianiste for the society in Philadelphia. When he arrived at the Rhodes' apartment, he had the recorder with him, together with an operator. Mrs. Rich. The service was held in the living room, and the machine was set up in an adjoining room, where Mrs. Rich operated it when music was needed, and we sane to the accompaniment recorded on the tape. This plan was successful, and we are most grateful to the three persons who were responsible for making the Christmas music possible. We wish that all our problems could be solved as simply.

     Before the beginning of the service in January. Mr. Gustav Welander presented the society with two lovely candle snuffers which he himself had made. They were used for the first time by Penny and Peter Rhodes, who snuffed out the candles at the close of the service.
     We are now making plans for a Swedenborg Birthday celebration to be held in February, and we hope to make it a big and happy affair. It will be a joint occasion, with members of the New Jersey Circle and the New York Society participating in the celebration.
     The activities of our society have been well attended. As guests in December we were happy to welcome Mrs. Morley Rich and Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Halterman, of Philadelphia; in January, Mr. and Mrs. John B. Lewis, of New Jersey, Mr. Carlton, of this city, Lieutenant Colonel William Kintner from Kansas, and Master Daniel Rich, of Philadelphia.
     The month of February means a good half of our active season is over, and we are looking forward to the remaining months with happy anticipation of the many future meetings together with our Pastor.
     JANET KENDIG.

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     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Our Swedenborg's Birthday celebration was the outstanding event in January.
     On Friday evening the 27th, a dinner for the pupils of the school was given by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha. Patricia Frazier was the toastmistress, and Mrs. Ebba Boyesen was guest of honor. Each child made a speech, relating some event or achievement in the life of Emanuel Swedenborg.
     The banquet on Saturday evening, held in the church auditorium, was well attended. It is always a privilege and a pleasure to have Dr. William Whitehead, of Bryn Athyn, as our guest and speaker. His subject was "The Essential Nature of Swedenborg's Preparation to Become a Revelator." The program was tape-recorded, and it is hoped successfully, for while your correspondent took notes, it is not possible to give a digest that will do justice to Dr. Whitehead's address.
     Songs were sung and toasts were honored, and our pastor, speaking at the close of the program, dwelt upon the importance of our furthering the work to which our church and our schools are dedicated; and in so doing it is extremely fitting that we honor Emanuel Swedenborg, through whom we have received the Divine Revelation for the New Church.
     On Sunday, January 29th, Dr. Whitehead assisted the pastor in conducting the service of worship, and preached the sermon on the text from John 15: 5-7. "He that abideth in me, and I in him, . . . "
     That evening the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy met at the home of Mr. Boyesen, where Dr. Whitehead discussed with the members the subject of the United Nations and modern political trends, We are most grateful to him for an interesting, instructive and altogether satisfactory week end,

     A Parents and Teachers Meeting was held on Monday evening, January 23rd, in the auditorium, at which "The Principles and Practices and Rules and Regulations of the Pittsburgh New Church School" were presented and discussed. Following this we listened to the tape-recording of an address by Bishop Willard D. Pendleton on "Education in Our New Church Schools." At its close the teachers were hostesses for a delicious buffet and a social time.
     ELIZABETH R. DOERING.

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     A Wedding-On the evening of December 3rd, Miss Lillian Bond, daughter of Mrs. Arthur Bond, became the bride of Mr. Allen Peirce, formerly of Hampton Court, England. The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson performed the ceremony. The chancel was decorated attractively with flowers and candles. Members of the Nathaniel Stroh family played delightful music before the service.
     The bride wore a white brocaded silk dress and a filmy veil sent from England. She was attended by her sister, Mrs. Edward Kunkel, gowned in blue net. Mr. James Bond was best man. The reception followed in the assembly room, and after everyone had congratulated the bride and groom, Mr. Tom Bond very ably conducted the speeches and toasts, which were followed by dancing. Happily for us, this wedding made an addition to the society; for Allen and Lillian are living in Waterloo. All the other weddings in recent years have been celebrations followed by farewells.

     Christmas.-Leading up to our Christmas celebrations, the December doctrinal classes dealt with "The Messianic Prophecies," showing how each successive prophecy made an addition to the Messianic concept, and was at the same time adapted to the thought of the time.
     The Christmas Tableaux were presented for young and old on Sunday evening, December 18th. This year the story of the Star of Bethlehem and the Wise Men was told in seven pictures, each preceded by a reading from the Word.

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Between scenes everyone joined in singing the Christmas hymns. The scenes were: 1) Balaam's prophecy of the star; 2) The wise men following the star across the desert; 3) Their inquiry in the streets of Jerusalem; 4 and 5) Two scenes in King Herod's court 6) The wise men approaching Bethlehem, with the star over the town; 7) A beautiful scene inside the house, with Mary, Joseph and the Babe, and the wise men offering their gifts.
     During the week before Christmas the school children entertained the society on Thursday evening with three sweet and charming Christmas plays, The titles were: "The Boastful Weather Vane," "Christmas Influence," and "A Christmas Party." The colorful array of characters included weather sprites, a weather vane, winds, fairies, giants, a miser, poor children, rich children dignified adults, Irish maids and even Santa Claus. Each child had two or three parts to play, and all did very well, the youngest being particularly cute. The teachers produced some very effective scenery and costumes-an all round entertainment.
     On Christmas Eve the Children's Festival Service was attended by one hundred and forty-five people. From the babble of baby voices and the scuffle of infant feet one would gather that our school will soon be flourishing again. Despite the commotion, this service is always one of warm Christmas affections-children and adults marching and singing, evergreens and shiny red candles, the Christmas Story, the Pastor's simple talk to the children, this year on the lesson learned from the wisdom, love, faith and obedience of the wise men. Then the smiling children and shy babies receiving their gifts of fruit and candy; downstairs after the service the picturesque representations, the gay greetings and laughter, the exchange of gifts, and the children's presentations to their teachers-each year the same pattern, and each year the renewal of the happy sphere created by the celebration of the Lord's coming to save mankind.
     Christmas morning, the Pastor preached on the text, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." The sermon explained the meanings of the Divine names, showing that they tell the whole story of the Lord, of who He was, how He became the Saviour, and who and what He is as the Saviour.
     The service followed the special pattern arranged by the Pastor to include several continuous lessons from the Christmas story and two interludes. The Hallelujah Chorus, played at the close of the service by our organist. Miss Alberta Stroh, with Mrs. Nathaniel Stroh at the piano and Mr. Stroh on the flute, is becoming a Christmas morning tradition with us.

     New Year's Eve.-The society celebrated the close of the half century with a festive dance at the church, and the beginning of 1950 with a short impressive service. The assembly room was dressed in holiday garb of evergreen trees and sprays, sparkly snowflakes, streamers, and balloons. The piano player was a little late in arriving, so the Social Song Books were brought out and a sing song opened the evening. The dance program finally got under way, with Roger Kuhl as master of ceremonies. At a quarter to twelve everyone ascended to the chapel, where our Pastor conducted a midnight service in which the New Year was welcomed with prayer, singing, and a short address.
     Downstairs again, we all wished one another a Happy New Year, and by that time we were ready for the delicious buffer supper which appeared and just as quickly disappeared. The committee was headed by Mrs. Robert Knechtel. Mrs. Rud Schnarr assisted with the supper, and Nancy Stroh and Rita Kuhl with the decorations.

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     Swedenborg's Birthday.-The month of January came and went with unseasonably mild weather throughout. The society enjoyed all the routine activities, and especially the celebrations of Swedenborg's Birthday, held on the 27th and 28th of the month.
     The children had a holiday on Friday the 27th in honor of the event. They met at the school for a party at ten o'clock in the morning,-twenty-four children, including those of kindergarten age and those living too far away to attend the school. All wore Swedish costumes. Games and dances filled the program until noon, when the children had their own little banquet. Special guests this year were Dr. and Mrs. Robert Schnarr. Speeches were made by the children, from the first to seventh grade. Christine Henderson and Brian Schnarr recited a poem about Swedenborg. Bruce and Ian Henderson, Willard and Bobby Heinrichs, David Stroh and Sandra Schnarr spoke on Swedish schools, a smorgasbord, the outdoor museum where Swedenborg's summer house is, and the Swedish celebration of Christmas, Easter, and Midsummer.
     The society celebrated on Saturday night with a banquet and dance. Miss Korene Schnarr prepared the meal, which received high praise from everyone, about eighty in number. The tables were very decorative with little blue toboggan favors, blue and yellow napkins.
     Mr. Nathaniel Stroh was toastmaster, and toasts were proposed by Mr. Jorgen Hansen to "The Church" and Mr. Maurice Schnarr to "Emanuel Swedenborg." The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson read a paper on the subject of "The Gothenburg Trial" which gave a detailed and living account of the men involved and the actions taken in the first persecution of those who believed in the Writings. Dancing followed the banquet, with Stanley Hill in charge of the program.
     VIVIAN KUHL.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     Women's Guild.-The December meeting of the Guild was held in the Choir Hall, which was beautifully decorated in anticipation of the Advent Season. Bishop de Charms addressed the meeting, and his Christmas Message was most inspiring.
     The January meeting was held in the Club House, the feature being an address by Mrs. George de Charms in which she gave a most interesting account of her journey with the Bishop to South Africa last year. It was illustrated with recordings, and was very much enjoyed.
     A special meeting of the Guild has been called for February 7th to hear Mr. Lester Asplundh give an account of the plans for the forthcoming General Assembly and the part the Guild is to take.

     Swedenborg's Birthday.-The society celebrated this event after the Friday Supper on January 27th, when Bishop Alfred Acton delivered an address appropriate to the occasion. Among the many absorbing and enlightening things be said was that the basic and fundamental philosophy of creation developed under Divine guidance and set forth in Swedenborg philosophical works is confirmed in the Writings.
     The pupils of the Elementary School enjoyed a celebration on Friday morning, this being under the direction of Miss Anna Hamm. The High School had a party on Saturday evening, and the theme of Swedenborg's life was presented in papers by the students.
     With the end of the first semester of the present school year the teachers and students of the Academy are looking forward to the day when the temporary classrooms now in use for over a year can be abandoned in favor of the facilities in the new Benade Hall.

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And they have the feeling that it will not be long now. As the scaffolding is removed, we begin to see what a handsome and substantial structure the new building is, both without and within, as glimpses through the windows reveal the beauties of the interiors which are soon to provide accommodations for the uses of the Academy.

     Annual Councils.-For the meeting of the Councils of the General Church, the first week of February brought to Bryn Athyn a full attendance of the pastors of our societies in the United States and Canada, and also a representative number of lay members of the Executive Committee and of the Corporation of the Academy.
     We understand that fruitful sessions of the councils were enjoyed, as well as happy social gatherings. Official reports of the proceedings, and the annual reports of the various departments of our uses, will be published in the April issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     The Open Session of the Council of the Clergy, held in the Assembly Hall after supper on Friday, February 4th, and attended by a large audience, was the occasion for an address by the Rev. Morley D. Rich and a discussion of various aspects of the growth and establishment of the New Church, and of the Divine Providence with respect to it.
     We also had the pleasure of listening to sermons by two of the visiting ministers, the Rev. Ormond Odhner preaching at the service on Sunday morning, and the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh at the evening service
     LUCY B. WAECHELI.

     
     GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     THE NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, from Thursday, June 15th, to Monday, June 19th, 1950, inclusive,
     The Program and other Information will be given in later issues of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop.


     VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE.

     This General Church Committee maintains a Loan Library of slides of Bible Pictures and other subjects which are available at a small cost for use in homes, schools and church meetings. A List will be found on the 4th cover-page.
     WILLIAM R. COOPER, Director.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1950

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1950




     Announcements






NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
APRIL, 1950
No. 4
     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem were held in the Council Hall of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral-Church, January 31 to February 3. 1950, with Bishop de Charms presiding.
     In addition to the Bishop of the General Church, there were present two members of the episcopal degree, fifteen members of the pastoral degree, and four members of the ministerial degree, namely: the Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton and the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; the Rev. Messrs. A. Wynne Acton, Elmo C. Acton, Karl R. Alden, Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, W. B. Caldwell, Harold C. Cranch, Emil R. Cronlund, C. E. Doering, F. E. Gyllenhaal, W. Cairns Henderson, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Ormond de C. Odhner, Norman H. Reuter, Morley D. Rich, William Whitehead, Raymond G. Cranch, Vincent C. Odhner, David R. Simons, and Kenneth O. Stroh;-a total of twenty-two, including all the active clergy in the United States and Canada.

     A meeting of the Bishop's Consistory was held on Monday evening, January 30th. The Council, in accordance with its custom, held six regular sessions, four in the morning's and two in the afternoon, one open session, and one joint session with the Executive Committee. During the week, the Principals of local schools met with Bishop de Charms and Bishop Pendleton, and there was a meeting of the Educational Council Committee at which also Bishop de Charms presided.

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On the Thursday evening, members of the Council of the Clergy and the Executive Committee met socially at the Club House to hear a statement by Bishop Acton in regard to the situation in Italy.

     In opening the first session, Bishop de Charms spoke on the importance of holding these meetings even in an Assembly year, enumerating the uses, distinct from those of a General Assembly, which are performed by the Council meeting as a professional body in the sphere of the priestly office, During the week, reports were presented by the Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, the Committee on republishing "New Church Sermons," the Committee on New Church Missionary Literature. and the Sound Recording Committee, one at each of the four morning sessions.

     Four major addresses were heard at the regular sessions. Bishop de Charms read a paper on "The Degrees of the Priesthood," Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner presented a paper entitled, "How Should we Define the Spiritual in Contradistinction to the Natural?" Rev. Ormond Odhner submitted a paper on "The Reciprocal in the Glorification," and Rev. Elmo C. Acton addressed himself to the subject, "Are Conjugial Pairs Born?" In addition, the Program Committee provided a panel discussion, of the Religion Curriculum, extending over two sessions, which was introduced by the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Chairman. The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal discussed the curriculum from the standpoint of the Committee on General Church Religion Lessons; the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson spoke on the curriculum in the Elementary Schools; the Rev. K. R. Alden outlined the curriculum used in the Boys Academy and the Girls' Seminary, and the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner described the College curriculum, his treatment being supplemented by the Rev. William Whitehead.

     With two planned sessions, and more papers being offered than for some years past, there was less time than usual for consideration of practical matters. But a short discussion of "The Communion Cup" was introduced by the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, and the Rev. Ormond Odhner addressed the Council briefly on the subject of "Sex in Plants."

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In the course of the sessions, several resolutions were passed. The Bishop was again asked to appoint a committee to prepare a program for two sessions of the next Annual Meetings; and the Secretary was instructed to reply to a letter of greeting from the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith; also to thank the committees of ladies who so kindly and graciously served refreshments during the morning recesses, and to express to the General Church Committee on Sound Recording the Council's interest in, and appreciation of, its initial work.

     The Open Session of the Council was held on Friday, February 3, following the usual Friday Supper of the Bryn Athyn Church. Bishop de Charms presided, and the address was given by the Rev. Morley D. Rich, who spoke on "Typical States of the Church." As this address is to be published, we note only that it was discussed appreciatively by several speakers.

     Although not actually a part of the Annual Council Meetings, the various social gatherings held are always among the high lights of the week Bishop and Mrs. de Charms entertained the clergy at a delightful luncheon at their home on the Tuesday, and in the evening of the following day there was an equally delightful Social Supper in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Hugo Lj. Odhner, at which the subject of "The Degrees of the Priesthood," was further discussed. Mr. Raymond Pitcairn was again host at two luncheon parties for members of the Joint Council, and the week ended with a dinner party for members of the Joint Council and their wives, given by Mr. and Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn.
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

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DEGREES OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND THEIR RESPECTIVE FUNCTIONS 1950

DEGREES OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND THEIR RESPECTIVE FUNCTIONS        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1950

     (Delivered before the Council of the Clergy, January 31, 1950.)

     This subject was chosen in response to a request from members of the Council, which indicates that there are doubts and questions in the minds of our ministers that should be clarified by open discussion.
     Unfortunately I have not been able to give the matter the careful study and research it deserves, and I can do little more than introduce the subject for your consideration.
     So far as I have been able to discover, there has been no systematic presentation of teaching that bears upon the degrees in the Priesthood since the days of Bishop Benade. The question came up for public debate very early in the development of the New Church in America, and a sharp difference of opinion arose among the ministers of the General Convention. The Rev. Richard De Charms (Sr.) was a champion of the belief in a trinal order in the Priesthood as being clearly taught in the Writings, and essential to the Divine institution of the New Church. He was ably supported in this view by the Rev. David Powell, and others; but the view was violently opposed by other leading ministers and by influential laymen. Finally, Mr. De Charms prepared a Report on the subject and presented it to the Central Convention.
     This report turned out to be a book of more than 700 pages, including an historical sketch as to the rise and development of the question both in England and in America, as well as an exhaustive compilation of material from the Writings relative to the question. It attempted to show the necessity for a trine from the letter of the Word, as indicated both by the order of the Jewish Priesthood as instituted through Moses, and by the order of the Christian Priesthood as instituted by the Lord Himself at the beginning of the Primitive Christian Church.

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It presented an argument for a trine in the New Church Priesthood based on direct statements of the Writings, and on the clear teaching that representatives were not abolished by the Lord at His Second Coming; and finally it contained some concrete suggestions as to the proper form that should be adopted for the ministerial trine in the New Church.
     If anyone wishes to get a vivid picture of the trials through which the Church has passed in the development of this doctrine, and a thorough survey of the grounds on which it has been both championed and opposed, I recommend that he read this Report on the Trine, published in 1848 at Baltimore. In order to give the essence of the position taken by Mr. De Charms, especially as to the nature of this trine, I have selected from the Report the following brief extracts:

     "In the priesthood of the Christian Church there must be a trios of priests, even if it is only the priesthood of the natural degree. There must he a grade of priests whose specific province it is to make disciples; another whose specific province it is to baptize alt nations: and a third with the province of teaching them the Lord's commandments. (Referring to the Lord's commission to the Disciples in Matthew 28: 19-20: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.")
     "That the priests of the Christian Priesthood should he in the order of discrete degrees, just as the priests of the Levitical Priesthood were, appears from the discreteness of their sacraments. For Swedenborg teaches that the two Christian Sacraments are as two gates, between which there is a plane to be passed over. (T. C. R. 721.) By the first is introduction into the Church through truth and the life of it; and by the second is introduction into heaven through good and the life of it. Hence the Supper is as discrete from Baptism as good is discrete from truth; and Baptism is as subordinate to the Supper as truth is to good.
     Again, Swedenborg compares the two sacraments to a "double temple, one of which is below and the other above. In the lower the Gospel of the Lord's new Advent is preached, and also regeneration and consequent salvation by Him: from this temple, near the altar, is an ascent to the upper temple where the Holy Supper is celebrated, and from thence is a passage into heaven, where the worshipers are received by the Lord." (T. C. R. 669.) Hence the priest who administers Baptism should be as discrete from and subordinate to the priest who administers the Supper as the first story of a house is discrete from and subordinate to its second story." (P. 490.)

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     "We adopt," he continues elsewhere, "the ministerial arrangements of the apostolic church, which was the Christian Church as established by the Lord through His apostles, in its infancy; and we would have in our ministry the trine of apostles, pastors, and teachers. These ministers should be discrete and subordinate according to the extent of their sphere and the scope of their jurisdiction. . .
     "As to the trinal functions of the New Church ministry, the following short passage from Swedenborg's Writings sufficiently, though very succinctly, displays them. Explaining Rev. 19: 7. 'And, His wife hath made herself ready,' he says: 'This signifies that they who are to be of the Lords Church, which is the New Jerusalem, will be collected, initiated, and instructed.' (A. R. 813.) Here is most evidently the proof of a trine in the New Church ministry, at the same time that it is the indication of the precise nature of its threefold functions. To collect is evidently the function of the highest officer, because it is bringing together from the most extended sphere of official operation. To initiate is evidently the function of the lowest officer, because it is insinuating elementary principles, or introducing as it were at a door, which is the least extended sphere of official operation. And to instruct is without question the function of a pastor who holds the grade intermediate between the highest and the lowest. It is, then, the function of an apostle to collect, or gather into the fold. It is the function of the teacher to initiate those who are gathered into the elementary principles of religion. And it is the function of the pastor to feed the collected and initiated flock, that is, to instruct them in higher principles." (Pp. 565-6.)

     This gives by no means an adequate picture of the ministerial trine advocated by Mr. De Charms, but it is perhaps sufficient to impart a general idea of his position in the matter. He bases his contention mainly, however, on the teaching of the Writings that there are three Infinite and Uncreate degrees of altitude in the Lord, and that from Him there are three finite and created degrees in all things of the universe that truly represent Him. Since it is universally recognized that the Priesthood represents the Lord, this also, if it is in order, must have three discrete degrees, of use or function, and therefore of officers, in just subordination.
     The length of the Report, its obvious scholarship, and its appeal to the Divine Authority of the Writings, were all of no avail in accomplishing its purpose. The Central Convention was out of favor with the General Convention centered in Boston, and the proposals of Mr. De Charms were ignored. Yet the Report served to plant in the minds of all who locked to the Writings as the source of Authority the seed that sprang up later with the founding of the Academy.

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     The controversy was as far from settled as ever when, in 1873, the Committee on Ecclesiastical Affairs was asked by the General Convention, then meeting in Cincinnati, to present a report on the subject of grades in the ministry. William Henry Benade was appointed to prepare that report on behalf of the Committee, and he presented it at the following meeting of the General Convention. He followed in general the same line of argument as that adopted by Mr. De Charms, pleading for a trine in the Priesthood of the New Church on the basis of the Jewish Priesthood, the Christian Priesthood as inaugurated by the Lord, and the principles of order clearly taught in the Writings. We merely quote here his specific proposals:

     1. "The third or highest office of the priesthood, which is the office of government, shall he called the Episcopal Office, the office of overseeing and governing; and the High Priest who ministers therein shall he named Superintendent, or Presiding Minister, or Bishop.
     2. "The second or middle office of the priesthood which is the office of worship, shall he called the Pastoral Office, the office of feeding the flock; and the priest who ministers therein shall he named Pastor.
     3. "The first or lowest office of the priesthood, which is the office of instruction, shall he called the Teaching Office, the office of teaching doctrine which is serviceable for worship and government; and the priest who ministers therein shall he called Teaching Minister, or simply Minister, as expressing generally the ministering character of the various degrees of the office to which the first is the introduction."

     Bishop Benade further defines the functions of these several degrees of the Priesthood as follows:

     1. "The uses and duties of the office of Superintendent or Presiding Minister, or Bishop, shall be, in addition to the uses and duties of the other offices, which are included in the highest office of the priesthood, the government of the church by the preservation of order among the priests or governors themselves, by the supervision of all things related to the Divine Law and Worship and Instruction, in the district assigned to him; the ordination of other ministers, and the dedication of temples or houses of worship.
     2. "The uses and duties of the office of Pastor, in addition to the uses and duties of the office last in degree, shall he to administer the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper; to consecrate marriages; to have charge and government of a society over which he is placed, and of the Sunday School and other institutions belonging thereto; and to teach and prepare students in theology for the work of the priesthood.
     3. "The uses and duties of the office of Teacher shall be to teach and preach the Word according to the Heavenly Doctrines of the Church; by means of truth to lead to the good of life; and to superintend the Sunday School of the Society with which he is connected." (Pp. 84, 85.)

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     We should add that Bishop Benade recommended that a Minister should remain in the first degree not less than three years, and that a Pastor should remain in the second degree not less than nine years. (Pp. 86, 87.)

     It will of course be noted that in this latter report both Sacraments were to be included in the duties of the Pastoral Degree, and neither of them was assigned to the Ministerial Degree. On the other hand, in the earlier report, the distinction between the first and second degrees was marked by the distinction between these two Sacraments as indicated in the Writings. That is, the chief representative function of the first degree was Baptism, and the chief representative function of the second degree was the Holy Supper.
     It should be remembered that both these reports were based on theory rather than on practice; and, so far as I know, when the Academy became a Church with its own priestly order, Baptism was actually assigned to the first degree, and the Holy Supper to the second.

     I take for granted that there is no question now in the General Church as to the necessity of a trinal order in the Priesthood. There appears to be doubt, however, in regard to two things, namely, whether these degrees should be distinguished by representative priestly functions, or whether they should be purely a matter of government, and jurisdiction; and secondly, if they are matters of representative function, which functions properly belong to each degree.
     In introducing the subject for general discussion, I shall confine myself, therefore, to a brief presentation of my personal view in regard to these two questions.
     It is recognized by all of us that the Priesthood is not a human, but a Divine institution. It is a use to which men are called by the Lord. It is not conferred by the Church through the rite of ordination. That rite is merely a public recognition and acknowledgment of the Call. Because the Church does not confer the Priesthood on any man, it cannot take it away. However, the right to exercise the functions of the Priesthood-the functions connected with the government of the Church-can and must be determined by the Church, in order that government may be exercised only with the consent of the governed A priest cannot be unfrocked by any ecclesiastical law.

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However, without in the least detracting from his prerogatives as a priest, his ministrations in the priestly office can be invited or withheld; they can be given, and withdrawn.
     Just as Baptism is introduction into the internal and spiritual New Church, but not into any human organization thereof, so ordination is into the Priesthood of the New Church, but not into any organic body of the Priesthood, or of the Church. For this reason, it has been our custom immediately after ordination for the Bishop to receive the newly ordained priest into the organized Priesthood of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and thus constitute him a member of the Council of the Clergy. Even this gives him no authority to govern the members of any group, circle, or society of the General Church. It merely makes him eligible for a Call or invitation from some society to become their Minister or Pastor or Presiding Bishop. Here then are two distinct things, the Call to the priestly office, which is from the Lord alone; and the invitation to exercise that function which must come from the members of the Church.
     Now it appears to me that since the Priesthood is a Divine Institution; and since, as such, it is representative of the Lord, in whom there are three Infinite and Uncreate degrees of altitude; therefore, in the Priesthood as representing Him, there must be three finite and created decrees all of which have their origin, not in man, but in the Lord Himself. If the Priesthood is conferred by the Lord alone, does it not follow that the degrees inherent in it from the Lord must also be conferred by Him alone? If the Priesthood itself can neither be given nor taken away by the Church, does it not follow that none of its degrees can be either given or taken away by the Church?
     I would hold, therefore, that, just as the Call to the Priesthood comes from the Lord, and is merely recognized by the Church in the rite of ordination, so the Call to each degree is from the Lord alone. It should then properly be recognized by ordination, and when so recognized, it cannot be withdrawn by men.
     This cannot be said of any governmental position in the Church.

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If the degrees in the Priesthood are made a matter of government, then they are subject to the will of the governed, by which we mean that they are subject to the consent of the governed. All governmental positions must be conferred by the Church, and they can be withheld, or withdrawn. If the degrees are matters of government, then, while we recognize the Priesthood as a Divine institution, we must proclaim the degrees in the Priesthood to be a human institution. This is tantamount to saying that there are no degrees in the Priesthood, but only degrees in the exercise of priestly government, which degrees are determined, not by the Lord, but by the Church. A man then would belong to a specific degree only so long as he held a specific governmental position, and the degree would be taken away from him whenever for any reason that position was relinquished. This, as you know, was the position held by the General Convention According to the order adopted in that body, there was only one degree in the Priesthood: but one who became the head of a State Association was, by virtue of that fact, recognized as a General, or Ordaining Pastor, whose right to ordain was relinquished when he ceased to be the head of a State Association.
     In the Academy and the General Church, from their beginning, it has always been held that, because the Priesthood is of the Lord alone, therefore its discrete degrees also are of Him alone. He calls men to them. He confers them: and the Church, by ordination in each instance, merely recognizes that Divine Call, and publicly acknowledges it. I believe that this is in accord with the teaching of the Writings, which indicates that if there are three degrees in the Priesthood, these are of Divine origin, of Divine order and institution. If this be true, men can neither give them, nor take them away.

     Certainly the degrees in the priestly office were represented in the Jewish Church by Aaron, his sons, and the tribe of Levi. In regard to Aaron and his sons, we are told in A. C. 10017:

     "And the priesthood shall be with them. That this signifies the Lord as to the work of salvation in successive order, is evident from the signification of the priesthood as being a representative of the Lord as to all the work of salvation. That it denotes in successive order is because the subject here treated of is the priesthood of the sons of Aaron, and by his sons are represented the things which proceed, thus which succeed in order.

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The case herein is this. The priesthood, which is represented by Aaron is the work of salvation of those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, which kingdom is properly understood in the Word by the "kingdom of priests"; but the priesthood which is represented by the sons of Aaron is the work of salvation of those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, which proceeds next from His celestial kingdom. Hence it is that by the "priesthood' here is meant the Lord's work of salvation in successive order. But the priesthood which is represented by the Levites is the Lord's work of salvation again proceeding from the form. There are three things which succeed in order: the celestial which is the good of love to the Lord; the spiritual which is the good of charity toward the neighbor; and the natural thence derived which is the good of faith."

     Is it not evident that this trine in the Priesthood has its origin in the trine in the Lord? And is not this trine represented by discretely different priestly functions, rather than by governmental positions. We find this trine represented over and over again in the Old Testament, in the establishment of the Christian Church by the Lord as indicated in the New Testament, and by what is said about the Priesthood in the Writings.
     For instance it is said in Ezekiel, concerning the Priesthood to be established among the Jews of the restoration: "The priests, the keeper of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the Lord to minister unto Him" (Ezekiel 40: 46.) Here Zadok occupied the highest degree, his sons the intermediate degree, and the Levites the lowest degree.
     In the Primitive Christian Church there were, as we learn from I Corinthians 12: 28, "First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teaches:
     In The Christian Religion 106 we find the familiar passage indicating a trinal order in every Priesthood, and thus in the Priesthood of the New Church. Speaking of the two states of exinanition and glorification, these are compared to a state of preparation and one of achievement, as in the case of "any student who is being prepared for the ministry before he becomes a priest, and of the priest before he becomes a pastor, and of the pastor before he becomes a primate."
     It seems clear to me, therefore, that the weight of Divine Revelation is consistently on the side of a trinal order in the Priesthood which is representative of the Divine Celestial, the Divine Spiritual, and the Divine Natural in the Lord, and thus of the Lord's work of salvation in successive order, on each plane of human life.

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     If this be admitted, then let us consider what are the appropriate functions representative of each of these Divinely ordained degrees of the priestly office.
     We see these three degrees clearly depicted in the three heavens. They are defined in the Writings as the good of love to the Lord, which is celestial, the good of charity toward the neighbor, which is spiritual, and the good of faith which is natural. In the heavens, love to the Lord is that which governs, because it endows the angels with an inner perception of uses, and in this perception true wisdom consists. Charity toward the neighbor imparts enlightenment, illustration, intellectual insight, and thus genuine intelligence. The good of faith opens the mind to knowledge, acknowledgment, and obedience.
     If we analyze these three in reverse order we will note that the good of faith is introductory. It is the gate of entrance into the Church. This entrance is effected through instruction in the truths of the Word,-instruction at first received on the authority of others in whom there is confidence, rather than upon interior understanding. Everyone who comes into the Church, whether in infancy or in adult age, must enter through this gate. There must first be a knowledge of the generals of truth-what are called in the Writings "introductory truths." These can be acknowledged, but they cannot be interiorly understood until this knowledge has multiplied and advanced from the barest generals to more and more particulars.
     Baptism is a confession of one's desire for instruction, together with the full recognition that one's knowledge, and therefore one's judgment, is deficient, and is as yet dependent upon gentle leadership from others And the process of acquiring an adequate faith of one's own,-an independent faith based on personal knowledge and experience,-this is the plane which intervenes between Baptism and the Holy Supper. It seems to us, therefore, that Baptism is the appropriate, and indeed the foremost representative of the first or lowest degree of the priestly office And since Confession of Faith is but the confirmation of Baptism, it has the same representation. And, together with Baptism as a representative Sacrament, goes necessarily the function of teaching the Doctrines of the Church, in which alone the purpose of Baptism can be fulfilled.

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     While the newly ordained priest or minister is teaching, opening the gate of the Church to others, and leading them through that gate, he himself is advancing along that plane of priestly function which leads to the second or intermediate degree. His own knowledge, freshly gained from theological school, is theoretical, not yet tempered by experience. In gaining this experience, in attaining a seasoned understanding of the profession he can be greatly helped by intimate association with a Pastor. If he is employed as an assistant to the Pastor of a society, he can observe at firsthand the practical working of the Priesthood before he is called upon to take individual responsibility for it.
     We think, therefore, that the first degree of the ministry is that of a teacher under the sympathetic guidance of an experienced Pastor, and that the representative badge of his office is properly the Sacrament of Baptism. Ideally, every minister should have the benefit of this training, appropriate to his stage of progression into the priestly office, for at least two or three years after his ordination. In the pioneer condition, confronting the Church at this day, however, this ideal can only occasionally be realized. Fortunately the Lord provides for an advancement of state more quickly, due to the necessity of assuming responsibilities. But often, when this is done, there is danger of exposing the young minister to errors of immaturity that sometimes have serious consequences, even to the point of endangering his entire future in the work he loves.
     If Baptism is a fitting representative of the first degree of the Priesthood, the Holy Supper is equally appropriate to the second degree. Here is the holiest symbol of worship. In it is represented the conjunction of truth with good in use. It is the marriage feast of the lord as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride. It depicts that stage in regeneration when man passes over from the priority of truth to the priority of good, and introduces to that charity which spiritually makes the Church. It is the great concern of the pastoral office to impart an interior understanding of the Word, to rouse the spiritual love of truth, and to impart that deeper insight which is born of charity in the heart. It is the Pastor's responsibility to feed those who have entered through the gate, that they may grow in spiritual intelligence and wisdom, that their first knowledge and acknowledgment may mature into ever deeper understanding.

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     For this reason, as well as for practical considerations, we believe also that the rite of marriage belongs properly to this degree. Not only does it call for mature judgment to deal with the problems arising out of the Doctrine of Marriage within the Church, but for wise counselling of young couples, and for tender handling of the first states of love. Is not the conjugial marriage of one man and one woman the human representative of the marriage of the Lord and the Church, which is pictured in the Holy Supper?
     Again, we think that the government of a Society of the Church, or the pastoral care of those smaller nuclei from which it is hoped that societies may arise, is the special function of the pastoral degree. And together with this goes the dedication of homes, and supervision over the education of the young.
     But there is need also for "order among the governors, lest any one, from caprice or ignorance, should permit evils which are contrary to order, and thereby destroy it," as we are told in N. J. H. D. 313. "This is guarded against," the number continues" when there are superior and inferior governors, among whom there is subordination." There is need for coordination among all the varied parts and diverse uses of the entire ecclesiastical body, in order to provide unity of purpose and of action. And since the quality of the Church is according to the quality of its Priesthood, it is necessary for the protection of unity, and of the integrity of doctrine and life, that ordination into the Priesthood should be performed from a regard to the welfare of the entire Church. And finally, the dedication of church buildings, or houses of worship, should be regarded as an episcopal function. It appears to me that all the activities above mentioned, because they are of such paramount importance to the Church as a whole, obviously belong to the third or highest degree of the Priesthood.
     Referring specially to ordination, however, it should be noted that, while the Call to the priestly office, and to each successive degree thereof, is of the Lord alone, a human element inevitably enters into the recognition of that Divine Call by the Church. A man may have a love for the salvation of souls which constitutes such a Call, and yet he may suffer from human limitations which make it impossible for him to enter upon the use of the Priesthood during his life on earth.

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He may, for instance, be lacking in the required education, and may be unable, for various reasons, to obtain that education. He may be suffering from physical handicaps, either of body or brain, or of both, that render him incapable of meeting the needs of the Church as a priest here on earth, although, when these deficiencies are removed after death, he may enter upon that use in the other life. Again, at a certain stage of his life, a young man may be emotionally stirred to the point of imagining that the Priesthood is his life's love, when actually, as he later discovers, it is not.
     It is obvious that a certain measure of human judgment is necessary, for the protection both of the individual and of the Church. But such judgment should be exercised with the utmost care, and with due restraint. It should be exercised only in accord with a deep reverence for the sacred nature of the Call, and with a sole desire to act in accord with the Lord's Will, and His Providence.
     It is right that there should be standards of educational achievement, to insure adequate preparation for the use. But these should not be the sole determining factor in recognition. Such standards may be modified, and definitely lowered in special cases, when other considerations appear more weighty. The final criterion must be the best and most reliable human judgment available.
     Such judgment belongs to the highest office of the Priesthood, in consultation with the Faculty of the Theological School, the Consistory, and others best qualified to give advice in the matter. If such judgment is made sincerely and justly, in accord with the established order of the Church, and from the most exalted principles of the Heavenly Doctrine, we believe that it will be under the government of the Lord, who has regard above all else to the spiritual and eternal welfare, both of the individual and of the Church. The same thing applies to ordination into the second and third degrees of the Priesthood. For here also a measure of human judgment is essential to recognition. The true exercise of such judgment in no way detracts from the Divine nature of the Call, for then the end and purpose in view is solely to implement that Call, and make it effective in the practical administration of ecclesiastical affairs, and this is the primary responsibility of the priestly office.

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     These then, are my personal thoughts on the subject of the Degrees of the Priesthood, and I merely express them for your kind consideration. They are, of course, open to modification in the light of other teachings from the Writings that may be brought to bear upon them, or under the influence of other cogent considerations and reasoned conclusions such as may be put forward by the members of this Council. I would invite therefore a free and candid discussion of the question thus introduced.
JOINT COUNCIL 1950

JOINT COUNCIL       Various       1950

     FEBRUARY 4, 1950.


     The fifty-sixth regular joint meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was held in the Council Chamber of the Bryn Athyn Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on February 4, 1950. Bishop George de Charms, who presided, opened the meeting with prayer and reading from the Word at 10 a.m. The following members were present:

     OF THE CLERGY: the Rt. Rev. Messrs. George de Charms. Alfred Acton, and Willard D. Pendleton; the Rev. Messrs A. Wynne Acton, Karl R. Alden, William B. Caldwell, Harold C. Cranch, Charles E. Doering, Frederick E. Gyllenhaal, W. Cairns Henderson, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Ormond de C. Odhner, Norman H. Reuter, Morley D. Rich, Raymond G. Cranch, Vincent C. Odhner, Kenneth O. Stroh. (17)
     OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Messrs. Daric E. Acton, Kesniel C. Acton, Edwin T. Asplundh, Lester Asplundh, Edward C. Bostock, Geoffrey S. Childs, Randolph W. Childs, Edward H. Davis, Richard R. Gladish, Theodore N. Glenn, Hubert Hyatt, Philip C. Pendleton, Harold F. Pitcairn, Raymond Pitcairn, Arthur Synnestvedt. (15)

     1. The MINUTES of the 55th regular meeting were adopted as printed in the NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1949, pp. 159-164.
     2. Mr. Lester Asplundh, chairman of the Committee for Arrangements for the NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY, to be held in Bryn Athyn. Pa., June 14-19, 1950 reported that the principal committees had been formed of experienced personnel; the catering had been contracted for, and extra housing accommodation had been arranged for with Beaver College.

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There should be no necessity of overcrowding Bryn Athyn homes. It was planned that various Bryn Athyn homes could hold "open house" for the visitors on different days during the Assembly. The cooperation of the young people had been pledged. A twenty-dollar fee would cover meals and accommodation for visitors for the five days of the Assembly, but the supper on June 14, the evening of the Reception, had to be handled separately, with the cooperation of the Civic and Social Club. Information literature would be sent mat shortly to all members and societies of the General Church.
     Many speakers complimented Mr. Asplundh on a forehanded, efficient and modest report, which, on motion, was accepted with thanks. A visiting minister commented appreciatively on the work so cheerfully undertaken by the host-society.
     3. The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Secretary of the COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY, stated that so far 26 ministers had reported. Despite a good deal of travelling done on the part of some ministers, the regular work of the societies had not been curtailed. The Report would be published in NEW CHURCH LIFE. (See page 169.)
     4. The Report of the SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH was submitted, summarized, and accepted without reading. (See page
165.)
     5. The Secretary of the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, Mr. Edward H. Davis, submitted two reports, which were duly accepted. One was the Report of THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM, INCORPORATED, a corporation of Illinois. The other was the Report of THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM, INCORPORATED, a corporation of Pennsylvania, which has been formed to carry on the work of the Illinois corporation. (See pp. 175, 176.)
     6. Mr. Hubert Hyatt, TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH reported verbally. (See written Report, page 177.)
     7. After a recess, the meeting discussed the Treasurer's Report, which, on motion, was received. Mr. Philip C. Pendleton stated that, owing to the magnificent response of our societies, the ministerial salary plan for 1948 had involved an expense of only about $2550.
     8. The Rev. William B. Caldwell gave a verbal report as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE. (See page 181.)

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     9. The Rev. Fred. E. Gyllenhaal gave a report on the work of the General Church RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE which was accepted. (See page 183.) Appreciation was expressed for the able direction and capable work supplied by Mr. Gyllenhaal, both in connection with the Religion Lessons and as Editor of the PARENT TEACHER JOURNAL. It was urged that those receiving the JOURNAL ought to be billed promptly.
     10. For the COMMITTEE ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION, Bishop de Charms reported that, during and after the war, progress in the Mission had been at a virtual standstill, and it had been difficult even to maintain our present uses effectively. On his visit in 1948, he had met with the leaders and the superintendent. Until then, restrictions on travel and the lack of funds had made such meetings difficult. Delay in the settlement of property questions had also held up developments. In 1948, on Mr. Elphick's recommendations, eight native ministers had been raised to the pastoral degree and three had been ordained into the first degree. Two students are being given theological training in their spare time. Some native groups, one near Johannesburg and one in Bulwer, Natal, have made progress towards erecting their own churches. At Kent Manor, Zululand, a considerable society has grown up. But the Kent Manor property belongs to the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, and is used by our mission under a temporary agreement, even as our mission station at Alpha, O.F.S., was used at first by the Basuto mission. A plan for an exchange of these properties has now been worked out by Mr. Edward C. Bostock, and this is acceptable to both parties.
     In order to sustain the mission, the General Church must provide two things, namely, a Pastor to act as superintendent, and a Theological School where young natives may be trained for the ministry. Mr. Elphick will soon need assistance, as he can no longer be expected to travel as much as formerly. As to the theological school, there have been some suggestions for cooperation between the General Conference and the General Church in South Africa, but it was doubted that this would meet the situation.
     Mr. Edward C. Bostock reported on the progress of negotiations looking to the exchange of our Alpha mission property (which is not now used by either body) for a considerable section of the Kent Manor farmland now used by our mission.

163


He pointed out that the mission also needed a house in Durban which could serve as headquarters and a residence for the superintendent, and certain other equipment which altogether would involve a considerable initial expense.
     Mr. Hubert Hyatt stated that the annual expense of the mission during the period in which the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn assumed sole responsibility for its financial support had grown to a stun greater than that which the General Church then spent on all its other uses. Now it was limited to some $6700 a year. The policy for the future was to confine expenses so far as possible to administrative uses and to the preparation of ministers.
     Mr. Philip C. Pendleton pointed the present issue-whether to go on with this work or not. Expenses are not likely to decrease. And periodically we may expect a special large expenditure such as that with which we are now faced. He noted that the present personnel was tested as to zeal, conviction, and loyalty, and was worthy of any support we could give.
     The Re;'. Raymond G. Cranch spoke of the excellent quality of the work of the present native ministers, and felt that there could be no question of withdrawing from the work. Other speakers also referred to the quality of the papers of native ministers published in the LIFE. Reference was made to an existent fund which was especially designed to encourage mission work among the colored races. Such mission work as that in South Africa appealed strongly to many of us, and was carried on at very moderate cost. The wish was expressed that an interest could be aroused among some of our local members in Durban, in the administration and direction of the mission.
     The Rev. Harold C. Cranch pointed to three fundamental uses indicated in the Writings,-to train ourselves in the truth, to educate our children, and to make the doctrine known to all nations. The last use is represented in the mission field in South Africa. We are morally bound to support this use. "We need them more than they need us." In the beginning we have to train leaders according to our own standards and methods, yet seeking to interfere as little as possible with the genius of the natives.

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Gradually they must take over the work, and raise their own pastors according to their own concepts and needs, and within their own standards of living.
     Several speakers urged that our support should be continued, and the Bishop summed up the general sentiment by saying that we had assumed certain obligations which we could not ignore; that some increased expenditures may be necessary at this time, but that we are under no obligation to exceed our ability.
     It was moved that we receive with gratitude the reports of the Bishop and Mr. Bostock.
     11. Regrets were expressed that time did not allow for the consideration of the Reports of the COMMITTEE ON NEW CHURCH SERMONS and of the COMMITTEE ON SOUND RECORDINGS.
     12. By a rising vote, the Council expressed their affection and esteem for their brother, the late Donald Merrell, and voted to inscribe a resolution on the Minutes:

     In testifying our love and respect for our brother, DONALD MERRELL whose earthly span of forty-nine years came to a close last April, we think of him as a New Churchman of high mettle, strong of conviction and zealous for the welfare of the General Church; a man marked by a deep love for the Church and for all its uses, spiritual, doctrinal, educational, and temporal. He was a student of the Writings since his student days in the Academy. He staunchly championed the extension of our ministrations to our widely scattered groups. He was a good and cheerful comrade in mar work, and his voice and presence will be missed among us.
     13. The Secretary was instructed to convey thanks to the Women's Guild for providing coffee and other refreshments each morning during the meetings of the Council of the Clergy and the Joint Council.
     14. The meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m.

165


ANNUAL REPORTS 1950

ANNUAL REPORTS       Various       1950

     SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     The year 1949 brought an increase of 52 persons to the total membership of the General Church. 102 new members were received, 39 deaths were reported, 4 persons reigned, and 7 names were dropped from the roll. On Jan. 1 1950, our membership stood at 2568, of whom 1530 reside in the United States of America, and 1038 abroad.
     
Membership, Jan. 1, 1949                                   2516
     (U.S.A.-1496, Abroad-1020)
New Members (Certificates nos. 3872-3936 and 3935-3974)     102      (U.S.A.-47, Abroad-55)
Deaths (U.S.A-12. Abroad-27)               39
Resignations (Abroad-4)                    4
Dropped from roll (U.S.A-1, Abroad-6)          7
     Losses                                   50
     Net gain in membership                                   52
Membership on Jan. 1, 1950                                   2568
      (U.S.A.-1530. Abroad-1038)

     NEW MEMBERS.

     January 1, 1949 to December 31, 1949.

     A.     THE UNITED STATES.

     Tucson, Arizona.
Mr. Dan Nixon Wilson.

     Corona, California.
Mrs. Lambeth Lovick (Gladys Viola Burton) Wilson.

     Milford, Connecticut.
Mr. Donoch Willoughby Lynch.

     Chicago, Illinois.
Mr. William Henry Brannon.
Mr. Robert Louis Riefstahl.

     Glenview, Illinois.
Mr. Donald Edward Alan.
Mr. Franklin Earle Dowling.
Mr. David Francis Gladish.
Mr. Kenneth Perry Holmes.
Mrs. William F. (Annabel Teets) Junge.
Miss Gwendolyn McQueen.
Mr. Kenneth Theodore McQueen.
Miss Marylin McQueen.
Miss Dorothy Price.
Mr. Hubert Osborne Rydstrom.
Mr. Arthur Surbridge Wille.

     Highland Park, Illinois.
Mr. Chester Ellsworth Huestis.
Mrs. Chester E. (Marion Parker) Huestis.

     Rockford, Illinois.
Mr. Pierre Raoul Vinet.

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     Baltimore, Maryland.
Mr. David Philip Green.
Mrs. David P. (Elisabeth Langan) Green.
Mrs. Ethel Blanche Herrman Green.

     Ferndale, Michigan.
Mr. Alfred Schoenberger.

     Bryn     Athyn and vicinity, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Alfred C. Busse.
Mr. George Bruce Clymer.
Mr. Marvin John Gunther.
Mr. Robert Rex Herder.
Mr. Elwood Mark Ludwick.
Mrs. Elwood M. (Althea May Lyman) Ludwick.
Miss Evangeline Lyman.
Miss Sarah Forbes Pendleton.
Miss Anna May Fusselman Pleat.
Miss Virginia Marie Pleat.
Mr. Frank Shirley Rose.
Mr. Rosier Allen Smith.
Mr. Weston Lane Smith.
Mrs. Gustaf Walfrid (Hulda Sophia Oberg) Soneson.
Miss Cornelia Crafton Vaughan.
Miss Julia Boggess Waelchli.

     Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Harry Davidson Abele, Jr.
Mr. Philip Clark Horigan.
Miss Miriam Smith.

     Lakewood, Ohio.
Miss Alice Tindle Fuller.

     Springfield, Ohio.
Mrs. Frederick E. (Harriet Dodson Beals) Merrell.

     Walla Walla, Washington.
Miss Marion Delores Johns.
Miss Antonia Ernestine Pribilsky.

     Madison, Wisconsin.
Mr. Theophilus John Kern.

     B. BRAZIL.

     Rio de Janeiro.
Snr Miguel de Castro Agres.
Snr Mario de Barros.
Snra Rosa Delissanti Villela de Barros.
Sora Alcides Neves Castro (Lucia) Bastos.
Snr Jorge Chalitha.
Mr. Roy William Claxton.
Snr Michele Maria Delissanti.
Sora Michele M. (Angelina Gianelli) Delissanti.
Snr Jose Lopes de Figueiredo.
Snr Henry Levindo Leonardos.
Snra Henry L. (Wanda Arauso) Leonardos.
Snr Roberto Barreto Leonardos.
Snr Alberto Carlos Brandao de Mendonca Lima.
Snra Alberto C. B. (Elza Martinelli) de Mendonca Lima.
Snra Enio (Carlinda Macedo) de Mendonca Lima.
Srta Dicea Leonardos da Silva Lima.
Snr Helios Leonardos da Silva Lima.
Srta Norma Leonardos da Silva Lima.
Srta Sonia Leonardos da Silva Lima.
Snra Casemiro O. (Affonsina de Roure) Nunes.
Snra Mareode (Nathalina Correa) de Padua.
Snra Jesus de Oliveira (Ailde de Roure) Pacs.
Mr. James Roberts.
Snr Aurco Bastos de Roure.
Srta Vera Bastos de Roure.
Srta Lea Villela,
Snr Levindo Alves Villela.

     C. CANADA.

     Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
Miss Anna Noelle Heinrichs.

     Kitchener, Ontario.
Miss Janet Beata Hasen.
Mr. John Stephen Hasen.
Mrs. Philip Owen (Anne Smith Menzies) Heinrichs.

     Toronto and vicinity, Ontario.
Mr. Philip Ernest Bellinger.
Miss Vera Phyllis Izzard.
Mr. Ronald Alan Smith.

     Montreal, Quebec.
Mrs. Desmond (Martha Epp) McMaster.

     D. GREAT BRITAIN.

     Mistley, Essex.
Miss Dorothy Mary Williams.

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     New Barking, Essex.
Miss Patricia Mary Lewin.
Miss Olive Norma Lewin.

     London.
Miss Maud Emily Law.

     Wembley, Middlesex.
Mrs. Victor Rudolph (Kathleen Alice Bickell) Tilson.

     Balmore by Torrance, Scotland.
Mr. James Clarkson.

     Glasgow, Scotland.
Mr. Norman Turner.

     D. FRANCE.

     Les Lilas, Seine.
Mrs. Paul Lesieur, nee Paulette Cormier.

     E. DENMARK.

     Amager.
Mr. Jorgen Ulrik Estrup Hansen.
Miss Kirsten Estrup Hansen.
Miss Telse Birgit Estrup Hansen.

     F. NORWAY.

     Oslo.
Mr. Haakon Schulz.

     G. SWEDEN.

     Gothenburg.
Mrs. Olof (Felicitas Irene Johanna Adelheide) Sandstrom.

     Stockholm.
Mrs. Gosta M. (Marianne Liedstrand) Baeckstrom.
Mr. Roy Franson.
Mrs. Andreas (Gerda Kerstin Sofia Frodin) Sandstrom.

     Stromby.
Mr. Anton Thorell.
Mrs. Anton (Jenny Elizabeth Lindgren) Thorell.

     H. SOUTH AFRICA.

     Durban, Natal.
Mr. James Bennett Mumford.

     I. ASIA.

     Nabins, Palestine.
Miss Lamia Abbed.

     DEATHS.

     Reported during 1949.

Anderson, Miss Clara Mathilda, Apr. 18, 1949, Stockholm, Sweden.
Anger (Angerer), Mrs. Eliza Josephine (Porter), June 30, 1949, Clinton, Ill.
Ashley, Mrs. Herbert William (Jessie Maud Ball), England; information incomplete.
Barrera, Snr. Abilin Augusto, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; information incomplete.
Bellinger, Mr. Peter, Apr. 3, 1949, Toronto, Ont.
Berninger, Mr. Dominique, Dec. 5, 1949, Bethayres, Pa.
Blake, Mrs. George, Apr. 22, 1949, Portland, Ore.
Boericke, Mr. Edw. E., Aug. 10, 1949, Lansdowne, Pa.
Boyesen, Miss Anna, Oct. 5, 1949, Oslo, Norway.
Braga, Snra Carlos F. de Oliveira (Soares); information incomplete.
Burenstam, Mrs. Hedvig Charlotta, Apr. 9, 1949, Stockholm, Sweden.
Carter, Mr. Norman A., May 28, 1949, Toronto, Ont.
Carvalho, Snr. Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Castilho, Snr. Alvaro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
da Costa, Dr. Josh Pereira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Coutino, Sor. Jose de Lima, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Craig, Miss Christina, Apr. 17, 1949, Toronto, Ont.

168



Dibb, Mrs. Wallace N. (Lillian Enrietta Hansen), Jan. 31, 1949, San Diego, Calif.
Engeltjes, Mrs. Herman G. (Jeltje Jacoba Maat), Feb. 6, 1949, The Hague, Holland.
Francis, Mr. Emanuel, June 30, 1949, Rijswijk, Holland.
Gibb, Mr. Jesse Edgecombe, May 8, 1949, Durban, Natal.
Gilbert, Mrs. Fred. (Annie Laura Peppler), June 28, 1949, Kitchener, Ont.
Hollem, Mr. Howard Rauch, Oct. 20, 1949, Houston, Texas.
Kendig, Mr. Fred. Lewis, June 6, 1949, Magnolia Springs, Ala.
Leeds, Mr. Charles Carley, July 19, 1949, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Lemky, Mr. Johan, Gorand Prairie, Alberta, date unknown.
Lima, Cpt. Antonio C. da Silva, Rio de Janeiro.
MacDougall, Mrs. William (Irene Hachborn), of Galt, Ont.
Merrell, Mr. Donald, Apr. 23, 1949, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mumford, Mr. James Bennett, May 19, 1949, Durban, Natal.
Pitcairn, Mrs. John P. (Virginia Merriam Jaeschke), Apr. 12, 1949; lost at sea.
Raymond, Miss Doris M., Jan. 13, 1949, Toronto, Ont.
Shaw, Mrs. Lauriston E. (May Howard Spalding), July 5, 1949, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, England.
Smith, Mr. Elford, July 22, 1949, Cleveland, Ohio.
Somerville, Miss Blanche G. Guthrie, Jan. 11, 1949, Bryn Athyn, Penna. of Toronto, Ont.
Staddon, Mr. Percy Elias, Mch. 13, 1949, Chicago, Ill.
Thorell, Mrs. Anton (Jenny E. Lindgren), Oct. 29, 1949, Torsas, Sweden.
Wahlberg, Mr. Frans Ragnar, Feb. 7, 1945, Drottningholm, Sweden.
Xafredo, Snr Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     RESIGNATIONS.

Buithuis, Mr. H. W., The Hague, Holland.
Buithuis, Mrs. H. W., The Hague, Holland.
McGill, Mr. Andrew J. J., Hornchurch, Essex, England.
Tilsen, Mr. Rohert John, Wembley, Middlesex, England.

     DROPPED FROM THE ROLL.

Dean, Miss Ida A. (married name unknown) England (?).
Gallico, Mrs. Alfred H. (Gertrude Annie Wadsworth), London, England.
McCay, Mr. Charles Douglas, London, England
Peterson, Mr. Anders Pontus, Rockford, Ill., presumed to have died.
Roberts, Mr. Charles Ambrose, Norwich, England.
Roberts, Mrs. C. A. (Grace Monica Farey), Norwich, England.
Sackfield, Mr. Tom, Toronto, Ontario.
          Respectfully submitted,
               HUGO LJ. ODHNER.
                    Secretary.

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     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.

     January 1, 1949 to January 1, 1950.

     MEMBERSHIP.

     There were no deaths, or resignations from the Council, in 1949, and no ordinations took place. As in the previous year, therefore, the total membership of the Council of the Clergy is thirty-five.
     This total is made up of three priests of the Episcopal degree, twenty-eight of the Pastoral degree, and four of the Ministerial degree. Eight members of the Council are retired or engaged in secular work, but some of them assist from time to time in the work of the Church. There is also one priest of the Pastoral degree in the British Guiana Mission, and there are nine of the Pastoral degree and three of the Ministerial degree in the South African Mission. The Sock ties at The Hague, Paris, and in Australia are still served by Authorized Leaders. A list of the Clergy of the General Church and its Missions appear; in NEW CHURCH LIFE for December, 1949, pp. 567-570.


     STATISTICS.

     Statistics concerning the SACRAMENTS AND RITES of the Church administered during 1949, compiled from 26 reports received up to February 3, 1950, together with the final though still incomplete figures received for 1948, are as follows
                                   1949          1948
     Baptisms                         101          141          (-40)
     Holy Supper: Administrations          147          177          (-30)
          Communicants               2900          4208          (-1308)
     Confessions of Faith               42          27          (+15)
     Betrothals                          20          18          (+2)
     Marriages                         33          37          (-4)
     Funeral Services                     26          31          (-5)
     Ordinations                         0          2          (-2)
     Dedications (Homes)               5          6          (-1)

     As well as the Home Dedications mentioned there is reported the dedication of the addition to the Immanuel Church School building. Not included in the above figures, there were 13 Baptisms, 8 administrations of the Holy Supper, and 1 funeral in the South African Native Mission, and 3 marriages performed for the Rev. Philip N. Odhner, who was not then recognized as a Marriage Officer.

170




     REPORTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY.

     The Rt. Rev. George de Charms Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, and President of the Academy of the New Church, reports as follows:

     PASTORAL CHANGES: We have no Pastoral Changes to report for 1949.

     ASSEMBLIES AND EPISCOPAL VISITS: I presided at the Chicago District Assembly, held in Glenview, Ill., September 30th-October 2nd. In connection with this Assembly I dedicated the new addition to the Immanuel Church School building.
     I also presided at the Eastern Canada District Assembly, held in Kitchener, Ontario, October 8th-10th.
     During April and May I visited the New York, the Northern New Jersey, and Baltimore Circles, and the Advent Society in Philadelphia. During October and November I visited the Groups in Akron, Cleveland, Erie and Youngstown, the Detroit Circle, the Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Toronto Societies.

     NEW CIRCLES: In my report of last year I neglected to mention that on June 3rd, 1948, the Detroit Group was recognized and received as a Circle of the General Church; also that on November 26th. 1948, the Group in Tucson, Arizona, was recognized and received as a Circle of the General Church. On June 21st, 1949, the Group at Fort Worth, Texas, was recognized and received as a Circle of the General Church. These are encouraging signs of growth.

     COUNCIL MEETINGS: Since I was unable, for reasons of health, to attend the Annual Council Meetings, held in Bryn Athyn January 31st to February 5th, 1949, Bishop Willard D. Pendleton kindly presided in my stead.
     I presided however, at the Educational Council Meetings, held in Bryn Athyn August 22nd-27th.

     SOUND RECORDING: On October 31st. 1949. I appointed a Committee of the General Church on Sound Recording, under the Chairmanship of the Rev. Morley D. Rich. It is my hope that, through the activities of this Committee, it may be possible to increase considerably the ministrations to widely scattered Circles, Groups, and families of the Church, especially in English speaking countries. Also, we believe that the exchange of recordings will help to multiply contacts between Societies and individual members of the General Church, and thus serve as a stimulus toward unity of thought and mutual understanding.
     The Committee has undertaken its work with skill and enthusiasm, and I am confident that the uses of this new medium of communication will steadily increase.

     PASTOR OF THE BRYN ATHYN CHURCH.

     As Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, I preached seven times, addressed the Children's Service twice, and gave nine Doctrinal Lectures.

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     When not absent on Episcopal business, I conducted services, and presided over meetings of the Board of Trustees, the Pastor's Council, and the Bryn Athyn Society.
     Grateful acknowledgment is made of the assistance given by Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner, especially during my illness in the early part of 1949; and by the Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal and others who have preached from time to time throughout the year.

     PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.

     The outstanding accomplishment of the past year has been the rebuilding of Benade Hall. There have been unavoidable delays, but the work has progressed with remarkable efficiency, and the prospect is that occupancy will begin about March 15th, 1950. The building should be completed a few weeks after that date.
     During the year I presided at the meetings of the Corporation, the Board of Directors, the General Faculty, the President's Council, and the Faculty of the Theological School.
     A report of my official acts as President of the Academy will be made to the Annual Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty.


     The Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton served as Executive Vice President of the Academy of the New Church and as Assistant to the Bishop of the General Church. In addition to the duties of the former office, he was engaged with problems arising out of the emergency caused by the loss of Benade Hall, and served as a member of the Building Committee for the New Benade Hall. In his other function he presided at the Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy in 1949, at the Thirty-sixth British Assembly, held in London, England, July 30th-August 1st, and at the First Scandinavian Assembly, held in Stockholm, Sweden August 12th-14th. He also visited the General Church members in Paris, and spent a week in Colchester, England, where he conducted services in connection with the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the dedication of the Church building there.

     The Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton, Dean of the Theological School, Member of the Bishop's Consistory, and Visiting Pastor of the Washington Society, was invited by the Swedenborg Society of London to be their guest speaker at a meeting in June in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the publication of volume one of Arcana Coelestia. During his stay in England he addressed the General Conference, preached once in Colchester and three times in London, and gave several talks to the London Society. On the Continent he visited Holland and Italy, preached twice and gave two lectures in Stockholm, addressed the groups in Jonkoping and Gothenburg, and preached and gave a lecture to the Society in Copenhagen.

172




     Rev. A. Wynne Acton, Pastor of Olivet Church, Toronto, and Visiting Pastor to the Montreal Circle, paid the annual Pastoral Visit to the Canadian Northwest during the summer of 1949. During this trip he conducted 49 services and classes, talked to children 28 times, showed and explained Bible pictures 40 times, and also visited 13 individuals or groups where tin formal service or class was held. In addition to his duties in the Olivet Society and School, he visited Montreal 3 times, took part in the Eastern Canada Assembly, and delivered the Charter Day Address in Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Elmo C. Acton reports that he has continued to serve as Pastor of the Immanuel Church of the New Jerusalem, Glenview, Illinois.

     Rev. Karl R. Alden, in addition to his duties as Principal of the Boys' Academy, preached 3 times and gave 1 children's address in Bryn Athyn; preached twice in Toronto; visited isolated families in Muskoka, Ontario; held 5 services at Lake Wallenpaupack; and conducted two doctrinal classes a month at his home for a young and an older group of those who, for the most part, were nor born into the Church.

     Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, Pastor of Nya Kvrkans Forsamling, Stockholm, and Visiting Pastor of Den Nye Kirkes Menighet, Oslo, reports that he has continued to serve as Editor of NOVA ECCLESIA and as Manager of the Bookroom in Stockholm. He visited Oslo twice, conducting one public and one private service, at each of which the Holy Supper was administered, and held some doctrinal classes. He also visited Malmkoping twice, Kristinehamn and Strangnas once each, and administered the Holy Supper to one isolated person at each place.

     Rev. Walter E. Brickman, retired, submitted a report showing that he officiated at one marriage and administered the Holy Supper privately on two occasions.

     Rev. W. B. Caldwell continued to serve as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     Rev. E. R. Cronlund, engaged in secular work, preached three times in Bryn Athyn during the year, and conducted one doctrinal class at Madison, Wis.

     Rev. C. E. Doering reports that he has been engaged as dean of Faculties and Professor in the Academy of the New Church.

     Rev. F. W. Elphick, Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa and Pastor of the Pinetown Circle, near Durban, held regular classes of the Theological School from April till the middle of November, made three long distance visits; and held service once a month at Mayville, Durban. As Pastor of the Pinetown Circle, he conducted 17 fortnightly services and doctrinal classes. Miss Elsie Champion has continued her Sunday School work with six children there throughout the year, and with such steady attention the children have made good progress. In the Durban Society he conducted three services and one children's service, and assisted in one other service.

173




     Rev. Alan Gill, in addition to his duties as Pastor of the Colchester Society and Headmaster of the local school, acted as Chairman of the British Finance Committee and Secretary of the British Assembly. He also preached once in London and once in Northampton.

     Rev. Victor J. Gladish, still engaged in secular work, preached 4 times in the Sharon Church, Chicago, twice in Glenview, and conducted two services at Linden Hills during the summer.

     Rev. Frederick F. Gyllenhaal, Instructor in Religion in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, and Director of General Church Religion Lessons, edited the PARENT TEACHER JOURNAL; preached 7 times in Bryn Athyn, twice in Toronto, and once in Washington; and conducted children's services in these centers, 28 in Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Henry Heinrichs, although engaged in secular work, preached 7 times in Kitchener and 4 times in Toronto, and assisted twice in the administration of the Holy Supper in Kitchener.

     Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, in addition to performing the duties of Pastor of Carmel Church, Kitchener, and Principal of the Carmel Church School, presided at the first Young Peoples Week End held in Canada, acted as Chairman of the Eastern Canada Assembly Committee, and addressed the Eastern Canada Assembly and the Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association. He also preached once in Bryn Athyn, three times in Toronto, and preached and conducted doctrinal classes once in Detroit and twice in Montreal. In addition, he continued to serve as Secretary of the Council of the Clergy.

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, Professor of Theology in the Academy of the New Church, and Secretary of the General Church, reports that, in addition to his duties in the Bryn Athyn Church, he preached twice in Toronto and once in Baltimore, where he also gave a doctrinal class. He also gave some informal lectures on Swedenborg's philosophy, seven in Bryn Athyn, two in Kitchener, and one in Toronto, and gave several other addresses. In the Academy he gave courses in Theology, Religion, and Philosophy.

     Rev. Ormond Odhner, Assistant Pastor of the Immanuel Church, and Visiting Pastor to the North St. Paul and Rockford Circles and to the isolated in 12 States, traveled approximately 27,788 miles to conduct 48 services, 8 children's services, 82 doctrinal classes, and 30 special services and to deliver 4 addresses. He also taught Religion and Hebrew in the Immanuel Church School, and gave religious instruction to children.

     Rev. Martin Pryke, Pastor of Michael Church, London, and Visiting Pastor in Great Britain, France, Belgium, and Holland, reports that during the year he served as Chairman of the Committee on Education, Secretary of the British Finance Committee, member of the Council of the Swedenborg Society, Chairman of the New Church Club, and Acting Editor of the "News-Letter."

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In addition to the normal work at Michael Church, he made monthly visits to the isolated in Great Britain, and twice visited the Continent.

     Rev. Morley D. Rich, Pastor of the Advent Church, Philadelphia, and Visiting Pastor of the New York Society and of the Baltimore and North Jersey Circles, continued to serve also as Secretary of the Educational Council. This year he was appointed to undertake the summer pastoral visit to the western groups and circles, and he was recently appointed Chairman of the General Church Sound Recording Committee. Ministrations to the groups in his charge, including figures for the western tour, consisted of 73 services, 121 doctrinal classes, 19 meetings, 17 children's talks, and 13 children's classes. In addition, he preached twice in Bryn Athyn and once in Pittsburgh.

     Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, Pastor of the Durban Society, notes that in March the 25th Anniversary of the Dedication of the present Church Building was celebrated, and refers to a pastoral visit to the isolated members in the Transvaal.

     Rev. Erik Sandstrom, Assistant to the Pastor of the Stockholm Society, and Visiting Pastor of the Jonkoping and Gothenburg Circles, served as Chairman of the Scandinavian Assembly Committee and as Secretary of the Assembly. During the year he made five visits to Jonkoping and Gothenburg, two to Oslo, and three to Copenhagen, and gave public lectures in six cities. He mentions the organizing of a Sunday School in Stockholm, and the setting up of a Committee to inaugurate a correspondence school for 14 isolated children in Sweden and 3 in Norway.

     Rev. Raymond C. Cranch, who is engaged in secular work, preached four times to various groups, gave five talks, and one doctrinal class. He also addressed a joint meeting of the Toronto and Kitchener Chapters of the Sons of the Academy, and did some visiting of the isolated.

     Rev. David R. Simons, Assistant to the Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, and Teacher of the 7th and 8th Grades in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, preached 7 times in Bryn Athyn, twice in Philadelphia, and once in Pittsburgh, and conducted four children's services in Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Kenneth 0. Stroh, Assistant to the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, and Resident Minister of the Detroit Circle, reports that, in addition to his duties in Detroit, he made occasional ministerial visits to Urbana, Wyoming, and Glendale, Ohio, conducting worship and doctrinal classes in each of these places, and that he preached once in Kitchener, Ontario.

     Respectfully submitted,

          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
               Secretary.

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     THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     (A Corporation of Illinois.)

     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION AND THE EXECUTIVE

     COMMITTEE TO THE JOINT COUNCIL FOR 1949.

     Since my report of January 1, 1949, one new member has joined the corporation. He is Robert E. Walter. Four members died during 1949:

Peter Bellinger,
Dominique Berninger.
Edward E. Boericke,
Donald Merrell.

Mr. Merrell was a member of the Executive Committee.
     A complete recheck of the records disclosed that there had been a death in 1914 and a resignation from the unincorporated church in 1938 which had not been recorded. The total membership of the corporation is now 178.
     There was one meeting of the corporation during the year. The meeting was held on December 16, 1949, at Bryn Athyn, and at that meeting the members present unanimously approved a resolution authorizing this corporation to transfer all of its assets, except $500, to the Pennsylvania Corporation which had been organized to carry on the work of the Illinois Corporation. The Illinois Corporation is to be kept in existence for an indefinite period in order to eliminate possible difficulties in the case of gifts or bequests made to the corporation.
     A general conveyance, drawn in conformity with the resolution, was executed on December 31, 1949.
     There were six meetings of the Executive Committee during the year. The subject to which much of the time was given was the organization of the new Pennsylvania Corporation and transfer of assets from the Illinois to the Pennsylvania Corporation. The charter of the Pennsylvania Corporation was recorded on August 17, 1949, and the corporation came into existence on that date.
     The Ministerial Salary Committee reported that the plan approved was now in full operation and was working well as a whole.
     The Bishop appointed a Nominating Committee to present names for election to the Executive Committee of the Illinois Corporation and the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Corporation. A new Orphanage Committee and a Sound Recording Committee were also appointed.
     Other subjects considered were: the General Assembly in June, 1950, District Assemblies, Pastoral Visits to the Isolated, and, as usual, routine financial matters.
     Respectfully submitted.
          EDWARD H. DAVIS,
               Secretary.

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     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     (A Corporation of Pennsylvania.)


     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE FOR 1949.

     The Charter of the Pennsylvania Corporation was approved by the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on August 12, 1949, and the Corporation came into existence on August 17, 1949, the date on which the charter was recorded. The officers and directors of the Corporation are the same as those of the Illinois Corporation.
     Officially, at the end of the year 1949, there were seven members of the corporation, i.e., the original incorporators. Since that time and at the date this report is prepared (January 29, 1950), more than one hundred members of the Illinois Corporation have signed the register of this corporation.
     The first meeting of this incorporators was held on October 22, 1949. At that meeting the charter was accepted and by-laws adopted.
     The organization meeting of the Beard of Directors named in the charter was held on November 18, 1949. The following officers were elected at that meeting:

President-Bishop George de Charms,
Vice President-Raymond. Pitcairn,
Secretary-Edward H. Davis,
Treasurer-Hubert Hyatt,
Assistant Treasurer-Leonard E. Gyllenhaal.


     A resolution was adopted authorizing the opening of a banking account and a seal was also adopted.
     Another meeting of the Board of Directors was held December 16, 1949. At that meeting the acceptance of the transfer of assets from the Illinois Corporation was approved. Several resolutions of a formal nature with respect to Bank Accounts, Safe Deposit Boxes, Custodian Agreements, Sale of Stocks, Bonds, etc., Execution of Proxies and Powers of the Investment Committee were also adopted.
     Respectfully submitted,
          EDWARD H. DAVIS,
               Secretary.

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     TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     Report for 1949.

     In the joint Treasury Office of the General Church and the Academy there occurred three unusual events during 1949.
     The first of them had to do with the building of the Academy's new Benade Hall, which demanded a large amount of attention, and indeed, required most of the time of Mr. Leonard Gyllenhaal.
     The second was the transfer of title to all General Church property from its Illinois to its new Pennsylvania Corporation. Each of the members of the Illinois Corporation has been rather fully informed of this transaction, and it is arranged that all others be informed by an article shortly to appear in NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     The third is that 1st October, for the first time, the value of General Church property reached a total of $1,000,000. In this connection, it is of interest that in 1922 this value totaled $175,000, and at the end of 1949 exceeded $1,100,000 Also of interest, in this connection, are similar amounts with regard to the Academy, the amount for 1922 having been $2,477,000, which by June of 1949 had become $5,701,000.
     These increases in the material wealth of the two Institutions have resulted chiefly from three causes. One is the large number of generous contributions which they have received. Another is the wise investment policy which has been pursued. And the third is the effort which has been made by all concerned not to pursue expenditures to become excessive as compared with income.
     During 1949, contributions to the General Church for its general purposes and for current expenditures were received from 777 contributions, who contributed a total of $28,260.43. These figures compare with 1946 contributors, numbering 805, the largest yearly number to date, and with 1947 contributions totalling $29,431.98, the largest yearly amount to date. The number contributing in 1949 is 43% of the potential, which compares with the 48% of 1945, the largest yearly percentage to date.

          MINISTERIAL SALARY PLAN.

     This Plan, by Resolution of the Board of Directors, after a lengthy period of consideration and work, became effective January 1st, 1948.
     A Salary Committee, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Philip C. Pendleton, was appointed to make recommendations to the Board of Directors, whereby to implement the Plan, which provides for a minimum yearly Church income in U.S.A. to unmarried Ministers of $2,000, and to married Ministers of $2,500, both plus a yearly increment of $100 for a period of 15 years. The Plan also provides that the minima for countries other than U.S.A. shall vary according to the varying economic circumstances. The implementation of the Plan by the General Church is necessarily contingent upon the General Church having funds available for the purpose.

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     Early in 1949, the Salary Committee submitted Questionnaires regarding 1948 to all active General Church Ministers, excepting those about whom there was confidence that they were receiving at least the minima. Subsequently, such action was recommended and taken as was deemed suitable in the premises, the actual cost to the General Church for 1948 proving to be $2,558.75, which was a much lower cost than had been anticipated when it was determined to adopt the Plan. It has been evident that this low cost to the General Church is the result of the useful and commendable efforts made by the various Societies themselves to comply with the Plan.
     The Salary Committee presently is proceeding similarly regarding the year 1949. If there be any active Minister who is not receiving the minimum Church income in accordance with the Plan, and whose situation is not receiving attention from the Salary Committee, that Committee would appreciate information to that effect from any source.
     Yesterday, February 3rd, the Board of Directors adopted an amendment to the Plan, whereby, effective January 1st, 1930, the period for the yearly increment of $100 was increased to 20 years. Therefore for the 20th year of service, the minimum yearly Church income for an unmarried Minister becomes $4,000, and for a married Minister $4,500. The Treasurer has been instructed to inform each of the Society Treasurers of this amendment.
     The provision of the Plan regarding the minima for countries other than U.S.A. raises questions for both the Salary Committee and the Board of Directors, which, in some respects, are practically insolvable on any logical basis, this being chiefly due to the abandonment of the gold standard, to planned and regulated economies, and to widely varying standards of living.
     Publication of the Plan apparently has tended, in some quarters, to create the impression that the salaries specified may be regarded as maxima rather than minima. Nothing could very well be further from the stated and intended purpose of the Plan. It is impossible justly to set a monetary value on the services of a Pastor, or indeed of anyone else. The services of an able conscientious, industrious Pastor, involving, inter alia, his thorough knowledge and understanding of the fundamental and derivative Doctrines of the Church, not to mention the same of the science of nature, the conveyance of this knowledge and understanding to his Parishioners, and executive and administrative ability, coupled with a rare understanding of human nature, are at least worth his weight in gold, frequently given. It reminds one of a Society discussion regarding the amount of the Church income to be given their Pastor, and the contention that it must at least exceed the income of any one of his Parishioners.

     PENSION PLAN.

     This Plan, dated April 8th, 1947, provides for Pensions, particularly for Ministers and Teachers, after the age of 65, provided ten years service has been rendered, the yearly pension amount being a percentage of the average of the yearly salary received during the five highest paid years of employment by the General Church, including its Societies and/or the Academy, the percentage being 20% for ten years service, plus 1% for each additional year, with a maximum yearly Pension amount of 50% of the said yearly salary average.

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     The Plan also provides for contributions by Societies, and other General Church employers, of 10% of the salaries paid by them, including ritualistic offerings, non-cash compensation, etc. The additions resulting from these contributions to the General Church Pension Fund on January 31st, 1950, had amounted to $19,895.25 from others than the General Church, plus $6,061.51 from the General Church, or a total of $25,955.76.
     There follows a list of the 20 Societies or Groups who enjoy the continuous or regular services of Pastors, and, opposite each, is given the period covered by its contribution, two of them, as yet, having found it impractical to contribute the entire 10%, and the total of the contributions being $19,895.25 as above.

Country     Society or Group                    Period

Canada     1. Kitchener                    Jan. 1948 to Dec. 1948
          2. Toronto                         May 1947 to Dec. 1949

England     3. British Finance Committee          June 1947 to Nov. 1949
          4. Colchester                    June 1947 to Dec. 1949
          5. London                         June 1947 to Sep. 1949

Sweden     6. Stockholm.                    July 1947 to Dec. 1949

South
     Africa     7. Durban                         -     -     -     

U.S.A.     8. Baltimore                    -     -     -
          9. Bryn Athyn                    June 1947 to Jan. 1950
          10. Chicago                         Jan 1948 to Dec. 1949
          11. Detroit                         July 1947 to Dec. 1949
          12. Erie                         Jan. 1948 to Dec. 1949
          13. Glenview                    June 1947 to Dec. 1949
          14. New Jersey, Northern          -     -     -
          15. New York, N. Y.               -     -     -     
          16. Ohio, Northern               May 1947 to Dec. 1949
          17. Ohio, Southern               May 1947 to June 1948
          18. Philadelphia                    -     -     -     
          19. Pittsburgh                    May 1947 to Dec. 1949
          20. Washington, D. C.               -     -     -     


     CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEES.

     It has been the purpose, for a number of years, to promote the organization of Church Contributions Committees in every organized center of the Church. The intent has been and is, for each center, that the organization be voluntary, and that the Committee, with respect to all other centers, be autonomous.

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The intent also has been and is, that the Committee, in and for its own center, promote, spread, cultivate, and endeavor to gain acceptance of certain ideas.
     One of them is that, in this our Church, we have three and only three organizations which are essential thereto. The three are the General Church, the Academy, and the Society. These three organizations perform the essential uses of the Church. No one of the three could operate without co-operation from the other two. No two of them could be useful without the other one.
     These three organizations being essential, another of the ideas is that it is not a benefaction but a duty of charity (T. C. R., Nos. 425 to 432) that the work of each of the three organizations be supported by the periodical monetary contributions of ever year for whom it is possible, there being only a very few for whom, in some measure, it is not possible.
     Another of the ideas has to do with tribute and taxes (T. C. R., No. 430). For the preservation and growth of our Church organizations, it is vital that they impose neither tribute nor taxes. It is only in the complete freedom of her people that our Church can develop. The work of our Church organizations can be supported only by that tax which each imposes on himself. It is the duty of everyone to acquire a knowledge of the circumstances of each of our three essential Church organizations, and then to levy on himself, and periodically to pay to each, that tax which he deems suitable and proper.
     The intent also has been and is, that the Church Contributions Committee, in and for its own center, consider the circumstances thereof, and exert the Committee's influence on three among other possible directions.
     One direction is with regard to the most useful proportions in which contributions should in general be divided between the three organizations. It will be recognized, on reflection, that the General Church and the Academy are more important that the Society, in the same way that our Country is more important than our Town, and therefore, that these two deserve the first consideration (T. C. R., Nos. 412 to 414). It will also he recognized, on reflection, that the Society, and especially that Society with its own Pastor and School, almost always deserves and should receive the great bulk of such contributions as are or may become available in the Society.
     A second direction is with regard to the extent of the contributions which are or may become available, as compared with the uses, circumstances, and needs of the three organizations. The work of the Church never proceeds so favorably but that it could be improved if more funds were available for the purpose.
     A third direction is in making as certain as can be that the uses circumstances, and needs of the three organizations, and the relation which exists between them, are known, recognized, and appreciated by all.
     Neither the organization of Church Contributions Committees, nor their effective operating when organized, has as yet proceeded to any noteworthy or perceptible extent, with only one exception. The Church Contributions Committee of Bryn Athyn, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Carl Asplundh, assisted by Mr. Donald Coffin, Mr. Ralph Klein and numerous others, has been operating for seven years, and has achieved good results.

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Both the numbers of contributors and the amounts contributed have substantially increased for the General Church, the Academy, and the Society.
     It continues to be the earnest purpose to promote the organization of Church Contributions Committees. It is the hope that, in the near future, in at least each of our larger Societies, there will be a Church Contributions Committee operating continuously. The hope arises from the conviction that the continuously financial support of each of our three essential organizations by all of us is the surest and most useful way, to provide for the material welfare of our Church, and that this goal can best be reached and held, in full agreement with all our beliefs, by means of the Committees advocated.
     If, in any Society or other Group of the Church, the organization and/or the operation of the Church Contributions Committee thereof is under consideration, the Treasurer of the General Church will always be ready on request to co-operate in any practical way.
     Respectfully submitted,
          HUBERT HYATT,
               Treasurer.
February 4, 1950.

     EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE."

     In the effort to make the best possible use of the 48 pages of our monthly issue, and thus to meet the needs of the Church as far as we can in this day and age, we are dependent upon the voluntary contributions of those who write for us and those who make available for publication what they have written for other departments of the uses of the Church.
     And so it is a pleasure once more to recognize this support of our journalistic use, and to voice the gratitude of the Church to those who have contributed of their writing in various forms dosing the past year. I trust this expression has not lost the force of its sincerity by repetition in these reports each year. In attempting to put it in other words I am reminded of the French saying, Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. The more change, the more it is the same thing.
     We know that readers of a New Church magazine have a desire for instruction and information in the things of the Church, and that they have a keen appreciation of the sermons and articles which expound the truths of Revelation, enlightening the understanding and satisfying the affection of spiritual things. Especially are we delighted when some doctrine is made clear which before was obscure, furnishing moments of special illumination And that is the way of spiritual growth, both with the individual and with the church-a continual increase of the perception of spiritual truth and the affection of spiritual good which comes about progressively by a reading and meditation upon the books of Divine Revelation, and upon the expositions thereof presented in sermons and doctrinal explanations.

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     At times we may feel a certain sameness in the things of the church as in other things, but that is due to our own changing states, and we keep on, "line upon line, precept upon precept," knowing that enlightening and enlivening periods will return.
     In the forms of Divine Revelation the Lord has provided an inexhaustible abundance of spiritual ideas for the man of the Next Church, and the real growth of this Church in the reception of the Lord in His Second Coming is an internal growth with the individual in spiritual intelligence and wisdom, in understanding and life, not an external spectacular growth. It is to promote this internal growth that we try to minister by means of the printed page, as "the scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven bringeth out of his treasure things new and old." (Matt. 13: 52.)
     We rejoice also in any' signs of external growth. Our readers find pleasure in the records set forth in reports of the sustained activities in the uses of the General Church and its societies and circles, and among the isolated members. For in these we may detect a growth in numbers and in works.
     When the individual reader is interested by what he reads he feels thankful for the knowledge and light he has received, as he does when he listens to a sermon or doctrinal class. We hear occasionally from members and friends at a distance who are unable to partake of the regular ministrations of the church in a society, but whose love of spiritual things is great, and who are moved to express in writing how deeply thankful they are for what our writers have provided for them. Our contributors may take comfort from this when they feel as if they had been casting their bread upon the waters, sometimes wondering whether they have performed a use or not.

     Circulation.-In recent years we have received about 30 new subscriptions each year, and this was true of 1949, as I learn from the figures furnished by the Business Manager. Deducting the loss of 9 by deaths and other causes, there was a net gain of 21 paid subscribers in 1949, increasing the total from 729 to 750. Our total circulation is shown in the following tabulation:

                                   December 31st
                                   1948     1949
Paid Subscribers                         729     750
Free to our Ministers, to Public Libraries,
     New Church Book Rooms,
     Exchanges, etc.                    117     127
Free to Those in Military Service          14     0
     Total Circulation                    860     877

     Respectfully submitted,
          W. B. CALDWELL.

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     RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE.

     During the year January 1, 1949, to January 1, 1930, the production and distribution of regular and festival lessons have steadily progressed An average of 32 regular and 5 festival lessons have been distributed to 369 pupils. In addition, special papers such as Bishop Willard D. Pendleton's Notes on Family Worship," and his three papers on "Marriage," have been sent to upwards of 200 parents.
     The distribution of the lessons has been under the direction of Miss Margaret Bostock and through the following Counsellors or Teachers:

     Pre-school, Kindergarten and Parents-Mrs. Richard de Charms.

     Grades 1 and 2-Mrs. L. W. T. David.
     Grades 3 and 4-Miss Eo Pendleton.
     Grades 5 and 6-Mrs. Daric E. Acton.
     Grades 7 and 8-Miss Jean Junge.
     Grade 9-Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn.

     The cost of distribution, including envelopes and postage, is paid by Theta Alpha. The total cost of the distribution of lessons and suitable books to 45 pupils enrolled in Grade 9 has been the gift of Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn.
     In addition to the appropriation of $1000 a year by the General Church, the Committee has received gifts of upward of $1000 from Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn. Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton, Theta Alpha, and Mr. Carl Hj. Asplundh. It should also be reported that Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn offered the Petersham book, The Christ Child, to all children under nine years of age whose parents would apply to the Committee for it, this to be a Christmas gift. Upwards of 110 books were applied for and were sent by first class mail, the cost being included in the gift. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn also gave to the Committee for use at Christmas 530 pictures by Mr. Winifred Ryan and one was sent to every child and young person above Grade 1.
     The production of many outline pictures during the summer was made possible by gifts, Theta Alpha's gift of $200 being earmarked for that purpose.
     The Committee purchased the material for two additional cases, providing a total of 210 pigeon holes for the Lessons, and this material was assembled by Mr. Ariel Gunther, a member of the Committee. Mr. Gunther has given other mechanical help with the mimeographing machine.
     Mr. William H. Alden, Jr., has continued to act as Treasurer and Bookkeeper, and his services increase with the expansion of the work, and are deserving of this recognition.
     During the year there were three meetings of the Committee, two of them attended by the Rev. Harold C. Cranch. A detailed report of all the work done during the year would take more time to give than seems necessary on this occasion. It may be sufficient to report that out of 394 lessons planned for 9 grades or classes, exclusive of Grade 9 and Festival Lessons, 376 have been written and 328 have been mimeographed.

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As with the exception of Kindergarten and Grade 1. every Lesson has a separate sheet of Questions and Answers, or else some form of Exercise, there should be added 268 sheets as mimeographed. The work temporarily prepared for Grade 9. for Festival Lessons and for parents, totals upward of a hundred sheets. Thirty-nine outline pictures for the Kindergarten, and the same number for Grade 1, have been mimeographed, and others have been drawn. Numerous pictures for Grades 2 and 3 have also been mimeographed, a few for Grades 4 and 5, and one for Grade 6, but the total has not been complied.
     It is hoped that we shall have all the Lessons mimeographed by the time of the General Assembly. The objective is an outline picture or else handiwork for every Lesson, and least from Kindergarten to Grade 5; but this objective cannot be reached for several years, as the work has to be done principally during the summer holidays.
     Respectfully submitted,
          FRED E. GYLLENHAAL,
               Director.
February 4, 1950.


     THE NEW CORPORATION OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     A Statement.

     Since 1905 the General Church of the New Jerusalem has operated as a non-profit corporation under a charter granted by the State of Illinois. At that time the laws governing such corporations were more liberal in Illinois than they were in Pennsylvania, and it was therefore possible to obtain a charter in Illinois better adapted to the needs and the uses of the General Church. Recently, however, the laws of Illinois have become in certain respects more restrictive while those in Pennsylvania have been liberalized. Also, the growth of the General Church has given rise to new conditions which now can better be met by incorporation under the laws of Pennsylvania.
     The Executive Committee has had this matter under consideration for several years. It has received very careful study by Mr. R. W. Childs as Legal Counsel, and on September 23, 1946, a committee was appointed under his chairmanship to make recommendations as to the desirability and the feasibility of transferring the assets of the Illinois Corporation to a new corporation to be organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to engage in the same activities and to perform the same functions as those heretofore performed by the Illinois Corporation.

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     At a meeting of the Executive Committee held on May 20, 1949, the recommendations of this committee were adopted. A draft of Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of a new Pennsylvania Corporation was approved, and the Committee was authorized to take all necessary steps to organize this new Corporation, and to transfer to it the assets of the Illinois Corporation.
     The Charter of the new Pennsylvania Corporation was granted on August 12, 1949, being duly recorded and made effective on August 17, 1949. The present members of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Corporation are serving as Directors of the new Corporation until the Annual Meeting to be held on June 17, 1950, in connection with the Nineteenth General Assembly. At that time a Board of Directors, to replace the present Executive Committee, will be duly elected.
     It is important that there shall be an adequate and representative membership of the new Pennsylvania Corporation to act for the General Church unincorporated in electing the Board of Directors to handle its fiscal affairs. Any male member of the General Church unincorporated, who has been a member for five years, is eligible to become a member of the Corporation. But application must be made on forms provided for the purpose, and the signature of the applicant on these forms must be received by the Secretary. Mr. Edward H. Davis, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, at least thirty days prior to the Annual Meeting. These forms have been mailed to all those who are members of the Illinois Corporation, but other eligible members of the unincorporated body' are cordially invited to join the new Corporation, and the requisite application forms will be supplied them on request.
     For legal purposes, the Illinois Corporation will be continued in existence for an indefinite period of time and it is therefore intended that an Executive Committee of the Illinois Corporation continue to be elected, and that its personnel be identical with that of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Corporation.
     Without going into the technicalities of the law, it should he explained that the chief reason why it is found to be an advantage to operate under the laws of Pennsylvania, rather than under those of Illinois, is that in Pennsylvania it is not required that a majority of the members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.

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This requirement has made it necessary to elect a large number of members to the Executive Committee from residents of Bryn Athyn in order to insure a quorum for regular meetings. Yet with the growth of the General Church it has become increasingly important that there be a wider representation upon the executive body that is responsible for conducting the fiscal affairs of the General Church. Such representation will now be possible, and this we believe will prove to be of decided benefit to the Church.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS.
OMNIPOTENCE OF THE DIVINE HUMAN 1950

OMNIPOTENCE OF THE DIVINE HUMAN              1950

     "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

     "Man, or the human race, is the ultimate, and is that in which heaven rests, because man has heaven in himself, and corresponds to it. His sensual which is exhibited in the world is the ultimate itself, and therefore it is also the foundation upon which heaven rests.
     "In order, therefore, that the Divine might rule all things, as well in the heavens as in the earths, from Himself, through firsts and ultimates simultaneously, the Lord came into the world and assumed the Human, and rose again with the Human even to the ultimates, as He Himself taught the disciples. For so in the world He could subjugate the hells, and thus afterwards rule the heavens and the earths, and not otherwise; for man had then completely receded in ultimates from the heavens, so that the foundation then began to perish." (S. D. 5552, 5553.)

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REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLANETS 1950

REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLANETS       Editor       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE

Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager      Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa,

All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager.


TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 30 cents.
     Continued from March issue. p. 124.

     Let us cite another example to indicate the need to consult the different works of the Writings in which the planets are treated, to gain a complete picture.

     A Satellite of Jupiter.-We have already quoted A. C. 9237, where it is said that spirits and angels know that there are inhabitants on the moons or satellites which revolve around some of the planets, including those of Jupiter and Saturn. The following is from the Spiritual Diary:

     "Concerning spirits who are altogether unwilling to (think) that they had been in a body. From another earth. The spirits of a certain satellite.
     "1668. There is a kind of spirits who had so despised the body in the life of the body that they could not bear to have it said that they had been clothed in a body. . .
     ". . . Since they spoke well of the inhabitants of Jupiter I was persuaded that they were from that earth, because they also altogether despised their bodies, and wanted to live like spirits on earth. . .

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     "1670. But whether they were from a certain satellite of Jupiter, which, like the moon, is not girt around with an atmosphere like that of ifs planet, and thus that men are created otherwise in such a little world, or endowed with another kind of body, I do not yet know, although they said so to me. Because I could have no idea of men unless they were such as live in earths surrounded by atmospheres, therefore, although it was unknown to me because I could have no idea of such, I am not willing wholly to reject it; for the corporeal forms are altogether according to the state of the atmospheres and many other things on the earths in which the men are."
     "1672 1/2. They acknowledge our Lord, as do the spirits of Jupiter, and adore Him alone, and so they are said to be upright."

     In the author's Index to the Memorabilia, we find:

     "SATELLITE. The inhabitants and spirits of one satellite of Jupiter, nos 1668 to 1687. See JUPITER." There we find: "Because I did not know that like atmospheres surround the satellites, I was not induced to feel that they were from one of the satellites of Jupiter, but still it was very likely, because it was so perceived, no. 1670."
     The information concerning these spirits is quite extensive in the Spiritual Diary (nos. 1668-4682; 1 684A657), and from it was taken what is said of the "Third Earth in the Starry Heaven" in the Arcana Coelestia, nos. 10,311 et seq., beginning with these words:
     "Spirits appeared at a distance who were not willing to approach, the reason being that they could not be with the spirits of our earth who were then about me. Hence I perceived that they were from another earth; and afterwards it was said to me that they were from a certain earth in the universe, but where that earth is was not indicated to me." (A. C. 10,311.)
     We take this to mean that the revelator had not been informed by angels from the Lord in regard to the spirits who said that they were from a satellite of Jupiter. Three days before he spoke with them he wrote that he had been given a perception from the Lord as to what he was to learn from spirits, so that everything he wrote might be from the Lord alone. (S. D. 1647. March 22, 1748.) With his customary caution, therefore, he was unwilling to state it as fact that they were from a satellite of Jupiter, although he declares that "it was very likely, because it was so perceived."

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While they were similar in some respects to the inhabitants of Jupiter, they could hardly have been from that planet, or they would have been included in the description of the people of Jupiter, so fully given elsewhere in the Writings. (S. D. 519. et seq.; A. C. 7799, et seq.; E. U. 46-84.)

     Additional Information-As indicating one use of the moons to their planets, it is said of the inhabitants of Jupiter that "their moons shine upon them so much that they live in light." (S. D. 555.) Of the planet Saturn we are told that, "being so far from the sun, it has also a great lunar belt which gives much light to that earth, even though it is a reflected light" (A. C. 6697), and that "a nocturnal lumen is diffused from the great belt which surrounds that earth at a distance, and from the moons which are called the satellites of Saturn." "They were asked about that great belt, which from our earth appears to elevate itself above the horizon of that planet, and to vary its situations, and they said that it does not appear to them as a belt, but only as something snowy in the sky in various directions." (A. C. 8951, 8952.)
     The sun of the world, we are told, "does not appear to any spirit, nor anything of its light, but the planets which are within the world of that sun appear according to a certain situation relative to the sun; Mercury at the back a little toward the right; the planet Venus at the left a little behind: the planet Mars at the left in front; the planet Jupiter likewise at the left in front, but at a greater distance: the planet Saturn directly in front at a very great distance; the Moon at the left quite high up: the satellites also at the left relative to their own planet. Such is the situation of those planets in the ideas of spirits and angels: also, spirits appear beside their own planet, but outside of it." (A. C. 7171. See also 7247, 7358. 7800.)
     The spirits of our Moon are described in A. C. 9232-9237; S. D. 3241-3245: E. U. 111, 112.

     How Many Moons?-As to the number of moons or satellites in our solar system, we may note that in Swedenborg's time there were but ten known to astronomers, as follows: Earth 1, Jupiter 4, Saturn 5.

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Modern astronomy lists 30 satellites in our solar system: Earth 1, Mars 2, Jupiter 11, Saturn 9, Uranus 5, Neptune 2. And all but 7 have been named. For this information we are indebted to Mrs. Wertha Pendleton Cole, Instructor in Astronomy in the Academy of the New Church, and we think it likely that, if you approach her in a precative mood, she will be glad to give you a copy of her list of "The Satellites of the Solar System," showing the planet to which each belongs, its name if any, its discoverer, date of discovery, and its distance from its planet.

     The thought occurs: How different the Scriptures would be if the Earth had more than one moon. But we know that our Earth, with all its conditions, was provided by the Lord for the sake of the everlasting Word that was to be written here and preserved for all posterity, and for the sake of all in the universe. (A. C. 9355, 9356.) The fact that the Lord appears to the angels of the celestial kingdom of heaven as a Sun, and to angels of the spiritual kingdom as a Moon, is everywhere ultimated in the letter of the Word, from the "two great luminaries" of the 1st chapter of Genesis to the "woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet" (Rev. 12), signifying "the Lord's New Church in the heavens, which is the New Heaven, and the Lord's New Church about to be on earth, which is the New Jerusalem." (A. R. 533.)

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NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1950

NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY              1950




     Announcements
     BRYN ATHYN, PA., JUNE 15--19, 1950.

     Proposed Program.

Wednesday, June 14.

     4:00 p.m. Commencement Exercises of the Academy Schools.
               Address: Rev. Erik Sandstrom. 9:00 p.m. Reception and Dance.

Thursday, June 15.
     10:00 a.m.     First Session of the Assembly.
               Episcopal Address.
     1:00     p.m.     Young People's Luncheon.
     8:00     p.m.     Second Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Rev. Elmo C. Acton.

Friday, June 16.
     10:00 a.m.     Third Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Rev. Martin Pryke.
     1:00     p.m.     Luncheon under the auspices of the Women's Guild.
     8:00     p.m.     Fourth Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton.

Saturday, June 17.
     10:00 a.m.     Fifth Session of time Assembly.
               Address: Rev. Hugo. Lj. Odhner.
     1:00 p.m.     Sons of the Academy' Luncheon and Meeting.
     2:30 p.m.     Theta Alpha Service and Meeting.
     3:00 p.m.     Meeting of the Corporation of the General Church.
     7:30 p.m.     Sixth Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Right Rev. Alfred Acton
     9:30 p.m.     Dance for Young People.

Sunday, June 18.
     11:00 a.m. Divine Worship.
               Sermon: Rev. Norman H. Reuter.

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     3:00     p.m.     Administration of the Holy Supper.
     4:00     p.m.     Administration of the Holy Supper.
     8:00     p.m.     Concert.

Monday, June 19.
     9:45     a.m.     Children's Service.
               Address:
     11:00 a.m.     Nineteenth of June Service. Ordinations.
               Sermon: Rev. Harold C. Cranch.
     7:00     p.m.     Assembly Banquet.
               Toastmaster: Rev. William Whitehead.
PENTECOSTAL GIFT OF TONGUES 1950

PENTECOSTAL GIFT OF TONGUES       Rev. W CAIRNS HENDERSON       1950


No. 5

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
MAY, 1950
     "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24: 49.)

     The seventh Sunday after Easter, the Jewish Pentecost, is known in Christendom as Whitsunday. On it, Christians commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the eleven, and the beginning of their apostolate, on the Day of Pentecost following the Lord's resurrection and ascension. And the day itself is regarded as one of the major festivals of the Christian Church.
     Whitsunday is not a festival of the New Church, and its proximity to the Nineteenth of June causes it to be overshadowed by that "day of all days." Yet the Pentecostal gift of tongues is not on that account to be overlooked. As a miracle, it was Divine. As a remarkable spiritual phenomenon it invites a long sought rational explanation, which only the Writings can give. And although it is not recorded in the Word itself, but in the Acts of the Apostles, it has a spiritual significance which is unfolded in the Writings and which correlates it,-as a prophetic representation,-with the establishment of the New Church in the minds of men. On these grounds, the Pentecostal miracle calls for our consideration.

     Note first the background. The eleven apostles, as disciples, had been set apart and educated by the Lord to become the first priests of the future Christian Church.

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When He commanded them to administer the Holy Supper in remembrance of Him (Luke 22: 19), they were inaugurated into their function; and they were ordained when the Lord, after His resurrection "breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit." (John 20: 22.) The particular operation of the Holy Spirit with the clergy is enlightenment and instruction; and the first of these began to be received by them when the Lord Himself "opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures." (Luke 24: 45.) Their commission to teach and preach-and to perform the sacrament of Baptism, which is a sacrament of evangelization-was given on the Mount of Ascension (Matthew 28: 19, 20; Mark 16: 15); and our text records that the promise of the Holy Spirit in its performance had already been made. But the apostles were to await in Jerusalem the fulfillment of the promise. And this came on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit first descended upon them.

     The descent of the Spirit is thus described in the Acts of the Apostles. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2: 1-4.) When a report of this spread through the city, there gathered to the apostles a multitude of devout Jews "out of every nation under heaven." And these men were amazed and confounded because every one heard the Gospel preached in his own tongue. But Peter instructed them that this marvellous thing was the fulfillment of the prophecy through Joel: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." (Joel 2: 28.) (Acts 2: 5-17.) And indeed it was an outpouring of the Spirit upon those who heard as well as upon the eleven.

     This, then, was the Pentecostal miracle, as set down in good faith by the chronicler of the apostolic acts:-that when the apostles, who knew only their native Aramaic, and possibly Greek, preached to an assembly drawn from many nations, their audience heard the Gospel, each man in the language of his own country And in the Writings (S. D. 4724 m.) we are told why this, and other miracles, were performed in the time of the apostles; namely, because at the beginning of the Christian Church they were necessary to attest the Lord's Divinity, and to induce men to believe in and obey Him.

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The truth, then unknown in most lands, that the Lord who saved souls had come into the world, would not have been received without miracles, especially by idolaters; and for these reasons miracles were then done manifestly, although they are no longer so performed.

     II.

     However, our present interest is specifically in the Pentecostal miracle; and the first inquiry we would make of the Writings is: By what process were those who listened to the apostles enabled to hear the Gospel, each in his own native tongue? No direct answer to this question is given, but a moments reflection should enable us to reject one conclusion. The audience did so hear the Gospel, and that was a miracle, as miracles are defined in the Writings. But it could have been only an appearance that they heard it from the mouths of the apostles. For that was an impossibility, and miracles are not such. And in the absence of any direct teaching, there are two facts which lead to a solution of the problem. The first is, that on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit inflowed, not only with the apostles, but also with their hearers. The second is, that the influx of the Holy Spirit is not only immediate from the Lord, but is also mediate through angels and spirits And when these two facts are put together, we may see that the way the miracle was effected on the apostles' hearers can be understood from the teaching given as to the way in which spirits speak with men, when audible speech is permitted.

