HAPPINESS       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          JANUARY, 1936          No.
     "And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18.)

     We propose to consider especially the internal meaning of the words, the time is come "that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great." The internal meaning of these words is, that after the last judgment the Lord raises up into heaven all spirits who are in the truths of doctrine and in a life according to them, and also all spirits who worship the Lord, whatever their religion may be. Heavenly happiness is the reward given to them. Heavenly happiness is the supreme Divine gift. And we propose to examine what heavenly happiness is, and to inquire whether we can receive a portion of heavenly happiness while we still live in the world.

     The essence of the Lord's love, we are told, or the distinguishing quality which makes it Divinely human, is threefold, namely, that the Lord loves others outside of Himself, that He desires to be one with them, and that He desires to make them happy from Himself. (T. C. R. 43.) As the Lord perpetually desires to make men, spirits, and angels happy by what goes forth from Himself and can be received by them, we may be sure that it is possible for us to receive happiness, to taste it here on earth, and even to be the means of imparting it to others. For we can receive the Lord's love, and can make it as it were our own. His love is our life; but the form or state of the spirit and mind in each one of us modifies the Lord's love, and presents it, as we manifest it, nearly or remotely as it is in itself, or else other than it is in itself, that is, opposite to what the Lord's love is in itself.

     We are doubly assured, then, of the possibility of happiness,-assured of it by the fact that the Lord's love is such as to make us happy, and by the further fact that our own love can be such as to make others happy. This love which we call ours is not actually ours, but we can have it as if it were our own. If we do not pervert it, this love proceeds from the Lord through us to others, and then it carries in its bosom the Divine gift of happiness, or the Divine life-force which makes others happy. If it is purely received, it produces happiness in the recipient. If it is purely transmitted, it also produces happiness in those who receive it.

     We are taught that the "reward given to the prophets and saints, and those who fear the Lord's name," is salvation, and thus heaven. But we are further taught that this "reward" is the delight, happiness, and blessedness that is in the love or affection of good and truth. Those who do good and speak truth from a love of good and truth, thus from the Lord, and not from themselves, will receive this reward; and with them it is not a reward of merit, but a reward of grace. (A. E. 695:2.) By Divine grace is meant all that is given from the Lord to those who love good and truth for the sake of good and truth, and not for the sake of any reward. (A. E. 22.) To them a reward is indeed given, but they have not sought it, nor have they thought about it. Receiving the reward, they still do not think of it as a reward, but as a Divine gift, a Divine blessing. It produces in the inmosts of their spirits a sense of contentment and peace, which descends through the mind and produces joy and delight there; and in the body it is felt as pleasure. This is the reward which the Lord meant when He said, "Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest." (Luke 6:35.)

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     We perceive, now, that it is from the Lord's love of making man happy that there is derived the common conception that the highest good for man is happiness, and also the common desire of human beings to be happy. But the common conception of happiness as the highest good has been obscured by the further common conception that happiness is an end to be sought. It is thought to be a reward of merit. This thought prevents the reception of happiness. If sought, it can never be found, can never be gained, because then the life of man is not attuned to its reception. Happiness is the highest good, but it is a good Divinely bestowed upon those who shun evils because they are evils, and do goods because they are goods. And the common desire to be happy is to be directed to the unselfish efforts of service which make others happy and this without thought of a reward of merit for the service performed.

     II.

     Happiness, then, is a quality in Divine love, a quality constant in Divine love, although our consciousness of it is not constant; in fact, is rather infrequent in this world. It is a quality which can affect us whenever we are so disposed as to be affected by it. For love has within it innumerable qualities capable of affecting man, and man becomes conscious of one or another of them as by suitable preparation he is disposed to a consciousness of them. The blood in the body is a correspondent of level for it is the life of the body, as love is the life of the spirit. Within the blood are innumerable qualities which variously affect the body and its organs, viscera, and members. A knowledge of those qualities is obtainable by man, but consciousness of any one of them is so subtle as to defy adequate description, although they may be perceived or felt.

     The innumerable qualities in love form the subject of this teaching in the Writings: "Everyone has all his delight, joyousness, and happiness from his ruling love, and according to it; for man calls that delight which he loves, because he feels it; but he may also call delight that which he thinks and does not love, but it is not the delight of his life. The delight of love is that which is good to a man; and undelight is evil to him." (N. 58.)

     That which is genuinely delight, joyousness, and happiness is from the Divine love.

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Because Divine love has those qualities, all love has either the same qualities or qualities that seem like the genuine ones, and therefore are called by the same names. In reality love is infinitely one. And there is an actual difference between all the derivatives of love. The recipient vessels manifest love's distinct qualities. The differences range from the highest to the lowest of that which is good and genuine, and also from the least to the greatest of that which is opposite to the genuine and the good. Therefore it is said that every ruling love has its qualities, imparting delight, joyousness, and happiness. And these seem to be the qualities even of evil love, by reason of the Lord's perpetual mercy, permitting the evil a life and love which seems to be their very own, and satisfying their corrupt desires. There could not be even the semblance of human life, if this were not permitted. There could be no free will, if this were not permitted. But this permission is, let us say, the extreme of Divine mercy, and not its inmost. Divine mercy, in its higher ranges, provides that man may know that there are opposites, and the nature of opposites. It provides that men, by their understanding faculty, may know that what seems like happiness is not true happiness, and further, that a new will implanted in the understanding faculty may be guided by the understanding, and so shun all that which opposes the means leading to true happiness.

     The origin and source of happiness, and the manner in which it comes to our consciousness, is taught in these words of our Doctrine: "Delights of the soul are in themselves imperceptible blessedness; but they become more and more perceptible as they descend into the thoughts of the mind, and from these into the sensations of the body. In the thoughts of the mind they are perceived as happiness, in the sensations of the body as delights, and in the body itself as pleasures. From the pleasures, delights, and happinesses (when they are subordinated in true order, and purified by the shunning of evils as sins against God) is eternal happiness." (C. L. 162.) And again we read: "Every love with man breathes out delight, by which it makes itself felt. Every love breathes delight, first into the spirit, and thence into the body. And the delight of man's love, together with the pleasantness of the thought, makes his life." (T. C. R. 569.)

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     The Divine doctrine concerning happiness should encourage us, and so should strengthen us in our efforts to regenerate. We see and hear about so much misery in the world, and we ourselves often seem to experience so much misery, that we become discouraged, and doubt the beneficence of Divine Providence. Perhaps we seek happiness, strive for it for a time, and, because we fail to gain it, lose faith in Divine Providence. The preferred truth concerning the error of our ways often is unacceptable and seems to us at such times devoid of any helping sympathy. How are such states to be dealt with? What truly helping sympathy can be given that will be acceptable!

     The truth alone can make us free, can free us from our states of despondency and despair, can give us light in our darkness and gloom. And knowledge of the truth about happiness should halt our vain pursuit of happiness as an end, and direct our energies to the doing of that which will surely result in happiness, coming to us as a reward of grace. When we cease to lament the lack of happiness, and turn our thoughts and endeavors toward a service to the neighbor; when we learn to love the neighbor as we love ourselves, and even more than we love ourselves; when we strive to make others happy, and sincerely delight in their happiness; then we shall become increasingly conscious of peace of mind, of contentment with our lot, and so shall be ourselves made happy by the Lord's love as it freely operates in us and through us to the realization of His purposes.

     Our consciousness of such happiness can only be internal, because it is a Divine gift. It can only be momentary in this world, because our life here is only one of preparation for eternal life. But even if we do not experience genuine happiness, which is heavenly happiness, or if we think we do not experience it, yet hope of it is given in the Word of God. This may seem only a hope, but as we diligently read the Word of God, and faithfully live according to it,-as we learn its doctrine and grow to love it,-the hope becomes reality, whether we recognize it as such or not. For the hope is the essential of the thing itself; it is the thing itself dimly visualized,-a ray of light which leads us ever onward to it, an attractive force which draws us steadily upward to the plane of spiritual consciousness.

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The Lord's love is a mighty stream, upon the banks of which we stand, uncertain whether to embark upon it or not. But if we do embark upon it, we shall be borne safely to the heavenly kingdom, where the common life of all angelic souls is one of heavenly joy and eternal happiness. Amen.

LESSONS: Psalm 72; Revelation XI; T. C. R. 43.
HYMNS: LITURGY, pages 521, 557, 595.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 32, 176, 86.
SELF-EXAMINATION 1936

SELF-EXAMINATION       Rev. PHILIP N. ODHNER       1936

     "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to Keep Thy commandments." (Psalm 119:59.)

     It is the essence of religion with man that he should bend his ways to the will of God. And to do this a man must examine the walk of his life to see wherein it agrees and wherein it departs from the Word of the Lord. Without such reflective thought, the teaching of religion passes into one ear and out of the other, having no effect upon life.

     Self-examination for the detection and correction of evil has been commanded anew by the Lord in every dispensation of the church, and the quality of the church has been measured by the depth of that examination. If men have considered only the ways of their speech and actions in the light of the Word, then it is only their appearance before other men that is bent to the will of God, and the church with them is shallow and external. But in the degree that they have reflected upon their thoughts and intentions in the light of the Word, their appearance before God and man is in accord with the will of God, and the church with them is of their spirit. The limit of man's ability to think inwardly upon his ways is the limit of God's ability to remove his evils and endow him with good.

     When we as New Churchmen come to explore our minds with the purpose of shunning as sins the evils we may discover there, we should consider that the quality of the Revelation that has been given to us demands a like quality in the examination that we are to make in its light.

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The Writings are a revelation to the rational minds of men, inviting them to enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith. So also the self-examination of a New Churchman ought to be rational and intellectually discriminating, rather than emotional and confused. And to this end much general information is given us, to direct our steps in the exploration of our thoughts and purposes, and many particulars of truth have been revealed, that we may know what is evil, and why it is evil.

     The first general truth which the Writings reveal to us is, that the proper subject for our reflection is the intention of the will, and the thought that flows forth from it, and not so much the speech and action of the body, except in so far as these are the productions of our will and thought. If the intention of the will is evil, the man is evil, together with all his acts, since he acts from his will. Unless, therefore, a man can examine his will, he knows nothing of the evils that are within him, and he cannot take steps to shun them.

     And another great truth is, that when man explores his mind, he should isolate himself in his thought from the various external pressures and forces that continually play upon him. It is very easy to mistake the fear of punishment of evil for the fear of evil itself, and to mistake the love of the reward of good for the love of good itself. And so the Writings urge that man should consider what evils he would think allowable if the fear of the law and the loss of reputation did not make it inadvisable. Remove these inhibitions with which we clothe our love and make it appear decorous before others; let the timidity of natural good be set aside, so that our thought may bespeak our affections; and then let it be compared with the Word. In this manner we can separate the way of our spirit from the ways in which the world forces our external mind; and then only can the truth be brought to correct it.

     In the evaluation of our thoughts, the condition of our own state of mind should also be considered. If we are overtired, dejected by some misfortune, or otherwise afflicted, we are in no state to make a rational search for good or evil, and in the obscure light of the melancholy we will be prone to make wholesale judgments and condemnations of ourselves. It is the misfortune of our perverted nature that we are introspective only when the natural run of our life has suffered some severe reverse, so that we must learn to take advantage of such states that are forced upon us, and at the same time to discount the extravagant conclusions of our own despair.

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     And not only should we isolate ourselves from fears and from the lure of rewards in our self-examination, but we must mentally isolate ourselves from both good and evil, at least at the time of our reflection. The Writings reveal that all good comes from the Lord through heaven, and that all evil is from hell. Man, of himself, is neither good nor evil, but is a recipient of both. This truth must be held in mind continuously while we are thinking upon our ways. Otherwise, if we find good in our lives, we shall regard it as our own, and make it meritorious, and thus pervert it; on the other hand: if we find evil, we shall regard that as our own, and thus appropriate it to ourselves, and it will remain with us. A man in reflection should regard nothing as his own, or the reflection will but serve to confirm him in evil.

     We are told that, if man appropriates anything to himself, it becomes evil, whereas if he appropriates nothing to himself, the Lord can then adjoin good to him as if it were his own. It may seem strange that a man should regard the evils in himself as being from hell, but this is the truth. To Swedenborg it was proven when it was shown him that every evil injected into his mind had its origin in some certain infernal society, and that it was only when he thus saw the origin of evil that he could be freed from the power of that society. So it is with man. It he cannot place himself, as he really is, midway between heaven and hell, he cannot be in freedom to reject the one and accept the other. Many have begun to examine themselves, supposing evil to be from themselves, and then, either from emotional worry over their own state have ceased the exploration, or have endeavored to excuse themselves for the evil, thereby confirming it and making it their own. Thus the proper seed of humility from which a man should begin his examination is not the acknowledgment that he is evil, but that of himself he is nothing.

     Knowing that one's thoughts and intentions are the proper subjects of examination, and endeavoring to isolate those intentions from natural fears and appearances, our mind inquires as to what are the evils for which we search our hearts.

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Because we have been brought up from infancy to regard the Decalogue as the Divine law of life, we think of the general evils prohibited therein. And the Writings tell us that all evils are contained in those that are enumerated in the Ten Commandments. Yet this does not mean that it is sufficient for us to take them in their letter. We must do as the Writings themselves do,-study the discriminations and varieties of evils involved in those general ones.

     Nothing is more destructive of the effort to examine our spirits than an indiscriminate knowledge of evil. And the reason for this is, that the hells hate the light of judgment that is brought to bear upon them in man's reflection upon his evils, and they endeavor to obscure that light by keeping it most general. They love nothing more than for man to condemn himself wholesale as a sinner, for then they know he has not seen one single evil in himself, and that their abode with him is safe. The light of heaven is one that brings judgment; and judgment is separation and discrimination between goods and evils. From the history of the New Church itself it is apparent how fierce is the opposition to the perception of the truth that there are degrees of evil, that some forms of an evil are more destructive to the spirit than others, and that some are not harmful or are less grievous than their necessary alternatives. The New Church has been persecuted both from within and without for holding to the judgment wrought by the truths of the Writings upon the evils of mankind. And the same is also true of the discriminations made in the Writings concerning goods,-that some are merely natural in quality, and therefore selfish and interiorly evil, whereas others are spiritual and saving.

     Any such judgment in regard to good or evil is opposed by the hells, because they can flourish only in obscurity. And the same is even more true when man makes an individual judgment upon the interiors of his own life. Then, more than ever, it is necessary that we be diligent and unafraid, allowing the truth to judge the state of our evils, as to whether they be of fault or not of fault, as to whether in our present state we can remove them, or whether they may be necessary, lest we fall into evils still more grievous. Such power to discriminate depends upon our knowledges, and upon the enlightenment that we may receive from the Lord; and we can but strive for the one and pray for the other.

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Yet certain it is that, without this judgment of truth, our endeavor to shun evil as sin will be but to run our head against a wall of stone.

     There are many kinds of faith, and many varieties of good which are qualified by them. The faith of a child is historical faith,-the belief in what he is told by his parents and teachers. And the good of that faith is the good of obedience in doing what his elders tell him. Of such faith and good was the Jewish Church, and of such was the Christian Church, except with a few. They obeyed the commandments of God because they were so commanded, not from any interior sight as to why it should be so done. But spiritual faith, and the good that is qualified by that faith, is more than that of obedience. It involves the perception of truths because they are true, and it perceives why evils are evil and goods good.

     The Writings lead to spiritual faith and spiritual good. And a New Churchman, in examining his life, should not rest content with an historical faith in the Word of God. He should not rest upon the statement that this or that is evil because it is so stated, but should know why it is evil, and this from a perception of the good which that evil obstructs or destroys. If we were to shun evils merely from an historical faith in the Decalogue, the ensuing good would be that of obedience, which is similar to that of the Jewish and of the former Christian Church. What the Lord asks of us in the Writings is this, and more than this. He asks us to act from a faith that is rational from the perception of what is good.

     A perception of good with men is a perception of uses. And a perception of evils is a perception of those things that obstruct or destroy uses. An evil is not something that the Lord arbitrarily dislikes and therefore forbids, but it is a perversion which destroys order and stops that flux of good from the Lord to man, and from man to man, which we call use. So the things forbidden in the Decalogue are the most general ultimate perversions that destroy the usefulness of man, and the usefulness of those institutions which administer the goods of society. This is a living rather than an historical perception of good and evil, and it is this that we should carry into the examination of the intentions of our will.

     In exploring the purposes and deeds of our life we enter into a very broad field. The probability is, that the further we go, the more evils we shall discover.

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And this is apt to bring us into an apathetical state of helplessness about it all, and plunge us into a state of temptation when we ought to be in a state of enlightenment. It is like a man exploring a jungle with the hope of clearing and cultivating it. The more he sees of it, the more hopeless his task appears, until he feels that he should abandon it and forget about it. There is the need of some practical guide whereby a selection may be made of some particular evil, so that he may bend his efforts to the shunning of it. Nor should this selection be arbitrary, as this would most likely be directed by selfish motives. Perhaps some glaring evil is aroused within us at the time. It is against this that an effort should be directed.

     But there is a God-given guide for the selection This guide is the use of the occupation or office in society that it is our privilege to fulfill. Which of the evils within us is obstructing the faithful, sincere and diligent performance of our function? Let the light of truth be focussed by this question, and the selection of a beginning made that is practical and correct,-a selection that is made, not by ourselves, but by the truth of the Word, on the one hand, and the Divine of use on the other. It may be that the putting of this question will reveal some fault that seems trivial and apparently unrelated to the weighty evils of the Decalogue. And yet, if such a trivial matter is seen to stand in the way of the rightful performance of our uses to society, for the time being this is the very fulcrum of the power of hell within us. It must be removed before we can proceed further, with any good results. It is the mote in our eye which must be taken out before we can see clearly to remove the beam from the eye of our brother.

     The doctrine of use is the God-given guide in the application of truth to the good and evil of our ways. As we are so often told in the Writings, the chief exercise of charity with man is in the diligent, sincere and faithful performance of his uses, and especially those of his daily occupations. These uses are the goods with us which the hells strive to pervert and destroy. It is for these uses to select which of the evils revealed by the truth of the Word it is best for us to shun. And gradually, as our eyes are opened, we may see that uses are the Lord Himself with us, against Whom we sin when we do what is forbidden in His Word.

     The uses of life are the Divine of the Lord with men.

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And it is to reveal them, to protect them from evil, and to perfect their reception by man, that the Divine Truth of the Word is given. And when man reflects on his ways, and turns his feet unto the testimonies of the Lord, it is to unite the Divine of use to the Divine of the Word, that he may become a son of God in the heavenly marriage that is then effected within him. Amen.

LESSONS: Psalm 39. John 3:1-21. D. P. 320, or T. C. R. 532.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 525, 560, 550.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 144, 152.
LAYMAN'S APPEAL 1936

LAYMAN'S APPEAL       REGINALD W. BROWN       1936


     GENERAL CHURCH PUBLICATIONS.

     New Church Life. Monthly Magazine. $3.00 a Year to Any Address. Trial Subscription: Four Months for $1.00.

     New Church Sermons. October to June inclusive. Discourses, Talks to Children, and Doctrinal Articles suitable for Individual Reading and Family Worship. Sent free of charge to any address.

     Daily Readings for 1936.

     A Calendar assigning a brief reading from the Word of the Lord and the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem for every day in the year. During 1936, the lessons in the Arcana Coelestia comprise nos. 5897 to 6978.

     Sent free of charge to all members of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to others on application. Write to Mr. H. Hyatt, Business Manager, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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     THE SCHEME OF THE UNIVERSE. Deduced from the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg by An Amateur Theologian. London: J. M. Dent and Sons, Limited, 1935. Cloth; pp. 209; 6 shillings net.

     There is something quite pleasing and refreshing in the humility with which this book is presented to the public, and in its straight-forwardness and strong individuality. As stated in the Foreword, it is a frank attempt "to give a concise account of the theological system, expressed or implied, in Swedenborg's writings, combined with a running commentary thereon." The author realizes that it is an interpretation, and that "the mind of the commentator is like an old-fashioned household filter, that is sure to communicate some of its own impurities to the water passing through it." In the closing words of the book he adds: "The foregoing crude and amateurish sketch can hardly be expected to convince the reader; all that can reasonably be hoped is that, on laying aside this little treatise, he will say: 'Well! there may be something in all this.' If he goes thus far, he may go a step farther, and read one of Swedenborg's works. Then, instead of drinking from a somewhat murky runnel, he will obtain a pure draught from the fountain-head."

     The work is divided into five parts, as follows: I. Microcosm and Macrocosm; II. Man's Pilgrimage through Life; III. The Nature of God; IV. The Word of God; V. Religion. And each of these subjects is treated under several chapters. In dealing with the various themes the author has presented a clear, forceful and practical perspective of the Writings of Swedenborg, and it seems reasonable to expect that it will accomplish its purpose by kindling a desire to consult the Writings themselves.

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     Our perusal of the work leaves us with the feeling that the anonymous Amateur Theologian is a man of ripe old age, possessed not only of the benevolence which he himself ascribes to the seventh age of "man's pilgrimage on earth," but also of the wisdom of experience which Swedenborg stressed as the characteristic of that age, with those who have imbued the teachings of Revelation through earnest study and reflection and for the purpose of applying them to life. The thing that impresses one most about this book is that it presents a philosophy of life-a religious philosophy of life-based upon the Writings of Swedenborg.

     Professional theologians may take issue with certain of the author's interpretations; as, for instance, with his statement that the three divisions of the internal mind-natural, rational, and spiritual-correspond to the three great regions of the spiritual world-hell, the world of spirits and heaven (p. 48); or with the author's implied optimism in his final chapter, "The Hope of Mankind." But the work as a whole is so well organized, so well written, and so thought-inspiring that we forebear emphasizing those details. The author and publisher are to be congratulated upon this laudable attempt to present Swedenborg to the world at large, and it is to be hoped that the venture will prove successful in leading strangers to a knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines.
     REGINALD W. BROWN.
NEW REVIVALISM EXAMINED 1936

NEW REVIVALISM EXAMINED       HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936

     VARLDSVACKELSE (Worldwide Revival). The Oxford Group Movement, the apocalypse of John, and Swedenborg; concerning a New Era. By Gustaf Baeckstrom. Stockholm: Bikforlaget Nova Ecclesia, 1935. Paper; pp. 108; Kr. 2:-.

     DIVINE GUIDANCE IN PRACTICAL AFFAIRS. By E. C. Mongredien. London: New-Church Press, Ltd., 1935. Paper; pp. 12; 2d.

     Variously hailed as "Apostles of the XXth century," or as "spiritual exhibitionists" who take delight in confessing their sins and peccadillos to each other as they gather in large house-parties for "quiet times" when they can receive direct inner "guidance" from God, the nondenominational revivalist movement led by Frank N. D. Buchman, and known as the Oxford Group Movement, has in the last few years spread with a speed of contagion all over America and Europe, blest by several prominent bishops and church leaders, and warned against by others equally prominent.

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Its popular appeal lies largely in the fact that its introspection is practical and experimental, and largely devoid of the old pietistic elements which would repel the modern generation.

     The Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, in his new missionary book, addresses a Swedish public which is much stirred by Buchmanism. He therefore asks, in his Introduction, whether the new era (foretold by Swedenborg) should not be preceded by a movement for true repentance, differing from the hypocritical and formalistic contrition of the "orthodox" churches, which breeds smugness and bigotism. Is it possible that the Oxford Group Movement will lead in this needed awakening to repentance!

     To answer this question, the author, in the first half of his book cites with approval page after page from various writers belonging to the movement,-from A. J. Russell's For Sinners Only (London, 1934), from V. C. Kitchen, from Sverre Norberg, and especially from Ronald Fangen's A Christian World's Revolution. For the Group leaders stress the need of fighting particular sins, rather than simply confessing one's self a sinner. They plead for the consciousness of sin, and for the extinction of the egocentric thinking that is symbolized in English by the "capital I." They believe that God's leading enters into the most trivial things, and that it is details that build up character, and small weaknesses that lead to great temptations. They claim that the unrestful and neurotic atmosphere of today is due to a divided will concealed in the depths of man's being.

     In fact, after perusing the first fifty-two pages of the book under review, the reader may well believe that Mr. Baeckstrom is quite in accord with the Buchmanites. Then, however, he turns to a treatment of their habit of setting aside periods for a "quiet time"-when, if we are rightly informed, they "sit silent, with notebook in one hand and pencil in the other," and believe that the thoughts that come to them are Divinely inspired messages, or "guidance." (H. R. S. Phillpott, cited in Living Age, December, 1933.)

