In This Issue
W
hat does Nicodemus and the tension he felt as a Pharisee and a disciple
of Jesus Christ have to do with New Church Day – and with our own
lives? In a 19th of June address the Rev. Christopher A. Barber says tension
exists whenever we become aware of the difference between where we are and
where we could be, want to be, or ought to be. As that applies in the conflicted
life of Nicodemus it also applies to the Church and to our lives. (Page 222)
The spirit of Memorial Day in the United States – the last Monday in May –
is similar to sentiments in many nations where we honor those who have given
their lives for their countries and our freedom. In a Memorial Day address
given last year in Bryn Athyn, the Rev. Thomas H. Rose says that “each and
every one of us is [also] called to service for the love, uplifting and protection
of our friends and neighbors. We are called upon to defend and protect all that
is good and innocent and truly loving. And the greatest expression of this is
selflessness.” (Page 233)
In a New Church Day sermon, Letting Love Be Our Spiritual Clothing, the
Rev. Jared J. Buss says that the Woman clothed with the Sun – a beloved image
on the 19th of June – represents the living truths we are taught by the Lord. The
beginning of our spiritual journey is to find the truths to clothe us, and then to
express the love that moves within them. (Page 237)
The Rev. Douglas M. Taylor was the oldest General Church minister –
90 – when he passed into the spiritual world in February. He and his wife,
Christine, with whom he is now reunited, were much loved – in their native
Australia and in the United States. In a memorial address the Rev. Walter E.
Orthwein compares him to the kind of fisherman – a lover of truth – whom
the Lord called as disciples. (Page 243) See also a tribute in Church News from
his friends in Australia. (Page 284)
Surely we are not Swedenborgians! So says the Rev. Gerald G. Waters
who feels we sometimes misrepresent our church – often unintentionally –
by calling ourselves Swedenborgians or using phrases such as “Swedenborg
teaches,” when it is the Lord alone who teaches. We may even harm the Church
by attaching Swe denborg’s name to it – something Swedenborg himself never
would have wanted. (Page 249)
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