     As to essentials, this teaching is given in the Spiritual Diary, no. 1305, as follows: "The ideas of spirits fall into the words of every language, so that if it were granted spirits of the same idea or speech to inflow into diverse persons of dissimilar language, then all those persons would perceive him to speak in their own language or their own idiom, although the spirit spoke in one way only."

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From this, and other passages, we learn that, when a spirit speaks with a man, his ideas fall into the words of the man's own language, in which they are then uttered; and while the words thus spoken are heard audibly by the man himself, just as if they were uttered by another man, they are not heard by anyone else. The speech of the spirit flows first into the thought, and then by an internal way into the ear; and as it moves the mechanism of the ear, it is heard audibly, and therefore as if from another man. But because the ear is moved from within, and not by sound waves from without, the speech is not heard by anyone else. That is the teaching, and it is added that, if the speech of a spirit were allowed to inflow simultaneously into different persons of dissimilar language, each of these persons would hear that spirit speak in his native tongue, and would believe that he heard a man speak to him. (See also A. 1637, 1876; H. 248.)

     We submit that it was in this way that men of many different nations and languages heard the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost, each in his own tongue,-and apparently heard no other language spoken save his own. In other words, as far as the listeners were concerned, the Pentecostal miracle was effected by an influx of the Holy Spirit into their minds-an influx which was both immediate and mediate. The immediate influx moved their affections and enabled them to perceive the truth of what they heard. The mediate influx was through the ideas of angels and spirits; which ideas,- inspired by the Holy Spirit-flowed first into the thought of the listeners, then into their memories where the words of their native languages were taken on, and finally into their ears by an internal way; where the words taken on were heard audibly and as though they came from without, from the lips of the apostles.

     This the miracle, although described in good faith exactly as it seemed to occur, was actually different from what it appeared to be. The audience did hear the Gospel, every man in his own language; and that was a miracle effected in the way of every other miracle, according to the order of the influx of the spiritual world into the natural. That each heard the apostles speak in his own language was only an appearance.

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Yet the annalist of the apostles made no mistake in his description of the phenomenon, because the appearance could not be otherwise than the reality to the physical senses of all who were concerned. And the miracle itself was effected as the only means whereby those who were willing might be brought to faith and salvation, and the first beginning of the Christian Church be made.

     Yet, although the miracle was thus effected, the fact remains that on the Day of Pentecost the apostles received the gift of speaking with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. This gift had been promised them by the Lord (Mark 16: 17); and there is testimony that it was enjoyed by them on subsequent occasions, and also by certain other members of the Apostolic Church. (See Acts 10: 44-46.) To complete our inquiry into the Pentecostal gift of tongues, therefore, we must ask also what this gift was, and how it was imparted. There is little direct evidence. The apostolic writings contain no description of the "gift of tongues," and while the Writings explain its spiritual significance, they do not reveal in what it consisted. There has, indeed, been much conjecture as to what the phrase implies; and opinion ranges from an ecstatic and usually unintelligible utterance to the idea that the apostles were enabled by it to speak in other languages than their native Aramaic,-languages which were unknown to them.

     The only direct statement in the Writings seems to support this latter view. It is as follows. That the apostles could speak in every language was from spirits." (D. 481.) Since the Gospel had to be preached to men of many nations and tongues, and could be received in the beginning only through miracles, we can see that there might be a need for the apostles to have the gift of speaking other languages: and that this could be exercised when, differently from on the Day of Pentecost, the Gospel was not preached simultaneously to men of different tongues, but successively. And the passage referred to indicates the mode whereby the gift could be imparted.

     For the sake for man's protection, spirits are normally allowed to speak to him only from his memory, and, as we have seen, in the words of his own language.

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But spirits still possess the external memory they used on earth, although it is usually closed, and in that memory are all the words of what was their native language when they lived on earth. When it is given them immediately by the Lord to do so, they can use that language. A. 1637.) And for the Divine purpose of establishing the Church the Holy Spirit could inflow through the words of the language in the external memory of spirits, into the tongues of the apostles: the appearance being that these Jews were speaking Latin, Greek, Arabic, or any other language, according to the spirits through whom the influx came. In other words, the gift of tongues was an influx of the Holy Spirit through certain spirits, who spoke in the words of their earthly language ideas inspired into them, and spoke those ideas through the apostles, being allowed to possess their vocal apparatus for that purpose. In this instance, the listener actually heard the words from without; in the other, he heard them from within. but apparently from without. And in each instance it was the Holy Spirit who spoke through spirits, though the words seemed to come from the apostles themselves.

     III.

     In this way we may arrive at a general understanding of the Pentecostal gift of tongues. But we are interested also in its signification. Concerning this, we are instructed that the "sound as of a rushing mighty wind" represented the proceeding of the Holy Spirit to enlighten the apostles that the "divided tongues like as of fire" corresponded to the zeal of love from which they were to preach the Christian Gospel; and that their "speaking with other tongues" was a symbol of their confession of the Lord, and of the truths of the Christian Church which was to be established through their labors. Thus the miracle was at once a correspondential manifestation of their endowment with that "power from on high" which had been promised, and a representation in forecast of those apostolic labors which would be wrought in it. And we may see in it also a prophecy of the power which was given to the apostles when they were sent out anew to evangelize the spiritual world on the Nineteenth Day of June, in the year 1770.

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     But the real fulfillment of the promise of our text is in the life of the regenerating man, who has been set apart, and taught by the Lord in the Word, and prepared to cooperate in the establishment of the church in his mind. When such men have, with the eye of the understanding, seen the Divine Human in the Writings as risen from the letter, they must live in that holy city of truth which is the New Jerusalem, until they are so affected by obedience to its precepts that the Holy Spirit can descend upon them-to enlighten, and to impart the zeal of the love of truth And then will be given to them a new power of confessing the Lord as the one true God, and of believing the truths revealed at His Second Coming from the heart; through which confession the world of their natural mind will be evangelized, and a living church built within it. Amen.

LESSONS:     Luke 24: 13-53. A. C., 1637; Spiritual Diary, 1305. Acts 2:1-21.
MUSIC:     Revised Liturgy, pages 440, 473, 587.
PRAYERS:     Nos. 15, 122.
MIRACLES IN APOSTOLIC TIMES 1950

MIRACLES IN APOSTOLIC TIMES              1950

     "Why miracles were performed in the time of the apostles, in order that the church might be raised up.
     "I spoke with the angels about the miracles in the time of the apostles, as that they spoke with other tongues, and that they sensibly perceived the influx of the Spirit. This was because it was entirely unknown everywhere that the Lord, who would save souls, had come into the world; and because it would never he received by anyone without miracles, thus not by those who worshiped idols or men after they had died; in which case, idolatry would have been the worship. For these reasons, miracles were performed, but now, when doctrine has been received, they are no longer performed. The inrooting of truth and good with the gentiles is effected by external means, but in another manner with Christians, who are in the knowledge of internal things." (Spiritual Diary 4724m.)

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TYPICAL STATES OF THE CHURCH 1950

TYPICAL STATES OF THE CHURCH       Rev. MORLEY D. RICH       1950

     (Delivered to the Open Session of the Council of the Clergy, Bryn Athyn. Pa., Feb. 3, 1950.)

     Each of us is stirred from time to time to reflections upon the present state and future growth of the New Church as we know it. We are thus stirred by conflicting and various experiences, both from the Word and from the world around us. Sometimes these reflections are disturbing, particularly when our eyes are opened a little more widely to the difficulties and problems of the work of the organized Church. We are afflicted with the thought that, externally viewed, the New Church does not appear to be even holding its growing with the general rate of population increase, though we may console ourselves with the compensating fact that the body through which we know the New Church is increasing in membership. We become acutely conscious of our limitations, of our narrow capacities and talents, of the confines of our love and understanding, and of the difficulties of our relationships with each other in a work which is necessarily so close-knit, and which, at the same time, deals with the most interior things of human, natural life.
     Indeed, there are times when each of us is so plagued with these insights, which seem beyond our power to integrate and to bring into proper balance with our first immature ideas about the New Church, that, like Solomon at the dedication of the temple, we may exclaim, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee: how much less this house that I have builded?" (I Kings 8: 27.)
     In the Divine Providence, however, we have been given the means of recognizing this state as a temptation of the merely natural man, as the subtle and well-nigh untraceable influence of the hells in their attempt to slay the church at its birth in us. This means of recognition is furnished to us in such passages as this one from the work on the Divine Providence:

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"The merely natural man confirms himself against the Divine Providence when he sees that the Christian religion is accepted only in the smaller division of the habitable globe called Europe, and is there divided." (256) So likewise, the merely natural man, or every New Churchman when in merely natural states, tends to deny the Divine Providence when he sees that the New Christian Religion is accepted only by a very small nucleus of people, and is divided even among them.
     In other states, our reflections on this subject are exaltative, inspirational. And that is why, if we are to keep hope alive-that hope which alone gives us strength and ambition to continue in this work-it is well to pause occasionally to renew and brighten our philosophy from the Writings about the establishment of the New Church. For, as the children of Israel. on the sensual plane, needed constant reminders of the promised coming of the Messiah, and as the Christian Church, on the interior natural or moral plane, clung to repeated hopes of His Second Coming, so do we need, on the rational plane, renewals of hope and understanding of the future establishment of the New Church. And if this savors of intellectual escape into whitewashed walls if not into ivory towers, well, that's as it may be; there are times in our busy little lives when such escape is necessary and right and good for the re-creation of the mind, for its refreshment, and thence for its restored elasticity in the performance of use.
     Now it is true that, as with ourselves individually. so with the Church, we cannot by taking thought add one cubit to her stature; that is, by conscious, artificial planning from our own unaided intelligence. It is true that the establishment of the Church will be from the Lord alone, and through men's active learning and living of her truths. And it would be an error indeed to base any ironclad plan of action-one that could not be altered and qualified from generation to generation,-upon our limited and faulty speculations as to the manner and quantitative degree in which the New Church will be established. This neither can nor should ever be our purpose in renewing and sharpening our vision of the "Woman clothed with the Sun." And so it might be said that the attempt to previse her proceeding is a waste of time. "Let us persist in the real work," we might say, and the Lord will raise up His Church in His good time."

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     Yet there are many things which the Lord tells us about this subject in the Word of His Second Coming. And we would be equally in error to neglect an occasional re-examination of them-and this with the twin purposes of increasing our faith and love for the New Church, and of outgrowing the era and atmosphere of apologetic New Churchmanship.
     Each of us begins with a very small flame of love for the Church as a neighbor. But the intention of Providence is that this "little one," like our love to the Lord, shall "become a thousand and a strong nation" within us. And ye not only reflectively perceive this intention in the many deliberately provided experiences which come to us, but it is also breathed forth constantly through the specific teachings given by the Lord in regard to the New Church, its mode of establishment, its personnel, and its eternal life.
     When we search the Scriptures in pursuit of light on this subject, we find a number of arresting statements, such as the following:
     "The Church at this day is being transferred to the Gentiles. (A. C. 9256(5).)
      ". . . A new church is then to begin, which in its beginning will be external." (A. E. 403(15).)
     And, of the several reasons why the New Church will first begin with a few, one is that "the New Church on earth grows according to its increase in the world of spirits." (A. E. 732.)

     We cannot understand and reconcile these statements unless we examine them in their context, and in the light of general truths. We propose, therefore, to examine what is said in the Writings about the establishment of the Church with the gentiles, with the Catholics, and with the Africans, in the thought-stream of these three most universal hypotheses:-

     (1) The Divine Providence operates in all things, even the most minute.
     (2) Therefore the Divine Providence operates from within and from without at the same time.
     (3) And man's rationality and freedom are also the operation of the Divine Providence.
     General Principles.-A careful reading of the first chapter of the Divine Providence and of Conjugial Love, no. 386, will show clearly that there are two parts of the Divine in its Proceeding-the one being the process of creation, the other that of preservation.

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Essentially these two are one but for human comprehension, and in order to describe different uses, the Writings describe each separately.
     Now the process called preservation is associated with and defined as the Divine Providence. In other words, preservation or sustentation is especially the field of that operation of the Divine Love and Wisdom called Providence. It is the work of the Lord in preserving the universe in the state in which He created it.
     In order to perform that work-as channels for its effectiveness,-the Lord projects, as it were, two universal spheres-the sphere of procreating, and the sphere of protecting the things thus created. (C. L. 386.)
     It is from the first universal sphere, that of procreation, that there is inspired or breathed into all things the desire for the continuation of their species or kind; indeed, this inborn desire is an ineradicable part of the very nature of all things made, inherent in the structure of each tiniest cell. And it is from the second universal sphere of Providence, that of protection, that there is inspired or breathed into every created thing an ineradicable endeavor to preserve itself and its offspring.
     So it was with the climax species of creation. When the human race was formed, it also became the subject of the Divine Providence,-to be preserved by procreation and protection. But, in contrast with other natural things, the purpose of the Divine in relation to men was, not merely the continuance of a certain biological species by procreation, nor the mere protection of that body-type after it had been procreated. The endeavor of the Divine, here, was also to provide for the procreation and development of an immortal human spirit, and for its protection, that it might live to eternity and form a heaven. Consequently, mama was created in such a way and with such internal vessels as would be capable of receiving the spheres of procreation and protection on an eternal basis and plane.
     Butt with man, also differently from other created things, this procreation and protection were not to be static processes. That is to say, the human spirit was not simply to be procreated from generation to generation in the same state originally created, unless we wish by this to mean that all the potentialities of the immortal human spirit were already present, and only needed development.

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The processes of procreation were to be progressive; and by this we infer that the Divine Providence, in all that it did, looked to the final evolution of human spirits who would be capable of reciprocating the Divine Love and Wisdom in a fully free and rational degree, and who would thereby constitute a very heaven of heavens, eternally sustentative and protective of that heaven from the human race to which the Divine Providence looks as its inmost end.
     In this endeavor of the Divine, therefore, we may note two parallel, or rather, dual parts-the one having relation to procreation, the other to protection. The first was and is the effort of the Divine toward the procreational development of the human mind or spirit; and the second was and is the work of the Divine in protecting and saving that human spirit while the work of developing it proceeded and proceeds apace.
     The first work of the Lord is here described as the development of the human mind, and by this we mean the natural mind-that inn which man lives and is conscious in the natural world, and which is identified with spirit or breath. This work began and continued essentially uninterrupted and unqualified by the free choices of men. From the dawn of human consciousness in which lived the PreAdamites, who were so simple and rudimentary as to their mental processes as to have scarcely any spiritual life, and to be almost indistinguishable from animals, it advanced to the flower of the Most Ancient Church, in which men were so vividly aware of spiritual things that they saw the Lord and spoke with angels, but still did not possess the natural mind in firmness, much less fulness. From this state the Divine Providence proceeded to make firm, to harden, the bones of the natural mind in all its parts-both the mens or rational, and the animus containing the moral or interior natural and the sensuous. And it is not difficult to associate these developments with the Ancient and Jewish Churches.
     Then, from the Jewish Church, there began an ascensional return through the natural mind, from the sensuous to the rational.- a return through which the mind was infilled, by which flesh and blood were added to the bones. And this was a development which was and is designed to develop the human spirit to the height of its powers-to a fullness of rationality never before known or possible.

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     Paralleling this spiritual development, not only supplementing, but protecting it, was the Lord's work in protecting and saving the human spirit in each era and age of its development. And this work was indeed changed, altered, qualified in accommodation to men's states, to their free choices, which, we note, are also in the Divine Providence, in the sense that He provided men with freedom and rationality as a part of that protective and procreative work by which alone a genuine heaven might be formed from the human race. This work of protection and salvation is revealed to us in, and accomplished by means of, the succeeding revelations and churches in the history of the human race. So we are familiar with the various types of saving accommodations which the Lord made,-namely: revelation by direct communication in the Most Ancient Church; revelation by the memory of the knowledges of the Most Ancient Church, and thence the formation of the Ancient Church; revelation by extraordinary spiritual visions and miracles, and the establishment of the Jewish Church; revelation by the Lord Himself in His First Advent, and the establishment of the Christian Church and finally, revelation by His Second Coming through a Divinely-designed instrument, and so the establishment of the New Church.
     We should add that these successive revelations were not only for the purpose of providing the means of salvation to men, being the agents or media of Divine protection, but they were also designed, as to their inner operation, to provide that afflux from without through the senses which was and is an indispensable part of the orderly and uninterrupted development of the human mind. In other words, above the external characteristics of these revelations-characteristics intended as accommodations by which men might be saved-above these there is discernible the inner effort of the Lord to develop that plane of the human mind which is coincidental with any particular revelation era. This is what is involved when we infer that the Old Testament is addressed primarily to the sensuous plane of the spirit, the New Testament to the moral or, as it is more frequently called in the Writings, the interior natural, and the Writings to the rational. (A. C. 8443; A. E. 654(10).) For this effort of the Lord toward the orderly development of the human spirit, as with all His operations, proceeds from within and from without simultaneously.

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     But what is meant by the sensual, the internal natural and the rational planes of the mind, which we believe to have been successively infilled through the Jewish Church and the Old Testament, the Christian Church and the New Testament, and the New Church and the Writings, respectively? Time and space will not permit a separate treatment of these here. We refer the searcher of truth to the Apocalypse Explained, no. 543. Also, in section no. 5 of that number, there are given many references to passages in the Arcana Coelestia on the subject, which distinguish and describe these various levels of the natural mind.
     Especially relevant to our theme is Apocalypse Explained, no. 654(10), which, in treating of the words, "In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt into Assyria, that Assyria may come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria," says that "this signifies that then (when the Lord comes) the rational shall be opened to them by true knowledges, so that man may look at knowledges that belong to the natural man rationally, and thus intelligently."
     So we may say that the final development of the rational level of the mind was foreordained, foreseen from the beginning by the Lord, and provided for from the foundation of the world. Similarly was foreordained a crown of all the churches. Only the external form of that revelation, and of the final church based upon it, was altered, being qualified by the need of Divine accommodation to human states formed by the free choices of men.
     The Writings, the final revelation, are not only addressed to the rational; they are also the operation of Divine Providence from without to develop the interiors of that rational. And the New Church, at one and the same time, is the present agent for the salvation and redemption of the human race, the instrument of the Writings for the opening, exploration and development of the rational, and the fitting expression of that rational as it develops.
     The New Church thus marks the last step in that long, evolutionary process whereby the Lord developed the human mind or spirit to a point at which there could begin a full, rational, utterly free and eternally indestructible and unwavering heaven-a heaven composed of human spirits capable of being the eternally sustaining servants of all the heavens of all the ages, of all the churches and earths, of all the various geniuses of the human race.

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     There can be no doubt in our minds as to the permanency, inevitability and eternal life of the New Church. But it is well to ask ourselves some questions about it. What is the New Church? With whom will it be established? What are the characteristics which indicate a good basis in the individual for the establishment of the New Church with him?
     With these questions in mind, let us re-examine the general teachings about the Gentiles, Catholics and Africans.

     The two most outstanding passages about Catholics in relation to the New Church are A. E. 1029(8) and B. E. 108. In these passages it is clearly stated that Catholics may be brought into the New Church more easily than Protestants. The highly impeding, stultifying falsities of Arianism-denial of the Lord's Human,-and of faith alone, which rule in the Reformed sects, are contrasted with their opposite elements of truth in Catholicism. For, it is written, with Catholics the doctrine that man is justified by the merit of Christ is being obliterated. They magnify the Divine majesty of the Human of the Lord. They believe that good works, repentance, and amendment of life are essentials of salvation. And, finally, they exercise a kind of self-examination by means of confession. The passage from the Brief Exposition, no. 108, concludes that those Catholics who approach the Lord Himself, not mediately but immediately, and likewise administer the Holy Eucharist of both kinds, "may more easily than the Reformed receive a living faith in the place of a dead faith, and be conducted by angels from the Lord to the gates of the New Jerusalem or New Church, and be introduced therein with joy and shouting."
     Personal observation of some Catholics may lead us to question our understanding of this. But we should remember that Catholic characteristics vary widely according to localities and individuals. There is also the hard fact that, up to this time, the New Church, as we know it, has apparently not succeeded very much with Catholics.

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     We may also be familiar with passages such as A. C. 9256(5), 2986(3), and 4747(3), which declare that a new church is being raised up at this day by the Lord among the Gentiles, that it will be set up among them because they have no principles of falsity contrary to the truths of faith; and, in general, that when any new church is being established by the Lord, it is not set ump among those who are with the former church, but with those who are without, that is, with the Gentiles.
     We are accustomed to associate these statements with our children, and to working out an education which shall ensure the establishment of gentile states with them, in which the New Church itself may be planted in adult life. And the thought is familiar to us, also, that if the New Church is indeed within us, it is solely because, in the Divine Providence, we have been gifted with gentile states in which it could be so established.
     But is this enough? Is it possible that there is a literal sense in which this will be fulfilled? Are the Gentiles, that is, those who are also physically and literally outside of the realm and ecclesiasticism called Christian to be brought into the New Church specific in time? Or must we interpret these passages as referring solely to a state of mind or spirit in which the New Church will be established with any man who is in that state of mind, regardless of his external religious affiliation or label?

     It is highly significant, we feel, that there are so many passages inn the Writings which associate the Africans very closely with the New Church. Most of these passages are contained in the Spiritual Diary (4770-80, 5517-18, 4783, 5811, 5946). But their essence is repeated in C. J. 73-76, T. C. R. 837-40, J. Post. 116, and A. E. 21.
     These passages speak of the New Church being established in the interiors of Africa, of the Heavenly Doctrines being promulgated among the Africans by speech with angels, of the fact that it would not be established with those near the coasts who have been spoiled by Christian missionaries, whom the tribes of the interior do not permit to come among them.
     Now the various descriptions of the exact location where this revelation is taking place, and of the path through Africa which would be followed in establishing the New Church among them,-these descriptions are confusing, and sometimes even contradictory.

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They strongly remind us of the directional appearances in the letter of the Old Testament.
     It is of interest to notice, also, that the particular works of the
Writings which are being given to them are even specified-Heaven and Hell, The Last Judgment, Earths in the Universe, the White Horse, The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine. (S. D. 5946.)
     Most surprising of all, in speaking of spirits from Asia and Africa whom Swedenborg met in the spiritual world, the Spiritual Diary says, Hence it was evident that the heavenly doctrine would at last be propagated from these nations to spirits who are from various religions of this earth, and then to spirits of other earths." (4780.)

     Translation.-With our limited human sight, and in the present stage of the New Church it is difficult for us to visualize her establishment with the Gentiles and especially with the Africans of the interiors. New Churchmen have long reflected upon these statements. They have also worked with Gentiles in Japan and India without notable external success. And they have even tried experiments to test their literal truth-such as the founding of a colony in Africa by Nordenskold at the end of the 18th century. When the balloon was invented and popular, they even toyed with the project of descending by balloon into the unexplored interiors of Africa!
     Since that time, however, Africa has been sufficiently explored so that, if such miraculous revelations were taking place, and a new religion were being established among the tribes of the interior, we would have heard of it. Consequently, New Churchmen have taken refuge in such suggestions as that the founding of Mohammedanism with the Africans of the east and the interiors may be a preparatory step for the establishment of the New Church with them, since by Mohammedanism they are saved from the falsities of Christianity, and are imbued with certain universal truths designed to develop a true gentile state with them.
     Perhaps it is too early to say that these statements are not to be taken literally. And I suppose that it is permissible to use them as an escape when the prospect of founding the New Church in the so-called Christian world becomes too appalling.

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For the idea logically connected with belief in the literal truth of these passages is that we are here only as providential agents for the preservation of the Writings until such time as they will, more or less miraculously, be received and appropriated by the Gentiles, Catholics and Africans. We are merely the trustees of this infinite wealth. Like the children of Israel, we only represent the church until it may be truly established!

     That it would appear that this philosophy is not sufficient for our mind in its inquiring states, and that it can only limitedly satisfy our human need for that vitalizing, impelling drive through which alone the Lord will really set up His Church. To be a protecting and concealing repository for Divine Truths addressed to the whole human race, this is a somewhat stifling and enervating limitation of mar use as members of that Church.
     Can we, perhaps, apply these statements exclusively to our children who are being educated in the Church? After all, what about these little "Gentiles, Catholics and Africans' in our midst? Can we not, do we not, use the teachings of the Writings about these peoples as guides to our understanding and teaching of the child-mind, as educative principles and illustrations by which we may cooperate with the Lord in fostering the true states of gentilism, of africanism, and even of catholicism in our children? Humility before the majesty of the Divine Human, charity as an essential of salvation, the shunning of evils,-these are the universal characteristics of these peoples,-and they are likewise the beliefs and attitudes with which we seek to imbue mar children.
     We have all had the thought, from time to time, that this work of educating our children, being the work which lies right in front of us, being a goal which strongly appeals to our own loves and wishes, should be concentrated upon, almost to the exclusion of all other objectives. After all, any aggregation of human beings can only do so much, has only so much time and energy; and these must be geared primarily to a single objective, rather than be dissipated in a pursuit of several objects at the same time.
     Yet this need not demand a closure of our understanding and will to more universal views and hopes for the New Church.

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For example, the organization which we know as the General Church really needs no justification for her existence. If we feel the need for such justification, let us not do so on such brittle grounds as that the rational state of the New Church can only be established in fulness and purity among those who have been educated in it as children, and who have thereby been gifted with the necessary states of true Gentilism. Such justifications may indicate the presence of a super-sensitive defensiveness. Our love for the General Church as a form of the New Church, and for her work, is firmly based, if only we believe that this work of education is the best of the means that we, as limited human minds, can see whereby the Lord may establish His Church with us, that it is, in Providence, the particular work which is necessary for us,-that we may become full-fledged members of that state. That there are other means, that there are others besides those educated within her walls who have and will come into the New Church in a full tide of rationality, (and we think, now, of Dr. Beyer, who might be called the first New Churchman, to whom Swedenborg said, "You are now received into the New Heaven,") these facts need not at all deter and distract us, nor lessen our love for this particular work of charity.
     But, if we are not to become literalists, entirely bound and exclusively directed to our particular, self-chosen work, we must occasionally sense and see through the Writings the immense, the infinite, operations of the Divine Providence in establishing the New Church. The universality of the Divine Love and Wisdom, of its objective of a heaven from the human race, indeed breathes through these pages with the breath of life-a breath of life, the intention of which is to widen our spiritual horizons indefinitely-so that while we justly and sincerely concentrate in this earth-bound life upon the tiny, focal tasks which lie before us, we may at the same time see in them and through them and around them the spiritual states of the human race, the essential mental characteristics of those in whom the Church may be established and live, the inner purposes and meanings behind these revelations concerning Catholics, Gentiles and Africans, concerning Christians, Jews and Mohammedans, concerning the Swedes, the English, the Dutch, the French and the Russians, and even concerning the various types of men on other earths,-and through them may in an indefinitely greater degree see and magnify Him Who is the sole Creator and Redeemer of all men.

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     We can elaborate this even further to say that these revelations will in time immensely increase our understanding of adult states of mind, and impart to New Churchmen an ability to meet these states, to talk to them, and to introduce men into the Church-an ability such as we can visualize only vaguely at this day. When the time comes that a cross-referenced classification, index, of the ruling spiritual characteristics of all these religions, sects, nationalities races and earths is made from the Writings-then we shall have a source of vastly illuminative material from which such a keen understanding and accommodational ability may be constructed in the man of the New Church.

     But let us define what the New Church is, and then see if we can associate our definition with the universal characteristics of the Catholics, Africans and Gentiles.
     The New Church itself is in a man when his belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one God of heaven and earth is married to a new will in the rational understanding to shun evils as sins against the Lord. That is the New Church-the marriage of rational faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with a new rational will to shun evils as sins against Him.
     But in what state can that marriage take place? What are the characteristics which must rule in the human spirit for the implantation of the seed? They are gentile states. They are African characteristics. They are Catholic tendencies. They cannot be Protestant states or at least, if they are, the man can receive the New Church only with difficulty.

     We have discussed the effort of the Divine from the beginning toward the final and crowning procreation or development of the human internal or rational mind. That rational is the inmost of the natural mind, like the lower part of the natural mind, it is divided into two parts,-a will which is evil by heredity, and an understanding which is separate and unsullied until it is opened by the afflux of rational ideas from the world-both together being from the father as a soul of the natural mind.

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In the will of this level dwell the loves of self and the world, which are channels for the influx of the hells: and the effort of regeneration, which is now possible only through the doctrines of the New Church, (we are not here speaking of the basic salvation, but of spiritual re-birth) is directed toward the sealing off of this old will. The rational understanding, by life in the world, is built tap by and composed of a man's idea of God, his abstract concepts of theology and philosophy, from which is derived the inmost quality of his morality and civility.
     It would seem apparent that, up to the tulle of Protestantism and the Writings, this rational level was comparatively above the consciousness of men, unexplored. This is not to say that men had no rationality or ability to make abstract judgments previous to that time. Nor does it mean that the rational did not operate. But it means, as we see it, that the rational operated as an unconscious influence on the moral and sensual levels, without men's reflecting upon or being conscious of the rational itself. They had, as illustration, no awareness of the fact that their loves of self and the world composed the inmost of their minds.-the rational will. And they had no concrete realization that their idea of God, far from composing merely one element of their moral and civil lives, actually constituted the inmost of their understanding,-the rational level,-and qualified or gave quality and form to all their lower affections thoughts, acts and words.
     Now the procreational effort of the Divine was and is to open this level fully to human consciousness. An illustration of this is the way in which recording devices give tins a means of consciously hearing and analyzing our voices-and the ruling characteristics and emotions which we express through them-bringing an awareness of self never before possible.
     The first preliminary to this development of the rational was Protestantism, by which the letter of the Old and New Testaments was restored to the Christian world. And the final means was the Writings, by means of which that rational is to be opened, explored and developed for human, conscious use.
     Proceeding apace with this procreational operation was and is the preservative or saving effort of Providence. And this looked toward the "healing of the breach of His people," toward the creation of a new will in the understanding, now on the rational plane, in which the loves of self and the world, organized in one way to compose the old will, would be re-ordered so as to be recessive characteristics in a new will in which would reign the loves of God and the neighbor.

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Lastly, there would be effected a developing marriage of this new will with the understanding on the rational level. One of the means for this effort-in fact, the only earthly, ecclesiastical means-is the New Church, through the agency of which men may be brought in touch with the Writings, through which latter that rational level is made conscious, and by the exclusive means of which men may see in fulness the evils flowing from the hells into the rational, and may be enabled to meet and endeavor to defeat that influence in temptation combats.
     It would seem clear that this new will cannot be implanted in a rational understanding which has been filled with falsities on that level, or at least only with great difficulty And the falsities of Protestantism-Arianism and faith alone,-are such rational ones. They open and develop the rational understanding to make a highly distorted consciousness on that plane. It is of such states of mind, indeed, that the Writings speak when they say that Anus will rule secretly to the end, that is, until the judgment of Protestant states inn the individual after death, and that the dragon of faith alone still breathes forth out of hell his horrific sphere of influence.
     It becomes apparent that the state of mind in which the New Church can be established is one in which the rational level has not been opened to consciousness by Protestant interior-rational falsities. And this is confirmed and illustrated by all that is said concerning the Gentiles, Africans and Catholics. For, among all their characteristics and attitudes, it may be noted, there is distinctly no denial of the Lord's Human, nor any real tendency toward faith alone. And further, it becomes apparent that there is with them no self-consciousness of the rational as yet, although, on the other hand, they have intelligence and wisdom which are unspoiled and unsullied by the insanities of the Christian world. Of the Africans, for example, it is said that they are more internal, more inwardly spiritual, (C. J. 73, 75) that they excel in interior judgment, (T. C. R. 837-839), and that they have a just (i.e., rational) idea of the Divine Human.

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And, if you will allow it, it could be said that the interiors of Africa, which are unexplored, in which revelations are made and the New Church established, can be thought of as representing the unopened, unexplored rational mind in this state, which ms unspoiled except as to its coasts and edges by Christian missionary falsities! But I do not want to be misunderstood. I have no slightest intention of claiming this as the authoritative, perceptive interpretation of a regenerating mind!
     But, though the rational in which the New Church is established, must necessarily be at first unexplored and unsullied by human consciousness, yet the natural mind must also contain on its lower conscious levels certain initiatory truths, concepts, ideas and attitudes. And when we examine the teachings concerning these peoples, we are again illustrated in what these mist be. They must be in a humble belief in the Lord's Divine Human, or at least an idea of God as Man, and thence a receptivity to the full truth concerning His Human when presented, and a general will to shun evils as men know of and define evils. There must be some marriage of this understanding faith and will to good on the lower levels of the mind before a full and interior and eternal marriage can take place on the rational level-that marriage which is the New Church in man.
     As a sidelight on this, these are the general principles from which we operate in the education of our children. For we try to guard against the premature opening of the rational mind with them; we give them truths concerning the Lord in His Human, and concerning the need to see and shun evils, but we express these truths to them at first only in the language or alphabet suited to the sensual and moral planes, not to the rational; and finally, we endeavor to open their rational by introducing them to true reasoning-reasoning from rational truths.
     So it is that the New Church will be and is being established in those persons and in those states where the rational understanding in comparatively untouched by false reasonings-in spiritual gentiles, catholics and africans-and but hardly in protestants or protestant states of mind. It is being, and will be, established "according to its increase in the world of spirits" (A. E. 732) ; for the world of spirits is also the world of human minds still living in physical bodies, in which minds alone the crown of the ages can be established to live to eternity. But in its beginning (it) will be external." (A. E. 403(5).)

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For the attitudes and beliefs which furnish its ground must be established first in the external of the natural, conscious mind, on the sensual and moral levels. And so "the church at this day is being transferred to the Gentiles-to the gentile states of humility before the Lord and of good will toward men.
     We have described for tins the profoundly affecting humiliation of the Africans before the Lord-THE MAN, as they call Him in the spiritual world. Is not this also descriptive of the attitude of the new rational will when it finally receives the doctrine of the Lord? Then men's inmost hearts are stirred with a kind of holy fear. The rational mind is affected by a love which far surpasses any external or false sentimentality. The conscious spirit of a man is integrated, made whole from inmosts to outmosts, by the exalted vision of Him Who is the Infinitely Human One.
     And the New Church arises in majesty from among the nations of the earth, out of the external natural emotions and thoughts and she stands as the Woman, the Mother of all living, clothed in the Divine habiliments of Good and Troth proceeding from the Lord as a Sun which now shines in sevenfold splendor. She stands in light as the crowning work of the Divine Providence through all ages in all earths with all men. So likewise the preservative operations of the Divine Providence-the spheres of procreation and protection of the immortal human spirit-reveal themselves to tins in the peak and summit of their power and glory.

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HONEYMOON STATE IN MARRIAGE 1950

HONEYMOON STATE IN MARRIAGE       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1950

     There is a common saying in the New Church, heard especially at wedding receptions, that the first love or first state of marriage-the so-called "honeymoon state"-is a borrowed state or a loan from the Lord. After a rather intensive but vain search for this statement in the Writings themselves, we conclude that it is probably one of those "derived doctrines" which the church has accepted so long and so widely that it is ascribed to revelation itself.
     The idea behind the saying is that the ineffable happiness and purity of the first love of marriage are not yet mains s growing is actually through a life of regeneration, but are loaned him by the Lord, almost regardless of his spiritual state, as a foretaste and promise of that love truly conjugial which can become his through regeneration.
     Now it is true that, in the usual instance, this love is not yet really man's own for it is not the whole of his life that leads him into it. Also, it is true that it is not, and as yet cannot be, a state of genuine conjugial love. As usually stated, however, this teaching seems to imply that this first love and happiness in marriage come practically by magic with the mere pronouncement of the marriage and to all men alike. But nothing comes that way. All Divine blessings come according to the state of reception on the part of men, for the Lord wills them to all men alike; and it is never any merely external act or set of circumstances that allows their influx. Furthermore, this "honeymoon state" does not come to all men alike, for we occasionally hear of dire perversions of the state.
     What, therefore, do the Writings actually say about the honeymoon state? In general, they teach the following:

     1. That the first love of marriage is a love that emulates love truly conjugial, and is therefore proof of the possibility of the existence of such a love.

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     2. That man comes into this state because then his love of the sex is laid aside, and is supplanted by a love of one only of the sex.
     3. That with natural, external, corporeal men this first love of marriage comes to an end, whereas with spiritual men it is but an introduction to perpetual states of bliss.
     4. That in this first state the love of the sex and conjugial love appear conjoined, but that with those who become spiritual the love of the sex is progressively cast out and separated, to be supplanted by conjugial love; while, with the natural among men, conjugial love is progressively cast out, to be supplanted by the love of the sex.
     5. That the first heat of marriage does not conjoin into an eternal union.
     6. That the first love of marriage becomes conjugial love only when friendship and confidence have been added to it.

     Turning to a particularized treatment of these phases of the subject, we now investigate the teaching that this first love of marriage emulates love truly conjugial, and is therefore proof of the possibility of the existence of such a love. This is taught concerning the fact that conjugial love today is so rare that it is not known what it is, and scarcely that it is. We read:

     That there is such conjugial love as is described in the following pages, may be acknowledged from the first state of that love, when it insinuates itself and enters into the heart of a young man and a maiden; that is, with those who are beginning to love one only of the sex, and to desire her for a bride; and still more during the time of betrothal, while it is lingering and progressing to the nuptials; and finally at the nuptials and during the first days that follow them. Who does not acknowledge and assent to the propositions that follow: That this love is the fundamental of all loves, and that into this love are gathered all joys and delights from first to last? . . . . It is evident from this that the earliest love of marriage emulates love truly conjugial, and presents it to view in a certain image. (C. L. 58.)

     In other words, the honeymoon state, in view of its almost ineffable happiness and delight, is called upon by the Writings to prove that there is such a love as they describe as love truly conjugial,-a love which is so rare in earth's marriages, after the honeymoon state is past, that "it is not known what it is, and scarcely that it is." (Ibid.)

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     As to how and why man enters into this state, we are taught that he does so "because then the love of the sex is laid aside, and the love of one of the sex, which is love truly conjugial and chaste is implanted, and resides in its place. Who does not then look upon other women without love, and upon his own only one with love?" (C. L. 58.)
     Note well here: that it is something done on the part of the man himself that leads him into this "love emulative of love truly conjugial" and into its ineffable delights. It is the fact that his love of the sex is then cast aside, and the love of one only of the sex is implanted in its place.
     Both the "love of the sex'' and the "love of one only of the sex' involve more than external attributes. With a man, for example, they include all his love of beauty, gentleness and sweetness of character, and all those graces and virtues and ideals which men rightly associate with women.
     To love, we are told, is to desire to be conjoined, love of the sex unlimited to one only of the sex seeks conjunction, on one plane or another, with women-any women--whose beauty, virtue, character, or physical attributes strike a responsive chord in the male. Love of one only of the sex, identified with conjugial love, seeks conjunction with only ones own beloved. Her ideals, her virtues, her character, her beauty, alone of all women's, stimulate in the male the desire for conjunction. All his ideals of womanhood become personified in her alone.
     Even in such a state, of course, it is right and without sin to appreciate and admire the beauty, character, ideals, and virtues of other women. Such gifts of God should always be appreciated, wherever they are found. But in this true state of "the love of one only of the sex" the beauty of other women is appreciated objectively. No desire for conjunction on any plane is aroused by it. This is "the chaste love of the sex."
     We have noted that it is something on man's part that leads into the first joyous state of marriage.

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This is more according to the universal laws of order than is the idea that the pronouncement of a marriage by a minister or magistrate automatically brings introduction to that state. Nothing works that way. Everything works according to laws of order, even though, admittedly, a man cannot always see and understand those laws. Were it an automatic thing, it would come to all men alike. Unpleasantly, however, it does not. There are those who are bitterly unhappy on the honeymoon; and sometimes there are dire perversions of the state, as we have said. Certainly one could enter into marriage without in the least replacing love of the sex with love of one only of the sex. What else can we conclude concerning the multi-married couples of newspaper notoriety? Such men would never know anything at all of the first true joys of marriage-that it is the fundamental of all loves, and that into it are gathered all joys and all delights from first to last.
     With natural, external, corporeal men, we are told this first state comes to a disillusioning end; but with spiritual men it is merely a state of introduction into perpetual states of bliss. (C. L. 59.) While this latter is rare today, it should be increasingly the case with New Churchmen, especially as youths and maidens get to work on their regeneration in their teens and twenty's.
     Now why is the honeymoon the end for one, the beginning for the other? It is because of what leads each one into the marriage to begin with-according to what causes him to lay aside his unlimited love of the sex, and to supplant it with love of one only of the sex.
     Man falls in love from many causes. Sum them up by saying that it is because he finds some one woman who satisfies the peculiar and individual ruling loves or interests he has in womanhood. He finds a woman who-magically it always seems-answers to all his desires, and who rouses in him such a longing for eternal conjunction with her that only in marriage with her, it seems, can he ever again find any real happiness or joy.
     Yet the man's desire for marriage with this woman-who invariably seems sent to him by God-is spiritually never any better than he is himself, no matter how it appears.
     A merely natural man is interested in merely natural things. It is these alone that attract him in the woman of his choice. It is these alone that cause him to cast aside his unlimited love of the sex, opening the way for the influx of the love of one only of the sex. It is these alone that bring him into the indescribably happy and joyous state of the first love of marriage.

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And, to all appearance, his marriage is just as perfect, and is just as good and chaste and true, and as full of eternal hope, as is any other marriage. His merely natural loves and their satisfaction become so important to him that all his other loves are temporarily forgotten, and he comes into a love of one only of the sex. He comes into this delicious first state of love from merely natural causes, from nothing spiritual whatever. But he gains those delights because he has brought himself into that state of life which alone, but which always, receives them,-a state of the love of one only of the sex. Note this well.
     This is a state of heavenly order in natural life. Wherever it exists, it is receptive of the heavenly delights which the Lord has provided for that love from eternity. And this is in line with the universal teaching that where there is a proper vessel to receive it, the corresponding spiritual influx takes place, it matters not what brings one into this state of love, as long as there is a love of one only of the opposite sex Then the Divinely provided delights of love truly conjugial inflow. For, as defined in the Writings, "the love of one of the sex . . . is Love truly conjugial." (C. L. 58.)
     With merely natural men, however, the honeymoon state inevitably comes to a disillusioning end because of the very nature of the loves that led them into it,--merely natural loves. No natural delight, separated from the spiritual, can long endure. All delight has its source in the Divine alone. It flows down thence through the spiritual into the natural, and there it inheres-hut only temporarily if cut off from its source. This, by its very nature is a perversion of order; and any perverted love actually dulls that bodily sense which serves it. So it is that eating merely for the tongue and the palate actually dulls the sense of taste by that perversion. New and more external stimuli are increasingly required.
     Hence, if only externals have roused the desire for marriage; if therefore, the conjunction with the wife was merely in externals; and if the man remain merely external or natural, eventually those externals will necessarily fail to delight, and then, as we read, "when the externals fail, coldness invades the internals, and dispels the delights of that love, as from the mind, so from the body, and afterwards as from the body, so from the mind, and this until nothing is left of the remembrance of the earliest state of their marriage, and consequently no cognizance of it.

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Now, since this occurs with most men at the present day, it is clear that it is not known what love truly conjugial is, and scarcely that there is any such love." (C. L. 39.)


     With spiritual men, however, it is different. As we read again, "With spiritual men, the first state is the introduction to perpetual states of bliss." (Ibid.) It is further said that such cases are rare; but in the New Church they need not be, especially if parents give their children the true ideals of marriage, and give them these even long before they are likely to fall in love for when they fall in love it is too late.
     That a man may know the fulfilment of this promise, he need not be what we call regenerate,"-that is, fully regenerate, but merely serious in his intentions and attempts to regenerate, or to lead a truly spiritual life. Such men, "spiritual" to a greater or lesser degree, will be seeking in marriage more than merely external conjunction. They will not allow themselves to fall in love merely with a beautiful face, merely with external elegance, culture, or refinement. They will enjoy these, too, of course, if they are fortunate enough to find them; but principally they will be seeking in marriage those internal and spiritual similitudes with which alone they can be conjoined into an eternal union. And such men, because they cooperate with the Divine Providence, can be more easily led by Providence to the choice of a genuinely suitable conjugial partner.
     And for spiritual men, because their conjunction with the wife was in internals as well as in externals, the honeymoon state does not come to a disillusioning end-to the degree, that is, that they were truly spiritual men, and to the degree also that their chosen partner was spiritual. For them, the honeymoon will be but an introduction to perpetual states of bliss.
     We cannot conclude from this that there will not be trying times ahead. The husband and wife must still learn to live together, to adjust themselves to one another. They must both modify their habits of thought and of life. Such times will be difficult and even unpleasing, of course, but they are not the end.

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Indeed, we cannot even say that they are the end of the honeymoon state: for love remains, and their mutual love will brine them back into ever-increasing states of bliss.
     For men who do not begin to regenerate until after the honeymoon state is passed, that first love of marriage will indeed come to an end: but it can be regained, if regeneration actually begins, and if the choice of the partner was providentially more wise than the man himself would have made.

     So far we have spoken mainly of the male, although much that we have said applies also to the female. She, too, must be seeking the possibility of internal, spiritual conjunctions in marriage, before she even allows herself to fall in love. And because woman is more easily swayed by emotions than is man, the further injunction is given in the Writings (C. L. 298) that she is to consult her parents before consenting to her suitors proposal of marriage.
     One reason peculiar to women, however, is revealed, explaining why she enters so readily into the first true state of love in marriage. "It rarely if ever fails that a chaste wife loves her husband," we read. (C. L. 200.) Woman by nature is monogamic, desirous of being conjoined with her husband. And she finds delight in marriage to the extent that her husband does. This, therefore, is to be added to the reasons why woman knows, in the first love of marriage, that this love is the fundamental of all loves, and that into it are gathered all joys and all delights from first to last. As we read again, "Wives love the bonds of marriage, if only their husbands do." (C. L. 217.)

     The next general teaching concerning the honeymoon state is, that in this state the love of the sex and conjugial love appear to be conjoined, but that with those who become spiritual the love of the sex is progressively cast out and separated, to be supplanted by conjugial love, whereas, with merely natural men, conjugial love is cast aside, and love of the sex becomes the all. (C. L. 48.)
     Briefly, this implies that even the spiritual man in marriage at first does not clearly and fully distinguish in his thought between the love of his wife alone and the unlimited love of the sex. That is, he does not recognize that his love of one of the sex is not just love of the sex purified or centered upon one only, but that it is an entirely different love, springing from an entirely different source.

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Or, again, he does not yet differentiate between those things in his marriage which are of conjugial love and those things which are of the love of the sex.
     Love of the sex has a natural origin,-in the body and that which pertains to the body, as riches, honor, beauty. Love of one only of the sex, which is one with conjugial love, has its origin from the Lord out of heaven, and inflows only into the chastened mind or spirit.
     Progressively throughout marriage, with the spiritual man, this difference is more clearly recognized in his own life and marriage. He differentiates between those things in marriage and life which rise up from the love of the sex and those which descend from love truly conjugial. This he can do in marriage as he could by no means do before marriage. The former, the love of the sex, he casts aside as evil and sin; the latter, through victory in temptations, he makes his own.
     With merely natural men the opposite occurs. As "externals fail" and delight ceases, so does his limited love of the sex, and so also does his reception of the influx of conjugial love from heaven. He never really differentiated between the two, even in thought. In his married life, as he allows himself to be led by the love of the sex and its allurements, his first love of monogamic marriage comes to an end. By actual life, more than by conscious thought, he casts aside all things of love truly conjugial, until the love of the sex takes full command of his life.

     We next come to the teaching that the first heat of marriage does not conjoin into an eternal and truly conjugial union. On this we have the following statement in the Writings: "The first heat of marriage does not conjoin, for it draws from the love of the sex, which is of the body, and thence of the spirit; and what is from the body in the spirit does not long endure." (C. L. 162.) We conclude that this would be the case even with spiritual men.

     And finally, we consider the teaching that the first love of marriage-the love of the honeymoon state-becomes conjugial love only as friendship and confidence are added to it. (C. L. 162.)

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Until then it draws too much from the love of the sex to be genuine conjugial love or love truly conjugial. And it is primarily a state of romantic love; and while romance remains in true marriages-and the Writings note its continued existence with a married pair from the Golden Age-still romance by itself is not enough. Friendship and confidence must be added to it.
     Friendship-the joy and delight of doing things together, of being together, of just simply enjoying each other's company in every walk of life. Friendship is spoken of as being the "face" and the "garment" of conjugial love. (C. L. 214.) It is to be employed even when love is in doubt, for thereby conjugial love may return. To paraphrase the statement in that number: "Love without friendship will not endure. And this is most excellent advice to those falling in love: "Love without friendship will not endure." If you cannot be friends with your intended it is best to forget the whole thing. Love by itself is not enough.
     Conjugial friendship is "plenary" (full),-that is, on every plane of life, while other friendships are not. Friendship, of course can exist before marriage with those who know each other well. It is best that it should: there is more promise then for the marriage. After the marriage, however, the friendship should increase immeasurably; and it will, with spiritual men. But studious application may be needed for this; for friendship on every plane of life rarely comes spontaneously, and yet, the more planes of life on which it exists, the more is there the possibility of the fulness of love truly conjugial.
     Confidence-trust, reliance and belief in one's married partner. This implies such things as confidence that one's married partner will perform his work and duties, will live a spiritual moral life according to the commandments of God, will remain true and faithful, will not bruit the private matters of family and home; and so on.
     And yet, primarily, each partner must see to it that his own life is such that the other may have full confidence in him. He must lead a full life of religion; for how can the partner trust and have confidence in him unless he looks to the Lord for spiritual guidance, shuns evils as sins, and performs all the duties of his office and employment, all the duties of society and home, sincerely and justly and faithfully? Each partner, then, must do these things himself, and must also give evidence of doing them, that the other may have full confidence in him.

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But also he must seek to establish in absolute fulness such confidence toward the other.
     If these things be done, then at last, when full confidence and conjugial friendship have been added to the first delightful and romantic love of marriage, the honeymoon state will indeed have come to an end. It will be only a memory-albeit a sweet memory-of a happy time of life-happy, yet in reality comparatively empty, both of delight and of wisdom, in comparison with the present, increasingly perfect state of love truly conjugial.
PAUL SYNNESTVEDT 1950

PAUL SYNNESTVEDT        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1950

     From a Memorial Address.

     In fulness of days, a long life ended, a task of earthly service done, a well-loved friend has passed out of the world of shadow, through the gates of death, into the world of light and life. As he is even now being welcomed into that new life under the tender ministrations of the angels, he would wish us to share his newfound happiness, toward which he himself looked forward with unfailing faith, and indeed with deep conviction.
     As a young man in Chicago he was led to a knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines under the wise tutelage of the late Bishop W. F. Pendleton. He received them with gladness, not merely as an intellectual belief, but as the practical spiritual law that guided all his life thereafter. He took an active part in the uses of the Church, entering into the work of every society with which he became associated. He was profoundly devoted to the Academy, and served for many years on its Board of Directors. His interest in the civic welfare of Bryn Athyn led to his election as Burgess, performing in that capacity a use of outstanding value. He founded a firm that established a widespread reputation in the field of Patent Law.
     He loved freedom, and championed every cause that tended to promote freedom, in the country and in the world.

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[Photograph.]

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But above all else he loved the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and labored for the establishment of the New Church among men.
     When he was married he expressed the wish that, if he were blest with children, he might he given the knowledge and the wisdom to lead them to the Lord in His opened Word, to the gates of the Holy City descending from God out of heaven, that they might go no more out forever. And in the large family of children and descendants that survive him, that heartfelt prayer has been amply answered.
     We have long known Paul Synnestvedt as a kind and genial friend, a wise counselor, and a faithful co-worker in the Church, who won the admiration, esteem and affection of all who knew him.

     BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

     PAUL SYNNESTVEDT, who passed into the spiritual world on March 1, 1950, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 14, 1870, the second child of Otto Christian and Julia Borchsenius Synnestvedt. The same year, with their two children, Paul and his older brother Homer, they moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they resided for ten years. On their return to Chicago, Paul attended the public and manual training schools. He became interested in the air brake, and did work for the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, of Pittsburgh, and the Crane Company, of Chicago, meanwhile studying law. After receiving his degree from Northwestern University Law School, he was admitted to the bar in Illinois in 1897, and established a Patent Law practice. In 1902, he opened an office in Pittsburgh and moved there; and in 1913 he moved to Bryn Athyn, establishing his office in Philadelphia. Here Paul and three sons, as members of the firm of Synnestvedt & Lechner, have established an extensive practice in the field of Parent Law.
     In 1893, on the 3rd of March, Paul Synnestvedt and Miss Anna Elizabeth Lechner were united in marriage at Pittsburgh, and together they entered into the life and uses of the Immanuel Church, Chicago, in which Paul had become interested during his public school days. Their union was blest with twelve children. Mrs. Synnestvedt survives him, together with seven sons, Arthur, Hubert, George, Evan, Raymond, Kenneth, and Carl, and three daughters, Virginia (Mrs. Bertrand Austin), Lina (Mrs. Ray Odhner), and Jane (Mrs. Bruce Cronlund). Two daughters, Elsa and Anita, are deceased. There are 37 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Paul is also survived by three brothers, John, Harold, and Siegfried, and a sister, Mrs. Hilda Hager.
     Mr. Synnestvedt served for many years as a member of the Executive Committee of the General Church, and of the Corporation and Board of Directors of the Academy of the New Church.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS 1950

NOTES AND REVIEWS              1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pd.

Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
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All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager.


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$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 30 cents.
     A QUESTIONABLE VERSION.

ARCANA CAELESTIA. An English Version from the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. Nos. 2135-2605; Genesis XVIII-XX. Vol IV of the Pocket Edition. London. Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), Swedenborg House, 20 Bloomsbury Way, W.C. 1. 1949. Cloth, 18mo, pp. 453, price 3 6.
     A copy of this book has been sent to us for review. From the Prefatory Note by the Rev. P. H. Johnson we learn that the English version contained in this fourth volume of the series is part of the new translation of the entire work which the Swedenborg Society has in hand, based upon the Third Latin Edition of the Arcana Caelestia, Vol. I of which has been published. We assume that Mr. Johnson is the translator of the volume before us, although it is not stated in the Prefatory Note.
     The first three volumes of the Pocket Edition were published at intervals from 1934 to 1939. In general, they present a satisfactory English version, preserving the style of the original Latin, its distinctive terms, and thus the distinctive meaning so necessary to the exposition of the internal sense.

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Such terms as "Proprium," "Cognitions," and "Scientifics" are preserved in the text, and are briefly explained in Prefatory Notes for the benefit of the new reader.
     At the beginning of Vol. I, it is also stated in a Prefatory Note:
"The translation of the passages from Scripture is made from the Latin of Swedenborg, and is not copied from the English Bible." Volume IV departs from this desirable practice. With reference to the Scripture quotations in the Arcana, it is said in the Prefatory Note: "The translation of all quotations is from Swedenborg's Latin, but in the words of the Authorized Version in so far as this is possible." We see no objection to this where the words in the English Bible are in accord with the Latin terms which are so necessary to the internal sense. We are here dealing with a Divine Revelation in which the Lord is disclosing the spiritual sense of the Scriptures to men, and in the form best suited to that purpose. This must be the paramount consideration of any translation of the Arcana Coelestia into another language.
     Curiously enough, we find one instance in Vol. IV where it would have been well if the translator had followed the Authorized Version, but did not do so. The subject of justice and judgment" is treated in nos. 2231-2235 in connection with the words in Genesis 18: 19, "to do justice and judgment." So it is in the Authorized Version, and so it is in the Latin of the Arcana. But the translator has changed it to read "to do righteousness and judgment." How important it is to preserve the expression "justice and judgment," as it occurs in the Hebrew and in the Writings throughout, is evident from the explanation given in no. 2235, literally rendered:
     "Justice and judgment are often mentioned together in the Word, but what they signify in the internal sense is not yet known. In the proximate sense justice is predicated of what is just, and judgment of what is right. A thing is just when it is judged from good, and this according to conscience. but right when it is judged from the law, and thus from the justice (justum) of the law, thus also according to conscience, because it has the law for a rule. But in the internal sense justice is what is from good, and judgment is what is from truth. . ."
     From this it is evident that what is right, righteous, is predicated of judgment, not of justice, when we are considering the internal sense of the Word.

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The translator of this volume renders the word "right" (rectus) "correct," which would not have been necessary if he had not used the word "righteousness" instead of "justice."

     A cursory examination of the volume before us reveals that the translation departs in radical fashion from the standard set by the first three volumes of the series. The translator has adopted a style of his own, and very largely sacrifices the distinctive style of the work as it was preserved in the earlier volumes. He shows scant respect for the Latin terms of the original, which he renders in English words of his own fancy in a wholly unnecessary manner. Thus avaritia is rendered "greed" when the English "avarice" was available, and is fully treated in the Writings. So "the rational" is often rendered "the reason," and "scientifics" become "factual knowledge," while "cognitions and scientifics" are "internal and external knowledges," and so on.
     Sometimes the term used is just the opposite of the meaning in the original, as when (no. 2299) he says that "little children (in heaven) are taught by representatives suited to their attainments," which should read; "Infants are instructed chiefly by representatives suited to their geniuses." Now genius is inborn, but attainments are acquired. And we read in no. 2301: "In general, infants are of a genius either celestial or spiritual," which he renders: "In general, little children are of either a celestial or spiritual character," and the word "character" as used here implies something acquired, which "genius" is not. And so it says later in the same number that "every infant is of a disposition (indole) different from every other, and each is educated according to his disposition (indole)" and this, like genius, is inborn.
     The whole interpolated chapter on "The State of Infants in the Other Life" (2289-2309) he entitles "The State of Little Children in the Other Life" using "Little Children" instead of "Infants" because it "seems the nearest rendering in English." But the chapter definitely treats of Infancy, and not of Childhood, the two states being quite distinct in the usage of the Writings. And so, instead of the word "infantile" he speaks of their "childish understanding," "They were still very childish," although he is obliged to retain the word "infancy" in no. 2305, as he should have done throughout the chapter.

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     Where the same subject is treated in the work on Heaven and Hell, nos. 329-345, the chapter is entitled "Infants in Heaven," and it repeats many of the numbers in the Arcana chapter. As bearing upon what we have said above, let us note the following from this chapter in Heaven and Hell:

     "Infants who die are equally infants in the other life; they have a similar infantile mind, a similar innocence in ignorance, and a similar tenderness in all things. . . . For everyone who departs from the world is in a similar state of life, an infant in the state of infancy, a boy in the state of a boy, a youth, a man, an old man, in the state of a youth, a man, an old man. . . . But the state of infants excels the state of the rest in this, that they are in innocence and evil from actual life has not yet taken root in them." (330)
     "Infants differ in their disposition (indole). Some are of the disposition in which are the spiritual angels, some of the disposition in which are the celestial angels. Infants who are of a celestial disposition appear in heaven at the right: they are of the spiritual disposition at the left. All infants in the Gorand Man which is heaven are in the province of the eyes, in the province of the left eye they who are of a spiritual disposition, and in the province of the right eye they who are of a celestial disposition." (333)
     And then, after describing how "infants are educated in heaven," we are told that "after the completion of this first age they are transferred to another heaven, where they are instructed by masters." (334) And so we are told in a later chapter that "there are societies whose functions are to have the care of infants; there are other societies whose functions are to instruct and educate them when they grow-older: there are other societies who similarly instruct and educate boys and girls who are of a good disposition from education in the world." (391)

     We think it should be clear from these statements that the two chapters on the subject, in the Arcana Caelestia and in Heaven and Hell, treat of the age and state of Infancy, and not of Childhood, and that the term "Little Children" is misleading.
     And we would also ask why the term "bands" is substituted for the word "choirs" in these passages:

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". . . Little children have been sent to me in bands, and I have been permitted to read aloud to them the Lord's Prayer" (2290) and "Very often when bands of little children have been with me, since they were still very childish, . . . " (2294). They should read: "Infants were sent to me in choirs" and "Very often when infants were with me in choirs, when as yet they were altogether infantile." In view of the interesting and beautiful things now revealed concerning choirs and gyres in the other life, the substitution of the word "bands" is inexcusable.

     We have cited a few examples to indicate why we must object to the kind of loose translating that is evident throughout this Vol. IV, and why we regret that the standards of the previous volumes of the Pocket Edition were not maintained. And now we are to expect that the whole of the Arcana Caelestia is to be published in this style whereas the Church has a right to expect improvement and not retrogression in this important field.
     We would respectfully suggest to the publishing agencies of the Church that, when editions of the Writings are out of print, it would be better to reprint the best of existing versions than to rush through hurried "made to order" translations that will not stand the test of time, but must soon he replaced by well-considered and competently approved versions that will be of more permanent value to the Church.
     The style and terminology of the original Latin is that which has been provided by the Lord as the best form in which the Divine Truth revealed at His Second Advent could be ultimated in the world to be received by the minds of men. The best translation, therefore, is the one in which the style and terms of the original, and thus the real meaning, are most faithfully preserved as the most effective means of conveying the ideas to the mind of one who is capable of receiving them. This means one who is in the love of spiritual truth, and whose rational mind is open to the grasp and perception of spiritual ideas. Such a one will not be deterred by the new style of the Writings, but will be attracted by the charm of new terms which embody new and distinctive ideas.

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     1949 terminated with the hustle of preparation for Christmas, but during January and February-our holiday season-all social activities, classes and meetings were abandoned. Many of our members took the opportunity to go away for the holidays, including the Pastor and his family who spent a week near Creighton in Southern Natal. With the approach of cooler weather, the Society looks forward to renewing the normal routine.
     During the last few months of 1949 a number of Society socials were held, and all of them were outstanding successes. There was an evening spent at the Septimus Braby home; the following month, the social was betel at the home of Neville and Vivien Edley, and lastly Mr. and Mrs. Cooke organized a games evening at the Church Hall.
     The monthly suppers which were held as an experiment last year fully justified themselves, and it was found that they served an important use in combining spiritual and natural nourishment in a convivial sphere. It is hoped that it will be possible to continue these suppers in the coming year.
     December brought the bazaar and its fair share of hard work for the ladies, but the results were gratifying.

     Christmas Celebrations.-The large number of children who attended the Christmas Party a few days before Christmas made the most of the occasion. Father Christmas also came along to join in the fun and to distribute the gifts on the Christmas Tree.
     "A very happy sphere characterized our celebrations of the Lord's Advent-to quote The Adviser. Following our customary practice the festivities commenced with a children's service on Christmas Eve, after which everyone adjourned to the Hall to witness the Tableaux, which were produced jointly by the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers and Mr. John Elphick. The Christmas service itself was a joyous occasion, with a full congregation of 80, including both adults and children.

     Looking back over the comings and goings of recent months, one or two events in particular are brought to mind. In August last year, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers motored to Johannesburg and Pretoria, where they were heartily welcomed by our New Church friends, quite a number of whom are now living on the Rand in or near Johannesburg. The Pastor's visit was all too short but it was none the less appreciated by the New Church group in Johannesburg.
     Later on, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bamford and their two daughters were able to make a hurried trip to Durban from Pretoria, and it gave us a lot of pleasure to have them with us over the Christmas season.
     After an absence of almost twenty years, Mrs. Fred F. Gyllenhaal has come back to Durban on a visit to her mother, Mrs. G. E. Pemberton. By now her stay is practically over, and the time seems to have been too short. Nevertheless her family and friends have greatly enjoyed having her with them again.

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     Wedding On Saturday, 10th September Us Jillian Ann Buss, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Buss, was married to Mr. Dennis Eric Richburn, the Rev Norbert H. Rogers officiating. The bride wore a simple gown of white lace with no train. Two of her friends attended her as bridesmaid they wore dresses of pale lemon yellow and carried bouquets of daffodils. Following the ceremony a reception was held at a well-known restaurant in town where several previous New Church wedding receptions have been held. The young couple are now living at Verulam, about twenty miles from Durban.
     VIDA ELPHICK.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     Climatically, the month of February is generally a dull month in this up and coming village of Glenview. Folks get their cars stuck in the snow, and sometimes skid around on the icy roads. But this is borne with reasonable patience in the comforting thought that the vernal season of Spring is not too far away. And for the members of the Immanuel Church this second month of 1950 was filled with pleasant happenings.
     Early in February, on Friday the 10th, and for an hour and a half, we listened with rapt attention to Doctor Alfred Acton on the occasion of our belated celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday.
     The significance and importance of Swedenborg's philosophical and scientific works were eloquently stressed. Praised by some and scoffed at by others of his time. Swedenborg, the mental giant, pursued his studies and his writing with indefatigable determination. Criticism of his efforts (which he said he was well aware would be forthcoming, he bore with patience and tolerance. Dr. Acton pointed out that if we would have a fuller understanding of the Writings, it behooves us to make a study of Swedenborg's preparatory works.
     It seemed to the writer that these works were likened to stepping stones-leading to that day of days when the Lord saw fit to impart a unique gift to the mortal Emanuel Swedenborg, that he might be the means, as of himself, of bringing about the Second Coming of the Lord.
     In delivering his address Dr. Acton was his usual genial self. Without benefit of spectacles, and with the briefest of notes, he held his audience spellbound, with here and there an illustration which brought smiles-and sometimes laughter. He followed his usual procedure of proclaiming an intermission half way through his talk, realizing, no doubt, that listeners benefit by rising for a short time even from comfortable chairs.
     On the following evening. Saturday the 11th, Dr. Acton told us in detail about his recent European trip. For two hours we heard accounts of meeting which he had been invited to address, of his traveling experiences, of the trials and tribulations of Girl Country red tape, which, more than once, it would seem, was cut by the ready humor of the Doctor, and of his pleasant social visits with our many good friends in England and on the Continent At just the right juncture, the Actonic recess was employed-with its usual helpful results.

     Take a saxophone-a clarinet-a piano-an accordion-a few violins and bells, hand them to a group of Immanuel Church school children, let Conductor Stevens wave his baton, and you have our school orchestral On a Sunday afternoon we enjoyed another of Jesse's concerts, with budding musicians having a good time dishing out some mighty pleasant music for the edification of parents, relatives and friends.
     The members of the Boy's Club want to go camping again next summer. So they are putting on a series of movies, the first one on a recent Saturday evening. The picture we saw had definitely been run before-but we had a good time. Quite informal-intermissions while reels were changed-smoking allowed-candy and soft drinks for sale. Altogether a pleasant evening, and about $25 added to the camping fund.

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     For a number of months, now, a nice looking and intelligent young man from Bryn Athyn has been attending Purdue University at West Lafayette Indiana, which is 150 miles from Glenview. This distance, however, seemed to be no handicap to Allan Soderberg, who has been seen in these parts with what seemed to the writer unusual regularity. But now it comes out-and so we can include the good news that Dolores Burnham, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Burnham, is engaged to marry our good friend Allan!

     Obituary.-We record the passing of Mr. Berton W. Diem, the husband of Mrs. Alvin Nelson's eldest daughter Gertrude. He was a quiet and pleasant gentleman, with a nice sense of humor. For a number of years he had suffered from a weak heart, and on Monday, February 13th, his stay on earth ended. His friends will miss him, and to Gertrude we offer our sympathy in her sorrow.
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     Spring has arrived as we know by the arrival of the birds and also because the inhabitants of our more or less secluded borough have broken out with something called "Getting Ready for the Assembly."
     The Committee That Looks After These Things literally leaves no stone unturned to beautify the place, and to encourage the residents to "dress up" their houses and grounds. We often hear the sound of the bulldozer as landscaping, gardening and painting proceed apace, interrupted too often, it seems, by field fires that bring our local Fire Company into action.
     Not least among the places that are being improved is the Club House. A very much needed cloakroom and a porch are being added, and the grounds are being improved. The interior has been redecorated, and new drapes have been hung, making the place very attractive.
     There have been many interesting events at the Club House during the season. In March we heard a fine discussion of the topic, "Is the New Church losing its distinctiveness?" Introduced by Mr. Louis King, the subject was thoroughly canvased by the students of the Theological School, with emphasis on the reason for distinctive social life.
     On March 12th, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, of Barberton, Ohio spoke to a Sons' Chapter meeting on "The Function of the Academy as a Medium of Evangelization." And on the 14th, Mr. William P. Cole repeated an address on George Washington which he had delivered at a meeting of the Women's Guild, and which was both absorbing and enlightening.
     We have also been privileged to hear addresses by Justice Stearne, of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a member of the Frankford New Church Society, and by Dr. Michael Dorizas, an annual treat.
     The New Benade Hall has risen majestically upon the foundations of the Old Benade Hall. It is indeed a handsome and imposing building. It has grown in depth and stature, and its many uses have broadened and deepened as its teaching and maintenance staffs have increased. One could write at length about it, but there will be much to say when the time of occupation and dedication arrives.
     This new edifice must be a symbol of what our New Church Education is to do-build on the foundation of Remains, that we may erect a strong spiritual structure in our minds and hearts.
     LUCY B. WAELCHLI.

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     BALTIMORE CIRCLE.

     Pioneers.

     [Photograph]

     MR. AND MRS. HERMAN W. GUNTHER celebrate their Golden Wedding on April 29th and 30th 1950, at their home in Annapolis, Maryland (RFD 1). They belonged to the original group that formed the Circle. Mrs. Gunther, nee Lydia Regina Grebe, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Grebe, who also were members of the original group.


     [Photograph.]

     CAPTAIN ROSCOE L. COFFIN is seen at the organ in his home, 1420 Bolton Street, Baltimore. For over fifty years he has served as organist of the Circle, and still plays for the services held in the chapel on Waelchli Avenue, Arbutus, a suburb of Baltimore where the members instituted a New Church community in the year 1910.
     It was in 1897 that the Rev. F. E. Waelchli became the Pastor of the German New Church Society in Baltimore. During his pastorate of three years the "Baltimore Reading and Social Circle" was formed for doctrinal study and the promotion of New Church brotherhood. A photograph in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1941, p. 520, is a group picture of the Circle in 1900, when it bade farewell to Mr. Waelchli, who was leaving to become Pastor of the Society in Kitchener, Ontario.

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     Ministrations of the General Church were sought, and began in the summer of 1900 being provided tot the following two years by visiting members of the clergy. In October, 1902, Bishop Edward C. Bostock presided at the meeting of the members at which the Baltimore Circle of the General Church was formally organized. (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1903, p. 562.)
     Early origins at the Circle are described in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1901, p. 619, and later developments in the same journal, 1901, pp. 388, 401, and 403.
TUITION DEPOSIT CERTIFICATES 1950

TUITION DEPOSIT CERTIFICATES              1950

     Sons of the Academy

     Save You Tuition Costs!

     That's right! Buy tuition through this special plan, and you'll save money. Here's how: Every certificate you buy draws interest. It's actually worth more when you cash it in than when you buy it. Ask your Stamp Plan Representative about this money-saving plan.

     Do it NOW!
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1950

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION              1950

     The Fifty-third Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Wednesday, May 24, 1950, at 8:00 p.m. The Annual Address will be delivered by Dr. Alfred Acton, who will speak on the subject of Swedenborg's work entitled The Soul or Rational Psychology. He and the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers have collaborated in making a new translation of this work which is to be published by the Association. It is now in the press, and will be advertised shortly at a price which has not yet been determined.
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1950

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       ELDRIC S. KLEIN       1950

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Faculty and Board of the Academy of the New Church wilt be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa,, on Saturday, June 3, 1950, at 8:00 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend.
     ELDRIC S. KLEIN.

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NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1950

NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY              1950




     Announcements





     BRYN ATHYN, PA, JUNE 15-19, 1950

Wednesday, June 14.
     4:00 p.m.     Commencement Exercises of the Academy Schools
               Address: Rev. Erik Sandstrom.
     9:00 p.m.     Reception and Dance.

Thursday, June 15.
     10:00 a.m.     First Session of the Assembly.
               Episcopal Address.
     1:00     p.m.     Young People's Luncheon.
     8:00     p.m.     Second Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Rev. Elmo C. Acton.

Friday, June 16.
     10:00 a.m.     Third Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Rev. Martin Pryke.
     1:00 p.m.     Luncheon under the auspices of the Women's Guild.
     8:00 p.m.     Fourth Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton.

Saturday, June 17.
     10:00 a.m.     Fifth Session of the Assemble.
               Address: Rev. Hugo. Lj. Odhner.
     1:00     p.m.     Sons of the Academy Luncheon and Meeting.
     2:30     p.m.     Theta Alpha Service and Meeting.
     3:00     p.m.     Meeting of the Corporation of the General Church.
     7:30     p.m.     Sixth Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Right Rev. Alfred Acton.
     9:30     p.m.     Dance for Young People.

Sunday, June 18.
     11:00 a.m.     Divine Worship.
               Sermon: Rev. Norman H. Reuter.
     3:00     p.m.     Administration of the Holy Supper.
     4:00     p.m.     Administration of the Holy Supper.
     8:00     p.m.     Concert.

Monday, June 19.
     9:45     a.m.     Children's Service.
               Address:
     11:00 a.m.     Nineteenth of June Service. Ordinations.
               Sermon: Rev. Harold C. Cranch.
     7:00     p.m.     Assembly Banquet.
               Toastmaster: Rev. William Whitehead.

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SECOND COMING OF THE LORD 1950

SECOND COMING OF THE LORD        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
JUNE, 1950
No. 6
     A Talk to Children.

     Many times during His life in the world, the Lord told His disciples that, although He must for a time go away, He would surely come again, and remain with them always. The disciples did not understand what He meant. Often they wondered about it, but they were afraid to ask Him.
     One day, very shortly before His crucifixion, the Lord departed from the Temple at Jerusalem, where He had been teaching the people, and, leaving the city by way of the East Gate, He descended the steep path to the valley of the Brook Kidron. Crossing the little stream, He passed through the Garden of Gethsemane, and, following the road toward Bethany, ascended the western slope of the Mount of Olives. His disciples were with Him, and when they had reached a point near the top of the mountain, they stopped for a time, and sat down to rest. Looking back across the valley, they saw the rugged cliff of Mount Zion, crowned by the high stone wall protecting the city of Jerusalem. Behind this wall they could see the roofs of the houses, and, towering above them all, the great buildings of the Temple, gilded by the rays of the setting sun.
     Resting thus apart, in the quiet calm of the approaching evening, the disciples took courage to ask the Lord the meaning of what He had told them about the need for His going away and the promise that He would come again. "Tell us," they said, "when shall these things be?

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And what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?"
     In reply the Lord spoke to them of all the things that must happen before He could return to abide with men. He said there must be a time of war. "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places." The power of the evil would increase mightily. Those who loved the Lord would be persecuted. They would be hated, and cast into prison, and many would be killed. Others would be forced to flee away in fear. And "immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun would be darkened, and the moon would not give her light: the stars would fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens would be shaken." Then would they "see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
     The disciples, listening to the words of the Lord, wondered greatly. They did not understand how these things could be. They thought the Lord was speaking of the natural world. They thought He meant that there would be wars between the nations of the earth. They thought it was the sun of our world which was to be darkened, and our moon which would cease to shine. They thought that the stars which they saw in the sky would fall upon the earth, and that then the Lord would come as if flying through the air, riding upon the clouds, and surrounded by a great light. They thought that a host of angels would go before Him, blowing upon their trumpets, and calling together, from the four corners of the earth, all who loved the Lord and wished to follow Him.
     This is the way in which they pictured His Second Coming, and they supposed that it would take place very soon, and while they were still living: for the Lord had said, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away before all these things are fulfilled."
     Indeed, after the Lord's resurrection, all through the ages of the Christian Church, men looked for His Second Coming, and expected it to take place as here described. They watched eagerly for the signs which had been foretold-the wars, the pestilences, and the darkening of the sun. They did not know that the Lord was speaking, not of this earth, but of the spiritual world, and of things that would take place in that world at the time of His Coming.

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They did not know that by "the generation" which would not "pass away" He meant the Christian Church which was about to be established, and that 1750 years must pass before He would come again. They did not know that by the "clouds of heaven" He meant the Word, which, because it was not understood, would become like a cloud, shutting out from the minds of men the light of the spiritual sun, and that the Lord would drive away that cloud by explaining the real meaning of the Word, so that once more He might appear therein, "with power and great glory." Yet, although they did not understand, the disciples believed what the Lord had said, and waited patiently for the day of His Coming.
     It was in the year 1757 that all the things which the Lord had foretold came to pass in the spiritual world. They could not be seen by men on earth, and no one would have known anything about them if it had not been for Emanuel Swedenborg, the Servant of the Lord. In order that we might know of these important events, this man was specially prepared by the Lord. His spiritual eyes were opened, as the eyes of the Prophets before him had been opened, and he saw the great judgment upon the societies of evil spirits which had been forming for hundreds of years in the world of spirits. He saw the terrible war which the evil spirits waged against the angels of heaven. He beheld the earthquakes which shook that world to its foundations, striking fear into the hearts of the evil, and causing them to flee away and find refuge in the dark caves of the mountains. He saw great plagues and pestilences brought upon all who hated the Lord, and the storm of hail and brimstone which destroyed their cities. He saw the Lord, surrounded by the sun of heaven, separating the evil from the good, casting the evil into hell, and leading the good gently into heaven, where they were formed into many different societies of angels. And, having seen these things, Swedenborg wrote them down at the Lord's command, that we might know how the Lord had fulfilled His promise that He would come again.
     And then the Lord opened before Swedenborg the inner meaning of His Word, and caused him to write down the truth concerning God and heaven and eternal life,-the truth which had for so long been lost to men.

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When that truth was revealed, then once more men were able, even on earth, to see the Lord, to know that He was not really taken away from them, that He is with us just as truly as He had been while He lived in the natural body. By thus making known His presence, in and through the Word, the Lord has indeed come again. This is the Second Coming of which He spake to His disciples. And by this Coming He is to remain with us always, never again to depart. This is the glad message, the "everlasting Gospel," the good news, which has been given to the world through the Writings of the New Church.
     Not only did Swedenborg see these things taking place in the other world, but those same disciples, who had listened to His words on the Mount of Olives so long before, saw them also. For they had been living in that world ever since they had departed from the earth by death. They recognized in them the fulfilment of the Lords promise. They came at last to understand what the Lord had really meant; and they were filled with unspeakable joy. They wished above all things to spread the glad tidings, that everyone in the entire universe, in the heavens of distant earths, and all who had not been taught about the Lord during their life in the natural world, might know that He had come.
     It is not surprising, therefore, that after this great judgment had been accomplished, and the New Heavens had been fully formed, the Lord should have called together these same twelve disciples, and on the 19th day of June, in the year 1770, should have sent them out through the whole spiritual world to preach the Gospel of His Coming,-the Gospel that "The Lord God Jesus Christ reigneth, unto ages of ages."
     This sending out of the Twelve Apostles in the other world marks the beginning also of the New Church on earth, and for this reason we who belong to that Church celebrate that day, rejoicing with all the angels of heaven that the Lord's promise has at last been fulfilled, and giving thanks to Him for that Divine Revelation by which we have come to know that He is indeed present with us-present to lead, to teach, to heal, and to save-present as our Saviour and our God forever.

LESSON:     Matthew 24: 1-7, 29-31.
MUSIC:     Revised Liturgy, pages 425, 426, 476.
PRAYERS:     Nos. C 12, C 16.

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DIVINE HUMAN AND THE NEW CHURCH 1950

DIVINE HUMAN AND THE NEW CHURCH        W. F. PENDLETON       1950

     "And, behold, I am with thee, and I will guard thee in all places whither thou goest, and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." (Genesis 28: 15.)

     The Divine Human of the Lord is the Divine descending, manifesting and accommodating Itself to the comprehension and grasp of the faculties of man,-to man as a receptacle and a reagent, and thus to every state of reception from the highest to the lowest. And as there are three degrees of life, and hence three universal states of reception, called celestial, spiritual and natural, the Divine accommodates Itself, and in accommodating gives life, to these three degrees:-the Divine Celestial, represented in the Word by Abraham, to those in the third or highest degree of life; the Divine Spiritual, represented in the Word by Isaac, to those in the second or middle degree; the Divine Natural, represented in the Word by Jacob, to those in the natural degree.
     In the celestial degree of life, or what is the same, of love and wisdom, are all the angels of the inmost or third heaven and men on earth in whom that degree has been opened by regeneration; in the spiritual degree are all the angels of the middle or second heaven, and men on earth in whom that degree has been opened by regeneration; in the natural degree are all the angels of the first or ultimate heaven, and men on earth in whom that degree has been opened by regeneration, including the great majority of men who are in any good in the present state of the world. The Divine accommodates Itself to all in these three degrees, to every individual in each degree, and to every state of every individual, from the beginning of his life to eternity.

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     The Divine has accommodated Itself to men since the first creation, through the human of the heavens, or through an angel specially chosen, before the Incarnation, and now through the Human which He assumed and glorified when He came into the world. The Human by which the Lord accommodated Himself to man before His coming in the flesh is called the Human Divine, which is also represented by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and they also represent the human which He assumed while it was still unglorified; and the process of its glorification is described in the history of these three men, as given in the book of Genesis.
     But Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not only represent the Lord; they also represent heaven and the church; for heaven and the church are in the image of the Lord. The Divine Celestial of the Lord's Divine Human forms the inmost or celestial heaven to its image; the Divine Spiritual forms the middle or spiritual heaven to its image; and the Divine Natural forms the lowest or natural heaven to its image; and the church on earth is formed from and by these.
     The process of the regeneration of the individual man is also described in the history of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for regeneration is the image of the Lord's glorification, and it is from the regeneration of man that we are able to see and understand something of the glorification of the Lord.
     The Divine accommodation of the Lord to man is the accommodation of the Divine Love by the Divine Wisdom, and the Divine Wisdom is the Divine Truth, and the Divine Truth is the Word, which was with God, and which was God, from which is Light and Life to men, and which was made flesh, and dwelt among us. (John 1: 1-14.) The Divine Love appears in the Word, and appears as the Word; and they look in vain for that appearing who seek it elsewhere. The Word, in its degrees of celestial, spiritual, and natural, is the Divine Human which the Lord in His mercy has now revealed to man. And it is the representation of the Lord as the Word by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to which we would invite your special consideration.

     The Divine Celestial, or the Word in its celestial sense, is represented by Abraham; the Divine Rational, or the Word in its spiritual sense, is represented by Isaac; and the Divine Natural, or the Word in its natural sense, is represented by Jacob.

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These senses of the Word are the Lord in His Human, are the Lord in His Coming to the man of the New Church.
     The Lord indeed appeared in the natural, external form of a man, as a Divine Person, in order that by a historical faith a basis might be made for a rational and spiritual faith with the men of the church:
but as the mind rises into such a rational and spiritual faith, it sees the Lord as the Word, as Divine Love appearing by Divine Wisdom, and by that Wisdom leading men out of hell into heaven-into the natural, spiritual; or celestial heaven, according to the obedience and thus according to the love of his life, or according to his appropriation of love by wisdom from the Lord, who is Love Itself and Wisdom Itself.
     The three senses of the Word are the form of the Divine Love, and at the same time its instrumentality in saving the human race. For the Divine Love, which was the inmost of the Human of the Lord when He was in the world, was the Love of saving the human race; and this Love took unto itself the means of saving: and the means are Divine Truths. These means had become inadequate to accomplish the end on account of man's closing heaven to himself, or his closing the celestial and spiritual degrees of his mind: and therefore the Divine Love added a further means by which man could be reached in his fallen condition-by assuming a body of flesh and blood, and glorifying it.
     Divine Truth in the celestial and spiritual degrees existed before the Advent of the Lord, but not in the natural degree except by representatives. The Lord as the Truth Itself appeared to the angels of the heavens as a Divine Man, but not to men on earth, except representatively through an angel and for this reason the Churches before the Advent of the Lord were representative Churches.
     When men were in celestial and spiritual good, they could perceive the Divine things in the representatives, and thus be saved. But when they declined from this state and became natural, and lived in the natural, they saw only the representatives themselves, and not the celestial and spiritual truths in them; they became ignorant of the laws of spiritual life, and in many instances lapsed into idolatry, or the worship of representatives. It therefore became necessary for the Lord to reveal celestial and spiritual truth to men in their natural,-truth in a general and simple form, that natural men might be illustrated by light from heaven, or all men would have been lost, and the human race would have come to an end on this earth.

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The Lord effected this revelation of truth in the natural and to the natural by Himself coming down and assuming a natural from man through birth into the world, and glorifying the natural so assumed.
     This natural glorified is the Divine Natural of the Lord, or the Divine Natural of His Word, and is represented by Jacob. The Lord now appears as the Divine Man, or as the Divine Truth of His Divine Love, to all in the heavens, and to all on the earth who are in any state of good, and this in any state of reception from the highest to the lowest; and man is able to see truth in his natural, be illustrated there, and be led thereby out of his natural and introduced into heaven itself.
     The Natural of the Lord was glorified according to the laws of Divine order, and the process of this order in the Divine work of glorification is described in the history of Jacob, and at the same time the regeneration of the natural of man: for regeneration, as we have said, is an image of glorification.
     In the twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis we are told of the journey of Jacob toward Padan Aram, where dwelt Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramaean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Esau and Jacob. And by Laban is represented simple good, such good as is with the simple in the Christian world, with children, and with upright gentiles. It is a good that is, properly speaking, not a good of the church, but it is the means or media of introducing to the good of the church, and hence is called `mediate good,"-good without doctrine from the Word.
     Jacob was instructed to go to Laban, in order that it might be represented in the historical relation how the Lord began to make the Natural in Himself Divine, and the media used by Him to this end; and also how He regenerates the natural of man, and the media used for this, namely, good in its lowest and most ultimate form, such as is with children and the simple. And we are told how the Lord, in the course of the glorification, associated to Himself societies of spirits who were in the natural good signified by Laban, using them as means, although He took nothing from them: and how He does a like thing in the regeneration of man. (A. C. 4077.)

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     The Lord, in the work of glorifying His Human, and in regenerating man, operated and operates from the highest or inmost by the lowest or ultimate, and thus forms all intermediates, even as in the human body, from the inmost which is the brain, He forms, by the ultimate which is the skin, the heart and lungs, and the other intermediate viscera, and giving thereby a more complete form to the brain itself. Thus the Lord began with the lowest and most simple states of good,-those farthest away, as it were.
     In this Divine work,-the work of forming and filling all the intermediate degrees,-the Lord is present. even as the Divine was present with the Human, operating, guarding, preserving, leading. And so He said to Jacob, "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

     As in the regeneration of man we see an image of the glorification of the Lord, and by this image we are enabled to understand in some measure that Divine work, let us examine the significance of the words of the text as applied to man. And it is necessary to know what stage of the life of man,-his spiritual life,-is treated of here.
     The words are addressed to Jacob, on his way from Beersheba in the land of Canaan to Haran, a land of the gentiles. He was leaving the land of Canaan, where Abraham his grandfather had lived; he was leaving his father Isaac, from whom he had received the blessing by fraud; and he was in flight from his brother Esau, whom he had supplanted; and he was going to a land where Abraham had lived as a gentile among gentiles. Haran thus represents a state of dense ignorance of spiritual things, such as exists with those who are neither in the light of the Gospel nor in the light of civilization.
     The land of Canaan is heaven, and Jacob departing from that land represents the voluntary departure of man from the confines and environment of heaven, and betaking himself to the life of the world, in which life, so long as it continues, he is in great obscurity of mind as to all things of genuine religion and genuine spiritual life. As an infant he was with the celestial angels, or Abraham, and thus he was in the sphere of the good of celestial innocence, in the sphere of the good of love to the Lord. We say that he was in the sphere of these goods, by which is meant that they are not his own, but belong to the celestial angels who are with him, in whose sphere he is enclosed and enveloped, surrounded and encompassed, because there is nothing in him as yet, or while he is an infant, that is resistant to heavenly spheres.

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It is while he is in the presence and sphere of the celestial angels that celestial remains are implanted; so he carries with him a small portion or modicum of celestial angelic life, by which he can be led back to that life, to the life in the sphere of which he was as an infant.
     As an infant,-up to the period of five, six or seven years,-he was with the celestial angels, but later, in childhood, he leaves the celestial and is among the spiritual angels, or angels of the spiritual heaven, represented by Isaac. He has left the sphere of celestial innocence, the sphere of love to the Lord, and is now in the sphere of love to the neighbor-the good of the spiritual heaven-and he is at the same time in the sphere of the angelic rational, the sphere of the understanding of truth, which sphere becomes in him what is called curiosity, which has in it the beginnings of the affection of truth, and prompts him to the acquisition of the knowledges of natural and spiritual things. In this state spiritual remains are implanted, by which he can be led back again to the spiritual heaven, after having departed from it.
     As a young man, he is in the natural degree, or with Jacob. In this degree there is good from a celestial origin and truth from a spiritual origin. The former is Esau, the elder son, and is called the affection of natural good or the good of life; it is the good remaining from infancy and childhood, which was then the good of innocence, the good of love toward parents and teachers, the good of charity toward infant companions. There is a remnant of these goods with man in adult age, when he has descended into his natural; for were it otherwise the man would become more fierce than the wild beasts of the forest.
     But Esau is supplanted by Jacob and deprived of his birthright. Jacob is truth in the natural, the younger son who by fraud takes the first place. He is the truth that man learns from his parents and instructors, from reading the Word and other books,-the general truth of doctrine. Man at this time, that is, when he receives the general truth of doctrine, turns away from the good of life and puts truth in the first place, and by means of truth assumes the appearance and profession of good.

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Truth is good in form, and by means of it a man can make himself appear as good, when he has no good within, so that his good is hypocritical or meritorious.
     Thus the genuine good of life, the elder brother, is supplanted, and truth takes its place. Jacob, representing the regenerating man, who is in general doctrine, leaves his father Isaac, his mother Rebekah, his brother Esau,-leaves the land of Canaan and goes to Laban in Padan Aram. By putting the truth of doctrine in the first place, using it to present the appearance of good without the essence of it, man shifts the scene and is in other surroundings in the spiritual world than those in which he had hitherto been. He breaks off his consociation with the angels of the heavens, and goes off into the world of spirits, into the company of the simple good.
     But the Divine presence and providence is still with him, and will bring him back again. "Behold, I am with thee, and I will guard thee in all places whither thou goest, and I will bring thee back to this land: for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

     The mediate or introductory good represented by Laban is, in general, natural good, but not natural good confirmed which in itself is evil confirmed. Properly considered, it is a good that is neither good nor evil, and in this sense it is also called mediate or middle good. Those who are in this state do neither good nor evil from their own deliberate thought, but act from others, and so are easily led by the good or by the evil. They are in good not yet qualified or tempered by truth, but they acknowledge general truth when it is presented, as Laban did Jacob, seeing in that truth, however, something of gain and reward. All are in this good in the beginning of regeneration. It is good in the lowest degree, in which is much of self and the world; but it is such that it can be bent to higher good, and hence becomes the means by which the Lord leads man to the genuine goods and truths of the church and heaven.
     Man is led by his affections, and so does the Lord lead him: but He leads him into heaven by no other affection than the affection of spiritual truth. It is necessary, therefore, that such an affection be inspired into man, and take the place of the merely natural and worldly affection of the truth, or man will remain in the world worldly.

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This change takes place in the regenerating man; and the beginning of spiritual affection, the external affection of truth, is represented by Leah, the daughter of Laban, who became the first wife of Jacob. In the spiritual progression which follows, the internal affection of truth is inspired, and Rachel, the second daughter of Laban, is married by Jacob.
     Sons are born, representing principles of thought and action in the natural from a spiritual origin: and the still further acquisitions of goods and truths in the natural are represented by the flocks and herds acquired by Jacob during his stay in Padan Aram.
     The words of this history in Genesis have no reference whatever in their spiritual sense to Laban, or Jacob, or Esau, or their descendants; they were not in the spiritual states treated of, but were merely natural men. The First Christian Church was for a time in the beginnings of the states described in the spiritual sense, but it soon began to become natural like the Jewish Church. In the New Church alone are the words to be fulfilled in their spiritual meaning; in the New Church alone are men to pass through the stages of regeneration described; and, what is more, in that Church alone will men acknowledge, believe, and love the things taught in the inmost of these historicals concerning the Lord and the glorification of His Human.
     Let us remember, then, that the internal sense of the Word treats of things that will be understood, loved, and lived in the New Church; and therefore that Church is treated of from the beginning of the history of Abraham to the close of the Book of Revelation. In the light of this truth we can see that in the history before us the Advent of the Lord is treated of, His appearing in His Word, revealing its glory to the simple good in the form of the general truth of doctrine, represented by Jacob. Their state of reception is described, and thus the state of the New Church in its beginning, that it is then merely external, and not as yet an internal or spiritual Church, that worldly principles more or less reign, truths are acquired for the sake of gain, good done with an idea of merit and reward, and the presence of the Lord in His Word and in His Church not clearly seen.
     But this state is not to continue, for the New Church must become a spiritual Church, in order to be the New Jerusalem, the Crown of all the Churches.

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And so the promise is given, as it was to Jacob in Padan Aram, "Return to the land of thy fathers, and to thy nativity, and I will be with thee." (Genesis 31: 3.)

     The men of the New Church are all sharers in this first natural state, and the best we can say is that the Coming of the Lord has found them in this lowest and most ultimate of all good,-good tempered by principles of the world and of human intelligence rather than by spiritual truth. It is all the good that is left in the wreck and ruin of churches-a good that can be used only as a means to good! Can anything show more clearly how far man has fallen, how far away he is from the Divine?
     So blind is this good at first, so remote is it from a genuine state of the church, that it is said that when the Son of Man comes He finds not even faith on the earth--no faith because no charity. For the Lord in His Coming finds that even those who are to form the New Church are in no genuine charity, and therefore in no genuine faith. If the quality of this natural good is such that it can be tempered and bent by spiritual truth, and a spiritual affection of truth is inspired, then will follow a genuine charity and a genuine faith, but not otherwise.
     The question for each one to ask himself is: Am I using all the means at my disposal to cultivate the spiritual affection of the truths of the Church, or rather to provide a plane into which the Lord can flow to affect with the truth and good of heaven, breathing into the nostrils the breath of life? The means for forming a plane for the Lord to work are at hand in great abundance. They are Divine means, and Divine omnipotence is in them. It remains for the man of the Church to give his full, his free, his active consent, and the work will be done. It remains for him to obey the voice which says, "Return to the land of thy fathers, and to thy nativity, and I will be with thee." Amen.

LESSONS:     Genesis 28. Mark 1: 1-22. A. C. 3712.
MUSIC:     Revised Liturgy, pages 460, 482, 466.
PRAYERS:     Nos. 93, 100.

[NOTE: This sermon was among the papers left by the Bishop Emeritus, and has not before appeared in print.]

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HOLY GROUND 1950

HOLY GROUND       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1950

     "And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5.)

     Moses had fled from Pharaoh, and was now pasturing the flocks of Jethro, the priest of Midian, on Mount Horeb, at Sinai. Then came to him the strange sight of a bramble bush which burned with fire without being consumed. And a voice called him by name, "Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. . . I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses, afraid to look upon God, covered his face.
     At a later time. Moses, leader of Israel was to speak with God as it were "face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend." (Exodus 33: 11; Deut. 34: 10.) God was to address him openly, and not in dark speeches." (Numbers 12: 8.) Indeed, having communed with God, Moses was to descend this selfsame mountain with the tables of the Law in his hands, his own face so radiant that he must veil it before the people.
     But now Moses stands as a bewildered suppliant, brooding in solitude over the fate of enslaved Israel. Already he had perchance come into possession-in Midian-of the surviving Hebrew lore,-remnants of the Ancient Word which spoke of the land of Canaan as the land of Gods chosen people. Yet he was conscious of his human shortcomings, his stuttering tongue, his lack of influence; and was hesitant when God now called him to lead Israel out of Egypt.

     The spiritual sense of the Word discloses that by the life of Moses was represented a phase of the Lord's incarnation-the gradual reception of the proceeding Divine Truth in the Lord's human which He assumed on earth.

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It is therefore said in the Writings that the Lord, while in the world, was the Divine Truth proceeding; and specifically, that the Lord made His Human Divine Truth-made it first Truth from the Divine, afterwards Divine Truth, and at last Divine Good.
     When the Lord was born, the very flame of infinite life, which is Jehovah the Father, or the Divine Good, was His very soul or inmost: but His Human Essence was the Divine Truth, the Law Divine which was the Divine Love proceeding and taking form. And since the Lord took on a material body from the mother-a body with frailties and evil inheritance-this Divine form could not be revealed except by degrees and stages.
     Something of this is suggested when it is told how Moses whose office as Revelator made him a representative of the Divine proceeding Truth, was as a babe placed in an ark of bulrushes daubed with bitumen and pitch.
     The adoption of Moses by a princess of Egypt signified the instruction in true knowledges by which an ever widening sphere was prepared in the Lord's mind for the operation of the Law Divine: and somewhat the same is described by Moses' dwelling with the priest of Midian.
     And when we now find Moses standing before the bush which burned with a Divine fire, this is a description of the Lords own vision of the work of glorification and redemption which lay before Him. It was a revelation from His Divine Soul as to the manner in which the Divine Love might become present even in the ultimates of His Human, and how the Truth Divine must prepare the way.
     Hence the voice from the bush was heard to say. "Draw not nigh hither!" The Truth Divine in the Human of the Lord was not yet prepared to be united with the Divine Love Itself. But in prophetic vision the Lord nevertheless saw this union as the goal of His glorification; the ultimate truth of sensual knowledge was to become the ultimate of the Divine Love-united with it in the Lord's Human, yet not thereby destroyed. The Lord, differently from any angel or man, was to bear the presence of the fire of infinite love. But first His whole Human must become a form of Divine Truth, Divine Law. The Divine Truth must descend into the assumed human and prepare the way.
     Moses represented this Truth Divine in the different stages of its descent.

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Hence the office of Moses was to bring down the redeeming Law from God to men, and to find means to convince Israel, to persuade Pharaoh, to accommodate the patterns of heavenly justice to the states of a corporeal race, and to interpret and symbolize the infinite truth before finite minds.
     For the Divine Truth, in its first proceeding, is infinite and incomprehensible. It cannot be received in the understanding of any angel or man; it is the substance and sole reality which creates all things, spiritual and natural, and which makes all law in heaven and on earth, and forms the secret inner potencies and faculties of the human mind. This Divine Truth, immediately proceeding, cannot communicate itself to men directly, cannot teach except through mediations.
     Hence we learn that Moses was "not a man of words" but "heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue." For the Divine Truth immediately proceeding from the Lord is inexpressible except through mediations. It is not perceived except in its effects and accommodations, or in its operations among finite things. It is seen in the heavens as the order governing all things in the lives of the angels, ruling all the phenomena of the spiritual world, creating all the things which become visible about spirits and angels. It is seen on earth as the laws of Providence, revealed and comprehensibly active for man's salvation and for the preservation of the universe. It is known in the Church as the Divine Spirit within the Scripture and the Heavenly Doctrine-as the supreme content of the Word which is yet perceptible to men and angels only in terms of natural and rational appearances such as accord with human experience.
     And, in its further accommodations, the Divine Law of the Word is again mediated by doctrines derived from the Word through human instrumentalities of priests and teachers and parents who convey and adapt the holy of truth, serving as vessels and mouthpieces, as means by which the Law Divine may reach into every human state.
     Thus the Divine Truth proceeds both immediately and mediately. "That which proceeds mediately is adapted to the angels of heaven and also to men, for it passes through heaven and thereby puts on an angelic and human quality." But into this truth, also, the Lord inflows immediately, and immediately Himself leads angels and men.

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What is effected by mediate influx-through heaven and through men-is "relatively very little." (A. C. 7004.) And man may teach the Word, and bring it before the understanding of others, but only the immediate influx of the Lord can bring it into the heart of anyone. (D. P. 172.)
     And similarly, although Aaron was appointed as the mouthpiece of Moses to sway the people with his eloquence, it was Moses who led and inspired. Aaron therefore came to represent the Word in its letter, but Moses the Word in its internal spirit. Aaron stood for external ritual and symbolic representations, but Moses stood for the eternal law. Both were representatives of holy truth.

     When Moses stood before the burning bush, he represented a state in the Lord's Human in which the Divine Truth immediately proceeding was beginning to enter from within to fill His Human. And the words were heard, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet!" For the Divine Love could not be united to the Human until this had become purified of all sensuous appearances, and of all things derived from the heredity of mankind. And Moses-afraid to look upon God-covered his face.
     Even with the Lord, on earth, there had to be this veil between His human consciousness and the Divine omniscience of His Soul. This veil was not of the fabric of human heredity. It was not derived from the thoughts of angels or men. But it was a finite mediation none the less, even like the radiant belts which temper the fire of the spiritual Sun. To do the work of redemption, the Lord had to labor under such a veil, which, in His states of glorification and transfiguration, become almost transparent, only to return when He became immersed in temptations.
     And Moses, at the burning bush, represents the Lord in a state of temptation. For He was moved with anxiety that the Divine Truth immediately proceeding could not be received, but would be rejected and profaned. "Who am I," Moses said, "that I should bring forth the Sons of Israel out of Egypt?"
     Then it was that Jehovah appointed Aaron as the mouth through which Moses should accomplish his mission. By mediate truth, provided in the written Word and in doctrine from the Word, accommodated and conveyed by symbols, correspondences and ritual worship, salvation could be made possible, and the minds of men could be prepared from without for the reception of the Divine Truth that proceeds immediately from the Lord, and secretly touches men's hearts from within.

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     The man of today also has moments when he stands before the Burning Bush. Unwarned, he might draw near to the Word in presumptuous or flippant spirit, or use the holy things of the church for his own convenience or service, or tread the holy courts of doctrine with the muddied boots of secular philosophies. The precincts of Revelation are "holy ground." No conjunction is effected with heaven through the Word unless it is read while the spirit stands in awe before the Divine voice which speaks therein. The concerns of the world, the demands of the senses for external beauty, the truculent jealousies and wounded vanities of our hearts,-these must be removed if the Divine fire is to be seen in the ultimates of the Word.
     The whole habit of thinking from appearances and from worldly authorities or material values, the notions that cling to personalities, to expediency, to temporalities, to place, and the ideas that foment out of passion and self-seeking-all these make up those sandals which man's prudence straps upon his feet when he ventures on the deceptive roads of worldly life. But when he stands on holy ground, these confining externals of thought must be put off, if his mind is to be elevated into a place that can receive the influence of Divine Truth without perversion or profanation.
     And from above and within, the Lord guards men in a different and secret way, tempering the influx of the Divine life and carefully veiling from their view His own immediate presence, which yet pervades the whole of creation and each detail of the lives of men. Only when the heart of man has been born anew do the ministry of Aaron from without and the leading of Moses from within combine to reveal to man the immanent presence of the Lord in His Divine Human-seen now as the Divine flame of an all encompassing love that descends into the most ultimate provisions of human life, creating, sustaining, empowering, yet never consuming. Amen.

