new church life: september/october 2014
only examples of priests we have are male. With the Israelite church the Lord
specified a male priesthood and we know of no statements He made to abrogate
that. When the Lord was on earth He appointed only males as apostles to
do the uses of the priesthood, nor was He constrained by culture to do so.
Although He lifted women in the eyes of His hearers, the Lord did not ordain,
appoint, or send women to teach or evangelize in the way He did the apostles.
Mr. Alden observed that although the Lord did not appoint people to
the priesthood of the New Church, the people whom He sent throughout the
whole spiritual world to proclaim the gospel of His Second Coming were the
twelve disciples who followed Him in the world.
In looking at what the Writings say about gender and the priesthood in
heaven, evidence was found only for male priests along with warnings against
women preaching. The fact that angels wear only garments in keeping with
their affections and that Swedenborg saw males wearing priestly garments,
suggests that the affections belonging to the priesthood are masculine.
He concluded that we may look for the quality of the Lord’s love and
wisdom in the deeds that He has done, and that the doctrine on the male
priesthood that has developed in the General Church from its beginning
provides a full explanation of why the Lord did what He did.
In discussion it was pointed out that what the Lord did after His
resurrection was still representative. One person spoke to the importance of
taking an obvious reading of Scripture and the Writings and asking, is there
any evidence indicating a female priesthood? Several people spoke to the
divisions in the church around this issue and the difficulty of bringing people
together on it.
Mr. Alden said he hoped people would find healing in their desire to have
the Lord as the model for their lives. Having a male priesthood is not a matter
of males defending their turf, based on understanding shaped by tradition, but
of a sincere attempt to follow the Lord’s teachings.
In the evening, clergy met for dinner in the Academy Secondary Schools
dining hall, with no program. Clergy wives also had a dinner that evening.
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
The Rev. Jong-Ui Lee led worship, reading from Exodus 30 on the altar of
incense. The detail about the kind of incense and fire that could be used shows
the Lord’s seriousness about what must be in worship. As priests, we must be
motivated by a love that comes from the Lord and participate in His love for
His people.
The Rev. Grant Odhner announced the results of balloting for the
Membership Committee: Erik Buss and Kenneth Alden were re-elected.
The Rev. John L. Odhner: “Freedom in Marriage.” In this paper he spoke
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