new church life: march/april 2015
he defines faith as an inner recognition of truth, and he
emphasizes that real faith can occur only in people who
love others and treat them well.
“Taken together, these two short works provide
insight into a theme that pervades Swedenborg’s
theology: how to open ourselves to divine love, and how
to manifest that love in our actions.”
On the back cover of Sacred Scripture – White Horse
appears: “In this pair of short works, which he originally
published separately, Swedenborg describes the literal
text of the Bible as a vessel for higher truth. If we look beyond the obscure and
seemingly inconsistent details in Scripture, he says, we can perceive a divine
love and wisdom that permeates not only the Bible but the entire universe.”
These attractive books are available through the Foundation, www.
swedenborg.com, and the New Church Bookstore,
www.newchurchbooks.com.
70th reunion
In the photo below, members of the Academy of the New Church class of 1944
gather for their 70th reunion at the October 2014 Charter Day celebration
in Bryn Athyn. Left to right. Seated, are: Marcia Pendleton, Yadah Alden,
John Alden, Eleanore Naill and
Margaret Needle. Standing are
Robert Blair, Harris Behlert,
Jackie Bostock, Boyd Asplundh
and Claire Glenn.
Robert Blair notes that in
February 1944 most of the men
were drafted into the Armed
Forces and were unable to
graduate with their class.
follow-up on china
Helen Ference, an enthusiastic new member of the Church who lives in the
Bryn Athyn area, told the Rev. John Jin that she was inspired by the report on
the New Church in China in the January-February issue of New Church Life.
Helen discovered the Church by finding New Church Life online and
reading Bruce Henderson’s book, Window to Eternity. She has been coming
to services in the Cathedral since last November and says, “I love it.”
Through Google she found that the Rev. Timothy’s group in China has “a
great website” and has already translated several of Swedenborg’s books into
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