LESSONS:     Exodus 3: 1-14; 4: 10-17. John 13: 1-21. D. P. 171, 172 (parts).
MUSIC:     Revised Liturgy, pages 446, 451, 438.
PRAYERS:     Nos. 82, 91.

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GATES OF THE HOLY CITY 1950

GATES OF THE HOLY CITY       Rev. ARTHUR CLAPHAM       1950

     (Editorial in THE NEW-CHURCH HERALD, March 5, 1949.)

     One of the most attractive features of the Holy City, New Jerusalem, is that it has twelve gates, three on each of its four sides. Rightly enough, men have always perceived in this fact the lesson of a certain universality. The Holy City of God, which is the Lord's New Church, may be approached from any direction, and from whatsoever direction men approach it, they may find entrance into it.
     The meaning of the four quarters, as it is revealed in the Writings of the Church, leads us to a profounder understanding of that universality, and helps us to see who they are who will approach the Holy City, and what manner of men they are who will come to its various gates. For clearly the fact of the three gates on every side cannot mean that anyone, traveling by any road on any business and with any conceivable purpose, will necessarily find the gates of the Holy City. It may be true that "all roads lead to Rome " but if one is traveling steadily away from that city one is unlikely to reach it. Similarly, although there is an approach to the Holy City, New Jerusalem, from every side, if one has one's back turned to the city, and one's face turned in some other direction, one can hardly expect to reach any of its pearly gates, however steadily one plods along in one's chosen direction. The universality of the Holy City, indicated by its twelve gates, certainly does not mean that everyone, traveling by whatever road they choose, in whatever way they please, must eventually reach and enter the city.

     The obvious truth is that only those who are seeking the city of God come to it, and they indeed may come by different roads, or approach it in different ways.
     Since the Lord Himself is the Sun of heaven, always in the ascendant and never in decline, the four quarters have their spiritual significance from man's relationship to Him.

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Those who come by the eastern way, the way of the sun-rising, are those who are in closest association with the Lord through love to Him. It is said in Heaven and Hell, no. 148, that in the heavens they dwell in the east who are in the good of love and in the clear perception of it, while in the west are those who, though they are also in the good of love, have only an obscure perception of it. They are, so to speak, in the same direct line with the Lord as a Sun, but farther off. Not, indeed, farther from the Lord, for He is immediately present with every one of us, but farther from Him in their perception and realization of His presence and His continual maintenance of their love.
     To the south and north dwell those whose approach to the Lord is more oblique, in fact through wisdom rather than through the good of love. To the south are those who are in the clear light of wisdom, and to the north, the region of greater cold and dimness, those who are in the obscure light of wisdom.
     A similar significance is found in the four quarters from which the Holy City may be approached. That city may be found and entered by those who are in the good of love, whether their grasp and understanding of the truth they know be great or small: and it may be entered by those who really do seek the truth, whether their knowledge and grasp of truth be much or little. The simple and the learned alike may come, and will find entrance on the north and south respectively. The simple good come in by the western gates; the saints of God by the eastern way.
     It remains true, nevertheless, that only those who seek it find it and only to those who knock can the gates open.

     There is some significance also in the fact that the city has a wall and gates. Though the Holy City is not closed against any who sincerely seek it, there are barriers against improper entry. The universality of the Church of God can never mean that anybody and everybody, of whatsoever quality or character, with whatsoever notions they may cherish, belongs to and is a citizen of the Holy City. There is order in the heavens, and there must be order in the Church which is the Lord's Kingdom upon earth. Even if we do not always perceive that order here, it is perceived in the heavens, and the Church is seen as orderly or disorderly according to the real order that is in it.

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     Order involves the recognition of law. The Holy City of the Church has its laws, and no one may or can be of that City who does not acknowledge and obey those laws.
     Gates signify truths which introduce into the City, and admittance into the Holy City must mean an acceptance, acknowledgment, and confession of those introductory truths. If that is not so, it is difficult to see what reason there is for gates at all.
     It is written that the twelve gates were twelve pearls, and that each gate was of one pearl. In the Apocalypse Revealed we are taught that the twelve pearls signify the total of all the knowledges of truth and good by which man is introduced into the Church, and that `each of the gates was of one pearl because all the knowledges of truth and good signified by the gates and the pearls have relation to one knowledge which contains them, which one knowledge is the knowledge of the Lord." (916.) So again it is said that "the one pearl of great price is the acknowledgment and knowledge of the Lord."

     By whatever way one comes to the Holy City, one's entrance into it must be by the acknowledgment and knowledge of the Lord. There is no other kind of gate by which one may enter. And so again we realize that the universality of the Holy City, and of the New Church which is signified by that City, does not mean that it does not matter at all what one knows or does not know, believes or does not believe, thinks or does not think. Only the acknowledgment and knowledge of the Lord can bring one into the City.
     But what does the acknowledgment and knowledge of the Lord imply? There can be no doubt according to the doctrine of the Church that it implies the acknowledgment and knowledge of the Lord in His Divine Human as the one God. Thus it is written of the Holy City, "I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb is the temple thereof," and it is said concerning this that "it signifies that in this Church there will be no external separate from the internal, because the Lord Himself in His Divine Human, from whom is everything of the Church, is alone approached, worshipped, and adored."

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     It is, then, the knowledge of the Lord in His Divine Human as the one only God of heaven and earth that is signified by the gate of one pearl; and every gate is the same. There is not one gate for believers in that doctrine, and another for those who believe in some other doctrine concerning the Lord, and yet another for those who do not believe in Him at all. The Holy City is no disorderly rabble of people believing whatever they choose or whatever they have been taught. The approach may be from every side, but the gates are definite, and only those who do know the Lord in His Divine Human, and acknowledge Him so, and are ready to worship in that Divine Temple-they only are of the City. They only are and can be of the Lord's New Church.
     It is to this acknowledgment and knowledge that those who seek the City are brought, by the mercy of the Lord. It is possible that, because of much false teaching, they cannot all be brought to the true knowledge of the Lord in this life, and some must wait until they enter the world of spirits before they can be taught to know the Lord as He is. But until they have actually received such knowledge, and have freely, and as of themselves, acknowledged Him as their only God and Lord, they are not yet of the Holy City.
     Lest we should be accused of narrowness of mind and lack of charity, let it be noted that what we have here said is drawn direct from the teaching of the Writings revealed by the Lord, and that neither in those Writings nor in any word of our own is there the slightest suggestion that those who have not yet come to that acknowledgment are evil, perverse, unsalvable, or damned. Neither have we said that all those who, externally at least, have the knowledge of the Lord and acknowledge Him are necessarily good, and are therefore saved. But no falsity concerning the Lord can enter heaven where He is the All in all, and no falsity concerning Him can ever be a real part of His Church on earth which is the Kingdom of the Lord among men.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1950

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By

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Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
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     REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLANETS.

     Continued from April issue, p. 190.

     Under Other Suns.-It was of the Providence of the Lord at His Second Coming that the New Church should be furnished revealed knowledges concerning the planets of our solar system, and also concerning the planets that revolve around other suns. In our comment upon the general subject we would now turn to a consideration of what we are told about these distant planets, which are not visible to the people of our earth, although their suns are among the stars which are visible to us at night and have been charted by astronomers.
     One purpose in the revealing of this knowledge is to remove doubts and questions from the minds of the men of this earth as to the existence of these planets and their inhabitants. This purpose is accomplished with those who are willing to lift their thoughts above a dependence upon the evidence of the senses to a rational and spiritual view, now made possible by light from the Lord out of heaven, confirmed by the experience granted the revelator.

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The knowledges thus furnished we may call "inside information," and nothing can be truly known and understood from an outside or external view alone.
     "That there are many solar systems," we read, "may be evident to everyone from the fact that so many stars appear in the universe; and it is known in the learned world that every star is like a sun in its own place, for it remains fixed as the sun of our Earth does in its place, and that it is distance that makes it appear in small form as a star; consequently, that, like the sun of our system, each star has planets around it, which are earths, and that the reason why these do not appear before our eyes is on account of their immense distance, and because only the light from their own star reaches us, which light cannot be reflected from the planets so far as to reach us. To what other purpose could so great a heaven with so many constellations be intended? For the end of the creation of the universe is man, and that from man there may be an angelic heaven; but what would the human race, and from it an angelic heaven from one single earth, be for an Infinite Creator, for whom a thousand earths, yea ten thousand, would not suffice?" (E. U. 126.)
     "When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8: 3, 4.)
     The Infinite Divine, the Lord God, who is Divine Man, from His Divine Love, can form images, receptacles, of Himself only in an eternal and ever growing heaven from the human race of innumerable earths, supplying the endless variety of minds which contribute to the perfection and unity of that heaven.

     "That there are more earths in the universe than one can be believed by a man from this fact, that the visible universe, resplendent with stars so innumerable, is so immense, and yet is only the means to the ultimate end of creation, which is a heavenly kingdom in which the Divine can dwell. For the visible universe is the means whereby earths can exist, and upon them men, from which is that heavenly kingdom. For who can ever think that so immense a means is made for so small and limited an end as would be the case if one earth were inhabited, and from that alone a heaven existed? What would that be for the Divine, who is infinite, for whom a thousands earths, yea, myriads, would be little and scarcely anything?

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Moreover, that angelic heaven is so immense that it corresponds to the single things with man, and myriads correspond to each member, organ and vessel. And it has been granted me to know that heaven as to all its correspondences can never exist but from the inhabitants of very many earths." (A. C. 6698.)
     On the way or progression to the Sixth Earth in the starry heaven, "it was given me to observe how immense is the Lord's heaven for the angels. It was given me to conclude from the parts uninhabited that if there were many myriads of earths, and in each earth as great a multitude of men as in ours, still there would be a place for them to eternity, and it would never be filled. This I could conclude by making a comparison with the extent of the heaven around our earth, and for it." (A. C. 10784.)

     And so in our contemplation of the grand systems of the universe,-the suns with their spheres and their circling planets,-we picture the ultimate means to higher uses, fulfilled in the creation of men brought forth upon the earths, where they are prepared for an eternal life in the spiritual world after death. Of high interest, therefore, are the knowledges revealed concerning the inhabitants of the earths of other suns-their forms of mind, their idea of God and their worship, their life in society, their personal appearance and apparel, their marriages, families, and the education of their children, their homes and occupations, as well as the landscape, vegetation and animal life,-all of which the revelator was given to know by living experience of sight and speech, to record in writing, first in the Spiritual Diary, then in the Arcana Coelestia, and lastly in the Earths in the Universe, where it remains for the permanent use of the New Church. Let us here assemble some of the evidence.

     How It Was Done.-The revelator had been prepared by the Lord to experience the various forms of communication between the spiritual world and the natural world. Among other things, spirits could be given to see things on our earth through his eyes; likewise he could see things on other earths through the eyes of inhabitants whose interiors were opened. And as he lived among spirits and angels as one of them, he enjoyed the faculty of communicating with all in the other life.

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For in that world "everyone who desires it from the love of truth and thence of use is allowed to speak with the spirits of other earths." (E. U. 2.) And "they who are in heaven can speak and converse, not only with the angels and spirits who are from the earths of this solar world, but also with those who are from the earths in the universe which are outside of this solar system: and not only with the spirits and angels thence, but also with the inhabitants themselves whose interiors have been opened so that they can hear those who speak from heaven." (A. C. 9438.)
     The knowledge now revealed concerning the distant planets could have been imparted to the revelator by spirits and angels sent to him by the Lord. The celestial angels especially, dwelling in one universal heaven, are fully informed in regard to the suns and their planets, their spirits and inhabitants, and even ultimate things on the earths. And they did instruct him about many things in addition to those he saw himself. But it was necessary that he should be informed by personal experience of sight and speech, on spiritual journeys to the planets, that he might testify in a manner satisfying and convincing to the rational man of the New Church.
     That we may understand how this was accomplished, we must bear in mind the general law that communications in the other life are between those who are in like states as to the interiors of the mind, and that on this account it was necessary that the revelator be brought by the Lord into the states of the spirits of distant planets before he could communicate with them by an inter change of ideas and by speech. Those internal changes of state with him, requiring a longer or shorter period of time, took on the cuter, correspondential form of a progression through space: for this is the nature of all journeys in the spiritual world. But let us cite a few statements on the subject.

     Distance-Since I know that many will doubt whether it is ever possible for a man, with the eyes of his spirit, to see anything on an earth so distant, it is allowed me to say how the case is. Distances in the other life are not like distances on earth. Distances in the other life are altogether according to the states of the interiors of each one there; they who are in a similar state are together in one society and in one place; all presence there is from likeness of state, and all distance is from unlikeness of state.

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Hence it was that I was near to an earth when I was brought by the Lord into a state similar to the state of the spirits and inhabitants there, and that then being present I spoke with them. From this it is evident that in the spiritual world earths are not distant as in the natural world, but only apparently so according to the states of the life of the inhabitants and spirits there. The state of life is the state of the affections as to love and faith." (E. U. 135.)
     "All spirits and angels are not at a greater distance than that they can be seen; yet no more come into view than the Lord grants. Spirits who are thought of by others are present in a moment, and so near that they are present at the ear and to the touch, or at a little distance, even though they had been thousands of miles away or among the stars; the cause being that distance of place is of none effect in the other life." (A. C. 1274.)
     They who do not know the arcana of heaven may believe that a man cannot see earths so distant or through sense experience be able to relate anything concerning them. But let him know that the spaces and distances, and hence the progressions, which appear in the natural world are in their first cause and origin changes of the states of the interiors, and that with angels and spirits they appear according to those changes: and that, by means of those changes of state, they can be transferred from one place to another, and from one earth to another, even to the earths which are at the end of the universe; similarly also a man as to his spirit, his body remaining in its own place. So has it been done with me, since, of the Divine mercy of the Lord, it has been granted me to converse with spirits as a spirit, and at the same time with men as a man." (A. C. 9440.)
     "I was brought to still another earth which is in the universe outside of our solar system. This was done by changes of the state of my mind, thus as to the spirit; for a spirit can be led from place to place no otherwise than by changes of the state of his interiors, these changes appearing to him as a moving forward from place to place, or as a journey. Those changes lasted continuously for about ten hours before I came through from the state of my life to the state of their life. The Lord alone can so change the state of mind successively even until it comes to the state of another who is so distant." (A. C. 10734.)

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     Divinely Guided Journeys.-All the accounts of the visits of the revelator to other planets emphasize the fact that such journeys were under the immediate government of the Lord, who also provided attendant angels, and allowed certain spirits to accompany the traveler. We can see that the conscious intercommunications between the spirits of the different planets must be under the government of the omniscient and omnipotent Creator, to the end that uses and not injuries may result. The spirits of the planet Mercury are allowed to wander widely in search of knowledges, but they are not permitted to impart them to those of other earths. The men of our Earth also have an inclination to travel and to explore, and they carry this urge with them into the other life, where it must be regulated for the sake of use. We have the account of missionaries of our Earth who invaded the precincts of a distant planet, but who disturbed the spirits there by teaching falsities in matters of faith. A judgment by the Lord became necessary, and the disturbers were sent back to their own earth. This invasion we may regard as a permission of Providence for the sake of a use; and Swedenborg states that he was taken to that planet for the express purpose of witnessing the judgment. (A. C. 10809.) For all the planetary journeys of the revelator were under the immediate auspices of the Lord, as we read:
     "To be led to the earths in the universe is not to be led and transferred thither as to the body, but as to the spirit; and the spirit is not led through spaces, but by variations of the state of the interior life, which appear to him as progressions through spaces. . . . But to do this is in the power of the Lord alone; for there must be continual direction and foresight from first to last, going and returning, especially with a man who is still as to the body in the nature of the world, and thus in space." (A. C. 9579-9581.)

     Time.-As Swedenborg was still as to the body in the natural world and its space, he could also reflect upon the time required for the changes of state which constituted his journeys to distant planets. And so he records in the Arcana Caelestia that the journey to the 1st Earth took two hours (9582), to the 2nd Earth two days (9967), to the 5th Earth ten hours (10734), and to the 6th Earth twelve hours (10783).

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The spirits of the 4th Earth were brought to him, being so different in genius from the spirits of our Earth that they could only communicate through the spirits of the planet Mars as intermediates (10585). The 3rd Earth, as we have noted, was a satellite of the planet Jupiter. (April issue, p. 187.)
     Of the journey to the 1st Earth we read: "In a state of wakefulness I was led as to the spirit by angels from the Lord to a certain earth in the universe, accompanied by some spirits from our orb. The progression was to the right, and lasted two hours. At the end of our solar system there appeared first a shining white but dense cloud, and after it a fiery smoke ascending from a great gulf; it was an immense whirlpool separating our solar world from some of the worlds of the sidereal heavens. As I was borne across that interstice, certain spirits appeared, and I heard them conversing, and one of them said that they were guards to prevent the spirits of our world from passing without leave to another world in the universe. And certain spirits of our company who had not been granted permission to pass suffered greatly, and could not go any farther." (A. C. 9582, 9583.)
     Of the journey to the 2nd Earth we read: "Afterwards I was led by the Lord to an earth in the universe much farther away from our Earth than the first. That it was a longer distance away I knew from this, that I was led thither as to the spirit for two days; it was an earth at the left, whereas the first was at the right. . . . From the fact that the progression was prolonged for two days I could conclude that the state of the interiors of the spirits of that earth, or the state of their affections and the thoughts thence, differed greatly from those of the spirits of our Earth. Since I was taken thither as to the spirit by changes of the state of the interiors, therefore it was given me to observe the successive changes themselves before I arrived there." (A. C. 9967.)
     Of the 6th Earth we read: "I was led to still another earth outside of our solar world, and this also by changes of state which continued for almost twelve hours. In company with me were many spirits and angels from our Earth, with whom I conversed on the way or the progression. I was borne now obliquely upwards and now obliquely downwards, but continually toward the south. Only in two places did I see other spirits, and in one of those places I talked with them." (A. C. 10783.)

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     Several interesting facts are brought to view by the statements just quoted,
     1. The "great gulf" between solar systems, as described, was an ultimation of the great difference between the genius and state of the inhabitants, making an intercommunication of minds difficult for the spirits of the separate solar systems. This would not be the case on the plane of the celestial angels, who are in one heaven from all earths, and who all know one another. But on the spiritual plane the spirits and angels of each solar system form a man or a human society which is distinct in genius and state from that of every other system. The supreme end of the Divine Providence is the formation of a human society or man wherein the Divine Human of the Lord is received in love and worship for the eternal blessing of every individual therein. That the inhabitants of our solar world constitute such a man, was shown from the Writings in our issue for 1947, page 76,
     2. The faculty of reflection enjoyed by the revelator made it possible for him to observe the changes of state he was undergoing as he was being brought by' the Lord into the ruling state with the spirits of the planet to which he was being led. Such an accomplishment was in the power of the Lord alone, "with continual direction and foresight from first to last, going and returning," as we have before noted: and the faculty of reflection and observation was also provided by Him, that the fact might be recorded in writing for the information of the man of the New Church.
     3. Among the spirits of our Earth who accompanied the revelator on his journeys to the distant planets, there is the notable case of the Preacher who was in the group that went with him to the 5th Earth. From the extended account of him we would cite a few statements that will show how Christians in the other world try to proselyte among the simple good of other earths, even those beyond our solar system. We read:
     "A certain spirit was with me who, while he lived in the world, had been an exceedingly pathetic preacher and writer, and the accompanying spirits supposed that he must be a Christian in heart more than others, because in the world men judge from the preaching and the writing, and not from the life if it is not manifested, . . (A. C. 10735.)

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     "The preacher was examined as to what idea he had concerning one God and three Persons, and he represented them as three gods, though one by continuity, but he presented this one trine as invisible, because Divine: but it was perceived that he then thought only of the Father, and not of the Lord, and that his idea of an invisible God was nothing else than of nature in its first principles, from which resulted the idea that the inmost of nature was the Divine to him." (A. C. 10736.)
     "The preacher, when he was with the inhabitants of the 5th Earth, was brought into the state in which he was in the world when he wanted to preach; and he then said to the inhabitants of the 5th Earth that he wanted to preach the Lord crucified, but they said that they were unwilling to hear such a thing, and that they know that the Lord lives. Then he said that he wanted to preach the living Lord, but this also they refused, saying that they apperceived in his speech what was not heavenly but terrestrial, because much of it was for the sake of himself and his own fame and honor, and that they could tell from the sound of his voice that it was not from the heart, and that because he was such, he could not teach them. Wherefore he was silent. When he lived in the world, he had been exceedingly pathetic, and could greatly move his hearers to holiness, but that pathos was an acquired art, thus from self and the world. not from heaven." (A. C. 10755.)
     Moreover, the spirits of that earth told Swedenborg that they occasionally have guests from elsewhere who speak to them concerning God, and confuse the ideas of their thought. And when they indicated the direction from which such guests came, he perceived that they were spirits from our Earth. (A. C. 10736.)

     The 6th Earth also had unwelcome guests of this kind,-Monks as Christian missionaries teaching false doctrine concerning the Lord and disturbing the simple in faith. As the revelator and his company approached that planet, the angelic spirits there were fearful, but were reassured, and when asked what it was that had disturbed their people, they explained: "The idea of Three Persons, and the idea of the Divine without the Human in God, when yet they know and perceive that God is one, and that He is Man." And we are told further:

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     "It was perceived that the disturbers were from our Earth, being such as wander about in the other life from an urge and delight in traveling which they had contracted in the world; for on other earths there are not such travelings. And then it was discovered that they' were Monks who had traveled about in our world with an aim to convert the gentiles," (A. C. 10785.) "It was granted me to speak with one of those monks who had been travelers or missionaries in the world, and to ask him what he was doing there. He said that he taught them about the Lord, and about heaven and hell, and that they should believe everything he said; also about the power to forgive sins, to open or close heaven, He was examined then as to what he knew about the Lord, the truths of faith, the forgiveness of sins, the salvation of man, and about heaven and hell, and it was found that he knew scarcely anything, but was in obscurity and falsity' as to each and every thing, and that he was wholly possessed by the desire for gain and dominion, which he had contracted in the world and had brought with him into the other life. . . . Because he was such, he was cast into hell, and so the spirits of that earth were delivered from those monks." (A. C. 10812,)
     "Good spirits of that earth asked about the Lord and how he appears before the angels of our Earth, and it was given them to know, since it then pleased the Lord to show Himself present with them, and to reduce to order the things which had been disturbed by the evil, of whom they had complained. To see these things was the cause of my being brought thither." (A. C. 10810.)

     We need not doubt that such missionary enterprises as we have pictured continue in the other life today. Hypocritical teachers like the Preacher and the Monks-wolves in sheep's clothing-gain access to the people of far distant planets, leading some astray, bringing others into temptation-trials in which they defend their faith in the Lord, and are strengthened in their belief by resistance to falsities, receiving a new enlightenment in their acknowledgment of the Lord.
     For Swedenborg was given to instruct the spirits of the 6th Earth in the truths of the Heavenly Doctrine, which they perceived and acknowledged. (A. C. 10787.) A genuine evangelism is now going forward in the whole spiritual world in the spread of the knowledges of the Lord in His Second Coming, a work which the angels and spirits of our Earth are given to perform, and which they, like the Twelve Apostles, are performing with all zeal and labor.

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For we are told:
     "It is to be known that the Lord acknowledges and receives all, from whatever earth they' are, who acknowledge and worship God under a human form, since God under a human form is the Lord. And because the Lord appears to the inhabitants on the earths in an Angelic Form, therefore, when the spirits and angels of those earths hear from the spirits and angels of our Earth that God is actually Man, they receive that Word, acknowledge it, and rejoice that it is so. They rejoice when they hear that God assumed the Human and made it Divine, and thus that God is actually Man." (A. C. 9359, 9361.)

     WORSHIP ON THE PLANETS.

     Formal Worship.-As to the nature of the external worship of the inhabitants of these distant planets, we would here cite two instances:
     Sixth Earth. "I asked the spirits of that earth concerning their Divine worship, to which they replied that nations with their families assemble every thirtieth day' at one place and hear preachings, and that then the preacher, from a pulpit elevated a little above the earth, teaches them truths Divine which lead to the good of life. It was asked whence they know truths Divine; they' said, From revelation. Concerning revelation they said further, that it is effected in the morning in a middle state between sleeping and waking, when they are in interior light not yet interrupted by the senses of the body and by worldly things, and that at such times they hear the angels of heaven discoursing concerning truths Divine, and concerning a life according to them; and that, when they are awake, an angel appears to them in a white garment at the bedside, who then suddenly disappears from their eyes; and that from this they know that the things which they have heard are from heaven. In this way a Divine Vision is distinguished from a vision not Divine, for in a vision not Divine no angel appears. They added that in such a manner revelations are made to their preachers, and sometimes to others also." (A. C. 10833.)

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     Third Earth, a Satellite of Jupiter. "They said that their sacred temples are not built of stone, but of wood. They represented these before the spirits of our earth, who said that they never saw anything more magnificent. They' were also represented to me, whence the manner of their constriction was seen. They are constructed of trees, not cut down, but growing in their native soil, It was declared that on that earth there are trees of an extraordinary size and height. These, when young, are set in rows so that they may serve for porticoes and for galleries. In the meanwhile, by cutting and pruning the tender shoots, they fit and prepare them to entwine one with another, and join together, so as to form together the groundwork and floor of the temple to be constructed, while some branches by a side elevation serve as walls, and others, bent into an arch above, constitute the roof. In this manner they construct the temple with admirable art, elevated high above the ground. They prepare also an ascent into it by continuous branches of the trees, extended from the trunk and firmly connected together. Moreover, they adorn the temple without and within in various ways, by disposing the leaves into particular forms: thus they build an entire grove. But it was not given me to see the nature of the construction of these temples within, only that the light of their sun is let in through apertures between the branches, and is everywhere transmitted through crystals, whereby the light falling on the walls is refracted into diverse colors like those of the rainbow, especially the colors of blue and orange, of which they are most fond. Such is the nature of their architecture, which they prefer to the most magnificent palaces of our earth. The spirits of our earth held it in like esteem and preference." (A. C. 10513, 10514.)
     In another description of this temple it is said that they ascend to the highest parts and there "fall upon their knees and adore the Lord." (S. D. 1681.) "When they meet for worship they have interior joy's from the sight of the temple and from the worship therein." (A. C. 10516.)

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JUNE 19TH AND THE CALENDAR. 1950

JUNE 19TH AND THE CALENDAR.              1950

     Treating of the "Date of Swedenborg's Birth" in our issue for last February we called attention to the fact that while he was born on January 29th. 1688, according to the Julian Calendar or Old Style, this would be February' 8th according to the Gregorian Calendar or New Style which is now in use with us.
     A reader has written to say: "I was interested in your article on the date of Swedenborg's birthday in the February number. Are we also behind with June 19? And do you advocate a change in the date of these two celebrations?"
     As this question may have occurred to others among our readers, we would here say a word in reply.
     In commenting upon the date of Swedenborg's birthday, it was not our intention to advocate a change in the date of our annual celebration of that day, and we doubt whether it would be adopted if we were to recommend a change from January 29th to February 8th. The fact is that the observance in our societies and schools has not adhered rigidly to the date of January 29th in holding celebrations, but they have been held a few days before or after that date to suit local convenience. For while it has long been a useful custom to honor the man who was the chosen servant of the Lord, and to recall his life and works on the anniversary of his birth, the exact date of the celebration is not of great importance.
     June 19th is another matter, As the date given in the True Christian Religion, no. 791, when the Lord sent forth His twelve disciples to preach the Gospel of the Second Advent through the whole spiritual world, which was done in the month of June, the 19th day, in the year 1770," this date has been accepted as the Birthday of the New Church, and has become enshrined in the affections of New Church people, who sing "June the Nineteenth, Day of Days" every year in celebrating the Festival of the Second Advent of the Lord.
     Christmas Day on December 25th is firmly established as the day on which the Lord's birth into the world is celebrated, and is not likely to be changed, even though it is but the traditional date and is not based upon Holy Writ. But the 19th of June, as the Festal Day of the New Church, is based upon the solemn declaration in the Divine Revelation to the New Church, and is not likely to be changed merely because it is supposed to be according to the Old Style Julian Calendar,

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     And we are of the opinion that the date given in the True Christian Religion was written according to the Gregorian Calendar. Swedenborg wrote the first draft of the work in Sweden, which had adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1753, seventeen years before he stated that "after this work was finished, the Lord called together the twelve disciples who had followed Him in the world, and the next day sent them forth. . . . This was done in the month of June, the 19th day, in the year 1770." (T. C. R. 791.)
     The following month,-July. 1770.-Swedenborg went to Amsterdam, and there spent a year in writing the second draft of the True Christian Religion, which was published there in July, 1771. And in that draft, in nos, 4 and 108, he states that "some months ago the Lord called together His twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth into the whole spiritual world, with the command to preach the Gospel anew,"
     As the Gregorian Calendar had been adopted in Sweden in 1753, and in Holland as early as 1700, it seems quite likely' that Swedenborg, at the time of his writing and publication of the True Christian Religion, had conformed to the New Style of the Gregorian Calendar, although when he wrote the Spiritual Diary in 1747 and 1748 the dates were specified as "Old Style" or according to the Julian Calendar.
     An account of the True Christian Religion and the dates involved is given in the Tafel Documents, Vol. III, pages 1014-1020.
REPORT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1950

REPORT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY       Editor       1950

     In order that an account of the 19th General Assembly may he given promptly to our readers, it is proposed to begin publication of the material in the July issue, That will mean a slight delay in mailing the July issue, but we shall hope to mail the August number on time with a continuation of the Report therin.
     EDITOR.

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     An adult baptism is a rare happening in the Immanuel Church, but it was our privilege to be present at such an administration of the sacrament on Sunday morning, March 5th, when Aileen Badollet (Mrs. Pierre Vinet) was baptised, the Rev. Ormond Odhner officiating. On this occasion the instruction and the questions created a strong sphere on both the rational and the affectional planes. Our congratulations are extended to Mr. and Mrs. Vinet, who incidentally, are active members of the Circle of New Church people residing in Rockford, Illinois.
     It seems that certain young ladies from away, who come to teach in our school have, on more than one occasion turned into the path to matrimony. It has happened once more, and we are able to record that Miss Carol Childs, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph W. Childs, of Bryn Athyn is engaged to marry Mr. Ralph Doering Junge, son of Mr. and Mrs. Felix Junge of Glenview. With the mutual back round of several generations of New Churchmanship, these two young people may well look forward to long, happy, useful lives together as husband and wife.

     Easter.-Possibly at no time of year is there a more lucid illustration of the truth inherent in the doctrines of the New Church than during the Sunday-to-Sunday period of Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Stripped of sentimentality and worldliness, these two occasions, together with the happening on the intervening Friday, were treated of at four services of worship.
     The significance of the details of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem was dwelt upon in the sermon by the Rev. Ormond Odhner on Palm Sunday. At our Friday evening service we listened to a sermon of sombre note, in which we were reminded that we as individuals, unless we live good and useful lives, are, in our hearts, in danger of re-enacting the fatal occurrence of Gethsemane. On Easter morning at 9.30, some 100 children and many adults attended the children's service. A special offering of plants and flowers, brought to the altar during the singing of appropriate songs, created a happy, uplifting sphere. This was followed by recitations and a talk to the children by our Pastor, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton.
     The Easter Service for adults included the administration of the sacrament of the Holy Supper, with an added feature in our new silver communion set, dedicated and used for the first time.

     School Meeting.-On April 5th we enjoyed another of those useful meetings where various aspects of New Church education are treated of. Miss Carol Childs and Miss Shirley Oldie both read papers. Miss Zara Bostock also gave an illustrated talk on Art. To this layman's eye several of the sketches and paintings brought to mind those futuristic designs (by noted artists) which appear from time to time in some of the better illustrated publications of the world. The meeting was informal and ended with the serving of light refreshments-compliments of the lady teachers of the Immanuel Church School.

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     So general is the desire and intention of many of our members to attend the General Assembly next June that we are to close our school one week earlier than usual, in order to allow ample time for the adults to make ready for the trip to Bryn Athyn. This arrangement temporarily backfired on the school children. They got only a two-day vacation at Easter, instead of the usual week!

     Meetings.-The Glenview Chapter of the Sons of the Academy elected new officers at their meeting on April 16th. For the next twelve months we shall be served by: Harold Lindrooth, President; Ralph Junge, Vice President; Raymond Lee, Secretary; and Daniel McQueen, Treasurer.
     On Saturday evening, April 22nd, our Social Club sponsored another evening of entertainment. This time, old fashioned square dancing was the order of the evening. So that we might know just how to proceed, the Club had employed a professional couple who were able to put us through our paces in first class style. Appropriate costumes were worn by many of the ladies, and the general atmosphere of the whole successful evening was reminiscent of the days when oil lamps were used for illumination and the carriage was considered safer than "them there new tangled horseless buggies."
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.


     TORONTO, CANADA.

     When news is as antique as we have allowed it to become this time, it is no longer news, so we content ourselves with some general observations regarding the months of February and March, 1950.
     Our Pastor has been giving an interesting series of sermons following through the Book of Genesis, instructing us upon the internal sense revealed in the story of the lives of Abraham and Isaac. These sermons have been very illuminating, and each in itself has proven worthy of further thought, raising a considerable amount of comment in private groups. These little discussions in small gatherings can be very useful; too often the talk around the dinner table or with the aftermath coffee centers upon more mundane subjects. It would be better for us to be considering the truths to which we are so fortunate as to have access.
     The Wednesday doctrinal classes recently have centered upon the colored slides of the small models of the Tabernacle, and these have also been shown to the school children and the Young Peoples Class.
     The Ladies' Circle has had two talks from Mr. Acton on the subject of the Chronology of the Old Testament; and to make these more easy to comprehend he has provided a sufficient number of charts to make it possible for each person present to use one for her own study during the talk.
     Theta Alpha has continued the reading of the Bishop's work, The Life of the Lord. The Senior Young People have been hearing a comprehensive consideration of comparative religions, from the colorful Mohammedans to the gray Quakers.
     The Forward-Sons find for each meeting a different member to speak on one of a large variety of topics, the last two being Mr. Acton's presentation of the subject of Gambling, and Mr. Neil Carmichael's ideas on Harmony.

     Social Occasions.-On the lighter side of life, the Young People engineered a successful St. Valentine Dance. This was their first effort, and proved that they have the ability to take on many more entertainments. They returned to a custom we have overlooked for a long time,-that of having a Reception Committee. This created quite a lot of fun, in that the guests as they arrived added to it, thereby making a very long line for the late corners.
     The Ladies' Circle gave a highly successful "Do" in March, which took the form of a cafeteria supper, a sale of home cooking, and a variety entertainment. The supper was abundantly luscious; the home cooked delicacies disappeared with amazing rapidity; and the entertainment was an all-star production in television.

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Quartettes in surprising costumes sang of timely topics; there was a most thrilling whodunit entitled "The Veiled Woman"; and an ultramodern exhibition foretelling the coming spring styles in millinery, wherein Madame Nuit showed creations composed of almost anything, from metal screening to vegetables and photographs. The affair was particularly well attended, and all present seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly. We believe every lady in the Circle worked for this event, and it well repaid their efforts.
     The Circle also gave a shower at the home of Miss Edina Carswell for Miss Ethne Ridgway, in view of her approaching marriage to Mr. Harry Coy. And we have enjoyed lots of small parties that were given for various reasons, and some of them for no reason at all. Quite a few were given by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Zorn in celebration of the visit of Mrs. Sydney Parker, who brought from Winnipeg her lovely smallest daughter, Peggy Ann, whom we had not previously seen. More recently, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Knight gave a farewell party for Mr. Joseph Pritchett, who is leaving Toronto for Vancouver. We shall miss him and his family, who are to join him there later on; but we must he glad for two reasons-one, that he is to be congratulated upon the position which has come to him, and the other, that the Pritchett family will be good company for the Alec Craigies, who live in Vancouver.

     During the period we are reviewing the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson preached an outstanding sermon in Toronto, and the Rev. A. Wynne Acton paid pastoral visits to Ottawa and Montreal.
     And-very important-there were two new babies, a boy and a girl. To Mr. and Mrs. James Wilson Bond (Vera Addison), a boy-Joseph Wilson; and to Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Brown (Doris Stuart), a daughter,-Sharon Ellen.
     Your correspondent is very sensible of the honor bestowed upon her in becoming a member of the club TROONNWFNCL.
     VERA CRAIGIE.

     [Looks like a Welsh name, but Miss Craigie refers to the order of scribes recently suggested by Mr. Harold P. McQueen, to be known as "The Royal Order of News Notes Writers for NEW CHURCH LIFE"-EDITOR.]

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     School News.-The sessions of our Day School have been extended a half hour, and this extra time is devoted alternately to handcrafts and rhythm band.
     On Thursday afternoon, March 9th, the pupils entertained parents and friends with a demonstration of their progress in recitations, drill, and music, both vocal and hand. It was a patriotic program in honor of George Washington, and closed with a play entitled "A Guide for General Washington," presented by the seventh and eighth grades.
     The school has a Red Cross program consisting of a panel discussion and the writing of compositions. The pupils belong to the Junior Red Cross, and they have made wool dolls. Christmas tree ornaments, and crossword puzzle folders to be used in filling boxes.
     We were happy to have a visit from the Misses Anne Pleat and Mary Lou Williamson, senior college students in the Academy at Bryn Athyn, who came to do practice teaching in our school. Since then, Miss Pleat has accepted a position on our teaching staff, to enter upon her duties next fall. She will take the place of Miss Rachel David, who is leaving us to be married. We shall miss her, and wish her much happiness.
     The Theta Alpha meeting in March dealt with the social life of our children, and the subject was presented by Mrs. Charles H. Ebert, Jr., and Mrs. John W. Frazier. An animated discussion followed, the end result being that dancing parties are being planned for the upper grades, including the ninth, and other occasions for the younger ones.

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Miss Flora Mac Thomas has been giving social dancing classes on Saturday afternoons.

     Easter.-At a special service on Good Friday evening the sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered.
     On Easter Sunday the service of worship was for both children and adults. Bearing their offerings of plants and flowers, the long procession of children gave clear indication that the society is increasing in numbers. It was a beautiful and well attended occasion.
     A new loose-leaf hymnal has been introduced for the church services, with special music composed by Anne Lindsay York.

     Visitors from Toronto.-It was indeed a pleasure to have the Rev. and Mrs. A. Wynne Acton with us for the week end of April 14-16.
     Mr. Acton met with the Woman's Guild on Friday evening at the home of Mrs. Daric Acton. He discussed the doctrine concerning "Remains" and its application to our way of life.
     On Saturday evening a special church supper was held in the auditorium. Mr. Acton spoke on the subject of "The Glorification" as following the Easter story, pointing out ten differences between the Lord and man, and tracing the steps in glorification and in regeneration. This talk was tape recorded.
     At the service on Sunday the Pastor was assisted by Mr. Acton, who preached on the text of Genesis 25: 5, "And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac." The Lessons were: Genesis 25. Luke 13, and A. C. 3263.
     That evening Mr. Acton met with the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy at the home of Mr. Silas Williamson, and there he discussed New Church publications in England.
     Our visitors brought to us a very pleasant and satisfying week end.

     Social Activities.-Square Dancing is popular with old and young, and several gay evenings have been enjoyed.
     A number of jaunts to Laurel Hill Park have been undertaken by our hardier young people, who apparently enjoyed slugging around in snow or mud. The outstanding excursion was made by fourteen fathers and sons, whose tales and pictures lead one to believe it was a real adventure.
     Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Alden and family have moved to the country in the Leechburg area, The Price Coffin family had previously done so. This makes quite a group there, and our Pastor holds services for them at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander H. Lindsay.
     ELIZABETH R. DOERING.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Returning home after a two-months' vacation in the Florida sunshine, we find that we have been so out of touch with the Detroit Circle activities that it is difficult to find much to write about.
     However, too long a lapse between reports might give the impression that our entire Circle was on vacation, which certainly has not been the case. And so we hasten to report that our activities have been and are in full swing. Services and other meetings have been held on regular schedule and, aside from considerable sickness which kept a number of our members away for a Sunday or two, the attendance records have maintained a high level.
     Since our last report, in the March issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, we have been very happy to welcome at our services the following out-of-town visitors: From Bryn Athyn, Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Howard; Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Cole; Mr. Aldwin Smith. From Richmond, Va., Mr. Allen Smith. From Barberton, Ohio, Mrs. Norman H. Reuter. From Ann Arbor, Mich., Mr. Sergio L. Hamann. From Pittsburgh, Pa., Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Blair, Mr. Kenneth Blair, and Miss Lois Nelson.
     The annual business meeting of our Circle is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, May 28th.

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It will include the election of officers and members of the Executive Board, reports of officers, and other matters. Of the utmost importance will be a question we ate being asked by our pastor, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, to discuss and consider thoroughly. It deals with the problem of how full pastoral uses can be provided for our Circle, in view of the fact that Mr. Reuter is leaving us to become pastor of the society at Kitchener, Ontario.
     Naturally this important problem will be discussed with the greatest interest, but we have every confidence that Bishop de Charms will be able to provide a solution that will serve the best interests, not only of Detroit, but also of the Ohio Districts as well.
     After so many years of receiving the most capable and faithful services of the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, we are going to miss him most keenly, but our best wishes go with him for the greatest success in his new field.
     WILLIAM W. WALKER.

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

     The first doctrinal class of the year 1950 was conducted by our Pastor, the Rev. Harold Cranch, 00 January 11th. It was a very interesting class, the first of several analyzing the teaching on the subject of Evolution.
     At our supper on February 8th, Mr. Cranch gave us a report of the Annual Council Meetings, held the previous week in Bryn Athyn. His vivid account helped to make us realize the fine work which the members of the clergy of our Church are doing, and gave us the useful reminder that we are not only an important society, but also a part of the most wonderful church organization in the world.
     On February 10th and 11th, Sharon Church members had the privilege of attending two meetings in Glenview to hear Bishop Acton. His talks are always a real inspiration.
     The following week Mr. Cranch went to California, and on February 18th officiated at the marriage of Mr. Philip Coleman Pendleton and Miss Christine Collier Heilman in the Church of the New Jerusalem, San Diego. And he extended the trip to make visits to the New Church families and circles on his route within the time at his disposal.
     During his absence we again had the pleasure of ministrations in Sharon Church by the Revs. Elmo Acton and Ormond Odhner. At the Wednesday evening doctrinal class. Mr. Acton gave a talk on the Principles of the Academy, a subject worthy of many classes, and he gave an excellent summary of the main points.
     With the last class in March, Mr. Cranch began a series in preparation for Easter. The Palm Sunday and Easter services were lovely, in spite of very unpleasant weather. On Good Friday evening a service was held, and the sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered.

     Annual Meeting.-On April 16th the church service was followed by a delicious roast beef dinner, and this by our Annual Meeting. This is always a useful and interesting occasion, lying a resume of what has been accomplished in the past year, and renewing our hopes for doing even better in the years to come.
     The Treasurer's Report showed that the final payment had been made on the loan for remodeling our building, so that we begin this year with a clean slate. His report was not all rosy, but our experience is that a large majority want to do their part, that we need to have the facts set before us, and reminded in this way that the support of church uses is not only a duty, but also a privilege.
     Mr. Cranch presented his report as Pastor. In this he stated that he had performed 10 baptisms in Chicago during the fiscal year. Three of those baptized were adults. He officiated at four marriages, five betrothals, two confirmations, and two funerals. He reported that we have gained five new members, and lost three, one by death, and two moved away. He also spoke of the excellent work that Mr. Victor Gladish is doing in preparing bulletins for Sharon Church members.

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He also voiced the heartfelt appreciation of the congregation in mentioning the faithful services of our organist. Miss Vivian Curtis.
     The President of the Ladies' Auxiliary. Mrs. Natalie (Curtis) Stuke, reported several activities, including she work of covering the church chairs with red material to match the covering of the kneeling stools. The present financial balance of the Auxiliary is $716.00,
     In the election of officers we were fortunate in retaining the excellent services of Mr. Alexander McQueen as Secretary and Mr. Noel McQueen as Treasurer. The members of the Board of Finance for the coming year are: Messrs. Edward Kitzelman, Roy Poulson, Tom Cowood, Irving Anderson, and Charles Lindrooth.

     A new class has been started for the young members of the society. It is to be held once a month at one of the homes, where a dinner will be followed by a period of instruction and questions. Two subjects have been considered so far-the nature of the Trinity, and why we accept Swedenborg's Theological Writings as Divine Revelation.
     The two members who have moved away are Mr. and Mrs. James York. They are the kind of members that are an asset to any society, and we shall miss their charming personalities, their efficient, willing helpfulness, and their two very attractive children. We know that our loss will be the New York Society's gain, and we wish them all success in their new home.
     To ease the gap left by their removal, we are happy that Providence has led another family of exactly the same size to affiliate with us. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Crow have joined the General Church They have been regular attendants at our South Side classes for many years, and we are indeed pleased to welcome them as full members. They have a son and a daughter.
     VIVIAN KUHL,

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     May 1, 1950.-During the past three months the Kitchener Society has enjoyed many excellent sermons and classes from the Pastor, the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson. Doctrinal classes in February dealt with "The Miracles of the Word" A series on "The Development of the Rational Mind" was given in March, and two classes on "Reflection and Meditation" were given in April.
     The Society also had the pleasure of bearing sermons irons several visiting minister. On March 5th the Rev. Henry Heinrichs conducted the service while Mr. Henderson was in Toronto. On March 26th the Rev. Ormond Odhner preached, and, on April 16, Bishop de Charms.
     The Easter Services included one on the evening of Good Friday at which the Pastor preached on "The Seven Last Words" which were spoken by the Lord from the cross. Finns these seven sayings could be told the story of the Lord's final temptation and conclusive victory. On Eater morning the Quarterly Communion Service was held. The children also had an Easter morning service

     A social excising of games and entertainment on February 25th was organized by Mr. and Mrs. John Kuhl and Miss Dorie Kuhl. "Twenty Questions" started the fun, and then followed an old pencil and paper game with a new twist called "Who's Going to the Assembly?" Planned and impromptu charades had everyone taking part, giving scope to acting ability and the stretching of imaginations. Dancing, refreshments, and a sing song filled out an enjoyable evening.
     On March 10th the second term Society-School Meeting was held after Friday Supper in place of doctrinal class, in the hope that a wider audience would become familiar with these meetings and take part in the future. There was a very good attendance, and the meeting proved enjoyable and informative.

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     The Principal, Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, spoke of the work being done by the teachers in revising the curriculum and providing an integrated and rounded out course in every subject. Miss Rita Kuhl and Miss Nancy Stroh gave papers on the Art Curriculum and the Music Curriculum respectively, showing what is being done and what is hoped to be done in these subjects. The current drive on good manners and the monthly assemblies were reported on.
     The meeting ended with the Principal giving a short address on the history and uses of the Educational Council of the General Church, and on the curriculum studies in which it is now engaged.

     An evening of Court Whist was enjoyed by nine tables of card players on Wednesday evening, March 15th. High score prizes went to Miss Carita Roschman and Mr. Henderson, while Mrs. Edward Kunkel received low prize. Refreshments were served by the hostesses, Mrs. Jadah Hill and Miss Ina Bellinger.
     The International Executive of the Sons of the Academy held its Spring Meeting in Kitchener on Saturday, March 25th, bringing thirty-four visiting Sons from Bryn Athyn, Detroit, Glenview, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Windsor. The men enjoyed a luncheon at the church, and this was followed by a meeting at which very favorable reports were given by the retiring executive. In the evening a cocktail parry and banquet were held at Petersburg.
     The Semi-Annual Meeting of Carmel Church on March 31st brought the resignation of our Pastor, the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson. On April 14th a special meeting of the Society was held with Bishop de Charms presiding, at which the Rev. Norman H. Reuter was chosen to become Pastor. Mr. Reuter has accepted the position, and will commence his duties during the summer.
     On April 12th the Society was invited to the home of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Schnarr to enjoy a recital of baritone solos by Mr. Haydn John of Toronto and instrumental music by the Stroh Ensemble. Miss Korene Schnarr sponsored the delightful program and accompanied Mr. John.
     The Easter Dance, held a few weeks late on April 22, was put on by Mr. and Mrs. Allen Peirce. Our faithful old record player, with some new records, supplied the music. A few serious bridge games were fought out in one corner, despite the strain on the players in trying to hear the bidding.
Some Easter bonnets were reviewed, with Lillian Peirce as fashion commentator. Free fortunes induced prompt contributions to the cost of the evening. Cake and coffee refreshed the crowd.
     VIVIAN KUHL.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     April 26, 1950. Sundae services and Wednesday doctrinal classes have been continued as usual since our last report. "The Organs and Members of the Human Body and their Correspondence with the Gorand Man" was the subject of the doctrinal classes throughout the winter. Our Pastor used a number of anatomical charts, which were useful in illustrating the various branches of the subject, and all the classes were of very great interest.
     Events during the last few months included the Annual Meeting of the Society, the Pastor presiding. All the reports showed that for the past year the uses of the Society had been carried on efficiently. The election of officers resulted in the re-election of Mr. J. F. Cooper, Secretary. Mr. A. J. Appleton, Treasurer, and Mr. W. S. Appleton, Custodian. The two retiring members of the Executive Committee were replaced by Mr. Denis Pryke and Mr. John Boozer. The customary nominating and voting for the new Social Committee was not necessary, as Mr. and Mrs. D. Boozer and Mr. and Mrs. B. Appleton volunteered for this work. Mrs. H. Wyncoll was welcomed as an additional member of the Children's Social Committee.

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     An open meeting of the Sons of the Academy was held in March, when the Rev. Martin Pryke gave a very interesting paper on "Correspondences, Representatives, and Significatives." It showed a very deep study of the subject, and after a brief interval there was a discussion of the paper, with expressions of appreciation and thanks to Mr. Pryke.

     The Easter Services are fresh in our minds just now. On Palm Sunday our Pastor gave a special address to the children, telling them the story of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem. The children then took their offerings of flowers to the chancel.
     An evening service which included five Lessons was held on Good Friday, and on Easter Sunday morning the Holy Supper was administered. During this service the baby son of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Boozer was baptized the Rev. Alan Gill officiating.

     We were very pleased to have a visit during March from Mrs. F. E. Gyllenhaal, who was on her return journey to America from South Africa Arriving on March 17th, she spent a week end here, and it was very pleasant to see her at the Sunday morning service, and again in the afternoon for an hour or two at Mrs. Rev Gill's home, to which all were invited to meet her.
     Among the recent happy events in our Society were two births. A son to Mr. and Mrs. Alan Boozer in February; and a son, also, to Mr. and Mrs. Denis Pryke on March 25th.
     And two engagements have been announced: Mr. John Boozer and Miss Joyce Smith; and Mr. Alan Waters, Junior, and Miss Dorothy Spalding.
     Not so happy is the news that two of our young men are away on National Service. They are Jack Waters and Peter Gill, who are very much missed by the young people.
     WINIFRED A. APPLETON.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     A Welcome.-The members of the Bryn Athyn Society are looking forward to the pleasure of extending a hearty welcome to the many visitors who will come for the Nineteenth General Assembly. And the number of reservations received lead us to expect a large attendance.
     In spite of the chill and dampness of a laggard spring, the lawns are green once more, the flower gardens are blooming, the trees are in leaf and blossom, and the clean-up program that literally swept the place has done much to make the community look its best.
     During the spring months, appropriately enough, our thoughts were turned to the Divine and spiritual forces that operate to cause the growth in nature. Presenting the subject of "Influx" in a series of nine doctrinal classes, Bishop de Charms treated this phase of the subject among others in a manner that was of great interest to all.

     Easter.-Early in April the Palm Sunday and Easter Services, with their contrasting themes of solemnity and joy, seemed unusually uplifting, and the special selections sung by the choir contributed much to the sphere of worship on these occasions. The Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered at a service on the evening of Good Friday. The Easter Service for the children was impressive and beautiful, and they listened with close attention and interest to an appropriate address by Bishop Willard D. Pendleton.
     Bishop Acton delivered an address on the subject of "The Resurrection" to the April meeting of the Women's Guild, and it was greatly appreciated by the large number present, which included the College Women, who had been invited to attend this meeting.

     Club House-This popular rendezvous for gatherings of many kinds has been a busy place, what with suppers and meetings, doctrinal classes, movies, and rehearsals for the operetta "Ruddigore," which is soon to be presented in the Assembly Hall.

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This latter place has not only been the scene of the Friday Suppers and Classes, but we have had a Square Dance, a most enjoyable piano recital, and a special meeting of the Society to hear a demonstration of its various uses, in conjunction with those of the General Church and the Academy of the New Church. And the Spring Meeting of the Society, with reports of the many departments of its uses, will be held there on May 12th.
     On one evening at the Club House, Bishop Acton addressed a gathering of the members, giving an account of his recent visit to the Convention Society at Newtonville, Mass., at their invitation. Speaking to a meeting attended by seventy-five persons, including the ministers and members of several of the societies in the Boston district, he explained the order and organization of the General Church, and described its modes of operation, as well as its general principles of belief and practice. This was followed by questions and answers and a friendly discussion of the differences of view and practice in the New Church.

     Music.-"And the night shall be filled with music," or rather we should say the "afternoon," which is the preferred time for the many delightful instrumental concerts we have enjoyed during the season. The development of music in the community goes on apace, with many students of voice and instrument, and many choral and instrumental ensembles, which not only contribute to the enrichment of our services of worship, but also give enjoyable concerts in the Choir Hall.
     Thus during the month of May we have enjoyed a High School Concert and a Children's Orchestra Concert, and on April 23rd a notable concert by the Bryn Athyn Orchestra. "Notable," we say, because the program included the performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major,-a feat which calls for hearty congratulations.
     With Mr. Frank Bostock as Conductor, this organization has been progressing in skill and accomplishment through the years, and he has had the zealous and enthusiastic participation of about thirty of our members, old and young, who love this kind of thing.
     For this latest concert the orchestra comprised 18 stringed instruments, 11 wind instruments, tympani and piano, and their program took us back into the classic period with a Suite for strings by Purcell, four pieces for four b-flat clarinets by Schubert, Bach, Brahms, and Haydn, three pieces for brass quartet by de Pres, Bruckner, and Blanchieri, concluding with the Beethoven Symphony in which all took part.

     Benade Hall.-Abandoning the temporary quarters which they have used for a year and a half since the fire, the teachers and students of the College, Boys' Academy and Girls' Seminary have now entered into the use of their new accommodations in Benade Hall, although the building is not yet ready for a full occupation by all the departments.
     LUCY B. WAELCHLI.

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1950

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       E. BRUCE GLENN       1950




     Announcements




     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held in the Chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Saturday, June 3, 1950, at 8:00 p.m.
     After reports by officers of the Academy Schools, and the discussion thereof, Dean Wertha Pendleton Cole will deliver an Address.
     The public is cordially invited to attend.
          E. BRUCE GLENN,
               Secretery.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1950

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1950

     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter, of Barberton, Ohio, Visiting Pastor of the Districts of Northern and Southern Ohio, has accepted a call to the pastorate of Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada succeeding the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, resigned.
CANADIAN NORTHWEST AND PACIFIC COAST 1950

CANADIAN NORTHWEST AND PACIFIC COAST              1950

     During the summer the Rev. Karl R. Alden will go on a tour of pastoral visits to members of the General Church in Northwest Canada, and extend his journey to points in the Pacific Coast States, also to the Circles in Tucson, Arizona, and Fort Worth, Texas.
     He will leave Bryn Athyn on June 21st, and return home in time for the opening of the Academy Schools about the middle of September.
WANTED 1950

WANTED              1950

     Companion for Mrs. H. M. de Maine, semi-invalid, Washington, D. C. Small modern apartment.
     Communicate with Mrs. Victor F. Waelchli, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1950

BRITISH ASSEMBLY              1950

     The Thirty-seventh British Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Colchester on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, August 5th to 7th, 1950, the Rev. Alan Gill presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
ASSEMBLY MUSIC 1950

ASSEMBLY MUSIC              1950

     The following selections will be used in the Divine Worship held during the General Assembly:
     Hymns nos. 48. 75, 44, 16, 44, 50, 53, 17, 58, 70, 39, 24, 36, 37.
     Chants 16, 40, 46, 43.
     Psalms 15, 45.
     Anthems 7, 5, 9.
     Doxologies 17, 19.
     General Offices 2 and 5.
     Holy Supper Office.

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NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1950

NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY              1950

     BRYN ATHYN, PA, JUNE 15-19, 1950

Wednesday, June 14.
     4:00 p.m.     Commencement Exercises of the Academy Schools
               Address: Rev. Erik Sandstrom.
     9:00 p.m.     Reception and Dance.

Thursday, June 15.
     10:00 a.m.     First Session of the Assembly.
               Episcopal Address.
     1:00     p.m.     Young People's Luncheon.
     8:00     p.m.     Second Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Rev. Elmo C. Acton.

Friday, June 16.
     10:00 a.m.     Third Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Rev. Martin Pryke.
     1:00 p.m.     Luncheon under the auspices of the Women's Guild.
     8:00 p.m.     Fourth Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton.

Saturday, June 17.
     10:00 a.m.     Fifth Session of the Assemble.
               Address: Rev. Hugo. Lj. Odhner.
     1:00     p.m.     Sons of the Academy Luncheon and Meeting.
     2:30     p.m.     Theta Alpha Service and Meeting.
     3:00     p.m.     Meeting of the Corporation of the General Church.
     7:30     p.m.     Sixth Session of the Assembly.
               Address: Right Rev. Alfred Acton.
     9:30     p.m.     Dance for Young People.

Sunday, June 18.
     11:00 a.m.     Divine Worship.
               Sermon: Rev. Norman H. Reuter.
     3:00     p.m.     Administration of the Holy Supper.
     4:00     p.m.     Administration of the Holy Supper.
     8:00     p.m.     Concert.

Monday, June 19.
     9:45     a.m.     Children's Service.
               Address: Rev. Harold C. Cranch
     11:00 a.m.     Nineteenth of June Service. Ordinations.
               Sermon: Rev. Harold C. Cranch.
     7:00     p.m.     Assembly Banquet.
               Toastmaster: Rev. William Whitehead.

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NEW CHURCH AND THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD 1950

NEW CHURCH AND THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD        GEORGE DE CHARMS       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
JULY, 1950
No. 7
     An Address to the Nineteenth General Assembly.

     (Bryn Athyn, Pa., June 15, 1950.)

     The Lord alone can establish a New Church. Nor can this be done except by means of a new Revelation-the Revelation of new Truth concerning Himself, whereby men may see Him, and know Him, as they have never seen or known Him before. It is this new vision of God that is truly meant by the promised Advent of the Lord. Only to those who see Him in this new way can it be truly said that the Lord "comes." And only with those to whom He comes can the Lord establish a New Church.
     The Advent of the Lord is always foretold in the Word. Prophecies recorded in the former Scriptures lead men to expect the Lord, and thus prepare them to receive Him when He comes. And yet the manner of the Lord's coming can never be revealed before the event. This because prophecy can be understood only in the light of the day in which it is given. This light is derived from the experience of the past. Men necessarily interpret the Word, even as they interpret all things, in terms of what they already know. Beyond this they cannot think, nor even imagine. And moreover, what they do imagine, based on their knowledge of the past, is colored unavoidably by their hopes and loves. It is molded into the image of their heart's desire.

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     But the Lord, when He actually comes, always creates a new thing in the earth,-a thing so new that it is beyond all human imagination. The Lord's Advent, seen in its fulfillment, is altogether different from anything that could have been foreseen or anticipated. It strikes the mind with astonishment. It inspires awe and wonder. It appears as something incredible. And yet it is ever surprisingly simple-not nearly as spectacular as men had expected it to be.
     Because the future, as it actually unfolds, cannot possibly be known beforehand, therefore in looking forward to the Lord's Advent men always entertain mistaken ideas concerning it. These ideas are indeed founded upon Scriptural prophecy. But at best, even when the Church is in the full enjoyment of its spiritual enlightenment, the inner meaning of prophetic utterances can be seen but dimly, as through a heavy mist. And as the Church declines, as worldly loves increase and spiritual insight fades, the mental picture of the Lord's Advent becomes more and more distorted in the minds of men. It is twisted into shapes that satisfy the natural hopes and ambitions which seem so all-important, so indispensable to human happiness when the mind has been blinded to eternal values. The more men set their hearts upon earthly treasures, the more stubbornly will they insist that the Lord at His Coming must give them the things they want. They confirm themselves, therefore, in their preconceived ideas as to what His Advent must be like, and as to what it must accomplish for mankind, refusing to believe anything else.
     Yet the Lord foretells the future in the only way possible in the only way that can be understood at all by men at the time. He foretells it in such a way that men, if they will, can recognize it when it happens, even though the event is very different from what they had expected. The Lord accurately described the nature and the purpose of all prophecy when He said. "Now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass ye might believe." (John 14: 29.) This is possible because when that which is foretold has actually come to pass, the prophecy concerning it can be seen in a new light, if a man will only submit his mind to the leading and the teaching of the Lord. He must be willing, however, to modify his preconceived ideas in the light of the new Truth that now first becomes manifest.

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     Prophecy given in this way prepares men to receive the Lord at His Advent without taking away their freedom. If not only the fact, but also the manner, of the Lord's Coming were foretold in every detail, men would reject the prophecy because they could not understand it, and because it would at that time defy belief. If even then they should cling to the prophecy without understanding it, they would be forced to believe when they found it unmistakably and minutely fulfilled. Such a faith would not be a matter of free choice. It would be produced, not by love, but by necessity. Yet it is the faith of love on which all the true happiness of heaven depends. Wherefore the Divine end in prophecy is by no means to compel belief. Its purpose is merely to present the opportunity and open the way, for all who are willing to do so, to see the Lord and recognize Him at His Coming.
     The Lord's Advent always takes place, however, at the end of a church. He comes because evil has increased beyond all bounds, until indeed it threatens the total destruction of the race. He comes when the former Scriptures are no longer adequate to protect men from the overpowering influence of the hells-when the real meaning of the Word has been so perverted that it can no longer serve as a means of salvation. He comes, therefore, when the loves of self and the world, the greed for power and for wealth, have widely taken possession of the minds of men, holding in bondage even the simple in heart. And because these loves keep the mind focused upon the things of earth, they render it blind to any true vision of heaven or of the Lord.
     This is the real reason why there are so few who are willing and able to receive the Lord at His Coming. Wherefore the Lord said in explaining the parable of the unjust judge. "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?' (Luke 18: 7, 8.) The fact is that He never finds more than a small remnant who are willing to receive Him. This is not the fault of the Lord. It is not due to any imperfection in the prophetic Word. It is not even due to the limitations of the human mind that prevent men from knowing the future as it will actually be.

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It is solely because men turn away from the Lord, refuse to follow Him, and insist upon being led by their own intelligence because this promises the fulfillment of their own will.
     It has ever been so. The law that governs it is eternal and unchanging. Looking back, we may see a perfect demonstration of it at the time of the Lord's First Advent. The Jews had interpreted the Old Testament prophecies as a Divine promise that a Messiah would be born who would deliver them from their natural enemies, and raise them to a position of unprecedented power, wealth, and prosperity. He was to inherit the throne of David, and introduce an endless era of grandeur that would far surpass all the glories of Solomon. All the nations of the earth would be subject unto Him, who was to be the Divinely ordained King over the chosen people of God. This concept of the Messiah was fully confirmed by the literal statements of Scripture. It was mistaken for the very Word of God, and was regarded as the very corners-tone of Jewish faith.
     The multitudes, therefore, who in increasing numbers followed the Lord Jesus Christ during the years of His ministry, did so because they hoped and believed that He was destined to become the Messiah of their dreams. And although He who was born in Bethlehem, who grew up in Nazareth, who walked humbly among them in simple garb, preaching a strange but powerful doctrine concerning the Kingdom of Heaven, consorting with publicans and sinners, and refusing to incite the people to rebellion against their hated Roman conquerors-although He was very far from what they had expected Him to be, yet as the fame of His miracles spread abroad, the belief grew in the minds of many that He was merely biding His time, and that at the appointed hour He would seize the throne and lead them on to victory over all their enemies. This is why vast multitudes hailed Him with such joy on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when He re-enacted the ancient ceremony of coronation. And it is the reason why only a few days later, when it became evident that He was not to fulfill their ambitions, these same multitudes melted away, or joined with those who cried out against Him, demanding His crucifixion.
     The Prophecies of the Old Testament did lend themselves to this worldly and nationalistic interpretation.

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If they had not done so, they could not have served the Divine purpose of preserving with a people so external-minded that faith in the Advent of the Savior without which the Christian Church could not have been established. Yet these same prophecies contained a deeper truth that could be seen, though vaguely, by the simple in heart. There is much in the story of the Old Testament to show that the true purpose of religion is not to heap worldly wealth and dominion upon a single nation without regard to the welfare of others. There is much to indicate that Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth, is the God of all nations-a God of justice and of mercy, whose love goes out in equal measure to all men.
     It was self-esteem, the spirit of greed, and the lust for power that led the descendants of Israel to ignore these plain teachings of the Scripture, while they cherished and magnified every appearance that they were indeed God's chosen people, destined to inherit the earth. Surely the wish was father to the thought. Yet so firmly was this idea crystallized by centuries of tradition; so deeply was it impressed upon their minds from earliest childhood; so appealing was it to their hereditary desires; that they could be led to discard it only with the greatest difficult. Even the Apostles, who were closest to the Lord, failed to grasp the real import of His teaching. Not until after He had risen from the tomb did they even begin to see Him truly. Nor co old they even then suddenly be liberated from their former concepts. Only by slow degrees, through bitter struggles and temptations, as the history of the early Christian Church bears ample testimony, could this new vision of God penetrate the dense clouds of false ideas that had darkened the minds of men for many generations.
     What was it that gradually dispersed these shadows of the past? It was the plain teachings of the Lord preserved in the inspired writings of the Evangelists. It was with those who saw the Lord Jesus Christ present in the New Testament, speaking to them, revealing to them living Truth from God out of heaven, that the Lord could dispel the clouds. These could be led into a simple but unquestioning faith in the Lord as the one God of heaven and earth, and on that faith, as upon a Rock of eternal Divine Truth, the Christian Church could be founded.

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     But those who accepted this belief had to contend with many who opposed it. The form of the New Testament was very different from that of the Law and the Prophets, which alone the Jews had been accustomed to regard as the Word. It was not easy for them to ascribe to these strange writings the same sanctity and the same authority as they were wont to accord to the former Scriptures. Some wished to accept them only in part-only so far, that is, as they did not run counter to cherished ideas. Others, the Judaizing Christians, held that the Lord intended His teaching solely for the Jews, that traditional Jewish laws and religious customs were to be fully observed, and that Gentiles must submit to circumcision before they could be admitted into Christian fellowship. The Gnostics sought to harmonize the teachings of Jesus Christ with the philosophies of Greece and Rome, producing thereby a hybrid religion based on no authority save that of learned men. But it was those who looked to the New Testament as the one source of spiritual instruction, who sought to understand this new truth, to interpret both the Old Testament and the thought of the ancient philosophers in the light of this as a Divine Revelation from God, according to which they were to order their lives-these it was who formed the Primitive Christian Church.

     It is no cause for wonder, then, that in our day there should be few who are prepared and willing to receive the Lord in His Second Coming. The conditions that have brought the First Christian Church to its end, and that have made the Second Advent necessary, are not essentially different from those that obtained in the Jewish Church when the Lord was on earth. When the Lord promised to come again, it was just as impossible for men to foresee how this Advent would be accomplished as it was for the Jews to know beforehand the real meaning of the prophecies concerning the Messiah.
     When the Lord said to His disciples, "They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24: 30), the early Christians thought of Him as returning in Person to establish His Kingdom On the earth. When He added, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Matt. 24: 34), they expected an immediate return within the lifetime of the Apostles.

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They could not know, what is now revealed, that "The 'coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory' signifies His presence in the Word, and Revelation, 'clouds' signifying the sense of the letter of the Word, and 'glory' the internal sense of the Word." (H. H. 1.) They could not know that the "generation" which was not to pass was the spiritual generation of that simple faith in the Lord that must be preserved with a remnant, lest He be totally rejected at His Coming.
     No one could imagine that a man named Swedenborg would he raised up to become the servant of the Lord, and to publish books setting forth by Divine inspiration the internal sense of the Word and the Doctrine of the New Church-books on each of which, in the spiritual world, was to be written, "Hic Liber est Adventus Domini, scriptum ex mandato," or "This Book is the Advent of the Lord, written by command." Only by Swedenborg himself could it he made known that, "since the Lord cannot manifest Himself in Person, . . . and nevertheless has foretold that He was to come and establish a New Church which is the New Jerusalem, it follows that He will do this by means of a man, who is able not only to receive these doctrines in his understanding, but also to publish them by the press." (T. C. R. 779.)
     This Second Coming of the Lord, in its actuality, is utterly different from anything that those who belonged to the First Christian Church expected it to be. Like the Jews, they based their belief on the literal statements of the Word. And like the Jews, as the Church declined, they interpreted these statements more and more in accord with natural loves and worldly ambitions. With the rise of the scientific age, doubts have steadily increased as to the very existence of any Divine Revelation. Those who still believe in the Bible are firmly convinced that no further revelation is possible. Those who cling to a simple faith in the Divinity of Jesus Christ are fully persuaded that He is to come again in Person, according to the literal predictions of the New Testament.
     But among the learned the idea has been ever more widely spread abroad that Jesus Christ was not God incarnate, but was merely a man of surpassing moral wisdom and insight. Few indeed in the modern Christian world remain who believe that anything is known or can be known as to the nature, or even the existence, of a spiritual world; and, therefore, whether or not man does actually survive as an individual after death is regarded as an unsolvable mystery.

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In consequence, men for the most part have abandoned any search for spiritual truth. The church offers no solution to the deeper problems of human life, but is content to devote its energies rather to the cause of moral and social uplift. Its goal is an earthly kingdom of wealth, prosperity, good will, and universal happiness, to be achieved by the rapid advance of scientific knowledge applied to the solution of all the problems of society by the ever-growing skill and innate intelligence of man unaided by any Divine Revelation.
     These mistaken ideas, either openly taught or subtly insinuated into the plastic minds of growing children, buttressed by a mass of scientific facts and theories, constitute a powerful deterrent to the acceptance of the Writings. They erect an almost impassable road block in the path of those who are seeking the truth concerning God and eternal life. It is not surprising, therefore, that few are willing even to approach the gates of the New Jerusalem. Nor is it surprising that, among those who do approach, many find it impossible to accept the Heavenly Doctrine with full conviction of its Divine Source, or to acknowledge without reserve its Divine Authority.
     We find indeed the same pattern of resistance to the complete acknowledgment of the Writings as that which confronted the early Christian Church fathers in their effort to establish an unquestioning faith in the New Testament. There are those who accept those portions of the Revelation which specifically expound the former Scriptures, while denying the authority of other parts. There are those who contend that, while the Writings are an immediate Revelation from God. they are not the Second Coming of the Lord. This Coming, they say, is effected by a universal influx into the minds of men, quite apart from the Heavenly Doctrine. These, like the Judaizing Christians of old, look for a revival of genuine faith and life in all the existing Christian sects, rather than to the establishment of a distinct New Church. Still others claim that the Writings are a letter of the Word, which can be understood only if they are interpreted according to the laws of exposition laid down in the Writings themselves. These laws, it is held, must be applied to the new Revelation in exactly the same way as the Writings apply them to the former Scriptures, "without reserve or difference."

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Such interpretations are then regarded as Divinely true, and in this way the source of Divine Authority is shifted from what the Lord Himself says to the perceptive insight of regenerating men.
     In contradistinction to all of these, the General Church has been founded upon the simple belief that the Writings are the Word of the Lord in His Second Coming; that they are the Lord Himself in His Divine and Glorified Human present with us, and teaching us in clear and rational language the true way of life. We regard that teaching in its entirety as the Divine Law revealed. We would submit our lives to its leading, that it may govern our thoughts, mold our character, and direct our actions in all things. We would seek an ever deeper and more perfect understanding of spiritual Truth, as in its purity and Divine perfection it is presented to us in the Heavenly Doctrine. And we would seek to apply that Truth to the right solution of every problem which confronts us as individuals, as parents, as members of society, and as members of the Church. There is no field of human activity wherein we would not look to the Writings for guiding principles to determine our course and the direction of true progress. For not otherwise, we believe, can the New Church be built within us and among us, by the Lord Himself.

     We speak of this at the opening of this General Assembly because we believe that this attitude toward the Writings is the living soul of the New Church, and the hope of its eventual establishment as the Kingdom of God on earth. The Church exists with those who see the Lord, acknowledge Him, and worship Him from the heart. Nowhere can the Lord be truly seen in His Second Coming except in the Heavenly Doctrine. Therein alone does He stand revealed to the spiritual sight of men and angels. Yet it is true of us, as it is of all men, that our vision of the Lord is obscured by external appearances, by traditional ideas, and often by proprial loves that tend to distort it. With us, as with the Lord's disciples at His First Advent, these mental obstructions can be removed only by slow degrees. This removal can be effected only as we grow in the knowledge and the understanding of Truth concerning the Lord, as that Truth is now revealed in the Writings. The acquisition of this knowledge and the perfection of this understanding is a lifelong process. Knowledge is acquired by systematic reading and study.

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Understanding is perfected by reflection, by discussion with others, and by experience in applying to life what we have learned.
     But how fruitful our reading and reflection will be depends entirely upon the attitude with which we approach the Writings. If we see in them merely the works of Swedenborg the man, we will judge them in the light of his day and time, imposing upon them all the limitations that this implies. If we regard them as in part the Word of God, and in part the product of human intelligence, we necessarily make our own fallible human judgment the criterion of Truth. If we regard them as a cryptic letter of the Word, and ascribe Divine Authority to our individual perceptions of what that letter really means, we again make our own intelligence the criterion of Truth.
     Only if we see the Lord in the Writings; only if we see them as a marvelous accommodation to our finite minds of His Infinite Love and Wisdom; only if, in approaching them, we heed the admonition of the Lord to Moses at the burning bush, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground," can the Lord withdraw us, step by step, from the errors of our mistaken human thinking, and lead us into an ever deeper and truer understanding of His Word. Only thus can the Lord truly come" to each one of us. For, as the Writings plainly teach, "By 'the Coming of the Lord' is not meant His appearing with angels in the clouds, but acknowledgment in hearts by love and faith." (A. C. 6895.) And only with those to whom the Lord "comes" in this way can the New Church be established. Nor is it merely by intellectual understanding that this is effected, but by living faithfully according to that which we are given to understand. For the Lord hath said, "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (John 14: 21.)
     This is the reason why, in the General Church, we believe that the Lord has come, not merely to change our theological beliefs, but to establish with us a new way of life. It is the reason why we believe that out of the Writings must grow new modes of worship, new modes of education new modes of social intercourse, new principles of moral conduct, of ecclesiastical and civil government, and of philosophic and scientific interpretation in every field of human activity.

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In all of these we must submit our minds humbly and willingly to the guidance of Revealed Truth, seeking in all things to be faithful to what the Lord Himself plainly teaches in the Heavenly Doctrine. Not otherwise can our daily prayer be granted, "Thy will, 0 Lord, be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth."
     May we, at this Assembly, renew our vision of the Lord in the Writings. In every time of temptation when faith grows dim, may we confess our blindness, and pray for new enlightenment, even as did the man who cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9: 24.) In a spirit of complete devotion to the Heavenly Doctrine, may we never cease to strive for a deeper understanding of the Truth there given, that we may learn ever more perfectly to fulfill the manifold uses which the Lord calls upon us to perform, in obedience to His Law, and under the leading of His Providence. For then the Lord Himself will build His Church within our hearts, and in His own good time will cause the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, to descend from God out of heaven, bringing peace, and joy, and untold blessing to all mankind.
REPORT OF THE ASSEMBLY 1950

REPORT OF THE ASSEMBLY       Editor       1950

     In printing herewith the text of the Episcopal Address by Bishop George de Charms which was heard and discussed at the Opening Session of the Nineteenth General Assembly, we begin publication of the Report of the Assembly. This will be continued in our next issues, and will bring to our readers the text of the Addresses and Sermons, the Journal of the Proceedings, the Reports of Officials, and Accounts of the Banquet and other features of the program.
     EDITOR.

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REV. F. W. ELPHICK 1950

REV. F. W. ELPHICK       Rev. NORBERT H. ROGERS       1950

      [Photograph.]

     REV. F. W. ELPHICK.

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     A Memorial Address.

     (Delivered at a Memorial Service held in the Church of the Durban Society on Wednesday, April 5, 1950.)

     We are gathered together at this time to commemorate the entrance into life of our friend and brother, the Reverend Frederick William Elphick, and at the same time to turn our thoughts to those eternal verities which the Lord has revealed to us in the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church, a strong love of which characterized Mr. Elphick's whole life. On account of this love, it was his particular delight to impart to others, by precept and by example, a knowledge, understanding and affection of the Lord's truths.
     We are taught that the Divine end of creation is that there may he an angelic heaven from the human race,-a heaven where all those created and formed by the Lord in His own image and likeness may dwell to all eternity in an ever more perfect state of life, that is, of intelligence and wisdom, freedom, use and happiness. And to the end that men might enjoy heavenly life and its fulness, and to the most sublime degree possible, the Lord in His infinite mercy and wisdom created the natural world, and ordained that every man should be born into that world, and that his first conscious life and environment should be natural. This was ordained for the sake of man's spiritual development. And so we are taught that the prime and essential purpose of natural life-of all things natural-is man's preparation for his eternal life and use in heaven.
     That man may live on earth, and through that life prepare himself for heaven, the Lord has provided that he should have a natural body. In outward appearance the natural body is the man himself. This appearance is necessary. But the Lord has always made known that it is only an appearance. The Lord has always made known in His Word-and never so clearly as in His Revelation to the New Church-that the real man is his spirit which is within the body, and that the real life and use of the man are the life and use of his spirit.

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The natural body is but an outer covering, a garment, designed to clothe the spirit and to protect it during its development on earth. The natural body is but an instrumental means enabling man's spirit to dwell on earth, to acquire those knowledges and experiences which constitute the ultimate bases of the eternal progress and life of the spirit, and to perform uses on earth.
     For the attainment of these purposes, the natural body of each one is most perfectly constructed and formed, both as to generals and as to every least particular. It is perfect as the natural clothing of the spirit. It is perfect as the natural clothing of the spirit, and as the natural dwelling place of the spirit. It is perfect as the natural instrument for the life and use of the spirit. Yet, however perfect it may be, the natural body is purely natural and material, and can never be anything more than this. This is necessarily so, that the body may serve the spirit on the natural plane. And because the body is merely natural and material, it is characterized by countless limitations of time and space, and is subject to all manner of natural imperfections and limitations.
     But though the natural body has been given to man by the Lord, and is most perfectly designed to serve the spirit on the natural plane, promoting its eternal life and use, it can do so only for a time. Sooner or later, as the spirit develops, the body's natural limitations, imperfections, and infirmities begin to hamper a man's spiritual life and use, and do so more and more until finally the body becomes a greater hinderance to the spirit than it is of use. Just when this state is reached can sometimes be seen on earth, and sometimes not. But whatever external indications there may be, the truth is that the Lord alone knows the exact time when the natural body ceases to be able to serve man's spirit adequately. And whenever that time comes, whatever the man's natural age and state may be, be it in early childhood, in the full vigor of manhood, or late in life, be it in health or in sickness, the Lord in His merciful Providence causes the man's spirit to be released from the natural body and to continue his life and use in the spiritual world, free from the natural limitations of time and space, free from the burdens of natural infirmities and obstacles.

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     The release of the spirit from the natural body is the purpose and use of death. And when we look upon it from considerations of purpose and use, as we in the New Church are taught to do in regard to all things, we are led to see that the death of the natural body is essentially a merciful act of Providence, a supreme evidence of the Lord's infinite love and kindness towards man, being not the end of his life, but the continuation of life in a more perfect state.

     Viewing death in the light of these teachings will not prevent us from feeling a sense of loss and the consequent grief when one whom we have dearly loved and respected has passed into spiritual life. Nor are we to be ashamed of our grief. For we are taught that the Lord permits us to come into a state of sorrow and mourning, and in Providence makes use of them to draw us nearer to Him in the fulfillment of His eternal ends with us. The teachings of the Writings will not prevent us from feeling sorrow, but they will turn our thoughts away from ourselves to the Lord and to the wonderful new state of life in which the loved one finds himself after death. From this we draw consolation. From this our grief becomes tempered and dissipated in time by a feeling of thanksgiving, yea, even of joy on account of the loved one who has gone before us into the spiritual world.
     Comfort, too, is drawn from the assurance that man remains the same after death as he was before in the world, except that he no longer has a material body. For man is man from his spirit which lives to eternity, and the removal of his material body makes no essential change in him. He lives on as he had been in the world, clothed in a spiritual body which appears the same as the natural body, and interiorly qualified by the same loves and affections that had animated his spirit and characterized his life while on earth.
     For this reason we are taught that man after death continues to have the same quality of life as he had interiorly while on earth, that he continues in the same spiritual uses he had performed while on earth, and that he continues to be associated and conjoined with the same spiritual societies and, interiorly, with the same people on earth with whom he had been conjoined by interior loves while on earth. In the case of married partners who have been united by the spiritual bonds of conjugial love, "the two are not separated after the death of one, since the spirit of the deceased dwells continually with the spirit of the one not yet deceased, and this even until the death of the other, when they meet again, and reunite themselves, and love each other more tenderly than before, because in a spiritual world." (C. L. 321.)

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     The Lord alone knows the interior states of a man's life, the eternal use for which he was created, and the quality of his loves. These man cannot know. Yet we are taught that indications of interior states and loves are given in externals, and according to these we are permitted to judge and to form some idea of interior states with man. And from such indications that appeared in the natural life of our friend, Frederick William Elphick, we can see that he was animated and motivated by a great love for the Church of the Lord, and, making one with this, by a deep love for his wife and family. To the Church and his family he devoted his life; in them he found his delight.
     His love for the Church, and his desire to serve it, made itself apparent early in his life. For as a young man he was an active supporter and leader in the New Church Society in London, willingly undertaking all the tasks that were given him to perform. Though he earnestly desired to enter more fully and actively into the use of establishing the New Church on earth, and found little satisfaction in his secular occupation, he acted upon the counsel of his pastor and waited patiently for the indications of Providence, trusting that he would be led to the way in which he could best serve the Lord.
     He served his country as a volunteer in the First World War, from 1915 to 1919. Some time after his demobilization, at about the time of his marriage, the opportunity was in Providence opened to him to join the staff of the newly formed Native Mission in South Africa. For a time he served the Mission in a secular capacity. Then, in order to enter more fully into the missionary work, he enrolled in the Theological School at Bryn Athyn. When his course had been completed, and he was ordained into the Priesthood of the New Church, he returned to the South African Mission and devoted his life to the spreading of a knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines among the African people. And though fully occupied with this work, when the need arose he willingly undertook the added responsibility of ministering to the European members of the New Church in this country, serving them faithfully and well.

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     It was his lot to serve the Church at a time of great trouble and strain, as a result of which much of his work was undone. Circumstances beyond his control arose to prevent his serving his flock in the way he wanted to, and in the way he knew he ought to serve them. He was given many provocations which would have aroused bitter animosity and a desire to retaliate in kind with a lesser man. But our beloved friend was a man of peace and forbearance, who strove continually to mend the breaches that had been made by others, and strove to heal the wounds which had been inflicted by others. Though hurt, he did not willingly or knowingly hurt others. Though he met with discouragement, he did not give way to discouragement. Though he was required to perform many unpleasant tasks, he did not permit his personal feelings or desires to interfere with what he considered to be his duty. He was calm and gentle, ready to help all who came to him, whoever they might be, and whatever their need. And because of all these qualities he was a man whom both Africans and Europeans learned to trust, to respect, and to love.
     But in spite of the troubles that befell him in his life and in his use, in spite of the temptation doubts these must have aroused in him, we may be assured that he was sustained by the Lord, by a confidence that the Lord's will would be done. We may be assured that he had an inner conviction that the way of peace and justice was the way the New Church should go to realize the vision of the New Jerusalem. We may be assured that he was touched by the loyalty and devotion of his people, and found exceeding great joy in them. And we may be assured that he found great comfort, encouragement and happiness in the love of his wife, and of his children, which was never lacking to him.
     In the passing of our friend, the Church on earth has suffered a great loss. But we know that even now he is continuing in his use, serving the Lord and the Church, in the spiritual world more fully and perfectly than he could before. And we know too that the spiritual use he is performing will continue to affect men on earth and will enter into and be ultimated through the work of all those who love the Church of the New Jerusalem and zealously strive to establish that Church among men. Amen.

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MISSION SOCIETY'S TRIBUTE 1950

MISSION SOCIETY'S TRIBUTE       S. T. MATSHININI AND P. SIBEKO       1950

     In Memoriam.

     We commemorate the passing into the spiritual world of the Rev. F. W. Elphick, who has long been known to us. We have known the body; yet it was not the body that we knew, but the spirit which is the man himself. We knew that spirit or that man as a faithful and trustworthy man; a man eager in his calling; a man who was a sympathetic friend; a man who, above all, manifested the truths of religion in his outward speech and deeds. That man was clothed in a body, and that body is now separated; it is now buried in the grave, and will never be resumed.
     It is clear that it is the spirit, and not the body, that is the man. And because the spirit cannot die, therefore it is impossible for any human being to think of himself dead. We can conceive of the death of the body, especially of the body of others, but to conceive of our own death is beyond the power of the human spirit, and this because the spirit cannot die.
     Yet, despite this, doubt is rife in the Christian world concerning the life after death. Many doubt it; many deny it; many, again, seek vainly for the truth by the speech of spirits with men; and although such speech has been recorded, yet the doubt remains.
     Now the Lord, for the sake of the preservation of His Church, has enlightened men, so that they should no longer walk in darkness, but should know something concerning the spiritual world, and especially concerning the life of that world, which is the life of the spirit of a man even while he dwells in the body.
     This revelation has now been made, and in the only way that such a revelation could be made, so as to enlighten the reason of man. It has been made, not by the conversations of a spirit with men, but by means of a man whose spiritual eyes were opened, so that he could be in both worlds at the same time, and could observe the spiritual. And the chief gift in this revelation is the conviction that man lives a man after death, that the spirit of man, which expresses its love and thought in the body, can never die, that it rises in the other world, and appears in that world as a man, just as before.
     Death does not separate the one who has departed from those with whom he was one in love and in faith. The mere disappearance of the body cannot affect the conjunction of love and of thought.

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Just as temporary absence in this world does not affect the conjunction of those who are one in love and faith, so neither does that absence which is the death of the body.
     Man is born into this world that he may perform uses. For the Lord's love is such that He wills to give every good to man; and it is of His wisdom, and of His providence, that He shall give that good by means of men, and this in order that men, in the performance of uses, may find the delight and happiness of life.
     The life of our great Pastor has borne fruit in both of these respects. He did whatever possible he could do amongst his people; especially amongst Africans has he inspired confidence and trust; and he has brought new ideas and new thoughts by which others will benefit. But, above all, he has brought spiritual affections and spiritual perceptions for the enrichment of the Church.
     It was an ancient custom to mourn the dead for three days. So we, when we view our Brother's departure in the light now revealed, when we see in the clear light that he is not dead, but living, that he is the same man, in the same love and faith, in the same active life and use, we can put away mourning, and can say: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? O Father, let Thy will be done in heaven and on earth!"

     On behalf of The Alexandra Society,

          REVS. T. MATSHININI AND P. SIBEKO.

165, 11th Avenue, Alexandra Township.
Johannesburg, 21st April, 1950.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 1950

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH              1950

     FREDERICK WILLIAM ELPHICK was born in London, England, on August 3, 1883. He was the eldest child of Frederick and Louisa (Waters) Elphick, who were among the foundation members of the first Academy movement in England under the leadership of the Rev. R. J. Tilson. Later they joined the newly organized General Church of the New Jerusalem, as also in due time did their son, Frederick, known to his friends as "Derick." He took a keen and active interest in the uses of the Peckham Rye Society during the pastorate of the Rev. Andrew Czerny.
     In 1915 he joined the British Army as a volunteer, and spent nearly three years in Macedonia and Turkey until his demobilization in 1919.
     At London, on April 30, 1921, with the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal officiating, Mr. Elphick married Miss Bertha Barger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gerrit Barger, of The Hague, Holland. Mrs. Elphick survives him, together with a son and two daughters: Eleanor Louise (Mrs. Frederick H. D. Lumsden), John Frederick, and Vida. His sister Edith and his brother Felix, members of the General Church in England, have made contributions to the pages of NEW CHURCH LIFE in recent years.
     In 1921, shortly after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Elphick went to Masero, Basutoland, where Mr. Elphick assisted in the work of the South African Mission under the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, Superintendent. In 1924, Mr. Pitcairn made it possible for him to attend the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church. He and Mrs. Elphick and two children therefore journeyed to America and resided in Bryn Athyn for two years, during which their daughter Vida was born.
     In the second year of his theological course, from January to May, 1926, Mr. Elphick was Acting Minister of the Advent Society in Philadelphia. He was ordained into the first degree of the priesthood at Bryn Athyn on February 7, 1926, and into the second degree at Kitchener, Ontario, on June 19th, 1926. He then returned to South Africa with his family, going by way of England where he attended the British Assembly and delivered an address on "New Church Education."
     Having been appointed by Bishop N. D. Pendleton to be Superintendent of the South African Mission, with headquarters at Alpha, 0. F. S., he took up his residence there and entered into the duties of that function, in which he was to devote the remaining twenty-four years of his life, not only in the uses of administration and pastoral visiting, but also in the theological instruction and training by which Native men were prepared for the ministry. In 1931, after his home at Alpha had been destroyed by fire, he moved with his family to Durban, and there established the headquarters of the Mission. For six years during the last war he served the Durban Society as Acting Pastor (1940-1946), in addition to his duties with the Native Mission. He remained active as Superintendent of the Mission until the day of his passing to the spiritual world, after a short illness, on Palm Sunday, April 2, 1950, in his sixty-seventh year.

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     Mr. Elphick attended the General Assembly held in London in 1928, and also the one held in Bryn Athyn in 1946, when he also visited societies of the General Church in the United States and Canada giving accounts of the work of the South African Mission.
     His literary contributions to the pages of NEW CHURCH LIFE covered a period of thirty years (1921-1950) in the form of his public addresses, sermons and doctrinal papers, as well as news and official reports in great numbers. He also edited and supervised the publications of the Native Mission, including the Magazine UMCAZI, a Liturgy, and many translations of the Writings into the Native language.
LOVE OF COUNTRY 1950

LOVE OF COUNTRY       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1950

     In itself, the love of country is a natural love. This is true, because what is meant by the word "country" is peculiar to the natural world. The word refers to the land or territory of a nation-the native land of those who are born there. It is their fatherland, and for this reason the love of one's country is also called patriotism." from the Latin patria,-fatherland.
     But all these terms are natural. There are no countries in the spiritual world, in the sense that spirits live permanently in societies according to nationality. The societies of heaven are formed according to the spiritual loves of the angels. The whole of heaven is the Lord's kingdom; all the angels therein are the Lords subjects. In place of a natural love of one's own country, there is the spiritual love of the Lord's kingdom.
     On earth, because there are countries, there must be a love of one's own country. Order, progress, and the performance of uses require this love. It is a natural love of great importance. It is, in fact, necessary to the preservation of human life on earth, and to the progress of man towards truly human associations in charity and peace. Countries or nations, separate and distinct, are as necessary to the people taken collectively as parents are to every child. For this reason the Writings call the country the natural mother, and the church the spiritual mother (A. C. 8900e), and the uses of a country to its citizens they compare to the uses of parents to their children.

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     If there were no mutual love between parents and their children, there could be no living together, no performing of uses to one another, and no performing of uses cooperatively to other people. Without this mutual love the family would be destroyed, and human life would be destroyed. The same is also true in respect to love of country. Wherever this love is weak, there is backwardness, disorder, and the constant threat of destruction throughout the country; wherever it perishes, the country ceases to exist. These two loves,-the love of parents and the love of country,-are the basic or fundamental loves of human life, human order, and human progress.
     The importance of the love of country becomes increasingly evident from the further fact that the unselfish love of one's own country, which is the love of the country's good more than one's own good, becomes in the other life the love of the Lord's kingdom. After death, with one who has lacked an unselfish love of his own country, there can be no love of the Lord's kingdom, no love of heaven. While a man is living on earth, unless he has an unselfish love for his country, which is to love his country's good more than his own, he cannot have any genuine love for the church, which is the Lord's kingdom on earth. Furthermore, no reformation and regeneration are possible apart from love of country, any more than a house can be built without a foundation.
     We shall be able to realize the importance of the love of country, and to understand clearly the way in which the country can be loved, and the way in which the country loves its citizens, if we keep in mind that the country is a greater man, with abilities, qualities, and uses corresponding to those of an individual man. As we visualize our country as a man, and according to the extent of our knowledge of its history, its economy, and the uses it performs to its own people and to other peoples, we are able to honor and love it. When it is the Lord's good pleasure, angels can see any kingdom or country as a man in a form that is the likeness of its quality. Men also can visualize the countries or nations on earth in a similar way, and in every age some men have done so, as is well known. But the judgment of men, because they cannot know the hidden purposes of anyone, is much less certain than that of the angels, and so the likeness they draw may be false. But some degree of that angelic ability is necessary, if man is to love his own country; and the more of good from the Lord he perceives in its people, and in the services they render to one another and to other countries, the more reason a man has to love it.

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     It should be known that, in the Divine Providence, every country on earth has been raised up to perform uses, and to serve a common purpose. A country is able to perform far greater uses than any individual man can perform. A country has a power for good, and also for evil, far beyond that of any one man, or of any lesser society of men. This is why one's own country is to be loved more than a friend, and even more than a society. But to love one's country truly, the love must come from some degree of truth and good from the Lord within one's self; and to love it unselfishly, which is to love the country's good more than one's own good, the evils of self love must be shunned as sins against both the neighbor and God.
     The many natural uses of a country are well and widely known. They are much the same in all countries, and yet each country has its own distinct use. This is determined by Divine Providence. by the racial and native endowments of the people, by the religious beliefs and practices, by the freedom they cherish, the education they foster, the form of government they adopt, by their land's natural resources, and other forces,-all of which are agencies in welding the people together according as they are actuated by a common purpose. This can be effected even with millions of people drawn from many national and racial sources; for every new generation, born and reared within the country, will come into the general likeness of the country, more especially as love of country grows and is cleansed of selfishness and greed, and as education lifts the people out of ignorance, and introduces them into common knowledge and ideals.
     The country also performs internal and spiritual uses. These can be known and perceived from Divine Revelation. It cannot be known what particular spiritual use each country performs, for the Lord alone knows this; but what the probable spiritual uses of some nations are can be seen from the Divine Revelation given us in the Writings, especially from what is said there in regard to ancient and modern nations. Moreover, it may be that the special spiritual use of a country corresponds to its special natural use.


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But the general spiritual use of all countries is to establish and protect the worship of God, more particularly the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one God; for only by means of such worship can there come the spiritual charity and freedoms that will enable men to overcome, as of themselves, the evils that bring misery and destruction to mankind.
     The spiritual uses are served outwardly by those within the country who profess religion, and by the organized churches. The church universal, whose members are known to the Lord alone, performs those uses internally, unseen by men. Yet men can see the ideals envisioned by a few, and taught to the people, and then maintained by a zealous advocacy of their value-ideals of freedom, justice, industry, and service. Upon these ideals spiritual virtues can be based, and into them there is an influx from the other world powerfully inspiring the love of those virtues in the minds of the people.
     In recent years, many have thought that a love of mankind is a higher love than love of country and should take its place. They consider themselves internationalists, and above any sole allegiance to the country in which they hold citizenship, or they regard that allegiance lightly. Undoubtedly such people are without the love of country. Either they never had it, or they have buried it under the loves of wealth and power, both of which loves, because they are universal, know no bounds when they are inordinate and corrupt. The growth and the sphere of materialism destroy the love of country. But whatever isms people may adopt, the evil roots are the loves of self, of the world, power, and wealth. It has been so in every age, and history, from ancient to modern times, repeats the same human ambitions, even though the dress may be changed.
     These evil loves also produce an ambition for hugeness, or a desire to gather all things and all people within their embrace. They misapply the truth that in unity there is strength. There is strength in unity of spirit, which is unanimity, but not in simple unity; just as perfection is not in mere oneness, but in the harmony of innumerable units. The reformation of the world cannot be effected by making all of its nations one huge country. This is opposed to Divine Providence. It is mere human prudence, acting apart from Divine Providence, and against what has been shown as the course of Divine Providence from the creation of mankind. It is opposed to the revealed truth that one earth is insufficient to fulfill the Divine ends and to show forth the infinity of God.

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It is contrary to the order of heaven. Heaven is constituted of innumerable societies, and those societies may seem small to us. But the pride of unregenerate man is in bigness. It produces towers of Babel, huge business monopolies, immense empires; for pride feeds upon such conquests. Yet such pride is always in the end overthrown, because, to attain its end, it destroys or enslaves many natural loves, and among them the love of country.
     Then, out of the misery which its fall brings to innumerable people, there spring up again the natural loves, the loves which are Divine gifts, the loves which are the natural life of every man, and which can be transformed into spiritual life. For love is the life of every man. Even the destructive fires of warfare clear the ground of the human spirit of those poisonous weeds, and there spring up anew the loves of parents, of society, country, church, and the Lord's kingdom, yea, of the Lord Himself.
     It is our duty and privilege to cherish love of country in ourselves and in our children. That love is natural, but it cannot spring up and grow without diligent cultivation of it. At first it is a blind love. With many it is really only an unstable sentiment. But the intelligent adult, and especially the New Churchman, should have this love deeply rooted and well trained, should feel strongly its delights, and should realize the wide responsibilities that go with it, even to the giving of ones own life in defense of one's country. When there is this love, the Lord can give with it the corresponding love of His heavenly kingdom,-a love that endures to eternity.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1950

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE

Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pd.

Published Monthly By

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Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
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     REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLANETS.

     Continued from the June issue, p. 274.

     Living Experience.-In concluding our comments upon the revelator's journeys to the planets beyond our solar system,-all under the Lord's auspices and direction, from first to last, both going and coming, and this to the end that the information thus acquired might be recorded in writing for the use of the New Church,-we would speak now of his actual and living experiences in meeting the angels, spirits, and inhabitants of those planets, and of the various forms of communication by which he was enabled to undergo those experiences.
     As we have before observed, it was important that he should learn by sight and speech in the vicinity of each planet visited, in order that he might bear confirmatory testimony to the truth of what he was given to record in writing, not as hearsay, but as the evidence of his own senses. For it could all have been told him by angels and spirits sent to him by the Lord, but it was not of the Lord's Providence that it should be done in that way, although it was often through angels and spirits that he received instruction about the things he saw in the course of his experience.

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     It was by actual experience that he learned the mode of all journeying in the other life, which is solely by changes of the states of the interiors of the mind or spirit, and not by actual conveyance from place to place, though these interior changes put on their corresponding external appearance of a movement from place to place, thus from our earth to the distant planets visited. When he had been brought interiorly into the state of the spirits of a distant planet, he was as really present with them as if he had been transported bodily to that planet.
     Moreover, he was given to reflect upon the successive changes of his state, and to discuss them with the spirits he met or with those who accompanied him from this earth. He was also able to note the time elapsing, because he was still as to the body in the natural world. Spirits living in the other world do not commonly reflect upon the things of space and time, nor upon their own interior changes of state; they have such reflection only when it is granted them by the Lord for the sake of a use to themselves or others.

     That Swedenborg the revelator could have been told about the planets and their inhabitants without actually visiting them in spirit, was because there is in the spiritual world a universal communication of ideas and knowledges between all who are in like states of spiritual affection and thought. This may be illustrated in the natural world by the radio communication which can be set up between any two points around the earth when they have "tuned in." Such a communication can be set up between any two spirits in the universe as soon as they have "tuned in," that is, have come into a similar state as to the interiors of the mind.
     All spirits are near the earth from which they came, and they retain in the natural memory a knowledge of their life in the natural world, as well as a knowledge of their own planet. And while the natural memory is closed after death, it may be opened when this is granted by the Lord for the sake of a use to themselves or others. So it was that the revelator was given to know many facts about the planets from the memory of spirits. Of this we read:

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     "Of the First Earth in the Starry Heavens.-I was led by angels from the Lord to a certain earth in the universe, where it was given to look into the earth itself, though not to speak with the inhabitants there, but with the spirits who were thence. For all the inhabitants, or men of every earth, after completion of their life in the world, be come spirits, and remain about their own earth. Yet from them information is given concerning the earth, and concerning the state of the inhabitants there; for men who depart out of the body carry with them all their former life, and all their memory." (A. C. 9578; see 9699.)
     "Of the Fifth Earth-It was given me to speak with these spirits about their own earth; for this all spirits know when their natural or external memory is opened by the Lord, since they have this memory with them from the world, though it is not opened except of the Lord's good pleasure." (A. C. 10751.)

     On the plane of the mind above the memory, there is no barrier to an interchange of thought and affection between those who are in like states, however distant their respective planets are. When a use is to be served, they are present to sight, to hearing, and even to touch (A. C. 1274) and thus are able to communicate by oral speech in a universal language which all in the spiritual world know. "For there is a universal language in which are all angels and spirits, and it has nothing in common with any language of men in the world. Every man, after death, comes into this universal language; for it is implanted in every man from creation, and therefore everyone can understand another in the whole spiritual world." (A. R. 29.)
     This explains why the revelator was able to speak with the spirits of any earth, and also with the inhabitants whose interiors were open; and, in the case of these latter, he was also able to see the planet itself through their eyes, just as spirits were able to see our earth through his eyes. Of this we read:

     "It is to be known that spirits and angels, when it is the Lord's good pleasure, can see those things which are in the world through the eyes of a man; but this the Lord does not grant to any other than one to whom He gives to speak with spirits and angels, and to be with them. Through my eyes it has been given them to see the things which are in the wend as manifestly as I myself do, and also to hear men speaking with me." (A. C. 10813e.)