     The author generously refuses to attack the movement merely because of its ludicrous extremes, or because one of its adherents claimed "that the Lord always showed her where she should buy her lipsticks"!

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The Group Movement is young, and needs to ripen through experience. The guidance by the Holy Spirit was promised in the Gospel. (John 14: 26.) Nor is there anything new, neither any harm, in seeking a period of quiet, when the mind is at rest and peace. But the danger, he shows, comes from the fact that the influx which a man thus invites is not necessarily from the Holy Spirit, but accords with his own states. He does not accuse the movement of "as a rule" harboring fanatics (p. 48), or of advocating that the Lord desires us to be blindly obedient, as inanimate tools (p. 46). Indeed, he points out as significant their apparent striving to return to the psychology of the early Christians, their attempt at sharing each other's troubles, and their advocating religious unity as a solution for marital disagreements (P. 51).

     Rather does Mr. Baeckstrom stress that we not only need more loving kindness, but also more truth. He invites the sympathizers of the Group Movement, as particularly fitted to share in the newly revealed truths of the Second Advent, to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ as the visible God. It is only after repentance that the true faith can be established, and the ultimate "world revival" take place. He likens Buchmanism to the first jubilant victory of Israel over the Egyptians-after they had crossed the Red Sea-but suggests that they still have the deserts to cross before they reach the land of promise.

     The rest of the book is devoted to a presentation of the doctrines of the Second Advent and the New Jerusalem, city of revealed truth,-as usual in the able and affectionate style which gains him so many readers in Sweden.

     We freely confess that our own opinion of the dangers of Buchnanism is more severe than is Mr. Baeckstrom's appreciative treatment. But a critic makes a poor missionary, and the patience which Providence shows with human errors must make us wary of doubting the sincerity of those whose souls are helped by such "revivals." Yet the revealed truth is, that "they who are instructed by influx what to believe and what to do are not instructed by the Lord, nor by any angel of heaven, but by some enthusiastic spirit, and are led astray." (D. P. 321.)

     This point is ably discussed by E. C. Mongredien, in his pamphlet on Divine Guidance in Practical Affairs.

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This author refers to the Group Movement, not to attack it, but as an occasion for bringing out the doctrine taught in the Writings. He points out how differently people think of Divine guidance. Some confine it to "serious questions of right and wrong"; some expect God to guide them by actual concrete instruction; others say that "it will just come to you what to do."

     He then shows that it is impossible to escape Divine guidance, even for a moment (A. E. 689), yet that the Lord always leads us by our affections, according to His order, in freedom according to our reason, thus with every sense of autonomy. He cites the doctrine that "if man were led with a vivid perception and sensation of being led, he would not be conscious of life." (D. P. 176.) We may go to another human being for advice or information; but "to go to the Lord in a difficulty, and receive a direct answer, or at least an answer in such a form that we would know it to be from Him, is attended with great danger to our spiritual growth . . . " For the answer-if from the Lord-would no doubt be contrary to our desire (D. P. 183), and we would inwardly resent it. Or, if not contrary, at least the answer would inevitably be colored with our own limitations; and "we should quite unconsciously be accrediting Divineness to what in reality was only limited and finite,-a deadly confusion, making a human thing as God." The Divine method is, therefore, that "a man is led and taught by the Lord in externals as if by himself." (D. P. 174.) Whatever states of interior illustration, prayer and meditation may foster in man, the decisions that reveal themselves in man's mind are his own. To seek and secure "direct and immediate guidance" would vitiate and destroy the appearance which is essential to human life and freedom.

     This, we would suppose, dispenses with the characteristic principle of Buchmanism, which, although from Lutheran ancestry, was first born in Pennsylvania, and shows all the symptoms of kinship with Quakerism.
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER.

     Books and pamphlets reviewed in the pages of New Church Life may be ordered through the Academy Book Room, or may be consulted in the Academy Library.

18


NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1936

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     LONDON PUBLICATIONS.

     ALL THIS YEAR ROUND. Daily Readings for the New Church. Volume 3. Edited by the Rev. H. Gordon Drummond. London: British New-Church Federation, 1935. Cloth, Bible paper; 18-mo; pp. 414; 1sh; 6d.

     Uniform with Volume 2, which we noted in our pages last January, p. 21, this well-printed and convenient little volume provides a new selection of short passages from the Word and the Writings for use in 1936, and suitable for any year. As staled in the Foreword, "in this volume every endeavor has been made to bring the readings from the Word and the extracts from the Writings into close relationship; and it will be found that in practically every day's readings the extracts from the Writings are explanatory of at least one verse of the Bible reading." An Index to the Readings is furnished at the end of the book, and we note that fifteen of the Theological Works are represented in the selections printed in the work.

     These books have met the need of many who desire a brief period of devotional reading and meditation each day.

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     SWEDENBORG. Life and Teaching. By G. Trobridge. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1935. Paper, pocket-size; pp. 346; 6d. Cloth, 1sh. 6d; leather, Bible paper, 3sh. 6d.

     This is the fourth edition of George Trobridge's Life of Swedenborg, and "E. C. M.," in the Preface, states that he has made many revisions, with the aim of giving the book " a more modern manner," which he believes the author himself, "if he were still in the world, would approve as being necessary, in order that the book may, at this day, serve the purpose for which it was written." We have not as yet made a critical comparison with the former editions.

     ENGLISH EDITION OF LOUIS PENDLETON'S NOVELS.

     We learn from THE NEW-CHURCH HERALD that the New-Church Press, Ltd., affiliated with the Swedenborg Society, has acquired the publishing rights in the British Empire (excepting Canada) of The Wedding Garment and The Invisible Police, well-known Tales of the Future Life by Louis Pendleton. The books are to be sold at 2sh. 6d. each, bound in cloth and furnished with an attractive jacket designed by a young New Churchman of artistic ability. Based accurately upon the facts now revealed concerning the phenomena of the spiritual world, these stories are not only interesting and entertaining to the New Church reader, but are also an excellent introduction to the doctrine and memorabilia of the Writings. In this new English edition they will undoubtedly enjoy a wider distribution than heretofore in Great Britain and Overseas.

     POCKET PAMPHLETS.

     The New-Church Press, London, has kindly sent us copies of three pocket-size pamphlets recently published by the New Church Missionary and Tract Society. The titles and authors are: "Providence" (24 pp.), by the Rev. Charles Newall, B.A.; "The Incarnation" (36 pp.), by the Rev. A. E. Beilby; and "The Second Coming of the Lord " (16 pp.), by the Rev. Clifford Barley. The subject of the Second Advent is especially well treated, with a carefully reasoned explanation of the prophecies, and of their fulfilment in the decadence of the Christian Church and the giving of a new Revelation through Emanuel Swedenborg. We miss, however, a plain statement concerning the Last Judgment in 1757, although the Gospel prophecies are specific with respect to this accompaniment of the Second Coming.

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Present-day New Church writers of missionary literature seem to fight shy of this topic, perhaps from a fear of startling and offending the Christian reader, who will soon learn the facts concerning that momentous event when he reads the graphic descriptions given in the Writings, and who will find them of surpassing interest if he is among those who are ready to receive the Heavenly Doctrines.

     A BOOK OF POEMS.

     BEAUTY, SIGNATURE OF GOD. An outline of Aesthetics. By Evelyn M. Watson, With Anticipation and Footnotes by Jethra Hart. Boston: Bruce Humphries, Inc., 1935. Cloth; pp. 269; $2.00.

     A long series of poems on manifold phases of the subject of Beauty, written by one of undoubted poetic gifts, and pervaded by a religious, even mystical, atmosphere. The phrases here and there indicate that the author is familiar with the Doctrines of the New Church. Indeed, some of the ideas are attributed to Swedenborg by footnotes, as on pages 42, 138, and on page 177, where he is credited with the view that "Civilization Extends the Work of Creation."

     The whole is composed of cinquains or five-line stanzas,-a remarkable literary achievement. As an example:

     True Beauty May Be Possessed Only By Soul: Love Is Ownership.

He cannot enter heaven who desires
To hoard and hide, as if some grim obsession
Had turned to rabid greed; a miser tires
Of unshared savings, by his own confession,
For generous love's the only true possession.

     And love alone possesses, selflessly
Achieves what mortal hands could never clasp,
And holds up for the eye of mind to see
(Not hid in some old chest with lock and hasp),
Those rarer values only spirits grasp.     (Page 186.)

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NEW CHURCH BAPTISM. 1936

NEW CHURCH BAPTISM.       Rev. FRANK F. COULSON       1936

     EXTRACT FROM THE NEW-CHURCH HERALD, MARCH 9, 1935.

     Baptism is a sign for the sake of order. It is a Divinely appointed means of initiation into the Church. It is also a sign, perceived in heaven, that the person is a Christian, and it associates him, as to his spirit, with those of like Christian quality in the spiritual world. It takes place in both worlds at the same time, because of its sacramental and correspondential nature. When the body is baptized by the earthly priest, who touches it with water, making the sign of the cross on forehead and breast, the spirit receives a sign distinguishing him from those of other religions. It is a sign recognized by spirits in the spiritual world, where all are distinguished according to their religions, and prevents the approach of spirits who might insinuate affection for the ideas of other beliefs; for, we are taught, "in that world everyone is placed in societies and congregations according to the Christian quality either within or without him." (T. C. R. 680e.)

     Two things follow from this.

     First, since Baptism is the Divinely appointed mode of entry into the Church, it should be a condition of membership of every rightly organized society of the New Church on earth. Due observance of this should act as a Protection from harmful and disintegrating influences, besides being a powerful aid to the corporate regeneration of the whole society, which is, or should be, as one man in the sight of heaven and the Lord.

     Again, since Baptism effects introduction among those of like religious quality in the spiritual world, all those who are desirous of following the Lord at His Second Coming, and being instructed and regenerated by the power of the opened Word, should be baptized in the New Church, where alone the Lord is worshiped in His Divine Human as the One God of heaven and earth. Baptism in the New Church, by a priest ordained to teach the gospel of the Second Advent, and in the sphere formed by those who are its members, will effect introduction among spirits of like quality in the spiritual world. It will conjoin the New Church spirits in the world of spirits (and through them the heaven of angels) more closely with their earthly brethren, by the power of its sacramental correspondence, to the advantage of both.

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     Some people have objected to baptism into the New Church of those already baptized as Christians of some Old Church denomination, thinking that they could derive no advantage by its means; but the teaching brought forward from the True Christian Religion about the spiritual associations effected by the rite surely indicates that they are mistaken. In another part of that work (561) there is the teaching that those of the Reformed Church (i.e., Protestant Church) are so associated with their like in the spiritual world while yet on earth that it is almost impossible for them to examine themselves and repent actually of their sins, a thing which Catholics do much more easily. The spirits who are associated turn their thoughts away from such things by a subtle hold on the affections.

     In such case, and it must apply equally for all other false ideas or attitudes of mind held by the sections of the Old Church into which anyone may have been baptized, we may ask: How can a person rid himself of the adverse spiritual association more effectively and permanently than by entering the New Church through the Divinely appointed gate of Baptism? To attempt to do so without submitting to baptism, after its use has been learned, would be to imitate Naaman the Syrian, when he said indignantly: "Are not Abanah and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel!" and was unwilling to go down humbly and dip seven times in Jordan. (II Kings 5.) But such a seemingly trivial act of obedience to Divine teaching effected a marvelous cure in the case of the leper captain, when he did humble himself to walk with his God, doing justly, and fulfilling the righteousness asked of him. To dip seven times in Jordan is spiritually to be regenerated according to the sacred way of Divine Order. It prefigured baptism. In this connection, too, let us note that Ezekiel, in his vision of the future New Church, saw an eastern boundary with a Jordan River. (Chap. xlvii. See A. C. 4255.)
     REV. FRANK F. COULSON.

23


THIRTIETH CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1936

THIRTIETH CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       GEORGE G. STARKEY       1936

     HELD AT GLENVIEW, ILL., OCTOBER 11-13, 1935.

     Golden October weather furnished a happy setting for what was truly a golden occasion. The Assembly opened with a banquet on Friday evening, Bishop George de Charms presiding and delivering a notable address on "The Cooperation of Man with the Lord," in which he contrasted the two distinct lines of the teaching in the Writings: "First, that the Lord alone has life and power, and man none of these; and, second, that creation is not God, and that man is a free and responsible being, eternally distinct from God, with Whom he is thus able to cooperate in freedom." The satisfying development of this theme held our closest attention, and many speakers joined in expressing their appreciation during the discussion which followed.

     There were also toasts and responses, as follows: "The Church," Mr. Sidney E. Lee; "The Growth of the Church," Mr. George Fiske; and " The Priesthood," Mr. Harold P. McQueen.

     In the course of his closing remarks, Bishop de Charms said: "Each one, in developing to the highest of his capacity according to his gifts, attains all that is asked of him. How can he do this? By the leading of the Word. We can love our neighbor only by living the Word, and by understanding the Word. Otherwise we love the neighbor in a way that centers in ourselves. The only way is to unite in loving the Word, from a love that is not personal to the neighbor. This turns our faces in one direction, and draws all together in one direction. The Christian world seeks to love the neighbor, and loses the way, because it does not know God."

     At the Saturday evening session, Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, Secretary of the Assembly, read his official report, in which reference was made to the "Rockford Movement," initiated by Messrs. Warren Reuter and Theodore Gladish; to Northern Michigan, for which Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs was present "to speak for himself," and did so; and to Wyoming, Ohio.

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The Secretary further proposed the formation of a Committee of Permanent Arrangement for District Assemblies. Bishop de Charms spoke in favor of this step, and the meeting voted its approval, whereupon he appointed as members of the Committee: Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, Chairman, Rev. W. L. Gladish, and Messrs. David Gladish, Harold P. McQueen, George Fiske, and Sidney E. Lee.

     In a short paper, Mr. Smith then introduced the subject of "The Spirit of Evangelism and Worship," in which he pointed out that by making our worship delightful, and taking part in the services of worship with responsiveness and enthusiasm, we provide the most important means of evangelization and the growth of the Church. Several speakers took part in the discussion of the subject, and Bishop de Charms closed with an impressive speech.

     A large congregation assembled for Divine Worship on Sunday morning, when Bishop de Charms, assisted by Pastors Smith and Gladish, conducted the service and delivered a sermon on "Living Faith," from the text of Luke 2:27, 28. The Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to 123 communicants.

     In the evening, a Men's Meeting was held in Sharon Church, Chicago, when Mr. Sidney E. Lee presented a paper on "The Spirit of Counsel," dwelling upon the great need of this in developing the church life, and the subject brought forth an animated discussion.

     In the course of the Assembly, Bishop de Charms addressed a meeting of the ladies on the subject of The Liturgy, and on Monday morning he spoke to the children of the Immanuel Church School about the Tabernacle, showing them miniature models of the furniture. We wish that space might permit a record of the many fine things he said during the meetings, which contributed so largely to the making of one of our finest Assemblies. We were especially delighted that Mrs. de Charms could also be present.
      GEORGE G. STARKEY.

25


Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Michael Church.

     The chronicle of events since our last report takes us back to the celebration of New Church Day on Sunday, June 16, when Bishop Tilson administered the Holy Supper to thirty-nine persons at the morning service, and in the evening presided at a Feast of Charity, where short and interesting papers were read by Messrs. V. R. Tilson, Alan Waters, and Martyn Pryke, being interspersed with the hearty singing of the social songs by the assembled company. Sympathetic reference was made to the recent passing of the Rev. T. F. Robinson, who had long been a loyal member of Michael Church.

     The arrangement of the program of church work during the period prior to the British Assembly in August was a considerable problem. The motorcycle accidents which befell the Revs. Victor Gladish and A. Wynne Acton (from the effects of which they have now happily recovered) made it inevitable that much extra work should fall upon the venerable shoulders of Bishop Tilson, who rose valiantly to the occasion. With the assistance of the Rev. W. H. Acton and one or two laymen, the services in London and Colchester were maintained.

     Early in September the Bishop visited Bristol and Bath, where services were held and the Holy Supper administered; and the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eric Briscoe at Batheaston was dedicated.

     The Autumn session in Michael Church was introduced by a Social Tea on September 29, followed by a general meeting at which Bishop Tilson and Mr. Acton outlined the work proposed for the immediate future and invited suggestions, which led to a pleasant and useful discussion. The weekly Theological Class has now started, and the Assistant Pastor holds a class for the study of the Doctrines by the young people.

     A successful Whist Drive was held on October 8 in aid of the Sale of Work which took place on November 12 under the superintendence of Mrs. Tilson, who had made and collected a varied assortment of useful articles. Inclement weather affected the attendance, but a good proportion of the articles was disposed of, and a. very pleasant evening was spent. The proceeds will go to the church funds. Mr. Acton voiced our thanks to Mrs. Tilson, and Christine Waters presented her with an artistic bouquet of chrysanthemums. In acknowledgment, Mrs. Tilson expressed her gratitude to all who had assisted, and added that she thought the responsibility for future Sales of Work should be undertaken by a younger generation.

     Our Harvest Festival was held on October 13, when the sphere of worship was increased by the decoration of the chancel with the "fruits of the earth," arranged as usual by Mr. Cooper, and by the baskets of fruit offered by the congregation during the Service. The Holy Supper was administered to thirty-nine persons.

     On Sunday evening, November 10, being the Eve of Remembrance, a. Social Tea was followed by an impressive service. Bishop Tilson preached a most appropriate sermon, and Kipling's "Recessional" was sung by the congregation.
     K. M. D.

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     WYOMING, OHIO.

     We entered upon the activities of the Fall season with renewed zeal and enthusiasm. Indeed, they may properly be said to have begun on August 10 at Glenview, when our pastor brought a new member into the Wyoming Circle by marrying Miss Elizabeth Fuller. About half of the members of our Circle attended the wedding, which was a beautifully simple ceremony, characterized by happiness and rejoicing. Early in the Fall, Mr. Reuter brought his bride to Wyoming, and they were soon settled in their home, which is also to be the center of the society functions. Here services and doctrinal classes, as well as social gatherings, will be held, and visitors will always be welcome. For the street address and telephone, see 2d cover-page of the Life.

     During the past four years all our church activities have centered around the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Merrell, who have cheerfully placed their large living room at our disposal, very frequently bearing the burden of furnishing the essential part of our society suppers and banquets. Here a supper and bridge party was given before Mr. and Mrs. Reuter were settled in their home.

     And early in October we held housewarming and dedication of the new home of the society, this being attended by our members and numerous visitors. The Rev. F. E. Waelchli was present with us on this occasion, making his farewell visit, and he spoke at some length on the uses involved in the establishing of such a church center.

     We have begun regular monthly suppers, followed by a class, the first being given over to the reading by our pastor of some new material from Dr. Acton's monumental work on the Life of Swedenborg, which we trust will soon be made available to the Church.

     Sunday School is held every week, with a regular attendance of eleven,-seven of the Donald Merrell family, one of the Frederick Merrell family and three of the Alan Smith family. A Hallowe'en costume party was held for the children at the pastor's residence.

     On the last Sunday in November, the Rev. Norman Reuter will pay visit to the members of the General Church in Detroit,-the first of a series of regular visits he is to make during the year.

     Among our visitors during the season it has been a pleasure to welcome Mr. Ray Brown, of Toronto; Mrs. Fuller, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph W. Reuter, and Mr. Warren Reuter, of Glenview, Ill. Also, from Glenview came Mr. Adam Melzer and Mr. Louis Cole, Jr., who moved the furniture of the Rev. and Mrs. Norman Reuter to Wyoming.
     DONALD MERRELL.

     SWEDEN.

     Missionary Journeys.

     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom has now taken charge of the group in Jonkoping, and will no doubt send you news about the work there. While he was still in Stockholm, I undertook a missionary trip to the western part of Sweden. There I gave 9 lectures during 9 days in 9 different towns, among which was Skara, where Jesper Swedberg once was Bishop, and where there has been some interest in the New Church since the time of Swedenborg. The average attendance at these nine lectures was 75. In Boras no less than 192 persons attended the lecture. It was the fourth time I lectured there, always with a good attendance. Three persons there are interested in the Church, one of them a member of the General Church.

     The way in which she came to the church may be of interest to know. Her mother had just died when the bereaved husband saw her in a dream and heard her say: "Swedenborg is right!" The people did not know anything about Swedenborg at that time, and so the husband tried to find some book about him, but could not find any. Then I arrived in Boras, where the daughter lived, and gave a lecture there,-my first one at that place, attended by 420 persons, and she was one of them. She said that the lecture was just like a revelation to her.

27


She had never bought a book in her life except a Bible. Now she bought quite a number. Some years later she was baptized into the New Church.

     I have now given lectures in all the towns in Sweden, except a few very small ones, and many of them I have visited several times with the message of the New Church. They begin to know me now, and in spite of that some come back. The curiosity for something new is gone, and it is not so easy now to get big crowds. But the present interest may be more valuable. When I sell books after the lectures, it is very common for some one to tell me that he has read some of the books, yea, sometimes that he has read almost all of them.

     It seems as if there were at least some interest in most of the larger places, though often I do not know the names of the interested persons. I used to distribute free copies of our magazine to all who bought books, and we could keep in touch with those who subscribed. I also used to distribute free pamphlets to those who bought books. What people generally are interested in is the life after death, and they mostly buy books on that subject. But then I also gave them a pamphlet on "The One Only God." If I had given a lecture on "'The One Only God," there would have been a very small attendance, and we would have suffered a big financial loss, for I always charge an admission fee. But if the lecture is something on the other life, many more people come, and those who are interested will get something about the one only God,-not only a lecture, but a book.

     My missionary pamphlets have proved very useful, and not only in awakening an interest. One enthusiastic receiver has written me about them, expressing his great thankfulness: "I have been suffering very much from sleeplessness, and my doctor has not been able to help me. But since I received your books I have been reading in them every night, and feel a great calm, and fall quietly to sleep. And now I do not need my doctor's medicine any more, thanks to your books." I do not know whether I should feel happy or not at this praise!

     In the small town of Avesta, in the northern middle part of Sweden near Falun, in the neighborhood of which Jesper Swedberg's old home, "Sweden," is situated, there resides a public school teacher who is a full receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines. For a long time he was the only interested person there. At a lecture I gave in Avesta six years ago I came in touch with him, and he became a subscriber to five copies of our magazine. He has since bought many of our books, and distributed them freely. Recently I called upon him again, and gave a public lecture in the town, attended by 100 persons, thirty-five of whom had come as a result of the teacher's personal efforts. On this occasion I sold books to the value of Kr. 20:-(over $5.00), and a number of pamphlets were given away. I found that the teacher had succeeded in interesting quite a number of people, among them a bookseller who had placed a number of our books in his store window.

     I was invited to dinner at the teacher's home, together with a minister of the Lutheran State Church, who had received a copy of the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine. He said that this was a good book indeed, though he could not entirely grasp everything in it. We had a long talk about the Second Coming of the Lord, and he made no objections to what I said. There is another minister in the Lutheran State Church who has become so interested that he would like to become a minister in the New Church, if he had not to study for the ministry, and could receive a certain economical guarantee which cannot be given.

     The school teacher has also to give instruction in Religion in his school. I asked him if it is not difficult for him to do so, as he is a New Churchman in his heart. "No," he said, "not now, since we do not use the catechism any more."-

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"But what about the Trinity?" I asked. "Well," said he, "I give the New Church doctrine straight on that point, and the children are satisfied." In this way some seed may be sown in the children's minds.

     On this trip I also gave a lecture in Sala, where a lady told me she had become interested al a lecture I gave there some years ago; in Hedemora, where an artist and his wife had become interested, and invited me to coffee; and in Falun, where there is a Mr. Pettersson, who has been interested for forty years, and whose son and daughter-in-law are New Church people. There also I had coffee, and more than coffee. In Sweden, people always invite you to coffee when they want to be friendly. And on these visits to isolated receivers much coffee is consumed nowadays. As this is a proof of a more widespread interest, there is no objection to do so. I know a minister here who receives so much coffee on his pastoral calls that his stomach is quite spoiled, and yet he does not dare to say no. That would make him unpopular.

     The average attendance at lectures on this trip was 78 persons.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

     GEORGE E. HOLMAN.

