n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 6
I would like to share three highlights apart from the three days of
deliberations.
The first highlight was the visit to The Royal Academy of Sciences where
the Swedenborg Collection is kept, a collection that from 2005 is part of
Unesco’s Memory of the World Register, something we should feel very proud
about. This is how that Register is described:
"The Memory of the World Register lists documentary heritage which has
been recommended by the International Advisory Committee, and endorsed
by the Director-General of UNESCO, as corresponding to the selection criteria
regarding world significance and outstanding universal value.” See http://
www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/flagship-projectactivities/memory-of-the-world/register/
The second highlight was an evening with the society. The ministers
and wives were 16 altogether, and those who were able to make it from the
society were just as many or more. We had a lovely dinner and the many
lively conversations at the tables. Bishop Keith entertained us with a slide
show presenting the Church in Africa, which was inspirational to everybody.
I would like to thank the five families who hosted all of these people, and they
all said it was a great inspiration to them to open their homes for their guests.
And the third highlight was a Holy Supper service at the end. A theme at
our discussions had been rituals and how to reach people’s hearts and minds,
so I as the organizer, with help from Alan Cowley, tried to create a more
intimate sphere. For instance, we stood in a circle close to the altar and after
the consecration passed the bread and the wine from one to the other. It is
hard to put in words how this felt, but at least it was an effort to explore in a
safe place the deeper layers of the supper that the Lord instituted at the end of
His life on this earth.
From Friday onward people travelled back at different times, and I am
sure we all felt that we had been sharing gifts from the Lord that will keep us
going for a long while back in our own little corners of the world.
new stephen ministers
Five newly trained men and women were commissioned in the Stephen
Ministry at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral on April 3, 2016, in a service conducted
by the Rev. Eric H. Carswell, pastor of the Bryn Athyn congregation. The new
Stephen Ministers are Peter Boericke, Christopher Dunn, Helen Ference,
Debra Leich and Mara White.
This is the third group of people trained in the Stephen Ministry in Bryn
Athyn. They all receive extensive training, under certified leaders: the Rev.
John L. Odhner, Nina C. Dewees and Nita J. Holmes. Their role is to minister
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