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     "When it was given the spirits of the Fifth Earth to see the objects of this earth through my eyes, they paid very little attention to them, because it was customary with them to think remotely from the nearest objects, and thus not to see them except in shade." (A. C. 10712; E. U. 134, 135.)
     It is graphically illustrated by the case of the pathetic Preacher and Writer who accompanied the revelator to the Fifth Earth. While this Preacher lived in the natural world, he had not believed in the existence of any other earth than our own, but he was shown the error of this notion by an experience with the people living on the Fifth Earth in the Starry Heavens, as thus described and explained:
     "The Preacher who was with me did not at all believe that there are other earths than our own, because he had thought in the world that the Lord had only been born on this earth, and that without the Lord there is no salvation. Wherefore he was reduced into a state similar to that of the spirits when they appear on that earth as men, and in this manner he was let into that earth, so that he not only saw it, but also spoke with the inhabitants there; which being done, communication was thence given with me, so that I saw the inhabitants in like manner and also some things upon that earth. Spirits and angels can speak with men of any language, for their thought falls into the ideas of the men, and thus into the words of their speech." (A. C. 10752.)
     How the Preacher was "let into that earth" was explained by the spirits of that earth, who said that "it is effected b their being let into their natural or external memory, and thence into the thought in which they were when they lived in the world, and that then the interior sight of the inhabitants is opened, or the sight of their spirit, and the spirits appear to them; and the inhabitants do not know otherwise than that the spirits are men of their earth, until the spirits suddenly disappear." (A. C. 10751.)

     Other Modes-Swedenborg was given to witness the experience of the Preacher at the Fifth Earth, and he also speaks of other ways in which he himself was given to see that same earth and its inhabitants.

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When he had seen the dwellings and fields upon the Fifth Earth, he says: "It was done by communication with angels who were there, and who appeared like the men of that earth; for when it is done in that way, they are presented as men, and see objects with their eyes just as the inhabitants do; although, when the angels are not in that state, they see nothing of that kind, but only the things which are in heaven." (A. C. 10768.)
     That he was also given to see the things upon the planets through the eyes of inhabitants whose interiors were opened, is evident from this statement: "It was given me to see some of the inhabitants of the First Earth. . . . For when it is granted by the Lord, a man who is in the spirit can see the obvious things on the earth near which he is. . . . This was done in like manner as it was done with spirits of some of the earths in our solar world, to whom it was given by the Lord to see many things on our earth through my eyes." (A. C. 9790, 9791.)

     And so it was of the Providence of the Lord that the revelator of the Second Coming should learn by actual and living experience the wonders of intercommunication between the angels and spirits who are from the planets of the universe, and of their modes of communicating with the inhabitants of the planets, and to describe these things in writing for the information of the men of the New Church.

     It is not of order that the men of this earth should learn these things by experience while they live in the world, because such things are now described in the Writings, thus in the written form of Divine Revelation, where they may be received in freedom, and thus may enter more interiorly into the rational understanding and faith of the men of the Church than if they were disclosed by open communication with spirits and angels: and that would have the effect of compelling a belief which would be merely external and temporary.

     Facts From The Angels.-As the revelator visited the various planets, he so often says, "I was told by the angels." While it was necessary that he learn many things by his own observation and experience, it was also necessary that many things should be imparted by the Lord through the angels of heaven.
     In this manner he was given to know, for example, the part of the Gorand Man to which the inhabitants of certain planets belonged.

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We know that the celestial angels from all earths are consociated in "one universal heaven, where there are myriads of myriads, but all are known by each, and the province in the human body to which each corresponds." (A. C. 6701, 7078; S. D. 4670.) These angels, therefore, could impart such information to the revelator.
     Of the Second Earth we read: "It was said to me by angels from our earth that in the Gorand Man the inhabitants and spirits of that earth relate to keenness of external sight, and that on that account they appear on high and are remarkably keen-sighted. Because they have relation to that in the Gorand Man which is heaven, and because they see clearly things which are beneath, therefore, while I was talking with them, I also compared them to eagles, which fly aloft and have a clear and extensive view of objects beneath. But at this they were indignant, thinking that I compared them to eagles as to rapacity, and thus that they were evil; but I replied that I had not likened them to eagles as to rapacity, but as to their keenness of sight, adding that they who are like eagles as to rapacity are evil, but that they who are like them only as to keenness of sight are good." (A. C. 9969, 9970.)

     Although the angels of heaven are in the light of celestial wisdom and spiritual intelligence, this light has an ultimate basis with them in the knowledges of the natural world and the material universe. So were they able to impart information concerning the natural suns, in connection with the revelator's visits to the planets beyond our solar system, as in the following:
     "When the spirits of the First Earth were asked about the sun of their system, which illuminates their earth, they said that it appears flaming. When I represented the size of the sun of our Earth, they said that their sun is smaller; for before our eyes their sun appears as a star and I was told by the angels that it is one of the lesser stars. The spirits also said that the starry heaven is seen from their earth, and that a star larger than the rest appears to them towards the west. It was said from heaven that this is our sun." (E. U. 133.)
     "When the spirits of the Second Earth were asked concerning their sun, which is a star to the eyes of the inhabitants of our Earth, they said that it is of a fiery color, to appearance no larger than a man's head.

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It was said to me by the angels that the star which to them is a sun is among the lesser stars, not far distant from the celestial equator." (A. C. 10162.)
     Of the Fifth Earth we read: "The sun there, which to us is a star, appears there of a flamy color, of a magnitude about a fourth part of our. sun; their year is about two hundred days; and the day fifteen hours in relation to the days on our Earth. That earth itself is among the least in the starry heaven scarcely five hundred German miles in circumference [2500 English miles]. These things the angels said by making a comparison with such things on our Earth, which they saw in me, or in my memory. The concluded them by angelic ideas, whereby the measures of spaces and times are instantly known in a just ratio relatively to spaces and times elsewhere. In such matters, angelic ideas, which are spiritual, immensely exceed human ideas, which are natural." (A. C. 10771.)
NEW VERSION OF "DIVINE PROVIDENCE." 1950

NEW VERSION OF "DIVINE PROVIDENCE."              1950

ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. From the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. A new English translation by Wm. C. Dick and E. J. Pulsford from the original edition. London: The Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 20-21 Bloomsbury Way, 1949. Cloth. 8vo, pp. 359, including Notes and Index. Price 5 shillings.

     The publishers have kindly sent us a copy of this volume for review. Clearly printed on good paper, it is bound in the dignified blue which is traditional with the "London Edition."
     We have long been familiar with the London Edition of this work as translated by Mr. Arthur Hodson Searle, and have come to regard it in nearly all respects as an outstanding example of what translations of the Writings ought to be-good English without sacrificing fidelity to the terms and style of the original Latin, this being the form provided by the Lord for the ultimation of the Divine Truth of the Heavenly Doctrine revealed at His Second Coming.
     Holding this view of the Searle translation, we had hoped to find little change in the new version.

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In this, however, we have been disappointed, and we confess to a feeling of irritation at the many innovations in the form of petty alterations of style, and in the more serious mistranslations which alter the real meaning of the original text. Let us cite a few examples:

     At no. 71, the heading is translated: "There are laws of the Divine Providence, and these are unknown to men." Literally rendered, it reads: There are laws of the Divine Providence which are unknown to men." This is what it means, and this is how it has been translated hitherto. For Christians have had some understanding of the laws of Divine Providence from the Scriptures, but "in the Christian world, from religion, the understanding of Divine things has been closed," so that "laws of the Divine Providence hitherto hidden in the wisdom of angels are now to be revealed," as stated in no. 70.
     The expression "from religion" (ex religione) is rendered "as far as religion is concerned." Rather it means that "the understanding, being closed in Divine things by religion, could progress no further." (No. 70.) And so we read elsewhere in this work that "the religion which teaches blind faith blinds the understanding" (no. 144), and that "the religion of the Christian world has closed the understanding." (No. 149.)

     At no. 191, we find in the heading: "The Divine Providence is universal, because it is in things most individual." It should read: "The Divine Providence is universal from being in the verimost singulars," which is in keeping with the original: "Divina Providentia ex singularissimis universalis sit." "Most individual" is not a proper translation of "singularissimis."
     What is needed, at the beginning or end of our English versions of the Writings, is a Glossary of Terms giving a brief explanation of such terms as Generals and Particulars, Universals and Singulars, Cognitions and Scientifics, Proprium, Mens and Animus. And preferably these definitions should be from the Writings themselves. Thus, in T. C. R. 60, we find this definition: "Order is universal from things most singular; for the singulars taken together are called the universal, as particulars taken together are called the general."
     One cannot enter any special field of knowledge without an acquaintance with the terminology used in that field.

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And one cannot understand the Heavenly Doctrines without an exact knowledge of the terms used, which can be given briefly in a Glossary of Terms in connection with translated versions, and more fully in doctrinal instruction. Then the Writings should be allowed to speak for themselves, as nearly as possible in their own terms, without footnotes, and certainly without questionable English words as supposed equivalents of the Latin terms of the original.

     At no. 285 the heading in Latin reads.: "Divina Providentia acque sit apud malos quam apud bonos." Properly translated it reads: "The Divine Providence is equally with the evil and with the good. But the new version reads: "The Divine Providence is equally with the wicked and with the good." And yet the next sentence states: "In every man, whether good or evil, there are two faculties," etc.
     So here, and in many numbers following, the expression "the wicked" is substituted for "the evil." There seems to be no good reason for this substitution. In the Scriptures we find mention of "the upright and the wicked" which in Latin would be "probus et improbus," and this latter term occurs occasionally in the Writings, and has been rendered "wicked." But "the wicked" is not a proper translation for male or males-the evil.

     In no. 320, the phrase, "a man would not appropriate evil to himself, and make himself guilty of it," is changed to "account himself responsible for it-a wholly unnecessary weakening of the original.
     At no. 322 comes the chapter on "Predestination" with the Latin heading: "Quod omnnis homo reformnari possit, et quod Predestinatio non detur." Literally this is: "That every man can be reformed and that Predestination is not given," usually rendered "and that there is no Predestination."
     The new version has it: "Every man may be reformed, and there is no such thing as Predestination." Yet the first sentence following the heading reads: "Sound reason dictates that all are predestined to heaven, and no one to hell." Well, if all are predestined to heaven, then there is such a thing as predestination, and the heading in this new version is too sweeping when it says that "there is no such thing as Predestination."

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     But the plain meaning of the caption is that there is no predestination to hell, because every man can be reformed and saved, if he is willing, this being contrary to the heresy of predestination, which teaches that some are born to damnation. Therefore we are told, in no. 329, that "Thus all are predestined to heaven and no one to hell."
     And in no. 330 we read that "it is an insane heresy [to believe] that only those are saved who are born within the church," and that "it is a cruel heresy [to believe] that any of the human race are damned by predestination." Instead of "insane heresy" the new version has "foolish heresy," ignoring the fact that the Writings use the phrase "folly and insanity" with specific meaning, "folly" being the opposite of celestial wisdom, and insanity the opposite of spiritual intelligence. (A. R. 387; D. L. W. 275:3.) So they are not interchangeable in the usage of the Writings.
     At the close of the work, where it treats of the delight of evil spirits to "infest" the good (340:7 and 324:8), the new version uses the term "molest" which is not used in the Writings as a verb, but only as an adjective meaning "troublesome," whereas infestation (infestatio) has specific meanings which call for an exact translation, as is well known to readers of the Writings.

     Comment.-These few examples of the kind of translating we find throughout the volume will indicate why we are unable to regard the new version as an improvement upon the Searle version, which we believe could have been reprinted with little change. It is, of course, a desirable and useful thing to review former versions by a study of the original editions, and also of the original manuscripts when these are available. But when such a review is undertaken, and a revised version is produced, we have a right to expect improvement, and not retrogression. We have no doubt that the translators of this new version of The Divine Providence were satisfied, from their points of view, that they were producing such an improvement.
     But, in considering this latest volume, and having others in mind that hove appeared in recent years, we are led to ask: What should be the point of view, the aim and purpose, of those who undertake to translate the Writings?

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     Can it be that the iconoclastic spirit of the age-anything for a change-has influenced those who have attempted to give us new versions of the Writings in recent years? What readers have they had in mind when doing this work? Were they thinking of the world, with a prudential fear that readers will not understand, and so have produced an interpretive translation accommodated and adapted to the anticipated low state of intelligence among Christian readers? In other words, should translations be modified with missionary intent?
     Do the translators realize that the versions of the Writings they produce will be read chiefly by New Church people, and will be used in doctrinal classes and services of the New Church, as well as in our college and theological school classes, where the students have been learning Latin, and where it becomes necessary to explain to them the defective and wrong translations found in so many versions of the Writings?
     What should be the aim and high purpose of a translator? As the Heavenly Doctrine has been revealed for the use of the New Church, and is the essential means of its establishment, we must hold that the men and women of the New Church should be in the mind of one who would translate that Doctrine from the Latin into another language, with an utter devotion to a preservation of the real meaning of the Doctrine, rendered as far as possible in the style and terms of the original Latin, in which it has been given by the Lord-in a "dead language," to the end that it may not undergo the changes of a living language. The warning not to add to or take away from the words of the Apocalypse applies also to the Doctrine now revealed. (A. R. 957-959.)
     A version produced with the attitude and in the spirit we have just described will be the kind that is needed for use in the New Church, and we believe that it is also the best kind for use in missionary work, as the textbook of evangelistic instruction. But especially is it the kind that is needed for the instruction of the rising generation in the New Church, which is the most fruitful field for the growth of that Church. On the other hand, the version that is produced with the object of converting the world, being addressed to what will be for the most part the unheeding multitude, as has been the case with so many versions of the Writings, will not be suited to the uses of the New Church itself, where there will be continual need for a correction and explanation of the defective versions.

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     The principle that should govern the translator is the same as the principle that should govern the evangelist. When the effort to "gain the whole world" prevails over the effort to evangelize the young within the fold, then the Church "loses its soul," and the members turn to the comforting fallacy that the Christian Church is fast becoming New Church, and this without any knowledge of the truths of the Heavenly Doctrine, or of the Lord who has there manifested Himself in His Divine Human. Every lover of the truths of our Doctrine longs to have others enjoy that blessed privilege, but he has also learned to "preserve his soul in patience" when he sees the slow growth of the New Church. The sound and wholesome view of this matter was expressed in a statement ha the angels of heaven when they were told that very few copies of the Arcana Caelestia had been sold, as we read:
     "I received letters stating that not more than four copies had been sold in two months, and this was made known to the angels, who indeed marveled, but said that it must be left to the Providence of the Lord, which is such that it compels no one, which could be done, but it is not well that any should read it first but those who are in faith; and that this may be known from the advent of the Lord into the world, who was able to compel them to receive His words and Himself, but compelled no one, neither afterwards through the apostles. It was further shown how the case is with others in the Christian world, when some spirits were let into the state in which they had been in the life of the body, and were then given to think concerning the things which were written about the other life, and in the unfolding of the internal sense, and they were then as if they would vomit, thus rejecting them all, which also they said and confessed." (S. D. 4422.)
TESTIMONY IN SWEDEN 1950

TESTIMONY IN SWEDEN       ALFRED ACTON       1950

     To the Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In Sweden there has recently been published a work entitled Mitt Langa Liv har Lart Mig (My Long Life Has Taught Me) containing seventy articles, each written by a man at least seventy years old and of more or less prominence in Sweden.

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     The first article is by Prince Oscar Bernadotte. Among the other contributors is Herr Magnusson, an ardent member of Dr. Baeckstrom's society. In his article, Mr. Magntisson dwells upon the lack of doctrine in the Christian Churches, and then refers to the Revelation given through Emanuel Swedenborg as supplying this lack.
     In a review of herr Magnusson's article which appeared in NOVA ECCLESIA for March-April, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom writes: "Herr Magnusson has a remarkably good pen, and undoubtedly his contribution in so representative a collection will be of use, even if that use come not to view. His sixty-nine co-contributors and many of their relatives and friends can be counted on as sure readers of his testimony, and this is so written that it can hardly leave anyone unmoved."
     ALFRED ACTON.

Bryn Athyn, May 23, 1950.
WANTED 1950

WANTED              1950

     Copies of "The Social Monthly."

     THE ACADEMY LIBRARY would like to obtain a set of "The Social Monthly" a Manuscript Paper issued in 1879 and 1880 by the Young Folks' Club of the Advent Society in Philadelphia, and circulated among the members of the General Church of Pennsylvania in other localities.
     In January, 1881, it was succeeded by NEW CHURCH LIFE:, published in printed form by the Editors of the Manuscript Paper as a "Journal for the Young People of the New Church."
     If any of our readers possess single copies or a complete set of "The Social Monthly," and are willing to part with them, or to loan them to make possible a typewritten duplication, please communicate with Miss Freda Pendleton, The Academy Library, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1950

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW              1950

Rational Psychology. A Posthumous Work by Emanuel Swedenborg. Translated from the Latin by Norbert H. Rogers and Alfred Acton, and Edited by Alfred Acton. Philadelphia, Pa.: Swedenborg Scientific Association, 19511. Cloth; 8vo; pp. XII + 343 (including Text, Appendix, and Index). Price, $3.50.

     This volume has recently come from the press, and orders may be sent to Miss Beryl G. Briscoe. Treasurer, Bryn Athyn. Pa.

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.

     The 53rd Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held at Bryn Athyn on Wednesday evening. May 24, 1950, with an attendance of 123 members and friends.
     At the afternoon meeting of the Board of Directors, the price of the new edition of Rational Psychology, translated by the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers and Dr. Alfred Acton, was fixed at $3.50. It is reported that 16 copies of the work, just from the press, were sold during the evening meeting
     At the Annual Meeting, officers for the ensuing year were elected as follows: President, Prof. Edward F. Allen; Board of Directors: Messrs. Alfred Acton. Charles F. Doering, Charles S. Cole, Jr., Hugo Lj. Odhner, Leonard I. Tafel, Randolph W. Childs, Joel Pitcairn, Wilfred Howard, and Miss Beryl G. Briscoe.
     Officers later elected by the Board of Directors were: Vice-President, Dr. Charles F. Doering; Literary Editor. Dr. Alfred Acton; Treasurer, Miss Beryl G. Briscoe; Secretary, Mr. Wilfred Howard.
     The Treasurer reported a generous contribution of $4700.00 from the Academy of the New Church, which made it possible to report a balance in the general fund of $5383.04, and in the publication fund, $896.09. The number of books sold during the year was 89. New members 16, and the present membership of the Association is 285.
     The Board of Directors reported a Memorial Resolution expressing the sentiments of the members of the Board in regard to our late esteemed member, Mr. Gideon Boericke. This Resolution was adopted by the Annual Meeting by a rising vote.

     The Annual Address was delivered by Bishop Alfred Acton, who spoke on the subject of Swedenborg's work Rational; Psychology. He discussed the history and development of the work and its relation to other philosophical works such as The Principia, The Mechanism Between the Soul and the Body, etc., and pointed out the universal principle contained in all of Swedenborg's philosophical works, namely, that the soul of wisdom is to see and acknowledge the presence of the Deity in all of His creation. He then discussed at length the nature of the Rational Psychology, with a brief and lucid exposition of the contents of each of the chapters.
     President Allen, on behalf of the meeting, voiced appreciation of the address, and spoke briefly on the question of the title of the book, offering possible reasons why that title was given.
     WILFRED HOWARD.


     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     May 30, 1950.-A big week end of meetings began on May 26th with the arrival of the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, accompanied by his wife, Beth, who is always a most welcome visitor. That evening Mr. Reuter conducted a doctrinal class at the Norman Synnestvedt home, his subject being that of "Merit." There was a good attendance of the members, who enjoyed his lecture, as always.
     On the next afternoon, Mr. Reuter officiated at the dedication of the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Howard, 264 West Woodland Avenue, Ferndale. Michigan.

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This interesting and significant dedication of a home to New Church uses was followed by the baptism of the Howards' newborn son, who was given the name of Lance Forrest. A very large number of our members attended these two very important and impressive rites.
     Following a toast to the Church. Bishop George de Charms, who was among those present, explained to us the spiritual significance of the home dedication, and of the priest's blessing of a copy of the Word, as it is placed in its own special repository. The Bishop concluded his remarks by congratulating Mr. and Mrs. Howard most heartily on the occasion of this very impressive and most unusual combination of a home dedication and an infant baptism.
     Rev. Norman Reuter also felicitated the Howards in a neat little speech in which he touched on the subject of appropriate names for children and the custom of keeping the chosen name secret until the baptismal service, as was done in this case.

     Episcopal Visit.-Bishop de Charms had come to Detroit by air on Saturday, May 27th, for the purpose of attending our Annual Meeting, and to discuss with us the present plans and future prospects of our Circle. His presence brought forcibly to our attention the fact that we are faced with problems of vital importance to the growth and development of the Circle-problems brought to a focus by the removal to another field of the man who has so capably directed our affairs for almost fifteen years-the Rev. Norman H. Reuter.
     On Saturday evening, forty-five of our members and friends gathered at the Synnestvedt home to hear the Bishop tell of the problem he is facing in trying to provide trained ministers to care for the centers of the Church which are in need of their services. And this condition will continue until more graduates from the theological school enter the ministerial field, It becomes necessary, therefore, to make some changes, and Detroit is one of the renters to be affected.
     The Bishop outlined a plan for our Circle which he presented as the best possible solution of our problem at the present time, and the best for the Church as a whole. At his request a vote was taken at our Annual Meeting on Sunday afternoon, when our members agreed unanimously to support the Bishop in any changes he might wish to make in our present set-up. As all the details have not as yet been worked out, we can give no definite information at this time.
     At our Sunday service of worship, all three degrees of the priesthood were represented and took part. It was an inspiring and deeply moving occasion. The Bishop preached, his subject being "The Worship of the Lord," making clear what things constitute true worship, true prayer, and true charity. It was a most enlightening discourse. The attendance of sixty-five persons set a new record, and forty received the Sacrament of the Holy Supper.
     At the luncheon which followed the service, the Rev. and Mrs. Norman Reuter were the recipients of a silver service, as a parting gift from our Circle. They were also presented with a very large, framed certificate, prepared by Mr. Walter Childs in his inimitable style, and conferring upon Mr. and Mrs. Reuter life membership in the Detroit Circle or Society, as the case may be. This produced a lot of merriment, and relieved what might otherwise have been a sad leave-taking,

     The Annual Meeting heard various reports of officers and committees which revealed real progress during the past year. It was heartening to note a growth in membership and increased attendances at services, also the excellent work being done by our Women's Guild, Usher's Committee, and the ladies in charge of the Sunday School.
     Officers elected to serve for the ensuing year are: Gordon Smith, Secretary; Norman Synnestvedt, Treasurer; additional members of the Executive Board are: Reynold Doering, Harold Bellinger, and Walter Childs, Mr. William F. Cook, retiring as Treasurer at his own request, received much praise and applause for his faithful and efficient service during the many years he has been our Treasurer.

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     At a recent doctrinal class, the Rev. Kenneth Stroh addressed us on the subject of New Church Education. That this is an important issue with us was attested by the lively discussion which followed Mr. Stroh's talk. For about an hour various points of view were presented and argued ever, particularly by those of our members who have children of school age. It brought forcibly to our attention the fact that we have no more pressing need than to provide New Church schooling for our children, of whom we have 15 of all ages, according to the latest count.

     The Annual Meeting of the Detroit Chapter of the Sons of the Academy was held on Sunday evening, May 14th. Officers elected were: John Howard, President; Leo Bradin, Secretary; Reynold Doering. Treasurer. Of much interest was a report of the Stamp Plan Committee, outlining what is being accomplished in the way of publicity for the sale of Sons' Tuition Stamps and Savings Certificates. With fine cooperation from the editors of the various Church publications, encouraging results are being achieved. This committee is entitled to a lot of credit for the excellent work it is doing.

     Visitors whom we have enjoyed meeting since our last report are: Mrs. Arthur Schoenberger, of Pittsburgh; Mrs. Mable Holm, of Glenview; Mrs. Norman H. Reuter; Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Ryley (nee Mary Walters), of Toledo, Ohio; Mr. Edward C. Bostock and Mr. David Holm, of Bryn Athyn; Mr. James Snyder, of Wayne, Michigan; and Mr. Serdo L. Hamann, of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
     WILlIAM W. WALKER.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     Elementary School.-A big change will take place in our community, and especially in the Elementary School, at the close of the current year. Mr. Heilman will no longer be the Principal of the School. He has now resigned this office, which he has filled for more than thirty years. His patience and kindness, his great "good heartedness," will long be remembered by the generation that has passed through the School in the years he has been Principal.
     A tea was given in his honor at the home of Bishop and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton, and to this the Elementary School Faculty was invited. There were many expressions of affection and regard; for he has worked closely and tirelessly with this group. After Mr. Heilman had played his guitar and sung to us, a pair of cuff links was presented to him as a token of affection from the Elementary School Faculty.

     Postmaster-Something else that visitors will find different when they come to Bryn Athyn will be the absence of Mr. Russell Clayton, who has been Postmaster and Station Master for thirty-four years. Mr. Clayton has retired, and we shall all miss him, for he has always been efficient and accommodating, and we have all grown genuinely fond of him.

     Operetta.-About the middle of our moist but merry month of May. the Civic and Social Club, as is its custom, presented entertainment on the stage in the form of two very fine performances of "Ruddigore,"-one of the less known Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, but none the less charming and tuneful.
     There have been few performances here such as this. The cast was excellent. Both principals and chorus did wonderfully well. The dances were delightful, the costumes colorful, and the scenery splendid. Originality, imagination, and artistry were shown by those who were responsible for it.

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Mrs. Carl Asplundh as Stage Director and Mr. Frank Bostock as Music Director achieved little less than professional results.

     The Spring Meeting of the Bryn Athyn Society heard reports from the various departments of our uses. The Bishop announced the retirement of Prof. Otho W. Heilman as Principal of the Elementary School. He will devote himself to his courses in the Academy and other functions in the society. The Rev. David R. Simons will succeed him as Principal.

     A vote expressing appreciation of Mr. Heilman's long service in the School and Society was passed with a veritable ovation.
     The Bishop also announced that Miss Margit Boyesen will be teacher of the 8th grade next year.
     Mr. William R. Cooper stated that the "First Come. First Served" policy of seating in the Cathedral had worked so well that there seemed to be no more need for a Seating Committee.
     The Boys' Club reported that they would like to have boys from other centers come to Boys' Camp again this year. It had worked out so well last year.

     Women's Guild.-The May meeting, held in the Club House, elected officers for the coming year as follows: President, Mrs. Kenneth Synnestvedt; Vice-President, Mrs. Harris Campbell; Treasurer Mrs. Charles van Zyverden; Secretary, Mrs. George Woodard.
     The Guild decided that it would continue sending packages to our friends overseas. It was felt that the sending of the boxes was of mutual benefit to the sender and the "sendee."

     Civic and Social Club.-The President of the Club, Mr. Harris Campbell, in his report to the Society, staled that there would be evenings set aside by the Club during the summer and given over to the recordings of occasions of all kinds. Anyone who has missed a lecture, sermon, or celebration can hear it at the Club. There wilt, of course, be the suppers, movies, and other entertainment on the evenings set aside for them.

     Closing Exercises.-A large gathering attended the Elementary School closing exercises in the Assembly Hall on the morning of June 10th. Mr. Kesniel Acton spoke to the children on the subject of "Use."
     In this year 1950, he said, we should celebrate a sear of Jubilee, but we hear talk of destruction, cruelty, treason, and war. Yet the Writings assure us that, first, we must have faith in the Providence of the Lord, and the belief that His Church is to be received by all men; and, second, that the Lord acts by means of men, in order to preserve men s freedom, and to give each one the delights that come from performing uses to the neighbor and to all mankind. The Lord acts by means of each one of these children, who help when they obey their parents, and when they listen to the truths of the Word. But they hinder when they disobey-when they think it is fun to disobey.
     "Remember the little three-letter word USE! Be glad to be kept busy; for when one is busy, one is useful. When one is idle, mischief and trouble result."
     In closing, Mr. Acton paid a fine tribute to Mr. Heilman, as a most busy and useful man in our community.
     There were 17 graduates. Two pupils received copies of the Writings for excellence in religion, and two received the American Legion Award. The graduating class presented a framed photograph of Mr. Heilman to the School, and the whole School presented a very beautiful and useful desk to Mr. Heilman.
     LUCY B. WAELCHLI.

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     THE ERIE CIRCLE.

     A Centennial.

     We announce with sorrow the coming loss of our Visiting Pastor, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, who has been called to take care of another part of the work of the General Church. As a good-bye party, and also as the celebration of our Centennial, thirteen of our members met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Murray on Saturday evening, May 20, 1950, for a delicious banquet, followed by appropriate toasts and songs.
     Our Pastor then called upon our Secretary, Mr. C. F. Cranch, to give an account of what we had done in our first hundred years, and he responded by reading a paper in which he had compiled the historical facts from Records. [See below.]
     Mr. Reuter then gave us a talk on what to strive for in our next hundred years. He explained how our central aim should be to carry on the ideas of reading the Writings and cultivating our distinctive New Church education, worship, and social life. We will grow with our convictions of the Authority of the Writings. We should be examples to others, living a life that will attract others to the Writings. For let us remember that the Writings are not for a few. They are for the world. We should present them properly to the world. We should read, not because we feel we must, but because we love to. We should also take advantage of all the Church has to supply in the way of instruction for our children-the Pastoral Extension Work, including a tape recorder, visual education, and other things.
     These remarks were followed by a presentation of some gifts to our Pastor in appreciation of his service to us.
     We finished the evening with a business meeting which could be called quite enjoyable.


     A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ERIE CIRCLE.

     The earliest beginnings of the New Church in Erie County, Pennsylvania are recorded in Nelson's Biographic Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Erie County, in which the Historical and Descriptive matter was prepared by Benjamin Whitman. (1896, S. B. Nelson, Publisher, Erie, Pa.) We quote from page 464, as follows:

     "THE NEW CHURCH.

     "This is an organization based, in the belief of its members, 'upon the Divine Revelation made through Emanuel Swedenborg, who was thus the herald of the Second Coming of the Lord, which took place with the completion of that Revelation, June 19th, 1770.' Its first adherents in Erie County were among the families of Knodel, Mohr, Evans, Rau, Metzler and Stearns, of Erie and vicinity, commencing about 1850. The only resident pastor ever in Eric County was Rev. Mr. Goodner, who removed in 1873.

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A new organization was effected in 1875 by the present Bishop. Rt. Rev. W. H. Benade, and regular pastoral visits were made by the Bishop's assistant, Rev. L. G. Jordan, of Philadelphia. Meetings are held at houses of members. The present secretary in Erie is Dr. Edward Cranch, 109 W. 9th St."

     According to this we have now reached the time to celebrate our Centennial. The next reference to the beginnings in Erie County is found in the New Church Almanac for 1880, in which it is noted that in 1871 there was an organization in Erie, and that about 1884 there was the "Bethel Church" in Kearsarge, Erie County, with 12 members. The Erie Circle was then reported to have 7 members. The Almanac also refers to Mr. E. S. Hotham, 1872, and Mr. W. M. Goodner, 1873-1875, as leaders.
     At the time of the various reorganizations of the church bodies in the New Church (1884-1890 the name of our group changed several times. The General Church of Pennsylvania included the "Bethel" and Erie branches-the latter being the "New Church Society of Erie, Pa.." forerunner of our Circle. Then came the "General Church of the Advent of the Lord," and, in 1897, the "General Church of the New Jerusalem," of which the present Erie Circle is now a part.
     During the hundred years the membership has undergone many changes, and lore the report of 1884, which records 12 in the County, 7 in the city, or a total of 19, the numbers have varied from as high as an "average attendance of 35" down to "11 members with an average attendance of 4" about ten years ago. Last year (1949) we reported 11 members, 22 young folk and children, and an average attendance of 11.
     On a basis of mere numbers, our reports do not look so good. There has hem a steady growing and decreasing and growing again, with no remarkable increase. But let us look at it in another way. A few of the first families are left, but many have come here and then left to build up other centers. Yet all have been of the same Church, both in this world and the next.
     Although we have never had a resident pastor, except in 1873 as noted, still we have had a most wonderful list of ministers who have at various times taken care of the needs of our group. In the records I find this list: Sewall, Stearns, Benade, Brickman, Stuart, Jordan, Bostock, Whitehead, Schreck, J. E. Bowers, Alfred Acton, Edward S. Hyatt, D. H. Klein, F. R. Cronlund, F. E. Gyllenhaal, G. H. Smith, R. W. Brown, C. T. Odhner, N. D. Pendleton, Homer Synnestvedt, F. E. Waelchli, R. G. Cranch, E. E. Iungerich, George de Charms, Norman H. Reuter, Norbert Rogers, Kenneth Stroh. Even this list may not be complete. Some have been here only once or twice; others have paid regular visits; and others have stayed a matter of months.
     During several summers we have had some of the well-known ministers make their beginnings here. To name a few, Rev. E. J. E. Schreck, Rev. E. S. Hyatt, Rev. Alfred Acton, and Rev. Gilbert H. Smith. Our visiting pastors, Revs. J. E. Bowers, L. G. Jordan, N D. Pendleton, F. E. Waelchli, E. E. Iungerich, and Norman H. Reuter, have conducted regular services, the Holy Supper, and doctrinal classes.

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     We have never had a church building. Our meetings have been held mostly in private houses, although many times we have also rented halls. We had, and we still have, a good Sunday School. The children have grown up, and some have gone to the Academy Schools, where they have met others, and new families have started in other places. Some have come back for a longer or shorter time in Erie. Some few, for various reasons, have drifted away from our Circle. But our biggest losses have been corresponding gains for some other society. So why worry?
     Our activities have included regular church services when we could have a minister or a lay leader. These services were not held every Sunday, but at times meetings have been very regular, as many as three a week. We have had the benefit of such leaders as Dr. Edward Cranch at our Sunday meetings and reading meetings, and Mrs. Cranch as teacher of our Sunday School. She included sand tray lessons in which all the main historical events of the Word were illustrated by means of dolls dressed to represent the Biblical characters. They produced lasting memories in the children, and in the grown folk too. In our present Sunday School we are making use of the Religion Lessons sent out by the General Church.
     Among our most useful meetings have been those at which we have read the Writings together, taking turns with the reading, and discussing various interesting points as we came to them. These meetings would produce questions for our next visiting minister. Our reading meetings have covered a great many books, mostly the Writings, but a few others, such as the Adult Education pamphlets, John in the Isle of Patmos, The Book Sealed with Seven Seals, etc. For sermons we made good use of the WEEKLY SERMONS, and also those published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, where those in the back numbers often come in very well.
     Our social activities have included many well attended picnics, sailing parties, sewing circles, games, dances, suppers and banquets. Many times our reading meetings have ended with "just a cup of coffee" to sometimes quite a social supper.
     CHARLES EDRO CRANCH.

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ORDINATIONS 1950

ORDINATIONS              1950




     Announcements




     Simons.-At Bryn Athyn, Pa., June 19, 1950, the Rev. David Restyn Simons, into the Second Degree of the Priesthood, Bishop George de Charms officiating.
     Stroh.-At Bryn Athyn, Pa., June 19, 1950, the Rev. Kenneth Oliver Stroh, into the Second Degree of the Priesthood, Bishop George de Charms officiating.
WESTERN STATES 1950

WESTERN STATES              1950

     During the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August, the Rev. Harold C. Cranch will go on a tour of pastoral visits to the members of the General Church in the Western States.
     He will call mainly upon those who are not to be visited by the Rev. Karl R. Alden, who is extending his tour of Northwest Canada to include localities in the Pacific Coast States and in Arizona and Texas.
OVERSEAS JOURNEY 1950

OVERSEAS JOURNEY              1950

     Bishop de Charms will pay an Episcopal Visit to South Africa during the summer, leaving by air on July 17th and returning in September. He goes for the purpose of reorganising our South African Mission, in view of the death of the Superintendent, the Rev. F. W. Elphick.
BOOK WANTED 1950

BOOK WANTED              1950

     The undersigned wishes to purchase one or more copies of the work entitled The Testimony of the Writings Concerning Themselves, by the Rev. C. Th. Odhner. Those having one or more copies for sale are requested to communicate with MR. HYLAND JOHNS. 164-05 35th Avenue, Flushing, N Y.

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THIRTY-SEVENTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1950

THIRTY-SEVENTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY              1950

     General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Thirty-seventh British Assembly, to be held at Colchester, August 5th to 7th, the Rev. Alan Gill presiding.
     All sessions and services will be held at the Church of the New Jerusalem Maldon Road. The Assembly Social will be held at the Red Lion Hotel, High Street.

     Programme.

Friday, August 4th.
     7.00 p.m.     Meeting of the New Church Club at Swedenborg House, Bloomsbury Way, London, W.C. 1. Address by the Rev. Martin Pryke. All gentlemen attending the Assembly are cordially invited to be present.

Saturday, August 5th.
     5.30     p.m. Tea.
     7.30     p.m. First Session of the Assembly. Presidential Address.

Sunday, August 6th.
     11.00 a.m.     Divine Worship. Preacher: Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom.
     1.15     p.m.     Lunch.
     4.00     p.m.     Holy Supper Service.
     5.30     p.m.     Tea.
     7.00     p.m.     Second Session.     Address by Mr. Alan N. Waters.

Monday, August 7th.
     10.00 a.m.     Third Session. Address by the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom.
     1.00 p.m.     Lunch.
     7.30 p.m.     The Assembly Social.

     Accommodation.

     Those requiring accommodation should communicate with Mrs. J. F. Cooper, 33 Lexden Road, Colchester.
     REV. MARTIN PRYKE,
     Secretary of the Assembly,
     53 Beckwith Road,
     Herne Hill, London, S.E. 24.

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ESSENTIAL USE OF THE CHURCH 1950

ESSENTIAL USE OF THE CHURCH       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
AUGUST, 1950
No. 8
     (At the Second Session June 15th, 1950.)

     It is a universal condition of human life that the routine and mechanics of carrying on a use so occupy our time that while engaged in the use we cannot meditate upon its essential qualities and values. This no doubt is of Providence, lest through overindulgence in abstract contemplation we neglect the care of the natural means by which the use becomes actual and confers its blessings upon the fellow man.
     All uses, in themselves, are Divine. It is not from a want of Divine omnipotence that man is given a part in the performance of uses: the Lord from Himself could provide for all the uses in the universe; but He, from His Divine Love, wills to give us the joy and blessedness of His life and love; and so He gives us a part to play in those uses which have to do with the relation of the two worlds and the maintaining of life in each.
     The Divine Love provides for man's free cooperation in the uses of His kingdom, and permits the quality of the particular use, in its effect upon men, to be determined by the quality of man's cooperation. The cooperation consists in supplying orderly external forms in which the use can be accommodated to its sphere of influence in each particular discrete degree of life. Our preoccupation with the supplying of these organic forms in the will, in the understanding, and in the body, causes as, for the most part, to be unaware of the use which is being provided by the influx of the Divine into them. The use itself is Divine, and man's essential part in it is the shunning of evils as sins against God and the performing of the work of his employment justly, sincerely, honestly and faithfully.

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     Mere abstract contemplation of the use itself, at the expense of supplying the means by which its effects are communicated to men, defeats its own purpose. By such unhealthy abstraction, man adjoins to the use his own selfish and worldly loves, and thus removes its beneficent effects; for the essential use is not performed by man; it is the operation of the Divine through man. While a man, in any work must at times consider its Divine use, yet he is to concern himself for the most part with the means by which that use is communicated to others. For in this, when at the same time he is in the life of shunning evils as sins, lies his fullest cooperation with the Divine. This is trine of all uses in which man is given the privilege of contributing a part, as will be seen by any one who closely examines the work in which he is engaged.
     It is eminently true of the highest of all uses-that of the Lord's Church. Her use is that of keeping open the way of communication between angels and men, so that the Divine inflowing from within may be present with men in the ultimates of nature to accomplish its end of an angelic heaven from the human race. Unless this essential use of the church is seen and acknowledged, the man of the church cannot perform rightly the part which the Lord gives him to take in it. In our daily life in the church we are so taken up with providing the means by which the use may be performed that we are continually in danger of losing sight of the end for which we provide the means. Each society, circle, group and individual of the church is continually struggling for its own existence, for the means by which it may maintain its individual life: and by that very struggle it is in danger of regarding its own perpetuation as an end in itself. At times, therefore, it is most important to meditate and consider, both individually and collectively, the essential end and use of our existence as members of the church.
     This is one of the great uses of our Assemblies, at which our main work is not the business of maintaining an organization of the church, which is a lesser purpose, but of considering and thinking together on the Divine use of the church, and on those Divine doctrines, the acceptance and acknowledgment and support of which are our essential cooperation in it.

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In this way our eves are raised to the mountains, and our affections are stirred from heaven, and our daily struggle in the life of the church, in the place in which we live, is given a spiritual quality and essence from a love and understanding of the Divine use to which it looks.

     We usually think of the church only in terms of our own individual regeneration; and our danger lies in concluding that the church exists merely that we and our friends may be prepared for heaven. This turns the whole thought inward to self, and destroys the Divine essence of the church, which is to give its life to others, so that they may feel it in themselves as their own. Genuine charity always looks to the good in ones self to others: and so, if we would discover the essential use of the church with us, we must look to the good in tins toward the world in which we live. Our own regeneration is not an end in itself; it is a means, an absolutely necessary means, to the performance of that distinctive use by which we are given to cooperate with the Lord in the Divine purpose of the salvation of the whole human race. For if the church is the Lord's, its love must be the Lords love with man, and that love never looks inward to self, but always outward towards others. It looks to the means by which men of every faith and religion may be led by their life in the world to eternal happiness in heaven.
     To say that we have been led to the church because only in the church can we find salvation is a partial truth which, by itself, is a falsity. We have been led to the church also because, in Providence, it is seen that through us the Lord can effect the use of man's salvation, which is the inmost purpose of His love. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." He said. The essential use of the church is not the salvation of the few individuals who constitute it, but it is the providing of the means by which the possibility of salvation may extend to every man born into the world. For we read: "The Lord's mercy is infinite, and does not suffer itself to be confined to the few who are within the church, but extends itself to all throughout the world; for those who are born out of the church, and are thereby in ignorance as to matters of faith, are not at fault on that account, nor are they ever condemned for not having faith in the Lord, because they are not aware of His existence." (A. C. 1032.)

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And again: "That only those born within the church are saved, is an insane heresy." (D. P. 330.)

     We turn now to a consideration of the Essential Use of the Church, and of our part in it as individuals and as an organization of the Church.
     The revelation of the reality of the spiritual world, and of its intimate relation to the life of man in this world, is one of the principal truths by which spiritual rational faith is to be restored, (H. H. 1.) Without a knowledge of this reality and relation, nothing of the essential use of the church can be grasped. The trinity of God, as now revealed in the Revelation of His Divine Glorified Human, is visible in the grand vision of the created universe there given as a single trinity whole. "This vast system which is called the universe ins a work coherent as a unit from things first to things last, because in creating it God had a single end in view, which was an angelic heaven from the human race and all things of which the world consists are means to that end; since He who seeks an end seeks also the means.
     He who is in an end must be in the means also, since the end is inmostly in all the means, impelling and leading therein." (T. C. R. 13.)
     The end of an angelic heaven from the human race was not only present in the creation of the universe: it is also the end in its preservation, so that all things are kept in their created state by that end. It is the "end of ends in God," and "it proceeds from God from the first of the spiritual world to the ultimates of the natural world; and from these ultimates it returns to the first, and thus to God." (Canons VII: 5.) This end is the life and soul, the force and conatus, in all and each created thing. (Canons VII: 7.) It operates not only in the lives and affairs of men, but also provides that all created things, down to the matters of which earths are made, shall serve and promote this end. Unless this end were continually present, and the possibility of its fulfilment preserved, the universe could not remain in its created state.
     The order of this preservation is taught in the doctrine of influx; for all preservation is through influx. The Divine cannot communicate its life to another so that that life inheres. It creates, and having created, it communicates and preserves through influx.

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This doctrine of influx is new, and without an understanding of it the essential use of the church cannot he known. "Scarcely anyone at the present day believes that everything of man's life is from the Lord through heaven. For man supposes that life is in himself, and thus that he can subsist without a connection with heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord, although this opinion is most false." (A. C. 9276:7.)
     This general order of influx is contained in the explanation of the spiritual sense of Jacob's ladder, as we read: "Man has been so created that the Divine things of the Lord may descend through him down to the ultimates of nature, and from the ultimates of nature may ascend to Him; so that man might be a medium that unites the Divine with the world of nature, and the world of nature with the Divine, and that thus the very ultimate of nature might live from the Divine through man as the uniting medium, which would be the case if man had lived according to Divine order. That man was so created, is evident from the fact that as to his body he is a little world, for all the arcana of the world of nature are stored within him. . . . And if his life were according to order, there would be a descent of the Divine through man into the ultimate of nature, and from the ultimate of nature there would be an ascent to the Divine." (A. C. 3702.) And all things would be preserved in the order into which they were created. Thus we are given a picture of the universe as a unity, with God as its soul, the spiritual world as its mind, and the natural world as its body, men corresponding to sensation and action. And as there is no mental life without sensation and action, so there is no consciousness in the spiritual world without sensation and action derived from the world through men. This is why we are taught that, if the earth were destroyed, the heaven from this earth would have to be conjoined with some other earth. (A. E. 726:7.)
     "The human race is the basis or foundation of the angelic heaven; for the conjunction of the angelic heaven with the human race is perpetual, the one subsisting by means of the other. When, therefore, the basis does not correspond, the angelic heaven totters." (A. E. 397:3.) To maintain this correspondence is the essential use of the church; for the heavens can inflow and be present only in those states with man to which their states correspond-only in those states in which is the possibility of the fulfilment of the end of creation in which they are actually.

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The church is the basis of heaven. It is "the foundation of heaven, because the influx of good and truth from the Lord through the heavens finally terminates in the goods and truths that are with the man of the church. When, therefore, the man of the church is in such a perverted state as no longer to admit the influx of good and truth, the powers of the heavens are said to be shaken. For this reason it is always provided by the Lord that something of the church shall remain, and that when an old church perishes, a new one shall be raised up." (A. C. 4060:4.)

     The church which performs this use cannot he organized by man; for the church is a state of thought and affection in man which can be organized by the Lord alone. It is a state in which man's thoughts and affections, his understanding and will, are formed and molded by genuine goods and truths from the Lord which correspond to and therefore form receptacles for the wisdom and love of the angels. The goods and truths with man are as the actions and sensations of the body, and the corresponding goods and truths with the angels are as the affections and thoughts arising from the sensations. Thus there is a perfect and intimate communication between the two worlds, so that the one can no more exist without the other than a mind can exist in a body which has no sensation and action. If, therefore, the angelic heavens were cut off from communication with men upon earth, the angels would fall into a swoon, being unable to sensate anything of the life inflowing from the Lord.
     The church is the focal point of this communication; for only in the church are found the goods and truths which correspond to such goods and truths as exist with the angels of heaven. From this focal point the influx spreads itself abroad and is accommodated to reception by all men. The church,-the state with man which performs this function,-corresponds in the body to the heart and lungs, by which the life of the soul is communicated to all the organs and viscera of the body. "The whole human race on earth is as a body with its parts, wherein the church is as the heart; and unless there were a church with which, as with a heart, the Lord might be united through heaven and the world of spirits, there would be disjunction; and if there were disjunction of the human race from the Lord, it would instantly perish.

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This is the reason why, from the first creation of man, there has always been some church, and whenever the church has begun to perish, it has yet remained with some." (A. C. 637.) For "when there is no church, there is no longer any communication of man with heaven; and when this communication ceases, every inhabitant perishes." (A. C. 931.)
     And so a study of the heart and lungs, as receiving vessels for the life of the soul and its communication of that life to the rest of the body, will give a concrete picture of the use of the church as a receptacle of the influx of the heavens and its distribution to all other states of life with men upon earth. The church which performs this function is the Lord's, and it is eternal. In time it exists inn various forms, but in itself it is Divine and eternal.
     With the first men-the men of the Most Ancient Church-the conjunction was established by immediate influx into the unperverted will and understanding as they were opened and formed by the reception of influx from the world of nature through the senses. But as the native will and understanding gradually became totally perverted, the influx from within was stopped up, and a new medium of conjunction had to be established. This new medium was the written Word which, from that time and as long as the earth exists, will remain as the only conjoining medium between angels and men. Man was originally the medium of conjunction, but he broke it by turning to evil, and "for this reason the Lord has provided a medium to serve in place of this base and foundation for heaven, and also for a conjunction of heaven with man. This medium is the Word." (H. H. 305.) And this Word became eternally established as the conjoining medium in the Glorified Human of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is "the Word made flesh,"-that Divine Human which is now revealed as the Word of the Lord in His Second Coming. But of this we shall speak later.
     Since, then, the Word is the conjoining medium between heaven and man, the church in which the Word is acknowledged and received is the church to which corresponds the use of the heart and lungs in the body. "The church, where the Lord is known and where the Word is, is like the heart and lungs in man relatively to the other parts of the body, which live from the heart and lungs as from the fountains of their life." (N. J. H. D. 246.)

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"There cannot be any conjunction with heaven unless there is somewhere on the earth a church where the Word is, and by it the Lord is known; . . . though it consist of comparatively few, still by means of it the Lord is present everywhere in the whole world, and by means of it heaven is conjoined to the human race, for conjunction is effected by means of the Word." (De Verbo 40.)
     It is the Word in the church, in the minds and hearts of the men of the church, that conjoins heaven with man. For the Word has proceeded from the Divine Itself, so that even in its external form and series it is Divine, and when it is impressed upon the mind and life of man, it becomes in him the conjoining medium. This is the church which is the heart and lungs of the human race. This is the church which the Lord provides shall never perish; for without it the race would perish. And when it is in danger of being destroyed, a remnant is always preserved, among whom a new church is raised up, and to which a New Revelation of a New Word is given. Without a New Word, there cannot be a New Church.

     The church which carries on this use is called the "church specific"-the church where the Word is and the Lord is thereby known. The Writings also speak of another church,-the "church universal,"-and define it as existing with all those who acknowledge God and are in the good of life according to their religious principles. "The Lord's kingdom on earth consists of all those who are in good, who, though scattered over the whole world, are still one, and as members constitute one body." (A. C. 2853.) But this universal kingdom is dependent for its life upon the church which is the heart and lungs of that kingdom. The two are one in the sight of the Lord, but they are distinct as to use, and so must be distinct as to external form. For they cannot be commingled in the external without the destruction of both, as may be seen from the functions of the organs in the body.
     How the church where the Word is and the Lord is thereby known can perform this use is difficult for man to believe; and the Writings say "it seems like an invention, and yet it is true." (D. P. 256.) It is difficult to believe because it is a spiritual use and is not affected by numbers, time or space. And yet the world in which we live is full of examples by which it can be confirmed if man so wills.

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The most concrete example is that already spoken of,-the heart and lungs, which, although small as to size in relation to the rest of the body, are the means of communicating life to all its parts, so long as they are healthy, and maintain their distinct and peculiar form and use. And is this not true of all uses? The interior understanding of any natural use always exists only with a few men, and yet from them great numbers of men receive enlightenment and direction in the performance of some part of that use. Think how many uses are performed of which we understand little or nothing, but from which we derive great benefits! How much more must this be the case in regard to spiritual uses, which are unlimited by spaces and times!
     We naturally wonder what is the effect of the use of the church specific upon the church universal. As we have said, its first and principal effect is the keeping open of influx from the Lord through heaven, and thus the extension of the possibility of salvation to all men. And what is the effect of this influx? It is not a dissemination of the knowledges of truth from the Word, for that is done from without; and although it is of great use, it cannot be considered as an essential use of the church, except as an external organization. The use is concerned with spiritual states, essentially with the preservation of the faculties of rationality and liberty. For while these faculties are from the Lord through the soul, yet man can come into the use of them only when they are met by and joined with the influx of good and truth through the heavens.
     It is by this influx, a contact with which is maintained by the church specific, that men outside of the church where the Word is have a perception of order, of what is good and evil, true and false on the civil and moral planes of life, and a disposition to live according to order and to shun evil. This perception, maintained by influx out of heaven, inspires men who have not the truth of the Word to live a good and upright life, and this even though their religious principles are entirely false. Thus, through the communication of heaven with the church specific, all men of good will are kept inn a state in which, if not here, then after death, they can be received into heaven. "For of necessity there must be a communication of heaven with man, in order that the human race may subsist, and this by means of the church; for otherwise they would become like beasts, devoid of internal and external bonds; and thus everyone would rush without restraint to accomplish the destruction of another, and they would annihilate each other." (A. C. 4545:7.)

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It is shown in this number that even those who are interiorly evil are held in a state of external order by the presence of angelic influx through the church.
     The most important effect of this communication is in the world of spirits. There it is a maintaining of the balance between the good and evil societies, so that freedom of choice may result with men on earth. No change can be brought about in the world of spirits by influx from heaven unless there is on earth an ultimate for its reception. The order of all influx is from firsts to lasts and then to intermediates; and as in man the soul cannot act except in conjunction with the body, so influx from the Lord through heaven cannot affect the states of those in the world of spirits except in conjunction with the states of the church on earth. When the church begins to decrease, then evil societies in the world of spirits increase, and begin to infest even the lowest heaven, until there is danger that the spiritual equilibrium upon which man's freedom of choice depends will be destroyed. The Lord then renews the church upon earth by opening the interior truths of His Word. It is by influx from the Lord out of heaven into the new and interior truths of the Word as existing in human minds that judgment is brought upon the societies in the world of spirits, equilibrium is restored, and freedom for the fulfilment of the end of creation is reestablished. So long as the church exists in its integrity, this balance in the world of spirits is maintained, and all men in the whole world are kept in equilibrium between heaven and hell, and in the freedom to choose the life of heaven.

     Now what is the specific quality of this church which performs these uses? The first quality to be known is that it is Divine: it is the Lord's; yea, it is the Lord with man. For that which makes heaven with man also makes the church, and it is the Divine of the Lord which makes heaven. And as the angels constitute heaven, so men constitute the church; not men as persons, however, but men as individual and collective uses. And what is the Divine of the Lord with the men of the church? It is the Word, which is the Lord.

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Not the Word as a book, but the Word formed in man as faith and charity in the organic substances of his will and understanding. "It is the Lord's Divine which with man makes the church, for nothing is called the church but what is properly the Lord's; for it is the good which is of love and charity, and it is the truth which is of faith, which make that which is called the church; and it is known that all good is from the Lord, and that all truth is from the Lord; the good and truth which is from man is not good and truth." (A. C. 2966:2.)
     The church is defined in several ways, all of which are included in the teaching that the Divine of the Lord makes the church. "The church is from the Word, and with man it is such as his understanding of the Word is." (T. C. R. 243.) "In order that the church may exist, there must be doctrine from the Word, because without doctrine the Word is not understood; yet doctrine alone in a man does not make the church in him, but a life according thereto." (A. C. 10763, 10764, 3445.) "It is not doctrine, but the soundness and purity of doctrine," that establishes the church; "neither is it doctrine, but faith and a life according to it, that establishes and makes the special church which is with man in the singular." (T. C. R. 245.) So again: "The spiritual church first becomes a church when it acts from charity, which is the doctrine itself of faith; or, what is the same, the man of the church then first becomes a church." (A. C. 916.) Therefore spiritual charity makes the church; and spiritual charity cannot exist except in conjunction with the genuine truth or doctrine of the church.
     In every case we get back to the definition of the church as being the reception of the Divine of the Lord in the will and understanding of an individual man; for the good and truth, the charity and faith, which make the church with man are the Lord's. Hence the frequent teaching that they who are born where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, are not of the church, but they who are regenerated by the Lord by the truths of the Word, that is, they who live the life of charity. (N. J. H. D. 243.) "Men themselves, regarded in themselves, do not constitute the church, but the Lord with them." (A. C. 10125.) "It does not follow that they are of the church who are born where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, but they who, by means of truths from the Word are regenerated by the Lord, who are they who live according to the truths therein, consequently who lead a life of love and faith." (White Horse 6:3.)

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     For while the Lord is present through the reading of the Word, He is only conjoined with man through the understanding of the Word and the life of charity therefrom. So the church of the Lord exists where the genuine doctrine of the Word is "the rule of life." (A. C. 6637.) This all follows the general teaching that influx takes place through the affections into the thoughts of the understanding. There is no influx from the Lord immediately into the knowledges of the memory. The influx from the Lord is through and according to the affections into the scientifics and cognitions of the memory. So that such as is the affection, such is the influx. Thus it is the spiritual affection of truth which makes the church; and the spiritual affection of truth is with man from the Lord according to his life of shunning evils as sins against God.

     What and where in the world is this specific church of the Lord now? It is with those who receive the Lord in the Word of His Second Coming, which we call the Writings, and who make the teachings of that Word the rule of their lives. The former church has come to an end. It has been judged, and it can no longer perform the use of a spiritual church,-that use which is the maintaining of communication between heaven and earth. In the past, whenever a church has been consummated, the Lord has come and opened the interior truths of the former Word in a new Revelation from Himself out of heaven. That new Revelation then becomes the new basis of communication through which the end of creation is preserved; the former Word remaining, and being of service in enriching and strengthening that communication, though it cannot serve as the conjoining medium because the understanding of that Word has been perverted.
     This was the case with the Ancient Word, and with the Old Testament, in relation to the perception of the Most Ancient Church. It was so with the New Testament, and this use has now been transferred to the Writings. The Divine Truths from the Writings,- the Word of the Second Advent-in the minds and hearts of the men of the church, are now the conjoining medium by which the Lord's end in creation,-an angelic heaven from the human race,-is provided.

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If this is not so, then we have no new church, but only a reformation of the former church, and we should work within the limits of the former Christianity, for then we are essentially one with it.
     A new church connotes a new means of communication, and that new means of communication is the Word, from which the new church exists. We read: "When the end of a church is at hand, then the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship are revealed and taught." The Lord Himself did this when in the world, and thus established the first Christian Church. "The like has been done at this day; for it has now pleased the Lord to reveal many arcana of heaven, especially the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, which has hitherto been wholly unknown, and with that He has taught the genuine truths of doctrine." (A. E. 641:2.) In every case the Advent of the Lord is in the New Word which becomes the new basis of conjunction between heaven and man. The Writings are the New Word, and they are the new basis of conjunction. It is only through a knowledge, understanding and life from them that the New Church can perform her distinctive use.
     Therefore we are taught that no one can enter heaven who does not receive the Heavenly Doctrine, and that those who are of the church universal in this world readily receive the Heavenly Doctrine inn the world of spirits, and are thus prepared for heaven. It is, then, from a study of the Word of the Second Coming that the individual ins prepared to contribute to the use of the church. "For Divine order, and the celestial order thence derived, is not terminated but with man in his corporeal, namely, in his gestures, actions, looks, speech, external sensations, and in the delights thereof; these are the extremes of order and the extremes of influx, which are there terminated." (A. C. 3632.)

     The church is from the Word, and the New Church is from the New Word-the Writings. In itself, this Church cannot be organized by man; it is organized by the Lord in the will and understanding of the individual man, when there is an affection and an understanding of the New Word, and it exists wherever those Writings are received in faith and life as the living Word of God.

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We cannot exclude anyone from this Church, but we can say that it cannot exist apart from the Writings, and that it cannot exist where those Writings are denied as the Lord in His Second Coming; for they are the Divine of the Lord which makes the church. If we had a New Church without them, it would mean that man from himself, from his own intelligence, makes the church. For the Old and New Testaments can no longer serve as the new medium of communication, except in conjunction with the Writings. The New Church from the Writings is called the Lord's New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, the New Church the Holy Jerusalem, the New Christian Church.
     To be a member of this Church, each man must go to the Lord in His New Word. There is no traditional membership in this Church: there is no membership apart from an understanding and love of the spiritual truths therein revealed. And therefore, many times in the Writings, man is admonished to examine the doctrines of the church inn the light of the Word, for they are not true merely because the leaders of the church have proclaimed them, and their followers have affirmed them. Each man must see them as true for himself from the Lord; and it is promised that if he reads the New Word in humility, and shuns evils as sins, he will be enlightened to see whether or not they are true. The life of the church depends upon such receivers; for while the Writings speak of those who are in the external of the church, and who trust others whom they believe to be enlightened, yet they at the same time stress the necessity-for the preservation of the use of the church-of there being many in the church who approach the Lord immediately in His Word, and in the light of heaven see truths from Him.
     What we know as the organization of the church among men is for the performance of the external uses of the church in the world, and for the providing of the external order and means in and by which the church which is the Lord's alone may be received, and may grow in the minds and hearts of men. All uses, however internal, must eventually come to rest in external organizations-external as to form, but internal as to spirit. Throughout the universe, use can never be separated from organic substances. (S. D. 3577.)

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We belong to the General Church because we believe that its organization is according to the order of the Word of the Second Coming, and because we believe that in it we can best serve the Divine use of the Lord's New Church.
     The external organization of the church also serves the purpose of keeping separate and distinct, and thereby protecting, the spiritual use of the church. As the faith and life of the New Church cannot be commingled with that of the Old Church without the destruction of both, so the New Church must have new and distinct forms of worship and life, and these cannot exist in this world without an organized church. By organization those in spiritual brotherhood can join together in promoting the internal and external uses of the church, and can also be of mutual service to one another.
     And the most important use of the organized church is providing for the worship of the Lord in His Divine Human-the providing of that worship according to Divinely revealed order, in which the communication between heaven and man is most fully provided when there is correspondence in the individual worshipper. For in genuine worship, and especially in the celebration of the Communion, the Holy City New Jerusalem descends from God out of heaven, and the conjunction with the angelic heaven is most ultimately established.
DISCUSSIONS 1950

DISCUSSIONS       Editor       1950

     A report of the speeches made in the discussions that followed the delivery of the Addresses published in the present issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE will be found in the Journal of the Assembly, which will be printed in the September issue.

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VISION AND HUMILITY 1950

VISION AND HUMILITY       Rev. NORMAN H. REUTER       1950

     (Sunday, June 18, 1950.)

     "Let the speech of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, 0 Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19: 14.)

     This is the prayer of every man of the church who has something of a vision of genuine truth, whereby he has not only experienced a lifting up of the spirit caused by the vision, but from the penetrating light of that vision has also acquired that humility which comes from a recognition of his own evils; and this has produced in him a fervid desire to be withheld from these evils by the Lord. "Let the speech of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, 0 Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."
     Only one who has entered well into the paths of regeneration can sincerely voice these words. For the mind of such a one has been carried up upon the eagle's wings of spiritual truth, and has seen the possibilities that Divine Love has provided for man. He, like John the Apostle, has been taken up in spirit, and with the mind's eye has seen the Holy City, New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Church. He has come fully to acknowledge those Doctrines as "the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." He has recognized that there can be a replanting of the tree of life in the open minds of the willing, whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations.
     But from the heights of this enlightened view he has also come to see that, below those regions of the human spirit where the Lord may dwell in His light, are "dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whatsoever loveth and maketh a lie." This is how he thinks of the unpurified parts of his natural mind, his hereditary nature, the seat of all evil, and of all opposition to God and the establishment of His kingdom.

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He has dissociated himself from this thing that is purely of self; at least he does so in his states of elevation. In the regions of his intellectual part he has permitted the Lord to erect a fortress of spiritual truths, received, acknowledged, and welded together with the determination to apply them to life, behind which wall of enlightened determination he wages war with the enemies of his own household.
     With the weapons of truth supplied by his Lord, he has descended into the pit, and has come face to face with the ugly inhabitants therein, has recoiled from the leering face of the love of self, the haughty countenance of pride, the lustful appearance of covetousness, and the sensually weak expression of the love of pleasure. This array has horrified him. With them he has done battle. He has known both victory and defeat. Temptation has sore pressed him. Hemmed about, seemingly hopelessly ensnared, he has known what it is to go suppliant to his Lord, to beseech His aid, to despair lest it cannot be given. Seeing himself, his proprium, in heaven's light, real humility was born, a humility that is only acquired through the stress and strain of regenerate life, and never is innate.
     So he beseeches the Lord, knowing that from Him and His Word alone come the needed wisdom and strength, that he may become acceptable in the sight of heaven. The supplication proceeds less from fear and confusion than from a growing yearning to be worthy, to be of use in the kingdom of heaven.

     "Let the words of my mouth be acceptable in Thy sight." Out of the mouth proceedeth the things of the understanding, and especially the things of the memory upon which that understanding rests. Into the memory are gathered the knowledges of the Word, the concepts of doctrine derived therefrom. Upon these the understanding works, weaving principles for the programs and projects of life. That is, the understanding so operates if, flowing into it from the will, is the affection of truth for its own sake, or even better, the affection of good,-the desire to be of use. Then goeth forth from the mouth of man-his external mind-thoughts which are agents of the Lord's working in him. This, on an outward plane, is the Lord's own with man, drawn from the Word, through which He can operate for man's salvation and blessing.

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     But into that memory also flow things not ordered by the Word. These, at first quite unconsciously to the man, his perverted hereditary nature grasps to build its fortifications. These the loves of self and the world design to their use and purpose.
     Yet, with the man uttering the supplication which is our text, the cunning schemes of self are no longer hidden, the subtle persuasions of the love of the world are discovered. At least he is aware that the schemes and persuasions are there. Hence he prays that the principles which guide him his active thought (A. 6987), may stem from the things of the Lord, and not from self.
     More than this, he prays that "the meditation of his heart" will also be "acceptable." This is a plea for more interior aid. For meditation is not thought from received principles, but it is one's inner intentions thinking, one s ruling love manifesting itself in the privacy of one s own spirit. It is of the internal man, and is of the quality of man's dominant affection. With some it is in accord with the "speech of their mouth," and with some it is not. To the degree that regeneration proceeds, correspondence results. This meditative thought cannot be produced by study, training, or environment. It is purified only by the shunning of sins against God. It descends, and modifies the "speech of the mouth," and imparts to it its inmost essence. It ever seeks harmony there. In time it succeeds, for by the end of the second state of the world of spirits the inner thoughts of all hearts are revealed, and put on a face, or exterior, in perfect accord with themselves. Thence comes the universal judgment of all men.
     But now it is possible, through the revelation of the Second Coming, to come to this state of judgment while man is on earth,-to bring, as it were, himself to judgment. One's rational truths can sit in judgment upon his natural loves. The power of insight they communicate, when they are opened above to the spiritual mind, makes plain the nature of man as he is in himself, his proprium, as well as the nature of God and His kingdom. The sight of the latter gives man vision, strength, and spiritual courage. The recognition of the former in the end produces genuine humility, and a deep urge to put away the things of self, that one may become truly acceptable to the Heavenly Father, who seeth in secret.

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     It is this state of meditation, and the recognition of its significance in the spiritual outcome, that is the fulcrum of our text. It takes place in the deepest observable recesses of the human spirit to which the rational sight of man on earth can penetrate. It provides the signs of our spiritual times and states. It is not subject to outward pressure,-only to the inward pressure of our own loves. Here we are in the home of our spiritual freedom. Here appear the outcroppings of our inner loves; the perceptions of good, or the persuasions of evil. Here we see the face of the spirit, which even now-on earth is in some other-world society. And when men meditate deeply from their loves, we are told, they sometimes appear in that society; for that is their home, their spirit's abiding place while governed by that love which makes them so appear. Yet they can change that home while mortal life lasts, and it is the purpose of the Lord that they shall change it, always for the better.
     The purpose of introspection or self-examination, of repentance, and the shunning of evils as sins, is that the needed remedial changes may be made. This is why we pray the Lord: minister and congregation together: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if their be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Liturgy p. 65.) This is why we ask the Lord to "give us power to repent of our sins, and open our minds to receive in devout humility His Divine mercy and grace." (Ibid.) Because the rational man of the church knows that he should depart from the affections of the natural man, so that the Lord's church may be in and with him, he promises: "O Lord teach us Thy ways, and we will walk in Thy truth." (Ibid.)
     The natural man largely conceives of worship and love to the Lord as a sentimental stirring of the emotions and a personal loyalty to God. But the truly rational man sees further, more realistically. He sees that there is work to be done,-the work of regeneration, that worship may be genuine, and that the vessels of his heart and mind may become worthy of "love from the Lord to the Lord." It is said of those who are to be of the New Church, that is, of rational men formed by a rational revelation, that they will acknowledge and confess that they have falsities and evils. This is the result of their confidence in the truths of the New Revelation. Though they will come among those who adulterate and blaspheme the Word, they will live in humility, and in accordance with the commandments of God.

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When the question is asked: "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?" they know the answer. "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Liturgy, p. 67.)

     *     *     *     *     *

     Tomorrow, New Churchmen here and throughout the world will celebrate the spiritual inauguration of the New Church with the preaching of the gospel that "The Lord God Jesus Christ doth reign, and His kingdom shall be for ages of ages." What does that gospel mean to us? Does it not mean that the New Church is to be a church in which the Lord's will, not man's will, individually or collectively, shall reign supreme? Does it not imply a rational concern, on the part of priest and layman, that even the external order and organization of that church shall flow from the understanding of the Lord's Word, which reveals His will, that He may govern therein and provide that the kingdom of heaven will be able to come down upon this earth. And how can that kingdom of uses which is heaven come down among us, save in the desire, implanted by God in the womb of regenerative endeavor, to be of service in the establishment of His Church? Each regenerating man will embody that desire according to his talents and abilities, his form of use. Each will rejoice in the Lord's performance of uses through others than himself, seeing therein the earthly image of the perfection and variety of heaven.
     Herein he will pray that the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart are acceptable to the Lord. For the spiritual man, rationally aware of human nature and Divine purpose, knows he is to love uses for the sake of use, and not from any personal consideration. For uses are above person, although effected through people. They are of the Lord, thus Divine. They are the will of God working among and through men.
     Men in any office or function are, or ought to be, servants of use. Hence our revelation plainly teaches that, if a spiritual man aspires to any service or office, and he sees another more fitted to perform the use, he steps down, that the use may take precedence, and not the things of self.

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He rejoices that the Lord raises up men to do His work. He ceaselessly, and with humility, endeavors to find his place in that work. He desires that order shall prevail in the Church, that government therein can provide for the Lord's supreme supervision. This he knows will take place when uses are guarded by doctrine from heaven received and understood, and when the concerns of self are subordinated.
     And finally, each man, great and small, wise or simple, when his meditation is from the love of uses, will be filled with gratitude, not only to the Lord, but to all men who serve Him faithfully. For we are told that the rational has been given to men to the end that everyone may wish well and do well to another. (Cf. A. 2219:2.) Hence, among other things, the prayer of the man of our text involves the hope that he may ever more come to think well of others in their uses, rejoicing in their gradual perfection and promotion therein. This is to love the uses of heaven and the church above all things. For the essence of charity is to will well to the neighbor. (A. 5132:2.)

     When man does this, he thinks from internal things;-he meditates from good in the ways of truth. Then the Lord has heard his prayer, and the thoughts of his mind and the meditations of his heart are acceptable, or well-pleasing. And the Lord is able to say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Amen.

LESSONS: Psalm 19. Rev. 22: 1-17. A. C. 1316.

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METHOD OF GIVING REVELATION 1950

METHOD OF GIVING REVELATION       Rev. MARTIN PRYKE       1950

     (Third Session, June 16, 1950.)

     The end of the Divine Love is that there shall be, from the human race, a heaven wherein man may receive eternal joy. This heaven is a state of conjunction between God and man, a state of reciprocity. But the achievement of conjunction and reciprocity is dependent upon a similarity of form between the two; therefore was man created in the image of God. Moreover, it is dependent upon each entering freely into it; wherefore man is endowed with free will and rationality, in order that his will and understanding may freely be conjoined with, may freely respond to, the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom.
     When man exercises his free will and rationality aright, he learns obedience to the Divine Will, he learns to respond to the Divine Love, and he learns so to love his neighbor that he is prepared to be an orderly and useful citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. But man, of himself, is frail, human, ignorant, and can only be led to his destined end by the especial guidance of the Divine Itself. If man is to be conjoined with God, if God is to be worshipped and obeyed, He must be known and His will understood. The rationality granted man cannot be exercised except it be fed with truth. If the end of the Divine Love is to be achieved (and the Divine constantly bends itself to this achievement), then the Lord must reveal Himself to mankind.
     This Revelation will be man's spiritual guide, the "lamp of his feet," the "light of his path." It is important that we be able to recognize this lamp for what it is, and to understand the nature of this light. We cannot set up as our authority that which we do not understand; we cannot obey that of which we know nothing. Therefore it is our present purpose to show something of the means whereby the Divine Truth has been revealed to man, and it is hoped that thereby we may have a better understanding of the significance of that which we study and by which we seek to mold our lives.

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     We shall not consider the content of Revelation, but shall treat of the manner in which it has been given, the way in which it has been prepared, to unveil and disclose, as well as clothe and accommodate, the Divine Truth. It is worthy of note that both of these apparently contradictory processes are involved: for, in order that the Divine Truth (otherwise hidden from man's gaze) may be made known, revealed, unveiled, it must be suitably accommodated to meet man's understanding. Man would be blinded by the immediate and complete revelation of the Divine Itself, and so this must be clothed: but it must be so clothed that the Divine may shine through, so that a perfectly correspondential image may be seen.

     The men of the Most Ancient Church, before the fall, were born into true order (without hereditary perversion), and thus Divine Truths were inscribed on their hearts (A. C. 2896), and they had open intercourse with angels and spirits (A. C. 69), even conversing face to face with the Lord, who appeared to them as a man (A. C. 49). When they looked upon the ultimates of nature, they immediately knew the spiritual truths to which the natural effects corresponded (A. C. 2722, 1409). Thus the Most Ancients needed no written Word; the whole realm of nature and of the spiritual world was seen by them in the light of their true perception, and these constituted their Word; in these they saw their Creator and the laws Divine which constituted the light of their path.
     After the fall, the will and understanding of man were separated and, in consequence, celestial perception was lost. Man could no longer be instructed directly by the heavens, and it became necessary that another revelation should be provided. This new revelation was the first of four written revelations: this was the Ancient Word which has also been lost.
     With the consummation of the Most Ancient Church, mankind needed a new form of revelation which would be adapted to their fallen condition, and this has been given through the instrumentality of man. Written revelations have not been given by a miracle which excludes man's instrumentality.

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No golden plates from heaven, ready graven, have been used.*
     * The first tables of the Decalogue, which were hewn out by God and graven 'with His finger' had to be destroyed because man was not fit to receive such a Revelation, and instead, tables hewn and carved by Moses at the command of God, were prepared. (See: Exodus 31: 18; 32: 16; 34: 1; and 34: 28.)
     It is the use of man, in a whole series of revelations from Moses to Swedenborg, which is our particular consideration now. We shall not treat of the lost Ancient Word, although we believe that the principles here expounded are equally applicable to it. We shall keep within the framework of the Three Testaments which are the Word of the New Church; and whenever we refer to "the Word" we wish it clearly understood that we treat of the Old and New Testaments and the Writings of the Second Advent.

     Whenever the Lord has chosen to use a man as an instrument in the giving of His Word, He has effected His purpose by means of a special influx or inspiration which has disposed those things which are in the man's mind so that they fittingly (correspondentially and representatively) clothe the Divine Truth. This disposing is ultimated and made permanent in the written Word. As the Word is written, there is not an influx of some new knowledge of truth into the mind of the revelator from within-this is impossible, for knowledge can only enter the mind from without. Instead, at the time of writing, there is an inspiration which orders and arranges truths already there.
     This method of inspiration involves, then, two steps:

     I. The provision of ultimates (knowledges) in the mind of the revelator which will suitably clothe and reveal Divine Truth. These come from without, not by an influx through the soul; but by external means, either through the natural or the spiritual senses; thus, if needs be, by miraculous revelation.
     II. The disposing of these ultimates in correspondential and representative series by means of a Divine inspiration-the result of which is the written Word as we know it.

     Providing suitable ultimates in the mind, and disposing them by inspiration,-these two are the steps involved in all Revelation, and constitute the subject of our present consideration.

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They comprise two revelations; one a primary or preparatory revelation to the revelator himself to equip him for his office; the other a secondary or final revelation whereby he writes, and thus preserves for all posterity, the Word of the Lord which is given by means of his instrumentality. We will treat of these two separately.

PREPARATION.

     Before the Divine Truth could inflow into the mind of a revelator, there to clothe itself for presentation to man, it was necessary that suitable clothing be provided. There must be such things in the mind (in the experience and memory) of the revelator as are suitable for this purpose. Therefore, in the Divine Providence, such a man was chosen (prophet, evangelist or instrument of the Second Advent) as would be able to receive such suitable ultimates; then that man was prepared for the high use awaiting him. This preparation (this provision of suitable clothing) was itself a form of revelation-it was a primary revelation to the individual revelator. Such a preparatory revelation was not effected for the sake merely of the individual, but in order that a basis might be provided for a subsequent (secondary and permanent) revelation which should be for all mankind.
     In the course of this preparation of the revelator, ultimates were provided from two sources: from the natural world and from the spiritual world; through the eyes and other senses of the body, and through the eyes of the spirit. Certain material ideas and images were capable of clothing and accommodating and revealing the Divine Truth, but in certain cases things were needed which could only be provided from the spiritual world; and so the spiritual eves of the revelators were opened. The twofold environment of man was called in to serve this vital work. How this was done can best be seen by considering specific instances in the case of each of the Three Testaments.
     All the revelators of the Old Testament, in the first place, knew, from worldly learning, how to write their language, even to the jot and tittle. Their inspiration was not such as to teach them (dictate to them) the art of writing, rather was the inspiration an influx into this which was already known. Similarly with the general subject matter of which they wrote.

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Moses had that portion of the Ancient Word which now comprises the first eleven chapters of Genesis; he knew from word of mouth the history of his forebears, of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons; he knew, from experience, the history of the exodus from Egypt and the wandering in the wilderness. Joshua and Samuel and the prophets likewise had experienced personally, or knew by tradition, the histories of which they treat. This knowledge of the history of their race was called upon when the Word was dictated to them. Doubtless there were many other particulars known to them which were not suitable for clothing the Divine Truth, and doubtless detailed particulars (especially as in such matters as numbers) were dictated according to their correspondence with the truth within, and not as a literally accurate record of history. In this way natural things were made subservient to and were molded by the spiritual use.
     Where natural phenomena (such as the physical features of Canaan) and histories were not able fully to clothe and reveal the Divine Truth it was necessary to use spiritual phenomena and events. Thus the spiritual eyes and ears of Moses were opened, and the long and complicated system of laws and statutes were taught him from heaven. The tabernacle was shown him in the spiritual world, so that he might afterwards construct it and be inspired to describe it as part of written Revelation. These same two modes of preparation applied likewise to the prophets who wrote of historicals of this world and of things seen in the spiritual world (as with Ezekiel's vision of Jerusalem).
     The prophets were also inspired (as were Moses, Samuel, David and others) to speak words of condemnation, exhortation, and prophecy, as well as Psalms of prayer and praise. These things were first spoken by them, and then afterwards they, or others, wrote them down. Their inspiration as they spoke was similar to that which they received as the Word itself was written. It was a dictation, but the dictation comprised a disposing of things already in their memories. Thus they denounced states which they had seen, exhorted according to teaching given from heaven, or prophesied in sensual images familiar to them. Their preparatory experience is summed up, in the Arcana Coelestia, in these words: "They heard a voice, they saw a vision, they dreamed a dream, but . . . these were merely verbal or visual revelations without any perception of what they signified." (A. C. 5121.)

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Such was the primary revelation of Old Testament times.
     In the New Testament, the case is even clearer. The four evangelists, together with many others, learned (whether directly themselves or indirectly through others) the story of the Lord's life on earth and the words which He uttered. Every detail of circumstances, of act, example and word, which made up the life of the Incarnation was itself a Divine Revelation. In the whole, the Divine Human of the Lord, and the process of the Divine Glorification, and the regeneration of man, were revealed. This (apart from its other functions of redemption) provided a preparatory or primary revelation to the evangelists. Their memories were filled with images supremely adapted to accommodating and revealing the Divine Truth for the Christian Church. From the many such images which must have been in their minds, those were chosen to form the New Testament which were best suited for that purpose.
     In addition, John was prepared as the means of providing the crowning part of the New Testament, by his spiritual experiences whilst on the Isle of Patmos. There his spiritual eves were opened, and he enjoyed experiences which, when written down, served to prophesy concerning the eventual destiny of the Christian Church and the link between that and the final crowning dispensation.
     It is interesting to note that there was also another form of primary revelation to the apostles. We are told that when they taught throughout the Mediterranean lands after the ascension and the descent of the cloven tongues of fire upon them at Pentecost, that then what they said was Divinely inspired (cf. John 14: 25, 26; Acts 1: 8 and chapter 2; S. D. 1509; T. C. R. 154). This served as a temporary revelation to establish the Christian Church before the New Testament was prepared and accepted. It was a link between the Primary Revelation which the Lord Himself gave in His teaching, and the permanent Word of the New Testament which was to be the light of the Christian Church. The teaching thus given is not preserved except partially in the Epistles, and they are not fully or continuously inspired; its use has been fulfilled.
     Many scholars of the New Church have dealt at length with the subject of Swedenborg's preparation for his mission as revelator of the Second Advent.

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This preparation falls readily into three parts: scientific and philosophic, scriptural, and spiritual. A rational revelation must be clothed in rational expressions, and to this end Swedenborg learned the sciences of his age. This served as a basis for and confirmation of the Divine Truth. Most notably do we see how his knowledge of anatomy and physiology was later used to reveal truths concerning the Gorand Man of heaven, and so of the Divine Human Itself. Because a subsequent revelation does not supersede or destroy its predecessors, but rather is built upon them, it was necessary that Swedenborg should know thoroughly the letter of the Scriptures and the sacred languages. By this means the clothing of Divine Truth in the Third Testament can be seen clearly to be in accord with, and a fulfillment of, the Old and New Testaments. By this means it was possible for the spiritual sense of the Old and New Testaments to be included in the New Revelation.
     Finally, it was necessary that Swedenborg's memory and understanding be filled with knowledges concerning the spiritual world; for this Third Testament was to teach man much of the life after death (H. H. 1; T. C. R. 779). Therefore Swedenborg was introduced into the spiritual life, and there he learned facts and principles (H. D. 7; A. R. Preface; T. C. R. 779) which later were ordered and arranged in the words of revelation. Swedenborg not only observed in the spiritual world, but he was also instructed there by the Lord Himself (D. P. 135; De V. 29) concerning the doctrines which were later made available to the whole world through his instrumentality.
     Thus we see, although only briefly, that the revelators of each of the Three Testaments have been fully and carefully prepared for their missions. Before a word was written, their minds had to be filled with suitable clothing for the image of the Divine which was to be presented (be that image sensual, moral or rational, as it was in the Three Testaments). This clothing came from without, from their environment, spiritual as well as natural; but only those could be chosen for this high office whose training and environment was suitable, and who could be led to gather the vitally necessary vessels for the Divine Truth.
     We should note also a very important effect of this mode of revelation. Truth was clothed by vessels in the mind of the revelator.

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Although, in many instances, special means were used to provide suitable vessels which would not otherwise have been available (as with the opening of the spiritual eyes), it yet remains true that the revelation was made in terms which were generally understood by and acceptable to the man of the church for whom they were particularly written. Thus this served as a means of accommodating Divine Truth to the precise level of understanding which existed in each dispensation. The Jews received a precise, didactic, threatening and exhortatory revelation in images they understood. This exactly filled their need; it was cast in their mold. And it has been the same with the moral teaching of the New Testament and the rational teaching of the Writings.
     A further use springing from this mode of providing revelation is to be observed. Because inspiration disposed those things already in the memory, the appearance was that the man wrote from himself. The consequence of this is that mankind is left more free to accept or reject the authority of Divine Revelation. There is, as we intimated earlier, no miraculous provision from heaven without the mediation of man; there is no compelling miracle. Man may say, if he will, that the works are as the works of other men in appearance, and that there is no justification for ascribing absolute authority to them; and many have so said. Nevertheless, for the man who is humbly seeking truth, there lies here the only plain image of his Creator, the only revelation of His Love and Providence, the only guide for mankind.

INSPIRATION.

     Now we must turn to consider in more detail how the written Word (the secondary and permanent revelation) was prepared; how, to this end, the disposing of these especially provided vessels took place; how the man was so inspired that that which he wrote may indeed be called the Word of the Lord. "The Word is said to be inspired because it is from the Lord; and they are called inspired who wrote it." (A. C. 9229.) What is this "inspiration"?
     The term comes from the Latin "spiro" (to breathe). It is the operation of the Holy Spirit "breathing" upon the revelator, influencing him, guiding him, indeed compelling him, to write what is the Revelation of the Divine. But this is a special operation of the Holy Spirit; for the Holy Spirit operates upon all of us at all times and in all that we do. Wherein lies the difference?

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It lies in this: that normally the Holy Spirit is so operative upon man (giving him life) that the man cannot feel the operation, but is left free to act according to his innate human freedom and rationality; he acts from the Lord, but he acts as if from himself. Thus the normal effect of the Holy Spirit operating on man is modified and conditioned by the man's proprium; that which results is human in quality, if not in origin. The special operation of the Holy Spirit which takes place in the giving of revelation, however, takes place differently. In this case the free will of the man is temporarily withdrawn, and he comes more completely under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This man is not free as he normally is; he is not free to write whatever he wants. For the eternal purposes of God, he is, for the moment, deprived of that freedom so that the Holy Spirit can manifest Itself perfectly and correspondentially through the human instrument.
     This may well be compared with the means whereby the Lord was manifested to the prophets of old. Their spiritual eyes were opened, and they saw an angel infilled with the presence of the Lord. In this process (which was an especial influx of the Holy Spirit into the angel), the proprium of the angel was laid asleep, and they were so infilled with the Divine that they themselves thought that they were the Lord. (A. C. 1925; D. P. 96; T. C. R. 135:4.) Thus their free will was temporarily taken from them, that they might serve in the performance of a very high use.
     The precise degree in which the revelators of the Three Testaments were inspired, however, was not the same. The difference lies in the degree of freewill left to them, and the degree of compulsion (or dictation) imposed upon them by the Lord. In each case men were chosen who would freely (as of themselves) respond to the call made to them. There is no suggestion that men were forced into this role; they could have laid down the pen; but those were chosen who would not do so.* Having taken the pen up, however, they were not free as to what they wrote.
     * A question may here be raised in view of the reluctance of Balaam (Numbers, chapter 22) and Jonah (Jonah, chapters 1 to 4) to prophesy; but we doubt if such compulsion was needed in the case of those who served as instruments in providing the written Word.

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     Before we consider the varying degrees of inspiration in each of the Testaments, let us first note an important principle of all revelation: Inspiration is effected only through the heavens, and never immediately into this world. This applies equally to the primary (preparatory) revelation of which we have been speaking, and to the inspiration of the secondary (final) written Word.
     "The Word in its essence is Divine Truth, from which both men and angels derive all heavenly wisdom, since it was dictated by the Lord; and what is dictated by the Lord passes through all the heavens in order, and terminates with man. (Italics mine.) Thus it is accommodated both to the wisdom of angels and the intelligence of men; and therefore angels have the Word, and read it as men do on earth." (H. H. 259.) Thus we see that the descent from the Divine to the revelator in inspiration is according to the order of Divine Influx, through the spiritual to the natural. We are not to think of it as being an immediate influx into the natural (without successive accommodation through the heavens), or as a voice speaking on the ultimate plane immediately provided by the Divine. (See A. C. 9094.) It is by this means that there are celestial and spiritual senses within all Three Testaments of the Word; they are there by virtue of the very mode of its presentation. We read: "In each and all things of the Word there is an internal sense; for each and all of the things of the Word are inspired, and being inspired they cannot but be from a heavenly origin; that is, they must necessarily store up within them celestial and spiritual things, for otherwise it could not possibly be the Word of the Lord." (A. C. 1783; see also A. C. 1887.)
     It is important to understand, however, that when we say that revelation is made by the Lord through the heavens, it is not meant that the revelation is in any way from the angels. The angels serve as instruments, but nothing of their proprium is permitted to affect in the least degree what is inspired. It is from the Lord through the angels. (A. E. 8; A. R. 809; A. C. 1925.) It is thus with the revelator on earth; nothing of his proprium may affect that which is inspired. The Lord presents the truth through him and by means of him, but it is in no sense his. We recall the familiar number in De Verbo: ". . . As regards myself. I have not been allowed to take any thing from the mouth of any spirit, nor from the mouth of any angel, but from the mouth of the Lord alone." (De V. 13).

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     Let us now consider the inspiration of the Three Testaments separately. That of the Old Testament was, in a certain sense, the most complete. The prophets, as we have said, freely responded to their call; they willingly prepared paper and ink and lifted their hands to write. But once they began to write they were inspired as to every word they wrote; indeed, as to every letter, every jot and tittle. Here their freedom was temporarily taken from them, and they could only put down that which was dictated to them. In this process the Divine inflowed so as to dispose the vessels in their minds which had been prepared from their earthly environment and their spiritual instruction. This is why each prophet has a style peculiar to himself. (W. E. 6884.) Thus Divine Truth clothed Itself; but the clothing was such (the inspiration so complete and precise) that not only did the sense of the letter (the story or sentence) clothe and show the Divine Truth, but so did each word, each letter, and each jot and tittle.
     Thus, as they wrote the Word, the freedom of the Old Testament prophets was very slight indeed. There was literal dictation; they could write no otherwise. The importance of realizing this lies in the fact that that which is dictated is Divinely inspired and is therefore inviolable, whilst that which is from the man is not. In the Old Testament a blemish in the paper, a fault in the ink, are of no consequence; but the least part of a letter is of spiritual significance.
     This inspiration was a manifest dictation. "They heard the words which they wrote from Jehovah Himself." (A. R. 945.) Obviously they were fully conscious in the body (they did not write in some kind of trance), but whilst conscious in the body they heard a voice declaring to them that which they should write. This state of consciousness in dictation is to be distinguished from their state when receiving the primary revelation; then their spiritual eyes were opened and, whilst unconscious of bodily life, they saw in the spiritual world. (Lord 52; A. R. 945.)
     We have already said that it is a principle of inspiration that it is effected through the heavens. That this applies also in the present instance is evident from the following number:

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"I have been informed of the manner in which the Lord spake with the prophets, through whom the Word was given. He did not speak with them as He did with the ancients, by an influx into their interiors, but through spirits who were sent to them, whom He filled with His aspect, and thus inspired them with the words which they dictated to the prophets. This was not influx, but dictation. And since the words came forth immediately from the Lord, therefore they are each filled with the Divine, and contain within them an internal sense, which is such that the angels of heaven perceive them in a heavenly spiritual sense, while men perceive them in a natural sense: thus the Lord has conjoined heaven and the world by means of the Word." (H. H. 254.) This dictation, however, was not a sound from without which reached the ears of the prophet and could have equally reached the ears of any other person near at hand. The sound reached their ears, but by an internal way: it seemed as sonorous to them as any other speech, but it came by a different path. The angelic speech, reaching the ears of their spirit, clothed itself with a corresponding sound in the ears of the body; thus it appeared to them that the sound reached them from without through the normal means of physical hearing. (A. C. 7055, 4652.)
     In the course of this inspiration the prophets understood no more than the obvious literal sense of the Word; not only did they not have any idea of how such dictation was effected, but also they had no idea of there being any spiritual content in that which they wrote. although they certainly believed it to be the Word of Jehovah. (A. E. 624(15); A. C. 5121.)

     The case with the New Testament is somewhat different. Numbers (S. S. 13; L. J. 41) which speak of the inspiration of the Old Testament even to the jot and tittle, when speaking of the New Testament, refer only to each word. Nowhere are we told of the significance of Greek letters, as we are of the Hebrew. Thus we may know that, whereas with the prophets of the Old Testament inspiration reached to letters, with the evangelists of the New Testament it reached only to the words. A primary revelation-(by the Lord's own words, by John's visions on Patmos, and other such means)-had established the suitable vessels in the minds of the evangelists; then the Divine Influx disposed these vessels so that they clothed Divine Truth.

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Moreover, such words were dictated as were representative or correspondential; therefore each word in the New Testament is an inviolable part of revelation. Not a word shall be taken away. (Apoc. 22: 19.)
     The revelators of the New Testament, then, were free in their choice of paper and ink, free in their choice of letters (the spelling of words is of no significance) but they were not free in their choice of ideas or words, which were infallibly dictated to them.
     The precise mode of inspiration of the evangelists as they wrote the Gospels and the Apocalypse is not anywhere described in the Writings. It is possible that the dictation was a silent one which worked through the interiors of the man in such a way that he thought it all to be of himself. It would appear more probable, however, that it was similar to that of the Old Testament prophets: a sonorous, living voice, dictating each word that they should write.* We might be disposed to think that, after the Advent and with the beginning of a new dispensation, a new mode of giving revelation would be provided; but it must be remembered that the evangelists were essentially in the same state as the prophets of old. As far as revelators are concerned, the real effect of the Advent is not felt until Swedenborg; and yet, even in his case, those principles of revelation which we have been discussing were equally applicable.
     * The juxtaposition of references to John and the Old Testament prophets in Apocalypse Revealed 945 seems to suggest this.

     The revelator of the Third Testament was in the greatest freedom of all revelators. He chose his own letters and words, but the ideas he expressed were inspired from the Lord. In these ideas Swedenborg had no choice, and in them there was nothing of his own. That he chose his own letters and words, and that there was no specific dictation of them, is quite evident from an examination of the original documents of the Writings. In these we see cases where he has changed a word many times; in one instance wavering between the Latin words "a" and "ex" more than a half a dozen times.
     It would be virtually impossible to prepare a "textus receptus" on the basis of a belief in the verbal (or literal) inspiration of the Writings. There is nothing in the Writings to suggest that the inspiration reaches further than to the ideas (to the sentences).

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Certain numbers in the Word Explained which seem to teach this are clearly but expressions of opinion, or are in general terms. In the early preparatory state of the "Word Explained" period, Swedenborg may have mistaken the inspiration of ideas for the inspiration of actual words. In the last number in the Word Explained which deals with this subject, it is clearly denied that he was permitted to preserve any writing in which he had been literally inspired. (See W. E. 1409, 1530, 5587, 6327, 6884, 7006.)
     The worldly and spiritual experiences of Swedenborg (forming a primary revelation) provided vessels which could be disposed to accommodate and express Divine and angelic ideas in human, rational, clothing. This clothing is perfectly inspired, and must be held inviolable so far as every idea is concerned; but errors of spelling or of choice of words (both of which appear in the manuscripts) are human errors which have no spiritual significance.
     Whilst we emphasize the difference between the inspiration of the New Testament and that of the Writings we must make it perfectly clear that this does not involve any suggestion that the latter are not of complete authority or are not the Word. Any idea that Swedenborg was inspired and received a revelation in his spiritual experiences, but in his writing simply put down a personal account in his own uninspired words, cuts the very roots and foundations away from under us. We are left with no authority, no Second Advent, and no need of a New Church.
     Those numbers which treat quite definitely of the absolute authority of the Writings have been gathered together so often in the General Church that we need not repeat them all now. We will content ourselves with quoting only one or two: "They are not my works, but the Lord's." (S. D. 6102.) "What has come from the Lord has been written, and what has come from the angels has not been written." (A. E. 1183; cf. De V. xiii.) "The Lord Jehovah derives and produces from this New Heaven a New Church on the earth, which is by a Revelation of Truths from His own mouth, or from His Word, and by Inspiration." (Cor. 18.) "The Second Advent of the Lord is effected by the means of a man, before whom the Lord has manifested Himself in person, and whom He has filled with His Spirit, to teach the doctrines of the New Church through the Word from Him. (T. C. R. 779. Italics mine.)

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     Within the limits of one address we have been able to present only a bare outline of the ideas which have interested us concerning the method of giving revelation and the nature of the inspiration of the Three Testaments. There is much more that might, and should, be said. However, from the outline given, we can reach certain conclusions.
     Firstly, we note a progressive change in the manner and form of the revelation. The Old Testament, a sensual revelation adapted to the state of the Jews, the New Testament, a moral revelation for the Christian Church, and the Writings, a rational revelation for the New Church (the Crown of Revelations to eternity); through the series there has been a steady progress. In the first, the part of the revelator (so far as his free will was concerned) was small indeed, providing but the paper and ink; in the second it was greater, providing the letters; but in the third it was the greatest; for he provided the words to clothe the inspired idea.
     In another sense there is a similar progression. We see that the balance between the extent to which phenomena of the natural and the spiritual worlds were drawn upon has changed. In the Old Testament there is very much "history" of worldly events, and less description of things of a spiritual origin. In the New Testament, with the Apocalypse, there is a larger proportion based on spiritual experiences. Whilst in the Writings, by far the greatest proportion is drawn from vessels formed in Swedenborg's mind when his spiritual eyes were opened. Thus, as we progress through the series of three, there is a greater dependence upon a Primary Revelation. Clearly the mode of giving the revelation has a relation to the degree of the natural mind for which the particular revelation is intended.
     It is interesting to note, in quite another sphere, that the difference between the type of inspiration in the Three Testaments links up very closely with problems of textual criticism. We would be most concerned with precise accuracy in the text in the Old Testament, for there each letter is of significance; in the New Testament we should be less concerned, although each word is still of moment; in the Writings, letters and words do not concern us so much as the ideas expressed. Now, from the point of view of age, we would expect the fewest textual problems in the Writings, especially as the original manuscripts are available in many cases; but the case is the opposite.

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The fewest textual problems are in the Old Testament, thanks to the work of the Massorites; there are more with the New Testament, and most undoubtedly exist in the Writings, where a difference between draft and final copy, where printers' errors and other very difficult points make the preparation of a "textus receptus" very difficult. Moreover, whilst there are no problems as to the precise limits of the canon of the Scriptures, there are no such limits clearly laid down for the Writings. These problems need not concern us unduly; we do not doubt that the Divine Providence constantly cares for the preservation of the Word, even as it cared for its original production. The Church will doubtless be led to the true authorities as time progresses.
     Perhaps the most important point of all that follows from the line of reasoning that we have been following is that concerning the basis for correspondences in the Three Testaments. It must surely follow from what has been said that that which is inspired (which is outside the scope of the free will of the revelator; which is the result of an unperverted influx from the Lord through the heavens) is the correspondential basis of all that lies within. Thus, in the Old Testament, each letter, each jot and tittle, because they were inspired and were not at the free disposal of the prophets, is a correspondential (or representative) basis for the spiritual, celestial and Divine senses which are within. In the New Testament, this basis is the individual word-each of which corresponds. In the Writings. Divine and heavenly truths are clothed in correspondential forms in the ideas (or sentences) there expressed. Inspiration is the successive clothing, through discrete degrees, of Truths which are Divine in origin. The final clothing cannot help but contain these higher degrees within them. If the Three Testaments are the Word and present an accommodation of the Divine Truth, then they must contain the angelic truths (which cannot be expressed in human language) as well. Note again this number which cannot but be applied to the Writings themselves: `In each and all things of the Word there is an internal sense; for each and all of the things of the Word are inspired, and being inspired they cannot but be from a heavenly origin; that is, they must necessarily store up within them celestial and spiritual things, for otherwise it could not possibly be the Word of the Lord." (A. C. 1783.)

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     As we have said, it has only been possible to outline the points which we have had in mind. There are many things that have had to be omitted, and there are many more which we do not yet understand. As the studies of the Church proceed we shall gradually see more light on these many fascinating considerations. I believe that, in seeking for this light, we need to be careful of the general attitude we adopt towards the subject. We should not consider the Three Testaments as three rivals for the first place. One is not to be considered superior to another because it has a different kind (a different degree) of inspiration. Each has filled its proper part in contributing to a final threefold revelation which will meet all states of all men to eternity.
     Further, I believe that we should particularly avoid placing the Old and New Testaments on one side of the balance, with the Writings on the other. We shall not really understand the nature (the status) of the Writings until we understand the difference between the Old and New Testaments. The present Revelation is not made up of two parts on one side and one on the other; it is made up of three different but equal partners. It is necessary that we step back farther from the picture, as it were, to see that it is a triptych; to see it in its proper perspective.
     Finally, in all of our studies, let us not forget that the one and only purpose of revelation is to make known to man the way of God, that he may find the true path of life. Apart from this it has no use; apart from an appreciation of this our studies in this field are fruitless meanderings of the intellect.
     "O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy." (Psalm 43: 3, 4.)

     READING: Isaiah 55:1-13.

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CONJUGIAL LOVE 1950

CONJUGIAL LOVE       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1950

     (Fourth Session, June 16, 1950.)

     There is a love which is so rare at this day that it is not known what it is, and scarcely that it is. (C. L. 58.) In this love is found the highest expression of love to the Lord and charity to the neighbor, and into it are gathered all joys and all delights from first to last (C. L. 68); but, we are told, no one can come into this love who does not approach the Lord, love the truths of the church, and do its goods. (C. L. 70.) This is the testimony of the Writings concerning conjugial love; it is the essence of the covenant which the Lord has established with the men and women of the New Church as set forth in the work entitled, "The Delights of Wisdom Concerning Conjugial Love." Indeed, this work might well be called the Book of the Covenant, for the subject of the work is the relation of the Lord with the Church.
     This relationship is described as the marriage of good and truth, or as the marriage of the Lord and the Church; for all good and truth are from the Lord, and it is the Divine of the Lord that makes the Church. Hence it is a point of angelic wisdom that "In the Lord the Creator, Divine Good and Divine Truth is in its very substance. The esse of His substance is Divine Good, and the existere of His substance is Divine Truth, and it is also in its very union; for in Him they make one infinitely. Since these two are in the Creator Himself, they are therefore one also in each and all things created by Him; and thereby also the Creator is conjoined with all things created by Himself in an eternal covenant as it were of marriage." (C. L. 115.)
     It is this eternal covenant which is now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines. It is revealed not only as those laws of order by which the Divine is present in creation, but also as those spiritual truths of the Church whereby man is conjoined with the Lord. For "God said, let us make man in our own image, after our likeness:

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And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." (Genesis 1: 26, 27.) By the image of God is meant a finite vessel receptive of love and wisdom, and by His likeness is meant the full appearance that love and wisdom are man's own. (C. L. 132:5.)
     It is to be noted, however, that, "In the day that God created man, . . . male and female created He them." (Genesis 5: 1, 2.) The one He created a form of wisdom, and the other a form of love; the one He endowed with the love of becoming wise, and the other He inspired with the love of wisdom. In essence these two loves are one, and when united they are the conjugial which is in heaven. For, as stated in Conjugial Love 88, "There are two loves with man, of which one, which is the prior, is the love of becoming wise, and the other, which is posterior, is the love of wisdom. But this love, if it remains with the man, is an evil love, and is called the pride or love of his own intelligence. . . . So it was provided from creation that this love should be taken from man, lest it should destroy him, and transcribed into woman, so that it might be conjugial love, which restores him to integrity."
     The reference here is to the formation of the woman from the rib of man; the rib signifying the proprium which in man is wisdom from natural truth. (C. L. 193.) To love this wisdom in one's self is to love it for the sake of self, which is an evil love; so it was taken from the man, and given to his wife, in whom it becomes the love of her husband's wisdom, which is the repository of conjugial love. In the woman, this love which originates in man enters into a new delight,-the delight of conjugial love, which in essence is an affection for spiritual truth. This affection, which is from the Lord Himself, is inspired in the husband through the wife, and is with them both according to their acknowledgment of the Lord in heart and in life.
     Were it not for this aspiration to the conjugial, which is inspired by the Lord through the wife into the husband, man would have no perception of spiritual truth. He would remain forever in his proprium, that is, in the love of self-intelligence.