     From The New-Church Herald of November 9, 1935, we learn of the passing, on October 11, of Mr. George E. Holman in his seventieth year. We was a member of the Camberwell Society, and held important offices in the Swedenborg Society. The Herald says in part: "He was known in the New Church, and especially in London, as a profound student of the Heavenly Doctrines. To the study of the Writings he brought the mind of a scholar. With an unwavering acceptance of the Writings as Revelation, he studied deeply in various branches of natural science, especially in geology, paleontology and psychology, that he might illustrate and confirm the teaching of the Writings. His many contributions to The New-Church Quarterly and other periodicals of the Church reveal a mind unusually well informed."

     Mr. Holman contributed articles to New Church Life, 1898-1900, on "The Antiquity of Evil Animals" and "Geology in a New Light," and on other topics from 1908 to 1914.

     REV. W. H. CLAXTON.

     The Herald of November 23 contains an obituary of the Rev. W. H. Claxton, who passed into the other life on November 3 in his seventy-third year. An account is given of his long and active career in the ministry of the General Conference, of which he was President in the year 1910. Until his retirement a short time ago, he was pastor at Bristol, where the funeral took place on November 6th.

     Mr. Claxton was an occasional visitor at our British Assemblies, and attended the General Assembly at London in 1928, taking part in the discussions.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The regular November meeting of the Sons of the Academy listened to an interesting paper by Mr. George A. McQueen, who told us about Sir Isaac Pittman, an early New Churchman, the founder of the first system of shorthand, who published portions of the Writings in that form.

     On the Tuesday preceding Thanksgiving Day we had a miniature Founder's Day celebration by the School. Several of the first settlers of our Park, forty-two years ago, were invited to supper, and addressed the children, telling of the pioneering here at that time. Although we old-timers tried to make it snappy, and the older children appeared to find it interesting, we fear the younger ones were rather bored.

     The usual Thanksgiving service was brief and impressive, being followed immediately by the wedding ceremony of Mr. Thomas Melzer and Miss Jean Foster,-two of our young children of old settlers in the neighborhood.

29


A very large congregation was present at the service and wedding, and afterwards wished the young couple all happiness.

     The General Council or Men's Assembly devoted most of its time at the November meeting to a discussion of the ways and means of collecting the funds for the general uses of this church society. A majority favored a return to the system of securing pledge cards from the members, while keeping the services of the young collectors who now assist the treasurer in gathering the funds.

     A girl baby was born to the Arthur Kings, and a boy to the Edwin Burnhams. The Kings had two boys, and wanted a girl; the Burnhams had two girls, and wanted a boy. So all were especially grateful to Providence for the new babies. The pastor has appointed two of our energetic young matrons as new social committee, whose function it will be to promote, aid, and abet social life in the society.

     At Friday class, the pastor has given us several papers on Philosophy and Philosophers in the light of the New Church, and his presentation of the subject has been received with much interest.
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The doctrinal classes conducted by our pastor in Tarentum, Pa. have aroused unusual interest on the part of those attending. There has been an average of twenty persons at these monthly meetings.

     The Rev. F. E. Waelchli visited Pittsburgh recently and addressed the day school. We are always delighted to welcome him.

     Following the Friday supper and doctrinal class on November 15, a miscellaneous "shower" was held for Miss Joanne Schoenberger and Mr. Leander Smith at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Horjgan.

     On Friday, November 22, Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Acton arrived in Pittsburgh to attend a banquet on the following evening. They were guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander P. Lindsay, who held an informal reception for them on Friday evening.

     The banquet was sponsored by the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy, the president of the chapter, Mr. Gilbert M. Smith, presiding as toastmaster, and the congregation being invited to attend. As guest speaker of the evening, Dr. Acton gave an exceptionally fine talk on "The Status of Swedenborg's Philosophical Works," and the subject was discussed by the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, Mr. Walter L. Horigan, Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay, and Mrs. Edmund Blair. The enjoyable dinner was prepared by members of the chapter, assisted by Mrs. Elmer Horigan and Mrs. S. S. Lindsay, Jr.

     On behalf of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons, Dr. Marlin Heilman presented to Dr. Acton and the Academy Schools a comprehensive set of Anatomical Charts, as a token of appreciation for the fine work which Dr. Acton has done, and with the hope that they may be of value in the continuation of his courses.

     At the service on Sunday, November 24, Dr. Acton delivered an excellent sermon on the text, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." On Monday, he visited the day school and addressed the children. This closed a weekend of activities which had been inspirational and instructive to us all.

     A special children's service was held in the church on Thanksgiving Day, the children in procession bearing their offerings of fruit to the chancel. The pastor's talk developed the idea that every day should be a day of thanksgiving, serving as a continued inspiration and cause for worship. At the conclusion of the service, the pastor officiated at the marriage of Mr. Leander P. Smith and Miss Joanne Schoenberger. Present at the ceremony were many guests from Bryn Athyn and elsewhere, the congregation numbering 140 persons.

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Many of the visitors remained in Pittsburgh to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with relatives and friends.
     E. K. D.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The thoughts and efforts of the members of the Olivet Church for the past two months have been directed toward the Ontario Assembly; first, in preparation of this event, subsequently in the actual participation, and latterly in reflection upon it. For it was, undoubtedly, an unusual Assembly, full of social and religious importance, coinciding, as it did, with the fiftieth anniversary of the Olivet Society. We were indeed happy to associate once again with the many visitors from other societies, a number of whom had in the past been very active in the development of the society. It was generally agreed at the conclusion of the Assembly on Monday evening, November 11, that it had been one of the most inspiring Assemblies held in Toronto.

     On November 29, a "nautical" dance was held in the church hall. The committee, consisting of Miss Emily Wilson and Messrs. Orval Carter and Lawrence Izzard, showed enterprise and originality in the carrying out of this nautical idea in decorations, dances and refreshments; but, it is to be noted with satisfaction, no attempt was made to introduce the "rolling sea."

     The Forward Club-Sons of the Academy has held regular meetings once a month, preceded by "men's suppers." In October, the Rev. William Whitehead's paper on "Utopia" was read by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, and at the November meeting an address was given by Mr. Sydney Parker on the subject of "The Earmarks of a New Churchman," which, as the topic would suggest, aroused considerable discussion.

     During the past month we have had two regular visitors at our church functions,-Mrs. Nellie Carson, of Ottawa, who will be spending a month or so with us, and Mr. Archie Scott, who comes from Kitchener as the first of his family; for we are glad to hear that they will be joining him in Toronto before Christmas. While we are glad to welcome this new family, we are sorry to lose Mr. and Mrs. Rudolf Potts, who have made their home in Kitchener.
     M. S.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     Nov. 14, 1935.-It will be recalled that the men of our society, a year ago, gave a very well managed banquet. Recently, on October 9, they gave another, and all present voted it most successful and beneficial evening. Mr. Robert Mansfield is to be congratulated upon his capabilities as toastmaster, and upon his choice and arrangement of the papers read on that occasion, which were as follows: The subject of "The Nature of the Heavenly Societies, and their Relation to Societies of the Church on Earth," was presented by Mr. C. O. Ridgway, who had collected statements from the Writings and formulated ideas which pointed out practical means of gradually remodeling or altering our societies as far as possible to the pattern of those in heaven. Mr. F. Ramford followed with a paper on "The Responsibility of a Society with Regard to its Social Life," his plea for improvement and renewed activity being exceptionally forceful, as he pointed out the means whereby New Church social life may be amended, so that it may more completely follow the ideals of the societies in heaven. The third paper was "A Study of the Spiritual Development of New Church Societies," in which Mr. N. Eddley dwelt upon the necessity of appreciating the principles according to which the societies of the New Church are to be formed and perpetuated. Mr. G. Pemberton, Jr., treating of "What a New Church Society should Strive to Attain," enlarged upon the ideals previously set forth, and held that we should strive to see them as a unit, in order that we may realize their ends and purposes. In conclusion, Mr. Mansfield's paper on "New Church Ideals" clarified the meaning of the term "Ideal," showing how important it is to understand our ideals, if we are to apply them.

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     The past few months have been unfortunate ones for the Kainon School, owing to epidemics of whooping cough and chicken pox which made it necessary to close the school for while, and later to hold sessions only three days a week. So it has been an unsatisfactory year for both teachers and pupils, as no child has been able to cover the required ground. But now that all the children have had all the current ailments, we are hoping that the next term will be completed without interruption.

     During the absence of the pastor on two or three occasions when the work of the Native Mission called him to the stations in Zululand and Ladysmith, Natal, our Sunday services were held as usual, Mr. Melville Ridgway leading in the worship.

     Several delightful evenings have been provided for us by members of the Social Committee. On August 2, a bridge and billiard evening was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Forfar. A bioscope entertainment at the Hall on September 30 was well attended and much enjoyed by all, not least by the children, who especially appreciated the comedies. A Hallowe'en costume party at the Hall on October 31 was very jolly, everyone entering into the fun. There was a choice of refreshments,-tea, rolls, hot dogs, and mealies (corn on the cob). Many of the costumes were excellent, the two first prizes being awarded to Miss Elsa Ridgway and Mr. Stanley Cockerell.

     One of the most successful bazaars ever given by the Women's Guild was held on November 2 in the Hall. The stalls were very suitably decorated, and much credit is given Miss Sylvia Pemberton for the thought and labor she bestowed upon it. The proceeds amounted to about L45, and very few articles remained unsold at the close.

     On August 19, at Durban, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ridgway, who have since returned to their home in Orange Free State.

     The three members of our society who have enjoyed a visit to England during the past few months have all returned, and report an interesting and happy trip,-Mr. D'Arcy Cockerell, Miss Jessie Attersoll, and Mrs. Wally Lowe, the last named being accompanied on the homeward voyage by Miss Forfar, who is visiting her brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Forfar.

     At the last meeting of the Men's Class, held at the home of Mr. H. S. Forfar, four or five of the young men spoke on the subject of Charity, this taking the place of the usual reading of a paper by the pastor. The plan is to hold similar meetings once a month.
     B. R. F.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     During the Fall season the congregations in the cathedral have been privileged to hear a variety of interesting sermons by the Bishop, Assistant Pastors, and other local and visiting ministers.

     At the doctrinal classes following Friday suppers in the Assembly Hall, the Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner has been giving a series of instructive talks on the subject of the Gorand Man. And Bishop de Charms conducted a series of three classes in the course of which he elucidated the apparent paradoxes involved in the doctrine of "Divine Omnipotence and Human Responsibility." In December our numbers were augmented on Friday evenings by the presence of students of the Boys Academy and Girls Seminary, the eighty-three enrolled in these departments of the Academy having been invited to attend the society suppers and classes.
     W. R. COOPER.

     [The report of other events in the society must be deferred until next month.-EDITOR.]

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1936

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1936




     Announcements.



     The Annual Meetings of the Councils of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., March 30 to April 4, 1936,-two months later than the usual time for these meetings.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1936

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          FEBRUARY, 1936          No. 2
     "I am Joseph, whom ye sold!"

     Joseph's relations to his ten half-brothers might be said to represent the relation of a man's spiritual conscience to the doctrinal thoughts of his external man,-thoughts which are liable to be violent and contradictory, and influenced by the moods and passions of the proprium. In a spiritual state of mind, such as is signified by "Benjamin," doctrinal convictions are purified and humbled, and unified with the voice of conscience. (See October, 1935, issue, page 349.)

     This recognition of the unity of doctrinal opinions with that deeper religious feeling which is the "heavenly internal" ("Joseph") is accomplished gradually, and amounts to a conjunction of the internal man with the external, or of charity with faith. How this conjunction progresses with man, can be known only from the internal sense of the Word, and is indeed the subject of the 45th and 46th chapters of Genesis, explained in the Arcana assignments for the months of December to April.

     Charity is the "celestial internal" of the spiritual heaven (5922) or the spiritual degree; faith, as here spoken of, is in the natural. In order that these may be conjoined, several things are requisite which are represented in these chapters. Thus it is noted, that when Joseph was ready to reveal his identity before his brethren, he commanded his Egyptian attendants to go out.

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For the latter represented adverse and discordant knowledges. But the brethren, who remained, awe-stricken, depict truths in the natural; there is effected a sort of "sublimation" of the real essence of such truths, which is felt by man only as a sense of gladness or uplifting joy (5871). This is accompanied with consternation, from the recognition that the celestial internal, or charity, had hitherto been alienated from faith, and treated merely as a knowledge in the memory,-a thing known, but not loved (5886).

     The Mediation of Israel.

     Faith, and its truths in the natural, pertain to the external man. Charity, therefore, cannot be conjoined with it immediately. The gulf between Joseph and his brethren could be bridged only through their common relationship to Israel. Israel represents the good of truth, or the good that is acquired by a life of self-compulsion and obedience and temptation,-good acquired through truths. This good is called "spiritual good," but it is an earlier and thus lower spiritual good than the "celestial of the spiritual" which is represented by Joseph; and at the stage here described it is failing, and sorrowful, and famished. Hence Joseph's first question: "Is my father still alive?" He does not ask his brethren to live with him, but sends them to invite Israel to bring his sons. Pharaoh seconds the invitation, and the brethren are laden with gifts, these significantly foreshadowing how doctrinal thought is enriched, and matured, and made progressive, by life's experiences in the natural.

     The brethren being separated from Joseph (who cautions them not to fall out among themselves!), represents how our doctrinal thinking necessarily passes into evening states, when the light of the world obscures spiritual illustration. They meet their old father Jacob, who revives in spirit on hearing that Joseph is alive; and since he then represents "spiritual good," the internal sense requires that he resume the name "Israel." Actually, Jacob was first named Israel when he wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32:28); but the state that was signified by the new name is later retarded and obscured, so far as the reality of the celestial internal (Joseph) is scorned or held in doubt.

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     The Need of Experience.

     One general "moral" of the story of these chapters is, that man's doctrinal thought (or truths of faith in the natural mind), is not reconciled or brought into conjunction with the internal motive of charity-which, by the Lord's help, has come to dominate in the regenerating mind,-unless his dogmatic opinions are mellowed by experience, and are led to see the practical effects of charity in ordering natural uses. What goes on in the internals of man is not consciously a part of his thought: Joseph, the dreamer, was never understood by his brethren, and led a life apart. Still, by their experience in Egypt, the brethren could profit by Joseph's prudence, and eventually recognize their estranged brother through his works.

     Jacob and his Sons move to Goshen.

     For the conjunction of the internal of charity with the good of truth (which is the first fruit of regeneration), it is needful that the natural religious truth, upon which the good of truth is based, should be introduced into all knowledge of experience which is such as to confirm and establish that truth. Faith cannot subsist indefinitely unless it be confirmed by actual knowledge gathered from the Word, from doctrinals, from science, and from experience. This is involved in the fact of Jacob and his sons going down to Egypt.

     By Egypt, in a good sense, is therefore meant "all the knowledges of the church,-all true knowledges concerning correspondences, representatives, significatives, influx, order, intelligence and wisdom, and the affections; yea, all truths of interior and exterior nature, both visible and invisible; because these latter correspond to spiritual truths" (5213). It was by such scientifics that Swedenborg was prepared to receive the doctrines of the New Church by his understanding.

     In the Ancient Church, the knowledge of the church included especially the significatives of ritual worship, and also "scientifics which were subservient to the doctrinal things of charity, . . . and from these they knew who are meant by the poor, the needy, etc. Such scientifics flourished in Egypt" (6004), and into such could natural truth ("Jacob") be initialed. But scientifics-even doctrinal formulas-which do not confirm spiritual truths, are "dead" or "closed"; and dead scientifics are false scientifics.

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     The harmonizing or "conjunction of the truths of the church with its knowledges " must not begin, therefore, from the knowledges, lest from them fallacies of sense enter into the truths to pervert them. To avoid this, specific directions are revealed for the man of the church: "First, the doctrinals of the church are to be learned, and then exploration is to be made from the Word as to whether they are true. . . . Afterwards, when he is confirmed, and thus is in an affirmative from the Word that they are truths of faith, it is allowable for him to confirm them by all the knowledge that he possesses, of whatsoever name and nature." "Yet very few at this day proceed in this way." Most read the Word, not from an affection of discovering the truth, but merely to "confirm therefrom the doctrinals of the church within which they were born." (A. C. 6047; compare 6222, 54325.) But these confirm scientifics, not truths; since doctrinals accepted on the authority of men are merely scientifics.

     Hence Jacob and his sons were warned by Joseph not to yield to the enticements of Egypt, but to ask Pharaoh for a dwelling-place apart, in Goshen. The confirmatory knowledges of the church are entirely different from other knowledge in this essential respect, that from the first they regard truths from good: they regard a life of good as their end,-a good signified by the occupation of the Hebrews as shepherds and men of cattle, while, on the contrary, "every shepherd of the flock is an abomination unto the Egyptians."

     In this we may see a parallel of that mutual distrust between science and organized religion which the ages have displayed. Yet, in the spiritual sense, the opposition sentiment between the two races does not signify a distinction of knowledges into two rival groups one secular, the other theological; but it marks the fact that knowledge, when applied to the neighbor's spiritual hurt, becomes thereby perverted, and this whether it be a theory of natural science or a formula of doctrine. It is in order that the charity of the internal man ("Joseph") may descend and, through the spiritual good of truth ("Israel"), conjoin itself with the external man, that the truths of our faith ("Jacob's sons") must find a confirmatory basis in knowledge.

     That "every shepherd" was an abomination unto the Egyptians, seems consistently borne out by the Biblical narrative. Historic research has suggested many theories to explain this aversion.

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Those who are most faithful to what appears to be the Biblical chronology believe that the Pharaoh who promoted Joseph was one of the Hyksos or "Shepherd Kings" (about 1700-1580 B.C.), who ruled from a capital east of the Delta, and was friendly to the Hebrews because the first of those dynasties was founded by an Asiatic invader. Since then the court had been gradually Egyptianized. The ordinary Egyptian hated the tyrannical Hyksos, and therefore "every shepherd " (that is, every nomad, whose presence would lend strength to the unwanted dynasty); and Israel was therefore best off in Goshen, a rich land near the eastern frontier.

     It is a false impression that the Egyptians had no animal sacrifices, as did the Hebrews; although it is true that "the Egyptians had primitively been among those who constituted the Ancient Representative Church" (5702), and thus had, at first, no bloody burnt-offerings. (See A. C. 1241, 2180.)

     "But afterwards they rejected the God of the Ancient Church, that is, Jehovah, or the Lord, and served idols, especially calves. They also turned into magic the representatives of the celestial and spiritual things of the Ancient Church, which they imbibed when they were of that Church. Hence they were in inverted order, and consequently held all things of the church as an abomination." (A. C. 5702.) This explains why they "would not eat bread with the Hebrews," with whom the sacrificial feast was the central bond of conjunction, signifying their appropriation of the doctrine of the true church, which they represented, as contrasted with the idolatrous Egyptians.

     But it is easily substantial that the orthodox Egyptians, who would not even eat with the Hebrews, would find Hebrew life and worship barbaric and crude, and offensive to their hoary traditions, their highly organized superstitions, and their developed sense of cultural values.

     However destructive their influence in Egypt may actually have been, the "Shepherd Kings" seem to have had a good representation-at first as the primary concepts from the Word, and later as the reformed natural. (A. C. 1482, 5080, 5160.) The Pharaoh of the oppression (Exodus 1) was most likely of another-a native-dynasty, and represented separated scientifics contrary to the truths of the church" (6651).

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LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD 1936

LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD       Rev. VICTOR J. GLADISH       1936

     "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man, an householder, who went out at daybreak to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place, and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is just I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is just, that shall ye receive.

     "So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the householder, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take thine own, and go; I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few chosen." (Matthew 20:1-16.)

     In the internal sense of this parable, the laborers from the first hour are those who claim reward for the good works they have done. They cherish the idea of personal merit for the good deeds of the spiritual life. And it is against this meritoriousness that the principal teaching of this parable is directed. It is also the principal teaching of the Gospel account which precedes and follows. The spirit of the laborers who had worked from the first hour even to the twelfth was similar to that of the young man who said, "All these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?" It was like that of Peter when he said, "Behold, we have left all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?"

39


It was similar with the request that James and John might sit on the Lord's right and left hand in His kingdom. But to all He gave answer according to the representative and the actual state of those addressed. And the essence of all the answers was one with the leading theme of our parable, which doctrine the Lord taught plainly in these words, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." (Matt. 20:26-28.)

     It is a fundamental truth that no man can acquire for himself any merit, or be entitled to any reward. What appears like merit, or something deserved, is the Lord's will to grant man every good thing which he will receive, which the character of his life allows to flow in from above. This great truth is the essence of the meaning of the parable before us, and of the context to which we have referred. There is, indeed, the appearance of injustice, even of harshness, in some of the literal forms which are here used to teach the internal truth, but there must needs be, from time to time, this presenting of spiritual truths in natural pictures which appear out of harmony with truth and justice. To the natural view, merit is achieved and reward deserved by the performance of good deeds; and to the natural view, external successes are so important, and external misfortunes so dreaded. The truth on all planes of these teachings of the Gospel can be demonstrated in the light of what is now revealed, but the light is seen clearly by the approach from essential and internal considerations, rather than from the purely literal and historical account.

     The parable of the vineyard laborers teaches, first of all, that we are not to set a price upon our service in the kingdom of God, but to receive gladly that which the Lord provides; for He knows best what is good for us. With this in mind, let us look within the letter to the spirit of the story, and thus see many truths on all planes, external as well as internal. In this aspect, the difficulties of the literal sense fall into their proper place, and, so far as this is effected, cease to be difficulties.

     Of course, the natural mind looks askance at the fact that no higher value was placed upon the work of those who labored all day than on the labors of those who began to work at the eleventh hour.

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We feel that this is not true of either natural or spiritual labor. Natural effort brings its proportionate results, and spiritual effort likewise, whether we call it reward or not. In reality, however, the parable does not teach an equality between those who labor long and those who begin at the last opportunity. The first-hired workers indeed said, "Thou hast made them equal unto us," but they were mistaken. As a matter of fact, they were classed as inferior to the later workers: "The last shall be first, and the first last." But this was for another reason, which will presently appear.

     It is true that, other things being equal, the longer service brings the greater results, but in this case other things were not equal, either in the natural situation or in the spiritual state represented. The inference is, that the eleventh-hour laborers were willing to work, and were idle through no fault of their own,-"because no man had hired" them. On the other hand, the early workers are represented as driving a bargain with the lord of the vineyard, and working for that reward rather than the joy of the labor and the use which they could perform. It must be remembered that this was a parable concerning spiritual service. It is stated at the outset that it illustrates the nature of the kingdom of heaven. It does not necessarily set forth natural conditions just as they do or should exist, but takes pictures from the theater of human affairs which can embody the internal teaching. Moreover, it was a teaching addressed to that state which Peter had manifested when he said, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed Thee; what, therefore, shall we have?"

     If we would understand the real meaning of the parable, let us avoid such a literalistic attitude as would ask how it was possible for the men to be unemployed until the final hour of the day through no fault of their own, when the master had been searching all day for workers. It is enough for the purpose of the parable that they are so represented. In the Word, the natural situations are simply vessels to contain the spiritual truths; but they are vessels Divinely selected according to the states of the men among whom they are given. It is similar with the thought upon which the natural mind is apt to stick, that there is nothing wrong in making a bargain for one's services. Certainly there is nothing wrong in that; but the point is, that the men who labored all day are represented as not being content with their just bargain, with working for the reward rather than the service, and murmuring against the generosity of the householder when he gave freely to those who had been more willing to serve, but had lacked the same opportunity.

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If our thoughts dwell upon this parable as a natural-world situation, and we try to apply the teaching to various matters of life, our understanding of the truth involved will remain obscure; but if we transfer our thought to the spiritual states signified by the various words and phrases, we can plainly see the universal internal truth, and then can apply that with confidence to every-day problems.

     In the spiritual sense, the householder represents the Lord, the "God of heaven and earth." The vineyard is His church upon earth. Those who were hired at the first hour are those who have had the knowledges of the Word and the church from the beginning, who have benefited by the knowledges and associations of the specific church of the Lord. These agreed with the householder for a set wage before entering into the work of his vineyard, and represent those who practice the truths and goods of the church, but retain an idea of self-merit in so doing.

     Those who were hired at the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours all represent such as enter into the life of the church or the life of regeneration from a full state of truth. Three, six, and nine have a like signification, here standing for qualities and degrees in that state of full membership in the Lord's internal church, since the number three, and multiples of it, signifies what is full and complete. They are not people who begin the work of regeneration any later in life than those first mentioned; the literal sense must depend upon expressions of time, but it is state alone that is signified, and the internal sense has no concern with time. The others are said to have been hired first, because of their idea of merit, which makes them think themselves first. Because of that state, they are first only in seeming; in reality they are last, as is said in the conclusion of the parable. It is to be noted that all those who went at the third, sixth, or ninth hours made no stipulations, but trusted to the justice of the master. They are internal men of various degrees, who serve with heart and mind in the Lord's vineyard, and look to Him to give them what is needful.

