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that is like saying America’s allegiance to the ideal of freedom is “one of its
strong points,” when in fact it is the very soul of the nation.
The ideal the General Church was established to represent, and has always
striven toward, is to be governed by the Lord, which means being governed by
the truths which He has revealed. That ideal is not just a strong point, but its
strongest point. If it falls, the whole structure will fall with it.
(WEO)
should we even have an organized church?
The fact is, we do have one. If we accept the premise that the organization itself
is not sanctioned by the Writings, then of course what the Writings have to
say about any organizational issues that arise is irrelevant. I assume, however,
from the fact that the Writings have so much to say about how churches are
formed, and how vital the church is to life on earth, and what their use is, and
what the use of the priesthood is, and so on . . . that an organized New Church
body (or bodies) is implied. And that the Writings are meant to be our guide
in organizing it.
Every revelation of the Word has been for the sake of forming a church
based on that revelation. If not to form a church – in individuals and as an
association of people united in a common purpose – what is the Heavenly
Doctrine for?
(WEO)
a voice from the past – for the future
One of the treasures of the annals of the Church and the Academy is a book,
A Perspective on New Church Education, by the late E. Bruce Glenn, lovingly
edited by his wife, Vera. This is a collection of papers and addresses given
over a brilliant, dedicated 46-year career at the Academy of the New Church
Secondary Schools and College. Topics range from the distinctiveness of New
Church education to the future of the Academy College – now Bryn Athyn
College of the New Church.
Many of these noble essays were presented to joint faculty sessions and
it is a shame that this practice has largely been lost. Bruce Glenn, and other
educational giants of his time, were passionate about framing issues that
encouraged teachers and supporters to think about the what and why of New
Church education, to appreciate its vital role in the world, and to dare to
envision together the hopes and challenges of the future.
He was Dean of the College at an exciting time when it moved to its own
campus in Pendleton Hall in 1968 and began to deal with questions of growth
and focus that still are at the heart of an expanding vision. In one particularly
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