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And we would here note the statement of the Writings that, "No man can ever love his partner with love truly conjugial who from the love of himself is in the pride of self-intelligence." (C. L. 193.) Unless the love of natural truth, which is proper to man, and in greater and less degree is common to all men, is elevated into the love of spiritual truth, man cannot be conjoined with the Lord.
     It is, then, through the formation of the angelic proprium, represented by the woman, that man is raised up by the Lord into spiritual life. This is the miracle of regeneration-that miracle of which He spake when He said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12: 32.) He spake of the uplifting power of His love-of that Infinite Love whereby man is raised up out of his proprium into the delight of use.

     The Lord's Love is first sensed by man as a delight in truth, so it is said that the love of growing wise is the primary love of his life. Out of this love, however, or by means of it, a secondary love is formed which is perceived as a delight in use. The one is primarily an intellectual love, the other is affectional; the one originates in the understanding, the other in the will; the one is inspired by the Lord through the husband into the wife; the other is inspired by the Lord through the wife into the husband. Hence the one is essentially a masculine love, and the other feminine. It is these two loves which constitute the Church in man-constitute it in so far as the truth of the one is conjoined with the good of the other; and in order that they may be conjoined, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them"; that is to say, He created them to be the form itself of the marriage of good and truth. (C. L. 100.) This form is the human form,-that form which is perfected through the marriage of love truly conjugial, that is, through "the union of two in thought and will, in truth and good." (See Liturgy.) For, "They who are in it love to think and will as each other, and thus to become as one man. The image and likeness of one is in the mind of the other, and they dwell together in all things of life even to the inmost. They who so dwell together on earth dwell together as angels after death." (Ibid.)
     This in essence is the faith of the New Church respecting marriage. It is a faith founded upon the acknowledgment that all good and truth are from the Lord, and that, through the conjunction of good and truth in man, man is conjoined with the Lord.

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So we read in the following passages: "From the marriage of good and truth, which proceeds from the Lord and inflows, man receives truth. And because the female was created by means of the truth of the male, and is formed into the love of it more and more after marriage, it follows that she also receives her husband's truth in herself, and conjoins it with her good." (C. L. 122.) "That the Lord adjoins and conjoins good to the truth which man receives is because man cannot take good as of himself, for it is not seen by him." (C. L. 123.) "Man does not see the good which affects him, because he reads the Word from understanding, and the understanding takes nothing from it save its own things, which are truths. That to these good is adjoined by the Lord, is felt by the understanding from the fact of the delight which flows in when it is enlightened." (C. L. 128.) "That the Church is thus formed with man by the Lord is because then he is in conjunction with the Lord." (C. L. 124.)
     Now the teaching is that the inclination to conjunction is implanted in man and woman from creation, but it is added that this conjunction cannot be effected except with men who are in genuine wisdom, and with women who are in the love of that wisdom in the husband. (C. L. 89.) Regarding this, the Writings note that there are two kinds or degrees of wisdom with men-the one is rational, and the other moral. Rational wisdom is formed from the arts and sciences, and from the skills and knowledges which are peculiar to the occupation in which a man is; also from those sciences and organized knowledges into which the mind is introduced through formal education, such as philosophy, geometry, politics, ethics, history, and many other subjects. Moral wisdom, on the other hand, consists of the virtues-of honesty, sincerity, industry, of love of country, zeal for religion, and the love of one's partner. In all these, it is said, "justice and judgment dominate; justice is of moral wisdom, and judgment of rational wisdom." (C. L. 164.) So it is said in the Psalm, "Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne" (Psalm 89: 14), for in moral and rational wisdom, truth has its dwelling place in man.
     Through rational and moral wisdom the mind is formed into a vessel receptive of truth.

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It is the same with women as with men, the difference being that with man wisdom is received in the understanding and is there perceived as an interior delight in truth, but with woman wisdom is received through the understanding in the will, and is there perceived as an interior delight in good. Hence man is said to have been created a form of truth from good, that is, a form of wisdom, and woman is said to have been created a form of good from truth, that is, a form of love (C. L. 88); or, what is the same, man is created a form of understanding, and woman a form of will. It is to be understood, however, that "Everyone whether man or woman, possesses understanding and will; but with man the understanding predominates, and with woman the will predominates, and the character is determined by that which predominates." (H. H. 369.) The essential difference, therefore, between man and woman is not merely a matter of biological function and temperament; it is a difference inscribed upon the soul from creation, in that the one is a vessel receptive of truth, and the other a vessel receptive of the good which is from truth. So it is said that `There is the truth of good, and from this the good of truth. . . . The truth of good is masculine, and the good of truth is feminine. . . . And in these two there is implanted from creation an inclination to conjoin themselves into one." (C. L. 88.)
     We realize that to some these things may seem like abstractions: yet the Writings say that "It is necessary that some distinct idea should be acquired respecting them, because upon this depends a knowledge of the essential origin of conjugial love." (C. L. 88.) While good and truth are terms which at times may lose meaning because of much usage, they are nevertheless the basic terms of revelation-basic because they are universals, and are in all created things according to the form of each. (C. L. 84.) That good and truth are the universals of creation is because the two are in the Lord, yea, they are the Lord, for He is the Divine Good itself and the Divine Truth itself. (C. L. 84.) It follows, therefore, that in all created things there is something of good and truth from Him, in each according to its form. (C. L. 85.) But this, as the Writings note, "can be more distinctly comprehended if for good we say love, and for truth, wisdom." (C. L. 84.) In other words, all things are created forms of love and wisdom, and each partakes of the Universal Conjugial Sphere which proceeds from the Lord according to the order into which it is created.

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     This sphere is first sensed by man as the love of the sex, for man is born natural; yet he is endowed with the capacity to become either spiritual or celestial. By means of the new birth, or regeneration, man is elevated to conjunction with the Lord, and is initiated into the delights of love truly conjugial, which is the fundamental of all celestial, spiritual, and thence of natural loves; and into it are gathered all joys and all delights from first to last. (C. L. 65, 68.) Conjugial love, therefore, is not to be confused with the love of the sex, for the one is celestial and spiritual, and the other natural; the one is possible only with those who love the truths of the Church and do its goods; the other is common to all men, and even to animals; the one is of the internal or spiritual man; the other is of the external or natural man; and finally, the one is chaste, or, as the Writings state, it is chastity itself, and the other is non-chaste. This love is said to be chastity itself for the following reasons:

1.     Because it is from the Lord, and corresponds to the marriage of the Lord and the Church.
2.     Because it descends from the marriage of good and truth.
3.     Because it is spiritual, as is the Church with man.
4.     Because it is the fundamental love of all loves.
5.     Because it is the lawful seminary of the human race and thence of the angelic heaven.
6.     Because it is with the angels of heaven, and from it are born spiritual offspring, which are love and wisdom.
7.     Finally, because its use is thus more excellent than all the other uses of creation. (C. L. 143.)

     A use is a love taking form, the excellence of the use depending upon the love which is served. Thus it is that the uses of conjugial love excel all other uses, for in them man finds the highest possible expression of love to the Lord. In the life of mutual regeneration, in the establishment of the home, in the care and education of children, man enters into the interior uses of the Church-those uses upon which the life of the Church depends. Marriage, therefore, is not what men believe it to be.

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It is not a human institution designed to preserve social and moral order, or, as Christian doctrine would have it, a remedy for sin. In itself, it is a Divine institution which looks to the establishment of the Church on earth, and to a heaven from the human race. So it is said in the marriage service, "Conjugial love from its Divine origin is celestial, spiritual, holy, pure and clean, above every love which is from the Lord, with the angels of heaven and the men of the Church." (C. L. 64.) Also, `Marriage on earth descends from the marriage of good and truth in heaven, which in its inmost and supreme is the union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord. The marriage of conjugial love, which is between one man and one woman, is thus from the Lord Himself, and is with angels and men according to their acknowledgment of the Lord in heart and in life." (See Liturgy.)
     It is no wonder, therefore, that conjugial love is so rare at this day that it is not known what it is, and scarcely that it is; the reason being that it is the Lord who is not known. As Swedenborg states in the preliminaries to the work on Conjugial Love, "I foresee that many who read the things which follow, and the memorable relations at the end of the chapters, will believe that they are inventions of the imagination; but I asseverate in truth that they are not inventions, but things actually done and seen. . . . For it has pleased the Lord to manifest Himself to me, and to send me to teach the things which will be of the New Church which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse." (C. L. 1.) The specific reference here is to the doctrine of conjugial love, for it is this love, above all others, which is to constitute the life of the New Church.
     We are all familiar with the teaching that it is the Divine of the Lord which makes the heavens, but it is the angels who constitute it. The same is true of conjugial love; for although this love is from the Lord it is with the men and women of the Church according to their acknowledgment of Him. This love, therefore, as it exists with the men and women of the Church, may be defined as the mutual love of husband and wife which looks to the Lord. It is mutual because to this love each partner responds-each according to the form in which they were created; the husband according to those things which are of wisdom from the Lord, and the wife according to those goods which are of her husband's wisdom.

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     The beginning and end of all wisdom is the acknowledgment of the Lord. If then we ask, "What is this wisdom which the wife loves in the husband?" the answer is that it is his acknowledgment of the Lord. (C. L. 293:4.) It is this acknowledgment which she continually inspires, and with which she is conjoined. Indeed, were it not for this inspiration, which is perceived by man as a delight in conjugial love, he could not be held in the acknowledgment of the Lord. While this may seem incredible to the masculine mind, nevertheless it is true. It is true because the masculine mind is intellectual in form, and the intellectual cannot be affected by conjugial love from itself, but only by conjunction with one in whom this love is implanted by creation, that is, with one who is created a form of love. Hence the teaching that there is no conjugial love with the male of the sex, but that it is solely with the female sex, and from this sex is transferred into the male sex. (C. L. 223.) This, Swedenborg says, "I have seen attested by experience" (ibid.); the reference being to number 161 of the work on Conjugial Love, where it is said "That conjunction is inspired into the man by the wife according to her love, and is received by the man according to his wisdom."
     The very nature of love is such that it cannot do otherwise than seek unition with that which is loved: this in order that it may be loved in return. Indeed, the Writings observe that the essence and life of love are nothing else than the desire to love and be loved in return; and women are born loves, but men are created forms of truth, or forms receptive of love. (C. L. 160.) It is this which the masculine mind cannot fully grasp, for the appearance is that it is the man who is the active principle in the conjugial relationship; yet the truth is that there is nothing of the conjugial with man, not even the love of the sex. (C. L. 161.) This is the reason why it is said that the inclination to unite the man to herself is constant and perpetual with the wife, but is inconstant and alternating with the man. (ibid.) It is constant and perpetual with the wife because this is the expression of the love into which she was created, but it is inconstant and alternating with the husband because the inclination to the conjugial with him is subject to various states, some of which are receptive of the love of the wife, and others which are not. Yet the fact is, that except from his wife, man cannot enter into the delight of conjugial love, for in himself he has no such delight.

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     Those states with man which are receptive of conjugial love are all those states of wisdom which are founded in his acknowledgment of the Lord. The reference here is to a living acknowledgment which is expressed through the performance of use, for it is a point of angelic wisdom that no one is wise from the Lord unless he performs uses from the love of uses. (C. L. 137:3.) It is, then, through the application of truth to use, or, what is the same, the application of the understanding to the uses of the Church and society as a whole that those states are formed in man which are receptive of conjugial love. For his part, however, man is not conscious of this, for, as already noted, the understanding seldom reflects upon the good which flow's into it from the love of the will and gives it life. (C. L. 123.) Unlike women, therefore, men are not in the perception of conjugial love, for this good is not seen by them except as truth; nevertheless, we are told that this good, or love, is adjoined to truth according to the man's application of truth to use, thus as man wills to think wisely, and thence to live wisely. (ibid.)
     It is this good which is adjoined to truth that man perceives as an interior delight in use-particularly in those uses which belong to marriage. While the appearance is that this delight is from himself, the teaching is that with those who are in conjugial love it is inspired by the wife; and with those who are not yet in this love, but aspire to it, the delight which they find in use is from another source. This source we assume to be the chaste love of the sex. It should also be observed that through the same source conjugial love may be given to one of the partners to a marriage and not at the same time to the other. (C. L. 225, 226.) This paper, however, concerns the formation of the conjugial with those who mutually look to the Lord through marriage, and will that they may become as one angel in His sight. The Divine provision for the preservation and development of the conjugial with others is another subject.
     No one is born into the love of use; all are born into the love of self, and by inheritance incline to evils of every kind. It is this love of self which constitutes man's proprium, represented in the second chapter of the Book of Genesis by the rib of Adam. When viewed from heaven, this proprium appears inanimate or dead, for there is nothing of spiritual life in it. (A. C. 149.) Yet the miracle is that by influx of life from the Lord, man can be raised out of the proprium into the life of heaven, which in essence is the delight of use.

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It is this elevation into spiritual life which is the subject of the work on Conjugial Love. It is not merely a descriptive account of things seen and done in the spiritual world; nor is it restricted to a general consideration of the laws pertaining to marriage. In itself, it is a manifestation of the Lord through the revelation of that hidden process whereby He forms man into His own image and likeness. The subject, therefore, is the formation of the Church through the conjunction of good and truth in the internal man.
     To this end God created man; "male and female created He them." Man He created a form of wisdom, and woman He created a form of love. These two living forms, when conjoined in the marriage of love truly conjugial, "are no more two, but one flesh." "For this cause," therefore, "shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife." (Matt. 19: 4-6.) This cause is the Divine of use,-that use which is described in the Writings as a heaven from the human race, and also as a state of love truly conjugial into which the men and women of the Church are introduced through the Divine institution of marriage. Because of the use it serves, therefore, marriage is holy-so holy that it is not to be violated in any manner, for thereby heaven is closed to man. (See Liturgy.)
     By heaven here is meant the delights of conjugial love-those delights which are from the Lord Himself and are with angels and men according to their acknowledgment of Him in a life of use. With men they are the delights of wisdom, and with women the delights of love; yet in origin and purpose these two delights are one. As the women in the garden of roses said to Swedenborg when he inquired from whence they came, "We are wives, and are having a conversation here about the delights of conjugial love; and from much confirmation we conclude that those delights are also the delights of wisdom." This answer so delighted my mind that I seemed to myself to be in the spirit, and thence to be in more interior and clearer perception than at any time before. . . . And I asked, 'How do you wives know that the delights of conjugial love are the same with the delights of wisdom?' They replied, 'We know it from the correspondence of the wisdom with our husbands with the delights of conjugial love with us. For the delights of this love with us are exalted and diminished, and are altogether qualified, according to the wisdom with our husbands.'" (C. L. 293.)

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     These two delights, therefore, are mutually dependent, for by means of the one the other is perfected, and together they constitute one love, namely, love to the Lord. It is this love which is formed out of the rib of man, and is continually inspired in the husband through the woman whom the Lord God made; for she it is who holds the husband in the thought and acknowledgment of the Lord through the delight of conjugial love. While this may not be apparent to the masculine mind, let us reflect upon the fact that in the day that God created the woman He caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, for the process of regeneration is the work of the Lord.
LORD PRESERVES THE CHURCH 1950

LORD PRESERVES THE CHURCH       Rev. HAROLD CRANCH       1950

     (June 19, 1950.)

     "And I will give you pastors according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3: 15.)

     Through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord described the end of the former church, its complete vastation, and the establishment of a new church under His guidance. He prophesied the church to be established by the Lord's Advent into the world, and the fulfilment of that church by the Second Advent. It was in the church of the new age that He would provide pastors according to His heart, who could lead into a true understanding, and feed His church with the abundance of spiritual truths revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine.
     The Lord has always supplied shepherds for His flock-pastors to lead the church in the way of truth. In the Jewish Church the priesthood was representative, and its functions were protected by strict laws and rituals which they dared not break. But when He came upon earth to establish a living, internal religion, He selected the twelve Disciples to become custodians of the Divine Truth. He instructed and prepared them, and after His resurrection He gave a new Revelation through them.

386


He sent them forth throughout the civilized world to preach the Gospel, to baptize, and to lead men to obey His commandments. They were the first Christian pastors of His flock. Of them, and of all who followed them, the Lord taught: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." (John 15: 16.)
     In this same way the Lord selected Emanuel Swedenborg to become the Prophet of the New Dispensation. He selected him because Swedenborg was a spiritual fisherman-searching for the Divine order and truth in the laws of nature. Thus his mind was prepared to receive the rational revelation of the Divine Purpose and Nature-the fulfilment of all former revelations, and the crown of them all. (I. 20.)
     The Lord established the New Church to save men from their sins. This is the only reason for which the Lord has established any church. It was for this reason that He came into the world. His purpose in all things is to accomplish man's salvation. And this is done, not by some mystical act or power, but it is accomplished by man's cooperation. But the man must be led to see his own state of evil, to acknowledge it, and, with the Lord's help, to turn away from it, to take upon himself the life and loves of heaven.
     The Lord had to come into the world to reveal Himself, and to renew His Word so that men could be saved; for the Jewish Church had perverted their Word which was the basis for the connection between heaven and the human race. They falsified it by their tradition, so that men could not see the Divine light given for their salvation.
     In the same way the Second Advent by means of a new revelation was made necessary because the men of the first Christian Church perverted the plain teachings of Scripture by their tradition. The Lord revealed His Divine Humanity that He might again make possible man's salvation, and showing plainly that He was the one only God-the Source of life, the Giver of eternal happiness and peace.
     The Divine Truth cannot be received by everyone at one time. There must be preparation and selection. If there is no custodian for the truth-no one in the supreme love for revelation-it would be lost before it could effect its Divine Work. So, at the beginning of every church, and in its development, the Lord inspires men to receive His truth, to cherish it, to study it, and to publish it abroad.

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When He was on earth, therefore, He chose the twelve apostles, instructing them, and then sending them forth to establish His church on the basis of the truth He had revealed to them. The Lord chose these men, and ordained them to their use,-the establishment of His Kingdom.
     Thus, when the New Church was to be established, the Lord again chose men in the love of truth, to study His new Revelation, and to spread a knowledge of it throughout all the earth. But the spiritual church-the New Jerusalem-descends from the Lord out of heaven and this, not only as to its revelation, but also as to the love of truth,-the inspiration and enlightenment which enables men to receive the truth newly revealed. In preparation for this spiritual influx of a new understanding the Lord again called His twelve apostles-the twelve who had followed Him in the world. The time had come to reveal in fulness that He who had been a man on earth, now in His Divine Glorified Human, was the one only God of heaven and earth.
     As He had sent His disciples throughout the natural world to teach men the new laws of life, so now He sent them throughout the entire spiritual world to remove fallacies, to reveal the most interior truths that could now be manifest to the angels. Now Divine Truth had been revealed to the spiritual-rational plane in the world, and the entire spiritual world could be in greater and more interior understanding than before. Now could be realized the meaning of the message the Lord had given to His apostles after His resurrection, that all power had been given unto Him in heaven and on earth. Their wonderful message was its fulfilment; for they taught: "The Lord God Jesus Christ doth reign, and His Kingdom shall endure forever."
     They, above all others could testify that the God of heaven was the same as He whom they had followed upon the earth. They, above all others, after instruction could make known spiritual truths leading to the full acknowledgment of the Lord's Human and Divine Nature. That message of New Church Day-of our June 19th celebration-was proclaimed after the summation of the New Doctrine had been completed, in the True Christian Religion. And in the note referring to this new work of the apostles, it is added: "And this mission they are carrying forward with all zeal." (T. 108.)

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     The work of establishing the New Church, thus begun in the spiritual world, is continuing in this world to the present day. All men are invited to the New Church, but only those are led to it who need its teachings to preserve a saving faith. Only those who can help others and help themselves by a knowledge of this New Revelation are led to receive it. The Lord's Providence operates for the spiritual and eternal welfare of all men. They are not led to truths they would profane, nor are they withheld from the truth they need. Essentially, all men need the New Church. Some are not yet ready to receive it. But it is only because the New Church has been established that men can be saved, for because of it spiritual freedom is now possible. It is only by the life of the New Church that there can be spiritual life on all the earth. Its light is the shining beacon guiding all men to heaven. Yes, men need the new civilization and culture, the new philosophy of rational truth, to offset growing materialism. And those who are ready,-those who can receive and remain in these new doctrines,-the Lord leads to the church itself.
     So in our own case, surely the Divine Providence governed every detail of our entrance into the New Church. Some have been led to that Church by the zeal and industry of men devoted to making known the truth through printing, preaching or conversation; others have been instructed in these truths in our schools, which were established by men filled with an even greater zeal to ultimate these teachings-to form the new culture-the completely new way of life. By either method we have been led to the New Church through the conscientious efforts of men in the love of truth,-men chosen by the Lord to become the custodians of the New Revelation, pledged to give rational religious truth to the world.
     And now, in Providence, we too are part of the Lord's New Church. We must play our part in performing the vital uses of that church, using and guarding the revealed truth. The Lord has chosen us just as certainly as He chose His disciples of old: and His disciples of every age were chosen by Him for the same reason, and to perform the same uses. This should not be a matter for self-pride. We are not better than others. We have been called to follow the Lord in the New Church because we have certain abilities to do the work that must be done. We need the truths of that church so that we may prepare for heaven, and the church needs our particular talents for its establishment.

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     We serve the Lord and help to build the church every time we apply spiritual principles to the performance of our use in daily life. But in addition to this, we should enter into the special uses of the church as a whole. Its first use is to provide the truths by which men are prepared for heaven. It is for this use that the Lord has given a new revelation. For this reason the Lord always provides that there shall be a true church on earth, "because without a church where the Word is, and where the Lord is known, the world cannot subsist." This quotation shows that the church is the means for the conjunction between heaven and man, which must be maintained; so it continues: "For without the Word, and the acknowledgment therefrom of the Lord, heaven cannot be conjoined with the human race; nor can Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord flow in with new life; and without conjunction with heaven, and thereby with the Lord, man would not be a man, but a beast. Hence it is that a new church is always provided by the Lord when an old church comes to its end." (E. 665.)
     From this quotation we can see that the Lord always guards His church. He provides that there shall always be a church on earth where the Word is read, and where He is known, for without this mankind would utterly perish. But while the Lord thus maintains the church, and provides its Word, He does this through the agency of men whom He has chosen. This He does through the Priesthood, as is said in our text. And this He does through the laymen,-.men and women in every walk of life, in every form of use, who are in the love of truth, and who are preparing for the life of heaven. Both together are needed to carry on the work of the church.
     Pastors are called to their office by the Lord, even as He called His disciples while He was on earth. And they are good shepherds if they read and study the Word from the love of truth for the sake of teaching and leading their flocks on the way to heaven. (A. 10794; Life 39.) They are to inspire men with the desire to learn, and lead to a greater understanding of the doctrines, so that men may use them for their spiritual betterment.
     Every member should enter into the work of the church, and cooperate with the Priesthood. All should read the Word and reflect upon it, and attend classes and services to gain a clearer understanding of its doctrines. This is of immediate importance to the life of the church.

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By such means the doctrines are protected, and are preserved from becoming mere traditions. By independent reading the church is protected from any possibility of falling into an internal domination by the priesthood. It is well to recall the teaching of the Writings as used in our rite of confirmation. There we read from the Arcana: "One must first learn the doctrinals of the church, and then explore from the Word if they are true. (For) they are not true (just) because the leaders of the church have said so, and their followers confirm it. The Word is to be searched, and there it is to be seen whether they are true." (6047.)
     This protects the church and maintains the conjunction of heaven and man. Also, by such reflective reading of the Word, each one approaches the Lord immediately, and is led by Him into a genuine, orderly life. So in the Heavenly Doctrine we are told to "Read the Word every day, one chapter or two, and learn the dogmas of your religion from a master and from preaching." (E. 803.) In this way we not only receive the truths of Revelation to mold our lives according to the heavenly pattern, but we enter into the interior uses of the church itself.
     Each New Churchman must understand that, as to his own conscience, he is the New Church. That is, the church can live in him only as he himself will perform the essential uses of that church. We cannot allow ourselves to think that someone else will be a genuine New Churchman, and therefore we need not do our part. Every religion of the past has failed because it has fallen into the hands of the few who led the many into doctrinal falsities. And so we are taught that the essential use of the church is performed by those who read the Word and understand it, and who apply it to their lives. Therefore we read: "The church is nowhere else than where the Word is rightly understood." (S. 78.) And again: "Unless there exists somewhere on earth a church where the Word is, and where by means of it the Lord is known, there cannot be conjunction with heaven; for the Lord is God of heaven and earth, and without the Lord there is no salvation. It suffices that there be a church where the Word is, though it consists of few comparatively. Through this the Lord is yet present everywhere throughout the whole earth, for through it heaven is conjoined with the human race." (S. 104.)

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So our pastors are to enter into the study of the Word, to feed their people with knowledge and understanding that the church may live, that the Lord may be present for man's salvation, and that heaven may be conjoined with the human race.
     It is, then, of great importance that the church should grow in the understanding of the Word. It is for this use that we gather in our assemblies to come into greater harmony in such an understanding-that we may see more clearly how the truth applies to the life of the church. It is fitting at this assembly that we should meet together in a service of Divine Worship to commemorate New Church Day,-our spiritual birthday; and it is most appropriate that at this service two of our priests should be elevated by ordination into the pastoral office. The need is great, and the Lord is sending us devoted workers as He promised: "I will give you pastors according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."
     Eventually the knowledge of the New Revelation will be spread abroad to build a true civilization: for in the midst of this New Jerusalem there is the tree of life, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. And we are taught that these leaves represent the rational truths of the Word that prepare the way for the full reception of the Lord's reign. To make known these teachings is a major use of the church, and particularly of her priesthood. By that means our proprial sickness is healed. And only by such a rational philosophy can the world be healed of its doubting materialism. By its means the Lord can make all things new and living, and receptive of the spiritual truths of a genuine religion. It is our prayer that we may be inmostly united in this, the Lords work, that it may be true on earth, as it is in heaven, that the Lord God Jesus Christ doth reign, and that His kingdom shall endure forevermore. Amen.

LESSONS: Jeremiah 2:12-18. John 15:1-17. A. C. 637.

392


ORDINATIONS 1950

ORDINATIONS       Various       1950

     JUNE 19, 1950.

     DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE.

     I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one only God of heaven and earth, in whom there is a Divine Trinity of Love, Wisdom and Use; that He came on earth to reveal Himself to men and to open up the way of salvation; that He did this by gradually manifesting His infinite Love and Wisdom-His Divinely Human Mind-through teachings and miracles that contain internal truths which He now unfolds in the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, which are His Second Coming as the Spirit of truth which shall lead to all truth.
     I believe that in these Heavenly Doctrines the Lord fully manifests Himself to the rational mind of man, revealing the ends and purposes of His Divine Love, and the Divine Wisdom by which this Love is carried into the acts of creation and redemption; that the New Church is the crown of the Churches because it can see, approach and worship the Lord in His own Divine Human-as a Divine Man who is present to enlighten the internal spiritual man and the external natural man at the same time.
     I believe that the means of our salvation are provided by the Lord in His Word; that man is endowed with the ability to use these means; that the Lord urges every man to use this endowment as his own to reform his mind from the truth by shunning evils as sins against Him; and that in this, and in no other way can our lives be purified and elevated by Him into association with the angelic heavens, both in this world and in the world to come.
     I believe that Baptism and the Holy Supper are universal gates of entrance into the Lord's New Church and of conjunction with Him; and that, because in the Holy Supper the whole of the Lord is present with the whole of His redemption, therefore this sacrament is the most holy act of worship.

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     I believe that marriage is a Divine institution, and that conjugial love-the marriage of one man and one woman before the Lord-is the pearl of human life and the repository of the Christian Religion.
     I believe that the priesthood was instituted by the Lord alone, who calls men to this sacred use; that inauguration into this use has the power to open the mind to the reception of the Holy Spirit which communicates enlightenment and instruction; that there is to be a trinal order in the priesthood in ultimate representation of the three infinite and uncreate degrees in the Lord, whom it represents in acts of worship and government in His Church.
     I believe that priests are to teach the truth and to lead thereby to the good of life; and that, while priests are to teach and lead, they are to compel no one, presenting the truth, but leaving the Lord to teach it from within.
     I acknowledge that, while it is the Lord alone who builds His Church, He does this through the instrumentality of men whom He calls and ordains into this particular use.
     It is my prayer that in entering the second degree of the priesthood the Lord will be with me to guide my ways and strengthen my hand, so that I may perform this use more fully from Him.

     *     *     *     *     *

     Since it is my conviction that the order and form of the worship and government of the General Church of the New Jerusalem reflect the plain teachings of the Writings and the spirit and freedom that are qualities of a living church, I would therefore express my allegiance to this organization.
     DAVID R. SIMONS.



     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one God of heaven and earth, and that His Human is Divine.
     I believe that evils are to be shunned as sins against Him.
     I believe in the Sacred Scripture as the Word of God, Divinely inspired and thus holy.
     I believe that the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem are the Word of the Lord, and that they constitute the Second Coming of the Lord. It was this Coming of which the Lord said: "They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

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The Writings of the Second Advent reveal the Lord in His glorified Divine Human, that all who will may worship and adore Him in faith and in life.
     I believe that the New Church, formed of those who follow the Lord in His Second Coming, is the Holy City New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, and that it is the Crown of all the Churches that have hitherto existed on earth.
     I believe that-the purpose in creation is a heaven from the human race, and that the path leading to heaven is the life of regeneration-which is to learn to love the truths of the church and to do its goods.
     I believe that the priesthood is a Divinely ordained office, whose use looks to the salvation of souls. The priests of the Lord's New Church are to lead men to heaven by means of the truths of Divine Revelation. When a pastor teaches from the Word he teaches from the Lord.
     In presenting myself for ordination into the pastoral degree of the priesthood of the New Church, I pray that the Lord will lead me to fulfill this office sincerely, justly and honorably. And I pray that I may be an instrument in His hands for the upbuilding of His Church on earth.
     KENNETH O. STROH.

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ASSEMBLY IMPRESSIONS 1950

ASSEMBLY IMPRESSIONS       W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1950

     The Nineteenth General Assembly, held in the gracious setting of Bryn Athyn, was favored with cool if sometimes rainy weather, and seemed to be marked by a spirit of quiet happiness and absorbed attention. It attracted a record registration and attendances, and was the first General Assembly to be completely recorded by tape recorder. The Benade Hall fire had caused this truly international gathering to be postponed for one year, yet there were no indications that anticipation deferred had dulled the pleasure of realization.

     But the deepest and most lasting impressions were those made by the addresses given at the six sessions, and by the fact that they combined to direct attention to the fundamental doctrines of the church. The Second Coming, the Uses of the Church, The Word, Conjugial Love, New Church Education, and the Holy Supper were dealt with, not abstrusely, but with a clarity and simplicity of presentation that made for ease in following. These addresses seemed designed to promote the Bishop's desire that we might, "at this Assembly, renew our vision of the Lord in the Writings." And the closing of the final session, immediately after the paper, with the singing of "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem" ended the meetings on an appropriate note of aspiration and of supplication to the Lord.

     SESSIONS.-As on previous occasions, but now for the last time, the six sessions of the Assembly were held in "Carpenter's Hall," close by the Cathedral, the Assembly Hall proper being used for meals. Although the chosen place of meeting accommodates over 700, its capacity was taxed to the full, and on several occasions an overflow seated outside the back of the hall followed proceedings over the public address system. On Thursday morning, June 15th, the Bishop of the General Church formally opened the Assembly and delivered the Episcopal Address. After stating that the General Church has been founded upon the belief that the Writings are the Word of the Lord in His Second Coming, Bishop de Charms developed the subject of "The New Church and the Second Coming of the Lord," concluding with the hope that, through our complete devotion to the Heavenly Doctrine, and unceasing effort to strive for a deeper understanding of it, the Lord may be able to build His church within our hearts.

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     Reports presented at this and the following sessions will appear in the pages of this journal in due course, as will the other addresses and the interesting discussions which came after them, and accounts of other features of the program.

     SUNDAY, JUNE 18-Three beautiful and impressive services were held in the Cathedral on this day. The preacher at the morning service, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, chose as his subject, "Vision and Humility," showing how the vision of the Church is achieved by a humble seeking from the Lord, through repentance, of spiritual faith and charity. This theme seemed to prepare for the two Holy Supper services in the afternoon, with their moving sphere and promise of introduction into heaven and conjunction with the Lord through repentance before reception of this most holy sacrament.

     NEW CHURCH DAY.-Observance of this day began with a Children's Service held in the Cathedral, at which the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen addressed the children on the Second Coming of the Lord. At eleven o'clock a large congregation filled the Cathedral for a festival service of thanksgiving and praise. The ordination of the Revs. David R. Simons and Kenneth O. Stroh into the second degree of the priesthood was appropriate and gave unusual significance to this service; for the work of the New Church priesthood is that which the Lord inaugurated when He sent the twelve apostles forth on the first New Church Day, and these impressive ordinations were a visible promise of the further extension of that work-a promise we may surely regard as certain of fulfillment from the Declarations of Faith and Purpose made by the two candidates.
     The sermon delivered by the Rev. Harold C. Cranch was appropriate both to the occasion being celebrated and to the ordinations which had taken place, dealing, as it did, with the extension of the New Church by the Lords operation through the priesthood.

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Both morning services were enhanced by special music, vocal, choral, and instrumental.

     THE BANQUET.-Attended by well over a thousand people, this was a worthy climax, both to the Assembly and to this "day of all days." The Rev. William Whitehead, as toast master, presided with characteristic wit and wisdom, and if the speakers showed how much a group of men can vary in their estimate of a ten-minute time limit, they combined to point out very clearly what is involved in presenting, teaching, and maintaining the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Church. Songs and toasts, messages both written and verbal, spontaneous remarks, and the presentation, in absentia, of a tribute to the retiring Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, all contributed to the high sphere of the gathering. And, last but by no means least, richly deserved thanks were rendered to our hosts, the Bryn Athyn Society, with special mention of the tireless Lester Asplundh and his committees for the superb way in which we were entertained, cared for, fed, and shepherded from place to place, all with seemingly effortless ease.
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON.

398


PUBLICATION NOTES 1950

PUBLICATION NOTES              1950

     A NEW VERSION.

Rational Psychology. A Posthumous Work by Emanuel Swedenborg. Translated from the Latin by Norbert H. Rogers and Alfred Acton, and Edited by Alfred Acton. Philadelphia, Pa.: Swedenborg Scientific Association, 1950. Cloth; 8vo; pp. XII + 343 (including Text, Appendix, and Index). Price, $3.50.
     For reasons given in the Introduction by the Editor, the work is now entitled Rational Psychology in place of The Soul, or Rational Psychology, the title of the English Version by the Rev. Frank Sewall, which is now out of print.
     The new volume has recently come from the press, and orders may be sent to Miss Beryl G. Briscoe, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
WANTED 1950

WANTED              1950

     Copies of "The Social Monthly."

     THE ACADEMY LIBRARY would like to obtain a set of the Manuscript Paper entitled "The Social Monthly," which was issued in 1879 and 1880 by the Young Folks' Club of the Advent Society of Philadelphia, and circulated among the members of the New Church in that city and elsewhere. In January, 1881, it was succeeded by NEW CHURCH LIFE, published in printed form by the Editors of the Manuscript Paper as a "Journal for the Young People of the New Church."
     If any of our readers possess single copies or a complete set of "The Social Monthly," and are willing to part with them, or to loan them to make possible a typewritten duplication, please communicate with Miss Freda Pendleton, The Academy Library, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

399


Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.

     Joint Meeting.

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church was held in the chapel of Benade Hall on the evening of June 3. Following prayer and reading from the Word, Bishop de Charms gave his report as President of the Academy, followed by the reports of other principal officers of the schools.
     These reports emphasized the new opportunities granted the Academy in the new enlarged and modernized Benade Hall, and also drew attention to the many changes in staff personnel made necessary for the ensuing year. The reports will he published in full in the August issue of the JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
     After a discussion of the reports, Prof. Edward F. Allen read a simple and deeply moving tribute to Dr. Charles E. Doering for the many uses he has performed during fifty-nine years as teacher, scholar, and priest. Dr. Doering, who is retiring this year from his long service to the Academy, was then presented with a gift from the Corporation and Faculty,-a set of nine silver goblets, to be inscribed with the uses and offices for which he has been responsible in the Academy. He responded with the straightforward sincerity and vigor which have characterized his work.
     Dean Wertha Pendleton Cole then delivered the chief address of the evening on "The Responsibility of Women in the Establishment of a Church." The address brought an historical perspective to a question recognized as vital to our development both in the Church and the educational uses of the Academy. After surveying the role of women in the history of all the Churches. Dean Cole directed the attention of the audience to some of the basic teachings in the Writings concerning the distinctive characteristics and uses of the feminine mind. It was chiefly to this aspect of the address that the discussion following was directed. Both the address and the discussion will be published in the JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
     This was an historical meeting by virtue of the fact that it was the first official gathering in the new chapel of Benade Hall. Ample in seating capacity, and both beautiful and comfortable visually, it proved an excellent environment for this, its first use.
     E. BRUCE GLENN.


     Commencement.

     Marking the close of another year of educational accomplishment in the schools, the Commencement Exercises on the afternoon of June 14th were also a prelude to the General Assembly, and the very large audience taxed the capacity of the Assembly Hall. Deep affections are touched on these occasions. The formalities of the service-the prayers, lessons, recitations, and sacred songs-and the conferring of awards with the acknowledgment in valedictories-all these carry a significance of hope and promise for the future of the Church.
     Appropriate to this state was the Address by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, who spoke on "The New Beginning on Earth," showing how the "end of the former church and the beginning of the new will overlap-a state referred to in the Book of Revelation as 'time and times and half a time.'"

400


To cope with this condition both in their own lives and in the world, the students in our schools are instructed in the principles of doctrine; they need also a knowledge of human nature. "We must break with faith alone in our own lives, and thus bear witness of the New Beginning." "Then our spoken message will have the more power."

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Awards, 1950.

     At the Commencement Exercises on June 14th, the Graduates received their Diplomas and the Honors were announced, as follows:

     Degrees.

     BACHELOR OF ARTS (cum laude): Dandridge Pendleton; Frank Shirley Rose; Mary Louise Williamson.
     BACHELOR OF ARTS: Margit Karoline Boyesen; Geoffrey Stafford Childs, Jr.; Elizabeth Doering Echols; Mollie Zinkann Glebe; Bernhard David Holm; Edith Myra Johns; Anna Mae Fusselman Pleat.

     Diplomas.

     JUNIOR COLLEGE, With Honors: Doris Fiske; Joan Nanette Kuhl; Evangeline Lyman.
     JUNIOR COLLEGE: Men: Robert Willis Gladish; Daniel Winthrop Heinrichs; Robert Hughes Johns; Robert Schill Junge; Frederick Laurier Schnarr; Jerome Vinet Sellner; Randolph Richard Stroh; Joel Trimble. Women: Berith Acton; Phyllis Jean Burnham; Dorothy Ann Gladish; Flora Leona Heinrichs; Elizabeth Hill; Caroline Ruth Hotson; Anne Gilbert Pendleton; Helga Synnestvedt.

     BOYS' ACADEMY: Edward Kessel Asplundh; James Stuart Boatman; Theodore William Brickman, Jr., Charles Edward Burton; Douglas James Cooper; Donald Coffin Fitzpatrick, Jr.; Thomas Gladish; Richard Leonard Goerwitz, Jr.; Howard Buckingham Gurney; Erdman Enoch Heinrichs; Colin Graham Lindsay; Roger Stuart Murdoch; Ronald Kent Nelson; Laren Pitcairn; Jean Paul Richter, III; Barry Blair Smith; Aldwin Carter Smith; Thomas Frederic Steen; Peter Nilen Synnestvedt; William Lafayette Weaver; David Dresser Wilson; Leslie Robert Rogers Wilson, Jr. Certificate of Completion: Hubert Henry Heinrichs.

     GIRLS' SEMINARY: Gwenda Acton; Ersa Marie Alden; Natalie Sue Allen; Catharine Cornelia Arrington; Barbara Boal Barnitz; Ruth Brown; Theodora Marie Coffin; Jeryl Irene Genzlinger; Suzanne Grant; Gwladys Hicks; Tanya Louise Ives; Lucy Jane Lindsay; Mary Ann Martz; Barbara Alice Merrell; Vera Pitcairn; Kareth Rosamund Ridgway; Hildegarde Hyacintha Rosenquist; Jane Elizabeth Scalbom; Marjorie Anne Synnestvedt; Marcia Trimble. Certificate of Graduation: Joann Marie Lyman.

     Honors.

     Theta Alpha Honor Pin: Vera Pitcairn; Kareth Rosamund Ridgway.
     Theta Alpha Honor Award: Joan Nanette Kuhl.
     Sons of Academy Gold Medal: Peter Nilen Synnestvedt.
     Sons of Academy Silver Medal: Douglas James Cooper; Donald Coffin Fitzpatrick, Jr.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The fact that news of the Pittsburgh Society has not appeared in the columns of NEW CHURCH LIFE for a while does not indicate a lack of "news-making" happenings. To tell the truth, there has been an abundance of the afore-mentioned happenings, but a lack of use for your reporter to do them justice. So now, having returned from a thoroughly stimulating, educational, and enjoyable General Assembly, we shall collect our scattered data and wits and bring our readers up to date.

     During the month of May the regular meetings dealt mainly with the annual reports and with plans for the fall program. The semi-annual meeting of the Society was held on Friday evening, May 19th, following the church supper.

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     That week end we welcomed Mr. Hubert Hyatt, our General Church and Academy Treasurer, who attended the enthusiastic performance of the operetta "Robin Hood," presented by the Day School on Saturday afternoon, May 20th. He was speaker of the evening at the supper and annual meeting of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, held at the home of Mr. Daric E. Acton. He spoke about the history of education in the Academy Schools, their progress, and the promise for the future.
     The officers of the Chapter for 1950-1951 will be: Mr. Charles H. Ebert, Jr., president; Mr. Walter Schoenberger, secretary; and Mrs. Theodore N. Glenn, treasurer.

     The "Recording Library" is proving most useful to us. We met on the evening of Wednesday, May 24th, and heard Bishop George de Charms' address on "The Education of Girls." This meeting offered the added interest of an exhibit of the children's school work.
     The social committee brought their season to a successful close with a nicely planned "formal dance" in the auditorium on May 27th. A Maypole in the center of the room and the rock garden on the stage gave the whole room a springlike appearance. The orchestra was very good, and the spirit of gayety prevailed.

     Commencement.-There were two graduates from our Day School,-Miss Patricia Ann Frazier and Mr. Robert Glenn. Their papers dealt respectively with "Penicillan" and "The Woman of Samaria." They also presented several books to the school library. Mr. John W. Frazier was speaker, and really held the children's attention with his subject, "It's Later Than You Think," indicating that while another school-year had ended, it is no time to be slothful.

     Weddings.-On Thursday evening, June 22nd, the marriage of Mr. James Taylor Snyder and Miss Patricia Ann Horigan was solemnized in our church, the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh officiating. The church was beautifully decorated with flowers and candles. The bride was attended by Miss Phyllis Schoenberger, maid of honor, Miss Susanne Grant, bridesmaid, and Miss Carol Ann Lindsay, flower girl. Mr. Thomas Snyder, brother of the groom, acted as best man. A delightful reception in the auditorium gave us the opportunity to wish the couple much happiness.
     This was Mr. Stroh's first marriage service since his ordination into the second degree of the priesthood on June 19th in Bryn Athyn. His sincerity and manner made the ceremony most impressive.

     On Saturday evening, July 1st, in our church, the marriage of Mr. Walter Lee Horigan, Jr., and Miss Flora Mae Thomas was solemnized by the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen. The theme of decoration was red and white and candlelight. The bride was attended by her sister, Mrs. Stanley Rose, matron of honor, Miss Janet Hasen, bridesmaid, and Miss Bonnie Glenn, as flower girl. Mr. Robert H. Blair was his cousin's best man. The reception was held on the lawn, the weather being made to order.
     Needless to say, both brides were beautiful, and their gowns most becoming. The attendant young ladies were very attractive, and the flower girls utterly charming. The grooms and ushers were clad in the customary summer black and white.
     The society is ever grateful and happy to enjoy the harp and vocal solos of Mrs. Alexander H. Lindsay on these special occasions. Mrs. Leander P. Smith and Mrs. Robert H. Kendig were the organists, and Mr. Joseph A. Thomas sang selections by Bizet at the second wedding.
     In a society or circle where weddings are not as frequent as they are at the "ecclesiastical seat" of the Church in Bryn Athyn, everyone participates, and feels as much part of the occasion as one of the families; for, after all, the couples are our church's children.

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     As is usual, "showers" precede or succeed the weddings. A general shower for "Flo" and "Lee" was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Silas A. Williamson on Sunday afternoon, June 4th. This, in addition to many wedding gifts, should find them well equipped for happy housekeeping. As Mrs. Snyder (Patricia Ann Horigan) was married so soon after the Bryn Athyn hegira, their shower came after the wedding, being held on June 28th at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Frank L. Doering, and this provided them with gadgets ad infinitum and other lovely and useful gifts.
     The 19th General Assembly period was covered for the Pittsburgh Society members not able to attend it by a lay service on June 18th. Then, following the Assembly, a New Church Day service was held in the church on June 21st. And at the service of worship on Sunday, June 25th, the Holy Supper was administered. The pastor was assisted in the service by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, of Stockholm, who preached on the text of Malachi 2: 11, 12, treating of the subject of "The Reestablishment of the Conjugial."
     ELIZABETH R. DOERING.


     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     School Activities.-The school children entertained the society on the evening of May 10th with a display of their gym work. Mrs. Cairns Henderson led the girls in rhythmic health exercises, and Roger Kuhl put the boys through a short drill and exercises. The girls entertained also with two spring dances-a Polka and a colorful May Pole Dance. As spring was in the air, the children sang "It Was a Lover and his Lass" The teachers and the girls served refreshments.
     On May 17th the final Society-School Meeting for the year was held, at which the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson as Principal explained the new method of promotion to Grade 9 affecting all Ontario Schools. He also spoke upon the doctrinal basis for the idea of the Junior School consisting of Grades 7 to 9 as a separate school, and recommended the establishment of such a school as the first step in the direction of a New Church High School in Canada. The teachers showed two film strips, after which refreshments were served.
     Because of the General Assembly our school closed a little early this year, the service being held on the evening of June 9th. The Pastor addressed the children, speaking particularly to the six graduates, upon whom he bestowed the blessing of the school from the Lord.
     Diplomas were presented to Gail Down, Roddy Heinrichs, Judith Kuhl, Eileen Schnarr, George Schnarr, and Marilyn Stroh. The graduates presented the school with a beautiful banner which they had designed and made with the help of their teacher, Miss Nancy Stroh.
     Following the service the parents and friends were invited to examine a colorful display of the children's work which the teachers had arranged in the schoolrooms. The annual picture-taking session was held on the front steps.

     New Church Day.-June 19th celebrations were held after our thirty representatives and some of our students returned from the Assembly.
     Friday, June 23rd, felt very much like the 19th. The children celebrated with a luncheon at noon. Mr. Henderson acted as toastmaster, and the six Eighth Grade pupils presented papers appropriate to the day. The children gave parting gifts to Mr. Henderson and Miss Rita Kuhl, who are both leaving the school, Mr. Henderson after being Principal and teaching for four years, and Miss Rita after teaching the lower grades for two years.
     In the evening the grown-ups gathered at a banquet. The delicious food was prepared by a committee of ladies, and was enjoyed by the one hundred partakers. Mr. Robert Knechtel was toastmaster. Mr. Fred Down proposed the toast to the Church, and Mr. Keith Niall the toast to June 19th. The new Young People were presented with a copy of the Writings and welcomed into society social life, as the Pastor admonished them to give as well as take in social activities.

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     A short address was given by Mr. Henderson in which he discussed one of Swedenborg's little works entitled "A Sketch of the Ecclesiastical History of the New Church." Following the address, Mr. Cecil James proposed a toast to our departing Pastor and his wife, the Hendersons, and Mr. John Kuhl made the presentation of gifts from the society which carry our deep appreciation of the contact we have had and are losing. Both Mr. and Mrs. Henderson responded.
     Mr. Fred Hasen then proposed a toast to our future Pastor and family, the Reuters, after which Mr. Henderson gave a brief account of the Assembly. Miss Evangeline Gill expressed greetings from her parents in England, the Rev. and Mrs. Alan Gill, and we sang to them. So ended a program in which we honored Pastors, past, present, and future. The rest of the evening was spent in dancing.
     Miss Evangeline Gill arrived from England on May 27th. She has come to live in Kitchener-the home of her choice. We welcome her as an old friend and a vivacious addition to the society. And we hope her move is "catching."

     Dominion Day Picnic.-Our big picnic day on July 1st was a little on the cool side, but that did not stop any of the 160 picnickers from enjoying the full program arranged by the social committee with Keith Niall in charge. Numerous Toronto visitors added to the spirit of the day. Races of all kinds were run off in the afternoon with prizes galore. Volleyball, horseshoes, baseball, swings, sandbox, and teeter-totters were added attractions for various ages. Supper was as you made it, with the Women's Guild supplying coffee.
     After supper the ever popular peanut scramble was followed by a lucky draw for ticket holders, with more prizes A hard fought game of baseball saw the married men defeated by the single men in the last inning as dusk was falling. A large boo fire helped warm everyone up enough to join in a sing-song, and as the fire burned low we went into the building for informal dancing till midnight, ending a big day for young and old alike.

     Obituary.-On May 4th we lost our oldest member when Mr. George Kuhl passed into the spiritual world in his ninety-second year. A staunch member of the society all his life, and a regular attendant at church until a few months before his death, he will he missed by his family and friends, but we rejoice at his release into a new and fuller life.
     On May 14th, Mr. Gerald Schnarr and Mrs. Margaret Havey were married in a private service at the church conducted by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson.
     VIVIAN KUHL.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     The months of May and June in Glenview are generally the transition period-from Winter to Summer. We skip Spring in this section of Illinois. This year has been no exception. We have had cold weather and hot-and some in between. June 18th and 19th were cold enough for furnace fires.
     At our Annual Meeting on Friday, May 12th, Mr. Henry Maynard, who for many years has been Secretary of the Immanuel Church, resigned, and Mr. Winfred Junge was elected to fill this office.
     As in all growing societies, the seating of church goers has been a problem with us for a long time. To remedy this condition, it was recently decided that from now on there will be no more reserved pews. It will be "first come, first served." The plan works beautiful. Those who have always made a practice of arriving ten or fifteen minutes before service time continue to do so, and they occupy the pews they have been using right along. Everybody is satisfied.

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     A choral recital in May and an orchestral concert in June were two occasions at which the children of the Immanuel Church School entertained the society-both affairs being under the able direction of Mr. Jesse Stevens.
     The last Friday supper in May was made notable by the fact that the meal was prepared by certain of our male members, who, once a year, demonstrate what can be done in the way of feeding some 125 persons without the help of the ladies. They served us an excellent repast!
     In round figures, eighty members of our congregation attended the General Assembly in Bryn Athyn, and this made for a relatively quiet time for those of us who stayed at home. We are all looking forward to listening to the recordings of the Assembly meetings.
     The Sunday service on June 25th constituted our June 19th celebration, and this was followed by a children's service in the afternoon of the same day.
     For several weeks preparations have been under way for some 24 boys to attend camp. They are going to Clayton, Iowa, which is on the Mississippi River, and will doubtless have a wonderful time-under the gentle but firm guidance of Messrs. Harold Lee and Daniel McQueen.

     A Wedding.-On Saturday, May 27th, the marriage of Sgt. William Brannon and Miss Muriel McQueen was solemnized, the Rev. Harold Cranch officiating. The church was decorated with masses of white blossoms, white narcissi and early purple and white lilacs, presenting a spring garden effect.
     The bride's attendants were her sisters: Mrs. Arthur Wille (Marylin McQueen) as matron of honor, and the Misses Gwendolyn and Judith McQueen as bridesmaids. The gowns of the bridesmaids were of white embroidered eyelet over pink; that of the matron of honor was also of white eyelet, but over blue. All the attendants wore tiaras of pink snapdragons and blue cornflowers. The bride wore her sister's wedding gown of white silk, and carried a bouquet of white roses and lilies of the valley.
     The groom was in uniform. Mr. Daniel McQueen, brother of the bride, served Sgt. Brannon as best man. The ushers were: Mr. Kenneth McQueen, of West Lafayette, Indiana; Mr. Arthur Wille and Mr. Harold Lee, of Glenview; Mr. Marvin Gunther, of Bryn Athyn; and Mr. Fred Larsen, of Chicago.
     Following the ceremony, a reception was held in the assembly hall. The Rev. Harold Cranch offered a toast to the Church, after which Mr. Harold McQueen ("Father of the Bride") welcomed the guests and proposed a toast to the bride and groom. Mr. and Mrs. Brannon, after their wedding trip, will reside in Evanston, Illinois.
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     In spite of the absence of our minister, the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh, and about fifteen of our members, who were attending the Assembly at Bryn Athyn, we managed to hold a first-rate meeting in commemoration of New Church Day. This was held on Sunday, June 18th, and was preceded by a service of worship at which our secretary, Mr. Gordon Smith, officiated as lay reader, and, we may add, in a very efficient manner. The sermon, written by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, proved to be very appropriate to the occasion.
     Following the service we had planned to hold a picnic on the grounds of the Walter Childs' home, but because of inclement weather we had our picnic lunch in the Childs' recreation room, where our hosts provided tables, chairs, cooking facilities and everything needed for our comfort, even a fire in the furnace to offset the unseasonable coolness of the weather.
     Later in the afternoon the skies cleared, and the children, together with the more active oldsters, played ball on the lawn. But before this we had listened, with very great pleasure, to a tape recording of Bishop George de Charms' opening address to the Assembly.

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Being on the subject of the Second Coming of the Lord, it was a fitting climax to our celebration of June 19th.
     We understand that our thanks are due to Mr. George Woodard for his efforts in getting this recording to us in time for our meeting. It brought to us an important feature of the Assembly, and was heard with very great interest. Many thanks, George!

     The Pastorate.-It is with a genuine feeling of sadness and loss that we record the Rev. Kenneth Stroh's final church service for the Detroit Circle. This was on Sunday, June 25th, and it was the only service at which he officiated for us as a pastor, instead of minister, as he had been ordained into the second degree of the priesthood at Bryn Athyn on June 19th.
     On July 17th, the Rev. and Mrs. Stroh (Virginia Blair) will sail for England, where he is to become pastor of Michael Church, London, succeeding the Rev. Martin Pryke, who will go to Durban, South Africa. We expect to have a last opportunity to say our good-byes to Rev. and Mrs. Stroh on July 4th, when a farewell party will be given for them by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Childs at their home. Weather permitting, we hope to have a barbecue roast at the outdoor grill, but in any event we are always sure of a good time at the Childs' home.
     We understand that the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, who has accepted a call to become pastor of the Detroit Circle and a Visiting Pastor to the Ohio groups, will not reach Detroit with his family until some time in October. This means that, following a short Summer recess, it will be necessary for us to hold lay services for two or three months. In spite of the fact that we have a number of excellent lay readers, this long session of services without benefit of clergy should insure a hearty welcome for our new pastor when he finally arrives. In the meantime a committee of our members will be diligently searching for a suitable house for the Rogers family. It's going to take some looking, but we'll hope for the best.

     Tape Recordings.-Our usual monthly dinner followed the service on June 25th, and after it our tape recording machine brought to us the voice of the Rev. Martin Pryke in the delivery of his Address at the General Assembly. It was very fine and greatly enjoyed. We are beginning to realize what a splendid investment we have in our tape recorder. In conjunction with the library of recordings that is being built up by the Sound Recording Committee at Bryn Athyn, this machine will be an invaluable aid in our work. We intend to make good use of it, and we heartily recommend the acquiring of a tape recorder by every society and group in the Church. It would be particularly valuable where the regular ministrations of a pastor are not available.

     Visitors from Bryn Athyn, whom we were glad to have with us at our June 25th service were: Mrs. Robert M. Cole, who is visiting the home of her daughter and husband, the Sanfrid Odhners, and Miss Joan Cooper, visiting her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. F. Cook.
     WILLIAM W. WALKER.

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EPISCOPAL ADDRESS 1950

EPISCOPAL ADDRESS              1950




     Announcements




     The undersigned has arranged for a few reprints of the Address by Bishop George de Charms to the Nineteenth General Assembly as published in the July issue. While the supply lasts, copies are available to those who apply to
     ROBERT E. SYNNESTVEDT.
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.
OVERSEAS JOURNEY 1950

OVERSEAS JOURNEY              1950

     Bishop de Charms will pay an Episcopal Visit to South Africa during the summer, leaving by air on July 17th and returning in September. He goes for the purpose of reorganizing our South African Mission, in view of the death of the Superintendent, the Rev. F. W. Elphick.
BOOK WANTED 1950

BOOK WANTED              1950

     The undersigned wishes to purchase one or more copies of the work entitled, The Testimony of the Writings Concerning Themselves by the Rev. C. Th. Odhner. Those having one or more copies for sale are requested to communicate with MR. HYLAND JOHNS, 164-05 35th Avenue Flushing, N. Y.

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MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1950

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1950

     The Bishop has appointed the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, succeeding the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, who is retiring from that office. This appointment was confirmed by the 19th General Assembly at its opening session on June 15th. Mr. Henderson will also become a member of the Faculty of the Academy of the New Church as a part-time Instructor in Religion.

     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers has resigned as Pastor of the Durban Society to accept appointment as Pastor of the Detroit Circle and as a Visiting Pastor to the Ohio District.

     The Rev. Martin Pryke has accepted a call to the Pastorate of the Durban Society, and appointment as Superintendent of the South African Mission.

     The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh, who has been Assistant to the Rev. Norman H. Reuter in Detroit, has accepted appointment as Pastor of Michael Church, London, and as Visiting Pastor to the isolated members in Great Britain, and to the Societies in Paris and The Hague. His temporary address is: Care of Michael Church, 131 Burton Road, Brixton, London, S. W. 9, England.

     The changes mentioned above will become effective as soon as they are practicable. The same applies in the case of the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, who is removing from Barberton, Ohio, to Kitchener, Ontario, where he is to be Pastor of Camel Church, as announced in the June issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

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JOURNAL OF THE NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1950

JOURNAL OF THE NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Various       1950


VOL. LXX

NEW CHURCH LIFE
SEPTEMBER, 1950
No. 9
     HELD AT BRYN ATHYN, PA., JUNE 15-19, 1950.

     First Session-Thursday Morning, June 15.

     1. The meeting was convened by Bishop George de Charms at 10:10 a.m. in the large Carpenters' Hall adjacent to the Bryn Athyn Cathedral Church. After offering prayers and reading Rev. 22: 1-14, Bishop de Charms spoke:

     "In opening this Nineteenth General Assembly I would on behalf of the Bryn Athyn Society, extend a most cordial welcome to all the members and friends of the General Church who have gathered here for these meetings.
     "We in Bryn Athyn have looked forward to this occasion with keen delight. The fact that it was unavoidably delayed for a year by the fire that destroyed Benade Hall has enhanced our sense of need for such a gathering. The Providence which has turned that seeming catastrophe into a blessing has given added reason for us to unite in thanksgiving to the Lord for all His benefits.
     "Not only in the Academy but throughout the Church there are encouraging signs of growth that present new opportunities for service.

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If we are to meet increasing needs, our uses must be expanded. Every available means must be utilized in order that newly formed centers of the Church may he nurtured, that the vital work of our local schools may be strengthened, and that those who are distant from any organized society may receive more adequate ministrations.
     We can hope to meet these spiritual responsibilities only by working together with singleness of purpose, mutual understanding, and a spirit of charity. Nor can we accomplish this without turning to the Lord for help and Divine guidance. This is the inner purpose of our Assembly. It is the acknowledgment of this primary need that has brought us together for these meetings.
     "With this in mind we gladly open our hearts and homes to all our guests. A very efficient Committee on Arrangements, under the chairmanship of Mr. Lester Asplundh, has sought in every way to provide for your comfort and convenience, a tad we hope that your stay with us will be as happy for you as it is for us."

     2. The MINUTES of the Eighteenth General Assembly were accepted as printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1946, pages 385 to 405.
     3. The meeting unanimously resolved to send greetings to the General Convention meeting in Boston, the General Conference meeting in London, and the Conference of the New Church in Australia. (See page 428.)
     4. The Bishop presented his REPORT, already distributed in mimeographed form, reading only the last paragraphs.

     REPORT OF THE BISHOP OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     Since a report of the Episcopal Office for each calendar year has been published in New CHURCH LIFE:, the present statement is confined to events that have transpired within the past six months.

     When the Rev. Frederick W. Elphick suddenly and unexpectedly passed into the spiritual world last April, the South African Mission suffered a loss that cannot be replaced. During more than a quarter of a century Mr. Elphick gave his life to the work of the Mission. With patience and fortitude he over-came many difficulties, and met successfully the challenge of pioneer work among the natives. As head of the Theological School he gave excellent training in the Doctrines of the New Church to the native leaders. But in addition he spent a great deal of time visiting the widely scattered Mission stations, giving counsel, medical care, legal advice, in every case of need.

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Mrs. Elphick frequently accompanied her husband, and they both had won the confidence, respect, and deep affection of all the natives under his jurisdiction.

     Unfortunately it is not possible at present for the General Church to provide a Superintendent who can give his whole time to the work of the Mission, as Mr. Elphick has been doing. We hope, however, that this important use can be carried on for the next few years by the Pastor of the Durban Society with the assistance of the native Leaders themselves who by training and experience, have been prepared to assume a greater measure of responsibility. We look forward to the Mission becoming gradually more independent as the natives are equipped to provide their own leadership, although we realize that this is a goal still in the distant future.

     The South African Mission has been in a very unsettled state since the division there took place in 1939. Throughout the war years no permanent settlement of Mission affairs was possible. Now, however, Mr. E. C. Bostock has negotiated an agreement between the General Church and the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn for the purchase of a farm property at Kent Manor in Zululand, where we hope to establish the headquarters for our Mission work.

     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, who has been the Pastor of the Durban Society for the past four years, has very kindly been serving as Acting Superintendent of the Mission since the death of Mr. Elphick. He is unable, however, to undertake the duty responsibility of Mission and Society work beyond the time necessary to meet the present emergency. He will return to America next Fall, having accepted appointment as Pastor of the Detroit Circle. We are endeavoring to fill the vacancy in both the Durban Society and the Native Mission, but at the time of writing negotiations with this in view have not yet reached a definitive stage.

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson has resigned as Pastor of the Kitchener Society, and he has been employed part time as a Teacher of Religion in the Academy Schools.

     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter has accepted a call to the Pastorate of the Kitchener Society. This leaves without a regular visiting Pastor the several groups in the Ohio District which Mr. Reuter has been serving so ably for many years. We shall do whatever is possible to provide ministrations for these groups, but we cannot promise them immediately anything like full compensation for these they are losing. We just do not have enough men at this time actively engaged in the work of the priesthood to meet the growing needs of the Church. This gives us cause for deep concern. Yet the number of young men now in the Theological School, and those who are looking forward in the near future to begin training for the ministry, gives encouraging promise that before long the present shortage of man-power will be relieved.

     With the publication of the Assembly issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, the Rev. W. B. Caldwell will retire as Editor, having occupied this office with distinction ever since the death of the Rev. C. Th. Odhner thirty-two years ago.

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Under the editorship of Dr. Caldwell, the "Life" has continued to play a vital role in the growth of the General Church, and we gratefully acknowledge our indebtedness and that of the entire Church to him for his long, faithful, and able service in this capacity. Now that the time has come when he finds it necessary to relinquish this responsibility, we would assure him of our affectionate appreciation, and we would wish him a well-earned rest.
     The use, however, must go on, and, with the unanimous consent of both the Consistory and the Board of Directors, I would place before you the name of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, to succeed Dr. Caldwell. Because of the fact that one in this position has a pastoral relation to the whole Church, it has always been regarded as important that an Episcopal appointment to this office should be presented to the General Assembly for consideration and reaction before it is finally confirmed. We would therefore invite comment from the floor, and definite action by the Assembly at this opening Session, on our nomination of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     5. ON MOTION of Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, it was unanimously resolved that an expression of our grateful appreciation of the long and faithful services of the retiring editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE be prepared and presented at the Assembly. (See page 454.)
     6. ON MOTION of Mr. Arthur Synnestvedt, the Bishop's nomination of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE was unanimously approved.
     7. The Report of the SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH was read and accepted. (See page 433.)
     8. Having asked the Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering to preside, Bishop de Charms gave his EPISCOPAL ADDRESS, as printed in the July issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, pages 289 to 299.

     Discussion of the Bishop's Address.

     9. Rev. K. R. Alden spoke of the inspiring address as presenting some of the inner beauty involved in the vision of the New Jerusalem which John saw as a virgin bride. Beneath this symbolism was the idea of the One God, in unity of Person and Essence, the Lord Jesus Christ coming to disperse the clouds of misunderstanding, and to build a New Church in men's hearts by doctrines of rational truth which remove the fear of death by revealing that man remains a complete man after death, and will then enter into all the uses for which he had striven on earth. What John really saw was a representation of that life of patient regeneration which is shown in the Writings when we enter more deeply into their plain meaning day by day to enable us to shun our evils as sins against God-the simple way of life which builds character. And finally, John must have seen (in this marvelous city with its protective walls and welcoming gates) that life of conjugial love which is the center of angelic bliss; wherefore he was led to compare the city to the most beautiful thing on earth-a virgin bride.

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     Ret. Norman H. Reuter was thrilled to hear the address, which restated in modern language the key thoughts that had established the Academy movement. Such principles must ever be renewed with us, and must not he accepted as mere traditions. This the Bishop had made most clear at an Assembly held in Detroit.
     This principle is a universal principle. Yet human minds understand truth only according to the knowledge they have at the time, as is shown by the Jewish ideas about the Messianic prophecies. The Word will always bring new truths, but they cannot be received merely in the old vessels of preconceived notions. And the General Church will he a living Church only if it is not afraid to be a New Church. to be satisfied with the form of traditional concepts, and not to enter into their essence is to begin the cycle of decline which other churches have followed. This can be avoided in a human organization only by following the Divine pattern of church growth-which means never to put trust in councils or in men, but in the Lord. The General Church, therefore, has sought to adhere to the principle of unanimity, and to avoid any legislation by council as to matters of doctrine. But especially we have the simple faith that when a man goes to the Writings to receive instruction and guidance from the Lord, the Lord will gift him with new vision. And it is so that this church may be truly a New Church.
     Rev. Elmo C. Acton: "When you start out from the back of this hall, what you proposed to say grows increasingly less important as you approach the rostrum." (Laughter.)
     Mr. Acton had been especially impressed by the point that a belief in the Divinity of the Lord in His Second Coming is what unites all who are here. The Lord is the uniting medium. But he was also impressed by what the Bishop had said about prophecy in its relation to freedom. It had been brought out very clearly that the Lord's prophecies revealed the interiors of a state already present, in which are involved a series of consequences that go on to eternity. When a state of disorder beams in a church it must come to an eventual judgment, and the Lord reveals what that judgment must be, but does not predict the form of the external fulfilment; because Mr. Acton believed, this is not determined, since the lord always acts in application to human freedom, and thus the external fulfilment is determined by the way man uses his freedom.
     This is illustrated by states which we see developing in children. These states, we know, must come to some sort of a judgment, but we do not know how the child is going to react or what form the judgment will take. Similarly, the Second Advent took place in the way it did because of the mariner in which men had used their freedom. It might thus have taken place differently, although there is little profit in speculating how, except to see that prophecy acts in application to men's free choice, and therefore the exact form of the fulfilment is never definitely revealed beforehand.

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     Mr. Rowland Trimble, in thanking the Bishop for his address, noted the point that, if we would interpret the Writings as having a spiritual sense differing from the letter, we would make our human perceptions the criterion of judgment. He referred to the doctrine that all parts of the Word are not veiled, but in some places the truths shine forth clearly and appear naked as in heaven, thus such as they are in the spiritual sense (A. E. 778:6.) If we were to interpret the Writings in such a way that the spirit abrogates the letter, then our own perceptions would be taken as the criterion. Mr. Sandstrom, in his Commencement Address, had referred to the Lord's promise that the time would come when He would tell us plainly of the Father. That is what the Lord does in the Writings; and these Writings therefore do not abrogate the letter, but are similar to those naked passages of the Scripture which are called "spiritual-natural truths," in which the spirit is such as is the letter. (De Verbo 26.)
     Rev. Erik Sandstrom, called attention to the point that the Lord is not seen in any other way than in the revealed forms of the Writings as the visible God coming to restore His Church. In John 1, the Word is called a creative power. We sense this power when we experience something of resistance in our minds to their teachings. For there is no native longing with us to read or reflect extensively on them, but we must at first compel ourselves to do it. The forms of our mind are not in conformity with the Writings, but have to be remolded. And this is attended with a settee of suffering. The organism of the mind is like a resisting medium such as a sculptor fashions into something new. Gradually the mind is refashioned by the revealed truth, and the New Church is formed as a cultivated soil in which new affections can spring up.
     Mr. Neil Carniichol (Toronto) had been reading the work on Tremulation, and noted how we all vibrate in different ways. The Church is still like a small infant whose bone structure has not yet been hardened, and in whom responsive tremulations had less distinct effects, or whose perceptions were less discriminating. But with time there is an increase in learning, and also in actual growth and when this growth once begins it becomes quite rapid.
     He confirmed Mr. Acton's remarks about certain states with children which eventually meet up with a judgment. He had driven down here in a brand-new Ford with great pride, but went a little too fast. "When you see a bent and bashed up Ford around here, you'll know," he said, "that that is my pride." (Laughter.)
     Mr. Nathaniel Stroh, thanking the Bishop, confessed to a certain kind of local pride. For the "Principles of the Academy" had been first presented by Bishop W. F. Pendleton at Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, in 1899. He remembered that Assembly mainly because he carried the wood for the stove,-a thing which indelibly impressed his mind.
     It had been said many times that the Principles of the Academy were intended for that time, and that we must, in each age, reformulate them for ourselves. Yet he asked how this could be done, since not a single one of those principles can well be laid aside, and least of all the one about the Divine authority of the Writings, which gave soul to the General Church.

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     Rev. A. Wynne Acton spoke of the growth of the New Church in comparison with that of the Apostolic Church, and of the fulfilment of prophecy in each. The increase of the General Church is now about sixty per cent from our own children and forty per cent from outside A study of the state of the pagan and Jewish worlds at the time of the Lord, and their reaction to the Christian message, may help us to understand how the New Church may grow. The message of the apostles was not only Christ crucified, but especially the utterly new doctrine of the Risen Lord. Similarly, in the New Church, the new doctrine about the Divine Human must be the starring-point of our teaching-the Divine Human as now revealed in the Writings. We de not attract anyone by miracles; yet the opening of Swedenborg's eyes and the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word are more powerful than the miracles the apostles performed; for while the latter appealed to the external minds of men, the appeal of our teachings to the rational mind is more abiding. We should thankfully regard these teachings as confirming signs, and see the glory of the Lord reflected in the wonders of the spiritual world and of the spiritual sense.
     But another thing that contributed re the growth of the early Christian Church was the austerity and purity of life shown by the early receivers of the Gospel. The Lord's teachings meant to them-a new life very different from that of the decadent world about them. We cannot hope for the growth of the New Church unless we show in our lives something distinctive and new, which we must refer to the new revelation from the Lord, even as the disciples continually pointed out that they had no more power or holiness than other men, but that the glory belonged to the Lord alone.
     Bishop de Charms, being called upon to comment on the discussion, modestly said, I have nothing to add because I have said all I know." (Laughter.)
     He answered Mr. Stroh's question by saying that our attitude to the Principles of the Academy is that they were adopted as a formulation of what men at that time saw to be the teaching of the Writings. They did not wish to have a human formulation to become traditional, for whenever men formulate something from the Word they make finite what in itself is infinite. They cannot help associating with it something from the personalities with whom they associate and the times in which they are thinking As the Church advances, the mode of expressing those principles seen in the Writings will change. The Principles of the Academy are not to be a hard and fast law fixed by tradition, as the creeds of Christendom became. Yet the Writings tell us that even those creeds, if rightly interpreted, have some original truth in them. But, because expressed in a finite, human form, they were easily misunderstood, and the misunderstandings were magnified until the whole idea that they conveyed was false.
     What we wish for the New Church is this-that every generation shall not accept the formulations of truth made by those gone before them, but will go to the Writings, go to the Lord, and see for themselves what He teaches; and then formulate their understanding of that teaching for their own day.

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     Second Session-Thursday Evening, June 15.

     11. The Rev. F. F. Gyllenhaal, presiding, opened the meeting at 8:10 p.m. with prayer and the reading of John 1: 1-14. He then called upon the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, who delivered an Address on the subject of "THE ESSENTIAL THE OF THE CHURCH." (August issue, page 337.)
     The Chairman invited discussion. (Owing to blown fuses, the lights of the hall went out twice, but were quickly repaired.) Mr. Gyllenhaal called attention to the five panels descriptive of the Five Dispensations which the Senior girls had painted as a decorative backdrop behind the rostrum.

     12.     Discussion of Mr. Acton's Address.

     Rev. W. Cairns Henderson noted certain similarities in the addresses so far given, and called attention to three points. Mr. Acton had just shown that the use of the Church is not for our own individual salvation, but for the extension of the means of salvation. Mr. Sandstrom had cited passages telling of the reasons for the slow growth of the New Church. And the Bishop had shown our need for ever renewing our vision of the Lord in the Writings.
     The teaching That the New Church would remain "among a few until provision may be made for its reception among many" (A. E. 732) is not to be taken as a comfortable refuge where we may take our ease. The Lord does indeed secretly prepare the hearts of men, but the Church cannot grow through any "permeation," but by a wider reception of the Writings. For the spread of the doctrine we need to find more perfect instrumentalities, which are the truths drawn from the Writings and stored up and loved-truths which give us the vision of Divine love operating in Divine wisdom for the salvation of men.
     Rev. David R. Simons noted the special timeliness of the address, since the Young People at their luncheon had shown concern for the state of the world. What could we do to help? First, of course, the Church must he established in ourselves The primary use of the Church is to provide for the influx of heaven into our minds, so that there may be a communication with heaven which may somehow be imparted also to the Church Universal. As a state, the Church Universal exists also in our own minds, and especially among our children, who are like gentiles, but who may, through our educational efforts, be introduced to serve as added tissue in the heart and lungs of the Church on earth.
     Rev. Morley Rich complimented Mr. Acton on a well balanced and inspiring presentation of the interior uses of the Church. Mr. Acton, he felt, was wont to take some common phrase or idea and show us that we have given it a misinterpretation, as fervent speakers are apt to do. So with the teaching that the Church exists for the sake of our salvation.

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This is true, of course, yet the final end is that what is given to us may be extended to others.
     Dr. Odhner noted that the size of the audience made potential speakers hesitate, and decried any suggestion that the electric lights going out had anything to do with "a possible tenebrosity of our intellectual obfuscation."
     So far, in this Assembly, we had agreed on everything; and certainly Mr. Acton's enlightening address had been no exception. Yet there is a somewhat different point of view possible in respect to certain of the truths involved. Mr. Acton had stressed the idea that it was through the Writings as a new Word that a new conjunction was made possible between heaven and the church. While this is true, we should note the teaching in the Writings that there are two kinds of truth. One kind has been common since ancient times, and up to Swedenborg's day. The other kind characterizes our modern age.
     The first kind of truth is symbolic truth, such as we find in the Old and the New Testaments. It has a specific function, for it is conjunctive. Truths in ultimate imagery conjoin. Experience shows that symbols are not meant for judgment, but for conjunction. On the other hand, open truths-such as the Writings reveal, and such as are also scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments-are meant for judgment, to clarify, to open our eyes to clean-cut issues. Thus the truth given in the Writings is not primarily meant to conjoin, but to present the actual modes whereby evil can be judged and overcome and order restored.
     Judgment is necessary in order that the symbols may become effective to conjoin. If symbolic ultimates such as there are in the biblical Word are misunderstood and abused, they are no longer good for conjunction among men or for conjoining the church with heaven. The spiritual use is taken away until the symbol is purified and restored to its primal purpose. In accepting the Writings, there is not the slightest reversal as to the use of the Old and New Testaments. In the New Church, they still serve the same use of conjunction, but with us the symbols have come to mean something clear and definite and entirely new
     This is the story of all progress. The old things, even the traditions, turn into symbols; but in time they may become perverted in meaning, and the time is then ripe for judgment. A new truth-an interior sight of what was originally contained and intended by the symbol-is needed. We should realize that everything in our lives turns into a symbolism of habits, forms, and courtesies. And symbols can he very precious; they can receive an influx of meaning which is most profound and may become the means of conjoining us with heaven.
     Rev. Elmo C. Acton, in conclusion, facetiously said, "If the Bishop said all he knew, then I said more than I knew." (Laughter.) He noted having some amicable difference with Dr. Odhner's view, but this was not the place to discuss the matter.

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     Third Session-Friday Morning, June 16.

     14. At 10 a.m., the Bishop opened the meeting with prayers and the reading of Isaiah 55.
     15.     Mr. Edward H. Davis, Secretary of the CORPORATION OF THE GENERAL CHURCH, submitted a mimeographed Report which had already been circulated. (See page 434.) He explained that the main item of the Report was that the Pennsylvania Corporation is now in full operation, and is to meet in the afternoon. Any male member of the ecclesiastical body of the General Church is eligible to become a member of the Corporation if he had been a member of the General Church for more than five years. The Report was accepted and filed.
     16. The REPORT OF THE TREASURER was read by Mr. Hubert Hyatt, who prefaced it with some informal remarks.
     He noted that the Bishop yesterday had said that he had told us "all he knew" while the Pastor of Glenview had confessed to having said "more than he knew." This morning the Pastor from London will tell us "we-know-not-what." But now the Treasurer asked that we relax while he descended to a lower plane to tell "a little of what we all know." (Applause.) He then read his Report. (See page 435.)
     Rev. K. R. Alden expressed his pleasure that productions of literary merit such as the present report and the one given previously to the Bryn Athyn Society should come from the pen of a Treasurer. He thanked Mr. Hyatt for many years of painstaking work. He reminisced that long before the days of the CCC, Mr. Hyatt had energetically worked for a constant goal-contributions from 100 per cent of our membership.
     17. ON MOTION of Mr. R. W. Childs, it was resolved, that the Report of the Treasurer be approved, and that this General Assembly approves in principle the Treasurer's statement of the relations between the General Church of the New Jerusalem, the Academy of the New Church, and a Society of the General Church, and the Treasurer's statement as to the purposes and work of the Church Contribution Committees. The motion was carried unanimously.
     18. Bishop de Charms stated, as a supplement to his Report, that the negotiations concerning pastoral changes had now reached a point where he could make a further announcement.

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     He noted that an unusual number of pastoral changes made it a problem how to protect the uses of the societies and the ministers involved. With our limited manpower, and with societies scattered over the world, one change leads to more, and negotiations require time. The Bishop would have liked to share with the General Church "all he knows"; but the societies and ministers affected must be informed first of coming changes and the reasons why they are necessary. Serious results may come, and the freedom of ministers and societies may be injured, if they learnt first by rumor of decisions affecting them. The problem of the Bishop had been "to heat the rumor." Also, at times he had had to leave some one man hanging out on a limb-while he was sawing it off! (Laughter.)
     The present changes involved Kitchener, Detroit, Durban, and London. Yesterday he had had a cable from Durban. The situation now was that the Rev. Martin Pryke has received the unanimous call to become the Pastor of the Durban Society, and he was also appointed by the Bishop as Superintendent of the South African Mission. It was at this time impossible to replace the Rev. F. W. Elphick except in this manner, but it was hoped that the native leaders were at a stage when they could take a greater measure of responsibility.
     The London vacancy would be filled by the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh, by appointment. The Bishop had just written by airmail to London, and hoped that no one else would anticipate him. So far, any serious difficulty had been avoided, but everywhere-especially in London-the problem was to find a place for the Pastor and his family to live. Such pastoral changes were of great moment to the societies, and deeply affected the lives of the ministers, both their present and their future. We could but hope that they will prove to be to the advantage of all concerned.

     19. At 11 a.m., the Rev. Martin Pryke delivered an Address on THE METHOD OF GIVING REVELATION." (August issue, page 358.)

     Discussion of Mr. Pryke's Address.

     Mr. Edward C. Bostock voiced the appreciation of the audience for the address It was important to realize that there has been a series of revelations which have been given according to the state of the church at the time. Spiritually, all revelations have contained the same Divine Truth, so that they form a part of a single whole.

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It is helpful to make this clear to those who are becoming interested in the New Church, because often they cannot see how a new revelation could be given. They may have thought of the Bible as an ancient book to be venerated, which in some manner contains the Word of God, but very few understand the manner in which it was revealed or realize the fact that the Old and New Testaments were given throughout a very long period. (He noted the point that the prophets, unlike Swedenborg. received dictation through a sonorous voice that took place by the intermediation of spirits who represented the Lord and were conjoined with them.)
     As pointed out in Mr. Pryke's address, the form of the three revelations is such that the Old Testament is correspondential as to its minutiae as well as its text, the New Testament as to words, and the Writings as to ideas. This is because each revelation was given in the mode that served the church best at the time, and that conformed with the development of the men of the time. All three revelations, however, are inseparable, and present one Word. It is amply evident when we read the Arcana Coelestia that in large part the Writings would have no foundation without the two Testaments. In fact, a great portion of them would disappear if all the references to the Old and New Testaments were eliminated.
     The manner in which the Testaments and the Writings were written is obviously different, and has to do largely with form rather than spiritual substance; however, he hesitated to discuss this matter further than to say that the inner contents of the Word become clear when we think of the Lord as the Word descending eternally as Divine Truth within all the orderly forms of the discrete degrees of nature.
     We avoid confusion when we reflect that all the forms in the Word are Divine because they embody the celestial and the spiritual of the Word as it exists in the heavens. Similar words and sentences used by ministers or men are not Divine, because they represent only what comes forth from the understanding of men. In the Word, the very expressions contain the forms of the Divine love and wisdom as they exist in the heavens, and this Divine may thus become unfolded for men.
     Rev. Kenneth Stroh expressed appreciation for a wonderful address. Far from being a brief outline of the teachings (as modestly claimed) it was a comprehensive analysis. However, Mr. Pryke's expression, "preparatory revelations," was new to him, and he wondered whether the Word Explained, by which Swedenborg was prepared for his writing of the Arcana, could be characterized as a personal Divine revelation, since he was then still in obscurities and uncertainties, and in many places confesses, "I do not understand this," etc., and sometimes uses expressions which are apparently discarded and denied in the later Writings.
     Recalling the doctrine of A. C. 8443, respecting the six degrees of truth Divine, Mr. Stroh mentioned how the highest degrees are above angelic comprehension, the third, fourth, and fifth being adapted to the understanding of corresponding heavens.

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The fifth degree is for the first heaven, and can be perceived by men in flashes of enlightenment, but only as a certain dictate that a thing is so; while the sixth degree is for men on earth, and is such as stands forth in all the "Testaments," the Writings included. All of which shows what wonderful things now hidden are in store for us in the other life, provided we are good.
     Mr. Bruce Glenn pointed out that linguistically limited laymen read all the revelations in translations which necessarily do not always convey the features of the original. For us, the threefold revelation breaks up into two special divisions, the biblical Word in the Authorized Version, and our particular translation of Swedenborg's Writings.
     Those who study the textual problem may feel that the minutiae of the Old Testament are important, the words in the New Testament, and the ideas in the Writings. But in actual use the importance seems reversed. To our children it means very little whether we say "mountain" or "hill" and whether we use "peace" or "tranquillity"; the story and its moral being the thing. In the Gospels the golden thread we follow is the idea of God's love. In Dr. Odhner's sermons he had noticed the use of two or three versions of a biblical text used to bring out the full meaning.
     The Authorized Version was fortunately translated at the end of the Elizabethan period, when the strength and beauty of the English language had reached a climax never since equalled. Our recent versions are sometimes more accurate, but do not equal the King James Version. Yet always, when we translate, we lose the "jots and tittles" of the Hebrew letters.
     But when it comes to the Writings (written after Latin had entered largely into the English language) we find Swedenborg making careful distinctions; as between scire and cognoscere, etc. In our general usage, "scientific" and "cognition" both mean knowledge. Yet the distinction between the two is very important to the doctrinal meaning-seemingly more important than variant translations of Scripture texts.
     (Mr. Michael Pitcairn had been taking flash photos of the speakers. One of the flash light cartridges having noisily exploded, he facetiously referred to the "report" of the photographic committee. He had given such a report at the Young People's luncheon, and it went off with such a "bang" that he felt it should be repeated here this morning. The report was not for publication, but to get a rise out of the audience he suggested that it be accepted by a rising vote as we left the meeting!)
     Dr. Odhner, being called upon, congratulated Mr. Pryke especially on one clarifying statement which he recommended for reflection; viz., that for prophets in all ages spiritual phenomena have supplied the lacks in the physical environment for the purposes of the writing of the Word. This important idea explains certain modifications of historical facts which seem to have been made even in the historical portions of Scripture, in order to provide an ultimate correspondential basis for the spiritual sense. When natural events did not furnish the needed data, the Lord opened the spiritual eyes of prophets and sacred writers, and introduced them into the necessary spiritual experiences.
     As a matter of record, he wanted to make a small criticism as to the speaker's calling the Writings "the Third Testament."

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Thirty years ago this term might have been used by us without causing misunderstanding. But now the phrase has an implication which connotes a different view. The term "the Writings of which Bishop N. D. Pendleton used to speak so affectionately, has woven itself into our hearts, and has gathered a historic momentum since the beginning of the Academy movement. It should be retained to prevent a confusion with the Old and New Testaments. Indeed the address brought out beautifully how the Writings differ from former revelations. It is not to be denied that the Writings also may be said to have a "letter"; and many people see nothing else. In the Writings this "literal sense" goes even further-to the rational terms and the descriptions of the external aspects of the spiritual world. Yet it should not be stressed that the Writings have a "letter"; for when you look at them from within, the letter perishes and the clear truth stands out.
     He was in doubt as to what Mr. Pryke included in the phrase "primary revelations." While we cannot speak of degrees of inspiration, there are two states or periods with sacred writers-a state of gradual information and vision, and then the state of writing the inspired text. Oral revelation also precedes written revelation-as with the disciples, who were instructed by the Lord directly before the Gospels were written. Was such instruction to be included in the new terns, "primary revelation"?
     Mr. Raymond Pitcairn questioned how far we should avoid terms merely because other bodies of the Church had used them with a different meaning. Although another body of the Church had adopted for itself the name "the Lord's New Church-which can make for confusion-we would be losing something by giving up using the term as heretofore, and would in a sense be acknowledging the appropriation of that term, which we have no desire to do.
     Rev. Martin Pryke liked the precedent set so far-that a speaker stood up, spoke up, and then-shut up. But he voiced his appreciation of the reception of his paper, and for the comments-some of which tempted him sorely.
     As to the matter of translation, he differed from Mr. Glenn's opinion Mr. Stroh's question he answered by saying that Swedenborg's period of preparation when he was receiving his "primary revelation" was in process while the Word Explained was being written, but that his "secondary revelation," or final inspiration, was not with him when he wrote it.
     He was glad that Dr. Odhner spoke, because on this subject he was indebted to the great studies made by Dr. Odhner and the late Rev. C. Th. Odhner, which had been magnificently brought together in a series of mimeographed volumes in recent years, and which should eventually be published. He regarded the compilation of these volumes as one of the most important things that had happened in this field for a long time. He felt, therefore, that it would be temerity to respond publicly to anything Dr. Odhner had said, but would like to do so privately.

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     Fourth Session-Friday Evening, June 16.

     21. The Rev. K. R. Alden opened the meeting shortly after 8 p.m. with prayers and the reading of Genesis II: 1-8, 15-24. He then introduced the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton who was to address the Assembly on the subject of "CONJUGIAL LOVE." (August issue, p. 375.)
     Mr. Alden mentioned that Bishop Pendleton had taught this subject to the Senior class of the Seminary this year, and that the voting ladies had asked for an additional afternoon seminar.
     22. After Bishop Pendleton had delivered his address, the song. "Our Glorious Church," was sung by the audience, and the floor was opened for a discussion.

     Discussion of Bishop Pendleton's Address.

     Rev. Martin Pryke noted that the subject of "good and truth and their conjunction is invariably involved in the whole doctrine of charity. The conjunction of God and man involved that of the will and understanding of man; and similarly the teaching about conjugial love is central and essential, and throws light on the doctrine of regeneration.
     The address, which had covered the subject amply, was most timely. In the early Academy its importance had been perceived, and they had insisted that the work on Conjugial Love should be defended and preserved in its purity. But the tendency is to become merely loyal to such a tradition, and loyalty can soon sink into mere sentimentality. If we think of conjugial love only in a sentimental way-as something that comes in marriage along with the silver salt cellars and the other wedding presents-we have failed to see how closely it is bound up with the individual life of regeneration. He thanked Bishop Pendleton for so clear a presentation.
     Rev. K. R. Alden (since others hesitated to use the rostrum) called on himself, taking occasion to refer to his own course on Conjugial Love with the Senior boys. He had found that abstract notions must be accommodated, and he had illustrated the phrases "good of truth" and "truth of good" with some history. The first Academy publication, "WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH," propagated an inspiring truth which made people see the Writings in an entirely new light. From that truth was born all the good of New Church education as the "good of truth." And as the years progressed, the "truth of that good" took form in Benade's Conversations, in Bishop de Charms' Growth of the Mind, and in the principles of faculty organization developed by Bishop N. D. Pendleton, and in the philosophy developed in various fields and recently involved in Bishop W. D. Pendleton's course, "Education 28."
     Rev. Norman H. Reuter felt that the address was particularly timely. Every church organization was founded upon certain principles seen in its revelation-principles limited as to formulation to its own age.

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But truth itself is timeless. The need of the Church is to preserve the vision of that truth by restating and unveiling it again and again, so that each generation may see it in the states they meet.
     The Principles of the Academy were timely answers to problems of the Church of that day. We have just heard a statement on conjugial love which not only contains the timeless truths within past formulations, but in several daring ways advances our concepts, showing how intimately conjugial love is conjoined with the love of the Church.
     The male mind may resent the statement that it is incapable of acknowledging the Lord outside of a state of developing conjugial love. But this is confirmed by a memorable relation about some men who were deprived of the feminine sphere (C. L. 161), and also by the disorders that arise in armies of men who are separated from their homes. In the world-where not only the concept but even the term "conjugial love" are unknown-the common opinion is that the male is active and the female passive in matters of marriage; for this is the appearance. Yet internally the opposite is true.
     The old proprium of man can be replaced by a heavenly proprium only in a state of conjugial love. This love is not synonymous with the marriage state, although it only takes place within that state; and still less with a love of the sex or with what the world calls "falling in love," In the address, "marriage within the church" was lifted to a spiritual plane, and thus relieved of some of the limitations which cause problems with our youth. There is no marriage in the eyes of the Lord if the union is not within the Church. Every marriage-however orderly from a merely civil or ethical aspect-is dissolved after death unless it is held together by a common acknowledgment of the Lord as the Regenerator of each partner. There can be no conjugial marriage outside of the Church, because that love is the Church. This has been most perceptively shown in the address.
     Rev. Erik Sandstrom enlarged on the philosophic phase of the marriage of good and truth in the Word, referred to in Bishop Pendleton's thought-provoking address. This marriage seemingly concerned only abstractions. But actually the focus of the Word is on use. The Divine love is present as a heart's pulse impelling us to use, and the Divine wisdom is there as doctrine providing the means by which uses can exist and heavenly delights can be imparted to the neighbor. When the Word is read, there may be in man a response-a marriage of good and truth which appears as a desire to do and understand. This is true of all three revelations. No conjugial love can arise unless sealed by a marriage covenant of the Lord and the Church, by our acceptance of it on the human plane of life.
     But, through falsified interpretations, the former revelations of good and truth were closed to human understanding and made useless for rational application; and only a remnant can feel the fire of love Divine in the Old and New Testaments, or perceive how use is actually to be performed. A new marriage covenant was therefore given in the Writings; and if conjugial love is to be restored among men, we must enter deeply into the tenor of the Writings so as to be moved by the heart pulse of love in them and by their spirit or breath of wisdom.

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For these Writings contain both the elements of the marriage supper of the Lamb-the good of love and the wisdom of truth-through which "the bride hath made herself ready."
     Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh noted the teaching (C. L. 49 and 229) that, if conjugial love had been ardently wished for, the partner would he provided, if not on earth, yet in heaven. He therefore questioned the meaning of a previous speaker who had seemed to say that conjugial love could not exist outside of the marriage state. The unmarried are not restricted as to the degree of their regeneration, nor as to their love of the Lord.

     23. The meeting adjourned after the singing of "Our Own Academy."

     Fifth Session-Saturday, June 17, 10 a.m.

     24. The Rev. A. Wynne Acton, presiding, opened the meeting with prayer and the reading of Matthew 16: 13-28.
     Dr. Caldwell being absent, the Report of the EDITOR OF NEW CHURCH LIFE was not called for, but will be printed in the September issue. (See page 444.)
     25. The Report of the GENERAL CHURCH RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE, already mimeographed and distributed, was presented by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal. (See page 441.)
     In his oral comments, Mr. Gyllenhaal referred to the ladies of the Theta Alpha as the mainspring or sparkplug of the Committee's undertakings. He mentioned especially Mrs. Richard de Charms, and noted that Bishop de Charms had done more than is realized except by a few. Graded religion lessons (in English) were now being sent to some 600 isolated boys and girls. Besides, they are sent to Sweden, where they are translated and used, and to South African native ministers, and (by request) to Bishop Ogundipe in West Africa, where there are 45 New Church societies and 20 day schools among the natives. While on furlough in the United States, Miss Lamea Abed, head of a school in Nablous, Palestine, made an Arabic translation of the lessons, and this was mimeographed and used by a hundred boys and girls in that school. On her return to Nablous, she and the minister at the school were dismissed, but they report that the outlook for carrying on the work of the New Church there is promising.

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     The response to the Religion Lessons has been warm, and some of the Counsellors in charge-notably Miss Jean Junge (grades 7 and 8) and Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn (grades 9 and 10)-carry on a valuable correspondence with the children.
     26. The Rev. Morley D. Rich, reporting for the SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE, stated that he represented the latest and lustiest baby of the General Church. He hoped that the fact that the discussions here were being recorded would cause no inhibitions, though "what you say may be used against you." He then read his Report. (See page 442.) Attention was called to a posted chart which showed the distribution of those now using the tape recordings regularly. Since October, 201 recordings had been supplied to more than 16 centers, and to traveling pastors. The subjects ranged from complete church-services, sermons, doctrinal classes, and children's addresses, to recordings of occasional addresses school events, and even church-music. Mr. Rich, at the suggestion of Ms. Corral of Philadelphia, exhibited the 16 mm filmstrips used in the machines selected by the Committee. Made of Scotch tape, they contain iron salts which are magnetized, and by the use of an "electric eye" the machine reproduces the program which can be an hour in length.
     The Rev. A. W. Acton expressed thanks to the Committee for carrying out these important uses so faithfully and efficiently.
     27. At 11 am., the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner addressed the Assembly. His subject was "OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE FUTURE: THE CHALLENGE OF NEW CHURCH EDUCATION." (Both the paper and the discussion will be printed in the October issue.)
     28. After the paper, responsive remarks were made by Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs, Rev. David R. Simons, Miss Margaret Wilde, Mr. Harold Klein, and the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson.
     29. The meeting adjourned at about 12:30 p.m.

     Sixth Session.-Saturday Evening, June 17.

     30. The meeting opened with prayer and reading by Bishop de Charms.
     31. Bishop Alfred Acton delivered an Address on the subject of "THE HOLY SUPPER." (This address will be printed in the October issue.)
     32. The Assembly united in singing the anthem, "Come unto Me. . . " (Liturgy, p. 595).

427


After the Benediction had been pronounced, the meeting adjourned, at 9:05 p.m.
     Respectfully submitted,
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER
               Secretary.

     NOTE:     The Secretary is indebted to the Sound Recording Committee for the use of their recordings of the discussions. He apologizes for omitting some of the witty sallies which occasionally punctuated the spontaneous speeches-H. L. O.

     ROLL OF ATTENDANCE.

     Registration.

     The Committee on the Roll reports that members and friends of the General Church signed the Register as follows:

Bryn Athyn                                   623
Academy Students                         77
Philadelphia and Other Nearby Places          38
United States, Canada and Abroad               368
Total Registration                         1106
                                   
     Attendance at Meetings.

Mr. William R. Cooper has supplied the following figures:

Wednesday, June 14:     Reception and Dance               750
Thursday, June 13:     First Session. 10 a.m.               710
                    Young People's Luncheon, 1 p.m.     300
                    Second Session, 8 p.m.               820
Friday, June 16:          Third Session, 10 a.m.               581
                    Women's Guild Luncheon, 1 p.m.     375
                    Corporations' Meeting, 3 p.m.          150
                    Fourth Session, 8 p.m.               848
Saturday, June 17:     Fifth Session, 10 a.m.               509
                    Sons of Academy Luncheon, 1 p.m.     279     
                    Sons of Academy Annual Meeting     210     
                    Theta Alpha Service and Meeting     150
                    Sixth Session, 8 p.m.               900
Sunday, June 18:          Morning Service, 11 o'clock          761
                    Holy Supper Services-Communicants     563     
Monday, June 19:          Children's Service, 9:45 a.m.          372
                    June 19th Service, 11 a.m.          638
                    Assembly Banquet, 7 p.m.          923

428





     ASSEMBLY MESSAGES.

     The following messages were sent by the Secretary in accord with the unanimous vote of the General Assembly:

Rev. Charles Newall,
Secretary, The General Conference of the New Church,
London, England. (Cable.)

     Fraternal greetings to General Conference from Nineteenth Assembly of General Church. May the Lord bless your deliberations and your work!
June 15, 1950.     ODHNER, Secretary.

Mr. Horace B. Blackmer, Secretary, The General Convention of the New Jerusalem.
Boston, Mass. (Telegram.)
     The Nineteenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem by unanimous vote sends fraternal greetings to the General Convention of the New Jerusalem. May the blessing of the Lord and the enlightenment of His revealed teachings attend your deliberations and promote the furtherance of the uses of His New Church
     Sincerely
          HUGO LJ ODHNER. Secretary.

Mr. Wilfred Burl,
Secretary, Conference of the New Church in Australia,
Sydney, N.S.W. (Air Mail.)
Dear Mr. Burl:
     The Nineteenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem by a unanimous vote sends fraternal greetings to the Conference of the New Church in Australia. We thank you for previous messages of good will, and pray that the Lords blessing, so marvelously bestowed upon men through the Heavenly Doctrine, may be with you in your uphill work to promote the growth and life of the New Church.
June 19th, 1950.
     With sincere good wishes.
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER, Secretary.

     The following messages were received, and nearly all were read at the Assembly banquet, June 19th:

429




From the General Conference:

Rev. Hugo Odhner,
Bryn Athyn, Penna. (Cable.)

     Your greetings heartily reciprocated by British Conference. Psalm 133 expresses their desires.
     JOHNSON, President.

From Colchester, England:

Rev. William Whitehead,
Bryn Athyn Penna. (Cable.)

     From the Colchester Society assembled for New Church Day celebration, warmest greetings to the Nineteenth General Assembly.


From Durban, Natal:

General Assembly,
Bryn Athyn. (Cable.)

     Durban Society with you in spirit sends greetings and best wishes.
          PEMBERTON.

From Norway:

Bishop de Charms,
Bryn Athyn, Penna. (Cable.)

     Best wishes and heartiest greetings to the New Church Assembly in Bryn Athyn, from the New Church in Norway.

From Dr. Baeckstrom and family:

     Gosta Baeckstrom, Marianne, and Pastor Baeckstrom send greetings. (Cable.)

Bishop de Charms,
Bryn Athyn, Penna. (Cable.)

     Swedish and Norwegian Societies and Circles send affectionate greetings and best wishes for successful Assembly.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

From Paris, France:

     "Having been brought together by Miss Creda Glenn on this 28th day of May, 1950, in Paris, we send to you our affectionate and fraternal good wishes for the New Church and all the friends of the Church in America."
     (Letter in French, signed by twenty-three persons.)

430




From Toronto, Ont. (Telegram.)

     Affectionate greetings from the Olivet Society. May the spirit of the first June the 19th prevail this day, that we may all go forth even as the disciples to proclaim the Lord God Jesus Christ doth reign.

From Tabor Mission, British Guiana:
To the Rt. Rev. George de Charms:     (Letter.)

     The membership of the Tabor Mission joins me in greetings to the Nineteenth General Assembly. . . . My affections and thoughts shall be with the Assembly during its sessions. . . . To all who constitute this year's Assembly, Tabor sends warmest greetings and expresses the hope that, with a happy summer vacation thereafter, the resumption of Academy and General Church uses will be made with a keenness born of increasing joy in the service of Truth.
     Yours sincerely, HENRY ALGERNON.

From Fort Worth, Texas:

Dear Bishop de Charms:      (Letter.)

     To you and to every member of your society and all the visitors from the other societies and groups, we wish to send our greetings and warmest regards for a wonderful 19th of June.
     Each year we send this greeting it gets a little stronger, as each year we are getting a little bigger. We started out in 1946 with 2 families or a total of six members. We now have five families with a total of eighteen members. From a small beginning may we, too, develop into a well organized, self-supporting society! Again, our very best wishes to each and every one of you.
     Most sincerely, RAYE POLLOCK, Secretary,
          Fort Worth Circle.

From Pecos, New Mexico:

Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner,
Bryn Athyn, Penna. (Letter.)

Dear Hugo:
     We send our greetings to the Nineteenth General Assembly and know that one and all attending are getting well fed spiritually and naturally and taking home with them much to think about. Sorry we are not able to be with you.
     Yours in the Lord's New Church.
          VALENTINE AND ROENA MERLIN.

From Weslaco, Texas:
Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Sect. (Telegram.)

     May new perceptions of wisdom bless all of your assemblings, deliberations, and considerations, for the true prosperity of our glorious Church!
     WALTER E. BRICKMAN.

431




From Montreal, Canada.

Rev. William Whitehead,

Bryn Athyn, Penna. (Telegram.)

     Greetings and best wishes for an inspiring Assembly. May there be a blessing for all!
     DESMOND MCMASTER, Montreal Circle.

From Copenhagen, Denmark:

Bishop George de Charms:     (Air Mail message in Danish.)

     "The best wishes for a successful Assembly are sent by the friends in Copenhagen."

From West Africa:
     Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton,     June 4, 1950.
Bryn Athyn, Penna. (Air Mail.)

General Assembly of the New Church in America:

     Hearty and affectionate greetings to you from the New Church in West Africa. May the Lord bless your Assembly more abundantly!
          Yours affectionately,
     (Rev.) M. O. OGUNDIPE,
     New Church Mission,
     Owo, Ondo Province,
     Nigeria.


     CORPORATIONS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA. JUNE 16, 1950.