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     Those who were idle until the eleventh hour are, in general, those of the gentile state; that is, such as are in comparative ignorance concerning the truths of the church, but are in a humble and receptive state, eager to learn spiritual truth and to practice good-will toward God and the neighbor. Thus the parable teaches that the gentiles or the simple good are first in the kingdom of heaven, though their ignorance makes them appear last, in comparison with the enlightened but corrupt members of the church at its end or consummation. In the judgment, the former are received into heaven, and the latter are rejected. "The last shall be first, and the first last."

     In passing, we may mention that the Heavenly Doctrine mentions another significance of the "eleventh-hour laborers," namely, those who die in infancy, and who pass more readily into heaven than those who have borne the "burden and the heat of the day."

     The giving of a Roman denarius or silver penny to each of the laborers of all classes does not mean that the fruits of their labors were entirely the same. As we have seen, some were recognized as first, some intermediate, and some last. But the silver penny, worth about eight pence in modern money, was the standard wage for laborers. In the parable, it represents the universal reward of labor in the Lord's vineyard,-the free gift from the Lord of just so much of the light and heat of heaven, of inflowing wisdom and love, as each man will receive. It is not, therefore, the same in degree and quality with any two men, but it is all that each individual has the capacity and willingness to receive. Such is the nature of the heavenly reward. All who are in the stream of Providence receive this reward, or this gift from God, with gladness, thankfulness, and content, recognizing that it is the full outpouring of the Divine, imparted according to the degree in which they have opened their hearts and minds to receive it. Thus it is their all, their full reward, and their height of happiness.

     But, just in so far as one does not put away the tendency of the natural man to seek reward for the sake of reward, he believes that he merits heaven by his own efforts, and, indeed, the first place in heaven, murmuring against the Lord, as did the laborers of the parable because His bounty goes forth to others, and desiring better things for themselves than for others. To these the Lord says, "Is thine eye evil, because I am good!"

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In other words, "Is their lack of spiritual vision, their inability to receive, due to envy because His Divine good goes out to all alike?" It is the evil with man which both shuts out the Divine influx and makes His free giving appear unjust.

     The desire for reward and the idea of self-merit are very often treated in the Heavenly Doctrine, and we are told how the regenerating man is successively delivered from the idea of merit in the good works which he performs. "He who is being regenerated," we read, "believes at first that he merits something; for he does not yet know that good can inflow from another source. Unless he believed this at first, he would never do what is good. For by this he is initiated into knowledges concerning good, and also concerning merit. And when he has thus been brought into the affection of doing what is good, he begins to think and believe that good inflows from the Lord, and that through the good which he does from proprium he merits nothing; and at last, when he is in the affection of willing and doing what is good, he then completely rejects merit, yea, is averse to it, and is affected with good from good." (A. C. 4145.)

     In the whole of the 51st Psalm there comes forth in the letter this spirit of recognizing that the Lord alone is good,-that we, of our selves are wholly evil, and that whatever we do that is good is from Him, done by power from Him-something to be thankful for, but not to ascribe to ourselves, not to dwell upon and to make a matter of merit. "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according to the multitude of Thy mercies, blot out my transgressions. O Lord, open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise." Amen.

LESSONS: Psalm 51. Matthew 19:16-30. A. C. 3417.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 517, 533, 762.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 199, 183.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1936

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1936

     A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem; Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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DEATH OF JACOB 1936

DEATH OF JACOB              1936

     THE WORD EXPLAINED-GENESIS XLIX.

     By Death Man Loses Nothing Except the Body.

     3058. The fact is, that when man dies, then, in process of time, all that which is corporeal, that is to say, earthly, is dissipated. But gradually, as the body is being dissipated, the man himself is again gathered up; that is to say, that in the man which is called his natural mind, being a real substance whose form is called mind; and consequently, also, his superior mind called the intellectual together with his soul. First of all, from its connections with earthly things which properly are called the body, is loosened out that substance whose essence is mediate between natural substance and spiritual. This takes with it, because it encloses, that superior substance whose essence is spiritual, and which is called the intellectual mind, being properly the human mind or man. This in turn encloses man's principal and purer substance, the essence whereof is supra-celestial, and which is properly called the soul, from which man derives the fact that he is truly a man, and not an animal, and that he rises as a man after death.

     3059. Thus then is the first resurrection accomplished, being effected in process of time as the man is being dissolved. In man there is nothing that absolutely dies; for he is endowed with a soul which is such that it is in the supra-celestial sphere, and is interior to all those things that can ever do it harm. It is this soul by which God Messiah inflows, and into which He breathes life. Utterly bad, therefore, and entirely erroneous is the opinion of those who think the soul to be merely life; for life is never possible without a substance, though the substance lives not from itself, but by the life of God Messiah. But as the man is in respect to his intellectual mind and its will, and to the disposition acquired from these, such is the life that remains with him, as stated above [n. 3006-8] and, as the reader will see, is to be stated below, by the mercy of God Messiah.

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     3060. So impossible is it that any part of the man will perish, so as not to be raised up after death and gathered together, that rather the heavens will fall [ruat coelum], as the saying is; for such is the truth; and also that there can be nothing whatever in man which does not rise again, except that which is merely corporeal, and so is cast off and falls to dust, respecting which we have spoken above [n. 3058]. That which is a soul, and also a mind endowed with understanding and will, and likewise a natural mind, the one being within the other, as was said [n. 3058], from its principles in the head, is so continued throughout the entire body that nothing whatever constitutes the man save these substances diversely put together. Thus he is a spiritual substance, or a spirit, or, regarded in himself, an angel, but bound to the things of earth, to the end that he may be enabled to be on earth as an inhabitant thereof, and to perform works of service by the aid of a body, or by the nexus of things corporeal.

     3061. It is likewise an ever constant truth that after death no part of man, when released, can ever be compounded with any part of another man; for the appropriation of substances in each individual is such that they can never combine with the substances of another. The variety of each individual in respect to his disposition and nature results in there being nothing that does not draw near to its own subject, as like to its like, and fit to its fit. This is clearly evident in nature, even in grosser nature where the dissolved parts are so earthly as to be endowed with no life. Thus, in the case of vegetables whose parts have been reduced to ashes, we can still see those parts resuscitated into an appearance of their pristine form. What then of man's substances,-substances within which is life, and, indeed, life from the Supreme Being, and in the supra-celestial sphere wherein not the least error is possible that shall prevent individual parts of the finest sort from uniting, howsoever separated they may be. This, however, though in itself so clear, and though it can be made plainly evident by so many considerations, will yet convince no one who has not acquired faith from the Word of God Messiah, and thus from God Messiah Himself.

     3062. And now to the words of the text. Jacob now says to his sons, I am being gathered unto my people.

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From these words it is clearly evident that by death he would be gathered to those who are called his peoples, the gathering being, as said in the text, to those who are called his people, that is, to those who are like unto himself; and this, as was said [n. 3057-9], in the first resurrection, to wit, when all the substances previously mentioned come together into a one and constitute the man, but without flesh and bones, that is, without earthly parts, these in themselves being dead, and being properly called material. These substances are united exactly as in man, but with the difference that there is nothing there which does not act as a principle. They are not copulated together as in man, by blood vessels and thus by the blood, but lie together in such fashion that they can perform every function required of them; for in the sphere where the human is, it is formed entirely for the offices there to be performed, as can be evident from many considerations. There, man has no need of those organs and instruments which are called viscera and the like, whereby the blood is continually prepared and carried around, it being other organs that he then has need of.

     3063. This then is the first gathering. But it is accomplished in process of time; so that a man who dies does not rise again immediately after death, in the way that he rises when all and single the things within him have been released. After some delay, however, they all pass over into a more perfect and complete state, so that his intellectual mind successively shines forth, as it were, more perspicaciously, according to its disposition, and operates as it did in the man. Thus he returns to himself, so that at last he is entirely like a man, [though] without his corporeal things, and consequently like an angel or spirit, who in himself is a man, but without flesh or bones.

     3064. As touching the second resurrection, namely, when God Messiah is to come to judge the entire world, then all and single things will be reduced in a moment into such a state as to be essences such as shall remain permanent; but of this resurrection there is as yet no occasion to speak. It is then that each man is gathered to his people in a genuine sense, that is, to those whom he will join in eternal society.

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INITIATION INTO READING THE WORD 1936

INITIATION INTO READING THE WORD       Editor       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     STORIES FROM THE WORD. A Selection of Suitable Readings far Small Children. By Sigrid O. Sigstedt. Bryn Athyn: Published by the Author, 1935. Paper, 8vo; pp. 58; $1.00 in the United States and Canada; $1.10 elsewhere.

     During that early period of life when there is a gradual transition from the state of infancy to that of childhood, the "celestial" or affectional remains of infancy become the receptacles of those "spiritual" remains which are knowledges or scientifics. "The celestial things of love," we are told, "are chiefly insinuated into man in the state of his infancy even to childhood, and indeed without knowledges." (A. C. 1450.) "From first infancy even to first childhood a man is introduced by the Lord into heaven, and indeed among the celestial angels, by whom he is held in a state of innocence, which is the state of infants up to the first of childhood. When the age of childhood begins, he is held in a state of charity, and is among the spiritual angels." (A. C. 5342.)

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At the time of transition there is a "famine in the land," as in the time of Abram,-when the love of knowing is like hunger for food,- a sign that a period of instruction is at hand, and a journey into Egypt. (A. C. 1460-1463.) Knowledges of many kinds are the foods to satisfy that hunger, but the choicest and best are the knowledges of Divine Revelation, to be stored up as remains for the forming of the faith of charity in the life of regeneration.

     At the first indication of the opening of the mind in childhood, it is not too early to begin to impart a knowledge of the stories of the Word, at first in the simplest outlines, and with the aid of Bible pictures, which furnish a visual image before an oral description would be grasped. Infants in heaven, we know, are instructed chiefly by means of representatives or living pictures. "Into their affections are first insinuated such things as appear before their eyes, and are delightful." (H. H. 333-335.)

     As the historicals of the Word are preserved for the purpose of "initiating infants and children into the reading of the Word" (A. C. 63334), it is the privilege of parents, in fulfilment of the baptismal promise, to begin that initiation at an early age, when the stories of the Word engender such an innocent and holy delight with children. And there is rich reward of delight and satisfaction in this sacred task of preparing the young for that reading of the Word of God which is to become a lifelong custom and habit with the grown man and woman of the church.

     The book before us is offered as an aid to parents who wish to enkindle a love for the Word with their children, and as an early form of instruction. The author has selected twenty-five of the principal stories in the Old and New Testaments, from the "Garden of Eden" to the "New Jerusalem," and has adapted each to that age of the child when it is "standing at the brink of the mind's dawning," as she expresses it. The stories are in a form to be told, as preliminary to the reading of the Scripture itself to the child. Her purpose is thus stated in the Preface:

     "Let the mother who is endowed with a special gift of story telling, by all means tell her little ones of Adam, of Eve, of Samuel, of David, in her own words. This is the best approach of all to the reading of the Word. But we are not all so gifted, and it would require much experience and study for most parents to do this

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     "It is to make the approach easy, for parents and teachers of very small children, that the present attempt has been made to assist them in finding some of the stories from the Bible that are most suitable for tender years, and in presenting them in such a way as to focus the child's attention on the reading. The way here suggested we regard as only one of many different methods of treating the first steps.

     "It is impossible for anyone, wise or simple, to improve upon the stories as given in the Word of God, and therefore my chapters are not Bible stories retold, but merely introductions.

     "The chapters of this book are intended to interest children not yet old enough to read for themselves, or even to follow consecutive readings with profit. After reading one of the chapters, the parent should take the Word and read directly from it one of the stories referred to."

     The Scripture stories have been well simplified and adapted in accommodation to the grasp of little children, and at the same time the affectional element is preserved. For the use of the parent each story is preceded by a brief statement of its internal sense as given in the Writings, and followed by references to the Scripture passages for reading to the child or in family worship. A few prayers and songs, one of these in Hebrew, are also given; and at the end a useful list of available Bible Pictures and Books Suitable for Children is furnished. The frontispiece of the volume is a picture of the Lord as the Shepherd.

     Mrs. Sigstedt has performed a distinct service in preparing this book, and it will be welcomed in the New Church home, affording encouragement and aid in the field of the early religious education of the young, showing how the parents may gain the interest and affection of the child by telling and reading to it the sacred stories of the Word, thus leading toward the time when the boy or girl will find holy delight in reading for himself and herself.

     More and more, in the advance of the Church, we shall gain wisdom in fulfilling this sacred duty. As one guiding principle, mentioned in the Preface, it is well to let the Word tell its own story, as far as possible, seeing that its every word and phrase is a Divinely given vessel for the internal sense, and that these vessels, implanted in the memory of the child, are later to be receptacles of the internal truths now given us in the Writings. The New Church parent and teacher, therefore, should become proficient in telling the Scripture stories in their own language and style.

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Back of this, in the mind of the teacher, is a knowledge and perception of the general internal sense and the internal historical sense of a given story, even though this internal meaning be not expressed in the instruction of the child.

     For example, in telling the story of the Garden of Eden, the New Church teacher has in his mind what we are taught about the states of the celestial church of the Golden Age, and historically of its decline through successive generations, which is represented in Genesis by the fall of Adam and Eve,-the first man and woman, as the little child is to think of it. Not until much later in its mental development may it gradually learn something of the representative character of the early chapters of Genesis. We must wait patiently and be prepared for the time when the mind of the child and youth is more interiorly opened, when there will be something of a "break" from the merely literal sense, and deeper instruction can be given. The Writings speak of this:

     "When a parent is teaching his infant boys and girls, he explains each and everything of the Word according to their genius, although he himself thinks from an interior or deeper ground; otherwise it would be teaching what is not learnt, or like casting seed upon a rock. In the other life, the angels who instruct the simple in heart are in celestial and spiritual wisdom, but they do not elevate themselves above the grasp of those whom they are teaching, but speak simply with them, rising up by degrees as their instruction is received. For if they were to speak from angelic wisdom, the simple would apprehend nothing, thus would not be led to the truths and goods of faith." (A. C. 2533:2.)

     We may note here the element of wise leading in the angelic teaching,-a leading of the simple toward a voluntary acceptance and adoption of the "truths and goods of faith." And in emulating this angelic example in the church on earth, all who share the responsibility for the religious education of the young,-whether parents, teachers, or ministers,-regard it as their chief aim to lead the child to the Lord, that the Lord may speak to him in the Word, that the Lord Himself may become his Guide and Teacher in the regenerate life, inspiring and instructing him in the way of salvation and eternal life.

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GORAND MAN AND THE INCARNATION 1936

GORAND MAN AND THE INCARNATION       WILLIS L. GLADISH       1936

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     Some in the Church have thought that the Lord, in assuming flesh, disregarded the angelic heavens, and came down by "immediate influx," assuming from the virgin mother all that was necessary to clothe Himself with our humanity. There are a hundred statements of the Writings which teach differently, but at the present time I wish to bring forward but one, which seems to me conclusive. It is the doctrine of the Gorand Man as presented in the work on the Divine Providence, nos. 162-164, where we read:

     "Man is led and taught by the Lord alone through the angelic heaven and from it (per caelum angelicum et ex illo). But that he is led through the angelic heaven is according to the appearance; while it is according to the truth that he is led from that heaven. The appearance is that it is through the angelic heaven, because the Lord appears above that heaven as a Sun; the truth is that it is from that heaven, because the Lord is in it as the soul is in man. For the Lord is omnipresent, and is not in space, as was shown above wherefore distance is an appearance according to the conjunction with Him; and conjunction is according to the reception of love and wisdom from Him. And because no one can be conjoined with the Lord as He is in Himself, therefore He appears to the angels at a distance as a Sun: but still He is in the whole angelic heaven, as the soul in man; and in like manner in every society of heaven, and in every angel therein: for a man's soul is not only the soul of the whole, but also of every part." (D. P. 162.)

     It is further stated that it is allowable to speak according to the appearance, but that "the angels of the higher heavens think from the truth, which is that the Lord rules the universe from the angelic heaven, which is from Himself." (Ibid.)

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     Then does it not necessarily follow that the Lord Jehovah could not approach anyone of the human race except through the Gorand Man? "Immediate influx" does not mean influx outside the Gorand Man, but inside it. As well think of immediate influx from the soul of man into his body as going around outside his body.

     This is made still more evident from the following:

     "5. Every man is from infancy brought into that Divine Man, whose soul and life is the Lord; and in Him, and not outside of Him, he is led and taught from His Divine Love according to His Divine Wisdom. But because freedom is not taken away from man, a man cannot be led and taught otherwise than according to reception as if by himself." (D. P. 164.)

     Let the doctrine taught be summed up as follows:

     1) That the Lord is on high in the Sun, is only an appearance: the truth is, that He is in the angelic heavens as the soul is in the body, and from Himself there rules the universe.

     2) Every man is from infancy brought into that Divine Man, whose soul and life is the Lord, and is led and taught in Him, and not outside of Him.

     Then 3) In assuming flesh, the Lord could not but come through His own in the angelic heavens to reach one who was in that Gorand Man from infancy.
     WILLIS L. GLADISH.
5220 Wayne Avenue,
Chicago, Illinois,
December 16, 1935.

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     ETHIOPIA.

     In a recent issue of Nova Ecclesia, the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom reminds his readers of the occasion, eight years ago when copies of the Writings were sent to Ethiopia. From the account given in New Church Life, 1929, p. 229, it will be of interest at the present time to recall that a member of the New Church in Sweden, Mr. Oscar Svensson, hearing that Ras Tafari, now the Emperor Haile Selassie, had made a journey for the purpose of studying the Christian religion, in the course of which he visited Sweden, sent him handsomely bound copies of, Heaven and Hell and the True Christian Religion in the French version, the prince being skilled in that language.

     Later on, when informed that the judges of Abyssinia had been ordered to execute judgment according to the law of Moses, Mr. Svensson sent them the first volume of the Arcana Coelestia in French, and offered to send them more of Swedenborg's works if they so desired. On September 4, 1928, he received a reply, dated August 14 at Addis Ababa, which read as follows:

     "We acknowledge the receipt of your amiable letter of July 10, as well as the book entitled Arcana Coelestia. We are also in receipt of the two books you sent us on previous occasion. We have found these books very interesting and delightful. We are therefore very happy to have them. We thank you very much for your kind attention in the above mentioned letter. In respect to your question as to whether we desire you to continue sending us books about Swedenborg's doctrines, we would be very happy to receive such books, but we beg you, in each consignment, to enclose a bill. Receive our sincere greetings, etc."

     Encouraged by this letter, Mr. Svensson sent to the prince of Abysinia all of Swedenborg's Theological Works that have been translated into French, among them the whole of the Arcana Coelestia.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     This is a somewhat belated report of my last trip, the "last," because the most recent, and also the conclusion of my work as visiting pastor, from which I am retiring, because of the lack of strength to continue.

     Starting out in the latter part of September, the first place visited was HUNTINGTON, W. VA. where, on the 26th, a doctrinal class was held, at which were present Mr. and Mrs. Richard Waelchli and Mr. Payson Lyman. After the close of the class, conversation upon doctrinal subjects continued to a late hour.

     At MIDDLEPORT, OHIO, we had a class on Friday evening, the 27th, attendance ten, the subject being the doctrine of charity and its life as it was in the Ancient Church. Teaching concerning this is given in the New Jerusalem-and its Heavenly Doctrine, nos. 8 and 9, as the Introduction to the Doctrine of the New Church, indicating what is the spirit that is to be sensed within all the Heavenly Doctrine. On Saturday afternoon, instruction was given to seven young people and children. At the service on Sunday morning there were fourteen present, of whom nine partook of the Holy Supper. All then went to the home of Mrs. Lucy Boggess for a social dinner, which was followed by the annual business meeting of the Society.

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On Monday evening we again had a class, attendance ten, considering the teaching that if man shuns evils for any other reason than that they are sins against the Lord, he only prevents their appearing before the world.-During my visit I, as usual, spent an afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Hart at Pomeroy. Mr. Hart was then ailing, and since then, at the end of November, he passed to the other world. Mr. and Mrs. Hart, after several years of attendance al our services and classes, entered the church by the door of baptism in December, 1923, and became faithful and active members of the Middleport Society. As I could not go for the funeral service, because of ill health, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt responded to the call for a minister, and word has come of their great appreciation of his sermon.

     Several days were spent with our CINCINNATI Circle, and it was my privilege to attend a delightful social in the home of the Rev. and Mrs. Norman Reuter, where all services and classes are now held.

     On Sunday, October 6, a service was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Walker in DETROIT, attended by twenty adults, five young people, and nine children, a total of thirty-four. At the Holy Supper there were twenty communicants. The places represented were Detroit, Pontiac, and Saginaw, Michigan, and Riverside, Ontario. All remained for a social dinner and afternoon. In the evening there was a doctrinal class,-Monday afternoon, at Riverside, Ont., instruction was given the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bellinger, and in the evening a doctrinal class was held in their home,-Tuesday, I went to Saginaw, Mich., to remain four weeks in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs. This was for a rest. Yet some work was also done. Instruction was given the three youngest children every afternoon, a short doctrinal class conducted nearly every evening, and services were held on Sundays.

     A week after I arrived in Saginaw, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms arrived from Glenview, where the Chicago District Assembly had just been held; and on Wednesday, October 16, they and some of the Childs family and I traveled to Detroit, where it had been arranged to hold a Local Assembly. There were present twenty-three members of the General Church and two young people. The Bishop gave the address he had delivered at Glenview, a discussion of which followed. Then, at a business meeting, the members expressed a desire that the Rev. Norman Reuter become their visiting pastor, and the Bishop advised them as to the method of procedure. The next day, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms continued their homeward way.

     On Sunday, October 20, the Detroit group gathered at Saginaw, the same places being represented as at the previous meetings in Detroit. A service was held, at which there were twenty-one adults, three young people, and eight children, a total of thirty-two. Included in the service was the baptism of Mr. William Walker, he being uncertain as to whether he had received New Church baptism in infancy; also there was the rite of Confession of Faith for Mr. Howells Walker. The service was followed by a social dinner and a business meeting. It was desired that there should not be a long interval before the next visit of a minister, and as I would continue to be officially visiting pastor until the end of the year, I offered to invite the Rev. Mr. Reuter to visit them some time soon, if the group would supplement the invitation and make the necessary financial arrangements. This was done. Further, it was decided to apply to Bishop Pendleton for the appointment of Mr. Reuter as visiting pastor, beginning with 1936, to come six times year, the group financing the same. I use the term "group," because for the present they term themselves "The International Group," some of the members residing in the United States, and some in Canada.

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To close the meeting, there was an expression of the affection that had prevailed throughout by the hearty singing of "Our Glorious Church" and of "Our Own Academy."

     Mr. Reuter, together with Mrs. Reuter, has made his first visit, of several days, including Sunday, December 1st; and letters received are enthusiastic in regard to its success. Also, the Bishop has appointed Mr. Reuter as their visiting pastor. In this group there are twenty-five members of the General Church, eight young people, and thirteen children, a total of forty-six. This number is greater than that of some of our Circles which have resident pastors. To me it is a happiness that the transition of the work to another begins so full of promise for the future.

     The next place visited, November 4 to 6, was AKRON, OHIO, where we have nine adults, members of or affiliated with the General Church, and seven children. There were two evening doctrinal classes. At the first, held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Asplundh, the subject was Conjunction with the Lord. At the second, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Norris, the chapter in Heaven and Hell (276 to 283) on the Innocence of the Angels was read and considered. After each class the members expressed their desire in regard to future General Church ministrations for this circle, hoping that a minister's visit might include a Sunday, when services would be held. Instruction was given three times to the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Asplundh; and on the next visit of a minister the three other children of the circle are to be included.

     At ERIE, PA., doctrinal classes were held Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, November 7, 8, 9; attendance ten, eight, six respectively. At the first there was presented, on request, a general view of the doctrines of the New Church, this being done because of the presence of a stranger, who seems to be seeking, but has not yet found. His ideas being extremely of the modernistic kind, the discussion was of interest to our members, as it was along lines of thought largely new to them. At the second class, the subject was that of honor and wealth as being either blessings or curses. (D. P. 216, 217.) At the third, the teaching was concerning spiritual peace, what it is, and how it can be attained. At the service on Sunday, the 10th, there was an attendance of eight, of whom six partook of the Holy Supper.

