gathering leaves
Women from the various branches of the Swedenborgian Church will gather
in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 4-7, at the Transfiguration Spirituality Center. The
theme is From Root to Fruit, based on this quote from Swedenborg: “Deeds
inspired by charity are alive. They are said to send roots below and yield fruit
above.”
The retreat will begin with a dinner on Thursday evening, followed with
presentations by women of the New Church of Australia, the General Church,
General Convention, and the Lord’s New Church. They will be sharing stories
about their foremothers’ accomplishments and contributions to the Church.
On Friday the group will explore the fruit of our love for the Church
through current involvement. There will be a choice of workshops later in the
day and a guest speaker at dinner.
Women will brainstorm on Saturday on how to help one another plant
seeds for future growth and use. There will be an optional outing that afternoon
to the Cincinnati Freedom Center, and celebration in the evening of time spent
together.
The session will close on Sunday with worship at the historic Swedenborgian
Glendale New Church.
The registration deadline is March 31 and space is limited. Registration can
be done online: http://gatheringleaves.weebly.com/gathering-leaves-2015.
For information about possible scholarships – or to support scholarships –
contact Gloria Toot: [email protected].
new books
In the January-February issue we noted the publication of The Lord, as part of
the Swedenborg Foundation’s New Century Edition series, translated by the
Rev. Dr. George F. Dole. Now the Foundation is offering two more in the
series: Life – Faith and Sacred Scripture – White Horse.
The back cover of the book Life – Faith states: “What does it mean to
do good? What does it mean to be good? In two short works, Life and Faith,
Emanuel Swedenborg explores these questions and how
they can shape our spiritual lives.
“Life refers not to the vital force that sustains us but
to the way we conduct our lives. This piece focuses on the
concept of regeneration, or spiritual rebirth, as a process
of consciously rejecting o