     The Illinois corporation and the Pennsylvania corporation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem held their annual meetings in the auditorium at Benade Hall on June 16 1950. For the Pennsylvania corporation it was the first annual meeting. Eighty-seven members of the Pennsylvania corporation and ninety-one members of the Illinois corporation were present.
     The Illinois corporation adopted an amendment to the by-laws to provide for the election of ten members each year to serve for a term of three years instead of the former practice of electing thirty members to serve for a term of one year. This amendment was proposed to conform with the by-laws of the Pennsylvania corporation.
     The following gentlemen were elected to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania corporation, for the terms indicated, Bishop de Charms and Bishop Pendleton being elected by acclamation:

432




Three-Year Term.

George de Charms,
Willard D. Pendleton,
Kesniel C. Acton,
Edward C. Bostock,
Edward H. Davis,
James J. Forfar,
Hubert Hyatt,
Harold F. Pitcairn,
Raymond Pitcairn,
Colley Pryke.

Two-Year Term.

Daric E. Acton,
Edwin T. Asplundh,
Lester Asplundh,
Geoffrey Blackman,
Randolph W. Childs,
Theodore N. Glenn,
John E. Kuhl,
Tore E. Loven,
Philip C. Pendleton,
Norman Synnestvedt.

One-Year Term.

Reginald S. Anderson,
Robert M. Brown,
Geoffrey S. Childs,
Quentin F. Ebert,
Marlin W. Heilman,
Sydney E. Lee,
Alexander P. Lindsay,
Harold P. McQueen,
Hubert S. Nelson,
Arthur Synnestvedt.

     At the organization meeting of the Board, the following officers were elected:

President-George de Charms,
Vice President-Willard D. Pendleton.
Secretary-Edward H. Davis,
Treasurer-Hubert Hyatt.

     By a unanimous vote, the same gentlemen were elected as members of the Executive Committee of the Illinois corporation, to serve for the same terms; and the same officers were also elected at the organization meeting of the Illinois corporation.
     Mr. Charles G. Merrell and Mr. Rudolph Roschman were unanimously elected as Honorary Members of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
     EDWARD H. DAVIS,
          Secretary of the Corporations.

433





     REPORTS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     The strength of the General Church cannot be measured in terms of numbers, but in terms of uses performed. In these uses, however, manpower is a significant element. Where a few people have more responsibilities than they can well carry-as is the case in the General Church at present-it is natural that we should feel delight in new accessions, new recruits to help in the work, either as ministers or as teachers or as laymen.
     Our clergy has at present a membership of thirty-four ministers, three of whom are of the episcopal degree. Of the thirty-four, only twenty-four are active in ecclesiastical uses, and of these twenty-four, six or seven are mainly occupied in the teaching profession. Only fourteen are now engaged solely in ministering to societies, some dividing their time among several groups; and of these pastors, six are also superintendents in local schools.
     In the last ten years there has been an increase of 20 per cent in the proportion of our members belonging to societies and organized groups, while the increase in membership is only 12 per cent during the same period. Thus more of our people have now "benefit of clergy." There has been notable growth in Bryn Athyn, Chicago. Glenview, and Colchester. Other societies have either maintained themselves or have fluctuated slightly upwards or downwards in numbers. Among new reporting groups we find Fort Worth, Texas. St. Paul, Minn., Tucson, Arizona, and Oslo, Norway. Our statistics are not always reliable, since some of those responsible show a reluctance about sending in proper reports.
     The question, "Where do our new members come from?" has always interested me; and the introduction of a new item on our application blanks has now begun to answer this query, as far as the last four years are concerned. Out of 343 new accessions, 34 per cent have come from the old church by adult baptism, 6 per cent from other New Church organizations, and 60 per cent from our own General Church families or from among those educated in our schools. It is notable that of those baptized by General Church ministers some have taken more than forty years to become actual members.
     The membership of the General Church, as of last January, stands at 2568 adults. This is an increase of 150 since our report to the last Assembly, 345 names were added to the roll, but 132 deaths and 10 resignations were reported, and 53 names were dropped from our lists, on the presumption that they have died or are no longer interested.

434



     Attached to this report are some statistical graphs prepared by the Secretary. (See page 447.)
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER.
          Secretary.


     SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATIONS.

     THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.
     (A Corporation of Illinois)

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.
     (A Corporation of Pennsylvania)

     This report covers the period from the meeting of June 14, 1946, to date. At the meeting held on June 18, 1946, the General Assembly approved a resolution proposing dissolution of the Illinois corporation and the transfer of its assets to a new corporation to be organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The organization of the Pennsylvania corporation was completed, the charter approved on August 12, 1949, and the corporation came into existence on August 17, 1949, the date on which the charter was recorded.
     A general conveyance of assets and property of the Illinois corporation to the Pennsylvania corporation was executed and delivered on December 31, 1949.
     The Illinois corporation was not dissolved, however, for the reason that there is a possibility that legal complications may develop in the case of bequests, gifts, etc., made to the Illinois corporation; and, on advice of counsel, the Illinois corporation will be kept alive for an indefinite period of time.
     The by-laws of the Pennsylvania corporation provide for election of a Board of Directors of thirty members. At the first election to be held on June 16, 1950, ten members will be elected to serve for a term of one year, ten for a term of two years, and ten for a term of three years. Thereafter ten members will be elected each year to serve for a term of three years.
     A proposal will be made to the meeting of the Illinois corporation to amend the by-laws to elect the thirty members of the Executive Committee in the same manner.
     At the present time there are 186 members of the Illinois corporation.* 35 new members have joined since my report of June 14, 1946, 15 have died, and 1 resigned. This represents a net increase in membership of 19.
     * A complete recheck of the records discloses a death in 1914, and a resignation from the unincorporated Church in 1938, which had not been recorded.
     There are 151 members of the Pennsylvania corporation at the present time. Two of those who registered have died since the corporation was organized. 36 members of the Illinois corporation have not registered as members of the Pennsylvania corporation, and one member of the Pennsylvania corporation has not registered as a member of the Illinois corporation.

435



     There have been two meetings of the Illinois corporation since my last report, and there has been one meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation.
     Twenty-three meetings of the Illinois Executive Committee were held, and four meetings of the Pennsylvania Directors. Much of the time spent at the meetings was, of course, given to consideration of the problems involved in organization of the Pennsylvania corporation and the transfer of assets to that corporation from the Illinois corporation. Mr. Randolph W. Childs did an outstanding job in engineering the project.

     Active committees of the two corporations have been: The Ministerial Salary Committee, The Pension Committee, The Sound Recording Committee, The South African Mission Committee, The Nominating Committee, and the Investment Committee. The powers of the Ministerial Salary Committee have been extended to include consideration and recommendation with respect to all salaries paid by the General Church.
     In addition to matters involved in the work of the committees, consideration was given to New Church Education in Great Britain, Pastoral Visits to the Isolated, The Religious Education Program, NEW CHURCH LIFE, Visual Education, and the administration of the Orphanage Fund.
     Respectfully submitted,
          EDWARD H. DAVIS.
     Secretary of the Corporations.
June 15, 1950.


     TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     GROWTH OF THE CHURCH.

     Our General Church of the New Jerusalem was founded in 1897. That was 53 years ago, or, about two generations. During that time, our Church organization has undergone no substantial change in its structure, except that of slow but fairly steady growth and development.
     This, our Church organization, is the means whereby we all unite to provide for the performance of those ecclesiastical and educational uses which are designed to assist us, to assist our children, and to assist all who wish to join with us, in becoming New Churchmen.
     Recognizing the distinction between the New Church itself, and our Church organization, we also recognize the intimate relationship which may and should exist between them. The Church itself is Divine. Our Church organization is human.
     Recognizing the distinction between ecclesiastical and educational uses on the one hand, and civil uses on the other, we also recognize the intimate relationship, which, so far as our Church organization is concerned, likewise exists between these.
     In general, without here attempting to define, either the distinctions, or the relationships, the purpose of our being organized is to promote the growth of the Church, both with ourselves and with others.

436


As yardsticks of portions of this growth, we think, on occasion, in terms of number: the number of our Ministers, Teachers, members, and children; the number of localities in which our Church services and doctrinal classes are conducted and the attendance thereat; the number of our Schools and their students. In this also, it is easily and clearly recognized that nothing of number can measure the growth we seek. The growth we actually seek is an internal growth, which is insensible, and not subject to measurement. We promote the growth of our man-made human organization with the intent and hope, and, provided we do our part, with trust, that the Lord's New Church will descend and dwell therein.
     Without forgetting the foregoing and the like, the present purpose is to give some consideration to the growth, not of the Church itself, but of our Church organization.
     In Bishop N. D. Pendleton's Order and Organization Statement of 1925, he writes that The General Church of the New Jerusalem is organized for the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, as manifested in His Second Coming, and for the performance of those ecclesiastical uses which have in view the teaching of men the way to heaven and leading them therein.
     In the 1905 and 1949 Corporate Charters of our General Church, we read that the object for which it is formed is: to present, teach, and maintain throughout the world, the doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church as contained in the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.
     By its incorporation in 1877, our Academy acquired the powers of a University to undertake all branches of education, and particularly for the Ministry, to confer degrees and grant diplomas, to become a publisher, and collect a library, all with the stated purpose of propagating the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and establishing the New Church signified in the Apocalypse by the New Jerusalem.
     Our Church Societies and other similar groups, each in its own locality, are organized for purposes similar to those of the General Church and the Academy: to provide for Services of Worship and doctrinal classes, and for the education of their children; to provide for ecclesiastical and educational uses.
     Our Church organization as a whole thus consists, not of only one, but of three organizations: one, the General Church; two, the Academy; and three, the Society. It is these three organizations which are essential to the establishment, maintenance, and growth of our Church. So far as organizations go, it is these three, taken together, which constitute our Church. Take away one of the three; do not replace it; and it will not he very long before our Church literally has fallen apart and disappeared. All three organizations are essential to the performance of those uses, which, in turn, are essential to the welfare of our Church. Each of the three is essential to the ether two All three are essential to each and every one of us.
     We have these three organizations. For sound reasons, they are distinct and separate, legally and financially. Nevertheless, they are firmly united, and closely bound together, both by the single use in which they co-operate, and by their mutual need.

437



     The single use, which the three share in common, is to establish the Church, to perform its ecclesiastical and educational work, and to promote its growth, with ourselves, with our children, and with all others who wish to join us and add their endeavours to ours.
     As to mutual need: each of the three, for its usefulness, is dependent on the other two. No Society could function for long without either the General Church or the Academy. The General Church could have no useful purpose without the Societies and could not operate without the Academy. The Academy could have no useful purpose except for the General Church, and the Societies.
     In co-operating to perform their single general use, each of the three organizations has its own unique, particular part.
     The particular use of the Society, is to maintain and to promote the growth of its establishment of the Church in its own locality. To do this, its first need is a Pastor, and its second, a School. History shows, clearly and undeniably, that both Pastor and Teacher must have been adequately and distinctively trained within the Church, if the Society and its School are to prosper. In this necessary training is seen one of the ways in which the work of the Academy is essential to the Society. It is not the only way.
     The particular uses of the General Church are: one, to serve those who are not yet organized into Societies; two, to increase the number of the Societies; and three, to unify our Church so as to strengthen the whole and each and every part thereof. Together, we stand; divided, we fall. A large Society can have a strength which a small Society cannot have. A number of Societies can have a strength which one Society cannot have. The unification of our Church under a single leadership, together with Council and Assembly, is indispensable. This is why we have the General Church. It is why we have the Bishop of the General Church. It is why the Bishop also is President of the Academy. It is why we have our General Councils, our District Assemblies, and our General Assemblies.
     The adequate and distinctive training of our future Pastors and Teachers, as one of the particular uses of the Academy, has been mentioned. Another, is the continuance, into the higher grades, of our young peoples' education, which has been begun in our Society Schools and elsewhere. Presently, and obviously for at least some years to come, the Academy is the one Senior High School, the one College, the one Theological School, the one beginning of a University, wherein can be had that distinctive education, which is inspired by, and which inspires a devotion to, the New Church and its doctrines. History shows, clearly and undeniably, that, unless that devotion be instilled in our young people, our Church can neither grow nor even maintain itself. The more of our Laymen who have had their schooling in the Academy, and the more Academy schooling it is practical for them to have had, the better it is for them, for us, and for our Church. The time is not yet here, but, when it has become practical for all our Laymen to have had all their schooling in distinctively New Church Schools and Colleges, that will be best. Meanwhile, it is indispensable for our Church that we have our own distinctive institution of higher learning, that we have our own beginning of a New Church University, and that we make every effort to the end that our University become a fact.

438


No otherwise can we have the distinctively New Church Theologians, Philosophers, Scientists, and Scholars in all branches, which our Church must have, and without which it cannot thrive. No otherwise can we escape from under the dire influence of a Church which long has been dead beyond revival.

     The foregoing is an extremely brief, and therefore, very incomplete, merely suggestive outline of the uses which our three essential Church organizations are designed to perform.
     Our subject is their development and growth.
     For this development and growth, our first need is a considerably larger number of Pastors and Teachers Our Church as a whole presently is suffering from a lack of both. It takes a good number of years adequately to train them, Moreover, it also takes a good number of rare human qualities in either a Pastor or a Teacher to enable the one to commence a new Society, and the other to commence a new Society School, with reasonable expectation that both will flourish and grow; that they will thrive to the extent that eventually, the Society still stand on its own feet, and become financially self-supporting; not only self-supporting, but, in addition, be able substantially to add to the support of both the General Church and the Academy.
     This is the goal, for the growth of its essential organizations, at which our Church aims. It is the only goal at which our Church, reasonably, can aim.
     Moreover, it takes the employees and contributed funds of the General Church, of the Academy, and of the Society, to make the attempt to reach the goal.
     Moreover again, before any attempt be made to increase the number of our Societies, it takes the employees and contributed funds of the General Church, of the Academy, and of the Society, to operate and maintain our Church as it now stands.
     For all practical purposes, the field for growth and improvement is without limit.
     We become members of the General Church in order that we may become part of the organization which is devoted to promoting the growth of the New Church; that we ourselves may increase that growth; and that we may give our support to, take a part in, and derive benefit from, the uses thereof; the uses which promote that growth, with ourselves, with our children, and with all others who wish to travel the path we have chosen.
     We thus undertake a duty and assume a responsibility to support those uses to the best of our ability. This is a duty we owe to the Church itself, to each of our three essential Church organizations, to ourselves, to our children, and to our neighbors.
     In numbers 425 to 432 of the True Christian Religion, a definite distinction is made between the duties and the benefactions of charity. It is clear therefrom that the support of the uses of the Church is among the duties and not the benefactions.

439



     The path, along which this duty calls us to travel, leads to an innumerable variety of things. We are all more or less aware of many of them.
     One of them, and one deserving its own secure place, is the giving of support to the uses of the Church by means of periodical monetary contributions to each of our three essential Church organizations-the General Church, the Academy, and the Society.
     On its own plane, there is no one thing which could be of greater benefit to our Church than that this be undertaken as an individual duty by each and every one of us for whom it is possible, it being but very few for whom, in some measure, it is not possible.
     This undertaking, by all in the Church, would produce a number of highly useful effects.
     It would result from a general recognition of our essential Church uses.
     It would greatly broaden and strengthen the base on which our Church ultimately rests.
     The Church could then extend its usefulness to the greatest practical measure. Only when all are doing their part may that measure be as great as Providence intends for the time.
     It would give us one definite, tangible, measurable piece of evidence that, in at least one direction, we are doing our duty to our Church.

     The foregoing is intended to indicate a portion of the background out of which the proposal arises, which, by some, is known as that of the "Church Contributions Committee."
     Prior to the adoption of this proposal we are faced with the situation that our three essential Church organizations are, so to speak, competing with each other in seeking contributions by means of which to carry on their particular uses, and seeking them from exactly the same people. This situation is not reasonable. Between their uses, there is not the slightest competition. Their uses have only one end. Between their uses there is nothing but the utmost of co-operation. Their uses cannot be performed except by co-operation.
     The intent of the Church Contributions Committee, as proposed, is to remedy this situation. It is proposed as a practical means whereby to eliminate this competition, to increase the co-operation, to produce other advantages, and, at the same time, to cause not the least interference with the freedom, either of the individual, or of the three organizations involved.
     That which is advocated is: that in each and every Society and other similar group of our Church, there be formed, voluntarily, a Church Contributions Committee of that Society; that this Committee, with respect to those of all other Societies, be autonomous; and that this Committee undertake the tasks, to be performed within and for its Society and not elsewhere, of promoting, spreading, cultivating, and endeavoring to gain general acceptance, of two concepts, and of taking such other actions as are deemed suitable for their fulfilment.
     The two concepts or ideas are: first, that in this our Church, we have three and only three organizations which are essential thereto: the General Church, the Academy, and the Society; and second, that it is the individual duty of all to support the work of our Church by making periodical monetary contributions to each of these three organizations.

440



     Regarding such other actions as may be taken by this Church Contributions Committee, within and for its own Society' and not elsewhere, it is taken for granted that the Committee, because of its function, will be so constituted as to be of substantial influence, and it is suggested that this influence may be exerted usefully in numerous possible directions.
     One direction is in making as certain as can be that the uses, circumstances, and needs of each of our three essential Church organizations, and the relation between them, are familiar to, and are recognized and appreciated by all. That this information is net familiar to many is very evident.
     A second direction is in appraising the local situation as to those three organizations, and in making recommendations as to the proportions in which contributors most usefully could divide their contributions between them. It will be recognized that the General Church and the Academy are of greater importance than our Society, in the same way that our Country is of greater importance than our Town, and therefore, that these two deserve our first consideration. (See T. C. R. Nos. 412 to 414) It also will be recognized that the Society, in nearly every instance, deserves and should receive the great bulk of those contributions which are given to support the essential work of the Church.
     A third direction is regarding the amount of the contributions which can be given, as compared with the needs of each of the three organizations. The work of the Church never proceeds so favorably but that it could be improved if more funds were available.
     The Church Contributions Committee will find many other directions in which its influence may be usefully exerted in order to fulfill its purpose. However, no attempt is now made to enumerate others, chiefly because the circumstances of no two Societies are similar. The intent is that the Committee of any one Society shall be guided by the circumstances existing in that Society. It is not the intent that there shall be uniformity, except with respect to the two general concepts or ideas which herein are emphasized.
     The Church Contributions Committee, of any sizable Society, which undertakes the work herein proposed, with a firm determination to fulfill its purposes, also will find its task neither easy nor simple, Nor will its task ever be completed. One of its most important functions is with regard to our young people as they reach that maturity which enables them to begin assuming their Church and other responsibilities. This is work which continues indefinitely. However, on its own plane, it is work which, if accomplished. is of real benefit to the Church, and, for the worker, can be a source of great satisfaction.
     No attempt is now made to answer a number of questions which can arise during consideration of the adoption of this Church Contributions Committee proposal. Such questions will vary with each Society.
     The proposal itself continues to be made, both without thought of any insistence as to its adoption, and without anything of impatience, but with conviction as to its usefulness, not only to the General Church, and to the Academy, but also to every Society for and by which it is adopted, and therefore, to our Church as a whole.

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     If, as, when, and where, its adoption is under consideration, and it is thought that the Treasurer of the General Church can be useful, he always will be happy to co-operate to the full extent of his ability.
     HUBERT HYATT.
          Treasurer.

     RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE.

     You are cordially invited to see the Lessons and Pictures that have been produced and distributed during the past year and in previous years. These can be seen in the office of the Committee over the men's vesting room in the Cathedral and in the Choir Hall. Members of the Committee will be in the two rooms for half an hour before the morning and evening sessions and will give direct information to all visitors.

     The following material is now available:

     Stories from the Word: 100 Lessons and Pictures planned, 77 Lessons and 101 pictures mimeographed. All of these Lessons are double-spaced, and most of them are two pages long. In some instances there are two Lessons on the same text; and some Lessons have two or more Pictures, as well as small insets. These Lessons are graded Kindergarten and Grade 1, and are lettered A and B.

     Stories from Genesis, or Grade 2, lettered C, 40 Lessons and Pictures planned, 40 Lessons and 30 Pictures mimeographed.

     Stories from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, or Grade 3, lettered D, 49 Lessons and Pictures, 49 Lessons and 20 Pictures mimeographed.

     Stories from Joshua and Judges, or Grade 4, lettered E, 44 Lessons and Pictures, 35 Lessons and 10 Pictures mimeographed, but the last 24 are being revised.

     Stories from I and II Samuel, or Grade 5, lettered F, 44 Lessons and Pictures or Handwork, 44 Lessons mimeographed.

     Stories from I and II Kings, or Grade 6, lettered G, 50 Lessons and Hand- work, 50 Lessons mimeographed.

     Every Lesson of Grades 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 have Questions or some form of Exercise.

     Grades 7 and 8 are devoted entirely to "The Life of the Lord," and are written by Miss Helen Maynard under the supervision of the Rev. Harold C. Cranch. The Lessons are distributed by Miss Jean Junge. They are mimeographed in Glenview.

     Grades 9 and 10 will be devoted to the Doctrines of the New Church and are not yet written. But for the last two years, under Mrs. H. F. Pitcairn as Counsellor, there has been distributed to about 50 young people and young married people considerable material of varied character, including Books of the Writings, collateral literature, sermons and articles.

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     In addition to the above material, special Festival Lessons and Pictures for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, Swedenborg's Birthday, Easter and New Church Day have been distributed.
     F. E. GYLLENHAAL,
          Director.


     SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE.

     In both worlds, influx, gifts and uses are communicated between angels, spirits devils and men. In the spiritual world, this communication is instantaneous and perfect. In the natural world, it is comparatively cumbersome, slow and imperfect. Therefore, from the spiritual world, men on earth receive a drive toward the invention, perfection and use of all means of communication-a drive to make them increasingly rapid and accurate.

     In the world in which we now live as human spirits in natural bodies, communication between persons and groups distant from each is necessarily channeled through the two senses, sight and bearing. And, until this time, communication of ideas in the New Church has been limited to only two of the sight media-print and photography. These are and always will be the primary means for the communication of thought, and also for the permanent records of men. But they are limited in their ability to convey affections, being media of a spiritual nature, primarily geared to the presentation of truths.

     The instruments of sound, however, such as the voice, are adapted to the communication of both truth and good, thought and affection. And this is why it is of such interest and importance that, at last, a practicable method and machinery have been found by which both the thought and the affection of New Churchmen could be recorded in sound, and communicated thereby to groups and individuals far distant. Additionally, the music of the Church can now be recorded and communicated with an excellent degree of fidelity

     It is this general feeling, I believe, that powers the drive behind the original work and recent formation of the General Church Sound Recording Committee. A large part of the experimental ground work having been done by Messrs. Kenneth Synnestvedt, George Woodard and Ralph McClarren in that order for over a year, this Committee was officially instituted and appointed by Bishop George de Charms on October 30th last. The original staff consisted of the above-named gentlemen, plus the Rev. Morley D. Rich, as Chairman, and Messrs. Edwin T. Asplundh and Robert Genzlinger. Since that time, the following members have been added in the order of their appointment: Mrs. George Woodard as Librarian, Mrs. Kenneth Synnestvedt, Mrs. Anne Finkeldey, and Mrs. Edward Cranch. In recent weeks, Messrs. Carl Synnestvedt and Theodore Glebe have also assisted the endeavor.

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     The function of this Committee is to record, preserve and circulate in the Church to those interested, religious material-services, doctrinal classes, special events, addresses, etc. The particular medium which they selected for the sake of standardization, and after careful examination and discussion, was the magnetic tape recorder.

     Beginning at the end of last October with a backlog of some 50 recordings, we now have over 125, not including the complete recording of this Assembly. Incidentally, it takes 8 to 10 hours of labor to make, copy, edit, classify, catalog and enter in the library each record. The great majority of these recordings have been made in Bryn Athyn; but we look forward to an increasing number from other centers of the Church.

     Just to give an idea of the scope of this material-we have, in addition to services of worship and doctrinal classes, a number of special addresses given at such events as the Swedenborg Scientific Association meetings, open meetings of the Council of the Clergy, Swedenborg's Birthday celebrations, banquets, Commencement and School-opening Exercises, Sons of the Academy meetings. Academy Oratorical Contests, and the Religious Festivals, together with special music and singing for them-Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, 19th of June. Even recordings of weddings have been made for the future enjoyment and edification of the bride and groom on their anniversaries, though we do not list these in the catalog!

     At the same time, the Committee was able to purchase and re-sell at cost to isolated groups and individuals about 20 Pentron tape recorders. About 30 tape recorders are now owned and operated by groups and families of the General Church throughout the U. S. Four more are being used by our traveling pastors. And the Committee is arranging for the re-conversion of machines for other countries.

     Despite the fact that no general appeal has been made to the members of the General Church, and that no funds have been advanced from the General Church Treasury for this purpose, voluntary contributions have totaled a little less than $4000.00. The larger part of these consisted of several sizable individual donations, without which the project could not have been so successfully initiated. But the steady income, and that which the Committee regards as a most hopeful sign for the future, has come from what we call "user contributions-small, voluntary contributions as a kind of rental fee from the various groups and individuals using the records. These have averaged about $40.00 per month.

     Local, society committees for recording and playing have also been formed: Saginaw-Mr. Geoffrey Childs; Ft. Worth-Mrs. Robert Pollock; Madison, Wisc.-Mr. Alfred Mergen; Tucson, Ariz.-Mr. Guy Alden; Detroit-Mr. John Howard; Pittsburgh-Mr. Philip Horigan; Glenview-Rev. Ormond Odhner; New York-Mr. Leon Rhodes; Washington-Dr. Philip Stebbing; Bryn Athyn-Mr. Edward Cranch.

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     In concluding this report, the Church should be informed of the excellent and self-sacrificing effort which has been put into this new project by the members of the Committee,

     Mr. Kenneth Synnestvedt, our vice-chairman and chief recorder, was the prime instigator, and he and Mrs. Synnestvedt have practically devoted their house to the necessities of the work and publicity so essential at the outset.

     Mr. George Woodard has been most thorough, efficient and thoughtful in his dual capacity of treasurer and circulation manager.

     Mrs. Woodard did, and is doing, an outstanding job in selecting and organizing the library system,

     And alt the members of this Committee have done more than their share on an entirely voluntary basis. In fact, this Committee is distinctly not of the type described by Bishop Benade when he said, "All committees that have done nothing report progress!"
Respectfully submitted.
     MORLEY D. RICH,
          Chairman.


     EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE."

     It should be noted at this Assembly that NEW CHURCH LIFE is now in its 70th year of continuous publication. We marked the 60th year at the 1940 Assembly ten years ago, when we recalled the origins of the magazine by quoting from the then recently discovered Note Book of Mr. Charles P. Stuart, who was the prime mover in the journalistic venture which brought forth the first number in January, 1851. (See 1940 issue, pp. 449-454.)
     There was, however, a precursor of the magazine in the form of a Manuscript Paper called "The Social Monthly," issued during 1879 and 1880 by the Young Folks Club of the Advent Society in Philadelphia. Copies of this publication are not now extant, and we do not know the nature of its contents The Academy Library would like very much to obtain a set or any single numbers. if those who possess them are willing to part with them, or to loan them to the Library so that copies may be made and preserved for reference.

     Some of us who are here today have been readers of NEW CHURCH LIFE from the first number and gown through the seventy years of its publication. Others have taken pains to read the volumes, and so have become acquainted with the history of the development of doctrine and practice in the General Church as there recorded. A church periodical is a voice and it is a record-a voice speaking to those who read it from mouth to month, and a record for future generations. It gives expression in print to the mind of the church body which it represents, and it records in print the teachings and the storks of that body for such use as they may be to those who read.

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     NEW CHURCH LIFE was not at first the official organ of any church body, though it soon outgrew its status as a young people's paper, and was also read by adults, as its editors and contributors warmly espoused the views held by the Academy and the General Church of Pennsylvania. Its contemporary. WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH (1879-1886), was a "Serial controlled by the Academy of the New Church," and was the exponent of Academy views and principles. When this publication was discontinued in 1886, New CHURCH LIFE was offered to the Academy, and was finally accepted in 1890. In the LIFE for February. 1890, we find this announcement:

     Nine years ago, a small eight-page paper made its appearance in the New Church, published by several young men on their own responsibility in the interests of the young people of the Church. In the course of time, as the publishers began to take more interest in the affairs of the Church, the character of the paper changed, and, from their association with the Academy of the New Church and the General Church of Pennsylvania, the paper was conducted in sympathy with the ends and objects of those bodies, but it never was controlled by either of them, the editors alone having at all times been responsible for its utterances. This paper, which will be recognized as none other than that in which these lines appear, was finally offered to the Academy. The offer has been accepted, and with this number the Academy of the New Church assumes control of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     And so, for the first nine years (1881-1890), New CHURCH LIFE was published by a staff of editors, and for the following nine years (1890-1899) it was published by the Academy. It was then offered to the newly organized General Church of the New Jerusalem, and was accepted by that body, and became its official organ and mouthpiece. So we read this announcement in the issue for August, 1899: "The conduct and management of this paper have been transferred from the Academy of the New Church to the General Church of the New Jerusalem." That was fifty years ago last August. (See issue for 1900. p. 37.)

     We have briefly recalled this history as of interest on this occasion. But what of the purpose and platform of the journal down through the years?
     We know that NEW CHURCH LIFE, from its very beginning, has been the avowed and zealous exponent of a belief in the Divine Authority of the Writings as the Divine Revelation given by the Lord for the establishment of a New Church distinct from the Old in its faith, its worship, and its life. And it has looked to the education of the young in and for this Church as the primary means of increase. In the first issue, the founders of the magazine made this declaration of purpose:

     NEW CHURCH LIFE is to be thoroughly and distinctively a New Church paper, designed to promote the culture of the Young People in the doctrines and life of the Church; thus, if possible, leading them to embrace fervently the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem as the only means of becoming true men and women.

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     "And, finally, by bringing the Young People into closer relations with one another, NEW CHURCH LIFE, it is hoped, will become an ultimate of that bond of love which must always exist among those whose one great aim is to become useful members of the New Church, which, in heaven and on earth, is 'the Crown of all Churches.'"

     This, we believe, has been the reigning purpose in the magazine through all the years-to instill among its readers a love and understanding of the Heavenly Doctrine, and thus to promote a uniting bond of spiritual affection and life among them. The burden of its message has been addressed to those who cherished a strong affirmative toward the Writings, desiring to be instructed in their teachings, that they might learn and live them, and bring their light to bear on all things.
     The name chosen for the journal was regarded as a suitable one to embody this ideal-that a distinctive New Church is only truly established in one whose interior life is formed by the Heavenly Doctrine, which is the New Jerusalem descending into the hearts and minds of those who are striving to follow the Lord in the life of regeneration. For it could not be held that the New Jerusalem should somehow be established among those who know nothing of the Heavenly Doctrine, and who therefore cannot know the Lord in His Divine Human, or follow Him in the life of interior repentance as the only genuine reception of Him in His Second Coming. Such a comforting belief would be a form of faith alone transferred to the New Church. If others can get into the New Jerusalem in that easy way, why should New Churchmen struggle on in the life of regeneration as the only hope of their salvation?
     Such a notion is contrary to the plain teachings of Revelation as to the modes of Divine Providence in raising up a new church. And so our journal, from the beginning, has opposed that notion, and instead has stoutly maintained its affirmation of the revealed truth as set forth in the Writings-an affirmation which is the first essential means of their acceptance by the open mind, to be followed up and confirmed by a study of the truth as it is demonstrated to the rational mind throughout the Writings, that it may be received in the sight of the understanding in a faith of light, and in a perception from the love of spiritual truth. From the beginning our journal has taken this affirmative for granted among its circle of readers, and has aimed to provide what they want.

     In this 70th year of NEW CHURCH LIFE it has seemed fitting to give a brief sketch of the history and the purpose of our journal, that we may voice our gratitude to the Lord for the favoring Providence which has kept alive through the years the spirit of zeal and devotion to our cause which characterized its beginnings, and that we may pray for the continuing favor of that Providence in the years to come, so that they may witness an expanding usefulness of the magazine in promoting the genuine growth and establishment of the Lord's New Church.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. B. CALDWELL.

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     SOCIETIES OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     Comparative Statistics.

                    Members          Average          Average
Societies and          of Local          Attendance          Attendance
Circles               Church          Public               Holy
                                   Worship          Supper
                    1940     1949          1940     1949          1940     1949

Arbutus, Md.          -     16          -     20          -     9
Bryn Athyn, Pa.          397     513          293     384          107     234
Chicago, Ill.               50     80          27     54          20     34
Detroit, Mich.          29     30          32     32          20     31
Erie, Pa.               11     9          -     11          3     11
Fort Worth, Texas     -     11          -     10          -     11
Glenview, Ill.          148     186          136     156          106     96
New York, N. Y.          24     16          18     18          13     14
North Jersey          -     15          -     25          -     12
North Ohio               31     36          26     18          18     11
North St. Paul, Minn.     -     14          -     21          -     14
Philadelphia, Pa.          ?     42          -     24          -     15
Pittsburgh, Pa.          103     108          59     68          53     67
Rockford, Ill.          -     10          -     8          -     7
Tucson, Arizona          -     15          -     -          -     15
Washington, D. C.          13     16          19     28          12     20
Kitchener, Ont.          100     106          75     82          50     64
Toronto, Ont.          121     120          70     85          63     70
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil     ?     ?
Colchester, England     45     61          42     62          28     45
London, England          59     78          22     37          16     56
Stockholm, Sweden     97     92          47     46          36     45
Southern Sweden          19     15          12     15          12     13
Oslo, Norway          -     13          -     30          -     15
Hurstville, N. S. W.     ?     24          -     17          -     -
Durban, Natal, S. Afr.     80     60          40     38          35     32
Comparative Statistics.

Societies and          Average
Circles               Attendance
                    Doctrinal
                    Class

                    1940     1949
Arbutus, Md.          -     14
Bryn Athyn, Pa.          208     283
Chicago, Ill.               26     40
Detroit, Mich.          10     16
Erie, Pa.               5     10
Fort Worth, Texas          -     9
Glenview, Ill.          96     128
New York, N. Y.          -     14
North Jersey          -     10
North Ohio               8     7
North St. Paul, Minn.     -     9
Philadelphia, Pa.          -     21
Pittsburgh, Pa.          48     37
Rockford, Ill.          -     11
Tucson, Arizona          -     7
Washington, D. C.          10     20
Kitchener, Ont.          29     47
Toronto, Ont.          38     48
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil     -     -
Colchester, England     14     22
London, England          27     14
Stockholm, Sweden     17     14
Southern Sweden          7     14
Oslo, Norway          -     29
Hurstville, N. S. W.     -     -
Durban, Natal, S. Afr.     21     18

? = Not reporting.

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FROM "THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION" 1950

FROM "THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION"       Various       1950

     Memorandum.

     791. After this work was finished, the Lord called together His twelve disciples who followed Him in the world: and the next day He sent them all forth into the whole Spiritual World to preach the Gospel that the LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST reigns, Whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages according to the prediction by Daniel (vii. 13, 14) and in the Apocalypse (xi. 15); and that blessed are they who come unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Apoc. xix. 9.) This took place on the 19th day of June, in the year 1770. This is what is meant by these words of the Lord: He shall send His angels, and they shall gather together His elect from one end of the heavens even to the other. (Matt. xxiv. 31.)
NINETEENTH OF JUNE BANQUET 1950

NINETEENTH OF JUNE BANQUET              1950

     Held on the evening of June 19th, the Banquet was a worthy and inspiring climax both to the General Assembly and to the celebration of New Church Day which immediately followed it. Commencing time found 923 persons seated at the tables in the Assembly Hall and Gymnasium, which formed one large auditorium. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Klein provided for each guest a dignified souvenir program featuring on the front a reproduction of the Cathedral, beneath which was an extract from the charter of the Pennsylvania Corporation of the General Church; on the second page was the well known Memorandum" to the True Christian Religion (no, 791), with a facsimile taken from the original Latin edition of that work. The Toastmaster, the Rev. William Whitehead, and the speakers addressed the guests from a microphone on the central stage.

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As in the case of the Assembly itself, the entire proceedings were recorded on the tape recorder.

     After a delightful dinner, the Toastmaster opened the formal program with a toast to the Church, and entertained and challenged the audience with introductory remarks which were, characteristically, a happy blend of serious thought and topical but gentle satire. The program was built around an extract from the new charter obtained from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on August 12. 1949; namely. "The object for which the Corporation (of the General Church of the New Jerusalem) is formed is to present, teach, and maintain throughout the world, the doctrines of the New Church as contained in the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg." And five speakers addressed themselves to various aspects of what is involved in presenting, teaching, and maintaining the doctrines.

     Speaking on "Evangelization," which he defined as "the spreading of revealed truth with the desire that men may be saved by receiving it," the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh noted that the promulgation of the new gospel proclaimed in the Writings is the use of the General Church and the responsibility of all its members. Evangelization consists in the interior development of doctrine and philosophy, the systematic exposition of the Word and of basic doctrines, and the introduction of the church to those outside its doors or on the threshold through education, publication, and what is usually known as missionary work. The first two are the work of the priesthood, though their success depends upon an intelligent response from the laity; the third, involving the evangelization of business associates and the application of doctrine to life, can be shared in by the laity. Some of this work we are now doing. But much remains, and it will be done successfully only if we are willing to accept our responsibilities and make sacrifices in a spirit of thankfulness that we are permitted to labor in this day of small beginnings. Above all, it must be realized that, while Providence operates through men, all success in evangelization, all growth in the church, all progress, is the Lord's. Our task is to choose to make the church our own, and allow the Lord to evangelize and rule us, that the everlasting gospel may he brought to others through us.

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     Harold F. Pitcairn, Esq., the second speaker, dealt with "Our Teaching Uses." He stated that the final end of New Church Education is that conjunction of the new will and the new understanding which the Writings call regeneration, its immediate goals being preparation therefor. In Elementary School, the aim is to present scientifics in such a way, and in such an environment, that remains of affection are stored up as the basis for the development of the new will in adult life. High School gives instruction in the spiritual truths in the Writings and in the harmony between spiritual and natural truth, and in the spiritual basis of moral law. The College student can be taught to think from the Writings as well as about them, especially in connection with his life; and the teaching of Swedenborg's philosophy now establish a fitting basis on which the spiritual truths of the Writings may rest in the mind. Those who cannot receive a complete formal New Church Education should not be deterred from getting whatever they can. Our children are protected against agnostic and atheistic fallacies, and from the falsities of the Old Church, and they may establish life-long friendships with those who will come to accept the Writings as the Word. The courses taught in the schools of the General Church are essential to the fullest development of the understanding of spiritual truth with men on earth, but New Church Education should not stop when the college diploma has been received. It must continue throughout life, by attendance at church services and doctrinal classes, augmented by regular reading of the Writings; and it does not terminate even when one becomes regenerate, because regeneration is a continuing process even with the angels. Thus the use of New Church Education is not only for children and men, but continues and advances with the angels even to all eternity.

     "Maintaining the Doctrines" was the subject assigned to the third speaker, the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson. The church, he said, is established to keep open the way of heaven, to teach that way, and to lead men therein. As its ability to do this is dependent upon its understanding of the Word, it is necessary that the purity of doctrine be maintained, and that doctrine be defended whenever it is attacked. This is essentially a priestly use for which provision is made in the order and organization of the General Church, which calls for the presentation of new concepts in the Council of the Clergy.

451


But maintaining the purity of doctrine requires something more than vigilance, something in which the entire church is concerned. The purity of doctrine can be maintained only if there is in the church a state of perception from spiritual good, for it is this alone which enables men to distinguish between falsities and truths and between goods and evils. A church may lose all its illustration through evils of life, even while it is actively interested in doctrine. Similarly, although doctrine must be defended when it is attacked, it should never be defended from proprium, but should be allowed to be its own defense. To maintain the doctrines, therefore, the church must seek to develop a state of regenerate good. And it is vital that the doctrines should be maintained in a state of integrity, not primarily as an end, since the Lord can, and does, lead men through their mistakes, but because the regenerate good and the spiritual perception needed to maintain them are the essentials of a living church.

     Addressing himself to Maintaining the Doctrines in the Small Society and Group," the Rev. Morley D. Rich said that his thoughts wove themselves around the words "maintaining' and "responsibility' and the phrase, "the art of the possible." Maintaining the doctrines necessarily involves maintaining the groups which respond to and bring them into life. Responsibility means the ability to respond. And the art of the possible expresses the idea that wisdom lies in examining a situation and determining what is possible and rational to do to achieve progress without exceeding the bounds of realism, fact, and human character. The membership of the General Church has become increasingly scattered, and we are compelled to take notice of the special problems of the smaller groups, the value of which is worthy of sacrifice; for it is our hope that there may be more established societies and schools, and it is by the maintenance of these groups that we are preserving the ground and framework for building societies. There are many problems, but we are all in this together, and in the smaller groups there is the same endeavor to forward as much of the church as possible. Distinct achievements worthy of respect have been recorded, and there is a use deserving of the maintaining effort of the General Church as a whole.

452


Because our vision of the church is from the Divine Human, it will always far outstrip human strength and capacity. But we should neither dim this vision nor be discouraged when we return to our day by day problems, but strive to tie it in to a realistic appraisal of what is possible. In this way we shall respond to the Lord's teaching and leading, for He did not come twice to "lay upon men burdens grievous to be borne," to insist upon the full ultimation of every vision, but to ask that we do what is possible in maintaining and developing the church in the light of the truth we know and in accord with the circumstances that exist.

     To conclude the formal program, the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen spoke on "Maintaining the Work of the Church in a Larger Society." The speaker noted that the first essential for maintaining the work of the church is to read and reflect from the Writings and to perform uses, which is to create. Sustentation is perpetual creation, and it is in this matter that our larger societies meet their greatest challenge. The uses of the church are both internal, looking to regeneration, and external; and the former must be within the latter, in which, also, there must always be something new As the things by which we arrive at internals, the organized activities of the church are vital and must be constantly renewed. Lacking the pioneer spirit of the small group, the larger society may fail to recognize this: may be satisfied with passive acceptance of the status quo, and lose the desire for a vision of new uses, The need is for an affirmative and creative spirit, for a realization that support of the church is not a matter of our own good pleasure, but a duty of charity according to our ability. We are free to choose, but once we have chosen to become members of the church we have accepted responsibility. We have accepted responsibility to attend services and classes, and to serve with our best thought and active effort in any office in the society to which we may be elected or appointed. If the word duty sounds hard, it should be remembered that the way of duty is the only road to true freedom and delight. It is because there have always been men and women with a sense of responsibility that the General Church has reached its present status; and in that status we may see, with gratitude to the past, a real hope for the future in evidence of that creative love which keeps the Church ever new.

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     Each of the five speeches was introduced by an appropriate toast and song, and in the course of the evening there were many delightful interludes. Hosts and visitors expressed their appreciation of each other in felicitous phrases and melodious song. Occasion was taken to thank Lester Asplundh for the splendid work done by him and his committees: and the addition of a suitable inscription to the cup presented to him at the Eighteenth General Assembly was directed. Messages to the Assembly were read by the Toastmaster, and two greetings were given verbally. The Rev. Martin Pryke delivered a message from the Michael Church, expressed the warm thanks of the British societies for the food parcels sent to them, and extended an invitation to hold the next General Assembly in London. England. And Mr. Hugo Hamann, of Brazil, gave to the gathering an affectionate message from the Rev. Henry Leonardos. A Resolution, suitably inscribed, to the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, expressing high appreciation of his conduct of NEW CHURCH LIFE during the many years of his Editorship, was read and received with sustained applause. And Professor Vinet begged leave to address the audience, which he did in a most affecting manner, expressing gratitude to the Lord and to the New Church for the many things that had come to him in a long life.

     Invited to address the assemblage, Bishop dc Charms said that he had one thought in mind. A prayer in the heart of each one had brought us together;-a prayer in the hearts of those who had labored to organize the Assembly, and of those who had made sacrifices to attend. This was a prayer that the Lord's New Church might grow and prosper in each one and in the world of men, that the benefits of the Second Coming might be known. It was a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, which is not a peace of inactivity, but of struggle and conflict: a peace that comes only from realization, not mere knowledge, that the Lord has come again to enlighten men and to withhold them from evils, to subjugate their loves in a peace of trust in the midst of conflict. If we do our part, the church will grow. The Lord is here in the Heavenly Doctrine, and if we can bring the spiritual love of that Doctrine into the church, we will contribute to its increasing development.

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     Immediately after the Bishop's remarks the banquet closed with the singing of "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem," a most appropriate ending to an occasion which had caught and crystallized the spirit of the Nineteenth General Assembly and of the celebration of another New Church Day.
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON.


     I append the Resolution referred to above:

     The General Church of the New Jerusalem,
     Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.

TO THE REVEREND WILLIAM BEEBE CALDWELL. D.TH.:

     The members of the General Church, gathered in general Assembly, herewith desire to record their affectionate esteem and their deep appreciation of your faithful and distinguished services as Editor of the official organ of the Church, NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     For thirty-two years, month after month, you have maintained NEW CHURCH LIFE at a high standard as a dignified ambassador of the Church, and a herald of its teachings. Unafraid of criticism, you have visioned the LIFE as a vehicle of instruction for young and old in the many scattered homes of the General Church.
     The affection of the Church responds warmly to your exacting labors as Editor, in which capacity you-bowing to the needs and wishes of the Church-generously continued long after you had expressed the desire to retire.
     On behalf of the XIXth General Assembly,
          GEORGE DE CHARMS,
               Bishop.
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
               Secretary.

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ASSEMBLY NOTES 1950

ASSEMBLY NOTES       Various       1950

     Young People's Luncheon-"Responsibility" was the keynote of the speeches at the luncheon on the first afternoon of the General Assembly, with an attendance of 300.
     Mr. Frank Rose was Chairman. After he had acknowledged receipt of Messages from the Young People's Group in England, and from the American New Church League of the General Convention, he introduced Mr. Frederick Larson as the first speaker.
     Representing the views of the Semi-Isolated, Mr. Larson dwelt upon the importance of our understanding the needs of those outside of the New Church, if we are to spread.
     Miss Beryl E. Howard, representing the Small Society, read a paper in which she outlined a program of activities showing the part which the young people might play in the life of the Church. We quote briefly:

     "It is about eight months since I first set foot on American soil. Those months have been for me extremely happy ones, during which time I have met numerous interesting people and learned many new ways of life. I should like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the very kind hospitality which you have shown toward me. Without you, I feel sure, it would have been a much harder task for me to adapt myself to American ways of life.
     "We in the New Church are extremely fortunate to have so many friends scattered around the world, for when one goes to a foreign country, and there are New Church people around, one always has friends. This Assembly is a good example of the various nationalities of which our Church is composed. That such a number of people come from far and wide for a series of meetings serves to illustrate how important our Church is to us.
     "Let us consider for a moment exactly what part our Religion occupies in our life. Can we imagine how empty and dull our existence would be if it were void of any kind of spiritual thought? Most of us cannot imagine what it would be like to be in such a predicament.

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I think you will agree with me when I say that a New Churchman's Religion is the very essence of his life. We are certainly privileged to be given the opportunity of thinking in this rational manner, but let us all ask ourselves these questions: Is our religion as vital to us as it should be? Do we really put our wholehearted effort into the life and affairs of our Church? Each one of you can best answer these questions for himself, as it is a personal matter to be decided by the individual alone. In this paper I am going to attempt to deal with some of the uses which a young person can perform for the Church, and I will enumerate them in order of importance."
     In closing, Miss Howard said: "New Church social life centers around the free interchange of ideas and inspiration derived from and colored by the Writings. If we keep this as our center, we won't have to worry about exclusiveness. It will only attract those who are genuinely interested in spiritual things. The young people of today are the parents, teachers and ministers of tomorrow. We cannot assume our responsibility of the life of the Church too soon."

     The final speaker, Mr. Dandridge Pendleton, spoke on "The Achilles Heel of New Church Education." He explained that the chief challenge is our interior reaction to the education formulated by our forefathers.
     A summing up by the Rev. David Simons was followed by numerous responses from the floor, and these showed how provocative and stimulating the program had been to all present. The young people had plenty to say, and what they said indicated a real affection for the things of the Church and a responsibility toward it. At this Assembly they had a luncheon; perhaps at the next Assembly they will have a session all their own.
          DAVID R. SIMONS.

     Women's Guild Luncheon.-This Friday afternoon meeting was addressed by Bishop de Charms who, by request, repeated an address on "The Function of Woman in the Life of the Church" which he had given to the annual banquet of the Bryn Athyn Chapter of Theta Alpha in 1949, and it was heard with great appreciation by the ladies on this occasion. A charming feature of the entertainment at the luncheon was the solo singing and harp playing by Mrs. Alexander H. Lindsay, of Pittsburgh, and her music again delighted the audience at the concert given at Glencairn on Sunday evening.

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     Ex-Student Organizations.-The Theta Alpha service which preceded their annual meeting was addressed by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom. The Sons of the Academy luncheon heard an address by the Rev. Karl R. Alden as Academy representative, and was followed by the annual meeting in "Carpenter's Hall." These meetings will be fully reported in their respective journals,-THE BULLETIN and THETA ALPHA JOURNAL.

     Literature.-Available to Assembly visitors was a Souvenir Edition of the booklet entitled The Cathedral-Church of Bryn Athyn, furnishing information concerning the history, construction, and detailed features of the building. A pamphlet entitled The Academy Schools was provided as an aid to the First Public Inspection of the New Benade Hall, with a fine photograph of the new structure and a Statement of the General Objectives of the Schools. And every evening The Assembly Daily was circulated to bring news of the meetings and incidental happenings.

     Social Features.-The Program made abundant provision for the social amenities. A novelty was the "Open House" on Friday and Saturday evenings, affording the Bryn Athyn members an opportunity to welcome the visitors to their homes in a way that is not usually possible during a series of Assembly meetings And the young people took full advantage of the many formal and informal occasions when entertainment and dancing was provided for them. We are assured also that the visitors who were domiciled at Beaver College enjoyed comfort and sociability under the friendly ministrations of their host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Synnestvedt.

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     July 1, 1950.-After a brief silence, here we are again with tidbits of news to report its connection with church activities in this faraway corner of the globe-actually not quite so remote in these days of air travel. Even so, more miles than we could wish separate us from other centers of the church. Nevertheless, the church in Durban continues to progress, and there is always the strong hope that it will become more firmly established in this country as time goes by.

     Wednesday Doctrinal Classes and Divine Worship have been well attended of late, and the monthly Society Suppers instituted last year appear to be as popular as ever. There is much interest displayed by the young people at the Friday night classes, where we have a fine group of them preparing to play more important roles in the life of the Society, and to enter more fully into its uses.
     A Picnic.-As far as I am any judge of such matters, I would say that the Society Picnic held on the 31st of May was an outstanding success. This year we went farther afield than usual in search of a picnic spot. All those who had cars filled them up with youngsters and older folk, and we all set out for Marianhill-about 20 miles from town. We found this to be an ideal spot for our sports, and as the weather was most obliging we enjoyed our day's outing to the full.
     With the end of May came the annual general meeting of the Society. The business matters having been satisfactorily settled, the office holders for the coming year were elected.

     Mr. Elphick.-The Church, and particularly the South African Native Mission, suffered a severe loss when the Rev. Frederick William Elphick passed into the spiritual world in his 67th year on the 2nd of April (Palm Sunday) after a short illness. A crematorium service was conducted by the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers on Tuesday, April 4th, and on the following Wednesday evening a Memorial Service was held in the church on Musgrave Road. Although Mr. Elphick is sadly missed by his family and many friends, it is a great comfort to know that he will continue to serve the Lord and His Church in the uses to which he devoted his life.
     The Society is facing a time of great change and I know I can speak for the Society as a whole and individually when I say that we were all deeply grieved to hear recently of the pending departure of our pastor and his family, Mr. Rogers has accepted an appointment as pastor of the Detroit Circle and it will be very sad indeed to have to bid good-bye when Mr. and Mrs. Rogers and the young Rogers children leave us towards the end of September to return to the States.
     The Rev Martin Pryke has been unanimously accepted as our next pastor, and as Superintendent of the South African Mission, and we are all keenly looking forward to welcoming Mr. Pryke in Durban during the next two months.

     19th of June Celebrations.-Naturally the highlight of the season has been the celebration of the birthday of the New Church, and it was noticeable that a sphere of harmony and affection pervaded our 19th June Banquet.

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     After enjoying the excellent fare provided by the ladies, the sixty people present settled down in preparation for the intellectual nourishment to be provided, as the toastmaster-Mr. Derick Lumsden opened the programme with a toast to the Church.
     The first paper was one written by Mr. Pinnell of Fishock, Cape Province, dealing with the history and uses of the Swedenborg Society; this was read by Mr. Alfred Cooke. Mr. Derick Lumsden then delivered a very inspiring address, illustrated by charts, on the opportunities that lie before us as New Churchmen to spread the doctrines of the Church. Finally, Mr. Garth Pemberton read extracts of an Address by Bishop Acton on "The Lord We Worship," which treated of the Virgin Birth.
     Following a practice established in recent years, Mr. Rogers, on behalf of the Society, welcomed to a wider range of Society activities the three young people who had reached the age of fifteen during the year. To each of these-Naomi Schuurman, Jonathan Levine, and Wendy Ridgway in absentia, he presented a copy of Heaven and Hell.
     Toasts, songs, and a word of welcome to those present who had come from a distance, and messages to absent friends, completed a very delightful programme.
     The Children's Banquet, held on Friday, 23rd June, was also a very delightful occasion. Three recitations were given by the children from Pinetown and by the Junior and Intermediate Groups, while the older girls and boys read papers they had prepared on a variety of subjects.

     A Wedding.-At Greytown, Natal, on Saturday, 17th June, Clive Parker, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Parker, was married to Celia (Minty) Casalis. only daughter of Mrs. Casalis and the late Mr. Cyril Casalis. The Rev. Norbert Rogers traveled up from Durban to officiate at the wedding, which took place at the Methodist Church in Greytown which had been kindly lent for the occasion. Seven members of the Durban Society accompanied the pastor and helped to strengthen the Now Church sphere at the wedding ceremony.
     Barry, younger brother of the bridegroom, acted as best man; and an old school-friend of the bride traveled all the way from Cape Town (approximately 1000 miles) to be the matron of honor.
     After the church service a reception was held on the lawn outside the farm homestead at "Alvalin"-an ideal setting for such an occasion and so charming a bride. The dogs and cats were all dressed up for the festivities with big colored bows, and even the horse, which was ridden by the bridegroom's youngest brother, had a large white bow on his tail.
     Clive was born at "Alpha," at one time headquarters of the South African Mission, and spent his childhood there. He and Minty will continue to farm at Greytown, and this will add another young couple to our list of isolated Now Church friends.
     VIDA ELPHICK.

     FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

     It has been a long time since we have talked with our many friends through the medium of the LIFE; so a resume of our activities during recent months seems in order.

     A Visitor.-Early this spring we were favored with a welcome surprise visit from a member of the Pittsburgh Society. While at the wash machine, and submerged in soapsuds to the elbow, a knock was sounded at the door. Fearing the advent of another salesman, we timidly ventured forth to discourage him, but a perfect stranger greeted us cordially by name. Seeing the twinkle in his eye, we invited him in, and found ourselves being introduced to Percy Brown!
     The telephone brought one and all of our Circle to a festive board, and an impromptu luncheon was held along with Old Home Week; and one and all got caught up on all the news from kith and kin. It is really delightful when old friends drop in like that, and we urge all of you, if you are ever near our Fair City, to drop in and see us.

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     We have also welcomed back to our midst Miss Shirley Norris, who is again staying with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. George Fuller. It is good to have a representative of the teen-age element with us to liven things up, as in our small group we are either very young or . . . "older."

     Recorder.-I dare say the greatest and most welcome new member ever to join us is our Pentron Recorder. How we enjoy it! Our regular Sunday service has been enriched by the voices of the various ministers, and we have used all kinds of the tapes, both complete services and those with Lessons and Sermons only. We also run the Children's Services along with the adult service, and in this way give them a part of the feeling of really being in church.
     We have gone through several series of the Doctrinal Classes, and we all particularly enjoyed Bishop Pendleton's series,-Marriage, The Home and The Church.
     There are not words enough to tell how much a machine like this can mean to a small group of people away from a church center, where any form of worship or class is strictly of a lay variety. Many, many thanks to the Recording Committee for making all this possible!

     On the 19th of June we all congregated at the Cyrus E. Doering home for a group supper and our last class of the season. Cy charcoal broiled eleven steaks, and we greatly enjoyed them. Toasts were honored, and after our dinner we heard Bishop de Charms give his last class in the series on Human Uses in Both Worlds.

     Pastoral Visit.-In July we had an unexpected visit from the Rev. Harold Cranch, who had gone to Kansas City to officiate at a wedding, and came down here for the week end. We had a class on Correspondences, wherein it was pointed out that it is easy for all of us, with a little effort, to get more out of our daily reading of the Word, if we keep in mind that what we read pertains to all of us as individuals, and that if we read with an open heart and mind, the true spiritual meaning of what we read will reach us.
     Our Sunday service was held at the George Fuller home. Mr. Cranch talked to the children on the Twenty-third Psalm, telling them beautifully what it meant in terms of the shepherd taking care of his flock, and then in terms of the Lord's taking care of us. The children were unusually attentive during this talk.
     We then had the adult service, and the Holy Supper was administered In the evening we all got together for a group supper at the Doering home, and afterwards had another class, the subject being the Rev. K. R. Alden's paper on why he believes in the Writings of Swedenborg. It is our understanding that we shall have Mr. Alden with us for the first time when he comes this way in September. We are looking forward to this, and we were assured by Mr. Cranch that Mr. Alden will bring his fiddle with him!
     In September we shall also welcome Dr. and Mrs. Charles E. Doering, for an extended visit, and we hope their stay here will he a most happy one. We feel that Dr. Doering's ministerial presence will be of much benefit to all of us, as often at our classes things come up for discussion that we find it hard to cope with, and it will be good to have a member of the clergy here to take us over some of the humps.
     RAYE POLLOCK.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Eastertide is a long time ago, but that is where these notes should commence. The season began on the preceding Wednesday, when Mr. Acton showed colored slides of some of the good Easter paintings, in place of giving a doctrinal class, thus bringing forward his our minds the significance of the events we were about to commemorate.

461



     On Palm Sunday the children brought their floral offerings to the Lord in worship, they themselves looking even more winsome than the flowers. That this is always a lovely service was evidenced by a record attendance of 140 persons. The only time more have congregated in our church has been at an Assembly when 150 included many visitors.
     On Good Friday evening a serene service was held during which, in five lessons, our pastor read the full story from the Word, interspersed with suitable congregational music. At this service and on Easter Sunday the chancel looked particularly lovely with graceful white flowers and candles. The Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered on Sunday morning.
     A week later the Rev. Norman H. Reuter and his wife, Beth, were welcome visitors in Toronto, and at the service on April 16th Mr. Reuter preached an outstanding sermon on "The Post-Resurrection Appearances of the Lord." At a meeting in the evening he gave a most interesting address in which he compared Modern Psychology with that of the New Church. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Zorn entertained Mr. and Mrs. Reuter, at the same time opening their house to several different groups of friends during the visit.

     The Ladies' Circle held a painless money extraction night serving a remarkably delicious and satisfying buffet supper which was followed by a television program, without television. This variety program was an all-star performance and proved to be an hilarious success.
     The Spring Dance on May 5th was a very gay affair, the motif being Spring Flowers. The "Ice Breaker" of the evening was an exchange of pansies as penalties for using the words Yes or No, the winners being Mrs. A. Wynne Acton and Mr. Thomas Bradfield. Dancing, to an orchestral accompaniment, was interspersed with games and contests, for which Phillis Izzard, David Starkey, and Doris Hamm received floral prizes. A different supper routine was provided in the form of hot waffles and coffee. Mr and Mrs. O. A Carter, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Orr, Mr. and Mrs. Charles White, and Miss Korene Schnarr constituted an excellent committee for the event.
     The Forward-Sons' Ladies Night is always a notable function. The gentlemen prepare the meal, and the ladies find it particularly delectable especially when the tables are banked with beautiful flowers and, all is grace and charm. An interesting series of speeches, both profound and humorous, occurred at the banquet table and later, when the tables were cleared away without the aid of the ladies, a variety program was given which brought forth peals of laughter

     The Day School Closing this year took place on June 10th, somewhat sooner than usual because of the General Assembly. It commenced with a service in the church. Later, in the assembly hall the children gave recitations and sang songs, and then followed a most fascinating Play entitled "Tom Tit Tot," which proved to be an all-star performance by the school children. Gifts were presented by the pupils to the Principal, the Teacher, and to the assistant teachers, and a gift to the School was given on behalf of Theta Alpha. An excellent exhibition of the school work was on display throughout the evening.

     Perhaps we can group the various organizations' activities; ladies first course. For their final meeting, the Ladies' Circle invited all the ladies and girls to a delightful supper party, for which the assembly hall was prettily decorated, the guests being seated a many small tables. A beautiful wedding gift for Miss Kathleen Bainbridge was on display prior to its being presented to her on the occasion of her marriage to Mr. Gordon Anderson. Miss Sylvia Parker was given a token of appreciation of her work in setting the supper tables each week. Finally, there burst upon Miss Bunny Raymond a veritable thunder shower lovely and useful gifts with which she and Pete Bevan would be setting up housekeeping.

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     The new officers elected by the Ladies Circle for the coming year are: Norma Bond, Secretary Clara Swalm, Treasurer. The President and Vice-President remain in office for another year.
     The Theta Alpha Chapter held its final meeting in the charming new home of Jean Bradfield, in Scarboro. The elections put the following officers on the Executive: President, Ruby Zorn; Vice-President, Gladys Starkey; Secretary, Penny-Ann Orr; Treasurer, Helen Longstaff.
     The Forward Sons elected officers for the ensuing year as follows: President, Orville Carter; Vice-President, Charles White: Treasurer, Keith Frazee; Secretary, Ivan Scott; and two members without port folio, Thomas and Robert Scott.
     The Senior Young People's Class wound up its season with a progressive supper party, which commenced at the home of Bunny Raymond, from whence they traveled to Marian Swalm's home, to journey on to Ivan Scott's house, and finally to the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Acton, replete physically and mentally happy.

     There have been a number of Weddings. Mr. Harry Coy and Miss. Ethne Ridgway were married in Bryn Athyn on April 22nd, but are now making their home in Toronto. Miss Stella Campbell was married to Mr. William Chrisholm on May 6th in a private ceremony at the Olivet Church. Mr. Gordon Anderson and Miss. Kathleen Bainbridge were married in Kathleen's church on June 9th. Miss Bunny Raymond became the bride of Mr. Pete Bevan in the Olivet Church on June 24th, where we all joined in a very happy evening, a dance following the reception. It was particularly lovely all white arrangement, and the bride was fairylike with her luxuriant red hair glowing above a gossamer gown. We mention this because, by a freak accident to the write-up in our local paper, the bride was omitted!
     There has been an epidemic of house-buying in our Society, and we shall endeavor to enumerate them chronologically: James and Vera Bond, Keith and Joyce Frazee, Thomas and Norma Bond, Robert and Gladys Scott, John and Lois Parker, and Joseph and Edith Knight. Two house warmings have been most successful events, and more may be expected.
     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom paid a brief visit to Toronto on his way to the General Assembly, and gave us a clear and interesting picture of conditions in Sweden at present and their dreams for the future.

     New Church Day.-The children celebrated June 19th by having a picture in the grounds surrounding the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Brown, and it provided a happy time for them. Mr. Acton gave them a talk on the event which occurred in the spiritual world on that date.
     It was on June 11th that the Olivet Society had its celebration by holding a special Sunday morning service at which the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered.

     We have given a much abridged resume of our activities in the past three months, for we have had a busy time. Friends have come and gone, and our own folk have journeyed forth and returned. We regret losing from our Society Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pritchett, Lady Daniel, and Haydn John, but they will be company in Vancouver for the Craigie family. We have pleasure in anticipating the return of the Sydney Parker family, for which event we shall hang out flags. Appreciation must be expressed to Miss Korene Schnarr, who has very kindly and expertly relieved Mrs. Clara Sargeant at the organ for several weeks.
     VERA CRAIGIE.

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     CHARTER DAY.

     All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church, and their wives or husbands, are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day Exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, October 13 and 14, 1950. The Program:

Friday, 11 a.m.-Cathedral Service, with an Address by the Rev. Harold Cranch.
Friday Afternoon.-Football Game.
Friday Evening.-Dance.
Saturday, 7 p.m.-A Banquet in the Assembly Hall. Toastmaster, Mr. E. Bruce Glenn.

     Arrangements will be made for the entertainment of guests, if they will write to Mrs. V. W. Rennels, Bryn Athyn, Pa.


     EPISCOPAL ADDRESS.

     The undersigned has arranged for a few reprints of the Address by Bishop George de Charms to the Nineteenth General Assembly as published in the July issue. While the supply last, copies are available to those who apply to
     ROBERT E. SYNNESTVEDT,
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.


     BOOK WANTED.

     The undersigned wishes to purchase one or more copies of the work entitled, The Testimony of the Writings Concerning Themselves by the Rev. C. Th. Odhner. Those having one or more copies for sale are requested to communicate with MR. HYLAND JOHNS, 164-05 35th Avenue Flushing, N. Y.



     OVERSEAS JOURNEY CANCELLED.

     An indefinite postponement of the Episcopal Visit to South Africa became necessary when Bishop de Charms suffered a heart attack (coronary thrombosis) as he was preparing to leave Bryn Athyn for New York, where he was to depart by air for South Africa on July 17th. As announced in the August issue, this Episcopal Visit was to be undertaken for the purpose of reorganizing our South African Mission, in view of the recent death of the Superintendent, the Rev. F. W. Elphick.
     As we go to press on August 15th, we are glad to report that the Bishop is making satisfactory progress toward recovery.

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OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE FUTURE 1950

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE FUTURE       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1950




     Announcements






NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
OCTOBER, 1950
No. 10
     The Challenge of New Church Education.

     AN ADDRESS

     (At the Fifth Session, June 17, 1950.)

     The child's world is a small world; for we enter into life by stages. As babes, our eyes sparkled at a mere splash of color, and our souls read into it strange meanings now beyond recall. But soon our surroundings stood out with greater objective distinctness, and our yearnings became articulate. With the years our horizons widened, and we thrilled to new heights and depths. The boundaries of our familiar world merged into fairylands which later congealed into material realities. Each year became an adventure, with discoveries about heaven and earth and about man himself. Presently we found ourselves pondering the reasons why, the purpose and aim of this world into which we were placed without being consulted,-the vaster world of human society, with its stringent rules and awesome necessities. We found that it had been here an incredibly long time, that its laws were well established and brooked no defiance, though generations came and passed away in endless succession. The spiritual elements of life came into sharper focus-as imponderables without which material things became deprived of value.
     The rosy hues of childhood were sometimes blotted out by the somber shadows of evil and distress: evil in our own hearts as well as around us; distress that was often invited by selfish passion, but also by ignorance and overpowering circumstances in which we played no role. The frightening spectre of Responsibility for ourselves and for others became a frequent guest at our feast.

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     The sense of Responsibility and Obligation is the herald of adult age-and also, for the adult, the source of every genuine delight. Yet it does not compel. It leaves our hearts free to follow or not, and to select our tasks and uses from a variety of opportunities. He can never do all that he sees useful, so he must choose his purpose and direction, according to the wisdom given him and the talents which he has and the indications of Divine Providence.
     For the New Churchman, the voice of Responsibility makes one with the conscience that he forms from the Heavenly Doctrine. Most any man can, by dint of persistent labor and prudence (or, failing these, by cunning and deceit), procure a measure of worldly comfort. By hardening his heart to charity and truth, he can persuade himself that he needs nothing more in life than a modicum of wealth and honor, and thus become dulled to the unsatisfied hungers of his soul. He can thus, if he will, cover over the bitter emptiness that comes from duty not done. He banishes any reflection on the futility of his life by evading the simple truths that the peace of the eternal soul can abide only where self is forgotten as an end in itself, that happiness comes only as an unsolicited gift, and that life is hallowed only by feeling the joy of others as joy in one's self. (D. L. W. 47.)
     Doctrine teaches that man is not born for the sake of himself, but for the sake of the uses he may come to perform for his fellow men. The New Churchman, in the necessity to earn his daily bread, usually becomes a cog in the intricate machinery of society, which is concerned with the transient uses that lighten the load of earthly life. We may not disparage these uses, for they all regard the common good and indirectly look to the protection of man's spirit. It is indeed by looking to the Lord, shunning evils as sins, and doing his work sincerely, justly, and faithfully, that he is fitted for a place in the kingdom of the Lord.
     Yet the man of the church cannot avoid a sense of frustration. His influence in the world is so slight, his sphere so limited. He can, by his professed principles and example, cooperate with honest men wherever found, and thus labor to hold back the tides of evil-of fraud and lewdness and blasphemy-such as infest the fibre of society. But he cannot divert the course of the decadent world which is hurtling blindly towards destruction, restrained only by the grace of God.

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He feels like a humble seaman who tends his part of the machinery of the marvelous ship of Civilization, while yet be happens to know that the maps are in error, the captain asleep at the helm, a storm nearing, and shipwreck certain unless a new course is laid.
     Through no merit of his own, the New Churchman possesses the celestial arcana now disclosed by the Lord, the charts by which the spiritual course of mankind can be mapped out! And hardly anyone will listen to his words or heed the message of the Heavenly Doctrine! He knows from the Writings the sobering fact that the former Christian Church is spiritually consummated, and that the New Church will for an indefinite age remain among a few while preparation is made for its reception with many, `until it increases to its appointed state." (A. R. 547; A. E. 732.) It will not be established as a mass movement, by an appeal to popular emotion or self-interest or flattery or persuasive miracles. It can be interiorly received only among those who have not already destroyed their intellectual faculty by the loves of self and of the world, and who are not bound to the falsities of the former church.
     This is not taught to discourage New Churchmen, each within his sphere, from becoming bold heralds of the Lord's Second Advent. We or our ancestors all came into our precious heritage through someone's missionary zeal. But it explains why the making of a New Churchman is a slow process. For the old falsities must he removed before truths can come into light. The new wine cannot be put into outworn winesacks. (T. C. R. 784.)
     Every man born can he saved, if he but live morally from his religion. And none is blamed for evils which he did not purpose. Yet, while ignorance excuses, it does not take away the evil. The simple good in the world cannot stem the gathering weight of unrecognized hereditary evils in the race; nor can they become instruments whereby the channels of judgment are kept open in the world of spirits: neither can they serve the heavens for a plane through which the angels can see increasing vistas of Divine Truth in the Word of Scripture and Doctrine. These functions the Lord can carry out only through "the church in special," the church which is in faith and life from the Word.

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Therefore the doctrine states that "without a church somewhere on earth, no communication of heaven with man is possible." (A. C. 4423, 2853.)
     We cannot minimize the spiritual responsibility which this doctrine lays upon every member of the New Church. Besides being a partaker in the world's uses, he is a citizen of a spiritual country, a steward (however unworthy) of the Lord's new revelation, which the world ignores although it offers the only real remedy for its deadly ills. In rejecting the old dogma of "faith alone" can we do less than hand on the precious truths of the Writings to our children? Can there be any more obvious duty than to watch that these tender minds-virgin soil for the seed of heaven-shall not be infested by the falsities that have perverted the former church? Can we, as parents, give them stones when they ask for bread? or when they ask for an egg, can we give them a scorpion?
     All uses have an increased value so far as they look to the future, so far as they preserve for coming generations the best and noblest of the past and the present. The love of the neighbor finds its incentive in a progress in knowledge and understanding and mutual love. That love is directed not merely to persons, but is a love of the good itself and the truth itself. This is its essence: that what we feel as good and what we have found to be true must be preserved and communicated to others and be perpetuated for the good of all mankind. And our own salvation is only a secondary and incidental end.
     Sometimes I have wondered how the early Christians might have felt about their uses, believing that the world would probably come to an end before they died. Their only task was to see to their own salvation, and to convert as many Jews and pagans as possible to share in the limited kingdom of Christ. Paul advocated celibacy; for would not the end come before the next generation could grow up?
     The New Church, on the other hand, is to entire to eternity. In all its uses it builds for ages to come, for generations yet unborn. There is not, with us, such a desperate urgency, but our concern is lest our truth be perverted or our sanctities somehow violated. We must hand on the doctrine pure and sound. Our uses must be based on rational grounds, on a realistic view of the state of the world and the constitution of the human mind. The foundations of the New Church must be laid strong and deep.

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     It was the teachings of the Writings about the state of the consummated Christian Church and the corruption of our racial heredity that led the earliest New Churchmen to see the necessity of instructing our children in the Heavenly Doctrine. This was done, by precept and example, mostly in the homes. Later, in England. Sunday Schools were started, and even Free Day Schools, mostly for the poor. During the 19th century, repeated attempts were made, both here and in England, to conduct day schools for children of New Church parents. Some of these schools grew and prospered for a time. But in England they were gradually secularized, and taken over by the government. The only remaining New Church schools connected with the General Convention in this country have lost their distinctiveness.
     About a hundred years ago, Dr. Horace Mann, in his labors on behalf of the public school system in the United States, pleaded that public education should be animated by moral doctrines based on reason rather than on "revealed religion." He desired to eliminate Christian orthodoxy from the public schools, stressing that "every human being should determine his religious belief for himself." The influence of Dr. Mann on the Rev. Thomas Worcester, then president of the General Convention, is apparent. For in 1854 Mr. Worcester recommended that the Committee on New Church Education be "abolished," claiming that education was mainly a civil, not an ecclesiastical, affair and "should not be performed by the church." (NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE, August, 1855, pp. 65, 67.) It was even argued that to inculcate our doctrines into the minds of our children was to take away their freedom.
     No weight was given to the fact that any education whatsoever leaves a deep impress, and that secular education creates a bias towards religious indifference and unbelief. Freedom is not obtained by ignorance nor by falsity, nor by a substitution of ethics for religion. There is only one way to freedom: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

     *     *     *     *     *

     The savage in the jungle is not free, but is bound by superstitious terrors. The child is not free, though ignorance at times may appear as bliss. And of all the bonds that hold man a prisoner, none is worse than the hereditary will into which man is born.

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Its hidden lusts can lead his imagination into captivity, and defraud him of his human heritage.
     The human commences in the rational. Rational freedom is gained only by an elevation of the understanding above and apart from the old sensual will. And in rational freedom, found by self-compulsion, the Lord can create a spiritual freedom with its delights of charity and use-a new will, built up through affections of spiritual truth-truth which comes only from the Word, by Divine revelation.
     It is the formation of this new will that is the objective in that humanizing process which we call Education. "Every man rightly educated," the revealed doctrine asserts, "is rational and moral." "But," it is added, "there are two ways to rationality." (T. C. R. 564; cf. D. P. 317. A. R. 161e.)
     The power of the educative process is shown in the Writings. Heredity may be modified and counteracted by education, so that the "animus," or the external affections and inclinations, are chiefly the results of "education, companionships, and imbibed persuasions." (C. L. 246, 227.) "Man is born natural, but is educated so as to become civil and moral, and afterwards spiritual." (A. R. 161e.) All infants who die as such are educated in heaven and become angels, despite their hereditary evils. And in like manner could a man who is brought up and instructed in the world, if only he was willing to withdraw his love from sensual things; yet on earth he can confirm evils in his understanding and life, and thus reject the way of salvation. (D. P. 324:9.)
     The purpose of education is the same in both worlds-the opening of the mind to the influx of spiritual truth. In technical training or in secular affairs one learns to recognize what is right or useful only after exhaustive study of the sciences, or of laws and rules and ordinances. "But in things purely rational, moral, and spiritual," we read, "truths are seen from the light of truth itself, provided man has from a right education become to some extent rational, moral, and spiritual." Just as each animal has an instinct for recognizing his own food and necessities, so man, from an influx of spiritual light, can see what is honorable in moral life and good in spiritual life, and can think analytically and draw conclusions.

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He loses this faculty only when these self-evidencing truths are immersed in darkness by confirmed falsities. (D. P. 317.)
     But the Scribe of the Second Advent notes that men are not only born defiled, but "are educated in the love of self and the love of the world." (S. D. 3438.) Such education leads to the confirmation of falsities that disguise and rationalize man's evils, flatter his vanity, or keep him a vacillating prey or an abject worshipper of the Prince of this World.
     "There are two roads to rationality, one from the world and the other from heaven." (T. C. R. 564.) He who is made rational and moral only from the world covers up his lusts and selfish ambitions beneath a veneer of civilized prudence and humanitarianism, while in the depths of his mind (which he refrains from analyzing) there lodge the real mainsprings for his actions and for his pride in appearing rational and virtuous and broadminded. He is educated in the sophistry that can pose as culture and learning, even as it pleasantly defends the most monstrous falsities.
     The learned and polite world is therefore permeated with false philosophies which are often frank to claim that man is but an animal possessing the power to rationalize and sublimate its cruder passions and symbolize them as ideas, arts, and artifice, and even as religion. Yet those "educated in the loves of self and the world" are not altogether godless. They often belong to a spreading popular cult. They stand with open mouths awaiting new miracles or new pronouncements from the golden calf of modern times,-Science, from which all the blessings of mundane existence are henceforth to flow. And this idolatry persists even though self-respecting scientists are the first to disavow omniscience.
     The common perception which can recognize rational, moral, and spiritual truths, survives with all who have the saving grace of humility. It is not confined to New Churchmen. Many modern thinkers are quite outspoken about the decadence of the modern world. Yet it is easier to see what is lacking than to supply the remedy. From time to time we find some radical opponent of religion returning to the fold. Such a man is Dr. Joad, who in a recent book confesses that "unless we admit a purpose in things, a moral law outside ourselves, and values which are independent of our apprehension of them," we would have nothing to work for.

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His fear now is that human society is becoming so specialized for the sake of efficiency alone that it is approaching the pointless existence of a highly centralized colony of termites, in which the individual is condemned to perform endlessly monotonous efficiency operations purely for the sake of its own biological perpetuation. (Decadence, A Philosophical Inquiry, pp. 370, 389.)
     Fortunately, Providence has other designs with the human race. The Lord has revealed these designs in the Scriptures, and now again in the Heavenly Doctrine. But to accomplish them the whole of man's thinking must first of all be changed, and this can begin only with the education of the individual. The objective in such education is not to adjust the individual to society as it is, or even to adjust the environment to the individual, but rather to direct one's uses to accord with the Divine end and the Divine order.
     But who are we, that we should conceive it as our responsibility to set the world aright? For we know from doctrine, and perceive from experience, that there is nothing whole or genuine in us except what is attributable directly to the teachings in mercy given us.

     *     *     *     *     *

     It is worthy of note that the cause of New Church Education gained no headway until the precursors and founders of the Academy movement made it clear that the state of the world was such that we could expect no reform from within the Christian Church. This involved a new and more discriminating concept of charity. So long as it was thought to be a part of charity to suppose that the old churches could be reformed by a secret influx from the new heaven, or by an unconscious permeation of New Church truths, or by an evolution apart from the Writings, so long there was no strong incentive for attempting to establish a distinctive New Church intensively consecrated to the development of its own religious perceptions, its own institutions, its Own philosophy, and its own mode of life.
     Admittedly, the Christian world today is in many aspects different from that of Swedenborg's day. Many of these changes are natural consequences of the Last Judgment of 1757, which freed the paths of communication in the world of spirits, and thus increased natural enlightenment on earth. But in spiritual things Christendom is still a Babel-a confusion of tongues.

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Many churches have liberalized the interpretation of their creeds. But they have at the same time quietly renounced the Deity of the Lord and the inspiration of the Word and belief in heaven and hell. Many million others are still zealously defending the old dogmas of Faith Alone, Predestination, a bodily resurrection and baptismal salvation, or are clinging to the efficacy of priestly indulgences and saintly relics.
     Among all religions, of course, there are the simple and sincere, in whose spirit the falsities of their churches find no vicious echo. Their power is great in moderating falsities, preventing flagrant disorders, and thus postponing any sudden judgments. But they can initiate no true reform, because they are spiritually inarticulate; the truths they perceive are few and scattered and not the same for all, and thus can form no doctrine of genuine truth.
     Natural sentiment is often averse to accepting the hard sayings in which Divine verdicts are sometimes couched. We shudder at calling a nation "a generation of vipers," or at characterizing a church as "consummated" and "left by the Lord." Yet these are not judgments on men, but on situations brought about by men. They are equally judgments on us, so far as we identify ourselves with the states and principles, the beliefs and methods, that are condemned.
     Let us well ponder a statement in the Invitation to the New Church, which Swedenborg wrote shortly before his final illness: "Unless this little work be added, . . . the church cannot be healed." He explains that the doctrine of the New Church can only bring a palliative cure as long as the old "orthodoxy" remains within as the pus within a sore. "At this day," he shows in that little treatise, "there are none other than false churches." For them "it is impossible to see a single genuine truth from the Word that is not encompassed and defiled with falsities and cleaving to falsities." (Inv. 25, 38.)
     This was the reason why the destiny of the world could be changed only through a new Divine revelation granted "for the sake of the New Church which is the crown of all the churches, and which will endure forever." (Inv. 39.) This is the charter of New Church distinctiveness and the charter for New Church Education! It is not enough to print the Writings and expect a partial acceptance of this doctrine or that to cure the deep-seated ills of the world.

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     Certainly it is not for our intellectual delectation, or even merely for our own salvation, that the Writings are given, but for all ages to come. Our clear and unmistakable responsibility to the unborn of every kindred and tongue is to hand on the torch of spiritual truth to our own children, if we have any, but at any rate to the next generation. If we can do more than this, well and good; if we can find new hearts to be touched by the truth,-hearts not poisoned by the "old orthodoxy"-this too should be our joy. But our nearest duty and greatest use lies in protecting the developing minds of the children of the church from those insidious falsities which confirm the evils which they have inherited from us, or along with us, from generations past.
     It is a phantasy not to be entertained that there can be any protection from falsities unless we have truths to take their place. The mind of the child is averse to a vacuum. It continues to grow whether we supply the right food and exercise or not. It will absorb the dregs of popular journalism and the most vicious of social attitudes. The child's mind is hungry for experience; yet it is willing to be guided.

     *     *     *     *     *

     Distinctive New Church education begins with the babe in the cradle. Its first commencement is symbolized in the sacrament of Baptism, when the sponsors promise to instruct and guide the child towards the upbuilding of a conscience formed from the truths of the Word and the doctrine. The second hazard is bridged by establishing habits of home worship, and by that daily contact with the child's mind which helps him to digest his experience with a confidence in his parents' love and understanding.
     Throughout, New Church parents must battle, not only against open evils and obvious falsities, but also against the "natural good" that seeks to hold us back from spiritual progress-even as Laban sought to induce Jacob to accept servitude in Haran, cleverly appealing to kinship of blood and to social ties and obligations. Natural good-fostering false pity, nourishing emotional fears, being unwilling to sacrifice comfort or social advantages-continually gets our vision out of focus so as to blind us to essentials-blind us to the fact that natural delights are meant to serve and assist the developing mind, not to enslave it.

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     The enticing voice of the world at this day reaches even into the home, rivaling parental instruction. We cannot close our children's ears and eyes, but we can open their minds to recognize the subtle fallacies within worldly attitudes and appeals, and to fasten their eyes on the ideals of a New Church life with definite goals and distinctive morals. In these efforts, the parents are sustained only by `prayer and fasting," by the knowledge that whatever they impress on plastic human minds has eternal consequences, and by themselves seeking wisdom from the fount of revelation. The literature and ministrations of the church which reach even the isolated here become of utmost importance.
     But the time comes when, as parents, we are relieved that there are New Church schools to share the responsibility of instruction and training. Yet the home cannot use the school to evade its own responsibilities! Nor are our higher schools intended as "finishing schools" to make up for the mistakes and neglects of New Church parents. Where love and filial respect have not laid an affirmative basis in a youth, it is a good deal to ask a school to revamp his attitude.
     Nor can we expect our schools unfailingly to turn out complete (and presumably regenerate) New Churchmen as a machine may turn out buttons! If this were the aim, it might indeed be charged that New Church education took away spiritual freedom instead of leading into the light of truth which shall make men free!
     On the other hand, without a background of a New Church education and the perspective of our philosophy, a youth who is immersed into the atmosphere of a modern university is apt to become a prey to infestations which jeopardize his freedom of faith. Spiritual freedom cannot be taken away from any man, but mental freedom can and with it the exercise of spiritual freedom is indefinitely postponed, so that his spiritual uses in this life suffer.

     *     *     *     *     *

     The modern university is usually pragmatic in concept it prepares students for various careers. It does not present any satisfying perspective on life, or any unified world-view; it is not inspired by any vision of a final purpose in creation. It is cut up into many schools and departments, often actuated by conflicting philosophies.

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Yet it has certain unformulated premises-those of a refined paganism, respectful to anything advanced as research or science. It is patronizingly neutral towards religion, skeptical of any absolute truth, any revealed doctrine, or any metaphysical speculation which seeks to define ultimate realities, but is liberal towards most forms of intellectual revolt.
     Not that the universities are mere arenas of intellectual snobbery. Increasingly we depend for our lives and safety upon the technical skills which are there fostered. By an amazing industry and patience the erudite are amassing, checking, and classifying the data of human knowledge, producing a literature as vast as Sahara and (to most of us) as dry, as pathless and as bewildering And in this literature, which no one can command as a whole, every aspect of experience and all human ideas seem to be discussed and dissected-until nothing real remains as certain, and the concept of the whole is lost.
     But it is this Concept of the Whole which must give truth-value to all the particulars. Without the centralizing concept of the Divine Human, no truth is true in any field of use or learning. Without it there can be no common orientation such as is implied in the saying, "Behold, I make all things new!" Without it, men cannot work together for any spiritual ends. At this day, that unifying principle can be supplied only from the Writings-and supplied by a Divine authority!
     This is the final reason why the New Church has a definite responsibility for the future. In a book called The Crisis in the University, Sir Walter Moberly writes that "the present residual Christianity will die out, so far as the public scene is concerned, unless it undergoes a revivification." He cites the despairing remarks of T. S. Eliot, "The choice before us is between the formation of a new Christian culture and the acceptance of a pagan one." (Op. cit., p. 139.)
     But Sir Walter has no "new Christian culture" to offer-only a renewal of Christian endeavors that have failed in the past. And if the New Church is to develop into a culture by which the Christian religion may "again draw breath through heaven from the Lord," there must be more than a pious use of the Writings for our own salvation, more than a zealous missionary propaganda.

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Beyond this, there must be formed a New Church philosophy that stems from the acknowledgment of the Divine Man whose image pervades creation as an inner conatus, and who was revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ in His own Divine form.
     This new philosophy is urgently needed to reinterpret the breadth and depth of human knowledge, to make it serve the ends of wisdom instead of leading to learned folly and illusion; to serve mankind instead of causing its destruction. Such a philosophy cannot be formulated in a moment, although its central principles are already revealed in the Writings, and a field of illustrative material lies before us in Swedenborg's own preparatory works. It needs the earnest study of many scholarly minds through generations-minds educated in the Church, whose sight of purely rational, moral, and spiritual truths has not been lost in the darkness of confirmed falsities.
     Without New Church institutions inspired to this end, the New Church would lack a safe foundation. History makes clear that the accessions we make from the old churches will be only a temporary gain, unless we equip our youth with sufficient knowledge to face the world undaunted, without being overpowered by weight of numbers, or misled by the glamor of reputation and the self-claimed authority of specialized knowledge.
     Nearly one hundred years ago, the Rev. William Henry Benade laid the cornerstone of a modest schoolhouse which symbolized the first continuous effort to promote New Church education. Prophetically he saw in the future many like buildings to come, and amidst them a "Great House" of science and knowledge with students of all ages, with a true learning which should replenish and complete the work of the lesser houses of instruction, from which it would in turn receive recruits. (BULLETIN OF THE SONS OF THE ACADEMY, 1916, p. 55.)
     Strangely enough, Swedenborg, in one of his letters, expressed the hope that, as the New Heaven increased, the New Church would find its champions in the universities of Christendom, not among the old clergy who were indoctrinated in "faith alone." (Docu. 234, II.) He may have been referring to centers of learning in the spiritual world. But even on earth his hopes were partially confirmed during the next generation in Sweden. Yet the movement miscarried because of a failure to recognize the distinctive mission of the New Church.

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Only a university consecrated to the service of the Lord in His Second Advent is capable of "preparing new ministers," new teachers and leaders in the thought and uses of the New Church.
     This has been the faith of the General Church of the New Jerusalem in choosing New Church Education as its distinctive work of charity,-the task in which we can best discharge our responsibility to the future and to the world.
     Such education is not a mere professional undertaking. It is the work, not only of parents and teachers, but also of all the adults of our Church in their support of its uses, and in their contact with children and the young. It means a deeper reliance on the Lord's ever-present love. It demands that our own education as adults become progressive, and that the love of offspring be cherished among us, with its protection of innocence and its trust in Divine Providence. It reaches into our social life and our recreations, gives quality and new meaning to our worldly uses, and determines our morality and decorum. It must become our hope and our happiness-our exceeding great reward.
     And where this sustaining spirit breathes throughout the Church, the Lord will supply the external provisions for the work, even beyond immediate needs. This work is blest by the Lord when it is housed in a cabin as when it is carried out in a great institution. To begin it, we need not wait for perfect tools or perfect talent. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice; and all these things shall be added unto you."

     Discussion of Dr. Odhner's Address.

     Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs was moved by the speaker's presentation of the responsibility which our Church has towards the Academy. While he had found Dr. Odhner's happy choice of phrases somewhat distracting, the address had put into words much that we could all do something about. Ever since the graduation exercises, each meeting had increased his feeling of gratitude for the priesthood of our Church. We come into intimate contact with them as men, and often call them by their first names. Yet the Assemblies bring out the stature of our priests. He considered each paper as a masterpiece of study and presentation of doctrine. The valedictories at Commencement had notably expressed a gratitude to the Lord as well as to the teachers, and he felt it appropriate to voice that gratitude for the priests whom the Lord had chosen.

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It would he pitiful if we in any way discouraged them in their work, through which we may hope that the Church will he built up on earth.
     Rev. David R. Simons-addressing also the unseen and unheard audience which sound-recording assured-thanked the speaker for a clear answer to the questions: What is the power of New Church education? Why should we make sacrifices to send our children to New Church schools? The power is the power of the Word itself, which alone can open the human mind to make it grow. This involves an ideal which seems difficult to attain, but New Church education aims to organize all teaching material and pedagogy from the Writings, so as to let the power of the Word operate in our instruction. For everything that is in order is open to the Lord, and has heaven and its delights within it.
     In a sense, New Church education is an experimenting with a new set of laws. Even, as in modern research, ages were needed to find and apply new physical laws, so we also have to learn by experience and by mistakes; and it will be generations before we can attain to a perfected system. But in the meantime the need for a distinctive education is forced upon us by the hereditary evils which we have transmitted; we must make up for this fact by putting our children in a favorable environment. Even if our heredity were to some extent ameliorated by regeneration, as is said of those who are born from a conjugial marriage-in that the sons would then have a love of wisdom and the daughters a love of what wisdom teaches-such heredity must be supplemented and brought out by a true education. And so far as we subordinate our own prejudices to the laws of spiritual growth, we cannot fail to have results.
     Miss Margaret Wilde expressed her sense of privilege in taking a small part in New Church education. She regarded each pupil as an incipient angel (with accent on the 'incipient'). She stressed the difference between the male mind and the female mind; and-using the "scientific method"-illustrated it by citing two classroom experiences: concerning boys who sought to put the teacher a nerves to a test of strength by producing a life-like mechanical spider, and girls who sought their diversionary ends by the more graceful stratagem of turning the class into a birthday party! There is a great deal that is unconscious in our classroom, and this is not always confined to the pupils. But these two instances show up the material with which we are dealing in education. In an age when science-delving into the interiors of nature, but utterly divorced from revelation-dehumanizes all aspects of human life, and treats the mind either as a merely statistical entity or as an ego with tremendous sentimentalities, it is only in the New Church that we can find an education that regards it as a Divinely appointed organism. It is the greatest joy in the teacher's work to see how the children constantly confirm what the Writings say about the human mind.
     Mr. Harold Klein took the opportunity to express some thoughts which had crystallized in his mind. Referring back to some statements in the address, he reiterated that happiness lies in the application of truth to life.

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His religion and recipe for happiness could be described in four words, "Always do your best." But there are also other words: the rich man who would not "sell all that he had" went away unhappy, while the repentant thief on the cross was promised paradise.
     In each commandment was hidden a celestial principle. But it is brought out by cultivation, by our own effort to do. Shunning evils is the beginning of spiritual life; but only when we also do good has regeneration commenced. The first commandment, in its internal sense, implies our being in freedom to worship God. The second implies that we must be unafraid in telling the truth, for thus we would avoid the danger of hypocrisy; whereas profanity was the badge of cowardice. To remember the Sabbath is to be happy, even as the Lord who asked us to share in His joy. To honor parents most effectively, one must become a parent, and undertake responsibility. In regard to the fifth commandment, Lincoln once said that every man who wants to make the most of himself can have no time for hatred or resentment. The commandment against adultery means that we must be spiritually and morally clean. The precept against theft implies that we should share all we have with others. Not to lie means also the art of telling the truth so simply and directly that it is impossible to raise misunderstandings. Finally, covetousness is shunned when we learn to create happiness for others-as in the fields of art and literature or music and other uses, where there is ample opportunity to create happiness for oneself and others, so that we do not need to covet what belongs to our neighbor.
     Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, in thanking the speaker, noted that the subtitle, "The Challenge of New Church Education," suggested also a challenge to New Church education. As the world defines a "liberal education," the Academy is not engaged in education at all When you begin an educational program from a definite belief, you cease to be an educator and become a propagandist. "Propaganda" may be a term such as Mr. Raymond Pitcairn referred to yesterday-which some have given a sinister meaning, but which should be retained in its original sense.
     To the world, truth is only something which students and teachers set out together to discuss, and which-if they discover-would be only relative, and subject to change or discard in the future. This is not so amusing when you hopefully plow through the literature Dr. Odhner referred to, only to be met with this idea repeatedly. If you believe in a truth, you are not considered an impartial teacher; if you believe in religion, you are not the proper person to discuss religion, because you are prejudiced in favor of it; and so on.
     Only if we accept our responsibility for the future, and maintain a living faith in New Church education, can we meet the increasing pressure of the world's belief that there is no absolute truth.

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HOLY SUPPER 1950

HOLY SUPPER       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1950

     AN ADDRESS

     (At the Sixth Session, June 17, 1950.)

     The essence of Divine Love is to give to others outside Itself. This was the cause of the creation of the universe with its ultimate time and space; for the Infinite can be received only in the finite, and the finite involves time and space. This is the reason why no angel or spirit can be created such. Time and space constitute the alphabet in which alone man can read the marvels of Divine Love and Wisdom. In the words of our Revelation: "Man is such that he can have no idea of thought whatsoever, unless he adjoins something natural which has entered in from the world by means of sensible objects; for without that, his thought would perish as in an abyss and would be dissipated" (A. C. 5110). In the other world, all things, howsoever sublime. must be seen under the appearances of time and space. "Times and spaces (we read) finite each and every thing in both worlds" (T. C. R. 29).
     Here we have the reason why worship must be clothed in external forms; why the Holy Supper, the supreme form of all worship, was clothed in the ultimate act of eating and drinking; and why the Lord said, Bread and Wine, and Flesh and Blood, and not Divine Good and Divine Truth; namely, that man may have an ultimate natural idea of the Lord's love, within which angels and also man himself if he thinks interiorly can see the spiritual idea; that thus there might be conjunction of the men of the Church with the angels of heaven, and also of the external man with the internal (E. 329b).
     In place of the sacrificial animals and the blood whereby the Lord's presence was represented in the Israelitish Church, the Lord, when He manifested Himself in ultimate form, substituted bread and wine, the simple representation of all food and drink, both spiritual and natural; for when the eye sees and the tongue tastes the bread and wine, the man, however simple, can think of the Lord's mercy as the Giver of all things, and of his own duty, to show gratitude to the Lord by obedience to His Commandments.

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     The Holy Supper represents the Lord's presence in His Divine Human, and man's reception of Him. Yet, that Supper was instituted before the Lord was fully glorified. It was instituted in the evening preceding the day of the Cross, the last temptation whereby the Lord fully glorified His Human. This was necessarily so. It was necessary that there be an actual eating and drinking as the basis for the spiritual thought, that the Lord in His Divine Human is the Bread of life and the true Vine, just as it is necessary for us to have the actual experience of material nourishment if we are to think of the Lord as the Nourisher of our spiritual life. This actual eating and drinking could not have been instituted by the Lord after His Resurrection. It is true that the Lord ate with His Disciples after He had risen from the tomb, but then their spiritual eyes were opened, and their eating was a representation in the spiritual world. It was not an ultimate act of the bodily senses.
     It was because the Holy Supper was established before the Glorification that the Lord said, "This do in remembrance of me." So man approaches the Holy Supper when he but dimly sees the Lord, and prays that his eyes may be opened; and to him also the Lord says: "This do in remembrance of me" that is, This do, that your eyes may be opened to the beholding of me. Therefore, when, after the Resurrection, the Lord revealed Himself to some of the Disciples, "as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and having blessed, break it and gave to them, and their eyes were opened and they knew Him" (Luke 24: 30).
     The same thing is involved in the fact that the Holy Supper was instituted in the evening; for evening represents a state of humiliation before the Lord, in which man acknowledges his own unworthiness, and humbly prays that the Lord may be with him; but it is the evening that precedes the morning, the evening that preceded the resurrection of the Lord.
     The Disciples had but a dim idea of the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and even this idea they had only at times of peculiar enlightenment, as when Peter said, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16: 16). They were to be enlightened by the Lord after His resurrection.

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So men of the Christian Church in its infancy, while they worshiped the Lord in His Human, saw Him but dimly, and while they looked to Him in the Holy Supper, had but a general idea as to the use of that Supper. The enlightenment was to be given by a later revelation. This is involved in the words said by the Lord immediately after the institution of the Holy Supper: But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom" (Matt. 26: 29). By drinking of the fruit of the vine, when predicated of the Lord, is meant instructing in the truths of a new church (T. C. R. 708), and giving perception to see those truths and be affected by them (A. C. 3069). A commencement of this instruction was made after the Resurrection when the risen Lord appeared to the Disciples and opened their eyes (T. C. R. 730); for then the Kingdom came, the Christian Church was instituted, and that new covenant was made which is meant by "drinking it new" (E. 376e). But the Kingdom came in fullness only in the Second Coming, with the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word, that the Church then established might enter into the true use of the Holy Supper (T. C. R. 708).
     The institution of the Holy Supper is preceded by the words, "And as they were eating." It is not said that they were eating the Paschal Lamb, though this is implied, for the Lord had said, "Go and prepare us the passover that we may eat" (Luke 22: 8); but it is not stated, because the Lord who was represented by the Paschal Lamb was Himself in their midst. What is involved is, that in the night of the Jewish Church, the Disciples were among the simple who preserved something of faith and thus could receive the bread and wine of the new covenant. It is ever so; for the new church will be received only by those who, in the night of the former church, have preserved a simple faith in God. "In thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36: 9)-that is, in the light of the former Word, they can see the new.
     "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it . . . and said, This is my body." Such is the translation as given in the Authorized Version, and it is on the basis of this understanding of the meaning of the Greek text that the Roman Catholic Church has founded its false doctrine that by the blessing, the bread is actually turned into the flesh of Christ. In the Greek text, however, it is not said that the Lord blessed the bread.

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Literally translated, the words in Matthew and Mark read: "Jesus, taking the bread, and having blessed, or, having given a blessing, break it . . . ; and taking the cup and having given thanks, He gave it to them." In Luke the words read: "And taking the bread, having given thanks, He break it." Moreover, in many authentic manuscripts, the text in Matthew reads, "Having given thanks" instead of "having blessed." The blessing, however, was not a blessing of the bread, but a blessing addressed to God, even as was the thanksgiving. Indeed, it was a custom among the Jews to commence their meals with an invocation, beginning with the words "Blessed be God,"* even as it is a custom among Christians to say Grace before meals.
     * See Clark's Commentary on Matthew 16: 26.
     But whether we read "having blessed" or "having given thanks," the meaning is the same. This is indicated in the teaching of the Writings, that "among the Ancients, it was customary to say, Blessed be Jehovah, by which they meant that from Him is every blessing; and it was a formula of giving thanks, and this because the Lord blesses and has blessed" (A. C. 1096, 3119). But though the Word does not say that Jesus blessed the bread, yet such blessing is implied, not however in the sense that the bread was in any way changed, but that it was dedicated. The bread and wine do not effect conjunction with the Lord; there is nothing holy in them (R. 224f). They are still bread and wine, but bread and wine dedicated to use in Divine worship. It is the same in the saying of Grace before meals, for this involves that the food provided by the lord shall be used, not merely for the satisfaction of appetite, but that the body may be nourished for the performance of uses. Thus we are told in our Revelation: "The Lord's blessing the bread, the wine, the fishes which He gave to the Disciples and the people, signified a communication to them of His Divine, and so conjunction with them by goods and truths" (E. 340d). It may here be noted that the Gospels do not say that Jesus blessed the wine, but that He gave thanks.
     Furthermore, the Lord's words, "This is my body," do not mean, as some have vainly imagined, that the bread was actually the body of Jesus, but that it signified that body. The Jews had no word for "represents" or "stands for," and for this they used the verb "to be" as when Joseph declared, in his interpretation of Pharaoh's dream, "The good kine are seven years" (Gen. 41: 25).

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Indeed, nothing is more common in human language than such a use of the verb to be. Thus, looking at a picture, say of Christ, we find it quite natural to say, "That is Christ."
     That the Disciples understood the Lord's words in this sense, is evident, for they could not possibly have thought that the bread was actually the Lord's body, since He was present in the flesh before their eves. Moreover, it is confirmed by the history of the early Christian Church; for the teaching of that Church was that the bread represented the body of the Lord. There was no suggestion of the doctrine of Transubstantiation except in a vague way and among a few. That doctrine was never thought of as a doctrine of the Church until the year 1215, when it was declared by Pope Innocent III speaking ex Cathedra.*

     The Lord instituted the Holy Supper that it might represent His love to the whole human race, and the reciprocal love of man to Him (A. C. 5120:5), thus that by it there might be conjunction of the Lord with man, and of man with the Lord. This conjunction is the end for which the Word was given: but the Word must be received by man, and must form him anew. In the Holy Supper, this giving and this receiving is represented in ultimate form. It is because of this that the Holy Supper is the most holy act of worship. There are many acts of worship, such as kneeling in prayer, praising God, listening to sermons, but all these acts are concentrated in the Holy Supper. In that Supper there is presented before the eyes the ultimate evidence of the Lord's mercy in providing nourishment for the earthly life, and the man who partakes is held to think of the Lord's mercy in giving spiritual nourishment for the salvation of his soul; to think also of his own need for this nourishment, and of his duty that he may receive it; and then to implore the Lord's aid that he may fulfill that duty. In the language of the Writings, "In the Holy Supper, the whole Lord is present, and the whole of His redemption" (T. C. R. 716). The Lord is actually present before the eyes of man's spirit, and if the man approaches worthily, he is then conjoined with the Lord, and the Lord with him.