     On November 12, there was a doctrinal class at CLEVELAND in the home of Mrs. Rouette Cranch, with an attendance of eight. The subject was the doctrine of charity, which is the doctrine of life, as the essential doctrine (ipsa doctrina) of the church. (H. D. 9). It is this doctrine, when it is of life, that makes those of the church to be interior men and wise. During the stay at Cleveland, instruction was given to one child. Not infrequently a visiting pastor instructs one child, supplementing what the parents are doing. At Erie, as mentioned above, an evening was given to a missionary endeavor for one person. This seemed worthwhile; for perhaps that person might be led to the church. And why not the same endeavor for one child of a New Church family, with far greater d hope that the one instructed will be come of the church?

     The same thing,-the instruction of one child,-took place a few days later at NILES, OHIO, two lessons being given. At the same place doctrinal class was held on November 14, with an attendance of seven, including members from Youngstown, the history of correspondences being presented. (S. S. 20-25.)

     At YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, at a class, November 15, attendance twelve, there was again given the teaching concerning the doctrine of charity as the essential doctrine of the church. At the service on Sunday, the 17th, there were present sixteen persons, representing also Columbiana, Niles, and Akron. It was pleasure to have with us Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiedinger and Mr. and Mrs. William Norris, from Akron.

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At the Holy Supper there were fifteen communicants. Another class was held on Sunday evening, attendance nine, at which we read and considered the chapter in Heaven and Hell (234-245) on the Speech of the Angels.

     A short stay was made at PITTSBURGH, and it was my privilege to address the school on Tuesday morning, November 19. The same day, in the evening, at JOHNSTOWN, PA., a doctrinal class was conducted at the home of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Kintner. Five persons were present, and, on request, the New Church doctrine concerning marriage was presented.

     The last place to be visited was RENOVO, PA., Where several days were spent with the Joseph Kendig family. We had two evening doctrinal classes. At the first the subject was that evils must be shunned for no other reason than that they are sins against the Lord; at the second, we considered the chapter in Heaven and Hell (191-199) concerning Space in Heaven. Instruction was given three times to the two youngest children of the family.

     On this trip, at the twelve places visited, not including Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, the ministrations of the church were brought to seventy-nine adults and thirty-six young people and children, a total of one hundred and fifteen. At the celebrations of the Holy Supper there were fifty communicants. All along the route the farewells were mutually a trying experience. Often what was in the heart could not find its way into words. My hope is that I may occasionally visit these dear friends, unofficially. Perhaps, at some of the places, there may for a while be visits somewhat official, not as Visiting Pastor of the General Church, but as a superannuated minister, serving as what is termed a "supply pastor."

     So, now, to the readers of the Life, this comes as the last of my Visiting Pastor Reports, which have appeared in these pages for more than twenty years.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     ONTARIO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY.

     Now that our 22nd Ontario Assembly, held in Toronto, November 9-11, 1935, is a matter of history, it is interesting to think over its many features in retrospect.

     First in importance, of course, were the wonderful papers to which we listened:-that of Bishop N. D. Pendleton on "The Rule of Love," woven of the subject of the Lord's Glorification, being an intellectual and deeply spiritual treat; the Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner's presentation of "Swedenborg, the Revelator," written with poetical insight and delivered in a moving and musical voice, will not soon be forgotten; then the Rev. K. K. Alden's dramatic and inspiring story of "Elijah" thrilled all his hearers from beginning to end, and was a brilliant piece of work given without notes.

     On Sunday morning, a children's service was attended by fifty-nine persons, all present giving high praise to Mr. Alden's address on the subject of "Belshazzar's Impious Feast."

     The Service of Worship which followed, with its celebration of the Holy Supper, was very beautiful, the Bishop again addressing us; and, there being five priests on the chancel, all of whom took part in the administration, the scene was one of impressive dignity. There were 125 communicants.

     It is difficult to convey in cold print the very remarkable feeling which pervaded this whole Assembly. We had almost 70 visitors, from ten different cities and towns, and every meeting was largely attended, there being 147 at the Opening Session, and 168 at the Banquet and Dance which closed the Assembly. A spirit of joyousness was apparent at all times, and something of this feeling has been carried over in the Olivet Society's work ever since.

     The Banquet, which was mainly given over to the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Olivet Society, was a very bright affair, and the most largely attended yet held Our Pastor, Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, was a splendid Chairman on this occasion, and never allowed us a dull moment.

     Socially the Assembly was a very great success. The first thing to help (his feature was the Theta Alpha Tea at Mrs. T. P. Bellinger's on the opening afternoon, given for the new President, Miss Ora Pendleton.

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The usual parties and general entertainment in the homes made a continuous round of pleasure for our visitors.

     Everyone who served on any committee connected with the Assembly deserves the highest praise, for every detail was attended to, and nothing was forgotten.

     We thank everyone of our visitors,-our guests,-who came to help us celebrate our Golden Anniversary and our 22nd Assembly, and we look forward to future Assemblies with keen desire to make them stand out as landmarks in our spiritual growth, as we pass along our way to further Anniversaries.     
     LILLIAN C. ROTHERMEL.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The Day School closed for the Christmas holidays on December 20 with a children's party, this being an opportunity for the exchange of gifts and greetings. Jimmy Blair made a delightful Santa Claus.

     On the Sunday preceding Christmas at eleven o'clock, a special Children's Service was held, and the pastor spoke to them about the Wise Men and the Star. In the afternoon the Festival was held in the auditorium, which was tastefully decorated with Christmas trees and holly. There were three tableaux: 1) The Annunciation; 2) The Shepherds; 3) The Wise Men before Herod. The pastor told the stories clearly and beautifully, and the scenes were most impressive. A great deal of time and work was expended on making permanent scenery and new costumes. Following the tableaux, gifts were distributed, and credit is due those who chose the gifts, and all who contributed to make such a successful celebration possible. There was large attendance of adults and children.

     An impressive Holy Supper service was held at nine o'clock on Christmas eve, the new order of service being used.

     The Rev. Homer Synnestvedt conducted our services during the pastor's absence for the holidays. Day School was resumed on January 6, 1936.
     E. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Our Christmas service was in the time-honored manner, and experience does not show wherein it could be improved. This year a printed folder containing the complete service, including the words of all the Christmas songs, was prepared by our pastor, and copies were placed in all the pews, which greatly helped in following the service. Our pews comfortably seat 156, and the attendance was 260, showing the deep interest in this holy celebration. The school participated in a body with singing and reciting from the Word, the choir leading their singing. The offertory march to the chancel, to the song, "From the Eastern Mountains," was inspiring. An address by the Pastor, readings, and songs by all, completed the service in the church, after which the congregation, singing "Come, all ye faithful," retired to the assembly hall, where the order of service was continued, including the giving of gifts by the church to all the children of the Society.

     At the Friday class singing practice before Christmas, the congregation rehearsed all the old favorite songs, and on Christmas eve many of the hardy young singers made the rounds of the Park caroling before the homes.

     On the Sunday evening before Christmas, the Glenview Civic Orchestra and Chorus gave a successful concert appropriate to the season in the Municipal Building. This organization is led and trained by our Professor Jesse Stevens, and many of our people are members.

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     Saturday afternoon of the holiday week was marked by a party for the school children, largely attended and enjoyed.

     New Year's eve was observed by a general party, starting at 9.45 with a song service in the church. The fine music was led by an augmented choir, and interspersed with readings from the Word and Writings by the Pastor. Afterwards, a gay party in the assembly hall continued until nearly 3 a.m. with much dancing and entertainment. This party is quite the glamorous function of the year. An unusually large number of our young people were able to return from Bryn Athyn for the holidays, and added much to our enjoyment.     
     J. B. S.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The joy and gladness of the Christmas celebrations have once again warmed our hearts and delighted our minds. Once again we have come together to worship as did the wise men and shepherds of old, and well might we also say, "Glory to God in the Highest."

     On Sunday, December 22, young and old gathered in the Church Hall to see the presentation of the tableaux, some of which were old in theme, but ever new in their interest. Impressive, as they always are, and full of color, five tableaux were shown depicting: Abraham sacrificing Isaac; Isaac blessing Jacob, and Esau's anger; the Annunciation; the Adoration of the Shepherds; and "The Light of the Word," or the revealed Internal Sense, represented by a woman holding the Opened Word, out of which light streamed. These tableaux were interspersed with congregational singing of Christmas songs, solo singing as introductions to the tableaux, and the singing of the Hebrew Anthems by the children, who sang these sweet and suitable selections with clarity and affection.

     On Christmas Day, a service of worship and rejoicing was held in the chapel. A sermon by the pastor brought close to our hearts the glad message of the wonders of the Lord's coming into the world, and the service was full of all the lovely, happy Christmas hymns, which we all enjoy singing at this festive season.

     On Sunday, December 29, the last Sunday of the old year, our pastor preached a very timely sermon on "Self-Examination," pointing out that it is well for us to see whether or not the Ten Commandments are actually obeyed in the details of our everyday life. The sermon gave much food for thought, particularly for those of us who are young, and inclined to be careless in "Checking up" on ourselves from time to time.

     In order that we might properly bid farewell to the old, and welcome the new, a New Eear's Eve Dance was held in the Church Hall, organized by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wilson and committee. To the strains of gay music, provided by an excellent orchestra, a party of some eighty people danced happily with old steps and new steps until after twelve, when tables quickly and almost mystically became laden with food; and then came the announcement that "breakfast was served!" Happy the man who always dines as sumptuously as at that meal! Then the feeling of the party seemed to be "On with the dance!"-with the result that it was three o'clock before the last merry-maker wandered home.
     M. S.

     BERRY MAQELEPO.

     An Obituary.

     About two months after I arrived in South Africa, in 1920, Berry Maqelepo, a blind Mosuto from the Transvaal, joined the New Church; and from that time until his death on November 20, 1935, he has worked earnestly for the Church in South Africa.

     In the early days of the Mission, innumerable difficulties were encountered. Many of the leaders and ministers proved unsuitable, and had to be dropped from the rolls. Necessary changes in native customs, which were not in harmony with the New Church, were difficult to bring about.

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In those trying times the advice given by Berry Maqelepo and his eloquent support of the principles of the Church, were of invaluable assistance. His untiring love and enthusiasm, combined with his ability as a speaker, made it a delight to listen to him; and he was loved and admired by all who knew him.

     By the age of seven he had become completely blind, but in spite of this handicap he was eager for education. He not only learned English, Dutch and Zulu, but also to read and write in Braille, and to typewrite. In Braille he had a large part of the Old and New Testaments, and several volumes of the Writings, and studied them industriously. But not being satisfied with this, he engaged a white boy to read the Writings to him, and in this way covered much of the Apocalypse Explained. His memory was remarkable. When I would quote from the New Testament extemporaneously in the classes, he could often help me by citing chapter and verse.

     Berry not only built up one of the largest societies of the Mission, in Greylingstad, but was also instrumental in the commencement of other societies in the Transvaal. On one of my visits to Greylingstad, seventy were baptized at one service, half of them being adults. While he himself was a Mosuto, most of the members of his congregation were Zulu, and were characterized by that loyal support of the Church which was outstanding with their pastor. And this was ultimated in the most faithful financial support of the Church of any of the Mission societies, in spite of their very small means.

     With Berry Maqelepo, the handicap of physical blindness appeared to have been compensated by the ability to live in spiritual things less distractedly than others; and yet he kept an intimate touch with his society, and finally married three years ago.

     Mr. Elphick writes: "Berry was suddenly called to the spiritual world, and I conducted the funeral on Friday morning, November 22d. His wife will no doubt continue as teacher in the day school. He was very well respected by the Europeans at Greylingstad, eleven of whom attended the funeral. Although his death is a loss to the Mission, it will be a beautiful experience to poor, blind Berry. He will be missed at our ministers' meetings."

     While the passing of a man of his character and ability in middle age is a loss to the Mission, an important continuation of his use undoubtedly awaits him in the world to which the Lord has called him,-a use that will reflect its blessings on earth.
     THEODORE PITCAIRN.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     One of the very interesting social events of the Fall season was a Fair, sponsored by the Women's Guild and designed to raise funds to replace equipment and supplies lost in the Elementary School fire last winter. The Fair was under the general direction of Mrs. Arthur Synnestvedt, who was given enthusiastic support by the rest of the community. For months ahead scores of hands were busily plying needles and other tools for the preparation and manufacture of articles to be sold at the various booths. Held on November 9. the undertaking proved a great success, both from the standpoint of social life and that of material profits. Booths were erected in the main body of the Assembly Hall, which was tastefully decorated to give an additional festive atmosphere, and business was brisk and profitable. Fancy Work proved the greatest asset, netting a profit of $199.50, while the Dolls came next with $107.99. Other booths sold Toys, Candy, Plants and Jellies. In addition to these, a most efficient Cafeteria was established in the Assembly Hall Kitchen, which furnished extremely tasty suppers to a great many of those attending the Fair, and netted a profit of $77.50. The Gymnasium was arranged as a dance hall, music being furnished by means of radio and phonograph records; and a small fee being charged, an additional $14.00 was realized by this means.

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A number of games and competitions were in full swing all evening and swelled the receipts by another $65.57. Some donations were also made, and when all expenses had been paid, a net profit of $810.08 was turned over to the Women's Guild by the most efficient and businesslike Treasurer, Mr. Harry C. Walter, C.P.A. A part of this fund, we understand, has already been expended in purchasing kitchen equipment lost in the fire, and the balance is being held in anticipation of extensive needs when we come to the point of refurnishing the new building.

     On Thursday evening, December 5, and Saturday, December 7, the Civic and Social Club gave two delightful performances of Moliere's amusing comedy, "The School for Husbands." The principal character, Sganarelle, was excellently portrayed by Professor Camille Vinet, whose daughter Lucienne, also in the cast, made a vivacious and altogether captivating Lisette. The plot revolves around the opposing views of two brothers, Sganarelle and Auste (played by Mr. Harvey Lechner), as to the best means of training their respective wards Isabelle (Miss Hope Glenn) and Leonore (Mrs. George Synnestvedt), so that they might eventually be able to marry them themselves. Sganarelle believes that he will best be able to achieve his end by keeping a close watch on his ward at all times, giving her no opportunity to mix with other young men at all, while his brother Auste believes that only by allowing his ward full freedom of action will he be able eventually to win her for himself. Events prove the soundness of the latter's plan, who in the end wins the undivided love of Leonore, while his brother's carefully laid plans come to naught and he only succeeds in driving his ward into the arms of her lover Valere (Mr. George Synnestvedt). The principals were splendidly supported by an excellent cast, and the music, directed by Mr. Frank Bostock, added much to the general enjoyment of the whole production.

     The setting was by Messrs. Paul Mays, Morel Leonard, Robert Glenn and Miss Frances Schaill, and the Costumes by Mrs. Hubert Synnestvedt and Miss Frances Schaill. The Children's Christmas Service was held on Christmas Eve at four o'clock, and was a most inspiring occasion. Decorations of evergreens and electric lights were displayed around the walls of the Cathedral, and this year, in addition to the candles along the choir stalls and at the front of the chancel, six additional candlesticks, each carrying twenty-five candles arranged in the form of a pyramid, were introduced, adding greatly to the beauty of the effect. The address was delivered by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, who took for his text the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6, and explained to the children just what was meant by the six Names there given to the Lord. At the close of the service the congregation passed through the Choir Hall to view the Christmas Representation, and the children received their gifts from the Church before leaving for their homes.

     After an interval of several years, we were privileged at the Service on Christmas Day to hear various selections of Christmas music beautifully rendered by a selected quintette of brass instruments from the Philadelphia Orchestra. One outstanding Piece was the 162d Hymn, played as a trumpet solo with organ accompaniment.

     We were very pleased to welcome one of our old friends from England this Christmas,-Mr. Frederick G. Waters. It was his first visit to this country, and he expressed himself as delighted with the cordiality of his reception. At the time of this writing, he is visiting at Kitchener for a few days, and then plans to make a flying trip-possibly in more ways than one-to Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Glenview, returning to Bryn Athyn a few days before sailing for England, January 24, on the Lancastria.

     Work on the reconstruction of De Charms Hall has progressed steadily though encountering severe Winter conditions in the latter part of December.

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Some hopes are expressed that the Elementary School will be able to occupy the completed building by March 1st. The undersigned thinks this is a rather sanguine view. Moreover, he enjoys having the primary classes at the Cathedral, and will be sorry when the time comes for their departure.
     WM. R. COOPER

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     Following the Ontario Assembly at Toronto we had a supper and echo meeting, and quite a number of those who attended, including the ladies, responded to the pastor's invitation to give their impressions, which proved to be a delightful resume of the meetings. On this occasion, also, as token of our affectionate regard for Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Scott, who are shortly to move to Toronto, several volumes of the Writings mere presented to them by our Raster, on behalf of Carmel Church. We were pleased to have with us that evening Miss Eo Pendleton, of Bryn Athyn, and Mrs. Ray Brown and Mrs. Reginald Anderson from Toronto.

     Our Christmas celebration began with the Children's Festival on Christmas Eve, the congregation following the children in procession as they entered singing and made their offerings at the chancel. In his address, the pastor showed how the Lord at His Advent brought to men a happiness which they had long been seeking in vain. The service on Christmas morning was conducted by the Rev. Henry Heinrichs, who preached a very interesting and instructive sermon on the subject of the Advent of the Lord as Light and Truth, as involved in the prophecy, "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel." (Numbers 24:17.)

     The society was invited to "Frolic and Dance" on New Year's Eve, and treated to an old time country square dance, "called off" in the approved style. After ushering in the New Year with "Auld Lang Syne" and an exchange of greetings, we enjoyed a very tasty buffet supper, and then continued the dancing through the early morning hours.

     On January 11, the Rev. Alan Gill went to Florida for a three months' vacation, which we hope will effect a complete restoration of his health. We are very glad that Mrs. Gill is to accompany her husband, to be with him for at least part of his stay in the South. The Bishop has arranged to have the Rev. Henry Heinrichs take charge of the affairs of Carmel Church during the pastor's absence. Since New Year's Day we have had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Fred G. Waters, from England, and we trust the warmth of our reception helped to offset the frigidity of the Canadian Winter, We also enjoyed a visit from Mr. Andrew Doering, of Bryn Athyn, during the holiday season.
     C. R.

     NORTHERN NEW JERSEY.

     We are now entering the fourth year of our activities as a New Church circle in this area. Since our last report, certain changes and developments worthy of note have taken place. In September, 1934, our place of worship was changed from Glen Ridge to the Hotel Robert Treat, Newark, which is more centrally located and has proven satisfactory so far. In May, 1935, the lay men and women met to form an official organization to sustain and perpetuate the uses of this group. Messrs Hyland Johns, Oliver Powell, and Robert Blackman were elected our Executive Committee, and later, our able secretary, Mr. Francis L. Frost, was added to the Committee. Following this move for organization, the circle asked the Rev. Philip N. Odhner to continue his ministrations as visiting pastor, and this he has done.

     In November we had the pleasure of a visit from Bishop and Mrs. de Charms. A banquet was held on Saturday, November 16, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Frost in Westfield.

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Thirty persons attended. We had to borrow the tables from a Lutheran church, but this did nothing to detract from the delightful sphere of the New Church that prevailed! Bishop de Charms spoke to us about the General Church,-a useful and inspiring talk dealing with its principles and its uses. A general discussion followed. On Sunday morning the Bishop preached at the service, which was attended by thirty-six persons. A special freewill offering was made for the uses of the General Church.

     Our Christmas celebration opened with a dinner and party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bostock in Montclair on Saturday, December 28. On Sunday came the Children's Service, the pastor giving an appropriate talk and distributing presents from the Church. He then addressed the adults on the spiritual meaning of the Lord's Advent. The children recited Psalm 121, which they had learned under the instruction of Mr. Sydney Childs, of New York, who conducts our Sunday School.

     Services are held every other Sunday and a doctrinal class once month, except during two months of the Summer, when both services and classes are discontinued.
     P. N. O.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     The anniversary of the twenty-five years of active service which our pastor, the Rev. Dr. Alfred Acton, has given the Washington Society was celebrated on November 2 with an informal dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rowland Trimble in Laurel, Maryland. The doctrinal class was omitted, and the evening was spent in reminiscences, Mr. Fred M. Grant being toastmaster. Mrs. Trimble responded to the toast to the "Foundation of the Washington Circle," and gave a short resume of the early history of the church in this city. Dr. Philip Stebbing followed with some remarks on the intermediate history, and Mrs. Grant gave some facts as to the present. Dr. Acton spoke in response to the toast to "The Church." The final toast was to Dr. Acton, and Mr. Trimble responded, telling very aptly of the great inspiration our pastor has always been to us. The celebration closed with rousing cheers, all voting the affair great success. Mrs. Schott, a pioneer who passed to the other world last June, was missed very much, and everyone spoke of how much she had looked forward to this occasion. Mr. Ernest J. Stebbing, another pioneer, now residing in Bryn Athyn, was greatly missed, and a message was sent to him with greetings from the society.

     Our congregation continues to grow in numbers. Major and Mrs. Alan Pendleton and their three children have been with us since August, and are a great addition to the life of the society. In October they entertained us all at their home. Mr. Donald Allen is back from Denver after an extended absence. And last, but not least, a new baby,-George Ernest Thomas Stebbing,-was baptized on Sunday, December 15th. The theme of our worship that day was Christmas, our pastor delivering a wonderful sermon; and at the close of the service, before a nativity scene, he spoke to the children about the meaning of Christmas. He then received their offerings for the Orphanage Fund, and presented each one with a gift from the church. There are ten children in our little society.

     We are now holding our Sunday services in a new place,-the Washington Musical Institute at 831 18th Street. The hall seems suitable in every way, and we are indebted to Mrs. Fred Grant and Mrs. Philip Stebbing for their efforts in securing it. At our annual meeting on January 4, it was decided that services this year will be held twice a month, on the first and third Sundays. This return to our former practice, interrupted in recent years for financial reasons, was undertaken with unanimity and a manifestation of delight.

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     Among items of special interest this Winter, the engagement of Mr. Ralph Hicks to Miss Laura Roelke of this city has been announced. They attended church in December, and we all had the pleasure of meeting Miss Roelke and congratulating them both.
     E. G. C.

     PARIS, FRANCE.

     January 6-The semi-monthly services and the two weekly doctrinal classes have continued as usual since the last report. The extemporaneous sermons have been on the successive chapters of the Apocalypse. Mrs. Florence Iungerich makes an aquarelle (water color) of the leading features of each chapter, and this is in view of the congregation during the delivery of the sermon. In the classes on Friday evenings at St. Cloud, the works on the Divine Providence and Conjugial Love have been covered, and the subject of Regeneration begun. In the Wednesday evening classes at Montreuil, due to a six weeks' interruption during the Christmas period, the work on Conjugial Love is still in course of consideration. On Christmas Day the service was held at 10.30 a.m., instead of the usual 3.30 p.m., twenty adults and six children being present. Eighteen partook of the Holy Supper. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley F. Ebert, of Bryn Athyn, were the guests of the pastor for several days in October, attending the service on October 21. They have since enrolled at the University of Montpellier in the south of France. During the Christmas holidays they went to Algiers, and also took a six days' journey in the desert, riding on camels.

     Miss Nadezhda Iungerich, of New York, is spending several months on the Continent. Arriving at Antwerp on December 21, she spent two days with Dr. and Mme. Gratia (Marie Emanuelle Delterne); then followed a week in Paris with her family, when she attended the Christmas service of the Paris Society; and she is now on a trip in Switzerland, Italy, and Southern France. She will return to Paris on January 25.

     During the holiday season, Mrs. Daniel Lucas from Havre and her daughter Denise visited her husband's parents at Montreuil, and were present at two Sunday services, including the one on Christmas. Mr. Daniel Lucas also made a two days' visit to Paris at the end of their stay.

     A pleasant surprise was the visit of Mr. Harold Pitcairn. He and the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn and the Rev. and Mrs. Iungerich had a midday meal together at Weber's restaurant on the rue Royale in late November.
     E. E. I.

     PHILADELPHIA, PA.

     The Lord's First Advent was celebrated on Sunday, December 22. Flowers, greens, and the sweet odor of incense prepared our hall for the ever delightful Christmas service. The Rev. Philip Odhner addressed the children, telling them why the Lord's Birthday is celebrated all over the world. Then, calling each child forward by name, he presented the gifts and stockings which the ladies of the Advent Church had provided. Fifteen children were present, three being unable to attend, and we had not realized that we have so many, this being the first time they had been brought together.

