The Halterman family, left to right: Kendra, Anita, Barry, Blake, Erik and Eden.
stores; and answered e-mail and telephone inquiries.
“This was a great experience,” he says, “for helping to bring New Church
thought to a new group of readers and thinkers.” He gave public lectures at
libraries and universities on Swedenborg, Swedenborg and Buddhism, Swedenborg
and the History of Religion, and Swedenborg and Near Death Experiences.
In 2004 he was invited to join the Religion Department at the Academy of
the New Church, “which I eagerly accepted as a chance to further my love of
teaching and working with teens.”
He is now the department head and chaplain for the Secondary Schools.
He teaches New Church Religion to all levels, and Comparative Religion. As
chaplain he is responsible for managing the daily chapel program, including
oversight of topics, recruiting and managing volunteer chapel ministers, leading
chapel 40-50 times a year, plus providing counseling and pastoral leadership in
any school crisis.
As department head he is responsible for overseeing the religion teachers,
including support and assessment, managing curriculum review and development,
and participating in monthly Department Head/Curriculum Committee
meetings. He also plays a key role in admissions, through presentations at open
houses for potential students, and presenting the New Church Overview sessions
as part of the Academy’s admissions process.
He also keeps a hand in athletics as an assistant basketball coach for the
past 10 years, and has been an unofficial “back-up pastor” at NewChurch LIVE,
preaching several times a year.
Barry has presented a number of papers, including: a three-part series on
Buddhism in New Church Perspective at Bryn Athyn College; another public
three-part series, One God, Many Religions: Why? in Toronto; Swedenborg:
Buddha of the North at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada;
Tibetan Buddhism and the New Church in Bryn Athyn; and a General Church
Assembly address in Bryn Athyn in 2011, A New Church for a New World.
“One of my favorite career experiences,” he says, “was joining two
international scholars on a panel presentation of The Dharma of Emanuel
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