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     This conjunction is not effected by the bread and wine, for there is nothing holy in them (R. 224f). He who approaches worthily adores, not the bread and wine, but the Lord, and he adores Him, not from doctrine, but from love. To quote the words of Revelation: "The Holy Supper is so holy a rite that human minds, when from internal affection they think that the bread and wine signify the Lord's love and man's reciprocal love, are conjoined with heavenly minds, and so are in holiness from within" (A. C. 2177:8).
     In the Holy Supper, man is to think, not of the bread, but of the Lord as the True Bread. It was for this reason that the Lord broke the bread. Bread which is taken into the mouth is broken by the teeth and lips, in order that its interior properties may be released for the nourishment of the body. Therefore, the breaking of bread signifies the opening of the interiors which are signified by bread; and the distribution of the bread after being broken signifies the communication of interiors. Hence, in the Ancient Church, bread was broken when it was given to another, that it might signify the communication of the giver's interior affections (A. C. 5405). The breaking of the bread by the Lord, and the giving of it to the Disciples, therefore signifies the giving of His Divine Love to those who approach Him worthily.
     Spiritual food and natural food-both are present in the Holy Supper. But between them there is a great difference. Natural food consists of parts for the replacement of that which is cast off; for the living body is ever casting off waste and useless matters, and these must be replaced. Natural food does not give man life, it merely replenishes the parts of his body, and so enables him to receive life from the soul.
     Spiritual food does not consist in the taking in of parts, but in the induction of forms on the organic vessel of the mind. This is manifest; for while the body may be well nourished by natural food, the mind is not developed unless instructed by truths; and truths are not parts added to the organic vessel of the mind, but they form the mind by inducing new states upon its vessel. But truths alone will not give spiritual life to man. A man may be abundantly rich in truths, even spiritual truths, and yet cherish evil in his heart, and evil is spiritual death.

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     For true growth, the mind must be formed, not only by truths, but also by the exercise of charity, that is, of love to the neighbor. It is true that man cannot of himself introduce this love, but he can shun the evils which truths reveal, and as he does this, the state or form of his mind is changed intrinsically, and life flowing in from the soul is then felt as heavenly love. This is what is meant by the Lord's words, "Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4: 4); and also by His admonition to "Labor not for the meat which perisheth" (John 6: 27).
     These two things, the acquiring of the truths of faith and the exercise of the mind in the works of charity, are the spiritual nourishment of man-the works of charity being his food, and the truths of faith his drink (A. C. 975, 9003); and just as food and drink are inseparable for the nourishment of the body, so charity and faith are inseparable for the nourishment of the spirit. This, every man can see by introspection. Man's loves are the food in which he delights, and in their exercise he feels exhilarated. But those loves have an insatiable appetite for knowledges which confirm and promote them. One who is in charity has a longing for the truths of the Word. One who is in the love of self has an insatiable appetite for all that confirms that love. Every man can see this in himself if he will but reflect.
     The two foods, the natural and the spiritual, can be illustrated in the bodily life. Thus, when learning a craft-the use of took the playing of the piano, the art of dancing-man induces new forms on his body, and the food which he takes in by the mouth confirms these forms so that at last what had been done with difficulty becomes easy and, as it were, second nature. The induction of the new form on the members of the body may be compared with spiritual food, while the food that enters the mouth is natural food, without which the other could not be received. Indeed, both foods are necessary for man even after death; for, while a spirit is aware only of spiritual food, the organic basis on which he rests, that is to say, the limbus, must be continually nourished by spheres.

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This is true of man's spirit even while he is living on earth. It is seen in the fact that men love to be, in spheres accordant with their love, and it is expressed in the saying. "Birds of a feather flock together." This is what is involved in the teaching that the blood of a good man is nourished by different foods than the blood of an evil man

     The bread and wine of the Holy Supper are said to represent the body and blood of the Lord, which is the spiritual food of man, without which he cannot have spiritual life. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" (John 6: 53). Many of the Disciples, when they heard this, found it a hard saying; for their thought concerning the Lord was then merely natural; and they asked, "Who can believe?" (Ibid. vs. 60). But the Lord answered them, "The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life" (Ibid. vs. 63); that is to say, they were to be thought of, not materially, but spiritually. The opportunity of so thinking of them is now given in the Revelation to the New Church, and this to the end that the Church may enter into and enjoy the true use of the Holy Supper (T. C. R. 700). That Revelation teaches that by the flesh and blood of the Holy Supper is meant the Divine Human, and the Holy Proceeding, from which alone is life and salvation (A. C. 2343f).
     It may be, however, that some are unable to elevate their thought above what is visible to their sight. To them the Writings say, when they take the bread and wine and hear mention of the Lord's flesh and blood, let them think within themselves that it is the most holy act of worship, and let them remember Christ's Passion and His love for man's salvation (T. C. R. 709); for if a man who is in charity thinks simply of the Lord from the words, "This is my body, and this is my blood," the angels with him are in the idea of love to the Lord and charity to the neighbor (A. C. 3464:3). It is not the words that bring the presence of angels, but the affection of holiness with which the partaker hears the words (A. C. 4211).
     The essential thing is to think of the Lord, and to think of Him in a holy way. The holy things of the Church are not themselves holy, for the Lord is not present in them; but when man receives them in a holy way, even though only from simple faith, the Lord is present with the man (A. C. 10208).

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Then, when taking the bread, the man thinks, not of bread, but of the Lord and His mercy and of charity to the neighbor; for he thinks of repentance and amendment of life (A. C. 4217). It is this state of holiness, and not any doctrinal comprehension, that opens man's mind to the reception of the Lord in His Divine Human, and to the influence of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Lord.

     When we hear the words, "This is my flesh," "This is my blood," how shall we think of the Lord? Certainly we are not to think of Him as a Man of material flesh. The eyes of the body can never see the Lord. "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4: 24). It was thus that the people saw the Lord, though but dimly, when they heard the Sermon on the Mount. Their eyes saw a material body, but their spirit saw the Divine Man, because they saw His Love and His Wisdom; and seeing, they marveled. So must we see the Lord in His revealed Word where He presents Himself before our spiritual eyes as Divine Love and Wisdom in human form. Listen to the words of Revelation: "The Human of the Lord after He was glorified cannot be conceived of as human, but as Divine Love in human form; and this more so than angels, who, when they appear, as they have been seen by me, appear as forms of love and charity under a human appearance, and this from the Lord. For the Lord made His Human Divine from Divine Love, just as man after death becomes an angel by means of heavenly love" (A. C. 4735). It is love and wisdom that make a man, and it is from his love and wisdom that we esteem a man, and not from his body. So in the Holy Supper, we are not to think of the Lord from person-this being what is meant by the words "the Human of the Lord cannot be conceived of as human"-but must think of Him as a Man because He is Divine Love, willing all good to man, and Divine Wisdom, teaching man and leading him in the way of life. His Divine Love and Mercy is represented by the bread which He freely gives man for the sustenance of his life; and His Divine Wisdom by the wine.
     The Lord gives good immediately to those who approach Him worthily; therefore it is said that "He break the bread, and gave to them, saying, Take, eat; this is my body."

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But the Lord gives His Divine Truth by means of the Word in the Letter; therefore it is not said that He gave the wine, but that He gave the cup, saying, "Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new covenant"' the cup signifies the letter of revelation (E. 887).
     It is incumbent on man that he shall approach the Holy Supper worthily. Not that he shall deem himself worthy, but that he shall approach worthily; and he approaches worthily who deems himself unworthy, even as did the publican in the temple who prayed "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18: 13) Nor can any one really deem himself unworthy unless he actually sees some evil in himself, and acknowledges himself guilty of it. Many, when partaking of the Holy Supper, have a feeling of lack, in that they are not moved emotionally. This, however, should not trouble them, for external emotion can be aroused by many causes, and yet the heart remain inwardly untouched. What should be of concern is the possible cause of the feeling of lack. Do they go to the Holy Supper without previous thought or preparation? or with thought concerning it only at the time of the service?
     The Writings say much as to man s duty to prepare himself before partaking of the Holy Supper. Indeed, the duty of preparation is implicit in the Supper itself, as being the most holy act of worship. Who would go to the table of a prince without previously preparing himself, that he may appear in suitable clothing? And shall men go to the Supper of the Great King without spiritual preparation?
     Partaking of the Holy Supper is an external act, and of itself contributes nothing to salvation if it does not proceed from the internal (H. H. 222); and it cannot proceed from the internal unless the man has in some measure prepared himself by thought concerning it, and concerning conjunction with the Lord by means of it. This preparation consists primarily in self-examination and repentance. "Actual repentance (says the Revelation) is to explore oneself, to know and acknowledge one's sins, to make oneself guilty of them, to confess them before the Lord, to pray for help and power to resist them, and then to desist from them and to live a new life. Do this once or twice a year when you go to the Holy Communion; and afterward, when the sins of which you have made yourself guilty recur, say, I do not will them because they are sins against God" (R. 531).

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"Actual repentance (our Revelation further declares), if done at set times, that is, when the man prepares himself for the Communion of the Holy Supper, if afterward he abstains from the one sin or the other, which he found with himself, is sufficient to initiate him into actuality; and when in this, he is on the way to heaven" (T. C. R. 530).
     There are indeed some who, for many reasons, find it extremely difficult to examine themselves: for these declares our Revelation, it is sufficient if, when an evil occupies their mind and they intend that evil, they say to themselves, "I am thinking of this evil, and it is in my intention; but because it is a sin, I will not do it." By this means the evil attempt of hell is broken and its further entrance stopped (T. C. R. 535).
     Self-examination alone, however, is not sufficient. It must be followed by confession before the Lord, and supplication for help, for without Him, man can do nothing (John 15: 5). It is this confession and this supplication that is man's supreme part in the Holy Supper, for that Supper is "a sacrament of repentance" (R. 531). "That the man who wishes to repent may look to the Lord alone (we read), there was instituted by Him the Holy Supper which confirms the remission of sins with him who acts repentance: for in that Supper, each one is held to look to the Lord alone" (D. P. 122).
     Our Revelation further teaches us that when man, partaking of the Holy Supper, makes confession before the Lord "it is not necessary that he enumerate his sins, for he has searched them out in himself and seen them, and therefore they are present with the Lord because present with the man. Moreover, the Lord led him in the searching, and opened them, and inspired sorrow, and with this the endeavor to desist from them and commence a new life." Nor is it necessary that he pray to the Lord for forgiveness, for the Lord is Mercy itself. It is sufficient that he pray to the Lord "to give him power to resist the evils of which he has repented, and to supply inclination and affection to the doing of good" (T. C. R. 539).
     Those who repent are those who come to the Holy Supper worthily, and to them that Supper is that conjunction with the Lord which is meant by eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

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     The Lord is Divine Love and Wisdom in Human appearance. This Divine Love and Wisdom are not things of the imagination. They are Substance itself and Form itself-Substance and Form which is manifested in finite things as Life, but creative life; that Life which forms and sustains the myriad wonders of the universe. But just as Life cannot create the wonders of nature by mere influx from within, but requires also influx from without, namely, the heat and light of the natural sun, so Infinite Life cannot form man, unless life flow into him from without. It is that life may thus flow from without that the Lord came on earth, revealing Himself before man's natural mind as actually a Man; and that to the New Church He is now revealed in His Glorified Human, that every eye may see Him.
     It is the Lord in His Divine Human, now revealed in His Word, who is present before man in the Holy Supper; and he who approaches worthily, actually receives life from Him. This Life is the Holy Spirit, which forms and molds his mind and makes it a vessel receptive of life from the Infinite. There is no other approach to the Infinite; for the Lord says, "No one cometh to the Father but by me.
     The Holy Spirit is the virtue and operation proceeding from the Lord as revealed in His Word. Whenever a man repents and turns to the Lord, this Spirit operates in him to reform and regenerate. But in the Holy Supper, this operation rests on ultimates, and in ultimates is holiness and fullness and power. For in that Supper, man has before his eyes bread and wine as the symbols of the Lord's mercy, but thinks, not of these, but of the Lord, of repentance and amendment of life. The Holy Supper is a feast with the Lord (A. C. 2341), and, as a feast with friends ultimates and cements their friendship, so the Holy Supper is a sign and seal that they are sons of God. It is said a sign and seal, because the Holy Supper in and of itself does not bring conjunction with the Lord. It establishes and confirms that conjunction with the man who repents. Nay, more than this, for, being an ultimate act, it brings a fuller realization of the Lord's presence and of His mercy, and so brings hope and comfort, even as the eating with friends brings delights of friendship. In the words of our Revelation: "In the Holy Supper, the whole Lord is present, and the whole of His redemption; for He says, This is my body, and This is my blood.

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Consequently, He then admits into His body; and the Church and Heaven make His body" (T. C. R. 728; A. C. 6135:4; N. 214).
     Being in the body of the Lord is not a mere figure of speech; as the parts of the earthly body are molded by the soul that it may dwell therein, so the Lord forms man's mind into a temple wherein He is present: and heaven and the church constitute that Gorand Man whose soul is the Lord (D. 1710; T. C. R. 608).
     The Lord is also present with those who approach the Holy Supper unworthily, for they see the bread and wine and hear the words, "This is my body, this is my blood": but He does not open heaven to them, that is, they do not receive Him. He is present only externally. Externally, there may be a change in the state of their mind, but its intrinsic determination to evil remains unchanged. The understanding perceives the Lord's presence, but mingles this perception with a will to evil. Thus there is profanation. This, moreover, was the teaching of the Christian Church in its infancy; for Paul says: "Let man examine himself, and then let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup: for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself" (I Cor. 11: 28, 29)
     Some have thought to abstain from the Holy Supper from a sense of their own unworthiness, but this sense, if genuine, is the essential requisite of partaking worthily. For it is to the humble in heart who confess their sins that the Lord says: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matt. 11: 29)

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NEW BEGINNING ON EARTH 1950

NEW BEGINNING ON EARTH       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1950

     Academy Commencement Address, June 14, 1950.

     It is inevitable that the end of a former church and the beginning of a new will overlap. The current of history is now passing through such a state-a slate referred to in the Book of Revelation as "time and times and half a time." (Chap. 12: 14.)
     The full significance of this state is hard for us to realize, because of the fact that we are living right in it. Probably we are alarmed at the general state of the world, but perhaps we are less aware of its influence on individual behavior, including our own. We are inclined to take for granted what we are used to. But as we do have a share in the making of history, especially we as a church, but also we as individuals, it is well for us to form some idea of what is really taking place in our days. For if what we do, and what we will do, is to take form with any degree of wisdom, it must not be an isolated performance without a general background. This would be like prescribing a certain medicine just to do away with a particular symptom of disease, instead of taking into account the body's general state of health. In the terms of revealed truth, the present period in the development of mankind is "the very night in which former churches ceased." (T. C. R. 760.) The implication is that the interior state of the world in our day is worse than it has ever been since the dawn of creation. We accept this, but perhaps we do not so readily see what it involves.
     In certain respects the appearance is different from the statement of Revelation. For instance, most people who have any interest at all in religion-and they are still many-will say that they believe in only one God; and there is also a considerable display of external charity with many religious and semi-religious groups.

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But, on the other hand, why is it that people are not happy in our day? Why are they nervous, restless, and always rushed? Why do they race for the means of living, but do not allow themselves time really to live, or to come into the use of the means acquired? Why do they always distrust one another, so that a very large percentage of the population of the world is employed to control the rest-in business, in civil life, and in regard to the relations between nations? Why are they so generally courteous to the face, but critical or even slanderous behind the back? Why are so many marriages dissolved, and still more homes ruined, divorce or no divorce? Why, indeed, is the Sixth Commandment being crossed out from the Decalogue? And people who profess a belief in one God,-why do they not stand up to the test of distress or suffering, or even the test of reason?
     These things are because the true life of heaven has departed from the earth; or, to put it differently, because the true spirit of men is dead or asleep. As says Jeremiah: "They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace: when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush." (Jeremiah 8: 11, 12.) And has it occurred to us that in the time of the Lord's First Advent there was also a wide appearance of charity and piety? Yet the Lord said: "The prince of this world hath nothing in me." (John 14: 30.)
     The Writings have very much to say concerning the "faith alone" which has killed the Old Church, and we accept this teaching in belief; but it behooves us also to recognize this faith alone when it is practised, even if it should cover over its face. It behooves us likewise to see that by the "Old Church" is meant something more than one or several religious bodies-that it means, instead, an old attitude and an old way of life arising from false doctrines, that is, false principles of life. And we should comprehend how it is that even the profession of "one God" is often stripped of its garments so as to unveil its nakedness, unless the Lord, the Saviour of the world, is meant by that one God, and is obeyed.

     Now, we are told that the New Church "is at first amongst a few, that in the mean time provision may be made for it among many." (A. E. 732.) These "many" are round about us, in all nations and probably in all confessions.

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While provision is made for them, "time, times, and half a time" is passing. These words refer to "the increase of the Church, even to its fulness." (A. E. 761.) And it is shown, also, that, parallel with this increase, there is a gradual extinction of Divine Truth and Divine Good in the Old Church, even to completion. (Cf. A.R. 658.)
     It may be proper to say that the new beginning among men has been made, and that the Lord is now making provision for His New Church among many. As He goes forward to do so, He leaves footprints behind Him. And I would like here to raise the question as to whether we are able to see any of these footprints, and, if so, whether we can read from them any promise for the future.
     In this regard, there are essentially three major circumstances in my mind. One is, that for the first time in history a dominant state among men affects practically every single individual on the globe at the same time. Superficially regarded, this is due to modern invention,-radio, newspapers, and so forth-but this is in Providence for reasons quite above and beyond appearances. As late as during and after the First World War, the situation was different. The significance of this new condition is seen when we reflect that the Last Judgment, which took place in the interior world of mankind 200 years ago, is to affect all the world directly, different from the great judgments at the end of former churches. For the churches in the past have had a limited geographical spread, and so also have the forms of the Word upon which new dispensations have been founded. The states and changes of state in the world have never before come to the awareness of all people at the same time. And this new thing has come in our generation.
     Another circumstance which is becoming increasingly noticeable is that there is now very little of blind faith in authority. Tradition has preserved the authority of church leaders and political leaders ever since the present order was introduced; and, clearly, had it not been for tradition, the great churches would have a very scanty membership, and many would have very different political views than those they support. Human nature resents change. It is therefore interesting to note that the modern man is being accustomed to public criticism of all authorities through the press and other forums of public opinion. There can be no doubt that this is breaking up the power of the traditional forms of Christianity.

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The forms themselves are likely to remain for some time, but they are decaying from within. And as the New Church cannot grow save in proportion as the Old Church in its various forms is disintegrating, this also is significant.
     The third major circumstance I have in mind is the doctrinal development in the General Church. We know that the Lord is using men and women in the world to propagate His truths; and we realize, also, that the Peter quality in the Church-that of stern and solid faith-must grow to some maturity before the Church can go forth "to teach and baptize all nations." (Matthew 28: 19.)
     As for the particular state of the Church, no one knows it but the Lord. But we do know that by force of circumstance the Church has entered in great detail into the Doctrine of the Second Coming of the Lord. The alternatives of detracting from the Writings, or adding to them, have both been before the Church, and repudiated. Hereby the only remaining alternative has been sharply defined,- that which we believe is contained in the words of the Lord: "The time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father." (John 16: 25.) The first time the Church was compelled to define its views was when it was said by some that the Lord did not speak in the Writings; and the second time was when the challenge was brought on it, that the Lord did not speak plainly in them. Furthermore, the necessity of defense has brought the stand of the Church to a wider public awareness. This stand is, that the Lord does speak, and that He speaks plainly, in the Writings.
     The Church will doubtless penetrate ever more deeply into these Writings, discovering many new things in them, and growing in the wisdom of application; but the essential faith in regard to them has been established in battle: and I suggest that this circumstance is of major importance in the preparation of the Church to teach the world.

     Now, in order to do that, two kinds of knowledge are necessary. One is concerned with the principles of doctrine, and the other with experience and understanding of human nature. We must know truth, and we must know,-so far as we are able,-the state to which we apply it.

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You, who are or who have been students of the Academy, have essentially acquired knowledges of the first kind, for it is on account of these that we have New Church schools. But as you enter upon your duties of life, you will do well to cultivate the other kind as well. For you have a very great use to fulfill, perhaps greater than you realize. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come"; but it is also for "him that heareth to say, Come." (Rev. 22: 17.), And those who have been thoroughly instructed in the Church should be first among "those that hear."
     There is no permeation of doctrine, but there is insemination. The work of insemination of doctrine begins by living it. For as with the Lord, so with His followers: "Though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe." (John 10: 38.). And if we strive to live the life of the Church in all ways-in our daily use, in worship, in exercising the benefactions of charity, the obligations of charity, and the diversions of charity (Doctrine of Charity, 158-196),-and if at the same time we try to speak, wisely accommodating what we know to the state as we know it, then we should be guided by what the Writings tell us in regard to the receptivity of our fellow men. We read: [Italics mine.]

     "The Doctrine of the New Church . . . can be acknowledged and thus received only by those who are interiorly affected by truths, and those only can be interiorly affected by truths who have the ability to see them, and those on]y see truths who have cultivated their intellectual faculty, and have not destroyed it in themselves by the loves of self and the world. . . . (Further), the Doctrine of that Church can be acknowledged and thus received only by those who have not confirmed themselves by doctrine and at the same time by life in faith alone. Confirmation by doctrine alone does not prevent reception, but confirmation by life also does prevent." (A. E. 732:2.)

     We should therefore approach such as have cultivated their intellectual faculty, and who have not confirmed themselves in faith alone by doctrine and at the same time by life.
     This faith alone has been ingrafted in the spirit of the world for many centuries.

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It shows its effects in far wider circles than merely those of religion,-in politics and civics, in sciences, in literature, music, and art, in business and diversion, and in social life; in a word in every aspect of human behavior. For treaties without sincerity; theoretical knowledge without practical knowledge and the love of its application; books without a lesson; rhythm without theme or harmony; form in art without life; work for pay, and not for use: wit and entertainment without the spirit of modesty or good will:-what are these things but the daughters and sons of that spirit of life which was introduced by the leaders of religion so many centuries ago, and which the Writings refer to as "faith alone'? That is the `deceiver of the world,"-the enemy of the New Church. We must break with all these things in our own lives, and thus bear witness of the New Beginning which is working its way through in our time. If so the spoken message which we may add at times will have the more power.

     When we look to the future of the Church, there is occasion for both patience and hope, and these two must be balanced. Too much of patience will lead to passivity, too much of hope to rash activity. Possibly, however, a thorough examination of the state of the world today would lead to the conclusion that the "provision which is being made for the Church among many' has advanced further than we were realizing.
     At any rate, it would perhaps be useful if you, who have been trained to think from revealed truth, and who have thus been prepared for a truly useful life, would reflect upon the Lord's words to His disciples: "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." (John 4: 35.)

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ENVY 1950

ENVY       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1950

     "And his brethren envied him." (Genesis 37: 11.)

     Joseph's brothers envied him. Why? Because their father loved Joseph best. Another reason for their envy was the high position Joseph was to have, according to the two dreams which he had told his brothers.
     The brothers hated Joseph, and "could not speak peaceably unto him," when they saw that their father loved Joseph best. This preference was shown by the father's gift of "a coat of many colors." They "hated him yet the more" after hearing the first dream. Their hatred is repeated a third time, and finally it is called "envy." "And his brethren envied him."
     Evidently envy springs from hatred, or envy is a form of hatred. No person can envy another without hating him. And hatred always intends destruction even murder. Destruction and murder may not at first be in the conscious thought of the one who hates, or of one who envies, but it is deeply buried in the mind and heart. That it was the intention of Joseph's brothers, appears from the sequel of the story; and although they did not kill Joseph, but sold him into slavery, the report they gave their father implied his violent death. Such was the intensity of their hate, and of their envy.
     In the spiritual sense, Joseph was loved more than all his brothers because he represented the good of love to the neighbor in the church, whereas the eleven brothers represented the state of faith separate from charity, which interiorly cherishes the evils of hatred and envy toward the neighbor. When, later, they humbled themselves before Joseph in Egypt, he forgave them and was reconciled to them, and then they represented the truths of faith conjoined to the good of charity,-that good which rejoices in the good of the neighbor, and does not envy or hate him because of it.
     There are many instances of envy in the stories of the Word. Cain's envy of Abel resulted in his murdering Abel.

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Sarah's envy of Hagar and Ishmael drove them into the wilderness, where only a Divine miracle saved them from death. Miriam's envy of Moses and Aaron resulted in her becoming a leper,-an instance of the operation on earth of the law of retaliation. Another instance of retaliation is pictured when the earth swallowed up Korab, Dathan, and Abiram and all their followers when, from envy of Moses, they rebelled and set up their own tabernacle and worship. Saul's envy of David drove Saul into fits of madness, and to persistent efforts to kill David, and finally resulted in his own violent death. And it was from envy and hatred toward the Lord Himself that the Jewish priests delivered Jesus to Pilate with demands for his death.
     Envy, then, is a grievous evil. It is grievous because it not only injures the one who feels envious toward others, but also may do much harm to others, by theft, by cruelty. and even by murder. And because it is common to all persons, even to children, everyone needs to know what it is, its origins, the various forms of destruction it produces, and how a man is to overcome it in himself, that he may come into the opposite virtue, which is to rejoice in the neighbor's good as well as his own, or more than his own. The envious person is wicked. His wicked state may range from the mildest form in a kind of emulation of others to that worst form which is pernicious. For envy, like all evils, has that range and extension; but it is an evil, and the one who harbors envy is wicked.

     What, then, is envy? The Dictionary defines it as: "Chagrin, mortification, discontent, or uneasiness at the sight of another's excellence or good fortune, accompanied with some degree of hatred and a desire to possess equal advantages; malicious grudging." (Webster.) The word "envy" is from the Latin invidia, meaning to look against, to look askance at, to look with enmity.
     Thus envy is occasioned by the sight or awareness of what others have,-their personal endowments or their possessions. These, however, are but the outward exciting cause; the feeling of envy springs from grudging ill-will within one's self, and thence from enmity and hatred. That is, the origin of a person's envy is not in what others have, but is within the person who envies, and actually it is from hell. Even when there is an appearance of injustice in what others have, and so an appearance of cause and effect between the possessions of others and the envy of them, there is actually not the relation of cause and effect: or, what appears to be the cause is not the real cause and origin of the envy.

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For those who have good will toward the neighbor rejoice when they look upon his virtues and possessions. The real causes and origins of envy are the perverted and corrupted loves of self and the world.
     There seems to be a close similarity between the words envy, jealousy, and zeal, but especially between envy and jealousy. There is only one Hebrew- word for those three English words,-envy, jealousy, and zeal. But the Writings use these three words with entirely distinct meanings. In general, envy is hatred of another because of what he has; jealousy is either hatred of another because of his threat against what the jealous person has, or else it is a pure love of defending what one holds to be true and good, and which he jealously defends." The Writings use the word "jealousy" only in the work on Conjugial Love, and in relation to marriage. But heal, regarded in itself, is a violent heating of the natural man, or an intense love, either good or evil.
     We envy another for that which we ourselves lack, but which we desire, and which we see in another. What we desire and love may be wealth or honor, pleasure or power. But there is more in envy than a love of what others have, and a desire for it. Such cupidity and covetousness are only parts of the feeling or emotion of envy. There is also hatred mingled with anger directed toward the person or persons who have what is coveted. There is a self-persuasion of being the victim of injustice, and a burning desire for revenge.
     The worst forms of envy are from the supreme love of self, or from the evil love of ruling from the love of self, and extend to all people and all things; for there is the fantasy that the universe is the man's own and for himself, and that he is not a part of it, but is the whole of it. This supreme form is exemplified in the tyrants of history, who, inflamed by envy and covetousness, have invaded the lands of other nations to destroy their liberties and seize their possessions. Such persons, when they become devils in hell, envy the angels their heaven: they envy God His power. Of the Lord's mercy, few persons are in such extremes of envy: but the extreme is always a possibility with every person. And whenever actual injustice exists, and becomes widespread, the Lord permits that various evil loves are excited to the point of destroying the injustice; and envy is one of the strongest of such evil loves.

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     Evidently envy is an evil love, and a most destructive one. It produces a kind of insanity of the mind, a state of madness that looses the forces of anger, revenge, destruction and murder. It is one of the general origins of diseases of the body; for it destroys man's interiors and vitiates the blood with thick, dark bile and a scorching fire.

     But the origins of envy on the plane of the spirit are the perverted and corrupt loves of the world and of self. These two loves are the general fountains from which spring all evil loves and affections. Let us recall that by creation and birth every man has three universal loves-the love of heaven, the love of the world, and the love of self. A man is in order when those three loves are rightly subordinated; that is, when the love of heaven is supreme in him and rules within the love of the world and the love of self with him. But when the love of self and the world rule in him, there is disorder that produces false positions and evil actions, and also the insanities of the mind and the diseases of the body which have their origins and causes in the perversions of the spirit which form a plane for an influx from the hells.
     Envy, then, is from the loves of the world and of self, when these loves rule in a man, or when he is not ruled by the love of heaven, that is, is not ruled by the loves of the Two Great Commandments, nor by any Divine religion and doctrine. The unregenerate, worldly, and selfish man wants whatever the world has. When he sees others possessing what he wants, he covets what they have, and he envies them. In the other life, the wicked are tormented by the sight of the blessedness of the good, and even when they merely think of it! Is this not also true of many on earth who do not consider themselves wicked, and whom others do not condemn as wicked? And do they not, like evil spirits, think evil of those whom they envy? Do they not also speak evil of those whom they envy, often from pure malice and hatred?
     How hard it is really to rejoice over the blessings of others, to be delighted with their successes and good fortune, and to wish them from the heart the truly good things of life! But such is the generosity of spiritual charity, and of the Golden Rule.

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It is a state that can be attained only gradually, as evils are shunned as sins against God. The beginning should be made in infancy and childhood by instruction about the evil of envy, and by the example of elders who are fighting that evil in themselves. For only by knowledge of what the Lord teaches about envy, and about its disastrous results, and at the same time by shunning envy as a sin against the Lord, can it be overcome and its root removed.
     So let us beware of envy. Let us confess it to be a grievous evil. And let us strive for that generosity of spirit that beholds the blessings and happiness of others with rejoicing and thanksgiving to the Lord, our Heavenly Father, from whom they come. Amen.

     LESSONS:     Genesis 37: 1-11. Matthew 25: 14-30. A. C. 1974.
WARS OF CONQUEST-THEIR ORIGIN 1950

WARS OF CONQUEST-THEIR ORIGIN              1950

     "The spirits of the planet Jupiter said that on their earth the inhabitants are distinguished into nations, families, and houses, and that they all dwell separately with their own, and that their conversations are chiefly within their affinities; also that no one ever desires the goods of another: neither does it enter into the mind to claim thence anything for themselves, still less to invade and plunder, which they regard as a criminal act contrary to human nature, and dreadful. When I wanted to say to them that on this earth there are wars, depredations, and murders, they turned themselves away and were averse to hearing it.
     "It has been told me by the angels that the most ancients on this earth dwelt in like manner, namely, that they were distinguished into nations, families, and houses, and that they were all content with their own goods; and that to grow rich from the goods of others, and likewise to have dominion, was then altogether unknown. Therefore the ancient times, and especially the most ancient, were more acceptable to the Lord than succeeding times. And because their state was such, innocence then reigned, and with it wisdom; everyone did what was good from good, and what was just from justice; to do what was good and just for the sake of one s own honor, or for the sake of gain, was a thing unknown; at the same time they spake nothing but what was true, and this not so much from truth as from good, that is, not from an intellectual separate, but from a voluntary conjoined.

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     "Such were the ancient times, and the reason was because they lived distinguished into nations, and nations into families, and families into houses, and each house dwelt by itself; and because it never came into the mind of anyone to invade the inheritance of another, and thence acquire to himself opulence and dominion. Self love and love of the world were then far removed, and everyone from his heart was gladdened from his own good, and not less from the good of another.
     "But in succeeding times this scene was changed, and turned into the contrary, when the cupidity of dominating and of possessing the goods of others invaded the mind. Then mankind, for the sake of defense, gathered into kingdoms and empires; and because the laws of charity and conscience, which were inscribed on hearts, ceased to operate, it became necessary to enact laws to restrain violences, and to provide honors and gains as rewards, and the privations thereof as punishments. When the state was thus changed, heaven itself removed itself from man, and this more and more, even to the present age, when it is no longer known whether there is a heaven, consequently whether there is a hell, yea, when their existence is denied.
     "These things have been said to illustrate by a parallel what is the state of those who are on the earth Jupiter, and whence comes their probity and also their wisdom." (A. C. 8117, 8118.)
     "The love of self is of such a character that in proportion as the reins are loosed to it; that is, in proportion as external bonds are removed, which are fears of the law and its penalties, and for the loss of fame, honor, gain, function and life; in the same proportion it rushes on until at length it wishes to exercise command, not only over the whole world, but also over the whole heaven, and over the Divine itself; and there is never any terminus or end to it. This lies hidden in everyone who is in the love of self, even though it is not evident before the world, where the said bonds withhold it. That this is so, everyone can see in the case of potentates and kings, who are subject to no such restraints and bonds, and who rush on, subjugating provinces and kingdoms, and who, so far as they are successful, aspire after unlimited power and glory." (H. H. 559.)

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT 1950

ACKNOWLEDGMENT       W. B. CALDWELL       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa..
Business Manager      Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, parable in advance. Single copy, 30 cents.
     The Resolution adopted by the XIXth General Assembly at the Nineteenth of June Banquet, and beautifully engrossed by Mrs. Eudora Sellner Walsh, was brought to me by Dr. Odhner, and I was deeply touched by the warmth of its kindly words to a departing editor. They seem more than is deserved, for it has been a great privilege to serve the Church in this function, and I have always been acutely aware of needed improvements in the service rendered. I cannot doubt the sincerity of the sentiments expressed in the Resolution, but I believe that in reality they voice the affection of the members for NEW CHURCH LIFE as an institution of the Church, and one that has performed its use through the contributions of many writers.
     This use will be carried forward under the new editor, and it is a pleasure to join with the members of the Church in welcoming the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson to the task, and to offer him our warm good wishes for a happy and successful experience in guiding the destinies of our journal.
     W. B. CALDWELL.

507


Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     On Sunday, August 27th we had the privilege and pleasure of a visit from the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, who conducted our service of worship and preached a grand sermon on the text of Lamentations 3: 33, "For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
     As a delightful feature of the service he also officiated at the baptism of the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sanfrid Odhner (Aubrey Cole), the newest grandchild in the Odhner family. The sweet little girl was named Kristin MacFarlan.
     Coming to Detroit by car, Dr. and Mrs. Odhner spent a week-end at the new home of their son and daughter-in-law, and during their stay here they also visited Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs at Saginaw.
     Dr. Odhner was the first visiting pastor to break our series of lay services, made necessary while our Circle to temporarily without a regular pastor, which condition will exist until the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers arrives from Durban, Natal, on a date not yet determined.
     Meanwhile, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, now pastor at Kitchener, is still in charge of our Circle, and his visits are always red letter days on our calendar. We hear that he is to be with us on Saturday and Sunday, September 16th and 17th. This is good news indeed, and we are arranging for a big week-end of meetings, with a dinner to follow the Sunday service, and classes on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.

     Newcomers.-We are more than happy to pass along to readers of NEW CHURCH LIFE the good news that the Scott Forfar family of the Society at Durban. Natal, are planning to come to reside in the United States. They intend to make their new home in Detroit the Dynamic, where they will join our Circle and cooperate with us in our desire and effort to establish here a full society of the General Church. Naturally we are very much elated at the prospect of having this grand New Church family added to our membership. The Forfars may look forward to a most hearty welcome and every assistance in locating a desirable home. A number of our members recall Mr. and Mrs. Forfar (Beatrice Robinson) from their Academy School days, and are delighted at the prospect of having them here with us.

     Linden Hills.-Just a brief item in regard to this summer resort on Lake Michigan, where the writer spent a couple of weeks in July. One of the early pioneers of the resort, Gorandma Gladish, celebrated her 88th birthday on July 29th. We were privileged to attend and to wish her well. Mrs. Gladish's friends in the Church will be happy to know that she is in remarkably good health, considering her age, and that she still enjoys her summers at Linden Hills, surrounded by her numerous children and grandchildren.

     Announcements.-It gives us very great pleasure to announce the birth, on August 15th, of another son to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Bruce Smith (Frances Marion Cook). This is their second child, and he will he named Steven Carter. Our hearty congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who are among our most active and popular members.

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     During the dinner which followed the service on August 27th, the engagement of Mr. Owen Birchman and Miss Lynn Mitchell was announced. Lynn has attended many of our meetings and is well liked by us all. Hearty congratulations were voiced by all present.
     Recent visitors: Miss Sally Barnitz, of Urbana, Ohio; Mrs. Arretta Doering, of Bryn Athyn; Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Downs and their daughter Gail, of Kitchener, Ont. Miss Betty Childs and Mr. Geoffrey Childs, Jr., of Bryn Athyn, attended our service on August 27th and we were very glad to have them with us.
     WILLIAM W. WALKER.

     OBITUARY.

     Mrs. Lena Davis.

     The Bryn Athyn Society parted from one who has long been an active and devoted member when Mrs. Lena Mary Davis passed to the other life on August 15th in her eighty-second year. Steadfast in her belief, hers was a long and useful life.
     Bishop Pendleton, in his address at the Memorial Service, said that Mrs. Davis "belonged to a generation which had a singleness of purpose, namely, to bring up their children in the church." She lived to see the fulfilment of that purpose in the zealous participation of her children in the life and uses of the church. And she had the privilege granted to few,-that of seeing her grandchildren and great grandchildren baptized in the New Church.
     She is survived by a son, Edward Hugh, and three daughters, Clara Margaret (Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn), Dorothy Evelyn, and Louise Elizabeth (Mrs. F. Morel Leonard); also by two brothers, Fred and Royal, and two sisters, Dorothy (Mrs. Edgar Lindsay), and Mrs. Constance Davis Bacon.
     While Mrs. Davis was a member of the Middleport, Ohio, Society, her son Edward attended the Boys' Academy, graduating in 1913. In 1911, she moved with her family to Bryn Athyn, where she became Housemother of Glenn Hall. Her three daughters then attended the Girls' Seminary, graduating in 1915 and taking courses in the College. Dorothy, after some years in Academy uses as a teacher and a librarian, is now Principal of the Girls' Seminary. Edward, a practising attorney, is Secretary of the Corporations of the General Church.
     LUCY B. WAELCHLI.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     Summer has been good to us in Glenview, with hardly any hot and humid days during July and August. And the nights (almost all of them) have been comfortably cool. Many visitors have come to The Park during the vacation season, some for short stays of a day or two, others to spend the summer with us.
     During this period the statistics show: one birth, two baptisms, one confirmation, one engagement, and two weddings.
     For three Sundays in July, Candidate Louis Blair King conducted our services. His sermons were simple-strong-and easy to understand. Also, they were excellently delivered. Mr. King has the happy faculty of seemingly talking to the congregation as he reads his sermon.
     When our church was built many years ago, one of the items of the furniture was the customary Hymn Board. We have always been in need of a second board. Today we have it. It was made for us by Dr. Harvey Farrington-practising homeopath for over fifty years. With painstaking care he produced an exact duplicate of the original board, down to the least small carving. It seems that cabinetwork is the Doctor's hobby. We are very grateful to him for this example of his skill.

     Boy's Camp.-To transport 24 boys 230 miles to a camp site in an adjacent State is no small undertaking. but this was accomplished with the help of several of the men of the Society.

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At 5 am, on July 22nd a truck loaded with provisions and equipment, together with several cars containing two dozen Youngsters, pulled out for Clayton, Iowa. At the end of two weeks they all returned safe and sound. From all accounts they had a wonderful time.
     Among outdoor occasions, the annual Carnival by our lake was not as well attended as in the past, owing to cool weather. But there was plenty of excitement, what with trying to catch a greased pig and watching a fake wrestling match put on by two of our young men, who finished their hour by rolling into the water. When the proceeds of the Carnival had been totaled, we found that we had raised 5400, which will help to defray the cost of a new heating plant for the Manse.
     The July and August Son's meetings were well attended. Candidate Louis King addressed us in July, and the Rev. Elmo Acton in August.
     Members of the Park Social Club have redecorated the Club Room in our buildings, and on Tuesday and Friday evenings during the summer this room has been open. Many of our young people have enjoyed the facilities of this comfortable meeting place.
     At the instigation of our Park Commissioner, Mr. Oswald E. Asplundh, several work parties have been held, with the result that our Park has never looked better than it does today.

     Weddings.-This report would not be complete without an account of the two weddings mentioned above, though I must refer you to The Park News for an adequate description of the feminine attire.
     On Saturday evening, July 1st, the marriage of Mr. Arvid Tessing and Miss Gwendolyn Holmes was solemnized in a candle-lit ceremony, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton officiating. Miss Virginia Smith, of Bryn Athyn, was maid of honor, and the four bridesmaids were the Misses Janet Houy, of Evanston, Dorothy Schwab, Millicent Holmes and Evangeline Wright, of Glenview. Mr. Charles Speicher, of Evanston, was best man, and the ushers were the Messrs. Bruce and Kenneth Holmes, of Glenview, and Robert Stevens and Victor Pierson, of Evanston. After their wedding trip, Mr. and Mrs. Tessing will reside in Evanston, Illinois.
     The marriage of Mr. Richard Bostock and Miss Jacqueline Synnestvedt took place on Saturday evening. August 26th, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton officiating. The church and chancel were decorated with masses of pink and white gladioli and illuminated with many tall candles. Miss Miriam Synnestvedt, a sister of the bride, was maid of honor. Two sisters of the bride, Sonia and Marjorie, together with Miss Jocelyn Bostock, sister of the groom, were bridesmaids. Mr. Stephen Pitcairn, of Bryn Athyn, was best man. The ushers were Messrs. Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr., of Glenview, Bryce Genzlinger and Philip Howard, of Bryn Athyn, and Grant Doering, of Pittsburgh.
     At the reception which followed the ceremony our pastor responded to a toast to the Church. Mr. Ralph Synnestvedt, father of the bride, welcomed the guests and asked Mr. Frank Bostock, father of the groom, to offer a toast to the bride and groom. After their wedding trip, Mr. and Mrs. Bostock will reside in Bryn Athyn.
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.


     PORTLAND, OREGON.

     August is usually a rather quiet month in most places, with little or no church activity. But not in Portland. In fact, there has been so much activity that it is hard to believe that we are listed among the so-called isolated. However, aside from our tape recorded services, we have had to wait over a year for this grand occasion.
     First our pastor, the Rev. Harold Cranch, visited us for just one night, arriving at 6 p.m. on the 10th and leaving early the next morning. But even though his visit was short, and with little time for preparation, we had a wonderful class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Mellman.

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The subject was, "Why Believe in Swedenborg as a Revelator?" There were only six present-Mr. and Mrs. Homer West, Mrs. Ethel White and her father, Mr. Westacott, and Mr. and Mrs. Mellman (nee Sylvia Synnestvedt). Many questions were answered for Mr. Mellman and Mr. West, who are just learning what the New Church is all about.
     Then, from August 24 to 27, the Rev. K. R. Alden was here. We did not know just what time he would arrive, as he drove from Walla Walla, Wash., so we didn't plan anything for the first night. On Friday we entertained at dinner Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Iungerich and their three children, Russell, Suzanne and Emily, from Brownsville, Oregon. After dinner Mr. Alden delighted the children by playing his violin and telling stories. Later we were joined by Ethel White and her father. Mr. Westacott, and all drove to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Homer West (nee Dorothy Blake) for our big service. We were most fortunate to be able to have it there, as Dorothy not only has a grand piano but is also a talented pianists.
     The service begin with the baptism of little Emily Alexander Iungerich. The sphere of heaven was certainly present and felt by all, possibly because the baby was so fresh from heaven-just six days old. Mr. Alden gave a wonderful sermon on the meaning of the Communion, and it was followed by the administration of the Holy Supper. The violin and piano music was a tremendous asset to the service. After the service a toast was offered to the Church, followed by one to the new baby.
     A picnic on Mt. Hood was planned for Saturday. We had hoped that Sterling and Florene Smith and two boys would be with us, but they were unable to come. Rosalie Andrews and family were away on vacation. Ethel and Bill White were preparing to leave for a vacation, and Homer West had to work. So that left the Mellmans, Mr. Alden, Miss Carol Johns and her aunt, Miss Pribllsky, from Walla Walla. But we had fun, and there was plenty to eat. It is always a thrill to show people "our mountain," and to see them thrill as we did the first time we saw it.
     On Sunday morning we drove Mr. Alden to the airport, and as we watched bun fly up into the sky on his way to San Francisco, Billy Mellman (almost 3) commented, "There goes Mr. Alden back up to heaven!" Well, we hope he will be able to come back down out of heaven next summer and bring his wife with him.
     SYLVIA S. MELLMAN.
CHANGE OF EDITORS 1950

CHANGE OF EDITORS              1950

     We regret to state that the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson has been delayed in moving from Kitchener to Bryn Athyn, and that the transfer of the editorial duties to him must be deferred until he is settled here.

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CHARTER DAY 1950

              1950




     Announcements




     All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church, and their wives or husbands, are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day Exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, October 13 and 14, 1950.

     Program.

Friday, 11 a.m.-Cathedral Service, with an Address by the Rev. Harold C. Cranch.
Friday Afternoon-Football Game.
Friday Evening-Dance.
Saturday, 7 p.m.-A Banquet in the Assembly Hall. Toastmaster, Mr. E. Bruce Glenn.

     Arrangements will be made for the entertainment of guests, if they will write to Mrs. V. W. Rennels, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PARENT TEACHER JOURNAL 1950

PARENT TEACHER JOURNAL              1950

     Published by General Church Religion Lessons.

Provides material for the use of parents, teachers, and children in the field of religious education.

     EDITOR: Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Issued Monthly, September to June, inclusive.
     Subscription, $1.50, to be sent to the Editor.
NEW VERSION 1950

NEW VERSION              1950

Rational Psychology. A Posthumous Work by Emanuel Swedenborg. Translated from the Latin by Norbert H. Rogers and Alfred Acton, and Edited by Alfred Acton. Philadelphia, Pa.: Swedenborg Scientific Association, 1950. Cloth; 8vo; pp. XII + 343 (including Text, Appendix, and Index). Price, $3.50.
     For reasons given in the Introduction by the Editor, the work is now entitled Rational Psychology in place of The Soul, or Rational Psychology, the title of the English Version by the Rev. Frank Sewall, which is now out of print.
     The new volume has recently come from the press, and orders may he sent to Miss Beryl G. Briscoe, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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THIRTY-SEVENTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1950

THIRTY-SEVENTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY       MARTIN PRYKE       1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
NOVEMBER, 1950
No. 11
     COLCHESTER, August 5-7, 1950.

     This year the British Assembly was presided over by the Rev. Alan Gill, who thus acted for the Bishop. A highly successful Assembly was largely due to Mr. Gill's leadership, as well as to the great amount of preparatory work done by him and by the Colchester Society in providing for the comfort and convenience of nearly one hundred visitors. With an attendance of 187 at the Sunday morning service, and an average of 135 at the three sessions, this Assembly is to be numbered amongst the largest we have had.
     We were particularly privileged to have as our guest of honor the Rev. Dr. Gustaf Baeckstrom, Pastor of the Stockholm Society. He is well known to us all, and we were delighted to have him with us once more so that we might benefit from a kindly wisdom gained from his many years of service to the Church. It was also a particularly favorable circumstance that the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh, who has come to this country to take up pastoral work in London, with the isolated and on the Continent, was able to attend the Assembly with Mrs. Stroh. This gave to many of our members an opportunity of meeting for the first time one who will play an important part in the work of the Church in Europe.
     In addition, we were delighted to have a truly international flavor added to our Assembly-a flavor to which we are now thoroughly accustomed, and to which we always look forward-by the presence of visitors from the United States, South Africa, Sweden, and Holland.

     First Session.-Held on Saturday evening, August 5th, the first session was devoted to the hearing and discussion of the Rev. Alan Gill's Presidential Address, which dealt with the subject of Heredity and the Real Nature of Man.

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Mr. Gill began by showing that much of modern psychology is based upon an entirely false assumption concerning man's nature, and he went on to demonstrate how the teachings of the Writings give a very different picture of man's essential form, and treated particularly with the Divine endowment and the man's heredity.
     The Address was discussed by a considerable number of those present, as was the case at all the Assembly meetings.

     The Second Session, held on Sunday evening, was addressed by Mr. Alan N. Waters, who spoke to the question: "Are we progressing?" He spoke of both material and spiritual progress, and particularly urged that, in making judgments of the world, we should exercise charity by looking for the good rather than the evil.
     The discussion which followed showed that many did not agree with all that Mr. Waters had said, and that there was some difference of opinion as to what "progress" really is. The occasion was useful, in that all found it necessary to reconsider previously held views.

     The Third Session, on Monday morning, August 7th was addressed by our guest of honor. Dr. Baeckstrom entitled his paper: "An Old Prophecy of a United Humanity." (Ezekiel 37.) Will there unavoidably always be wars on this earth?" The speaker suggested new lines for our speculations concerning the future of mankind, drawing interesting comparisons with the trends of the past. He finished in a tone of hope and optimism which found ready response in the hearts of the listeners.
     It need hardly be added that this subject gave rise to a lively discussion in which many varied points of view were voiced, all acknowledging that Dr. Baeckstrom had contributed some new and useful ideas which should prove the basis of subsequent reflection.

     Business.-As is necessary at most Assemblies, some items of business had to be dealt with. These were scattered throughout the agenda, and patient heed was paid to them, and some degree of interest, by those present.

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     Reports were presented on behalf of the British Finance Committee of the General Church, these dealing particularly with the work done in administering the British Orphanage Fund.
     The Rev. Martin Pryke read brief reports as Visiting Pastor and as Acting Editor of the "News Letter."
     The Annual Report of the Committee on New Church Education revealed that preparatory work of investigation continues, and that the Education Fund has now reached the encouraging figure of L1338. The Committee was authorized to institute a Stamp Plan, if this is deemed advisable, and was asked to consider whether anything should be done to train a teacher to be in readiness for the High School which is envisaged.
     Other items of business included: the acceptance of the Report of the Thirty-sixth British Assembly, which appeared in the October, 1949, issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, as the Minutes of that Assembly; the ratification of the Bishop's renomination of Mr. Colley Pryke and Mr. Archibald Stebbing as members of the British Finance Committee; and the appointment of Mr. A. J. Appleton and Mr. A. S. Wainscot as auditors of the same Committee.

     Services of Worship.-The Sunday morning service is always the central feature of our Assemblies. On this occasion the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom preached on the subject of "Humility." his text being from Matthew 18: 3, "Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." In a moving treatment of the subject the sermon showed its connection with innocence.
     Despite the fact that a part of the congregation could only find seats outside the church building, the singing was spirited, and added much to the sphere of the worship, notably the now traditional 45th Psalm.
     The Sacrament Service was conducted in the afternoon, when the Holy Supper was administered to 131 communicants. The Rev. Alan Gill was celebrant, and he was assisted by the Revs. Martin Pryke and Kenneth Stroh. Many commented on the impressiveness of the service, and there can be no doubt that there are few times when the power of this Sacrament is felt more fully than when so many are gathered together in Assembly.

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     Social.-The Assembly closed with the Assembly Social, held on the Monday evening in the ballroom of the Red Lion Hotel. A programme of short speeches was organized by Mr. F. G. Waters, these being in response to toasts to the Church, the Hosts, the Visitors, and the New Babies. Then a programme of dances, songs, and several items that displayed the lighter talent lying dormant within some of our number, completed a thoroughly enjoyable and friendly evening.
     On Monday afternoon a Garden Party was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Colley Pryke, and although rain early in the afternoon forced all indoors later we were free to wander abroad, play tennis, or just chat.
     All seemed to agree that the Assembly had been an eminently successful and useful one. It was marred only by our knowledge of Bishop de Charms' illness. A message was sent to him, and all hoped that it would not be too long before he is fully recovered and can once more come to England to preside at a British Assembly.
     MARTIN PRYKE
          Secretary.

     New Church Club.-As is customary, the Assembly was preceded by a special meeting of the New Church Club, held in London at Swedenborg House. The Rev. Martin Pryke read his address on "The Method of Giving Revelation," which had been delivered to the General Assembly in Bryn Athyn. It was followed by a good discussion.

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HEREDITY AND THE NATURE OF MAN 1950

HEREDITY AND THE NATURE OF MAN       Rev. ALAN GILL       1950

     (Presidential Address at the Thirty-seventh British Assembly, Colchester, August 5, 1950.)

     Because man is a created and therefore a finite being, and, even when he becomes an angel-man, is but an image and likeness of God, having no life, no love or wisdom or human capabilities in or of himself, he is inherently circumscribed by all kinds of finite limitations. Indeed, when we consider that his predestined end is the performance of a specific, single use in the Gorand Man of heaven, comparable, we suggest, to that of a single cell in the human body, we are brought to a realization that a human being is more notable for the limits of his capabilities than for the range of them. "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" And when we add to or superimpose upon these limitations his inherited mental weaknesses, and his proclivities to evils of every kind, and then add to these the physical frailties with which so many are beset, not forgetting their detrimental effect upon the mind's capabilities and outlook, we wonder indeed what there is that is healthy and useful in man.
     This, however, is but one way of regarding man. Another and truer view is that based upon an appreciation of how "fearfully and wonderfully made" is man, to the end that he may be able to perform, as of himself and not as a puppet or automaton, even the least and most humble of uses in the kingdom of heaven.
     But, leaving out of consideration for the moment this latter aspect of man-his potentialities for what is spiritually good and useful, whether regarded as great or minute, and the incredibly marvelous construction and capabilities of the physical body and the brain, the organism of the mind-how are we, as New Churchmen, to regard our inherited weaknesses or accidentally imposed impediments to normal and orderly thought and behavior?

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     This is the subject before us. It is, we believe, an important question at any time, if only for the reason that we all, by nature, are ever prone to condone and excuse any shortcomings in ourselves; and evil spirits are all too quick to insinuate excuses into our minds, urging us to adopt them. But in addition, at this day and age there is outstanding and increasingly prevalent in the world-especially among the learned in general and the psychologists and psychiatrists in particular, whose influence upon people in general is, as always, unsuspectedly great-there is prevalent the concept that man, as to his whole make-up and consequent mentality and behavior, is, for the most part, if not entirely. a victim of circumstances beyond his control, the unavoidable implication being, though it is not often expressed openly, that a human being is not, after all, as our forefathers supposed, a responsible being. Criminals, more and more, are treated as mental patients, to be pitied and kindly treated rather than blamed and punished.
     Those who hold this view put forward arguments that are persuasive, and are so supported by the results of innumerable and various experiments that they are by no means easy for the layman to refute. And those opponents of this view who pride themselves on being old-fashioned in their ideas and their outlook on these matters usually take refuge in a stubborn negation, supported only by questionable statistics which, to their minds, cast doubt upon these newfangled views and methods, or they quote passages from the Scriptures which provide no logical or scientific answer to the arguments presented by the psychologists, and which, in any case, are more and more discredited as being not authoritative.
     The New Churchman dare not consider himself as superior and as immune to this and other like views and arguments. When he views them objectively, he may at once perceive that they are fallacious, and even dangerous. Nevertheless, they are most insidious: for it is not easy to live in the world, and yet remain untainted by the prevailing thought of the world. Furthermore, such ideas penetrate into our minds in deceitful guise, unrecognized for what they really are, as when they are not viewed objectively, but as personal to ourselves and are regarded as harmless-such ideas and arguments, for example, as that we "can't help" being lazy, or stubborn, or irritable, or nervous, or gloomy, etc., that we come by these traits "honestly," meaning that we inherit them, and, by implication, that we can do nothing about them.

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     Now, even assuming that such traits are in themselves trivial, and granting that at least they are acknowledged as shortcomings, is it safe to assume that they are harmless as to their potentialities, or that we need not or cannot do anything about them? Is not this assumption essentially the same as the psychologists' view, and just as dangerous? Or is it not? We believe that the true answer to this question is vital to the spiritual progress of the church, especially at this day, when there is such utter mental confusion as to what is blamable and what is not, and as to what are man's responsibilities, where they begin and where they end. For the progress and growth of the church depends, in the last analysis, upon the overcoming of evils, weaknesses, and shortcomings by the man of the church, and thus bringing the natural into correspondence with the spiritual.
     How, then, can this progress and growth be achieved, unless we have a sure knowledge, and are able to recognize what is evil, what will hinder this growth and progress, and what will not? What is evil? But first, what is man?

     God is love, and it is the essence of love to love others outside of itself. And, as is pointed out in our Doctrine, it is impossible for God to love others or to be loved reciprocally by others in whom there is anything of infinity, that is, anything of the essence and life of love in itself, or anything of the Divine. For if there were beings having in them anything of infinity, that is, of the essence and life of love in itself, that is, of the Divine, it would be God loving Himself, since the Infinite, that is, the Divine, is one only, and if this were in others, Itself would be in them, and would be the love of self Itself; and of that love not the least trace can possibly be in God, since it is wholly opposed to the Divine Essence. (D. L. W. 49.) And so God created a universe whereby might be brought into existence unceasingly to all eternity a race of beings, immortal souls, finite not infinite, human but not Divine, to whom He could express His Love, and who, being made in His own image and likeness, could love Him reciprocally, and so enjoy a life of happiness.

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This life or state is heaven; and the Divine end in creation is the ever-increasing perfection of the heavens.
     Note the words "ever-increasing." The Divine end of creation cannot be said to be the perfection of the heavens, in the sense of complete perfection or perfect completion. For the Lord alone is perfect, as He alone is infinite; and the heavens as constituted of angels, being created and outside of Himself, and thus finite, will never be complete.
     Note further that the actual existence of the heavens requires human beings and their agency. The Divine of the Lord makes the heavens, but the angels constitute it,-that is, they enable the Divine of the Lord to stand forth, manifested, in Human form, as the Gorand Man of heaven. And the agency of the angels consists in their performing, as of themselves and from love, the spiritual, heavenly uses which are declared to correspond to the functions of the organs and viscera of the human body,-uses of interdependent and mutual service which contribute to the happiness of all.
     This as-of-themselves with the angels involves that the angelic agency is finite, and therefore limited: for the effective uses performed through the instrumentality of angels are limited by the degree of their love from which they are performed; for heavenly uses are loves expressing themselves, and the degree of love depends upon the as-of-itself of the angels, or upon the exercise of their faculty of free choice-upon the exercise of their freedom to receive and reciprocate love from the Lord with greater or less ardor. There must be this freedom: it is a Divinely given faculty which men are designed to exercise: for otherwise we could not love at all, and consequently could never enjoy heavenly happiness.
     Hence we see that the heavens, as constituted of angels, are not and never can be perfect in the sight of God. Nor indeed do all men, though predestined to heaven, choose when they die to contribute in any way towards its perfection, but instead some strive, though without avail, to destroy it. Nevertheless the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and omnipotence, so overrules these finite, human endeavors, that the ever-increasing perfection of the heavens is Divinely assured to all eternity.

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     And this is assured, your essayist believes, by virtue of the fact that the human agent has been created a twofold being, consisting of a soul and a mind. These together are the man. (We do not include the body, as this is but the temporary instrumentality whereby the man is first brought into being, and which makes possible a conscious contact with the natural world.) Soul and mind together make man. And the ever-increasing perfection of the heavens is provided for by the Lord's creating, as and when they are needed, souls perfectly adapted for the performance of those specific uses which the Lord in His omniscience sees are needed for the perfection of the heavens.
     For the soul of man is not merely a force which activates the brain and the body, producing mental processes and bodily actions, and maintaining physical life, like electricity, which, by mechanisms adapted to its reception, produces motion, heat and light. The soul of man is more than this. It is life from the Lord, the Divine love and wisdom of the Lord, within which is the Divine end of a heaven from the human race, proceeding to fulfill that end-the ever-increasing perfection of the heavens. And inasmuch as heavenly uses are of endless variety, no two being exactly alike, therefore no two human souls are alike, but each soul contains within it the potentiality of performing a particular heavenly use and no other, even as the vegetable soul contained within an acorn has within it the potentiality of producing an oak tree and not an elm, and, moreover, a particular variety of oak, and a tree that will differ in form from all others of that variety
     In man, this individual potentiality is his most interior, all- pervading characteristic. It is spiritual and heavenly, having to do with inmost ends, and being such it is deeply hidden even from the man himself; in this world he can know little or nothing of its form. At most he can only conjecture. In other words, he is not consciously aware of its existence much less its nature as it is in itself. Nor can he under any circumstances change or pervert this. It is a quality inherent in his very life, which, together with his life, is a gift of the Lord and by which he is Divinely predestined to perform a specific use in the Gorand Man of heaven and thus contribute toward its perfection.

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     For all are predestined to heaven, and, furthermore, to a particular place in heaven, being Divinely directed thereto in the way described,-the place being determined by the use. And in the fact that all do not will to perform that use, fill that place, or effect that Divine end from love-in the fact that all are free in this regard-we surely see the infinite love and mercy of the Lord in His overruling desire to preserve untouched to all eternity this supreme gift of freedom and ability to love. So that-and this is to be especially noted-as to this, man's inmost characteristic, which is created by the Lord, whose nature is determined by Him, which is good, and which, though finite and limited as to its range and kind of capabilities, is not subject to the imperfections and weaknesses to which the flesh, the mind, of man is prone;-as to this, man is in no way responsible.

     But what about all man's other characteristics, the rest of his make-up or nature, with all its proclivities--his disposition and temperament? These traits of human character, of which we are or should be conscious, and well aware as to their origin and quality,-all these are to be distinguished clearly from the ruling characteristic before described. For one thing, they are on a discretely lower plane, namely, on the plane of the mind or spirit, either of the mens or rational, or of the animus or lower mind. Also, for these man is altogether responsible that is to say, he is responsible for what he does about them, for what he does with them; for, as will be seen presently, he is not responsible for their origin or presence with him, any more than he is responsible for his inmost and basic characteristic.
     As to their origin, there is this essential and fundamental difference, namely, that man's ruling or inmost characteristic is from the Lord; all of man's other characteristics are derived from his parents; and certainly we are not responsible for our parentage! As we understand it, the Lord's life inflows into the soul, giving it its individual, basic characteristic, which then operates into the mind, giving to it the capability of functioning in such a way, qualifying its capacities in such a way, as to enable it to carry into effect, to love, and to make its own the specific ends of the soul.

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     This being so, it can be seen that the mind, with its as-of-self, be it noted, intervenes between the ends of the soul and its effectual uses. And inasmuch as the mind, with its ability to think, will, and act as of itself, which is the man himself, the responsible man, is tainted with hereditarily acquired tendencies to evils of every kind, therefore there is a mixture and much opposition and conflict between these tendencies and those inherent capabilities of the mind that are derived from the Lord through the soul. In other words, orderly and useful potentialities which the mind derives from the soul are opposed by cravings for things disorderly, by inclinations to abuses of all kinds, and thus by evil things, all of which have their root in the loves of self and of the world, and all of which are opposed to the neighbor, heaven, and the Lord, and thus to the performance of uses in the Gorand Man of heaven.

     From what has been said we can see the origin and true nature and quality of all those weaknesses and shortcomings which we are so apt to excuse and condone with so little concern, not realizing perhaps the position these characteristics hold as impediments indeed bitter enemies, to the performance of those spiritual uses which contribute to the perfection of the heavens. There is no need to enumerate them; for we recognize them at once, and we readily and all too lightly acknowledge them to be evils, though claiming that they are mild ones and virtually harmless. Nor do we realize, perhaps, the danger of sliding from this attitude into the thought that, as we are born with these shortcomings, we are not responsible for them, and that we can do little or nothing about them; and further, that perhaps after all the psychologists are right, and even criminals are not to be blamed altogether for their misdeeds.
     The truth is, of course, that intrinsically all perverse traits or characteristics of disposition or temperament are tendencies or inclinations only; and they become perverse and ineradicable only when they are condoned and thus confirmed. Hereditary evil, as the term is used in the Writings, is not actual evil, but an inclination to evil. Or, hereditary evil is not sin, but the inclination to sin. And the same may be said of the proprium, which, viewed in itself, is hereditary evil, as we are taught. (T. C. R. 405.) The hereditary inclination to evil is termed as though it were actual evil because, if a man remains in it it becomes evil and he cannot be regenerated.

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     Note also that an inclination to a thing is not the same as an affection for it; for one can incline to a thing for which he has no affection. Hence, as we are further taught, "hereditary evils do not hinder the appropriation of good, for by the appropriation of good with man is meant the capability of receiving good from the Lord, with which capability he is endowed by regeneration; hence the good with a man is not man's, but is the Lords with him, and the man is held in it in so far as he suffers himself to be withheld from evils." (A. C. 10109.) And this, of course, every man can do, if he but turns to the Lord in His Word for guidance and strength; for he cannot of himself withhold himself from a single evil.

     It may be asked, and the subject before us should not be left without some consideration of the question: Does a man inherit nothing but inclinations to evil from his parents? Is there no such thing as hereditary good? As to this, we shall let the Writings speak for themselves, for the teaching is plain and emphatic. We read:

     "There are many who enjoy natural good from what is hereditary, from which they have delight in benefiting others, but who have not been imbued with principles of doing what is good, either from the Word or the doctrine of the church or their own religiosity. Thus they cannot be gifted with conscience, for this does not come from natural or hereditary good, but from the doctrine of truth and good and a life in accordance therewith." (A. C. 6208.)

     This teaching, sad to relate, undoubtedly accounts for much of the good that is seen and done in the world at this day, when, though the population increases, the numbers of those attending churches is steadily declining, and religion is less and less regarded. Further we are taught in the Writings:

     "The natural good which is connate (or which is born with a man) is in itself nothing but a mere animal good, for it exists also with animals." (A. C. 3408.)

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"Those who are in this good are those who from what is hereditary . . . are mild and upright, thus who do good from nature, and not from religion. And to do good from nature is quite different from doing it from religion. They cannot be distinguished in the world by man (that is, in others), for he does not know interiors." (A. C. 5032.) Nevertheless we are warned that "we must well distinguish between spiritual good and natural good. Spiritual good has its quality from the truths of faith, their abundance, and their connection; but natural good is born with man, and also comes forth by accident, as by misfortunes, diseases, and the like. And natural good saves no one, but spiritual good saves all." (A. C. 7761.)

     But it may be asked: Do not the offspring of regenerating parents, who have assiduously fought against and overcome the evil inclinations which they have inherited, and who have been confirmed in spiritual good from the Lord--do not the children of such parents acquire from them any inclinations to goods that are goods?
     Clear answer is given to this question in the Arcana Celestia, no. 3469, where, after stating that "everyone knows what natural good is, namely, that it is the good into which man is born," the passage continues by explaining that there are four kinds of natural good, that is, of the good that is born with man, namely, natural good from the love of good, natural good from the love of truth, and also natural good from the love of evil, and natural good from the love of falsity. For the good into which man is born he derives from his parents, either father or mother; for all that which parents have contracted by frequent use and habit, or have become imbued with by actual life until it has become so familiar to them that it appears as if natural, is transmitted into their children, and becomes hereditary."
     As regards those who receive hereditarily the good of the love of evil and the good of the love of what is false, it is said that "these goods are called goods by reason of their appearing in outward form as goods in those persons in whom they are, although they are the very reverse of goods. Very many in whom natural good appears have such good. . . . At the present day most people in the Christian world who are in natural good are born into these so-called goods of evil and falsity, because their parents have by actual life contracted the delight of evil and falsity, and thus have implanted it in their children, and thereby in their descendants."

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But we are assured-and herein lies the hope of the church, and ultimately of mankind on this earth-that "if parents who have lived in the good of the love of good, and in this life have perceived their delight and blessedness, conceive offspring in this state, the offspring receive therefrom an inclination to similar good and if parents who have lived in the good of the love of truth, and in this life have perceived their delight, are in this state when they conceive offspring, the offspring receive therefrom an inclination to the like good." (A. C. 3469.)

     In closing, and above all perhaps, we may derive assurance and strength from the teaching concerning conjugial love and its effects upon children born of parents who are in this blessed state, namely, that "this conjugial can be implanted in Christians, and by inheritance descend to the offspring from parents who are in love truly conjugial, and that from this arises a connate faculty and inclination to become wise in the things of the church and of heaven." (C. L. 142.) For the fact "that offspring derive from their parents inclinations to such things as were of the parent's love and life is well known, in general from history, and specifically from experience"; though it must be understood "that they do not derive or inherit from them their very affections, and thence their lives, but only inclinations and also faculties from them." (C. L. 202.)
     And further we cite the heading of this passage "That offspring of two who are in love truly conjugial derive from their parents the conjugial of good and truth, from which they have the inclination and faculty, if a son, for perceiving the things which are of wisdom, if a daughter, for loving the things which wisdom teaches. . . . From this it is plain that a readiness and facility for conjoining good with truth and truth with good, and thus for becoming wise, is inherited from birth more than others by those who are born of such a marriage, and consequently a facility for being imbued with the things which are of heaven and the church. . . . From these considerations the end for which marriages of love truly conjugial have been provided and are still provided by the Lord the Creator is evidently apparent to reason." (C. L. 204.)

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OLD PROPHECY OF A UNITED HUMANITY 1950

OLD PROPHECY OF A UNITED HUMANITY       Rev. GUSTAF BAECKSTROM       1950

     Will there unavoidably always be wars on this earth?

     AN ADDRESS

     (At the Thirty-seventh British Assembly, August 7, 1950.)

     It was a strange vision which the prophet Ezekiel had when he "was carried out in the spirit of the Lord, and set down in the midst of a valley which was full of dead bones." And it was said to him: "Son of man, can these bones live?" And he answered: "O Lord God, Thou knowest." (Ezekiel 37: 1, 3.)
     Jerusalem was desolate, and many of the people had been carried away in captivity to Babylon, far away from their own country. Among these captive Jews was Ezekiel. At first they hoped soon to be delivered, but when one year passed after another they began to despair. And then Ezekiel had this vision, and it was said to him: "These bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost. . . . Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves. . . And I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land." (Ezekiel 37: 11, 12, 14.)
     The Jews were indeed as "dried bones." The power of Babylon was great. Many people had been conquered and had lost their freedom, and the arrogance of the oppressor was formidable. One nation after another had come under its dominion. There seemed to be no way out of it. But the Lord knew. In the night, while at a great feast, and while under the influence of heavy drinking of wine, a vision of impending judgment was revealed to the king of Babylon and his men, and they saw the fingers of a man's hand write on the wall: "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin," that is "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

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Thou are weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." (Daniel 5: 25-28.) In that night the profaning king was slain in the midst of his profanation. And the vision of Ezekiel was fulfilled in the literal sense of the Word. The Jews were free, and permitted to return to their own country and to rebuild their temple.
     But far more is contained in the spiritual sense, though even from the literal sense alone we can learn that there is no night so dark, that it is not followed by day, and after darkness there will be light. It is so with regard to the individual; it is so with regard to a whole nation; and it is so with regard to all the nations of the earth, even in our days. If we cannot see our way out of the difficulties, it does not matter. The Lord sees it. Therefore we may not doubt or despair if it takes time. The Lord knows why it must take time; and when the hour is come, that will happen which He sees is best for us and in the best way. There will be a new "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin" upon the plaster of the wall of the oppressor of mankind. The impending judgment will come. There will be deliverance; there will be freedom; and the old prophecy will be fulfilled.

     These "dried bones." they are we ourselves-we and our fellow men. In a sense they are the whole of mankind. And in another sense it is the individual man that is meant. And the valley in which they are is the valley that is also called "the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23: 4),-the state of the natural man.
     As in our physical body the bones have least life, they represent those things in the mind which are least receptive of life; and the bones in the vision that are said to be "very dry" are far removed from life. Such are the knowledges we have as long as they are only knowledges, only things in the memory. It is not until these knowledges are loved, and we try to apply them to life, that they become living.
     Knowledges are necessary. We must have knowledges in order that we may be able to live a life of religion. We must know something about God in order that we may be able to believe in Him and love Him. These knowledges of religion are the skeleton, the foundation, upon which something of a kingdom of heaven can be built.

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It is of these that it is said: "All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto Thee?" (Psalm 35: 10.)
     These knowledges are gathered into our memory in childhood, just as the corn was stored up in Egypt during the seven years of plenty. But how easily we forget them, or fail to think from them! And there they are, stored up in the valleys of the memory like dried bones, naked facts, knowledges spread out without connection, without life, without any real meaning to us. And we may well ask then: "Can these bones live?" Really it is the Lord who asks us this question, as after the fall He asked Adam: "Where art thou?" (Genesis 3: 9.) He asks us in order to make us think.
     Then the hand of the Lord is upon us, as it was upon the prophet; and the Spirit of the Lord is carrying us out of the old state, out of our selfishness and our conceit, as He carried the prophet out, and as He brought Abram forth abroad, and said: "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them." (Genesis 15: 5.) So he brings us out of our own, out of the earthy and temporal, and tells us to look toward heaven and see the lights in the heights and learn to know the Lord. In the mild and clear rays of the heavenly lights we will be able to discern what is in the gloomy valleys of our unregenerate mind, and see the many dried, dead bones lying there to no use.
     As far as our historical knowledge goes, the popular education has never been as high as it is now; and knowledges concerning God and His kingdom are by no means lacking. But when these knowledges are without connection, and even contrary to each other in the way they are understood-as, for instance, that there are several persons in God, though He is one, from which are mere contradictions and absurdities-then these knowledges are as dead bones, very dry. And therefore it is as it is in the world in which we live. This humanity, intended by the Lord to be united in love as a man in His image, inspired by love to Him and to each other,-this humanity is split, its parts being divided among themselves, fighting and preparing for war. And yet, is there no hope? "Can these bones live?" Perhaps we think that they cannot. But is it not wiser to say with the prophet: "O Lord, Thou knowest."

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The Lord knows, and we may lay everything in His hands. And these hands are the strong hands of the Almighty One.

     The Lord's hands were upon the prophet. His hand is upon us now. And it will carry us out of obscurity and out of darkness. The present conditions in the world are more or less troubling us all. The immediate future seems to us more uncertain than ever. The powers of darkness seem to be overwhelming. It seemed in the same way to Ezekiel, when in new visions he saw great armies gathered out of many peoples, as described in the following two chapters as Gog and Magog. But the Lord sent a fire on Magog, while Gog and all his multitude were buried in graves. (Ezekiel 39: 6, 11.) And in the Apocalypse we read how John saw in a vision that Satan was to be "loosed out of his prison, and was to go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. . . And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." (Rev. 20: 7-9.)
     In the spiritual sense, "by Gog and Magog are signified they who are in external natural worship separated from internal spiritual worship, and that each and everything of that worship is to perish, and that the state of the church will thereby be changed, and they will perish, when the Lord comes and institutes a church." They who are in faith alone and in merely external worship are meant. And it is further said that "by fire coming down from heaven which consumed them are signified the lusts of evils or of infernal love, and it was so done in ancient times, when all the things of the church were represented before their eyes." (A. R. 858-859, 863.) And in the 39th chapter of Ezekiel the destruction of the one is first described and then the destruction of the other.
     We also know that spiritual conflicts are in the effort to come out in wars between nations, and that these nations then correspond to the spiritual conflicts. There we are now. We may try to do our work as usual, and not to think about it, but we are continually reminded of it. But is it not a comforting thought that in these visions the power of Gog and Magog was broken by fire coming out of heaven-by their being consumed by their own evils?

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It is true that it is said of spiritual conflicts; but as the nations in war, even in our days, correspond to spiritual things in conflict, as was the case with the nations of old, and the weapons they used in those times, so there may be reason for believing that the weapons that may now be used in wars also correspond.
     Now, when the internal sense of the Word is revealed, the spiritual conflicts must be on a more interior plane, and the weapons used in a corresponding conflict between nations are and must be very different from those formerly used so much so that we now speak of the war as a war between scientific men, who are now able to make use of the interior energies before hidden in nature. So, by contrast, the prophets of old were simple men, but the man who was the means in the Lord's hands of revealing the internal sense was, as we know, a man of great learning.

     The prophet Ezekiel further heard from the Angel of the Lord these words: "Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you , and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 37: 5, 6.) And the prophet heard a great noise and a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
     In our minds a new life is beginning to grow,-a life which is in opposition to the former one that seemed to be life, but was death. Truth stands against appearance and falsity. Hope and fear, belief and doubt, a turmoil of contending voices! A fire has been kindled in our minds, and there is a world on fire. In the new revelation we have been granted a flood of light upon what before seemed mystical and inexplicable. Everywhere in the Holy Scripture we see new contents,-a meaning in everything. All is connected. There is harmony in all. The scattered bones come together, bone to his bone, and there is the frame of a man.
     When we see that it was the one only God who came into the world in His infinite love to save us, we see the head of the human form which the prophet saw; and when we, from the doctrine of charity, learn about our duties to our neighbor, we see the human breast, arms and legs.

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And when we see how closely related to each other are love to the Lord and love to our neighbor, then we see the skeleton clothed with flesh.
     We find that the knowledges we possess must come to practical use. We find that it is not enough to be content with sentimentality and beautiful thoughts. "If ye love me," the Lord said, "keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." (John 14: 15, 21.) Then the Lord lays sinews upon us. And He covers us with skin-the external covering of the body,-when the outward life of conduct is also changed in a more healthy way, in agreement with the rest of the body, protecting it from impurity. We watch our tongue, and we are aware of immoderation of any kind.
     This is the way in which a new man is created. It is the way in which a new humanity is formed. There is no other way. Beautiful it is, but it is only the beginning. It is far from a fulfilment of the end of creation. Something very essential is lacking still. There is no breath in it. It is not yet a living man, though he seems to live.
     There is no breath in us until we really see, and from our hearts acknowledge, that all the knowledges we possess, all the truths we think, and all the good we do, are not from ourselves, but from the Lord. And it is said in the old story of creation that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2: 7.) And so even now the Lord God must breathe into us the breath of life, that we may live. To see and acknowledge with our understanding that it must be so is not so difficult; but it cannot be a living experience, an actual reality within us, without great difficulties. These differ with different men. The experiences of one are not the same as those of another. But they all have this in common,-that we must suffer, and some of us hard things, before the Lord becomes to us our King, our Father, and our best friend, to whom we can surrender with everything we have.
     We have to suffer. And no wonder, then, that all mankind has to suffer now, when the Lord is coming. Even historians outside of the New Church say that, from about the time in which we in the New Church know that the new revelation was given, a new age evidently begins,-new currents are bringing forth a new world.

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More and more the nations seemed to come nearer to each other, as the dried bones did in the prophetic vision. But the bones were still dead. There was no breath in them. And this must be evident to everyone. We have seen how the League of Nations attempted to bring the nations together and prevent wars. Yet a new war came, more dreadful than the previous one. The bones that came together were still dead bones, very dry. We now have the United Nations in a new effort to bring the nations together in peace. But though it may be a step further, we now live in a world that is more filled with fear than ever.
     It is not enough that the dried bones come together. They must also be clothed with flesh and sinews and covered with skin; and the Lord must breathe into them the spirit of life, that they may live. In this way a new humanity will be built up, little by little. But we may ask: Will that ever take place to such an extent that there will be no more wars on earth? We may say, as the prophet of old said: "Lord, Thou knowest."

     The 46th Psalm begins with these words: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in struggle. Therefore will we not fear." (Verse 1.) And it is said in the 9th verse: "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth." We are told that "this signifies that He maketh combats understood in a spiritual sense to cease, which are combats of falsities against the truths and goods of the church." (A. E. 734:5.) And further in the same work: "Because wars signify spiritual combats, it is clear what is signified by the words, Jehovah will make wars to cease to the end of the earth, namely, that from the firsts to the ultimates of the truth of the church all combat and disagreement will cease, the end of the earth signifying the ultimates of the church." (A. E. 357:28.)
     There are similar statements in other parts of the Old Testament which are explained as signifying spiritual conflicts that will cease. Shall we understand this as meaning that they will cease only for the individuals who overcome, or can we attribute to them a wider extent? I merely ask the question. If the spiritual causes of wars are removed, certainly the wars will cease.

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However, it is very possible that there will always be evil men on earth. Let us see further what the Writings have to say about this question. Thus we read in the work on the Divine Providence:

     "Evils cannot be repressed by any Providence, for so they would be shut in, and, like the diseases called cancer and gangrene, would spread and consume all that is vital in man. For man is from birth a little hell, between which and heaven there is perpetual variance. No man can be withdrawn from his hell by the Lord unless he sees that he is there, and unless he wishes to be led out; and this cannot be done without permissions, the causes of which are laws of the Divine Providence. For this reason there are lesser and greater wars, the lesser between possessors of estates and their neighbors, and the greater between the sovereigns of kingdoms and their neighbors. Whether lesser or greater makes no difference, except that a lesser one is kept within bounds by the laws of the nation, and the greater by the laws of nations; and that while both the lesser and the greater wish to transgress their laws, the lesser cannot, and the greater can do so, though not beyond the limits of their ability. There are many other causes why the greater wars, united as they are with homicides, depredations, violence and cruelty, are not repressed by the Lord, either in the beginning or in their progress, but only at the end, when the power of one or the other has become so reduced that he is in danger of destruction. Some of these causes have been revealed to me, and among them is this-that all wars, however much they may belong to civil affairs, represent in heaven the states of the church, and that they are correspondences." (D. P. 251.)

     From this it seems that, as long as the states of the church are such that there are spiritual conflicts, wars will not cease on earth, either the lesser or the greater wars.
     The statement that it makes no difference whether the wars are lesser or greater, whether they are between the possessors of estates and their neighbors or between whole nations, may give us something to think about. The lesser are said to be kept within bounds by the laws of the nation. But it has not always been so.

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     There was a time when everyone who could do so took for himself by force what he considered to be his by right. It has not always been forbidden to do so. But when social order was developed, this warrant of the individual was limited, and finally it was forbidden under penalty of the law to take by force what one considered was his by right. In most countries it took quite a time for the community to get power over the willful individual. So great was the powerlessness of the courts that what is called the "right of feud" was formally acknowledged A man who had not been able to get his right by the court was permitted to send his antagonist a "letter of feud," and after this to take his right himself by force. This right of feud was greatly misused; its conditions were not kept, and the limitations of the practice were continually exceeded. Throughout the Middle Ages these feuds continued, openly scoffing at justice.
     In order to counteract the prevailing license, the emperor, from time to time, proclaimed public peace, intending to limit and regulate the private feuds. Several princes and cities also entered into a treaty of peace during certain years, solemnly pledging not to fight against each other during that time, but to submit all disputes to courts or arbitrators. In the year 1495 what is called "the eternal public peace" was proclaimed, and this forbade for all future time every practice of the club-law. The prohibition, however, was often transgressed, and new eternal peace declarations were repeatedly necessary.
     Are not the relations between the nations still like those that prevailed in former times between individuals? Were not those lesser wars rather like the great wars? What, then, is the club-law but the right of power that still decides the differences of the nations. As there were certain conditions and rules intended to regulate the feuds, though they were continually transgressed, so the nations have now agreed upon certain regulations and rules with regard to their wars, and these too are often transgressed.
     As eternal public peace was declared with regard to individuals, so what was called "the eternal peace" was entered into at Vienna in the year 1815, and this was intended to put an end to war for all future time. The disputes of individuals were submitted to courts and arbitrators, but the decisions of these were for a long time not respected, when they did not suit those concerned. So has it been with the nations also, as we know too well.

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     Later we had the duels. These were derived from the old single combats through which judicial controversies were settled and the biggest fighter was the man who was right. It is not so long ago that duels were considered to be lawful, if only some certain rules were observed. The duel was, as we know, a fight with deadly weapons agreed upon between two persons, because the honor of one of them or of a third person was considered to have been offended. Such duels took place even up to the beginning of the present century. In an encyclopedia of the year 1907 it is said that duels then took place in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, but especially in Germany, where the practice had gone so far that an officer who did not accept the challenge to a duel was dismissed from the army, though he would get some punishment if he did accept it. Thus the law of the state forbade duels officially, but what were called the "laws of honor" accepted them. Indeed, as late as the year 1906, the German Chancellor declared in the parliament that as long as duels were considered in wide circles as means of protecting one's honor, the body of officers could not tolerate anyone who was not prepared to protect his honor with weapons in his hands.
     This attitude is rather strange to us now, but it has not always been so. Yet, is it not a fact that the mental state prevailing is still the same, and that it has come to expression in great wars,-the wars between nations and peoples? And as long as what concerns honor is considered rightly settled by wars, there will be no end of them. We know what fearful misery was caused by these duels, and now we are free from them. In the past, people very likely thought that it would never be possible to do away with duelling, and yet it is now largely done away with.
     Individuals are now compelled to observe the decisions of the courts, because there is now power behind them; and there are policemen to keep the stubborn in order. Perhaps men are not better than they were, for there are robberies, murders, and other crimes, but we live under far better external conditions than men did in old times. Thus the lesser wars have not ceased, but they are limited, and we would live in comparative safety if it were not for the wars between nations.

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     What was it, then, that put an end to the individual feuds and duels? Was it not that this lawlessness brought about such unsafe conditions that people, in their own real interest, found that the interests of the individual must be subordinated to the common good? Perhaps, when men consider what they have had to go through, and will have to go through, they will finally come to see that all the nations on earth are in a reciprocal relation to each other, and are so dependent upon one another, that it is to the interest of all that there be peace and order. It must have been this that inspired the idea of the League of Nations and The United Nations. But it is power behind the words that has been lacking. Evil powers threaten with great might to break that order and dominate the world. Many have tried the same thing before, but all have failed. They will fail even now.
     If there is to be a new great war all over the world-a war more dreadful than any before it,-and if, in the beginning, it is like the beginning of the last two great wars, the end will no doubt be somewhat like the end of those wars. As the nations in the great wars correspond to truths in conflict with opposing falsities and evils, there cannot be the least doubt on what side the correspondence to truth is, where what is right and freedom are, and where what is wrong and slavery are.
     With the beginning of the Christian Church most slaves received their freedom. With the beginning of the New Church more slaves became free. If, in our day, millions of men again become slaves, then, in the Lord's Providence, it cannot be otherwise than that the slave making power, working against the stream of the Divine Providence, will be checked and stopped and finally defeated, perhaps in the way that evil consumes itself. In whatever way it will be done, its final defeat will be as sure as that the Lord has come again.

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REV. HENRY LEONARDOS 1950

REV. HENRY LEONARDOS       Rev. JOAO DE MENDONA LIMA       1950

      [Photograph.]

     REV. HENRY LEONARDOS.

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     An Obituary.

     HENRY LEONARDOS was born on April 9th, 1871, in the city of Niteroi, Capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and died on July 19th, 1950, in the City of Rio de Janeiro, Capital of Brazil.
     He was baptized at the New Church on December 25th, 1904, by Minister Levindo Castro de La Fayette, and in 1921 entered the General Church of the New Jerusalem.
     On August 5th, 1928, in London, England, he was ordained into the First and Second Degrees of the Priesthood by Bishop N. D. Pendleton.
     He had been acting as President of the New Church Society in Brazil since 1921.
     Privately he was a businessman, a banker, and Consul of Peru and Greece. Recently he worked in a large industrial firm.
     He was always a zealous defender of the Doctrine and the most assiduous member of the Service. He studied all books related to the Doctrine, which he had come to know very deeply. He wrote for A NOVA JERUSALEM and A NOVA IGREJA (two former publications of our Society), and left several original sermons and writings, among which was a little work entitled The Resurrection of Lazarus, which he studied in the light of the spiritual sense of the Word.
     In 1921 he headed the movement which resulted in the affiliation of the Brazilian Church with the General Church.
     Henry Leonardos possessed a great heart, and helped all friends and members of the Church who sought his aid. He dedicated himself passionately to all things connected with the Church, and derived one of the greatest pleasures of his life from the construction of our little temple, which he followed stone by stone.

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When the temple was finished, he looked after it and became interested in its decoration.
     He had a large number of friends in Rio de Janeiro society, won through his kindness and devotion; and was the heart of the New Church in Brazil for over forty years.
     All members and friends of the New Church miss him deeply, and realize the extent of the loss they have suffered. However, they find consolation in the belief that he left us by the Lord's determination, and must be resting in peace.
     Mrs. Henry Leonardos survives her husband. They lived in perfect bliss for over fifty years, and theirs is the largest family of the New Church in Brazil. Their children and grandchildren-named below-all belong to the New Church:
     a) Alice, widow of Antoni Caetano da Silva Lima, is the mother of the following children: Stela-married to Alexandre Cabaca; Sonia-married to Luis Seco, with one child, Luiz Antonio; and Helios and Diceia.
     b) Leila-married to Hugo Hamann-has the following children: Hugo Christiano-married to Silvia, with two children:
Maria Christina and Hugo Christiano; and Sergio.
     c) Othon-married to Lourdes-with two children, Othon and Leila.
     d) George-married to Elizabeth-with two children, Roberto and George.
     e) Olivero, unmarried.
     f) Henry-married to Wanda.


EDITORIAL NOTE: During the last thirty years many accounts of the life and works of the Rev. Henry Leonardos have appeared in our pages. We may here recall a few examples of special interest: 1) Photograph of a Nuptial Ceremony at which he officiated. (1923. p. 529.) 2) He was of Greek ancestry, and spoke modern Greek, also French and Portuguese, the prevailing language in Brazil. (1931 p. 317.) 3) A Letter to Bishop George de Charms concerning the new Temple at Rio, then under construction. The Dedication. (1940, pp. 129, 545.) 4) A photograph of the completed Temple. (1941, p. 469.)

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ADDRESS OF WELCOME 1950

ADDRESS OF WELCOME       Rev. WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1950

     (At the Opening Exercises of the Academy Schools, September 13, 1950.)

     On behalf of the President, the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy, it is my privilege to welcome you to this first gathering of our 73rd school year. It is our belief that in your new home,-the new Benade Hall,-and in a community whose beauty and natural advantages become greater with every year, you will have better opportunities for work and personal happiness than ever before. To old students returning, and to new students to whom Bryn Athyn has been exaggeratedly represented as Paradise, we give you a sincere welcome. We shall take it for granted that your first resolutions will be to work hard in your academic career, shun all excessive pleasures, strictly budgeting the time given to dances, social calls, and even postpone on occasion the daily visit to the "J.D." These resolutions will be very much in your mind for a few weeks. They may even last until Thanksgiving.
     But we would like to suggest that a too academic view of the Academy Schools is not the correct view. The educational process is a many-sided affair. The external institutions of learning are but the scaffolding. The real building is in the life of the mind and heart; and your personal experiences in the worship and doctrinal classes, in social life and friendships, and on the athletic fields, are all invaluable parts of the work of education. It is in your complete life in the Academy that remains are implanted and stored and things which at the time seemed casual,-a teacher's chance remark,-a page in a book that strangely stamped itself on your very heart,-the hand that a friend gave you when you were down in a valley of shadows-the thrill that some beauty of Nature conveyed to your mind-such seemingly trivial happenings you will, in years to come, see as the mysterious leadings of the Divine Educator.

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And you will take out the memory of these moments, as people take out pictures from an old album, and you will then understand education as something more than efficiency charts, or book credits, or pedagogical machinery. You will see in these things the hand of Providence; and you will know that the Lord was with you.
     It is nearly forty-nine years since the Academy Schools held these first opening exercises in their grand new building-the old Benade Hall as we remember it. Those exercises were held on Monday, October 7th, 1901, in what later became the Music Room on the third floor; because the "Assembly Hall," later called the "Chapel" (especially after it was used by the society), was not opened until the dedication ceremonies on April 6th in the following year (1902).
     At the simple opening exercises, the lessons chosen were the same as those which have been read to you this morning. And the Superintendent of Schools, Bishop William Frederic Pendleton, explained in his brief address that the lesson from the Writings (T. C. R. 647) brings vividly to our minds the distinction between the New Church and the Old. The point that is established there (he said) is, that this distinction enters into all parts of the work of our Church. It, therefore, enters also into this part, which is the education of the young. This must be distinct. The work which the Lord does within man is the greatest, and the external work of education is given to man that he may cooperate with the Lord-first in the home, and then in the school. Let us remember that we here are but cooperating with the Lord, and that He who is doing the essential work also gives work for us to do." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1901, p. 617.)
     These words of Bishop Pendleton remind us how strongly the early Academy leaders believed in New Church education as the one sure means of distinctiveness in an alien world. They believed with an intense fervor in such teachings as A. C. 4503: "Falses and evils increase continually in the Church once (it is) perverted and extinct." And one of the most bitterly reviewed publications in the New Church in America was the monograph on "The State of the Christian World" in the Academy's first periodical. True, it was a controversial period; the Academy was fighting for its existence; words were sharply and dogmatically used. To concede exceptions or make modifications was apt to arouse charges of disloyalty.

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To-day we take the necessity of New Church education for granted (perhaps too much for granted); for the numerical majority in the New Church is still unconvinced.
     But do we take the doctrine of the state of the Christian world for granted, with equal conviction? And yet the very necessities provoked by our environment in the old Christian world still force distinctive New Church institutions into being, including that of education. Most of all, the recognition of the state of the Christian world within ourselves is still the prime cause of distinctiveness. We are pledged to a new way of life and thought alien to the old crumbling creeds and will-o'-the-wisp philosophies.
     This is why New Church people grew weary of seeing their children lured away by the Pied Pipers of the modern Christian world, and determined to do something about it. Distinctive new communities were the inevitable natural result of the coming into being of new schools, new homes and new places of worship.
     Certainly we still believe in the doctrine of the state of the Christian world. It is true that occasionally New Church people appear to apply that doctrine unwisely, and without those marks of toleration and human understanding which a wise man of charity will display. A man can have a great deal of knowledge; he can even know five languages, and not be able to keep his mouth closed in any one of them. But our own shortcomings are no just reflection on the doctrine; and any man who insists that the religion and civilization of the Western world are growing better and better simply doesn't read the newspapers.
     I remember being told several years ago by an avowed member of the New Church that the older generation is too narrow-minded about the state of the Christian world. I asked him what was the remedy. He replied charitably that there was nothing to do but wait until the old men died off. This reminds me of a story.
     A couple of burglars were cautiously prying Mr. Johnson's front door open with a jimmy when Johnson put his head out of an upstairs window.
     "You had better come back in about an hour, friends," he said. "We haven't all gone to sleep yet."
     The moral of this is-well, we haven't all gone to sleep yet!

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     Very often writers in New Church periodicals refer to the state of the Christian world as "increasingly pagan." But the present state of the Christian world cannot accurately be described as a pagan state. The word paganism properly refers to surviving customs, sentiments and beliefs that are in contrast to the Christian and Jewish worlds. We know from the Writings that in paganism or heathenism, however idolatrous its form, there may be remains of innocence, sincerity and obedience. But in the modern so-called paganism there is neither innocence, nor sincerity, nor obedience. Instead of these virtues, we witness a ruthless proprial Armageddon of private egotisms, all seeking to dominate the neighbor, to take from him his property, and even his very life.
     Today whole nations and peoples are being robbed and even murdered. The historian of the future will note how Christendom has systematically despoiled the gentile races:--how the present leaders of the misguided Russian people are, with an almost incredible cunning, stamping out the freedom and the religion of the Poles, the Czechs, the Hungarians, the eastern Germans, the Manchurians, the Chinese;-how the things that belong to God are being ruthlessly turned over to Caesar. Indeed. the greatest issue of our modern world has become the preservation of the freedom of the individual man, the individual society, the individual nation.
     It may be objected that these are merely political questions, and are no business of the Church. Since when has the New Church ceased to have relation to freedom? From the early days of the Academy movement, its founders saw in Marxian Socialism, and in kindred movements, a vital danger to the spiritual life of man; and they spoke out against them with a clarity and logic that proved prophetic. And this because they based their thoughts on the teachings of the Writings. They studied such numbers as A. C. 8700: "It is according to order that faith and charity which have been implanted in freedom endure, but not if they have been implanted in compulsion. The reason is that what is done in freedom is insinuated into the affections, and thus into the will of man, and is therefore appropriated, but not what is done under compulsion. Consequently it is impossible for man to be saved unless, seeing that he has been born in evil, he is allowed to do evil, and to desist from evil. When, in this freedom, he desists from evil of himself, the affection of truth and good is insinuated by the Lord, whereby he has freedom to receive the things which are of faith and charity, for freedom belongs to the affection.

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From this it is plain that it is impossible to compel man to salvation. If this could be done, all men in the world would be saved."
     Or again, in the early Academy they paid much attention to such numbers as T. C. R. 814, where we read: "As the Germans are under a despotic government in each dukedom, they are not in the freedom of speaking and writing like the Dutch and the English; and when the freedom of speaking and writing is restrained, the freedom of thinking, that is, of taking a large view of things, is restrained also. . . . Influx adapts itself to efflux, and so also the understanding adapts itself to the measure of freedom of uttering the thoughts." (T. C. R. 814.)
     Such passages make it clear that the New Church has an enormous stake in the maintenance of what we have come to call "democratic freedom" on all the planes of life. But democracy is a spirit rather than a form of government. Real freedom may dwell in a variety of forms. Liberalism, like conservatism, is sometimes animated by self-interest. Indeed, one of the great hindrances to the growth of real democracy is the professional radical who is today unbalancing the thoughts, the policies, and the economies of mankind, and this especially by arousing class hatreds, revenge and envy. Such men are not after justice; they are seeking a following. Many of these bitter-minded radicals are simply irresponsible little Popes. It is true that many great men have been regarded as radicals at first, until the justice of their cause was recognized, and then they were called great. But many cranks get a large following, and they still remain cranks. The size of a man's following does not prove the justice of his cause. This is why there is no inherent virtue in a majority or in a minority.
     The truth is, that New Churchmen must pull their weight in securing a deeper and a more rational and spiritual idea of democracy. What do I mean, specifically? Let me suggest the answer by telling you an old Persian fable. The Persians tell a story of a man, who, having died, found himself in strange surroundings. He saw two doorways. Over one were the words, "The Hall of the Condemned of Allah." Over the other, "The Hall of the Anointed of Allah."

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     Moved by curiosity, he first entered the Hall of the Condemned. There he saw a group of people sitting at a round table on which were plates laden with the most wonderful looking food. But on all their faces was a look of abject misery. Because their elbows were bound in such a manner that, while a man could reach out and pick up the food, and also could move his hand from side to side, he could not make the direct movement that would permit him to bring it to his mouth. They were all starving!
     The man then entered the Hall of the Anointed. The people there too were all sitting around a wonderful feast; and, although their elbows were similarly bound, they seemed to be happy and joyous. And this was because each was feeding the person next to him. And so all were fed.
     The ancient Persians told this story to explain the difference between hell and heaven. And this is the difference between heaven and hell!
     I am sure you will understand why we stress the principle of freedom according to reason, in the thought and life of this institution. I notice that new students are sometimes bewildered when they meet what appears to be a loose latitude in regard to external order. They miss the presence of a rigid penal code of external order. And occasionally they are unfortunate enough to misunderstand it, and to take advantage of it; with the result that the Academy's coal pile is made more than sufficient for the needs of its power plant. Or they find that the easy-going, patient smile of the teacher-(and, by the way, the patience of the average Academy teacher may reasonably be claimed as a distinctive thing. Job was a rank amateur in comparison)-they find that the cheerful encouragement of the teacher has disappeared as the sun vanishes behind a cloud.
     The fact is, we do not believe in a police school, any more than we believe in a police State: and this is because we do not believe in a police Church Any form of authoritarianism that ignores the conscience of the individual, and takes away his right to the orderly freedom of his use and the pursuit of happiness, is abhorrent to the Academy's philosophy;-whether it is the over-government of a civil State that levies virtual blackmail on its citizens, or the authoritarianism of a Church that levies spiritual blackmail on its members by threats to open and shut the gates of heaven and hell, or rescue them from the torments of purgatory by the payment of the proper fee.

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     It is true that we have interpreted this problem of freedom versus order in somewhat different ways in different decades. Our doctrine has of necessity been applied by different kinds of minds, influenced by national traits, and perhaps infiltrated sometimes by currents of thoughts that sweep in from the contemporary educational world without proper direction or scrutiny. But fundamentally we are all agreed that the philosophy of freedom as set forth in the Writings, with its unique liberalism and yet factual recognition that man is born in evil and must fight evil as-of-himself,- that this philosophy and way of life is essential to the very existence of the uses of our Church. This explains why the very Writings themselves were published in Holland and England. It explains why New Church institutions and uses have only flourished in and can only flourish in those countries where freedom is still prized and practised: where right and wrong are still the basis of public law; where men dare to utter their thoughts without punishment or the loss of their use.
     We cherish this freedom for you, and for our church. And it would not be right to disguise the fact that it is in danger today as, perhaps, never before. What Abraham Lincoln said one hundred and eight years ago about the government of the United States is now true of the government of the world. The world cannot endure permanently half slave and half free."
     I am speaking this morning to young men and young women whose lives will be caught in this great issue. If world war comes, it will condition and influence your work and life for many years after those of us who are older have gone away-indeed for many years after that war is over. We hope and pray that such a war may be averted; that the Divine Providence may find some way in the hearts and minds of men to limit the area of slavery, until the appeal to world opinion may be strong enough to defeat the will of those despots who seek to wage aggressive war against their neighbors. But if it is the Divine Will that war must be permitted, because there is no other way to freedom, then war will come. Mankind must be free. The Gentile races of Asia, of Africa, of eastern Europe, even the Russian people themselves, must be set free.

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No longer can the white race, in the name of Christianity and better trade, exploit the brown and black and yellow races. Their prestige, their missionaries, their power to intimidate, are today less respected than at any time in human history.
     What is happening in India, China, Africa, and amongst the great island populations of the Pacific can only be understood in the light of some great historic shift in the balance of this world's power. Whether this portends the near fulfilment of the predictions of the Writings concerning the establishment of the New Church with the Gentiles no man can say. Many times New Churchmen have believed this to be near; but time has disproved their hopes. It is more probable that it will occur only after long and further vastations of the Christian world and with the Gentile races only after those struggles with ignorance and evil which seem the inevitable part of human experience.
     Perhaps it will be wise to let history repeat itself. So I shall conclude by quoting Bishop Pendleton's final remarks forty-nine years ago. He said about the first Benade Hall, just opened for use: "This building proves that in His Providence the part the Church has to do may now be performed more effectually. It is a very inspiring subject, and opens before our minds eye vistas of the future. We cannot foretell the future, for the Lord inspires hope into the thoughts of men. He tells us the Church will be established, but He does not say that it will be established with us. We must work for that; it is a life and death struggle,-the establishing of the Church,-for all the hells are against it. Only the Lord can resist them, for they are like a vast ocean bearing in to overwhelm us. Only by the acknowledgment of the Lord as the Divine Man are we able to resist the mighty waves which would swallow up the Church. On this inaugural day let us think of these things, fondly hoping that our work may last for a very long time. Let us pray the Lord to give us wisdom to do the work as it should be done, from Him, as if from ourselves."
     That was the old Bishop's prayer. That is my prayer. And that is the prayer of all of us.