     During the sermon that followed, in which Mr. Odhner explained the spiritual significance of the circumstances surrounding the Lord's birth (Luke II), the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt instructed the children in an adjoining room, and after the service showed them the Representation of the Nativity, which Mr. Doron Synnestvedt and his son Fred had so nicely placed in the hall. Fifty persons attended the service, a number that gives promise of many more such delightful occasions.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1936

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1936




     Announcements.


     The Annual Meetings of the Councils of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., March 30 to April 4,1936,-two months later than the usual time for these meetings. A complete Program will be published in the next issue of New Church Life. It includes a Public Session of the Council of the Clergy, with an Address by Bishop Pendleton, to be held on Thursday evening, April 2, and the Philadelphia Assembly Banquet on Friday evening, April 3, with Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn as toastmaster.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

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GOING OUT AND COMING IN 1936

GOING OUT AND COMING IN       Rev. F. E. WAELCHLI       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          MARCH 1936           NO. 3
     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." (Psalm 121:8.)

     "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in." Have you ever thought how much you are going out and coming in? You go out from your home, and come in at some other place. From there you may go out, and come in at still another place. And so on. Finally you go out from somewhere, and come in again at your home. And even there you go out and come in, from place to place in the house.

     You go out and come in for some reason or purpose. Five days each week, during a great part of the year, you go out from your home and come in at your school for what is there to be done; and afterwards you go from the school and come in at your home. On the Sabbath day you go out from your home and come in somewhere for the worship of the Lord, perhaps in a church, perhaps in some home, and it may even be in some room in your own home. Sometimes you go out and come in somewhere for a good time with your companions. Or it may be for any one of many other reasons or purposes.

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     But your principal going out and coming in has to do with your home and your school. The school is your place of work. You go from your home to your work; and when the work is done, you return to your home. More and more will this be so as you become older, and especially when you are grown up. As is said in another Psalm, "Man goeth forth [from his home] unto his work and to his labor until the evening" (104:23); and then he goes home.

     In all the going out and coming in, whatever it may be, now in your childhood and afterwards throughout life, the Lord "preserves" you. "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." By His "preserving" you is meant His watching over you to keep you in what is good and to guard you against what is evil. This He is doing always, every moment, wherever you may be.

     In all your going out and coming in you are in a certain state, that is, you have certain feelings and thoughts. These may be very good, or they may be less good, and they may also be not good at all. For example, your feelings and thoughts are of a certain kind, either good or not good, in your going to school, or in your going to Sabbath worship, or in your seeking your companions for play. But always the Lord is "preserving" you, trying so to lead those feelings and thoughts that they may be good, and not bad. Yet, in order that He may really do this for you, you must be willing that He should do it. And you show that you are willing by choosing what is good and turning away from what is bad. Then only can He truly "preserve your going out and your coming in."

     There will come a time when your "going out" will be your leaving this world, and your "coming in" your entrance into the other world. You will come first into the world of spirits, which is between heaven and hell. Heaven is above it, and hell beneath. There you will continue to go out and come in. You will go from place to place, and you will choose the places according to your changing states, or according to the kind of feelings and thoughts you have.

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And these changes from place to place will bring you nearer and nearer to heaven or nearer and nearer to hell. Yet, in all this going out and coming in, the Lord will be "preserving" you, seeking to lead you toward heaven and away from hell.

     Even now this is taking place with you in that world of spirits. You are now there as to your spirit, and are going from place to place, either in the company of angels or in the company of evil spirits. And in order that you may choose the company of the angels, and not that of the evil spirits, the Lord is "preserving," or guarding and watching over your "going out and coming in" in that world. If you are willing to go where His angels would lead you, then after death, when you find yourself in that world, knowing that you are there, you will still choose the way that leads towards heaven and into it. Only if you go along that heavenward way while you are in this world will you go on it when you arrive in the other world.

     For a person who goes on that way, there will be, at the end of the journey, a "going out" from the world of spirits and a "coming in" into heaven. Will the going out and coming in cease then? No; for it will then most truly begin, to continue "for evermore." The angels, like people on earth, go from place to place. But their doing this is entirely as their heavenly feelings and thoughts lead them. As these change from one kind to another, they go to some place or other where everything agrees with or expresses what is within themselves. For them the feelings and thoughts are the principal things, and they give little heed to the places to which these lead, often scarcely noticing them.

     So, for the angels, "going out and coming in" means the changes that are taking place with them all the time in the things of their love and wisdom. By these changes they are also being made more perfect all the time by the Lord, and so are led by Him into an ever greater happiness and joy of heavenly life, and guarded against all harm to that happiness and joy. This is what they understand by the words, "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in."

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     Now, to conclude, let our thought again be about your "going out and coming in" here in this world, about your going from place to place here, as you are always doing. In all this, may your feelings and thoughts, and everything you do, be such that the Lord can "preserve" that "going out and coming in." If this is so, then in the end He can do it for you in heaven "for evermore." He can do it for you "for evermore" if you let Him do it for you now. And that is why it is said, "The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even for evermore."

LESSONS: Psalm 121.
MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 82, 89, 9D.
For reading by young people and adults: A. C. 9927; H. H. 191 to 199.
IMPUTATION OF JUSTICE 1936

IMPUTATION OF JUSTICE       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1936

     "He believed in Jehovah, and He imputed it to him for justice." (Genesis 15:6.)

     When Abram, being childless in his old age, prayed for a son and heir to perpetuate his name, the Lord "led him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in Jehovah, and He imputed it to him for justice."

     What is meant by this imputation of justice has not been known in the Christian world. The doctrine universally accepted is, that when Adam sinned, God imputed the guilt of his sin to all his descendants, condemning the whole human race to eternal death. But the Son of God, coming into the world, took this guilt and this condemnation upon Himself, suffered punishment therefor in the passion of the cross, and made an atonement for all men. The Divine justice having thus been satisfied, God imputes the merit of Christ to all who believe in Him. Before the sacrifice had been made, the merit of Christ was imputed to those who believed in the promise of His Coming. The promise to Abram of a great posterity involved a prophecy of the Jewish nation in which the Christ should be born.

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Faith, therefore, in this promise brought with it the imputation of justice.

     Nothing could be more false than this. Yet the Scripture itself is true, and a genuine understanding of its meaning is now given in the Writings,-an understanding which changes the whole concept of religion. It removes all idea of guilt being imputed to men for a sin which they did not commit. It eliminates the thought of a vicarious atonement made by the Son of God through the passion of the cross. It dissipates any idea that the merit of Christ can be so imputed to men as to wash away the guilt of sin, and this merely because of belief in Him. The entire doctrine of imputation, as commonly accepted, is thus destroyed. What is the teaching given to take its place? How may the Scripture concerning Abram be rightly understood: "He believed in Jehovah, and He imputed it to him for justice?"

     To impute is to ascribe to anyone the possession of certain qualities, and to deal with him accordingly. It implies a judgment based upon external; visible signs with reference to the inner character of a man, concerning which we can have no direct knowledge. Thus one imputes evil to another by charging him with unworthy motives, treating him as if he possessed them, and imposing blame and censure because of them. Or he may impute good to another by giving him credit for praiseworthy intentions, and offering the reward of approbation and approval. This is the meaning of the word as applied to man. But when it is used with reference to the Lord, it cannot be so understood. For the Lord does not judge from external signs. The internal states of man's life are not hidden from Him. He sees and knows their quality with the precision of infinite wisdom. When, therefore, it is said of the Lord that He imputes something to man, the meaning is that He ascribes to him what He knows from Divine wisdom to be the real, internal quality of the man's life, even though this quality does not appear in the external signs which are visible to human sight. Man's imputation, therefore, is the judgment of one standing without, who is compelled to draw conclusions from outward indications concerning an interior which is not seen. The Lord's imputation, on the other hand, is the judgment of One who, from a perfect knowledge of the interiors, sees the real quality of what is without.

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     Justice in its origin is order itself. It is the Divine Law by which order is established and preserved. It is the law of infinite love,-the law according to which that love proceeds and operates for the attainment of its end, namely, a heaven from the human race. Everything which contributes to that end is just, right, and good. Everything which opposes, injures, or retards the attainment of that end is unjust and evil.

     The Lord alone can provide that there may be a heaven from the human race. He alone can know what is necessary and essential to it, thus what is of order, and of justice. He alone has the power and the wisdom to act from order; and so to act is Divine justice. This Divine justice cannot be ascribed or imputed to man. He has no life, no wisdom, of his own, and thus no power to act from order. The order which is stamped upon man's life is to acknowledge his own weakness, his own ignorance, and yield to Divine guidance. This is for him the way of salvation. In doing this he is contributing to the Divine end by serving as an instrument in the hand of the Lord for the fulfilment of a heavenly use of which man has no knowledge.

     So far as man thinks and acts from his own will, he cannot but interfere with the Divine purpose. But so far as he is willing to be taught and led by the Lord, he can be brought to act in accord with that purpose. In so acting lies all human justice, and it is this justice which the Lord imputes to man. So far as man approaches the Word, forms his conscience from the truth of the Word, and resists as a sill against God whatever is opposed to that truth, the Lord actually removes evil from him. He causes the very structure of his mind to be slowly changed. What was distorted is brought into order; what was inverted, closed toward heaven, and open toward hell, is turned back and formed into a vessel receptive of heavenly influx. This is the process of regeneration, performed by the Lord in man, just so far as man suffers himself to be led by the Divine Providence. And as man is thus regenerated, as he becomes a recipient of the good and the truth of heaven, it is said that justice is imputed to him. Nothing else than this is meant by Divine imputation.

     But what is meant by the imputation of justice may be illustrated by the teaching of the text. Abram was an idolater.

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For many generations his family had worshipped the god Shaddai as a tribal deity. He had no idea of one supreme God, the ruler of heaven and earth. Of this idea he was quite incapable. To him there were many gods, each having a local abode, exercising power within a restricted area, and controlling the destiny of some particular family or tribe. Such was the worship of the entire ancient world at his day, a worship established by centuries of religious custom and tradition. The purpose of the Lord's coming to Abram was to lead men back to the worship of the true God. But this could be done only by a slow process. Ideas long accepted as true, believed in simplicity, and regarded as holy, cannot suddenly be rooted out without destroying the very foundation and basis of religion. The Lord therefore seeks to remove them gently, by a gradual withdrawal, lest injury be done to man's spiritual life.

     For this reason, when the Lord called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, saying, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land which I will show thee," Abram was permitted to regard this as a command spoken by Shaddai, his tribal god. That this was the case, is evident from the words of the Lord to Moses: "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Shaddai, but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them." (Exodus 6:3.) For this reason He was frequently called "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," and identified Himself with Shaddai, as when He appeared to Abram and said, "I am God Shaddai; walk thou before me, and be thou perfect." (Genesis 17:1; A. C. 1992.)

     Abram, therefore, was an idolater, even when he worshiped the Lord. He thought he was worshiping a tribal god. There was nothing in outward appearance to distinguish his worship from that of other families who believed in idols. Yet the Lord knew the inmost thought of his heart, the quality of his affection. He knew that, beneath the ignorance and the superstition of his faith, there was humility and innocence, a willingness to be led and taught. Because of this innocence, He knew that Abram would hearken to His word, and therefore, in spite of the gross falsities which possessed his mind, could be drawn slowly out of darkness, and at last brought into the light of genuine truth. Because of this innocence, however distorted his faith, however perverted his worship, Abram was inmostly in the order of life, in the stream of Providence, so that the Lord, although unknown to him, could be present, secretly to effect his salvation.

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This is the reason why his idolatrous faith was accepted, and why the Lord "imputed it to him for justice."

     Such imputation of justice is of the Divine mercy, offered to all men. Without it there is no salvation. For Abram stands as a type of all mankind, and indeed as a type of the Lord Himself, as to the Human which He assumed in the world.

     Every man in the world, whatever his religious faith may be, provided only that he believe in a god, and faithfully keeps what he understands as the commandments of God, can be brought by the Lord into heaven. If only innocence be present within, the Lord can operate secretly, even with the grossest idolater, directing his life, touching his heart, rousing a conscience whereby he may be led to choose what he believes to be right, and reject what he believes is wrong. The conscience may be spurious. His idea of right and wrong may be a very mistaken one. Thus from ignorance he may fall into evil, and indeed cannot avoid doing so. But for this he is no more responsible than is a little child. And so long as he does what he thinks is right, he is protected by the Lord from the evil of sin. The falsities in his mind cannot easily be removed. They may, and often do, remain through life. But the Lord, in His Providential care, prevents him from confirming them. He holds his mind in a plastic, teachable state. And when he comes into the other world, where the binding appearances of the senses may be successively withdrawn, he can be instructed by the angels and gradually prepared for heaven. To all who are such, the Lord appears as the God Shaddai, calling to them to depart out of their country, and from their kindred, and from their father's house, that they may enter into a land which He will show them, even the Heavenly Canaan. And so far as they believe in Him; that is, so far as they obey His Word, given as the dictate of conscience; He will accept their faith, and "impute it to them for justice."

     Nor is the law of salvation essentially different for those who are born in the church, who have the Word, and who by its teaching know the Lord. These also are born into natural life, and not into spiritual life. Their first faith, the faith of childhood, even though based upon the teaching of the Word, is a natural faith. Only in adult life, after the rational mind has been opened, can a spiritual understanding of the Word be given.

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Only then can the Lord appear to them in His own Divine Human. Before this He can come to them only as the God Shaddai under a childish and inadequate idea. Out of this faith of childhood they can be led only if innocence is present within, by virtue of which the Lord can accept what is really an idolatrous faith, and "impute it to them for justice."

     Nor does the necessity for this merciful imputation of justice cease with the attainment of adult life. It continues through the whole process of regeneration. There is no sudden removal of natural ideas from the mind. Only gradually, one by one, can fallacies, appearances, mistaken notions, be dissipated by the light of truth, which at first shines but dimly in the mind, and which only grows in brilliance and intensity as these obstructing clouds are dispersed. The mind is prone to error. Because of ignorance, because of limited experience, because of selfish and worldly desires, it easily accepts false ideas, mistaking them for the truth. Unless the Lord could be present in the midst of these falsities, and lead us in spite of them, no man could be saved. But if, within them, there is innocence,-a humble desire to receive Divine teaching, a sincere effort to resist evil, and to keep what we understand to be the commandments of God, a love of what is just and fair, upright and honorable, good and true, so far as we can comprehend it,-the Lord, knowing our hearts, will judge us according to our intention and desire. He will overlook our mistakes, and accept our faith, "imputing it to us for justice."

     Those who belong to the church differ from others only in this, that by the teaching of the Word they can be brought in some measure to a realization of the truth during their life on earth. In the degree that they are willing to accept this teaching with sincerity of heart, they can be delivered from the evils of ignorance. In the degree that they shun in actual life the evils and falsities opposed to this teaching, their spiritual mind can be opened; and the kingdom of God, which reigns in heaven, can be established within them, that they may receive, even here, something of the joy, the happiness, and the blessing which it is the Lord's will to impart. As the good and the truth of the Word are thus received, justice is imputed to them, not merely in potency, as with those who are in a false religion, but in actuality, that there may be a descent of heaven to the earth, that the Tabernacle of God may be with men, and that the Lord Himself may take up a conscious abode with them, to be their God.

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     Only if there is such a church somewhere in the world, even though it be with a few, a church in which the Lord is thus present, can innocence be preserved with those who are in false religions. Only as this church grows can falsities gradually be dissipated among the Gentiles of the world. To this end the Word has been given. To this end the Lord has come, revealing its true internal meaning, that men may slowly be lifted out of the darkness into which they have fallen, into the light of truth, and that the Lord's will may at last "be done on earth, as it is done in heaven." Only as men, from sincerity of heart, believe in the God Shaddai, shunning evil from such conscience as they possess, whether they be within the church or outside of it, can the Lord accept their faith, and "impute it to them for justice," that the innocence of ignorance may by slow stages be transformed into the innocence of wisdom, and the blessing of eternal life be given.

     When the Lord came on earth, it was not as the Son of God seeking to redeem mankind by making a vicarious atonement for the sin of Adam. It was Jehovah Himself, who, descending through the heavens, put on at last a human body of flesh and blood in the womb of Mary. Into this maternal human were derived by natural inheritance tendencies to evils of every kind. Clothed with this human, the Lord could draw near even to the hells, and they to Him. His material body and brain was a microcosm,-a minute replica of the whole world of human life, the Gorand Man which had been forming in the spiritual world from the beginning of creation. All the spiritual disorders, the evil loves, and the false ideas, which had brought about the decline and fall of the church, found therein congenial vessels,-vessels twisted out of their true order, turned in opposition to the influx of Divine Life from the Infinite Soul, opened for the reception of influx from the hells. Furthermore, with the Lord, as with other men, there was at birth a soul and a body, but as yet only the rudiment of a mind. He came into the world as an infant, with all the ignorance of infancy, and His mind was subject to the process of slow development by way of learning and experience,-the same process by which every infant grows through childhood to youth, and at last to manhood.

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     For all these reasons, while the Soul of the Lord was Life Itself, Love Itself, Wisdom Itself, and thus the very Divine Justice of God, the human at birth was not justice. It was to become justice by the process of glorification, which was effected as the Lord suffered temptations, receiving into His human, on the one hand, the false ideas which sprang from the traditions of men, and the evil loves with which these were associated, and, on the other hand, the teaching of the Word. Of the latter He had a Divine perception, from which He resisted every suggestion of evil and falsity. By this resistance He overcame the hells, and brought them under obedience to His Divine will. By it He accomplished a last judgment in the spiritual world, separating the evil from the good in the imaginary heavens, and restoring order both in heaven and hell. Successively, as He did this, He rejected the human from the mother, dissipated the distorted vessels of the body, and took on a Human from the Father, infinitely perfect, and One with the Divine Soul. His whole life was a continual series of such temptations and victories, culminating in the passion of the cross, by which the last of the human from the mother was put off, and He rose in a glorified Divine Body,-the Divine Human, through which He has power eternally to conquer the hells in man, and for man, by the process of regeneration.

     This glorification of the Human differed from the process of regeneration with man, in that it was accomplished by His Own Power, so that His Human by degrees became Justice Itself. But it is evident that He began, as all men begin, from the innocence of ignorance, and that in states of humiliation, when the human was as it were left to itself, He was subject to appearances. For without these, temptations would have been impossible. Such appearances could be dissipated only by degrees, and in the meantime they were innocently accepted as the truth.

     Abram represents the maternal human, with its appearances of truth, prior to its unition with the Divine. Of this human it can be said, "He believed in Jehovah, and He imputed it to Him for justice." In this respect the Lord was in the order of all human life, namely, the order of acknowledging the ignorance and the weakness of the human, and of submitting it in all things to the guidance of the Divine.

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It was by this submission that the victory of temptation was won. By this submission, even to the passion of the cross, the hells were subjugated, and the heavens reduced into order. By this the human was successively glorified, justice being imputed to it as evils and falsities were rejected, even until it became Justice Itself. Wherefore, the essence of the Lord's whole life, the essence of justice with Him and with all men, is summed up and expressed by His prayer in Gethsemane: "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done": and by His last words upon the cross: "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." Amen.

LESSONS: Exodus 6:1-13. Luke 22:21-46, A. C. 9715 1, 2
MUSIC: Liturgy, pp. 610, 581, 594.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 52, 189.
FORMATION OF THE NEW HEAVEN 1936

FORMATION OF THE NEW HEAVEN              1936

     "Because this Heaven was formed of all those who had lived a life of faith and charity, even from the time of the Lord to the present time, it is evident that it was formed of both Christians and gentiles; but as to the greatest part of the infants of all in the whole world who have died since the Lord's time; for all these infants have been received by the Lord, have been educated in heaven and instructed by the angels, and then have been conserved to the end that they, together with the rest, might constitute the New Heaven. From this it may be concluded how great that Heaven is." (N. J. H. D. 3.)
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1936

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1936

     A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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PERCEPTION IN THE NEW CHURCH 1936

PERCEPTION IN THE NEW CHURCH       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1936

     A STUDY

     The many prophecies in the Writings concerning the quality of the Church that is called the "Holy City, the New Jerusalem," and the "Bride, the Lamb's Wife," center chiefly in this,-that by the upbuilding of successively interior regenerate states of life as to love and faith, it is to become an internal, celestial church, to the men of which it will be given by the Lord to think as and with the angels of heaven. By virtue of this state, that Church, foreseen from eternity, is to be the Crown of all the Churches. (T. C. R. 786.)

     Implicit in this promise is the pledge of a renewal of the gift of perception to the New Church,-the God-given endowment of that firstborn, celestial church, the Most Ancient, which, above all churches on the earth, was from the Divine. (A. C. 4454.) A restoration indeed; for, as is well known to us, this gift was spurned by men when that Church departed from its pristine integrity, and even the knowledge of it was withheld until it could again be extended to the worshipers of the visible God as He manifests Himself in the Writings. (A. C. 393.) To the realization of this celestial state and gift the gaze of the New Church has ever been directed, and indications of any advance towards interiors have been welcomed by the devout New Churchman.

     Now the quality of the church can be foretold, but it cannot be forefelt; nor will the church, in its progress, be conscious of its regenerate states. Yet, with this and its implications in mind, it will ever acknowledge the need to advance, to expand if necessary the terminology of its founders, to enter into more and more interior concepts of truth and states of good. Such progression to the destined end is achieved only in the measure in which the mind of the church is opened prayerfully to the Lord, so that He is enabled to impart the gift of perception; for we believe that the development of doctrinals in the church has been and will be by a series of perceptions. It is clear, therefore, that the doctrine of perception should be studied by the men of the church.

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     In this brief study an attempt is made to elicit from the Writings a valid concept of perception in the New Church. This statement calls for qualification. Common perception,-that immediate discernment of the quality of newcomers which is enjoyed by angels in highest perfection, and by spirits in varying degree, and which is at once their delight and protection (A. C. 1383),-does not come within the purview of this study. Nor will we be concerned with that perception of natural things which the Writings call "common sense." Our attention will be focused upon that highest perception,-the perception of celestial and spiritual things, of what is true and good, of what is from the Lord and what from self,-which is a property of the heavenly state in angel and man. (Ibid,) It is by the exercise of this perception in the study of the Writings that new gems of surpassing beauty will be revealed, set in the crown of Revelations, and that the church will be enriched by intromission into interior degrees of truth.

     Especially will an attempt be made to compare the perception into which the New Church is to enter with that enjoyed by the Most Ancient Church. This comparison, like the conclusions drawn concerning its quality and function, is offered simply as a personal interpretation, or rather understanding, of a summarization of certain passages to which your attention is now invited.

     II.

     Perception is the inmost of all religion. It is that inner conviction or dictate of the fundamental truths of religion which defies logic, and which is indeed recognized by logicians as the "leap of faith." In the Word it is signified by the ark of the covenant and by the holy of holies,-the inmost dwelling place of God with man. To the lower mind it is dark and obscure; but, when approached as Moses and Aaron approached it, answers come forth from the mysterious darkness, which is indeed light and the source of all light.

     Many definitions of perception are given in the Writings, but we adduce only the following:

     "Perception is a certain internal sensation communicated by the Lord alone, as the means of discovering the true and the good." (A. C. 104.)

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"Perception consists in seeing what is true and good by influx from the Lord." (A. C. 202, 895, 7680, 9128.) "Those who are in perception have no need of the knowledge acquired by means of doctrine put into a form. To those who are in perception it is granted by the Lord to know what is true and good by an internal way." (A. C. 521.) "Perception is nothing but the speech or thought of the angels who are with man. When that speech or thought flows in, it causes a perception that a thing is so or is not so, but only with those who are in the good of love and charity, for it flows in through good." (A. C. 5228.) "Perception is full confirmation from influx from the Lord." (A. E. 307.) With regard to this last definition, it should be noted that the light of perception is altogether different from the light of confirmation. (See A. C. 8521, 8780.) Perception is born of the affection of truth, and it leads by means of rational light to the thought of truth.

