new church life: september/october 2014
Pastors met in the early afternoon; and the Bishop’s Consistory, which gives
counsel on a variety of matters pertaining to the life of the Church, met in the
late afternoon.
That evening, Bishop and Mrs. Keith graciously opened their home to
the clergy, ministerial candidates, and their wives. This proved to be a great
venue for hearty greetings, animated conversation and friendly smiles as many
ministers arrived from different parts of the world.
TUESDAY, JUNE 24
Once again, the Academy of the New Church Dining Hall housed our plenary
and concurrent sessions, as well as our meals. Our first day began with a
reading from Psalm 91 and a talk by Bishop Keith on the many uses of hope
in the Church – hope of eternal life, hope in marriage, and especially hope in
times of temptation.
Our first order of business was to elect the Rev. Grant
H. Odhner as Secretary of the Council of the Clergy, who
then presented the following men, ordained since our last
meetings in 2012, to be accepted as voting members of the
Council: Alex Koami Adognon, Moïse Bab, Christopher
A. Barber, Timothy Chou, Alan Cowley, Jiro Kamazawa,
Lompo Oumpouguila, Jea S. Park, Seiich Sakae, Alphonse
Téhé Zoho.
After their unanimous acceptance, the general
membership status of Kurt Hy. Asplundh and Olaf
Hauptman was recognized, as was the resignation of Mark
The first order of business
was to elect the Rev. Grant
Carlson and the removal of Nicks Marisa from membership.
Odhner as Secretary of
Paper: “The Authority of the Heavenly Doctrines,”
the Council of the Clergy
by the Rev. Jacob Borketey-Kwaku. He reminded us that
the Word in its three-fold form is the authority for the
Church, for when the Word leads, the Lord leads. A church is noble according
to understanding and application of the Word but it is not a genuine church if
it is not in genuine truths.
He briefly traced the history of how the Word was revealed in each of
the five churches, and how each fell from being true to the Word. This took
place when their senses led instead of the Lord; when they tried to solve their
problems from themselves, rather than from the Word; when they corrupted
the Word by applying it to exalt themselves; and when, after the Lord Himself
had come on earth, they killed the acknowledgment of His Divinity and the
life according to His commandments.
He said the truths which established the New Church are the Lord’s, not
Swedenborg’s. He is the lamp. When we face issues, we ask if we are going to
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