LESSONS: Apocalypse 12. T. C. R. 647 and first two sentences of 648.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1950

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1950


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor      Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager      Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.03 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 30 cents.
     A PRODUCTIVE CENTURY.

CENTENARY MEMORIAL. Prepared by the Rev. Arthur Wilde, Honorary President of the Swedenborg Foundation. Inc., 51 East 42nd Street, New York 17, N. Y., 1950. 16 pages and cover.
     This booklet has been issued by the Swedenborg Foundation in commemoration of its 100th anniversary, and in brief form presents historical and factual information which constitutes an impressive record of accomplishment that calls for congratulation.
     Originally founded as The American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society in the year 1849 by a group of friends residing in or near the City of New York, we are told that the aim of these men was "to encourage a wider circulation of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg." For those who have been blest with a knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem are moved with a desire that others may be similarly blest.

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And during the 19th century this desire with New Churchmen led to the establishment of a number of organizations devoted to the publication and distribution of the Writings, among them the Swedenborg Society of London in 1810, the Swedenborg Foundation of New York in 1850, and the Academy of the New Church at Philadelphia in 1877. The aims of the Academy, of course, were not only publication and distribution of the Writings, but also included provisions for New Church Education.
     It was in 1928 that the original name of The American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society was changed to Swedenborg Foundation, Inc., and its corporate purposes and powers are "to print, publish, circulate and distribute the theological, scientific and other works and writings of Emanuel Swedenborg," and to promote this general object by many collateral activities which are listed in the articles of incorporation.
     In fulfilment of its original aim to make the Heavenly Doctrines more widely available, the Foundation has placed sets of the Writings in many public libraries. As further evidence of its accomplishments we may cite some facts and figures from the booklet.
     At the end of one hundred years the value of the stock of books and invested funds amounts to $879,025.71 (not including the value of printing plates). Its annual income is about $27,000. To March 31, 1950, a total of 1,118,131 volumes of the Writings, and 251,412 copies of Brief Readings were donated, a total of 1,369,543. In addition, several hundred thousand books were sold.
     From time to time the Foundation has cooperated in large publication enterprises relating to Swedenborg's Theological Writings. It assumed a large share in the Phototyped Edition of his original MSS, and presented nearly all its copies to important university and public libraries. At present it is giving generous financial assistance to a new Latin edition undertaken by the Swedenborg Society of London.
     For many years the Trustees of the Iungerich Publication Fund and the Foundation have jointly offered books free to clergymen and theological students. Since 1911, about 80,000 volumes of the Writings and other books have been so distributed, and the work is being continued.

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     TUCSON, ARIZONA.

     Since our last report of the activities of the Tucson Circle, the church services and the classes have gone on according to schedule. In both of these the tape recorder has made a vast improvement. The service has more of a sphere of worship when there are songs and responses in which to join and a sermon to be heard from the lips of the preacher. Doctrinal classes are more easily assimilated and more provocative when prepared and delivered by ministers than are mere group readings of a chapter from the Writings. Only the children do not seem to derive much benefit from the tape recorder. But more about that later.
     The February visit of the Rev. Harold Cranch happened to coincide with the Tucson celebration of the "Fiesta de Ia Vaqueros," and was somewhat colored by it. The Friday evening address by Mr. Cranch on "The Easter Lesson" and the discussions that followed at the Dan Wilson home were serious business. But the following day our guests-Mr. Cranch, Judy Cooper and Karen Synnestvedt-were able to relax at the rodeo with Seid Waddell.
     On Sunday morning a communion service was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Alden. At 2:30 in the afternoon two infants were baptized at the E. Pratt Waddell home. One was Elizabeth Dickens Waddell, age 3 weeks, and the other was Martha Ann Hartter, age five months.
     At 3 o'clock a children's service was held and this was followed by a lecture with slides. Then once again the "Fiesta" spirit crept in. It seems that a Spanish musician, indebted to Dr. Waddell for his life, had attempted to show his gratitude by a midnight serenade of the doctors family. Dr. Waddell suggested that the man and his partner come the following Sunday instead, at which time there would be a house full of guests. So thus it was that we were able to enjoy good "live" music at our community supper. It was with some difficulty that we turned our attention back to things of the church for the evening class.
     Much too soon after these meetings it was time for departures. First to go was Mrs. Boggess, whose winter visit had come to an end. Then school was out, and Karen Synnestvedt went back to Bryn Athyn, and Judy Cooper to California. Tom Waddell married and took his wife with him in his service of the Army. We hated to lose each one.
     At the last meeting before the summer recess we took stock of the year gone by and realized that, while we had progressed in other ways, we had not been too successful with our children. Some of them were visiting other Sunday Schools, and more wanted to. There seemed to be two answers-dividing the Sunday School into two groups-older and younger-each with a definite schedule for the year, and building a church to call our own.
     In spite of the lack of funds, we discussed ways and means of procuring a piece of land and borrowing the price of materials to construct something ourselves. We questioned the Rev. Harold Cranch about it when he came in August. He discouraged any hasty or expensive move on our part, but seemed ready with plans and "know-how" for the time when we would be more ready. He also stressed the importance of home worship in influencing children.

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     Mr. Cranch arrived in Tucson at noon on Sunday, August 20th. At three o'clock he conducted a church service and communion at the Guy Alden home. At eight o'clock he presided at the annual business meeting in the home of Rembert Smith. Dan Wilson was elected chairman for the coming year. Elsie Waddell was elected secretary, and Geraldine Smith was elected treasurer. Then Mr. Cranch delivered an address on the subject of "The Trinity."
     A service was held for the children on Monday afternoon, and a class at the Waddell home on Monday night, the subject of Mr. Cranch's talk being "Why we accept the Writings as the Word of God."
     Next in the events of the new year is the imminent arrival of the Rev. Karl R. Alden. We anticipate his visit with great pleasure.
     BARBARA G. CARLSON.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     Thirty days hath September-and a right interesting month it always is in Glenview! It's a kind of dividing line between summer vacation activities and the society functions of a new season. In the old days, each September, 3 or 4, sometimes 4 or 5, of our young people would leave for Bryn Athyn, to be gone till the following June. This year 28 of our children left by train or car, Bryn Athyn bound for another school term of New Church education. It seems that our Society is growing.

     School Opening.-On Wednesday morning. September 20th, 62 children and more than 40 adults attended a service conducted by our headmaster, the Rev. Elmo Acton. Thus was the 57th year of the Immanuel Church School formally opened. We have two new teachers on our staff-the Misses Mary Lou Williamson and Phyllis Burnham. Following is a list of our teachers and their grades, with the number of pupils in each:

     Miss Williamson. Kindergarten 9; Miss Zara Bostock. 1st Grade 4, and
2d Grade 6; Miss Shirley Glebe. 3d Grade 8., and 4th Grade 6; Miss Phyllis Burnham, 5th Grade 3, 6th Grade 6; Miss Gladys Blackman, 7th Grade 9, 8th Grade 6, and 9th Grade 5. Total enrollment-62.
     The Rev. Elmo Acton gives Religious Instruction to the 3d, 5th, 7th and 8th Grades; the Rev. Ormond Odhner to the 4th, 6th and 9th Grades. Miss Bostock and Miss Williamson have afternoon classes with the 7th and 8th Grades. Miss Helen Maynard teaches Science to the 5th, 6th and 7th Grades, and she also holds Library classes with all nine Grades. Mr. Jesse Stevens teaches Singing to Grades 3 to 9, inclusive.

     Doctrinal classes for Young People (married) and Young People (single) are once more in full swing under the tutelage of the Revs. Odhner and Acton respectively.
     The first Friday supper of the sea- on was held on September 22nd, and was followed by a Special Meeting of the Society to consider our budget for the coming year. Our pastor, before calling for retorts from the treasurer, Mr. Alan Fuller. and from Mr. Warren Reuter, chairman of the Contributions Committee, spoke briefly on the importance of supporting the uses of the church. "He who loves an end also loves the means by which that end is accomplished."
     The final work party of the season on the 24th was well attended. Mr. Oswald E. Asplundh, our Park Commissioner (who, we presume, works for the love of the use, as there is no salary attached, saw to it that suitable equipment was on hand. It was used to good effect. Old trees and brush were cut down, and many fine evergreen trees and bushes were planted around the church buildings. We really husk s-pick and span

     Obituary.-About five years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Burwood Kitzelman (Vera Brickman) moved with their family to Glenview from the South Side of Chicago, where they took an active part in the work of the church.

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They built a house on Park Lane, and we have been glad to have this happy and congenial family with us, and to have Burwood and Vera as members of the Society.
     But Mr. Burwood Kitzelman passed into the spiritual world on Friday, September 15th, after a lingering illness. A young man, in his 36th year, he bore his burden of sickness manfully. For this, and for his loving care of his wife and family, we held him in high esteem. To his cheerful wife and her four little girls goes out our sympathy and our love.
     HAROLD P. MCQUEEN.


     TORONTO, CANADA.

     August in the Toronto Society was a summer month as regards official activities, but no one told the weatherman that it was summer, and he, poor soul, did not know it.
     September found officialdom opening its eyes; first, to be sure that the young students got safely away for the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn. Under the auspices of Theta Alpha, all the ladle; and girls of the Society gave Evelyn Bather a very fine shower of useful and lovely things to take with her. This party was held at the home of Lois and G. G. Longstaff on September 7th, and proved to be a regular conversazione, as each guest tried to catch up with the news of all the others for the past couple of months.
     On September 8th the Forward Sons held their opening supper and meeting, at which time they presented John Parker, Jr., and David Starkey each with a fine club-hag already packed with a shirt. Mr. Robert Brown prepared a most satisfying supper, and Mr. John White gave a paper on "The Dispensations of the Church" which he had carefully considered during the summer months.
     Miss Alethea Starkey has returned to the Academy Schools for a third year, and Mr. Jack McDonald will he there again this year. Therefore we have five representatives at the Schools at the present time.

     Young People's Week-End.-Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Toronto Teen-Agers had the privilege of entertaining the Ontario Young People's Assembly, and we have managed to get them to speak for themselves. First, Basil Orchard writes as follows:

     As may have been noticed, the Young People of Kitchener began last year a system of annual week-ends by inviting the Ontario and Quebec Young People to Kitchener for the week-end of July 1st. This year the Toronto group retaliated ha' inviting all to Toronto for the week-end of September 1-4.
     Some seventeen teen-agers arrived. as well as the Rev. and Mrs. Reuter, at 10.30 on Friday morning. Fourteen of these were from Kitchener, three from Muskoka, and one from Winnipeg. Eleven Torontonians also signed the roll, making a total of 28.
     The whole of Friday was spent at the Canadian National Exhibition, looking at the exhibits and riding in the Midway, and on Saturday morning another visit was paid to the Exhibition.
     On Saturday evening a banquet was held at the church. After a welcome and a few opening remarks from both Mr. Norman Reuter and Mr. Wynne Acton, a delicious, cool meal-relief after the heat of the "Ex.,"-was prepared and served by two Young People,-Sylvia Parker and Betty Charles. When the meal was finished, the toastmaster, David Starkey, proposed toasts to the Church, to the Academy, etc., and a special toast to the health of Bishop de Charms.
     Then four papers were given, the writers being: Peggy Kuhl and Roger Schnarr, of Kitchener, and Phyllis Izzard and John Raymond, of Toronto. All of these were excellent in both ideas and presentation. The topics were, respectively: A Comparison of Types of Thought-Training which Old and New Church People Receive;

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In What Way can we Promote the Uses of the New Church Now?; The Duties and the Uses we will perform in Later Life for which we Must Now Prepare Ourselves; and, A New Churchman's Approach to Business.
     After these papers had been read, the floor was cleared and Master of Ceremonies John Parker took over for the informal dance which followed. At 11:00 p.m., all went to the homes of their hosts feeling that the weekend was off to a good start.

     John Raymond writes: On Sunday morning the regular service was held at the church, the Rev. Norman Reuter preaching a sermon, the text of which was the whole of the fifth chapter of the Second Book of Kings.
     On Sunday afternoon a swimming party and picnic supper were held at Toronto Island.
     On Sunday evening a class was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. Starkey. The Rev. Wynne Acton spoke about responsibility acting as of one's self, self-compulsion, and true freedom. After the class, refreshments were served and a social evening followed
     On Monday afternoon a picnic lunch was enjoyed in High Park, followed by a baseball game in which the score was fifteen to three. After the ball game there was dancing in the pavilion.
     At seven o'clock those from Kitchener left from Parkdale Station. We hope that these Young Peoples Week Ends will continue to be held for a great many years.

     Society Meeting-Wednesday, September 20th, brought the first of the weekly suppers-a good roast beef dinner prepared by Lois Parker and Rose Raymond. This was followed by the Annual Meeting of the Olivet Society, which was particularly well attended. The Rev. A. Wynne Acton gave an excellent address on Uses in the true sense of the word and the practice thereof. After hearing this, he would have been a brave soul who would refuse to do his part in the activities of the Church.
     The election of Officers resulted in the following members being installed: Secretary, Ivan Scott; Treasurer, Charles White; Finance Board-the Secretary, Treasurer, and the Chairman of the House Committee, and Messrs. Reginald S. Anderson, Robert M. Brown, Frank L. Longstaff, Sr., Sydney Parker, and Robert Scott. Chairman of the House Committee: Ray Orr. Chatter-Box, Editor, Miss Vera Craigie; Business Manager, Ronald Smith. Social Committee: Miss Frances Raymond, Mr. Bruce Scott, Mrs. Ronald Smith, Mr. Ronald Smith.
     During the meeting the Society sent unanimous good wishes to our dear Bishop de Charms for his rapid return to the best of health.
     That pretty much brings the Olivet Society news up to elate. We all, of course, have our good and bad bits of personal news which cannot be enumerated here, but the readers will join in our regret that Mr. Ernest Zorn is in the hospital after suffering a coronary thrombosis, and our urgent wish for his quick recovery. Also, we are hoping that Mrs. Fred Longstaff will not be long in recovering from her recent operation.
     VERA CRAIGIE.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     It is hard to realize that vacation time is over and the fall program well under way.
     Sunday services for adults and children were held during the months of July and August. It was a pleasure to have the Rev. David R. Simons preach on July 15th and Candidate Louis B. King on the two following Sundays.
     Many visitors were welcomed during the summer, and the members of the society enjoyed vacations at lake, mountain and seashore.
     The annual picnic sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy closed this season at Buffalo Creek Farm.

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We are indeed grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander H. Lindsay for their gracious hospitality. Although rain threatened, it was considered by all present to be a great success.
     Off to the Academy Schools: The Misses Nadine Brown, Amity Doering, Martha Lindsay and Nancy Williamson, attending the Girls' Seminary; Robert Glenn and John Horigan, the Boys' Academy; Mr. Barry Smith, the College, Miss Mary Jean Horigan returns to the Academy after an absence of some years to head the new and beautifully equipped Home Economics Department. We shall miss them, but wish success to them all.
     Mrs. Edward B. Lee, Jr., was hostess for a "come to school shower," sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha for the girls. The local Sons presented copies of the Writings to the boys at the picnic.

     The Day School opened on September 13th at 8.45 a.m. with an enrollment of thirty pupils, seven less than last year owing to removals from Pittsburgh. There are four new little people in the primary grades. The pastor conducted the opening worship and gave a talk of welcome and encouragement for the new season. We are happy to have Miss Anne Pleat, of Bryn Athyn, as a member of the faculty. The other members are: Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, headmaster, Miss Lois Nelson, head teacher, and Miss Sally Pendleton.
     The maintenance committee spent a busy summer painting the school rooms in tones of err-am and green to relieve eye strain, installing fluorescent lights, and also a covering of linoleum in the ball to relieve the clatter of many noisy feet. The teachers and pupils are thoroughly satisfied and delighted. The school work should be topnotch in quality this year.
     A parents and teachers meeting was held on September 22nd, when Mr. Boyesen and Miss Nelson previewed the high spots in each grade's curriculum and plans for the year. They expect to make more of a separation between the primary and older grades, and to encourage a social program for the older pupils. The parents are cordially invited to come to the school at any time, and an afternoon each month is to be set aside to discuss current school problems. And future evening programs are planned when both parents and interested society members may be present. The meeting closed with refreshments served by the faculty.

     The Woman's Guild will have as officers: Mrs. Leander P. Smith, president; Mrs. J. Murray Carr. Jr., vice-president; Mrs. John Alden, secretary; Mrs. Daniel L. Coon, treasurer; Mrs. George P. Brown, Jr., Friday Supper chairman; Mrs. Gilbert M. Smith, housekeeper; and Mrs. George P. Brown, Sr., kitchen housekeeper. Miss Lois Nelson will continue as school representative.

     The Annual Meeting of the Pittsburgh Society was held after the initial Friday Supper on September 25th. The pastor opened the meeting with the reading of the 33rd Psalm and T. C. R. 787, followed by the Lord's Prayer. Interesting reports were presented by the heads of various committees. Mrs. J. Murray Cart, Jr., gave a report of the progress of the Library in one year that was indeed encouraging. The pastor's report included announcements of his council and the chairmen of committees. He pointed out the need for close cooperation and support of the uses of the Church by each and every member.
     There are 110 members on the roll, and we were happy to welcome five new members. The treasurers report was most comprehensive, and Mr. Edward B. Lee, Jr., is to be highly commended for his splendid and painstaking work in the interests of the society.
     The "Pittsburgh Reporter" is in its fourth year. Miss Doris Bellinger, who has been on the staff from the beginning, is advanced to the role of Editor for the coming year.

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     Mr. Charles H. Ebert, Sr., and Mr. Edward B. Lee, Jr., were elected secretary and treasurer of the society respectively, and Messrs. Alexander P. Lindsay and J. Edmund Blair as members of the Executive Committee. Mr. George P. Brown, Sr., in lighter vein, reported for the "Dishwashers Local, No. 1" of the Le Roi Road Church, and said in part: "Some seventeen Friday Suppers have been held-more or less-and the 'Local' turned over to the treasurer $47.00-more or less."
     There were eighty communicants at the quarterly administration of the Holy Supper on Sunday, October 1st. The Children's Services were resumed on that day.
     If you are planning a visit to Pittsburgh, or are just passing through our city and find the urge to stop, but have no host or hostess, consult with Mrs. S. S. Lindsay, Jr., 446 5. Dallas Ave., Pittsburgh 8. Phone: Montrose 1-6352.
     ELIZABETH R. DOERING.


     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Shortly after our October news report had been sent in we received, via cable and letter, the welcome and encouraging information that our new pastor, the Rev Norbert H. Rogers, together with his wife and their five children, would sail from Durban on September 28th, as originally planned. They will stop over in England en route to New York.
     We have also received the good news that the Scott Forfar family are to accompany the Rogers, the final destination of both families being Detroit, and their scheduled time of arrival November 13th.
     We understand that Mr. Rogers has been ill, but is recovering, and it is hoped that the long sea voyage, plus complete rest, will restore him to good health. Therefore he is coming as planned, and we are prepared to welcome him with the proverbial open arms.
     Seven members of the Rogers family and five Forfars will mean an addition of twelve to our numbers, or a net increase of nine when we deduct the three of whom we recently took sad leave-the Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth O. Stroh, transferred to the Society at London, England, and Miss Elaine Steen, who left us prior to her marriage to Mr. David Holm, and is now living in Bryn Athyn. These three former members are frequently in our thoughts, and we miss them very much indeed.

     Pastoral Visit.-Another pleasant break in our long series of lay services occurred on Sunday, September 17th, when the Rev. Norman H. Reuter came over from Kitchener and conducted a service which included the administration of the Holy Supper.
     Mr. Reuter arrived on Saturday in time to conduct a class at the John Howard residence. His subject was "Absolute Truth and Relative Truth," a profound theme with which he held our attention for an hour, speaking without the use of notes. After a short discussion, a social hour was enjoyed and refreshments were served.
     A turnout of 58 at the Sunday service of worship was evidence that we appreciated Mr. Reuters kindness in paying us this visit. The sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to 32 persons. Luncheon followed this service, and Mr. Reuter afterwards addressed us, reviewing the great changes that had taken place in the Detroit General Church movement since he became our leader, about 15 years ago. He prophesied that, if we give our new pastor the same cooperation and response we have always accorded him, we shall continue to develop and will ultimately reach our cherished goal of real Society status in the Church.
     We hear that Mr. Reuter is to be with us again on October 28th and 29th for a full week-end of meetings. The Sunday service of worship will, we understand, include a baptism and two confirmations, making it a very special and memorable occasion, the details of which must await our next report.

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The event will mark Mr. Reuter's last official visit to Detroit as our pastor, his tenure of office ending when Mr. Rogers takes over the pastorate. To Mr. Reuter must go much of the credit for the steady growth of our Circle, both numerically, and, we trust, spiritually. His excellent work over the years has borne much fruit, and he will always be remembered by us with the utmost affection and gratitude.

     Lately, in lieu of doctrinal classes, we have been making good use of our invaluable tape recorder. Meeting on Wednesday evenings at the homes of members, we are presently hearing recordings of classes given in Bryn Athyn by Bishop Willard D. Pendleton. It is a great privilege thus to be able to hear the actual voices of the ministers of the Church in sermons sod lectures-a boon now made possible by the magic of the tape recorder.
     On our honor roll of recent visitors we are pleased to record: Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Schnarr, Mr. and Mrs. John Kuhl, and Miss Ina Bellinger, all of Kitchener, Ont.; Mr. Carter Smith, of Bryn Athyn, a brother of our own Gordon Smith; and our most recent visitor, Miss Anne Pendleton, of Bryn Athyn, now a student at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Our perennial and always welcome visitor, Mr. Sergio Hamann, attended our service of worship on September 24th.
     WILLIAM W. WALKER.


     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     We found the good old summer time a little cool and wet this year in Kitchener, but in spite of this there were lots of picnics and parties, peaceful vacations, and cheerful visitors. Friday was picnic and volleyball night at the church. The Grounds Committee had provided lights last spring for the horseshoe pits and volleyball court, making it possible to carry on the sports as long as energy lasted.
     On the evening of August 17th the doors of the Heinrichs' home stood open to the members of the society, and square-dance music dispelled the gloom of misty rain outside. Three squares at a time or one long reel kept the floor boards bouncing, while the hay loft provided comfortable seats for spectators. Soft drinks and hot dogs were sold to the hungry and thirsty.
     Many informal gatherings occurred during the summer at "Schnarr's Camp," a familiar spot to most of the society members, located twenty-two miles southwest of Kitchener. Singing around the camp fire always highlights these outings.
     Early in July the members called on our newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Schnarr, and surprised them with a shower of linens and china.

     Our New Pastor.-The Rev. and Mrs. Norman H. Reuter and family arrived in July and settled in the luckily found house at 604 King Street West, about four blocks east of the church. Many friends bellied put the house in shape for their arrival. Mr. Reuter officially took over his pastoral duties on Sunday, July 16th. Mr. Henderson conducted the service that morning, and Mr. Reuter preached the sermon he had delivered at the General Assembly.
     The Hendersons, while eager to get settled in their new home near Bryn Athyn, were delayed two months in receiving their visas, and it was the end of September when we bid them farewell.
     Labor Day week-end was a gay occasion for the younger Young People, fourteen of whom went to Toronto for the second annual Young People's Week-End. The Toronto boys and girls entertained them royally, and successful meetings were held.
     With September came renewed activities for the society. Summer visitors and students returned to their winter homes, mostly in Bryn Athyn, thinning the ranks of our young people, but leaving a few others behind.

558



     The Carmel Church School opened on September 5th with ten children enrolled, five of them new to the school. First, Third, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Grades are represented, with Miss Nancy Stroh as full-time teacher, and Miss Rita Kuhl as part-time teacher.
     The Annual Meeting of the Society followed the first Friday Supper on September 15th. Reports were heard, and elections were held for all the offices and committees necessary to the administration of our uses for another year.
     Two of our young men have joined the armed services. Charles Schnarr, oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Schnarr, is in the Army, training with the Signal Corps in British Columbia. Alan Schnarr, youngest son of Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Schnarr is in the Air Force, training in London. Out.
     VIVIAN KUHL.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The relative quiet of summer in our local uses has given place to the winter schedule with the reopening of the schools. The halls of learning are teeming with activity. Teachers and students in all departments are wondering how they will accomplish all they have planned to do. But they will accomplish it all, and more too. They always do.
     The Opening Exercises of the Elementary School were held in the Assembly Hall on September 13th. The Lessons were read by the Rev. David Simons, the new Principal, and the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner addressed the children, telling them that the Lord had created them to grow up slowly, and that they will develop and learn by states and stages. That was the reason for their going to school. He likened this to Jacob's ladder, which joined heaven and earth. We are to inherit the church, just as Jacob was to inherit the Land of Canaan, if we learn the truths of the Word which teach us how to live on earth and in heaven. This is the purpose of New Church education.
     A large audience was present at this service, and also later in the morning when the Opening Exercises of the higher schools of the Academy were held in the same place. The Lessons were read by the Rev. Karl R Alden, and these were the same that were read when the old Benade Hall was dedicated in 1902. The Address of Welcome was delivered by Dr. Whitehead, and was heard with keen interest by all present. We cannot do justice to it here, but we are glad that it is to be published. [See page 541.]
     The following morning, September 14th, the students of the higher schools assembled in the Chapel of Benade Hall at 8.15 am., the usual time of the daily opening worship. Present also were members of the Faculty, the Corporation, and the Building Committee, with their wives and other invited guests, the number being limited by the seating capacity. And they were privileged to attend the formal dedication of the new Benade Hall, the impressive ceremony being conducted by Bishop Willard D. Pendleton, assisted in the chancel by the Rev. Karl R. Alden, who read the Lessons. An account of this notable occasion Is to appear in the December issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     Drama.-Once more the community was indebted to the Repertory Theatre and its skilled players for the presentation of a most enjoyable dramatic entertainment in the Assembly Hall on Saturday. September 23rd. "January Thaw" was the title of the play, and the direction of Mrs. Leonard Behlert was evident in the uniformly excellent performance by the members of the cast.

     Bishop de Charms is still confined to his house, but we are all delighted to hear that he is making satisfactory progress.
     LUCY B. WAELCHLI.

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1950

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1950




     Announcements




     Enrollment for 1950-1951.
Theological School     6
College               73
Boys' Academy          60
Girls' Seminary          69
Elementary School     175
                    383

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DEDICATION OF THE NEW BENADE HALL 1950

DEDICATION OF THE NEW BENADE HALL       E. BRUCE GLENN       1950


[Photograph - Benade Hall Chapel.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXX
DECEMBER, 1950
No. 12
     The new Benade Hall, erected after fire had destroyed the old building on November 11, 1948, was dedicated to the uses of New Church education on September 14. 1950. The new edifice, partially occupied during the preceding spring, was now ready for full use; and the dedication service was held just prior to the first classes of the Academy in the new school term.
     The service, conducted by the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton with the Rev. K. R. Alden assisting, took place in the chapel of the new building, before the students of the Academy schools and members of the Corporation and Faculty.
     The Word was opened by Bishop Pendleton before the drawn curtains of the chancel, which was not disclosed until the time of dedication. The order of service was that designated in the Liturgy for School Opening. After recitation of the general confession of faith by all present, Mr. Alden read two Lessons: the first from I Kings 8, verses 12-21 and 54-61, Solomon's blessing of the temple: and the second from the Arcana Coelestia, no. 552, in which Swedenborg tells of angels making a lampstand in honor of the Lord and his revealing to them that they had not made it of themselves, but only from the Lord.
     The following Dedication Address was then delivered by Bishop
Pendleton:

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     DEDICATION ADDRESS.

     BY THE RIGHT REV. WILLARD D. PENDLETON.

     It was ninety-four years ago that the Reverend William Henry Benade, speaking at the laying of the cornerstone of the Cherry Street School House, said: "My brethren, we have this day actually begun a great work,-however small and insignificant may be its first appearance, and however weak and feeble may be the hands which have been laid unto it-a work which, as I verily believe, has a future of unmeasurable extension and untold use. And having put our hands to the plough, it is not for us to look back, but forward and upward, to gird our loins for the labor which lies before us, to seek strength and light where alone they can be found, and to do in our day and generation our duty as in the very presence of God."
     The fact that this beginning was short-lived in nowise detracts from the significance of these words, for while the school itself failed after a few years of operation, the faith upon which it was founded survived. It was in that same building, twenty-one years later, that the Academy, under the Chancellorship of Bishop Benade, held its first formal classes on September 3rd, 1877.
     From this point on the growth and development of New Church Education is reflected in the gradual expansion of the Academy's facilities, first, in the acquisition of buildings on Friedlander and Summer Streets, and later in the purchase of properties on Wallace and North Streets. To most of us today these early homes of New Church Education are but names, yet there are those attending this celebration today who remember with deep affection the years which they spent as students in the Academy Schools at those historic locations.
     In this connection it is interesting to note that the Wallace Street property was purchased in order that the Academy might bring all of its schools together in one central location. We say all of its schools because at that time, that is, in 1887, ten years after the Academy was established on Cherry Street, the Academy included a Theological School, a College Department, a Boys' School, a Girls' School and a Primary Department. These schools, small as they were are evidence of the fact that from the beginning the Academy recognized the need for distinctive New Church Education on all levels.

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     It was, then, during the first ten years when the Academy was housed on Cherry Street that the groundwork of New Church Education was laid. Upon the cornerstone of devotion to the educational teachings of the Heavenly Doctrines as outlined by Bishop Benade in his Conversations on Education, the Academy was founded. Indeed, what we know today as the Academy is the extension and development of the work of those first ten years.
     The second decade, during which the Academy was housed in the Wallace Street location, was one of continued growth and development. Already the Academy had produced a group of ministers and teachers who were to provide the intellectual and educational leadership of the movement in the days ahead. Worthy students of a great teacher, they eagerly grasped the interior implications of New Church Education; and the Academy, strengthened by its graduates, made new advances in the application of doctrine to the formative states of the human mind.
     Throughout these years of progress, however, the Academy had looked forward to the day when it could provide a more suitable environment for its work,-an environment free from the conflicting spheres and increasing distractions of a large urban center. Indeed, it is not without concern today that we view the gradual encirclement of our educational home which in 1897 seemed so remote from the city. Be this as it may, we can today be grateful for the Providence which enabled the Academy to move from its location on Wallace Street to the surroundings we have enjoyed these many years.
     Few of us today can appreciate what this move meant to the men and women who were responsible for the work of the Academy at that time. Perhaps the spirit of those days is most fully reflected in the words of John Pitcairn and Bishop W. F. Pendleton at the dedication of the old Benade Hall on April 6, 1902. In addressing Bishop Pendleton, Mr. Pitcairn said: "From the beginning it has been the desire and hope of the founders of the Academy, in order the more fully to carry out its objects, to have a building adequate to the uses intended. In the fulness of time the Lord provided the men and the means that made this building possible, and now it becomes my duty and my privilege to deliver to you, as the representative and President of the Corporation of the Academy of the New Church, the deed for this property, . . . to be used for the purposes and uses defined in the Charter of that body: and may the Lord bless and prosper the Academy of the New Church, and may the men engaged in its uses ever he faithful to their trust."

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     Having received the deed, Bishop Pendleton responded. "We do give thanks to the Lord, the Giver of all good, that in His merciful bounty and provision for the uses of His Church, it has seemed good in His sight that the Academy should be endowed with so efficient an instrument for its service and work, a building so well adapted to advance and conduct to a successful issue the ends and purposes for which the body exists And may the Lord bless the Academy, and give her increase in the use of this gift and may her members and workers be ever faithful to the trust that has been imposed upon them; and may the Lord bless the donor and give him the reward of the love of use, now and forever." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, May, 1902.)
     We would note here that the building, although dedicated in April, 1902, was opened to classes on October 7th, 1901. Then as now there were practical reasons why the dedication had to be delayed. Equally significant are the words of Bishop W. F. Pendleton on this occasion. Indeed, they apply as well today as at that time. Speaking to the student body at their first Assembly, he said "This new building is a sign before, our eyes of our estimate of the importance of this work. The Lord has putt it in the hearts of men to desire New Church Education, and He has given them also an understanding of the means and methods to be employed therein. . . Our first thought, then, when we see this magnificent new building, is of the Lord, and our second thought will be of the neighbor,-of the men who have been inspired to provide it for our use, of the great labor, the thought and the work which has brought it into existence." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, Nov., 1901, p. 617.) Surely, these words are addressed to us when, forty-nine years later, we dedicate this new building which, although different in design is one in purpose with the former structure. Now as then we are gathered here to acknowledge our debt of gratitude to the Lord and to the neighbor, and to renew our faith in the work of New Church Education.

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     If, then, I have dwelt at some length upon the past, it is because the present is the product of the past. Had it not been for the labors of that former generation of New Church men and women who laid the groundwork of New Church Education, this building and all that it represents would not be here today. We would be thoughtless, indeed, if on this occasion we failed to remember those who educated us to the significance of the work in hand. To them we owe not only the vision of New Church Education which is ours today, but also a sense of profound gratitude for those actual beginnings which as Bishop Benade observed so many years ago, have "a future of unmeasurable extension and untold use."
     We would speak, however, not only of the past, but also of the present: and in speaking of the present we would express our deep appreciation to all those who have made this further extension of our use possible. It is a fact that, at the time of the fire which destroyed the former Benade Hall, plans were already under way to provide more adequate facilities for the rapidly growing needs of the Academy, but it is evident now that nothing could have been done which in any way could compare with what we have now. It is but one more illustration of the way in which Providence turns seeming catastrophes into opportunities for a greater performance of use. Certainly this was the spirit in which the members of the Board of Directors and the Faculty accepted their responsibilities; and let it be said that no effort was spared in the design and construction of a building which had but one purpose to serve. Throughout the entire period of planning and building the one thought was the construction of a school adapted to the uses peculiar to New Church Education. It was from the beginning a work of devotion to which all responded with a sense of high privilege, each according to his own ability.
     Here was a labor of love-a work for which no one expected any recognition or reward other than the opportunity to be of service. And now we as teachers and students may enter into the fruits of these labors through the extension of the uses of New Church Education. For this we are grateful; and if we cannot find adequate words to express our appreciation, it is because we have been so deeply impressed by the spirit of devotion to which this building bears testimony. We accept this new Benade Hall, therefore, not only as an opportunity for greater usefulness, but also as a sign of the confidence of the Church in the work of the Academy.

566


We need not add what this means to those of us to whom the work of education is entrusted, but be assured that to this generation of Academy teachers this building will serve as a source of continuing encouragement in our daily tasks.
     On this occasion, therefore, although mindful of the accomplishments of the past, our thoughts are focused on the work of the present. While it is true that we cannot evaluate the things which are done in our own day. I believe that we can be assured that this generation has kept faith with the vision of New Church Education founded as it is upon the sole authority of the Writings. True, there may be those who from time to time will question this, but bear in mind that men serve that which they love, and there is no call to serve the New Church in this day and age save that call to use which is its own reward. If we seek honor and recognition we must seek elsewhere. If, on the other hand, we seek the establishment of the Lord's Kingdom on earth, then let us devote ourselves to the work of education, let us inspire in the hearts and minds of each successive generation an affection for spiritual truth. This is the appointed task of the Academy.
     To this end we do dedicate, not only our lives, but also our natural possessions. It is for this reason that we are gathered here today. After almost two years of patient effort this building is now ready for full occupancy and use. It is fitting, therefore, that at this time it be dedicated to the use for which it is intended. May this service, then, be the means of opening our minds to the Lord and to the neighbor, and may we, even as the angelic spirits who fashioned the candelabrum, acknowledge that all this is from the Lord, and that of ourselves we can do nothing. (See A. C. 552.)
     The work of New Church Education is the Lord's work. He it is who inspires our hearts with an affection for spiritual truth: He it is who has raised up men and women devoted to His service: He it is who has strengthened our hands in the construction of this new building, which is now to be dedicated by the placing of the Word within the repository. In the words of Solomon, therefore, let us ask that "The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers: let Him not leave us, nor forsake us: That He may incline our hearts unto     Him, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments.

567


And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that He maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else." (1 Kings 8: 57-60.)
PRESENTATION 1950

PRESENTATION              1950

     Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn Chairman of the Academy Building Committee, then came forward and addressed Bishop Pendleton:

BISHOP PENDLETON:

     On November 11th, 1948, Benade Hall was destroyed by fire, except for the outside walls. At first this seemed like a calamity. However, many contributors came forward, and through them the Lord provided the means for erecting a much larger and finer building. The Academy was badly in need of increased space and facilities, and this need has now been supplied. What was thought to be a calamity has turned out to be a blessing.
     There are many who have given much of their time and energy, and for this the Academy also is deeply grateful. There are too many to mention them all by name, but I think it is appropriate for me as Chairman of the Building Committee to speak briefly of the outstanding services of a few.
     Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, as well as contributing his architectural experience, has given unstintingly of his time and artistic skill in providing a Chapel-Auditorium of surpassing beauty.
     Mr. Lester Asplundh, in addition to his work on the Building Committee, has devoted much time and energy in supervising the modification and beautifying of the grounds. Fortunately he is continuing as Chairman of the committee in charge of this work.
     Captain Richard de Charms as project manager has not spared himself in pushing the work through to conclusion. Because of his love and devotion for the uses of the Academy he has spent time and energy quite beyond that called for by his position.

568



     Mr. Leonard Gyllenhaal accepted many time-consuming jobs in addition to his regular duties. Aside from a great deal of work on his part in connection with the building itself, he accepted the responsibility of conferring with the heads of schools and laboratories so that he would be able to select and order appropriate furniture and equipment.
     Throughout its work the Building Committee has endeavored to provide facilities in accordance with the desires of the Faculty. We are grateful for the generous contribution of the time of the heads of schools and laboratories in working with the Committee, and for their wholehearted cooperation.
     Benade Hall is a symbol of the Academy, but it would have no such meaning if it were not for the loyalty and devotion of the members of the Faculty to the cause of distinctive New Church education. Also we are indeed fortunate for having the outstanding leadership of our President and Vice-President, and for unusually capable teachers.
     These men and women have dedicated their lives to the purpose of inspiring their pupils with a love of spiritual truth for its own sake. Their spirit was typified by Reverent] Edward C. Bostock, shortly before he was elevated to the third degree of the priesthood, in responding to the toast "To the Academy past and present" at the banquet celebrating the dedication of the original Benade Hall in May, 1902. His inspiring words are as true of the present staff as they were of those who labored for the Academy 48 years ago when he said: "Unless you love truth for its own sake; unless it lies deep within you; unless you value it above all things, you are not and cannot be a true Academician. Unless our teachers and professors have that love within their hearts; unless that love animates their work; unless that love increases until it burns as an eternal flame; the Academy cannot live. But that flame has been lighted and the Lord will not permit it to go out." (Italics supplied.)
     It is our prayer that the Lord will continue to bless and prosper the Academy of the New Church.
     As Chairman of the Building Committee it now becomes my duty and privilege to deliver to you, as the representative and the Vice-President of the Academy, the key to the new Benade Hall.

569






     ACCEPTANCE.

     BISHOP PENDLETON: In accepting this key I do declare this building ready for full occupancy and use. And may I express to you, the Chairman of the Building Committee, the appreciation of the Academy for all that you have done. Your faithful devotion, your service to the cause of New Church Education, your unfailing patience, and your thoughtful consideration of those who worked with you, have been an inspiration to all.
     In saying these things I am mindful of the full measure of the responsibility which you assumed when you so willingly responded to the Academy's request that you undertake the Chairmanship of this committee. I am also mindful of the demands that this work placed upon your strength and time. Speaking for the Academy, therefore, let me express our heartfelt gratitude: and may the Lord, the Giver of all good, bestow upon you in ever-increasing measure the reward of the love of use. I thank you in the name of the Academy.



     After a brief piano interlude the chancel curtains were opened, and Bishop Pendleton pronounced the dedication:

     DEDICATION.

     And now I do dedicate this chancel to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One God of heaven and earth. And I do also declare that this building, the new Benade Hall, shall be devoted to the work of New Church Education as described in the Charter of the Academy. And may the blessing of the Lord rest upon these uses and upon all who serve them. May He be with us as He was with our fathers, "that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else." (I Kings 8: 57, 60.) Amen.

     The Word was then placed in the repository. Following the Benediction, the service was concluded with the singing of the anthem, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

570






     The Chancel.

     The chancel of the new Benade Hall is a beautifully designed center of Academy worship. It is walled in blue plaster, with a stone floor three steps above the auditorium stage from which it is separated by deep red velvet curtains. Into the east wall is set a triple-pointed arch, the stones of which are variegated some quarried in Bryn Athyn, some near West Point. New York, and others from the Schwamgunk range in the Catskill Mountains. This variety lends warmth and color to the arch.

     The central arch, higher than its companions, contains the repository preserved from the former chapel of Benade Hall and, newly adorned. Above the repository is carved in painted letters the inscription, "Dominus Deus Jesus Christus Regnat Cuius Regnum Erit in Saecula Saeculorum."

     In the side arches are bookcases of teak, holding specially bound volumes of the Writings. The carved olive trees and fruit correspond to the good of celestial love and charity. Interesting in this connection is Swedenborg's account of seeing in heaven a copy of The Divine Love and Wisdom on a table under a green olive tree. (A. R. 875.)

     The inscriptions carved in red within the two side arches are, on the left, the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, and on the right, the Lord's Prayer in Greek. Thus the three revelations are represented in the three arches, against a background of gold.

     Over the front of the chancel just inside the curtains is hung a valance of red velvet, with the inscription in white: "Nunc Licet Intellectualiter Intrare in Arcana Fidei."

     With the curtains drawn, nothing of these adornments is seen. The room is then used as the school auditorium. But when, for worship, the chancel is opened, the room becomes the chapel, the center of the Academy's spiritual life and faith.

571




[Photograph.]

CHAPEL-AUDITORIUM

Schoolrooms and Laboratories on upper floors

[Photograph.]

BENADE HALL-JUNE 1950
Library     Elementary School

PHOTOS BY CHARLES EDRO CRANCH

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BORN KING OF THE JEWS 1950

BORN KING OF THE JEWS       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1950

     "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?. . . In Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet, . . . Out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel." (Matthew 2: 2, 5, 6.)

     By His Incarnation and Glorification, the Lord made possible the salvation of modern man. To the extent that one feels a personal and individual conviction of this truth-enough conviction and thankfulness to move him to action throughout the year-to that extent his Christmas worship ascends as grateful incense up through the heavens even unto God Himself. For it is not the birth of a Babe that we celebrate today, but the birth of a Man, the Divine Man,-our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
     The question asked by the Wise Men described the state of the Lord at birth: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?' The answer of the chief priests, quoting the prophet Micah, foretold what the Lord would become: A Leader who should feed, nourish or sustain, the People of Israel.
     The Lord at birth, as to His inmost life or soul, was one with Jehovah. This was the very Divine Itself that was within Him from conception. And the power that could be exercised by Jehovah was sufficiently strong to save the most ancient men of celestial genius, here represented by the Jews as distinguished from the Israelites. Already was He their King.
     Not yet having descended Himself to the plane of man's natural conscious mind, Jehovah operating through the heavens, could enlighten directly only the spiritual or internal mind. As long as no evils impeded, however, this enlightenment could penetrate down to man's consciousness, giving him illustration as to the genuine meaning of those representative truths which the ancients possessed. Thus was the salvation of the celestial provided.

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Already was He their King-the Divine that was inmostly within the Lord at birth. The man of the Most Ancient Church had only to perfect his love of what was good through truths learned by means of angelic enlightenment. This gave perfect and heavenly form to his love of good. But with the Fall, the innate love of good which had enabled him to see truth was gone. A new creation had to be effected, providing a new and far different mode of salvation.
     And so it was provided that man's understanding should be separated from his innately and hereditarily corrupt will. Into his understanding truths could be insinuated from without. Through remains he could be inspired to live those truths, until at last they became the only love of his life And this, his conscience, sealed over his old, evil will.
     Thus was made possible the salvation of the man of spiritual genius-possible only through the learning, practice and love of genuine truths formed into a conscience in him.
     When evil filled man's heart at the Fall, however, the way was occluded for angelic enlightenment to descend into natural consciousness. Progressively throughout the ages, the very possibility of enlightenment decreased, first from the evil in men on earth, and then in the spiritual world itself as those men entered that world. Less and less enlightenment could penetrate to men on earth, and less and less could men on earth receive the little that did penetrate, until, by the time of the Advent, nowhere on earth was there any true religion.
     Not only on earth, but also in the world of spirits, true spiritual life was at an end. There, in that intermediate world, the power of hell had prevailed over the power of heaven. And if the Advent had been delayed, no man could ever again have received that heavenly inspiration even to the basic choice of good, much less to a true life of religion. Indeed, if the Advent had been delayed, the human race on this earth would have been utterly destroyed in evil, and the heavens from this earth would have been transferred to rest upon the inhabitants of some other planet.

     But Jehovah God is infinite, Divine, and omnipotent. He is not to be thwarted by man. His one and only love and purpose is to raise up a heaven from the human race.

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To that end He created men upon the earth and raised up the Most Ancient Church. To that end He separated man's understanding from his will, and raised up the Ancient Church. To that end, incarnate, He glorified His Human and instaurated thence the Christian Church in its first and second dispensations. And be it remembered that each of those miracles was greater than any necessary to preserve a remnant of His people from even the worst attacks which the giant of science might devise.
     When, therefore, it came to pass that man on earth could no longer be saved by the power of the Divine Love as exercised through the heavens, then that Divine Love Itself descended into the womb of Mary, and there took to Itself a human body. Within that body, by the ordinary means, the Divine would build up a human mind, even on the natural plane of man s consciousness. From that mind it would expel all that was false and evil, limited and finite, replacing it with that alone which is infinite-Divinely true and Divinely good. And thence, from His Divine Human. God as Man could enlighten men directly in their natural minds. And in the process the hells would be conquered, subdued, and reduced to order by the Divine Love's victory over them in the very temptations by which they themselves had taken man captive.
     He who had always been "King of the Jews"-Saviour of the celestial-was now born on earth that He might become the Leader who would feed His people Israel-the Saviour also of the spiritual, modern genius of men.

     "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" the Wise Men asked. "In Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet." The name "Bethlehem" means "House of Bread," and this in man is truth conjoined to good-the spiritual bread which feeds, instructs him. The Lord, that is, dwells in man in those truths in him which are conjoined with the good of life to which they lead. Bethlehem, therefore, signifies truth conjoined to good, and there the Lord was born; for in Him alone at birth was truth conjoined to good.
     It is not to be inferred from this that the natural, conscious mind of the infant Lord was at all imbued with knowledges at His birth.

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"As to the human He was an infant as an infant (T. C. R. 89), and thus ignorant of all things. But man at birth is not only ignorant of truth, but also has an innate love, not active but potential desirous of evil,-such, that is, that evil and falsity will appeal to it. The Lord alone, we are taught, was born "appetizing good and desiring truth." (A. E. 449:3.) In Him at birth truth was conjoined to good; in Him from conception was the Divine Love Itself as His very soul, and, as well, that infinite wisdom, that infinite Divine Light that gives perception of all truth.
     His one and only love from birth was the Divine love of saving the human race, of leading men to heaven. This love alone would motivate His each and every action. At His birth, of course, in His natural conscious mind, He knew this not. In the case of man, the child's ruling love, inherited from his father, does not become manifest for many years, either to himself or to others. It finally appears, indeed, only through long and hard self-examination. And let us note that a mortal child's ruling love and what may be called his "life's interest" are not so much a one as were the Lord's. Because of His inmost Divine soul, and because hereditary evil from the mother was inactive, His mind even then was open to truth, which inwardly filled Him with delight.
     Truth, remember, is more than fact: truth is the vision of the Lord within facts. Sensual truth, such as even an infant can begin to perceive, sees all things as created by God, and in each and all things something of the image of the kingdom of God. With such truths, open even to the Divine, the Lord was imbued from infancy onward. Even as an infant and a child His inmost Divine Love of saving humanity ordered all things He learned into a perfect image of Itself, into a perfect human mind through which it might achieve its purpose of becoming a Leader powerful to save the spiritual man. And this it did to the extent that developing hereditary evils from the mother did not interfere.
     It was into these hereditary evils that the hells inflowed. It was through these that they attacked His Divine Love of leading men to heaven. Hence was His every temptation Divine: for it is the love that is attacked in temptation, and the quality of the love therefore denotes the quality of the temptation.

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The Lord was never tempted to act from any other love than this. It is misleading to say that He was tempted "as we are," for we miscall our infestations by evil lusts "temptations." The Lord was never tempted to do any external or internal evil. Rather was the end and purpose of His Divine Love put into doubt. Could He save the wayward human race? Could He show it the way to heaven and lead it therein, still leaving humanity in freedom?
     The evils of the maternal heredity told Him no, and endeavored to misguide Him as to His selfless purpose on earth, as to the true nature of heaven and the method of achieving it for man. But the infinite wisdom that was His at birth, the infinite light that gave Him Divine perception, enabled Him to overcome by Divine effort in every temptation. Thus, for example, could He penetrate the falsities that were then universal in the minds of men on earth, and perceive the Divine Truth of which they were the perversions. And having done that, He could, as it were, rephrase that Divine Truth in His own Divinely chosen and correspondential words and teachings,-Divine even as to their ultimate natural form. And these, forevermore eternal on the plane of man's consciousness, could enlighten that consciousness directly. Thus was salvation for the spiritual man made possible. He who had always been "King of the Jews" became the Leader to feed and nourish Israel.
     And as He penetrated the falsities and evils universally regnant in the minds of men, the Lord also conquered and reduced to order the hells that inspired them. Otherwise than man, he could know and see the quality of the evil spirits who were to be judged. And His reduction of the hells to order was the redemption itself. Without this spiritual act, performed by God Man on earth, His every other effort would have been in vain. For the heavens could no longer have inspired any man to be saved, could not have inspired into man the basic choice of good.

     Thus did the King of the Jews, born in Bethlehem, become the Divine Leader, powerful to feed His people Israel. Thus, and thus alone, was salvation provided for the spiritual man-for each and every one of us, who can be saved only by the acquisition of a genuine conscience built up out of Divine Truths.

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     To the extent that one feels a personal and individual conviction of this truth-enough conviction and thankfulness to move him throughout the year to the acquisition of that genuine conscience which can be built up only out of those Divine Truths that were the very end and purpose of Incarnation,-to that extent his Christmas worship ascends as grateful incense even unto God. For Christmas-the worship of Christ-is man's heart's and life's adoration of that Divine Man, our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

LESSONS:     Luke 2: 1-20. Matthew 2: 1-12. A. E. 726:5-7.
HUMILITY 1950

HUMILITY       Rev. GUSTAF BAECKSTROM       1950

     (Delivered at the British Assembly, Sunday, August 6, 1950.)

     "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18: 3.)

     To receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child is to be in innocence, or to have something of innocence. As long as there is something of innocence within us there is hope of salvation.
     What, then, is innocence? In the work on heaven and hell, it is said: "What innocence is, and what is its quality, is known by few in the world, and not at all by those who are in evil. It appears indeed before the eyes, and this from the face, speech and gestures, especially of infants; but yet it is not known what it is, and still less that it is that in which heaven stores itself up with man." (H. H. 276.) And further we read:
     "The innocence of infancy, or of infants, is not genuine innocence, for it is only in the external form, and not in the internal; yet from it may be learned what innocence is. Genuine innocence is internal, for it is of the mind itself, thus of the will itself, and thence of the understanding. This is the innocence of wisdom, and hence it is said in heaven that an angel has as much of wisdom as he has of innocence.

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They who are in such a state of innocence attribute nothing of good to themselves, but regard all things as received, and ascribe them to the Lord. They wish to be led by Him, and not by themselves, and this to such a degree that innocence is said to be to wish to be led by the Lord. They love everything which is good, and are delighted with everything which is true, because they know and perceive that to love good, thus to will and do it, is to love the Lord, and to love truth is to love the neighbor. They live contented with their own, whether it be little or much, because they know that they receive just as much as is profitable for them, and they do not themselves know what is profitable for them, but the Lord alone knows, to whom all things which He provides are for eternity. Therefore they are not solicitous about the future. This they call care for the morrow, which they say is grief on account of losing or not receiving such things as are not necessary for the uses of life. Because they love nothing more than to be led by the Lord, and attribute to Him all things they have received, they are removed from what is of themselves, and so far as they are removed from what is of themselves, so far the Lord inflows. (H. H. 277, 278.)

     You may be familiar with these statements of the Heavenly Doctrine concerning the state of innocence with the angels of heaven and the state of innocence with little children. What else are we before the Lord our God than children? And may we also feel ourselves as children before Him! Has He not promised that we shall call Him "Father," and has He not told us to pray: "Our Father"?
     Our Father! What ineffable tenderness is contained in these two simple words! It is the Infinite, the Great and Mighty, He who is Life Itself, from whom everything is, the Creator of the whole universe, He who governs and sustains everything in all the heavens and on every earth in the endless extense, where the thought is lost in the immeasurable! He it is who says to us that we may call Him Father.
     In this word Father everything is involved. The overwhelming majesty of God, the greatness and might of the Most High, we poor, weak men are permitted to forget in the face of what the word Father, this most dear of all names, implies,-love, infinite, eternal, inconceivable love.

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He is our Father. We, who never could have met, infinitely above us as He is, we meet in this, His love.
     "Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee," King Solomon said. (I Kings 8:27.) Yet the Lord God hears the cry that rises to Him, and the prayer that in lonely hours is pressed out of worried and pained human breasts. When we, in our foolishness, have gone far away from Him. He does not leave us alone. He comes after us, as the good shepherd goes after the lost sheep until he finds it; and when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. So He bows the heavens and comes down, comes in love and mercy. For mercy we pray. We go to our Father, when we enter our closet and shut the door. The only thing with which we can come to Him is our helplessness-the same thing as that with which the little child comes, appealing to the hearts of its parents.
     We must be born again in order that we may see the kingdom of God. (John 3: 3.) We must become as little children in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 18: 3.) Before we have been born again from the Lord, and He has clothed our minds with the truths He gives us, what else are we but naked and helpless and blind in a world which we do not see, because we do not understand it? We are then utterly in need of everything, of defense and protection and when we from our hearts acknowledge this, we cry to our Father.
     We do not ourselves know what we need, or do not make clear to ourselves what it is that we need or most need. Our prayer may not perhaps contain any beautiful words. All we know is that we do not know anything of ourselves, and do not have anything from ourselves, just as the little child does not know and does not understand. But this is enough. It is enough for us to be able to pray rightly, "Our Father." Then first, with the Lord's help, can we become something. And we can hope, as there is hope in the child and we learn of the children. Then there will also be what above all belongs to love and faith,-confidence and trust. This also we can learn from the children.
     Let us think of a little child who has just gone to sleep, free from all care, confident that father and mother will watch over it.

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Is it not something of heaven that we see in such a slumbering child, something of the peace of heaven?
     So we may also learn from the love of a child. He has nothing to give, this little one, nothing but himself; but this he gives fully and freely. So may we also give to the Lord the only thing we have and the only thing for which He cares-our poor heart.
     In the little child we see the dawning possibilities, the as yet unfulfilled promises. So also it is with us in the beginning of the life of regeneration. But the Lord looks to this life which he has awakened in us, this tender and weak life, hidden in secret, moved by His love.

     When we are infested and perhaps near despair, seeing how miserable it is with us, the Lord is comforting us with the assurance that, it only there are some signs of life in our hearts. He will see that the little spark will not die. "A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench." (Matthew 12: 20.) Thus the Lord sees to every little spark of life that may be within a human heart. And therefore He says: "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones." (Matthew 18: 10.)
     It may be useful for us now and then to see how small we really are. We make one mistake after another: but even if these mistakes bring with them many troubles, the experience may perhaps be worth more when we learn by it our own inability and weakness, and learn the humility of a little child, and pray, "Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." (Matthew 26: 39.)
     Some one has asked the question: "Which are the three foremost Christian virtues? And he was answered: "Humility humility, and humility again." And so it came to pass with the disciples of the Lord that it was not until they had learned the bitter lesson of humility that they could really receive the instruction which the Lord gave them during His life on earth among them. They had had no humble thoughts concerning themselves, and they had expected to get high positions in His kingdom. James and John had aspired to sit on His right side and His left side in His kingdom. (Matthew 20: 21.) But later they lived to see all their vain expectations frustrated. They saw that He of whom they had expected all their heart's desires was crucified and put to death, leaving them as sheep without a shepherd.

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     Peter especially had had a bitter and painful experience. Had he not in sure self-confidence declared: "Though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee. Though all men shall he offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended." (Matthew 26: 35, 33.) To his shame he was to see the Lord's words to him fulfilled when He said: "This night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." (Matthew 26: 34, 69-75.) And he went out and wept bitterly. The former self-confidence was gene. No longer was he a big and strong fellow in his own eyes. A great change had taken place with him, and with the other disciples also. They had learned humility,-a difficult and bitterly painful lesson as it always is.
     And so we are told in the 21st chapter of John that seven of them, and among them Peter, were together in a boat fishing in the Sea of Tiberias. "And that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus." And now the Lord called them "children,"-these big, strong man, saying to them: "Children, have ye any meat? They answered Him. No." (John 21: 1-5.)
     They had been out on the sea perhaps the whole night, seeking by their own efforts to obtain something to eat, but they had not been able to catch any fish. In the Lord's Providence this was a sign of the truth that of themselves they were not able to get any spiritual food, any spiritual good. Even spiritually it was night,-a night when all their efforts seemed to be in vain. But when the morning was come, the Lord stood on the shore, arisen, and they heard Him speak, and they did as He told them to do. And now they found so many fish that they were not able to draw in the net for the multitude of fishes.
     That morning meant a new day in their lives. They knew now who the Lord was, and no doubt they wondered and had many questions to ask, but no one dared to do so. They were silent. Even the impulsive tongue of Peter was silent. Neither had Thomas any objection to offer. Now they saw in Him more than a man. They listened as children, and received as children. It had taken a long time for this, and many difficulties and disappointments.

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But now they had become new men. They had learned to look to the Lord, and not to themselves. They had learned to trust in the Lord, and not in themselves. They were converted and had become as children. Therefore they could now see something of heaven.
     We also have to learn the same thing,-to look to the Lord, and not to ourselves, to trust in the Lord, and not in ourselves. May the Lord be the center of our lives! Then innocence will be the inmost of all, even as the little child which the Lord set in the midst of His disciples.
     Let us therefore learn what the Lord has to teach us in His Word, regularly day by day, and think it over, and from it try to learn the hard lesson of life, as we learned our lessons in school as children. And let us pray to the Lord for help and strength to do it. To pray rightly to Him is to give up one's self to Him. The prayer may consist of thoughts without words, in directing one's mind to Him, that we may be His own.
     An especial help for this is given us in the Holy Supper. Its highest representation in the Old Testament was the eating of the paschal lamb. Like the child, it represented innocence, and therefore the Lord Himself was called the Lamb. To eat the paschal lamb thus represented the reception of innocence from the Lord. This is what takes place in the Holy Supper. "This is my body." It is the Lamb of God; it is innocence from the Lord that is given to those who, with reverence and humility, receive in that hour the highest gift of the Lord.
     May we therefore go to the Holy Supper feeling that He is all and that we are nothing. Let us come before His face, before His love, His grace and mercy, come into the presence of heaven, come in humbleness, come as children to the friend of children, that He may give us love, give us humility, give us the trust of children, the innocence and peace of him who has become a child again, come to Him who said: "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19: 14.) Amen.

LESSONS:     I Kings 8: 22-30. Matthew 18: 1-14. A. C. 2290, 2291.

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DEDICATION CEREMONY ALEXANDRA TOWNSHIP CHURCH HOUSE OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM MISSION IN SOUTH AFRICA 1950

DEDICATION CEREMONY ALEXANDRA TOWNSHIP CHURCH HOUSE OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM MISSION IN SOUTH AFRICA       S. E. BUTELEZI       1950

     26TH & 27TH MARCH, 1950.

     Owing to illness, the Superintendent, Rev. F. W. Elphick, was unable to attend the occasion. Extracted from his letter to Rev. T. Matshinini are his encouraging words to the African ministers, which enabled them to conduct the dedication ceremony in freedom. He wrote:

     "Rev. T. MATHININI: As you are senior Transvaal minister, you should read the dedication address. You act on behalf of the Bishop and the Superintendent. If there is to be a sermon, you could ask either Rev. A. B. Zungu or Rev. S. E. Butelezi, as they are visiting ministers.
     "This is a great disappointment to me-and I thought some of the ministers could attend from a distance for the special occasion, as we cannot have annual meetings this year. But in Providence the experience may help you all to realize as time goes on that you will have to carry out the Church duties in your own way. I hope you will have a good meeting."

     On the strength of the above, the ministers who had gathered for the occasion assembled to discuss the order of the meetings, as follows:

     1. Saturday evening, the 26th, was devoted to useful addresses based on the Church teachings. Rev. S. E. Butelezi was appointed to preside over that part of the work.

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His opening address was drawn from the words: "Behold, I make all things new." The contributing addresses were heard from: Rev. A. D. Vilakazi. "The Unity of God"; Rev. P. Sabela, "The Spiritual Sense of the Word" Rev. P. Sibeko, "On Creation." After the addresses, tea was served by the Alexandra Society, and the meeting adjourned till the next day at 11.00 am.
     2. As has been reflected from the extracts of the Superintendent's letter, Rev. T. Matshinini was to read the dedication address, and the Rev. A. B. Zungu was chosen for a sermon, to be assisted by Rev. P. Sibeko (order of service), Rev. P. Sabela (Baptism), and Rev. A. D. Vilakazi (Lessons). It was regretted that the Holy Supper could not be administered, as arrangements could not lend themselves to the limited time the ministers had at their disposal.

Dedication Ceremony.

     Rev. T. Matshinini's dwelling house, formerly used for worship, was used as a vestry for the ministers. The ministers and people marched in procession from there to the new Church House. At the entrance, Mr. J. Maseko held the door key, and the doors opened for accommodation. After that, all was quiet, and Rev. T. Matshinini read as follows:

     "On this day, Sunday, March 26th, 1950, we have assembled together to dedicate this Church to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One and Only God of Heaven and Earth. I have been asked to give this address on behalf of the Superintendent of the General Church Mission, who unfortunately is unable to be present owing to illness.
     "From ancient times and through the ages, buildings have been erected and set aside for the worship of God. In the Old Testament we have the account of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and then, later, how the Ark was placed in the temple built and dedicated by Solomon.
     "And so today this building is to be set aside and dedicated in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has manifested Himself to men in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, and in the Revelation given by the Lord to His New Church, called in the Apocalypse the 'New Jerusalem.'"

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     At a pause, Mr. J. Maseko, on behalf of the Alexandra Township Society of the General Church Mission in South Africa, presently under the charge of Revs. T. Matshinini and P. Sibeko, read:

     "I hand over to you, representing the Bishop, the key of the building and the site upon which it stands."

     On receiving the key, Rev. T. Matshinini faced the altar and placed the Word, and continued:

     "On behalf of the Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem Mission in South Africa, and on behalf of the Superintendent of the General Church of the New Jerusalem Mission in South Africa, I do now dedicate this building in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and set it aside for the uses of Divine Worship. May the ministers of the New Church and their assistants ever preach and lead the people to the good of life according to the Three Revelations now given to all mankind for their spiritual need and uplift! May this day also testify to the faithful labor of all those who have assisted in the making of this place of worship-open to all those of this district who may be willing to hear of and to learn what the Lord has revealed in His Second Coming!
     "And each and all on this occasion should remember the text from Psalm 127: 'Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.'"

     The Word was opened, and Rev. P. Sibeko followed the order of service-Baptism, Lessons, and Sermon by the Rev. A. B. Zungu. His text was: "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a mart, that is, of the angel." (Rev. 21: 16, 17.)
     His sermon was marked by a successful exposition of the spiritual sense generally and particularly. The stories of the city elicited a brilliant vision of the internal Church formed from the good and truth of the Church applied to life. The affection for good and truth was maintained throughout the sermon.

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Extemporaneous as the conditions necessitated the sermon to be, it was widely regretted that such words could not appear on paper.

     3. The afternoon section was devoted to the Church history of Alexandra Township. This was marked with the spirit of tolerance and far-reaching ideals. Collections in aid of the Alexandra Society were about L20. It was estimated that the outlay for building and site was about L500.
     Among prominent visitors were: Rev. and Mrs. Moike and their Church choir, The Amalgamated School Choir, conducted by a teacher; the Zionist Choir; and the Superintendent of the Ethiopian Church. All these took an active part in the occasion. Ministers and visitors were all satisfactorily catered for.
     Over 200 people attended the ceremony.
                         S. E. BUTELEZI.

[Photograph of a gathering of people.]

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NEW CHURCH IN SOUTH AFRICA OPPORTUNITIES THAT LIE BEFORE THE MEMBERS 1950

NEW CHURCH IN SOUTH AFRICA OPPORTUNITIES THAT LIE BEFORE THE MEMBERS       F. H. D. LUMSDEN       1950

     (Address at the June 19th Banquet in Durban, 1950.)

     When we study the history of this Society of the New Church, we become aware of the fact that there has been a remarkable development. In the space of considerably less than a century there has grown up a fully organized Society. Where once there was reliance upon lay leaders, there is now a full-time minister. Where formerly one or two families constituted the sum total of the members of the Church in South Africa, now there are some sixty families in Durban and District who co-operate in the activities of the Durban Society. Furthermore, there is an outer circle of members and friends numbering some thirty families who are spread all over South Africa. And all this is mainly the result of the efforts and the courage of a few isolated people who brought the Writings to this country. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1930, pp. 364-367.]
     Now there is a spreading process in process. There is a tendency with the younger people to decide for economic and social reasons to move to other centers. We therefore find a fully organized and active Church Society in Durban with members and friends spread throughout the Union of South Africa.
     The opportunities are many that lie before each one of us, before every member of the Durban Society and every member of the New Church in South Africa. But first let us accept the truth that opportunities will be taken by individuals only in freedom, and by individuals who are genuinely desirous of seeing the Church grow. It may happen that, of the ninety odd families that are enumerated in the Adviser Directory, some members belong to the Church purely because their parents are members of the Church. Be that as it may, opportunities there are before us.

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     There is no need for me to point out in detail the many evils that are rampant today. We all know that all religion has relation to life, and that we should shun evils. We are all familiar with the moral decay that besmirches our present-day civilization; we know of the long lists of matrimonial difficulties that clutter up our law courts; we know all too well of the existence of thousands of unenlightened in our country.
     The spread of the Church and its teachings rests upon the shoulders of individuals. Whether opportunities are taken for assisting in its growth, establishment and continuance depends upon the individual, his attitude, his genius, his love.
     Those of us who are in and around Durban are fortunate enough to have the opportunities of attending church where the Word is read, of receiving instruction from a trained man, the minister, both at doctrinal classes and privately, of taking part in social activities, and of sending our young children to a Church School,

     In the chapter on the Sacred Scripture in the True Christian Religion we read: "Conjunction with heaven cannot be given unless there he somewhere on earth a church where the Word is and by it the Lord is known. . . It is enough that there be a church where the Word is, even though it consist of relatively few persons, for by means of it the Lord is present in the whole world, and by it heaven is conjoined to the human race. By means of the Word there is light also to those who are outside of the church and have not the Word." (No. 267.) "Enlightenment is from the Lord alone, and is with those who love truths because they are truths, and apply them to the uses of life: with others there is no enlightenment in the Word. When a man is in the affection of truth, he acknowledges the truth from an interior perception, and thereafter sees it in his thought, and this as often as he is in the affection of truth for the sake of truth; for from affection comes perception, from perception thought, and so it becomes the acknowledgment which is called faith." (No. 231.) Let us note the stages from affection to perception, to thought, to the acknowledgment which is faith.
     We are considering the opportunities that lie before us, the members of the New Church in South Africa. Before any individual will in freedom support the uses of a Church Society, or take the opportunities that may offer and fit in with his special genius, training, or love, there will need to be in that individual an acknowledgment of the truth. (Affection, perception, thought. acknowledgment or faith.)

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Let us now look at this chart which, in graphic form, portrays the opportunities that are available to all members of the New Church in and around Durban.

     Regarding the uses of family worship and the school, when I was thinking about the way a man's faith was established-affection of truth, perception, thought, and acknowledgment-I wondered how children's developing minds would compare with this process. Bishop de Charms, in his book, The Growth of the Mind, deals in detail with the development of the mind from infancy to adult age. Let us examine what he says about the years four to seven, the ages at which a child begins to remember family worship, and later the ages at which he would attend our Kainon School. How does the Bishop's analogy compare?
     The Biblical parallel for the age of Jour is the story of Isaac. About this year the Bishop says: "It is a very interesting fact that the first conscious awakening of the understanding with a little child is associated with the most profound subjects. It reaches back to God as the origin and source of all." Isaac represents the delight of knowing. In referring to the sacrifice of Isaac, the Bishop explains the representation of the child's innocence and willingness to be led. The marriage of Isaac and Rebekah represents the love of knowing being united with the affection of truth in a state affirmative to parental control.
     For the age of five, Jacob figures much in the Biblical parallel. He represents parental teaching, which is the first in time, but the good of life is first in end. The leading of Jacob to find Rachel represents the affection of interior truths, especially from the Word. For the age of six, the Biblical parallel is the story of Joseph, from his betrayal to his death. Joseph represents the fulfilment of the previous stage of infancy. The coat of many colors represents the childish appearances of truth in which interior perceptions are clothed. For the age of seven, the Biblical parallel is from the birth of Moses to the Exodus. The birth of Moses represents the dawning perception of Divine Law.

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     When one thinks over the whole subject of the growth of the child's mind, from the age of four to seven, one sees what an important influence parental teaching exerts. One can perceive the great value of family worship, and is able to appreciate the worth of placing the child in the hands of understanding teachers. Harking back to the pattern which I quoted above,-affection, perception, thought, acknowledgment or faith-it becomes clear that this pattern may be detected, slowly unfolding, as the child's mind develops, and that, between the ages of four to seven affections of truth and the dawning of interior perceptions are predominant.
     We parents have the opportunities of deciding, while the child is in a state affirmative to parental guidance, whether we will institute family worship, and whether we will support the uses of a New Church School. These opportunities which lie before us may not benefit us personally, but by taking them ye should undoubtedly give to the young the things that are immeasurable by worldly standards-qualities that transcend the whole developing personality, perceptions and thoughts that are going to be with the individual for life.

     As I have said, the question as to whether or not an individual member contributes towards the spreading of a knowledge of the doctrines of the church will depend upon the individual himself, his attitude, his genius, his love. What of the other opportunities that lie before us? Let us first think of the isolated,-those people who would like to be with us in church activities, but who are too far away to do so. There are now ways and means of making these, our friends, much nearer. The recent invention of the tape machine, which faithfully records sermons, talks, whole services of worship for adults and for children, festive occasions and even messages,-all of which are carried on reels which can be sent by mail-this opens a wide avenue of opportunity for our mechanically gifted young men. They could easily be trained in the art of recording, and might make themselves available to explain to others how to "play" the records. A machine might be circulated from home to home in Johannesburg and in Cape Town. Undoubtedly this possibility is fascinating to some of us. It is truly a feasible and effective method of enabling the pastor to feed his scattered flock.

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     The radio is another way in which we might keep in touch with the isolated, though unfortunately this is out of the question in South Africa today. In answer to a letter which I wrote to the Minister of the Interior, the Post Master General replied that he "may not issue a broadcasting license to any person without the consent of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, and that the Government has decided that, for the present, broadcasting in the Union shall remain a monopoly of that Corporation." Possibly the air will one day be "free," and those of us who have a flare for radio communications will utilize the tape machine and broadcast suitable services at regular times which New Church homes in distant parts way hear. So long as we broadcast services and lectures that avoid running down other churches, or causing any hurt, I can see nothing but good in such a project. It might be that numerous outside listeners would in this way be introduced to the New Church.
     There is, however, a completely open field that is available. Three-fifths of our European population is Afrikaans speaking. I do not know of any of Swedenborg's works which have been translated into Afrikaans. For those of us with the pioneering spirit there is much work ahead.
     We may also consider the possibilities of assisting with the growth of the Native Mission. Young men of energy and sympathy. Native linguists, men with a social conscience-for these there is undoubted scope. There may be opportunities to assist the Superintendent by encouraging the Natives with their publications, by helping them to become more self-reliant and self-helpful, particularly in matters of business, or by starting night classes to aid the unlettered to advance to the stage where they can read the Word for themselves. It might be possible for some one to help to establish a Building Fund, as some of the Mission stations have no churches of their own, and another might develop an interest in a Study Fund.
     The Church does not belong to any one nation. It owes no allegiance to any flag, or ruler, or earthly government, though its individual members do. It is inter-national in the sense that it is for all. It is above politics and above race. Let us remember that "there is no conjunction with heaven unless there be somewhere on earth a church where the Word is and by it the Lord is known." The opportunities of establishing and spreading this church of ours are many.

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Let us think deeply upon these various opportunities, and, deciding according to our genius and in the Lord's time, let us contribute our share towards its growth on earth.
     Post opportunities calva est. Opportunity is bald behind. Take time by the forelock. Is it not possible that a Society as strong as the Durban Society will grow up in some other part of South Africa, as the result of the present-day efforts of the members of this Society? Let us take courage from the example of those who started the Church in South Africa, and let us work patiently and trustingly, to the best of our respective abilities, for the spreading, strengthening and establishing of the New Church, not only in this country, but in the hearts and minds of all men.
ACADEMY AND THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH 1950

ACADEMY AND THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH       Rev. HAROLD C. CRANCH       1950

     Charter Day Address.

     (Delivered at the Service in the Cathedral, October 13, 1950.)

     Today we celebrate Charter Day, and this is a wonderful time for us all. It is a time of thanksgiving and happiness, for it was the day upon which we were granted the right to build the New Church, and to teach her laws and principles to our children. It was the day upon which our work was recognized by the State and protected by its laws. And so our Charter Day has become a special day in the church,-a special day of remembrance. We celebrate it to recall livingly to our minds the vision which inspired our forefathers-a vision which should go before us in our work as a constant inspiration to us also.
     To you children, who go to the elementary school here in Bryn Athyn, going to school with your closest friends, living protected and happy in this community, Charter Day has not had a chance to mean much to you.

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But it is because of that charter that we have gathered together to form the village of Bryn Athyn, to build the beautiful buildings to which you go for your schooling. So Charter Day to you can mean thankfulness to the Lord for the wonderful community in which you live, for your friends, and for your beautiful church and school.
     To the young men and women in our high schools, Charter Day means a great deal more. It means the chance to attend the Academy Schools, to learn the laws of heaven and the laws of earth together, as they should be taught. It means growth in the church, and a chance for greater happiness in the world than could be the case otherwise.
     To the men and women of the college and the graduate schools, and to the teachers, professors, and ministers who are active in the educational work, the results of our charter are perhaps most vividly present, and have the most meaning. For to them it means the chance to build the New Church in their own lives and in the world on a strong and enduring foundation. For many it means receiving professional training that could be received in no other school in all the world. It means gaining a universal perspective by which all things can be evaluated according to their use and purpose-according to the part they play in preparing men for the life of heaven.
     But to the entire church Charter Day is an important observance and has great meaning, because it celebrates the establishment of the strong, rational basis for building the Lord's Kingdom in the world. We all benefit from the orderly results that have followed the granting of the charter to our founders, which gave them the right to build a vision into a reality.
     But the full meaning of what is represented by our Charter Day often escapes us when we are too close to the workings of the school. To gain the necessary perspective, we must see it as a general use. To gain this perspective, we must first see that our real charter is spiritual in nature. It is both the right and the duty of all who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour to learn His commandments and to do them, and to teach them to others to build His church in themselves and in the world. The outline of how this is to be done was given by the Lord Himself, for He gathered disciples to Him that He might instruct them in the truths of Revelation.

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Then He sent them forth to preach, and to teach others, to baptize, and to lead them into the life of heaven.
     That such instruction and guidance should be given particularly to the children is taught where the Lord said: `What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?" (Matthew 7: 9.) And again, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19: 14.) Even in the Old Testament the command to learn the Lord's law, and to teach it to others, particularly to the children, is plainly taught. So we read: "Thou shalt read this law before all Israel. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God and observe to do all the words of this law and that their children, which have not known, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God." (Dent. 31: 11-13.)
     That this would be especially emphasized in the New Age is plain from many teachings in the letter of the Word. We are told that in that day the old culture and civilization-the old forms of worship and the old superstitions-would come to an end, and a new civilization would begin, built upon the Lord's Word-the New Revelation-the rock of eternal strength that would grow until it filled the earth. And of that day the Lord said, "Behold, I make all things new."
     It was to bring this about that He gave the new, rational Revelation, the crown of all that had been given before. He gave a new city of Divine Doctrine-the city New Jerusalem, in which all the peoples of the earth could worship. But it is only by education that men can be prepared to receive it. It was the vision of this day-the promise of the New Age-the reception of the New Revelation-that inspired the founders of our Academy. To bring about the fulfillment of this vision is what they loved and worked for. The vision and the promise given in Divine Revelation was the spiritual charter. And after they had received this in their hearts and minds, then they sought a charter from the State to give them the right to carry on this Divine use.

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     A charter is granted by the State after its officials have examined the purposes intended, and have determined that they are not harmful to the people of that State. When this has been determined, then the State, by granting the charter, guarantees the right of that group to carry on the work which they intend. Thus the charter of the Academy of the New Church gave its the right to carry on the most important work in all the world-the work of building the Lord's kingdom in our children, in ourselves, and in the world. The granting of this charter established in the world a new, vigorous plant which was to grow from the spiritual seed of the Heavenly Doctrine.
     The uses that were to be the fruits of this new spiritual plant were five in number. The first two express the universal use of the new Academy. They were: To propagate the Heavenly Doctrine, and to establish the New Church,-to plant the seeds of truth in the world, and by that means to establish the New Jerusalem. Men in the world are the fields of the Lord in which seeds of truth are to be planted, that they may grow to produce a rich, spiritual harvest of eternal usefulness and heavenly happiness. The harvest is the church established with men. That this is the use of those who love the church and are willing to work for its establishment, the Lord Himself taught when He said to His disciples: "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into His harvest." (Matthew 9: 38.)
     The next three uses relate the particular ways of entering into that universal work. So the third use is education. In the charter we were granted the right to promote education in all of its forms, and to educate young men for the ministry. So schools were founded.-elementary schools, high schools, the college and normal school, and the theological school. And the work of education was also carried on by classes and private instruction with other students-with men and women throughout the church. This was done by means of instruction given by the priesthood, and also by means of the fourth use, which was to publish books, pamphlets and magazines, to develop and circulate doctrinal studies. The fifth use was to establish a library,-a research center where the books of the New Revelation, as well as the studies of our scholars and the books of the scholarship of the world, could be collected and preserved and made available to all who would use them.

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This was to encourage and stimulate thought and research in the work of building the new civilization, firmly based upon Divine Revelation.
     Now all of these uses are important. And if they are sound they will grow. In the seventy-three years since this charter was granted by the State of Pennsylvania we can see this growth. At that time there were only a few people devoted to this use, and the school was just being established. The first school had but a small number of students. Now we can see a large school with beautiful buildings and much new equipment. In Providence, even seeming misfortunes have aided in the development of the school and its uses. So we can see the wonderful advances that have been made since the charter was granted.
     But this is in Bryn Athyn. We are apt to think from these things alone. Yet there is a larger growth-a growth of the idea, of the vision and love of these heavenly uses. In England the members of our church are working hard, planning and saving for the day when they too can have an Academy school in their country, to educate their children more fully in the wonderful truths of the New Church. In many societies of the General Church there are elementary schools devoted to the establishment of this use in their own localities. In the Chicago District the members of the church are at work, even now, trying to develop a new Junior High School, supported by all the members in the District, to the end that the work of New Church education may be served more fully than hitherto. And all of our small societies, circles, and isolated groups enter into this use, planning and working for the day when they may have a school in their own locality to help them build the New Church on the only enduring foundation.
     To evaluate more fully the work established by the charter of the Academy, we must see that the New Church as a whole has grown, and is growing, because of the work done in the Academy schools and in the Academy sphere. It has often been pointed out that the New Church will grow and prosper because it is a rational church that provides the answers to the problems of materialism and agnosticism. But it is not enough to know that the answers can be found in the Writings. They must be searched out and given for the use of all men.

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Until this is done we cannot successfully combat the forces which destroyed the former church. And so we are told that the New Church will at first be among a few in preparation for its spread to the many.
     In the work and sphere of the Academy, our teachers and ministers are able to make that preparation-to build the strong center of learning from which lasting growth can come And they do this by making a real study of the doctrine as it applies to our age and its needs. In this way the scholarship promoted by the Academy can combat the challenges of the scientific world, and this, not by retreat, not by the disavowal of the facts which science has discovered, but by the proper use of these facts under the guidance of our rational Revelation. If it were not for the Academy, much of this work would not be done. Priests active in the pastoral work of the church have not the time for this type of specialized research. And therefore New Church priests and laymen are greatly indebted to the scholars of the Academy for searching out and making available the answers to these modern problems in philosophy, education, science, and the moral life.
     The progress that has already been made has come about because the Academy from the beginning has recognized that the Writings are the Divinely given means for the establishment of this new Age of Reason. The Writings were seen to be a new Word of the Lord. It was recognized that the only authority for the New Church must be found in the Heavenly Doctrines. It was understood clearly that these were not the writings of a man working from his own fallible understanding, but that they were the works of the Lord given by means of the man Emanuel Swedenborg. And there was complete devotion to the ideal of seeking the truth for its own sake, following it no matter what the personal consequences. It was this clear acceptance of the basis for authority in the New Church that has led to every success in the Academy.
     If our Charter Day is to be a day of remembrance and thanksgiving to the Lord for His guidance and blessing, it must also be a day of rededication to the ideals and high principles which brought the Academy into being. Without that spiritual rededication our celebration is meaningless.

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For if the work of the Academy is to succeed now, and is to endure into the future, we must be true in thought and deed to these same principles-to the principle that the Writings are the very Word of the Lord, to the principle that their teaching must he searched out and used to build a true life of order. As individuals and as an organization we must be faithful to the truths we have been given. So will we grow and prosper, not by our own unguided efforts, but from the Lord.
     Just as the Children of Israel, who typified the true Christian Church, found victory, peace and prosperity when they obeyed the Divine commandments of the Lord, but failed and were conquered when they turned away from them, so must it be with us. For the Lord addressed us all when He said: Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do." (Deuteronomy 29: 9.) For "if ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them, I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people." (Leviticus 26: 3, 12.) Amen.

LESSONS:     Leviticus 26: 1-20. Apocalypse Revealed, no. 547.
WANTED 1950

WANTED              1950

     Copies of "The Social Monthly."

     THE ACADEMY LIBRARY would like to obtain a set of the Manuscript Paper entitled "The Social Monthly," which was issued in 1879 and 1880 by the Young Folks' Club of the Advent Society of Philadelphia, and circulated among the members of the New Church in that city and elsewhere. In January, 1881, it was succeeded by NEW CHURCH LIFE, published in printed form by the Editors of the Manuscript Paper as a "Journal for the Young People of the New Church."
     If any of our readers possess single copies or a complete set of "The Social Monthly," and are willing to part with them, or to loan them to make possible a typewritten duplication, please communicate with Miss Freda Pendleton. The Academy Library, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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DIRECTORY 1950

DIRECTORY              1950

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     Officials and Councils.

     Bishop: Right Rev. George de Charms. Secretary: Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner.

     CONSISTORY.

     Bishop George de Charms.

Right Rev. Alfred Acton; Revs. A. Wynne Acton; Elmo C. Acton; Karl R. Alden; Gustaf Baeckstrom; Charles E. Doering; Frederick E. Gyllenhaal, Secretary; Hugo Lj. Odhner; Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Rev. Gilbert H. Smith: Rev. W. Cairns Henderson.

"The General Church of the New Jerusalem"
(A corporation of Illinois)

"General Church of the New Jerusalem"
(A corporation of Pennsylvania)

OFFICERS OF BOTH CORPORATIONS.

Right Rev. George de Charms, President.
Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Vice President.
Mr. Edward H. Davis, Secretary.
Mr. Hubert Hyatt, Treasurer.
Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Assistant Treasurer.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE ILLINOIS CORPORATION

AND

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATION.

Right Rev. George de Charms; Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Mr. Daric E. Acton; Kesniel C. Acton, Esq.; Mr. Reginald S Anderson; Mr. Edwin T. Asplundh; Mr. Lester Asplundh; Mr. Geoffre E. Blackman; Mr. Edward C. Bostock; Mr. Robert M. Brown; Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs; Randolph W. Childs, Esq.; Edward H. Davis, Esq.; Mr. Quentin F. Ebert; Mr. James j. Forfar; Dr. Martin W. Heilman; Mr. Theodore N. Glenn; Mr. Hubert Hyatt; Mr. John E. Kohl; Mr. Sydney E. Lee; Alexander P. Lindsay, Esq.: Mr. Tore E. Loven; Mr. Harold P. McQueen; Mr. Hubert Nelson; Philip C. Pendleton, Esq.; Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn; Raymond Pitcairn, Esq.; Mr. Colley Pryke; Arthur Synnestvedt, Esq.; Mr. Norman P. Synnestvedt.

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     Honorary Members: Mr. Charles G. Merrell and Mr. Rudolf Roschman.


     The Clergy.
     Bishops.

DE CHARMS. GEORGE. Ordained June 28, 1914; 2d Degree, June 19, 1916; 3d Degree, March 11, 1928. Bishop of the General Church. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ACTON, ALFRED. Ordained June 4, 1893; 2d Degree, January 10, 1897; 3d Degree, April 5, 1936. Pastor of the Society in Washington, D. C. Dean of the Theological School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PENDLETON, WILLARD DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 19, 1933; 2d Degree, September 12, 1934; 3d Degree, June 19. 1946. Assistant to the Bishop of the General Church. Executive Vice President Academy of the New Church, Professor of Theology and Education, Academy of the New Church. Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Pastors.

ACTON, A. WYNNE. Ordained June 19, 1932; 2d Degree, March 25, 1934. Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Visiting Pastor of the Montreal Circle. Address: 2 Elm Grove Avenue, Toronto 3, Canada.
ACTON, ELMO CARMAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2d Degree August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Address: 12 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois.
ALDEN, KARL RICHARDSON. Ordained June 19, 1917; 2d Degree. October 12, 1919. Visiting Pastor to the Canadian Northwest. Professor. Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
BAECKSTROM, GUSTAF. Ordained June 6, 1915; 2d Degree, June 27, 1920. Pastor of the Society in Stockholm, Sweden. Visiting Pastor of the Oslo Circle. Address: Svedjevagen 20, Bromma, Stockholm, Sweden.
BOYESEN, BJORN ADOLPH HILDEAMAR. Ordained June 19, 1939; 2d Degree, March 30, 1941. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh 8, Pa.
BRICKMAN, WALTER EDWARD. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, January 7, 1900. Address 818 Indiana Avenue, Weslaco, Texas.
CALDWELL, WILLIAM BEEBE. Ordained October 19, 1902; 2d Degree, October 23, 1904. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
CRANCH, HAROLD COVERT. Ordained June 19, 1941; 2d Degree, October 25, 1942. Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Illinois. Visiting Pastor to the Western United States. Address: 5220 Wayne Avenue, Chicago 40, Illinois.
CRONLUND, EMIL ROBERT. Ordained December 31, 1899; 2d Degree, May 18, 1902. Address: Bryn Athyn. Pa.

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DOERING, CHARLES EMIL. Ordained June 7, 1896; 2d Degree, January 29, 1899. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
GILL, ALAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926; Pastor of the Colchester Society. Address: 9 Ireton Road, Colchester, England,
GLADISH, VICTOR JEREMIAH. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2d Degree, August 5, 1928. Address: 7646 South Evans Avenue, Chicago 19, Illinois.
GYLLENHAAL, FREDERICK EDMUND. Ordained June 23, 1907; 2d Degree, June 19, 1910. Pastor-in-Charge, General Church Religion Lessors. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
HEINRICHS, HENRY. Ordained June 24, 1923; 2d Degree, February 8, 1925. Address: R. R. 3, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
HENDERSON, WILLIAM CAIRNS. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2d Degree, April 14, 1935. Secretary of the Council of the Clergy. Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE. Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
LIMA, JOAO DE MENDONCA. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 5, 1925. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: Avenida Ruy Barboza 266, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
ODHNER, HUGO LJUNGBERG. Ordained June 28, 1914; 2d Degree, June 24, 1917. Secretary of the General Church. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Professor, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ODHNER, ORMOND DE CHARMS. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2d Degree, October 11, 1942. Assistant Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Visiting Pastor, Chicago District and the Southern States. Address: 2700 Park Lane, Glenview, Illinois.
PRYKE, MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2d Degree, March 1, 1942. Pastor of the Durban Society. Superintendent of the South African Mission. Address: 390 Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.
REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2d Degree, June 15, 1930. Pastor of Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ontario. Address: 604 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
RICH, MORLEY DYCKMAN. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2d Degree, October 13, 1940. Secretary of the Educational Council. Pastor of the Advent Church, Philadelphia. Pa. Visiting Pastor of the Arbutus, Maryland, Circle, the New York Society, and the Northern New Jersey Circle. Address: 127 Elm Avenue, Philadelphia 11, Pa.
ROGERS, NORBERT HENRY. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2d Degree, October 13, 1940. Pastor of the Detroit Circle, and a Visiting Pastor in the Ohio District. Address:
SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2d Degree, August 4, 1935. Assistant to the Pastor of the Stockholm Society, and Visiting Pastor of the Jonkoping Circle. Address: Brobyvagen 24, Ensta Park, Roslags Nasby, Sweden.
SIMONS, DAVID, RESTYN. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2d Degree, June 19, 1950. Assistant to the Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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SMITH, GILBERT HAVEN. Ordained June 25, 1911; 2d Degree, June 19, 1913. Address: South Shaftsbury, R. F. D. 1, Vermont.
STARKEY, GEORGE GODDARD. Ordained June 3, 1894; 2d Degree, October 19, 1902. Address: Glenview, Illinois.
STROH, KENNETH OLIVER. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2d Degree, June 19, 1950. Pastor of Michael Church, London, England. Visiting Pastor to the Isolated in Great Britain, and to the Societies at Paris and The Hague. Address: 53 Beckwith Road, Herne Hill, London. S.E. 24.
WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM. Ordained June 19, 1922; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Professor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Ministers.

CRANCH, RAYMOND GREENLEAF. Ordained June 19, 1922. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ODHNER, VINCENT CARMOND. Ordained June 17, 1928. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Authorized Candidates.

KING, LOUIS BLAIR. Authorized, February 7, 1950. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Authorized Leaders.

ENGELTJES, HERMAN G. Authorized, November 4, 1950. Address: Laan van Eik en Duinen 206, The Hague, Holland.
HELDON, LINDTHMAN. Authorized. July 1, 1950. Address: 13 Alexander Street, Penshurst, N. S. W., Australia.
LUCAS, LOUIS. Authorized, August 30, 1950. Address: 173 rue de Paris, Montreuil s/Bois, Seine, France.

     British Guiana Mission.

     Pastor.

ALGERNON, HENRY. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, September 1, 1940. Pastor of the General Church Mission in Georgetown British Guiana Address: 273 Lamaha Street, Georgetown 4, Dememara, British Guiana, South America.

     South African Mission.

     Xosa,

KANDISA, JOHNSON. Ordained September 11, 1938; 2d Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Queenstown and Sterkstroom Societies. Address: No. 132, Location, Queentown. C. P., South Africa.

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     Basauto.

MOTSI, JONAS. Ordained September 29, 1920: 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Pastor of Quthing District. Address: Phahameng School, P. O. Quthing, Basutotand, South Africa.

     Zulu.

BUTELEZI, STEPHEN EPHRAIM. Ordained September 11, 1938; 2d Degree October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Hambrook Society. Address: Hambrook Government School, P. O. Acton Homes, Ladysmith, Natal, South Africa.
LUNGA, JOHANNES. Ordained September 11, 1938; 2d Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Esididini Society. Address: Esididini School. P. O. Durnacol, Danohauser, Natal, South Africa.
LUTULI, MAFA. Ordained October 3, 1948. Minister of the Verulam (Natal) and Mayville (Durban) Societies. Address: c/o Tongaat Sugar Co., Maidstone, Natal, South Africa.
MATSHININI, TIMOTHY. Ordained August 28, 1938; 2d Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Alexandra Township Society. Address: 165, 11th Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa.
MKIZE, SOLOMON. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2d Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Melmoth District Address: Pangode Halt, Melmoth, Zululand, South Africa.
NZIMANDE, BENJAMIN ISHMAEL. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2d Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Deepdale and Bulwer Districts Address: c/o Inkumba Government School, P. O. Deepdale, Natal, South Africa.
SABLIA, PETER HANDRICK. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2d Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Greylingstad Society and District. Address P. O. Box 38. Greylingstad, Transvaal, South Africa.
SIBEKO, PAUL PEFENI. Ordained October 3, 1948. Address: 106, 10th Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa.
VILAKAZI, ABEL DANIEL. Ordained October 3, 1948. Address: c/o Indunduma Store, Clermont Township. P. O. New Germany, Natal, South Africa.
ZUNGU, AARON. Ordained August 21, 1958; 2d Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the "Kent Manor" Society Address: "Kent Manor," P. O. Entumeni, Zululand, South Africa.


     SOCIETIES AND CIRCLES.

     In order to avoid confusion, it seems well to observe, in the Official Records and the Official Journal of the General Church, the recognized distinction between a "Society" and a "Circle."
     In general, a "Society" may be defined as a congregation under the leadership of a resident Minister or Pastor; while a "Circle" is an organized group receiving regular visits from a non-resident Minister or Pastor.
               GEORGE DE CHARMS,
                    Bishop.

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Church News 1950

Church News       Various       1950

     CHARTER DAY.

     October 13-14, 1950.

     In this seventy-fifth year of the Academy's corporate existence it seemed fitting that the keynote of Charter Day should be further growth through rededication to the ideals of the past, and characteristic that the accent was on the sense of satisfaction which looks to the extension and perfecting of uses, rather than a complacent review of present achievements in comparison with the past. This emphasis was quietly underlined by the very setting. The new Benade Hall-built within, but extending above and beyond the shell of the old-and the always graceful cathedral revealing new beauties as a result of recent landscaping and the removal of the carpenter shop, were ultimate symbols of growth and development out of the past. And even the weather began with a promise of better things to come which was generously fulfilled by a change to the conditions traditionally associated with this celebration.
     Although rain had threatened on Friday morning, the observance of Charter Day opened with the usual procession to the cathedral of the members of the Board and Faculty, the students, and ex-students of the schools. There in the course of a service of glad thanksgiving to the Lord, the congregation heard a fine address from the Rev. Harold C. Cranch, of Chicago on "The Academy and the Growth of the Church." Viewing Charter Day as a general use marking the establishment of a rational basis for building the Lord's kingdom, and stating that our real charter is spiritual. Mr. Cranch traced the development of the uses of the Academy and the growth in the Church of the vision and love of those uses, and showed that the New Church as a whole has grown, and is growing, through the educational and research work done in the Academy schools.
     At the close of this service the congregation moved to the campus and assembled in front of Benade Hall for the singing of school songs. This is followed by hearty greetings and reunions among the visitors who had come from many centers of the Church to join in the celebration.
     The football game on Friday afternoon is not the least important feature of Charter Day, and this year we were treated to one that might have been made to order. In aggressive mood throughout, the Academy team built up a 21-point lead, and then had to fight against Haverford's two touchdown rally in the final quarter to emerge with a 21-13 victory in a game that tacked nothing in the way of sustained excitement.
     On Friday evening came the reception and dance, with the customary singing of sorority and fraternity songs by the students and of the well loved school songs by all present. No records for the evening seem to be available, but the function was certainly well attended.
     For the benefit of visitors, the Sound Recording Committee played, on Saturday afternoon, the recording made of the Benade Hall dedication. The hearing of this in the chapel itself added to the impressiveness of the recording.

     Banquet.-This event, which formed an inspiring climax, was held on Saturday evening, and was attended by an audience of 455 people.

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The Assembly Hall had been appropriately decorated, and the excellent work of the committee resulted also in the serving of a fine meal. Mr. F. Bruce Glenn, an instructor in English in the Academy, was an able toastmaster, The subject of the evening. "What is the place, in the mind and life of a New Churchman, of the three great fields of learning-the sciences, the humanities, and theology?" was developed by three speakers, each active in one of these fields,-Dr. Andrew Doering, Professor Stanley F. Ebert, and Candidate Louis B. King.
     After proposing a toast to the Church, and introducing the subject of the evening by stating that the Academy strives to give interior freedom, Mr. Glenn said: "In the joy of our Charter celebration we do not forget the necessary absence of our leader and his wife. To Bishop and Mrs. de Charms we would like to say, "We are with you tonight as we know you are with us. We miss the strength of your presence, but join in wishing that you may soon return to full health in you work as Bishop of our Church and President of our Academy." All joined in this greeting with hearty applause.
     Dr. Andrew Doering, the first speaker began by stating that the purposes for which the Academy was chartered could not be achieved without the sciences. After defining science, noting the various classes of scientifics listed in the Writings, and showing that the foundation of thought is in sense perception, he spoke of four uses of the sciences. Genuine science is a basis for spiritual truth. Combined with induction of causes it is a means of forming the rational. When the mind is affirmative and receptive it serves to confirm spiritual truth. And it enables man to perform his work in the natural world. Science is therefore a needed servant of all five purposes of the Academy; and the need is indicated generally in Swedenborg's preparation by means of the sciences and of philosophy.
     Professor Ebert, speaking on the humanities-the classical study of language, literature, and society,-noted that they relate to man and his activities, and stand midway between science and religion. Our effort is to adapt the material of our courses to the teachings of the Writings; and the contribution of the humanities to the formation of the rational by Divine Truth is the training of the faculty of judgment through the analysis of man in his social, moral, and rational relationships by discussion and reasoning. A new education is achieved, not by discarding the heritage of the past, but by putting within it a fresh spirit. The Writings recreate the significance of the study of mankind; and that study can help to develop a true rational by giving a new source of thought, basis of judgment, evaluation of motives, and grasp of uses.
     The last speaker, Mr. Louis B. King, discussed the question, How does theology, as taught in the Academy schools, assist in the development of the rational? The formation of a rational mind is dependent on two things,-influx from within and knowledges from without. The latter are derived from the Word, the sciences, and the humanities. But if a true rational is to result, they must be ordered by the reality that all life is from the Lord, not by the appearance of self-life inherent in all created things; and only the theology revealed in the Writings can make possible this ordering. The speaker then touched on the purposes of the Religion courses taught in the various schools of the Academy, and ended by showing that the final purpose is to lead to the vision and worship of the Divine Human, which is the true, spiritual rational.
     Invited to conclude the evening, Bishop Willard D. Pendleton drew attention to the fact that the Academy is now in its seventy-fifth year of operation. Commenting on the varied and stimulating address given, he remarked that the end of education is not knowledge of truth but love of truth, and that our main objective is to hold the mind of the child in the acknowledgment of the Lord in each progressive state.

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Our purpose is to educate the rational because that is the human itself, in which man sees and loves the Divine Human.
     Every Charter Day is essentially the same, yet ever new. In this year's celebration there was manifest a strong feeling of encouragement, of deep gratitude, not only for the past, but also for new opportunities to go forward. And the source of that inspiration was indicated by the invitation for Sunday morning to "go up to the house of the Lord" and conclude the observance with worship in the cathedral.
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Thanksgiving was observed in Canada on Sunday, October 8th, and at the commencement of our service that morning the children brought their offerings of fruit to the Lord. This is an affecting and colorful event which we all enjoy.
     The Day School is now in full swing, with the Rev. A. Wynne Acton as Principal and Miss Venita Roschman as Teacher. There are only five pupils this year, but the beginnings of a kindergarten are in process, with two little girls attending once a week. Miss Edina Carswell teaches music in the school, and Mrs. Rachel Acton gives assistance during the week.
     Our Sunday School has been differently arranged this year, and is being held during the sermon on Sunday morning, with eight or ten ladies taking turns at the teaching, using the General Church Religion Lessons. So far this arrangement has proven quite successful.
     Those who belong to the Intermediate Group meet with Mr. Acton some time before the Wednesday Supper, and then usually stay for that meal. At present they are studying The Life of the Lord.
     The Young People's Class meets every Sunday evening, and is continuing the consideration of the work on Heaven and Hell.
     On Sunday, October 22nd, the Toronto Society had the pleasure of hearing the Rev. Henry Heinrichs preach an interesting sermon on the need for a knowledge of the internal sense of the Word, his text being from Isaiah 26: 1.
     A pleasant surprise this month came with the announcement of the engagement of Miss Helen Anderson to Mr. Leslie Percival. Many friends gathered at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reginald S. Anderson, on Sunday, October 22nd, to congratulate the happy couple, and to welcome Helen back to Toronto.
     The Forward-Sons met on Friday, October 13th, and. after a satisfying supper prepared by the Messrs. Joseph Knight and Ivan Scott, listened to a paper by the Rev A. Wynne Acton entitled "Archaeology and The Bible." The general feeling seemed to be that this was the result of considerable and careful study of the subject.
     It has been a great deal of pleasure to greet many visitors, and while we are not enumerating them we hope they will all come again and often.
     VERA CRAIGIE.


     CHANGE OF EDITORS.

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson will take over the editorial duties of NEW CHURCH LIFE, with the preparation and publication of the issue for January, 1951. The editor's post office address is Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1950

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1950




     Announcements







     General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy, and of the Board of Directors of the Corporations of the General Church, have been scheduled to take place in the week of January 22nd to 27th, 1951, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER.
          Secretary.
PARENT TEACHER JOURNAL 1950

PARENT TEACHER JOURNAL              1950

     Published by General Church Religion Lessons.


Provides material for the use of parents, teachers, and children in the field of religious education.

EDITOR: Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

Issued Monthly, September to June, inclusive. Subscription, $1.50, to be sent to the Editor.
NEW VERSION 1950

NEW VERSION              1950

Rational Psychology. A Posthumous Work by Emanuel Swedenborg. Translated from the Latin by Norbert H. Rogers and Alfred Acton, and Edited by Alfred Acton. Philadelphia. Pa.: Swedenborg Scientific Association, 1950. Cloth: 8vo; pp. XII 343 (including Text, Appendix, and Index). Price, $3.50.

     For reasons given in the Introduction by the Editor, the work is now entitled Rational Psychology in place of the Soul, or Rational Psychology, the title of the English Version by the Rev. Frank Sewall, which is now out of print.
     The new volume has recently come from the press, and orders may be sent to Miss Beryl C. Briscoe, Bryn Athyn, Pa.