     Much is said in the Writings concerning those to whom perception is given. We read: "Perception is given only with those who are in the good of love from the Lord to the Lord." (A. C. 202, et al.) "Perception is given with those in heaven who, whilst they lived in the world, brought: the doctrinals of the church which are from the Word immediately into life, and who did not first commit them to the memory; thus the interiors of their minds were formed to the reception of the Divine influx; and thence-their understanding in heaven is in continual enlightenment." (A. C. 104, et al.) "They who are of the Lord's celestial kingdom have perception." (A. C. 805, et al.) And of the celestial it is said that they cannot think save from perception (A. C. 2552); that they do not reason concerning the truths of faith, and that if they reasoned, their perception would perish (A. C. 586, et al); and that they are not even willing to name faith. (A. C. 202, 307.)

     If we collate the essential teaching of these passages, we see that perception is a quality of the celestial, who, receiving truth by an internal way, by an immediate revelation or influx, have no need of a doctrinal formation as an ultimate for their thought, since they are enlightened by series of living perceptions in the form of the Divine Human.

     Such was the perception enjoyed by the men of the Most Ancient Church. In that Church, will and understanding made one mind, and there was perception of truth from good; for the Lord flowed in through an internal way into the good of the will, and through this into the good of the understanding, or truth. (A. C. 4454.) Revelation was immediate, by angelic and spirit intercourse, and by dreams and visions, which gave to the men of the church a general knowledge of what was true and good. These basal knowledges were confirmed by perceptions, and established as principles which served as a canon for testing all other knowledges. (A. C. 597.)

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These were celestial men. Their perception was as that of the angels, and they had no need of a written Word; for the Word was inscribed on their hearts. (A. C. 2896.)

     This faculty of perception was peculiar to the Most Ancient Church. (A. C. 371.) The first decline was marked by the reduction to doctrine of what had existed as perception in that church. This was done by Enoch, but previously had not been permitted, because of the vital difference between learning by perception and learning by doctrine. (A. C. 521.) And with the consummation of this firstborn church, the gift of perception was lost to men.

     The changes wrought in the human mind by the Fall were profound, and of far-reaching consequence-imparting to the race a new and lower quality. By this recession from good, the celestial age perished, and of it the spiritual was born. The innocence of racial infancy had departed. Henceforth man might do no more than regain a modicum of his former integrity by faith in a doctrinal formation. And this was of need. The mode of immediate revelation that had been serviceable to the men of the uncorrupted church would but have served now to increase man's damnation. For the will of man, through which the Lord had flowed into the understanding of the united mind, was utterly depraved, entirely given over to evil, and incapable of renewal. Consequently, influx perverted in passing through the will would have come to the understanding as hideous confirmation of unspeakable evils. If truth was again to speak articulately to man, a complete separation of the will and understanding,-an actual change in the structure of the mind,-was imperative. Since the will of man had become non-redeemable, he must be given a separate understanding, in which, by regeneration, a new will could be implanted.

     The distinguishing characteristic of the celestial had been the implantation of good in the will; and it was this that made internal perception possible. (A. C. 8521.) That which marks the spiritual is the implantation of good in the understanding. The spiritual are in the affection of truth for the sake of uses. They are led by the Lord by means of good, from which it is given them to see truth and to believe. (Ibid.) Instead of perception, they have enlightenment of the understanding, and also conscience. (A. C. 104, 371.) There is a dictate of conscience, but it is different from the dictate of perception.

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For since it is formed by faith adjoined to charity, it does not dictate what is true, but that those things are true which the Lord has spoken in the Word. (A. C. 371, 393.) In this we see the vital difference between immediate revelation and the vesting of revealed truth in the fixed forms of a written Word.

     The infant mind of the celestial age was initiated and remained in the order of heaven. The infant grew into the childish perception that all life was from the Lord. And this first perception served, with the attainment of full maturity, as the basis for all future perceptions. The mind so formed was in good, and through this the Lord could inflow through an internal way to instruct by immediate revelation. On the other hand, the spiritual man is born with a mind opposed to the order of heaven. This categorical statement of the Writings requires qualification from other parts of the Writings themselves. Actually, of course, man is born with but the rudiment of a mind; and since that is from the Lord, it is in the order of heaven. It is the inevitable superimposition of the evil, parental heredity that inverts the order, and imparts to the mind such a quality that the Divine Life flows over and around it, but not into it. The only perception that can be granted to the spiritual man is the appearance that he lives from himself; that he, not the Lord, is the source of his being. This appearance is permitted by the Lord because no otherwise could he finally be saved.

     Love is the life of man, and the life of man is the love of the will. The native will, which, as has been said, is unsalvable, consists in the loves of self and of the world. The whole operation of the Lord with the spiritual, therefore, is an endeavor to change the love,-to give man, through regeneration, a new love, a new proprium, proceeding from a new will, which is born of the recognition of the supreme fact that the Lord is the source of life. But the spiritual man can come to this acknowledgment in no other way than by the acceptance of the teaching of a written Word, an objective body of doctrine, and this from the God-given affection of truth. This acceptance regenerates the understanding, and makes it a ground in which a new will, a new love, may be set. For we believe that the love is the proprium of man. In this we see the operation of the universal law that the Lord operates from within and from without,-from within by influx from His Human, from without from the Word,-and that man's salvation is in the junction of these influxes.

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And the law resulting from this definition of the spiritual genius is, that no new truth can come to the spiritual by an internal way. It cannot come by immediate revelation from the Lord, but must come from without, from the Word. This will be more fully considered later.

     With this brief consideration of the doctrine of perception in its general form, and of the fundamental difference between the celestial and the spiritual, we may now ask: What is the quality of perception to be enjoyed in the New Church?

     III.

     Those among us who have cherished the vision and hope of the second age of gold have sometimes framed their questions in this way: Will the glories of the Most Ancient Church be revived in the New Church? Will men again enjoy internal perception, and have immediate revelation from the Lord? We believe that the answers to these questions are negative. Bearing in mind what has been said in this study concerning perception, concerning those to whom it can be given, the changes effected in the mind by the Fall, and the difference between the celestial and the spiritual, we believe it will be agreed that there is no logic which can fashion an affirmative answer to the questions we have cited.

     We believe that the crux of the matter is reached when we ask: In what sense is the New Church to become a celestial church? We believe that that which imparts primary qualification to man is not whether he attains love to the Lord, which is celestial love, or love to the neighbor, which is spiritual, but the mode by which he can be instructed by the Lord and regenerated. Instruction by immediate revelation, and regeneration by the implantation of good in the will, characterizes the celestial. Instruction by mediate revelation, and the implantation of good in the understanding, characterizes the spiritual. The degree of love attained in either of these categories imparts secondary qualification. When, in the terminology of the Writings, the two are combined, the secondary qualification stands first. A very simple example of what is meant occurs in such compound designations as "Assistant Bishop" or "Deputy Governor," in which the second term denotes the office that qualifies everything else, and the first term indicates the degree reached in that office.

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     We believe, therefore, that the celestial to be reached by the New Church will not be the celestial of the Most Ancient Church, but the celestial of the spiritual; that while the church will finally achieve the state of love to the Lord from the Lord, it will do so by the mode of revelation and regeneration that is extended to the spiritual. Deep arcana are involved in the fact that the tree of lives, which adorns the paradise of God in the beginning of the Word, is described in the Apocalypse as being in the midst of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. The man of the New Church cannot view with Adam's sight this tree whose leaves are "for the healing of the nations." In the New Jerusalem, the gold that gave its name to the celestial age forms the pavements of a city. The man of the New Church will be regenerated by means of doctrine. How else, indeed, may the Writings be called the "Crown of Revelations"?

     If we believe that the man of the New Church will not receive truth by an internal way, in the sense of immediate revelation, since he is fundamentally "spiritual," how then are we to understand the operation and function of perception in the church? How are we to formulate a concept of perception that will be so distinct as to prevent its evanishment in the doctrine of enlightenment?

     Be it noted that it is incumbent on the man of the church, in all his thinking about the progression of the church into the interior degrees of the truth in the Writings, to distinguish carefully between "perception" and "enlightenment of the understanding." To ascribe to the former what properly results from the latter is easy, but it is a grave error in theology.

     We conclude that the operation of perception in the church will be in this manner: The mind of the well-instructed student of the Writings is filled with what we call "truths." In strict fact, these are more correctly described as "cognitive and scientific vessels." They are the product of the afflux from without, and it is only when they are infilled by influx from within from the Lord that they become spiritual truths. This vivification of natural truth in the mind we conceive to be the result of that enlightenment of the understanding which is the faculty of the "spiritual."

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     But the understanding of man can be elevated into light without the elevation of the will. If it were not so, man could never be saved; for it is only thus that he sees the vision, now bright and now dim, that sustains him through temptation, and serves as an incentive to the achievement of spiritual life. The result is, that many concepts come into the mind which appear to be the result of enlightenment from the Lord. Yet they are not all true, and the light of confirmation will not be adequate to discriminate the true from the false. We know from doctrine that the man who is in the affection of truth is enabled to distinguish the true from the false in his thinking, and we believe that that which distinguishes for him,-that which draws from him the spontaneous acknowledgment that this interior concept not evident in the letter of the Writings is true, and that that other is false,-is perception.

     Now observe the result. When a truth not hitherto seen in the Writings is recognized and acknowledged, there is a shifting of emphases in the mind. Correlated truths are seen in an entirely new light; and, in proportion to the quality of the truth seen, a new orientation is given to man's thought. All this results from the perception of an interior concept seen in a state of enlightenment. And the appearance is, that the perception has been the internal revelation of an entirely new truth,-an immediate revelation from God by an internal way. It is new only in the sense that it has not been recognized before. To confirm that appearance would have grave results for the future of the church. Our sacred terminology is exact and exacting; and to open the mind to the concept of an immediate revelation from heaven by perception might, we believe, threaten the supreme place we give to the Writings.

     Nor need the church regret that it cannot recapture the perception of the Most Ancient Church, but must draw its doctrine with enlightened understanding, confirmed by perception, from the pages of a written revelation. There is a fact we have hesitated to affirm lest we be misunderstood. It is this. If the New Church is the crown of all the churches, it is superior to all that have preceded it, the Most Ancient included. This is not a thought we should take to ourselves with foolish pride. But we do well to realize it. For the higher we can rise, the deeper we may sink.

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SCIENCE OF GIVING TO THE CHURCH 1936

SCIENCE OF GIVING TO THE CHURCH       W. H. JUNGE       1936

     The General Church of the New Jerusalem has always maintained that its ecclesiastical uses should be financed by current voluntary contributions. Today, suffering as we are from the strains of depression in all parts of the church, there is a very real danger that some individuals or even societies may be tempted to finance church uses by methods founded on human prudence. Personally, I am persuaded that real prudence demands that we follow the highest ideals. And this article is written, not to persuade, but to lay opportunely before the church at large an explicit statement as to what voluntary contributions are, and how they may be made efficiently.

     I know there are those who seem to have the strange idea that the term "voluntary contributions" implies permission to be casual or even indifferent in supporting the church. The simple fact is, that we are in freedom from heaven to give suitably and intelligently, and are in freedom from hell to do otherwise.

     It is possible that many have not come to realize the basic difference between offerings and benefactions. Voluntary offerings, made as an act of worship, and dedicated to the ecclesiastical uses of the church, are actuated by love to the Lord. They are, perhaps, the most vital acts of our (should be) regenerating lives.

     Benefactions are actuated by love to the neighbor, are not sacred, may be given or withheld at pleasure, and have no bearing on salvation.

     To confuse offerings and benefactions can only result in disorderly and inefficient giving.

     The ecclesiastical uses which are to be supported by voluntary offerings are:

     a) The General Body of the General Church.

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     b) The Local Priesthood.

     c) Local Temporalities (including schools, if any).

     As conditions and circumstances vary, and as the distribution of offerings to the several uses rests with the individual giver, it is plain that every man must work out for himself the list of uses he deems ecclesiastical. The Orphanage and NEW CHURCH LIFE might be added to those named above, or the schools, because of tuitions, be ignored.

     The sub-uses of the church, such as building funds, entertainments, church banquets, Friday-class suppers, and the like, are today supported from family budgets as part of living expense. They do not rank, at present, a share of the voluntary offerings. In their present status, their support may be considered to be from benefactions.

     Obligation to Support the Church. When a man joins the church, he assumes the duty to support it. The church neither begs his support nor seeks ingeniously to compel him, but the obligation to give support is potent.

     Church Support. The ecclesiastical uses, as already intimated, should be supported by voluntary offerings made as an act of worship in return for blessings received. Such offerings constitute a covenant between the Lord and man, and, when made, discharge man's full fiscal obligation to the church. These offerings may be secret or otherwise, and they may be made according to any plan the giver considers suitable, and may be in money or service. In every way these offerings are the private affair of the individual. Lastly, they cannot safely be omitted.

     Extent of Offering. The Writings are silent as to any definite amount or percentage, but we know that offerings should be large enough to entail something of sacrifice, and small enough not to interfere with the uses of life.

     Distribution of Offerings. At the present day it is impossible to lay our gift intact upon the altar, and so the giver must arrange a suitable method of distribution to the several uses. To this end it is necessary to secure information as to the relative requirements of these uses, and this is an important duty that may not be shirked.

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     Benefactions. Should a member wish to recognize special appeals for additional contributions, he may, as a benefaction, give from abundance or for any other reason.

     Regularity. It is plain that our voluntary offerings are the daily bread of the church. And reasonable regularity should be a matter of conscience.

     In closing, it seems proper to make a concrete suggestion as to some suitable method of making and distributing offerings. I will cite the case of a man who, on receipt of wages or income, segregates at once a predetermined percentage for the church. He feels, so he says, that this is analogous to "giving the firstfruits." He keeps this fund in a purse which has its place in a drawer of the table that serves as a family altar, and from this fund he disburses to the various uses. (A richer man might require a special bank account.)

     This method is simple, positive, and convenient. It squares with the maxim, "Trust funds and personal funds should not be commingled." Similar methods must be common in the church.

     Abundance is not likely to follow disorder, but we should not seek order for the sake of abundance.
     W. H. JUNGE.
          Glenview, Ill., Jan. 18, 1936.
QUALITY OF THE NEW HEAVEN 1936

QUALITY OF THE NEW HEAVEN              1936

     "After the Last Judgment had been accomplished, a New Heaven was created, that is, formed by the Lord. This heaven was formed of all those who, after the Lord's Advent and up to this time, had lived a life of faith and charity, since these alone were forms of heaven. For the form of heaven, according to which all consociations and communications take place there, is the form of the Divine Truth from the Divine Good proceeding from the Lord; and this form a man, as to his spirit, puts on by a life according to Divine Truth. From these things the quality of the New Heaven can be known, namely, that it is altogether unanimous. For he who lives the life of faith and charity loves another as himself, and by love conjoins him to himself, and thus mutually and reciprocally; for love is conjunction in the spiritual world. Wherefore, when all do likewise, then unanimity exists, and they become as one; for then nothing separates and divides, but everything conjoins and unites." (N. J. H. D. 2.)

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Esididini, near Dannhauser, Natal.

     Sunday, October 20, was a happy day for the Society of the Mission in this district. For nearly twelve years there has been a small group of followers under the leadership of Johannes Lunga. During the last eighteen months the members have made great efforts to acquire their own place of worship. It is now an accomplished fact. A neat thatched building, with chancel, vestry and proper fittings, has been erected. As it is situated about half way between Johannesburg and Durban; and easily approached from the Free State by way of Ladysmith, it was possible for a representative assembly of the Mission to meet for the Dedication Service. The Rev. E. C. Acton, with Rev. B. Ngiba, Rev. Julius Jiyana and Teacher Aaron Zungu came from Durban; Rev. Berry Maqelepo attended from Greylingstad, Transvaal; and the Superintendent, Rev. F. W. Elphick, with Students W. Mkize and S. Buthelezi, came from "Alpha." Rev. and Mrs. John Jiyana, and several members from the nearby Cundycleugh district, also attended.

     In the presence of over two hundred people, the building was solemnly dedicated by the Superintendent on behalf of the Bishop of the General Church. Leader Johannes Lunga, the acting minister of the Society, read the opening service and the first two lessons. Rev. Berry Maqelepo read from the Braille edition of The New Jerusalem end its Heavenly Doctrine. He spoke in English, and was interpreted in Zulu by Rev. John Jiyana, who also performed the same use for the Dedication Service and the Sermon. This latter was delivered by the Rev. E. C. Acton, the text being, "Except the Lord build the house." (Psalm 127.) The administration of the Holy Supper brought the Service to a close.

     In the afternoon a meeting was held, the Superintendent presiding and being assisted by the Rev. B. Ngiba as interpreter. Many speeches were made. The Rev. E. C. Acton congratulated the members, as well as Rev. John Jiyana and Leader Lunga, upon their efforts and accomplishment. The work had been almost wholly financed by the members, the Mission having contributed but a small sum to assist. In the course of the discussion, reference was made to the Sermon, and how each one has to build the church within himself by means of the stones of truth provided by the Lord. The Superintendent noted that there was some difficulty in always being "Chairman." It was the duty of a Chairman to respect and provide for freedom of speech and to maintain order-and not say much himself! But this time he wished to speak as an ordinary member. After seconding the congratulations extended by Mr. Acton, he reminded the Society of the exceptional conditions which surrounded them,-the labor of the coal mines and the "hellish" tendency of "drink" and its consequences. He noted how intemperance made a man even lower than the beasts, destroyed rationality, sullied married life and home life, and eventually led to all kinds of disorder, besides being a waste of money. Such were not ordinary observations, for the Doctrines of the New Church also have something to say upon such matters. (S. D. 2422; D. P. 112.)

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It was hoped, therefore, that the Society at Esididini would be mindful of its behavior, and do all in its power to mitigate the evil tendencies of the locality which environed them.

     The meeting, however, was not without its good humor. Zulus can banter as well as Europeans! In a recent Assembly in England it was humorously stated that if a man becomes a nuisance, it is a good plan to make him Chairman! At Esididini it was said-(remembering that the ox is a unit of value)-that its Pastor was a "slow ox." But immediately the retort was given: "Yes, but a strong one!" (Laughter.) So a memorable meeting ended.

     Mr. Acton and I were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. George Matthews, who have been residents in the district for many years. Mr. Matthews and his two older daughters attended the morning service; On Monday, October 21, the visitors dispersed, and arrangements were made to visit Rev. Berry Maqelepo at Greylingstad at the end of November.

     Greylingstad, Transvaal.

     Berry Mapelepo.

     Following this arrangement, it was decided that Greylingstad be visited November 23-25. But on the 20th, a telegram was received at Alpha; "Berry passed away this morning at 6 a.m.-Reuben Mojatau." This hastened matters, and so, on the 21st, Rev. Jonas Motsi and I motored across the Free State in a direct line to Greylingstad, a distance of 220 miles, taking the shortest cuts. The funeral took place on Friday morning, November 22, in showery weather, and the last rites to a faithful Minister of the New Church were performed in the presence of over 140 Natives, including the school children of the Greylingstad New Church Society and eleven Europeans, residents of the district.

     "Blind Berry" was a well-known figure in the Transvaal district between Greylingstad and Johannesburg. He was noted for his cheerfulness and his delight in conversation of an intellectual nature. It seems that he was much interested in the Abyssinian War, and one of his last remarks to a European trader was that he thought he himself ought to go and help! He was ill but five days with a virulent form of pneumonia.

     As far as can be ascertained, Berry Maqelepo was born on October 31, 1895, and the incurable form of blindness with which he was afflicted overtook him when he was a boy of about eleven years old. His elementary education seems to have been acquired in a private school "under English ladies"; but in 1920 he was at Lovedale School, C. P., where at intervals he studied till 1923. Here he met a fellow student, Miss Maria Sosanne of Winburg, O. F. S., who eventually became his wife on December 31st, 1931. Being a trained school teacher, she assisted her husband in the school work. Their marriage was legalized at the Magistrate's Court, and was solemnized according to the rites of the New Church by the Rev. John Jiyana.

     According to our Mission records, Berry Maqelepo was formerly connected with the Dutch Reformed Church, and later, with the "A. M. E." (African Methodist Episcopalian). He was introduced to the New Church-according to his own written statement-by "the Rev. W. J. Xaza of General Conference," corresponded with the late Rev. Samuel M. Mofokeng, and was baptized into the faith of the New Church on June 19, 1919, by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, at Qopo, Basutoland. He received training in the Doctrines by the Revs. Theodore Pitcairn and Reginald W. Brown, was appointed "Leader" of the Transvaal District in February, 1921, and was ordained into the New Church Ministry by Bishop N. D. Pendleton in September, 1929, receiving the First and Second Degrees, and was commissioned to work in the South African
Mission held.

     "Berry" will be sadly missed at the annual and other meetings of the Mission.

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He had a great love for the Doctrines, and could speak eloquently upon them in either Zulu, Sesuto, or English. About three years ago he tried to get into touch with Miss Helen Keller, but it seems his letters received little attention. He was familiar with the Braille editions of the Writings, and could use the typewriter with a fair degree of ease and accuracy. It was of no little interest to witness how the message of the Second Coming, as provided for in the Third Lesson of our Liturgy, was conveyed to his people. The touch from the Braille passed to his mind in English forms of thought, but he could immediately place those forms in the Zulu tongue, and this with very slight hesitation. His going is indeed our loss, but it is his gain.
     F. W. ELPHICK.
           Greylingstad, Transvaal, November 24, 1935.

     OBITUARY.

     Mabel Keith Douglas.

     During the last few years, Mrs. Douglas made her home with her son in Los Angeles, California, where she was an active member of the society presided over by the Rev. Hendrik W. Boef. She passed into the spiritual world in her fifty-ninth year on December 28, 1935, meeting almost instant death when struck by an automobile.

     Being a graduate nurse, Mrs. Douglas volunteered very early in the Great War, and served as Nursing Sister at Saloniki, as well as in France, and at Orpington, England. Her work was so efficient that she was decorated by the King with the Royal Red Cross. After the War, she was on the staff of the Christie Street Hospital in Toronto, and it was during this period of her life that she attended some missionary meetings conducted by the Rev. Karl R. Alden, then pastor of the Olivet Church. She at once became a receiver and diligent reader of the Writings, and did not delay long in being baptized. The ceremony was performed on December 23, 1923, by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, who was then visiting in Toronto.

     Mrs. Douglas was an enthusiast, and a woman of great energy and zeal, which was carried over into her work as a nurse. In her life she exemplified honesty and integrity. Even in this world she obtained a reward; for under Divine Providence she was permitted to enter within the gates of the New Jerusalem, to imbibe its rational and spiritual truths, and to know and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the only God of heaven and earth.
     DR. W. A. MCFALL.
          Toronto, Canada.

     LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

     During the pastor's visit to the East to attend the General Assembly in the Summer of 1935, all society activities were discontinued. Services were resumed on August 11, and on the 18th, following the morning service, it was delightful for us all to gather again at a picnic lunch in the pastor's garden. We have come to a keen realization of the importance of the church activities in creating and stimulating our interest in and friendship with our fellow New Churchmen.

     Beginning in September, Mr. Boef has found it possible to give classes weekly in the Northern section of the city, and every other week in the Southern part of town. On the latter occasions, prior to the class, he visits three families in the afternoon and gives instruction to ten children. A class for two older girls is held every two weeks. The Divine Providence is the work we are studying this year, and we have greatly enjoyed the very interesting classes which have been given.

     The Men's and Women's Clubs have been holding monthly meetings of great benefit to all attending. Miss Evangeline Iler was elected President of the Women's Club in September, and at the meeting on November 13, she read a comprehensive and inspiring paper on the uses of the club.

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Her stimulating enthusiasm will do much toward making the present year one of increasing usefulness to all members. The Women's Club was responsible for two very successful parties which were given for the benefit of our sadly depleted treasury. One was held at the Kemp residence, and the other at the Iler residence.

     Beginning on December 8, Divine Worship has been held twice a month at a studio on the Southern side of the city, in an effort to accommodate the New Church people living in that section.

     The Children's Christmas Festival was held on Sunday, December 22, at the church room. A series of six miniature tableaux was presented. These small tableaux, which were beautifully done and very effective, were arranged and executed by the pastor and Mr. Edward Matthias.

     Christmas hymns were sung between the scenes, and portions of the Word read by the pastor. Following this presentation, a buffet supper was served to forty persons, and gifts were distributed to the children. A very delightful sphere of rejoicing over the Birth of Our Lord prevailed.

     For several weeks before Christmas the pastor preached a series of very enlightening sermons on the spiritual significance of the Christmas story. The sermon on Christmas Eve dealt with the account of our Lord's Journey to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph, and of His tarrying there in the Temple, while they returned to Nazareth. This teaches us how the Lord seems absent from us as we recede from the active states of heaven and the church in us, and that we cannot find Him among the relatives and acquaintances, that is, among the things that bear relation to our proprium. We must return to Jerusalem, to the Temple, to find Him. Whence He said, "Wist ye not that must be in the things of my Father?" (Luke 2:49.)

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated on Sunday, January 26, when a luncheon was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Klippensteen, following Divine Worship at the studio. After the luncheon, the pastor gave a talk on the contemporaries of Swedenborg, showing the beginning of the new era of increasing liberty on all planes of life.

     We were very fortunate in the Fall in having Mrs. Mary Upton, with her two daughters, make her home in Los Angeles. Already she has proved a worthy addition to our group. We have been happy to have Mr. Alexander Iungerich as a frequent and very welcome visitor. Mr. and Mrs. M. R. Savage and family, of Pasadena, have attended services on two occasions. Other visitors at church have been: Mrs. Reginald W. Brown, Mr. John Potts, of Bryn Athyn; Mrs. Ruth Headsten, Mrs. Lenore McQueen, Miss Phoebe Junge, Miss Hockings, and Mr. Carl Junge, of Glenview; and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Waldron, of Trona, Calif.

     Mrs. Mabel Keith Douglas was called into the spiritual world on Saturday, December 28. She was born in Ireland and later removed to Canada, where she became a friend of Dr. and Mrs. W. A. McFall, of Toronto, at whose home she first learned of the New Church. She has been an earnest and loyal supporter of the New Church Society in Los Angeles from the time of its organization, and it is with a feeling of deep loss that we record her passing away from us; for her genial personality and lovable character endeared her to us all. We pray that she may find her eternal home among the blessed in heaven.
     V. G. B.

     CHICAGO, ILL.

     The Christmas observance and holiday season in Sharon Church mere very delightful, closing with a social party given by our pastor and Mrs. Gladish to seventy-five people, including friends from Glenview, Benton Harbor and Linden Hills.

     In celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday on January 29, fifty New Church men and women met around the festive board in our church rooms, with Mr. David F. Gladish as toastmaster.

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The opening song to "Sharon Church" was composed and led by Mrs. David Gladish, after which the toastmaster introduced the subject of the evening by speaking of the great influence of Swedenborg's work in promoting the increase of freedom and democracy in the world. This was followed by a song about the speaker, written by Mr. Winfred Junge. Our pastor then gave a very interesting account of Swedenborg's meetings and interviews with many notable personages in the world of spirits and heaven,-Caesar Augustus, Cicero, Louis XIV of France, George II of England, and others,-the happy lot of some being contrary to what history might lead us to expect, showing how little we can judge as to the spiritual states of men. (An account of George II is given in the Apocalypse Revealed, nos. 341 and 716.) The song to "Swedenborg the Revelator" was sung, and also one to our pastor,-"May he live to be a hundred!"

     Mr. William Taylor then spoke on "The Development of the New Church to the Present Time," recalling the small beginnings in early times, with their unselfish, whole-hearted and forceful leaders, who made possible the progress that has since been made. A song to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor followed, written and sung by Mrs. David Gladish, whose skill in producing catchy, humorous rhyme gave evidence of her Junge inheritance. Then we all joined in "Friends Across the Sea."

     The next speaker was Mr. Charles Lindrooth, who gave a full and well-studied description of the states of the English, the Dutch, and the Germans in the other world, speaking also about the things revealed concerning the Papists, Mohammedans, and Jews. Our gifted song writer then paid tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Lindrooth and their devotion to the church. We all then enjoyed hearing a paper on "Swedenborg and his Mission," written by an eighth grade pupil of the Immanuel Church School, and read to us by Mr. Winfred Junge.

     After more songs by two quartettes, we closed with a song to Mrs. W. L. Gladish, who "is always pleasant and never saddish, and invites us to dinner over and over and over again."
     E. V. W.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The January meeting of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy listened to a short and pithy paper by Mr. Cedric King dealing with conditions in our society uses, functions and performances as affecting the younger people. The topic was of such interest that several members were on their feet at one time seeking recognition by the chair, and it was finally voted to continue the subject at the next meeting.

     The celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday was held as a banquet on Friday, January 31, with Mr. Russell Stevens as toastmaster. The general subject of the evening was "Achievement," and the topics of "Scholastic Preparation," "Social Achievement." "Unification of Groups," and "Achievement in Use," were ably taken care of by four of our young men. Space does not permit a recording of the many useful suggestions advanced, also constructive criticisms as to the work in our schools and society, but the spirit and though displayed by the young men, and of those who spoke later, gave gratifying evidence of active interest. The first toast, "To Emanuel Swedenborg," was responded to by our pastor, who spoke of Swedenborg's preparation for the opening of his spiritual sight, and of some of his remarkable experiences after this was accomplished. Several of the women present were moved to address the meeting on the various subjects discussed, an innovation with us.

     The two meetings mentioned above were attended by two visitors, who also addressed us: Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs, of Saginaw, Mich., and Mr. Fred Waters, of London, the latter giving a vivid account of the conditions in the societies of the General Church in England.

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     The two popular young widows, heads of our social committee,-Mrs. Benjamin McQueen and Mrs. Joseph B. Headsten, accompanied by three young companions, just completed a five weeks' auto trip to California, Arizona, Mexico, Louisiana, Florida, and the intermediate States. They attended Sunday services in the Los Angeles church, and had a splendid trip with no untoward incident.     
     J. B. S.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The month of January opened with a "shower" for Miss Mary Smith, on the seventh, held under the auspices of the Ladies Circle at the home of Mrs. C. R. Brown. The prospective bride departed well laden with the kitchen equipment so dear to the heart of a good housewife.

     On the sixteenth we turned out in full force to see our first 1936 wedding, that of Miss Mary Smith to Mr. Sidney Parker. Mary has been known and loved by all since her childhood, and has cheerfully served the society as Organist. Sidney came here from England several years ago, and has also taken his full share in our uses, being electrician-extraordinary to the church. A lovely sphere pervaded the service, and continued in the reception held in the Assembly Hall afterwards. As a token of appreciation for her services as Organist, the bride was presented by the society with a set of the Arcana Coelestia. A particularly happy aspect of the event was the presence of Sidney's mother, Mrs. Stanley E. Parker, from England.

     The laughter and songs had hardly died away when, on January 20, in common with the rest of the Empire, we learned with grief of the passing into the spiritual world of our Monarch, George V. On Tuesday the 28th a special Memorial Service was held at the church. In the simple but moving service the pastor pointed out that it is right to assume that a man so devoted to his use will carry on such a use in the spiritual world.

     It was with regret that the society said good-bye for some time to the popular editor of "Chatterbox," Mr. Ernest Zorn, who has been moved by his firm to Montreal. He left shortly after the wedding, and does not expect to return for a couple of years. Our loss is a gain to the Montreal Circle, to which he will doubtless be a decided asset.

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated on the 29th with a banquet at the church. A novel incident was a visit from the great man himself, although his features closely resembled those of Mr. Desmond McMaster. Games and dancing completed the evening. The committee, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Alec Sargeant, Mr. and Mrs. Percy Barber and Mr. and Mrs. Archie Scott, were heartily congratulated.

     The month concluded with a Swedenborg's Birthday party for the children, under the auspices of Theta Alpha, on the 31st.
     A. C.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated with a banquet on Friday evening, January 31, and Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay was a gracious toastmaster. The Rev. William Whitehead, of Bryn Athyn, was guest of honor and speaker of the evening. He gave us an inspiring address on the nature of Swedenborg's preparation during the years 1110-1712, chiefly in London, and aligned his experiences and reactions with experiences and changes of the present day. Following this address, the Rev. Willard Pendleton spoke on "The Relation of Science to Natural Truth." There was a brief discussion, and the banquet closed with the singing of "Our Glorious Church."

     The next evening, the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy met at the home of Mr. A. O. Lechner, and Mr. Whitehead spoke on the subject of "Individualism and Collectivism." On Sunday morning he delivered a fine sermon on "Solomon and Pharaoh's Daughter." (I Kings 3:1; 7:8.) This service concluded a delightful weekend, and we hope that Mr. Whitehead enjoyed his visit as much as we enjoyed having him here.

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And may it not be too long before he visits us again!

     Sub-zero weather, heavy snow, chicken pox, and "sneezels" gave the pupils of the Day School a recess from January 21 to February 3. While the children are always delighted with a vacation, they are as anxious to return to school as their parents are to have them return.

     The doctrinal class conducted by our pastor in Tarentum is enthusiastic. Our own meetings and classes have been held as usual, and plans have been made for a very busy Spring in the society.
     E. R. D.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     After many rehearsals and vicissitudes, "Green Stockings," a comedy in three acts by A. E. W. Mason, was produced by "Viola Heath," who deserves thanks and praise from us all. The play was bright and sparkling, enhanced by a stage setting that was attractive with good furniture, pictures and flowers, and by the twelve players who looked charming in their afternoon and evening finery. It was thoroughly enjoyed by an overflowing house. Viola received an ovation, and was presented with a beautiful bouquet of roses. Viva Ridgway, the heroine, was splendid, and also received a bouquet. Since then, her engagement to Joseph Ball, only son of the late Captain and Mrs. J. J. Ball, of Salcombe, Devon, has been announced. We wish them every happiness.

     At the closing exercises of the school on December 13, Mr. Acton gave a fine, stirring address which impressed us with the feeling that it is a privilege to have a New Church school, and to make a sacrifice of the worldly advantages offered by other schools, yet not really a sacrifice when life in preparation for heaven is the first thought. Miss Champion's report was a little sad, for she is leaving the school for six months, to gain a much needed rest by a trip overseas. Still sadder was the reminder that Miss Braby is leaving the school altogether, to study domestic science. She has been such a thorough and well-loved teacher, with a special gift for the little ones, that we shall greatly miss her. Mr. Acton, Miss de Carcenac, and Miss Pemberton will teach the five classes next term.

     Theta Alpha gave the children a delightful Christmas Party on December 18. They came dressed as fairies, and danced round the prettily lit tree in the center of the Hall. Many games were played, and then Santa Claus entered and was greeted by each child in turn amid great awe and wonderment. When he had given each a gaily wrapped present from the tree, he said farewell and left as suddenly as he had come. Later the curtains on the stage parted, revealing a long table lit with seven red candles, and laden with jellies and cakes and sweets for the delectation of the children. At seven o'clock they departed for home, tired but happy after this delightful introduction to the Christmas spirit.     

     That spirit was more deeply felt by us at the service on the Sunday before Christmas, when an impressive sermon on "The Advent of the Lord" was delivered by our beloved pastor, and was followed by the administration of the Holy Supper to many communicants.

     The children's service on Christmas Eve was a joy to all. As is our custom, the final hymn was sung in procession to the Hall, where the service was continued, and five exceedingly beautiful tableaux were introduced by the singing of hymns and the pastor's appropriate talks. During the interlude Mrs. Viola Ridgway sang sweetly. Afterwards came the presentation of fruits, nuts and candy to the children.

     Early on Christmas Day a capacity congregation celebrated the Advent in a most impressive and joyful service. Mrs. Garth Pernberton sang a lovely solo, and the choir rendered at beautiful anthem.
     S. P.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1936

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1936




     Announcements.



     The Annual Meetings of the Councils of the General Church of (he New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., from March 30 to April 4, 1936. All who expect to attend the meetings are requested to notify Miss Freda Pendleton, Bryn Athyn, Pa., in order that arrangements may be made for their entertainment.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1936

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1936

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., MARCH 30 TO APRIL 4, 1936.

Monday, March 30.
     3:30 p.m. Consistory.

Tuesday, March 31.
     10:00 a.m.* Council of the Clergy.
     3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy and General Faculty.
          Address: Professor Otho W. Heilman.
          Subject: "The Duty of Our Schools in Propagating the Heavenly Doctrines (Article II of the Academy Charter)."

Wednesday, April 1.
     10:00 a.m.* Council of the Clergy.
     3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy and General Faculty.
          Address: Miss Margaret Bostock.
          Subject: "Art in Our Schools."

Thursday, April 2.
     10:00 a.m.* Council of the Clergy.
     3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy and General Faculty.
          Address: Rev. Reginald W. Brown.
          Subject: "Reflections on Mind Building."
     8:00 p.m. Public Session of the Council of the Clergy.
          Address: Bishop N. D. Pendleton.
     
Friday, April 3.
     10:00 a.m.* Council of the Clergy.
     3:30 p.m. Executive Committee.
     7:00 p.m. Philadelphia Assembly Banquet.
          Toastmaster: Harold F. Pitcairn, Esq.

Saturday, April 4.
     10:00 a.m. Joint Council.
     3:30 p.m. Joint Council.

Sunday, April 5.
     11:00 a.m. Divine Worship. Ordination.
          Sermon: Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal.

     * The time of the morning sessions is subject to change by the Council.

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EDUCATION IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD 1936

EDUCATION IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD              1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          APRIL, 1936           No. 4
     FROM THE SPIRITUAL DIARY.

     How maidens are educated in the other life and in heaven.

     5660. They are kept together, three, four, or five; and each has her own room, and in it her bed; next to it is a closet for their clothes and other articles. There is also given them a cabinet with compartments or drawers, where they may put away the things they value, with which they are much delighted, and treasure them there.

     5661. They are always kept at their work, which is embroidery upon white linen. They embroider flowers and the like; and the things they make are either for themselves or to give to others; they do not sell them.

     5662. The garments with which they clothe themselves each day are received gratis, and without their knowing how; and a better garment for feast days.

     5663. They also have a little garden; and so long as they are virgins, there are only flowers in them, and not fruits until they become wives.

     5664. When they see spots on their garments, it is a sign that they have thought what is evil, and that they have done something which ought not to be done. The spots cannot be washed out, as from garments in the world. When they find out what they have thought and done (for at such a time they always think about it), they then see their blemishes and evils; and if they repent of them, the spots vanish from their garments of themselves.

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In like manner, when they see that any of their garments are missing from their room, they at once know that they have done wrong. In this way it is brought to their attention; and if they themselves do not know what is wrong, a wife comes who tells them. If they see that there is a new garment in their room, then they inmostly rejoice, because they know that they have done well.

     5665. When they see the flowers in their little gardens growing dim, or being changed into worse ones, they also take notice; but if the flowers are changed into better and more beautiful ones, they are glad, because it is a sign that they have been thinking well.

     5666. Silver and gold coins are also given them; and these they carefully treasure up, because they are tokens of diligence or of virtue.

     They have the written Word, and Psalmodies, and with them they go to preachings. They also read in them; and if they do not read, either some garment is taken away, or their little garden vanishes.

     5667. Preachers sometimes visit and examine them.

     The Education of Infants.

     5668. 1. They are with their nurses, whom they call their mothers. 2. They read the Lord's Prayer, and learn prayers from their nurses by means of influx from heaven. 3. There are preachers for them. 4. Intelligence flows in, and also wisdom, which surpasses the intelligence of the learned in the world, although they have only an infantile idea of these things. 5. They have representatives from heaven. 6. They are dressed according to their diligence, especially with flowers and garlands. 7. They are led into paradises. 8. They are tempted. 9. They grow according to their states of reception. 10. They are of diverse genius. 11. Nurses are given them who in the world have loved infants even like mothers, and a perception is given them as though they were their own infants; but this is only given to those who are in good, and are able to receive influx from heaven. 12. They who are educated as infants do not know otherwise than that they were born in the other life. 13. They do not know what time and space and such earthly things are. 14. They speak the angelic language within a month.

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SUPREME MIRACLE 1936

SUPREME MIRACLE       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1936

     "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and k three days I will raise it zip." (John 2:19.)

     The occasion of the text was the Lord's first visit to Jerusalem after He had been baptized by John in the Jordan. It was on this occasion that the Lord, for the first time at Jerusalem, openly declared the true nature of His mission. He had already chosen the twelve disciples in Galilee, and performed His first miracles there. But as yet He had not testified concerning Himself in Jerusalem. And so it was that, when He entered the city, He went to the temple, and there found "those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting. And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. . . . Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign shewest Thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things! Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt Thou rear it up in three days? But He spake of the temple of His body." (John 2:14-21.)

     The Jews were probably under the impression that Jesus was an official representative of the High Priest, and, as such, had been invested with the authority to drive them out of the temple. Otherwise they would have resisted. But upon learning that He was not authorized by the Church, they then assumed that He was a prophet acting under the direct command of Jehovah God; for only a prophet would dare to assume such authority in Israel. Hence it was that the Jews asked the Lord, saying, "What sign shewest Thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things?"

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Thus they asked for proof of His Divine commission. Nor is this to be wondered at, for the Jews would not hearken to the voice of a prophet who could not establish his authority by means of a miracle. The Scriptures indeed bare record of many marvelous works performed by the prophets of old, but the miracle which this man proposed had no parallel in all Jewish history. For He said unto them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The very thought was incredible; it surpassed all belief. Hence the Jews answered, saying, "Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt Thou rear it up in three days!"

     As is evident from the sense of the letter, the temple of which the Lord spake was not the temple of Herod the Great,-that imposing edifice which crowned the holy city. But He spake of the temple in which the Divine dwelt as a soul, namely, "the temple of His body." Here was a miracle indeed,-a miracle so marvelous that it defied all human interpretation. Even the disciples failed to grasp the significance of the words which the Lord spoke on this occasion. The glorification of the Human,-fully effected when He rose on the third day,-this was the miracle which the Lord proposed in answer to the demand that He prove His authority. Thus did the Lord declare the true nature of His mission. Thus did He give promise of a sign which would establish His authority. For the sign which He promised was the Glorified Human,-the supreme sign of the Lord's Divinity.

     At the time of the Advent, the spiritual state of the world was such that men refused to believe that which was not evident in the natural. A faith in an invisible God was no longer sufficient to salvation. If the human race was to be saved, it was imperative that God should be made manifest in that which was natural,-that His Divinity should be established in the very ultimates of nature.

     In no other way could man be brought to an acknowledgment of Divine authority. Thus it was that the Lord "bowed the heavens and came down." By birth into the world He assumed the human, and, by means of the process of glorification, He put off the human from the mother, and put on the Human from the Father,-the Divine Human. So comes the significance of our text, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

     Nevertheless, the miracle involved transcended all human comprehension, and even the disciples misunderstood the words which He spake.

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Like the merchants and moneychangers, they thought that He referred to the temple of Herod the Great. Nor did succeeding events in any wise alter the disciples' interpretation. Even on a later occasion, when the Lord plainly stated that He would rise from the dead on the third day, the disciples did not believe; for it is said that "Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him." (Mark 8:32.) Indeed, it was not until the Lord appeared unto them in Jerusalem, after He had risen from the tomb, that the disciples, having beheld the Glorified Human, "believed the Scriptures, and the word which Jesus had said." (John 2:22.) But even on this occasion some doubted, for they thought that they beheld a spirit. But the Lord said unto them, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39.) And Thomas, being convinced, said unto Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28.)

     "My Lord and my God!" With these words the doubting disciple acknowledged the Divinity of the Lord's Human, and identified the Lord Jesus Christ as Jehovah the God from eternity. And Thomas represents the sensual plane of the human mind,-that plane which is the last to acknowledge Divine authority. It is ever so. In the process of regeneration it is the sensual that is the last to yield in the struggle between that which is natural and that which is Divine. Nevertheless, regeneration cannot be effected except man acknowledge the Lord on all planes of life, from the rational even down to the sensual. To this end the Lord came into the world, and with this end accomplished He arose triumphant. For by means of the Glorified Human the Lord established His Divine authority in the very ultimates of nature, which is signified by the fact that Thomas believed. The promised sign had been given,-the sign which stands to all eternity as the living proof of the Lord's Divinity. For only the God of heaven and earth could rise from the dead as to the body.

     "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust,"-this is the law which disposes of that which has no life in itself. This is the way of all flesh. The material body is formed of the dust of the ground, and unto the dust it returns.

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The rational mind, in its effort to solve the mystery of the resurrection, is confronted with this inevitable law of nature. Like Thomas of old, the sensual mind will not acknowledge that which is not evident on its own plane of existence; and the rational, yielding to the demands of the sensual, denies the essential truth of the Church, namely, the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the failure of the first Christian Church. This is the failure of the degenerate man. For, as is said in the Writings, although the Christian Church tried to cover up its denial of the Lord by means of a meaningless doctrine of three persons in one God, the deadly doctrine of Arius,-the doctrine which openly denies the Lord's Divinity,-prevailed secretly to the end. (T. C. R. 638.)

     The answer is obvious. The human mind cannot of itself reconcile that which is Divine with that which is natural. The mysteries of faith cannot be solved by the theological reasonings of man. The mysteries of faith are the secrets of God. He alone can reveal and make known. Hence we do not turn to the man-made doctrinals of a dead Christian Church, in order to find a rational explanation of the dilemma involved in the Lord's resurrection. Instead, we turn to the Word in which the inmost mysteries of faith are fully revealed,-the Word of the Lord's Second Coming. Here are the veriest secrets of heaven. Here the Divine Human is plainly revealed. Like the disciples of old, whose spiritual eyes were opened, in order that they might see and believe, he who approaches the Word of the Second Coming in a spirit of reverence will be gifted with spiritual sight, and he, too, may behold the Glorified Human of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     That which is spiritual cannot be seen by that which is natural. Man cannot behold spiritual phenomena with his natural eyes. From the beginning, Divine revelation has been effected by means of spiritual sight. In the other world, we are taught, unless the spirit is aware of the fact that what he sees is spiritual, he does not know otherwise than that he is witnessing purely natural phenomena. This is why it is said that newly arrived spirits believe that they are still in the life of the body. Indeed, the very angels of heaven would believe that the phenomena of their world are natural, if it were not for the fact that they are gifted with the power of spiritual reflection,-the ability to see causes beyond the effects for this is true spiritual sight.

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This is the sight with which the mind is endowed, the sight which the eye has not.

     The ability to see causes and ends,-the ability to discriminate between that which is natural and that which is spiritual,-this it is that distinguishes man from the beasts of the field. So it is that the man who uses this God-given faculty, the man who looks to causes and ends, rather than to effects, is a man indeed. On the other hand, he who grounds his perception in the natural is likened to the beasts. This is what is meant by those numerous passages in the Writings which compare the purely natural man to all manner of wild animals. For he who looks to effects is governed by natural thought,-thought arising from natural appearances; whereas he who looks to causes and ends enjoys spiritual thought; for causes and ends are the very spiritual itself.

     With these thoughts in mind we return to the subject of the resurrection. As far as the disciples were concerned, they thought that what they beheld was the Mary body. But that which they saw was not the Mary body, for that which is material cannot rise from the dead. What they saw was the Divine Natural,-not the natural in the material sense, but the Natural which is Divine. Thus they saw and acknowledged Divine Natural Truth,-Divine Truth which can be seen by the natural man. Nevertheless, man's acknowledgment of natural truth is not necessarily a spiritual thing. Man can see and acknowledge natural truth without thinking spiritually. The child can see and acknowledge natural truth, yet the child has not the power of spiritual reflection; and spiritual reflection is essential to a spiritual or rational acknowledgment of truth. Yet the acknowledgment of natural truth is essential; it must, of necessity, precede the acknowledgment of spiritual truth, and for a time it is sufficient. So was the acknowledgment of the Divine Natural sufficient to the spiritual needs of the human race during the days of the first Christian Church. But a natural acknowledgment of God will not suffice forever. The time came, even as it comes in the life of every man, when a natural acknowledgment of God was no longer sufficient to the task of regeneration. It was essential that a new revelation should be given,-a revelation that would serve as a means for a spiritual acknowledgment of the Divine Human. A new vision had to be given,-a rational vision that would endure to all eternity.

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     In the Lord's own time this vision was given. Once again the Lord revealed the Glorified Human. But this revelation was different from the former, in that it was a complete revelation, according to the promise in Matthew, "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid, that shall not be known." (Matt. 10:26.) And again, in John, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth. He shall glorify me; for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:12, 13.) The Spirit of truth, or what is the same, spiritual truth! This revelation was not to be another natural revelation, but a spiritual revelation,-a revelation by means of which man might be brought to a spiritual acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. For that which is revealed in the Writings is the Glorified Rational,-that rational which the Lord made Divine by means of the glorification process. And he who beholds the Glorified Rational will be gifted with the ability to think spiritually concerning Divine things.

     Spiritual thought is thought concerning causes and ends. This, then, is why the Writings are a spiritual revelation; for they enable man to raise his mind above and beyond natural appearances. The disciples, when they saw the Glorified Human, thought that they beheld the Mary body, but they mistook the appearance for the reality. That which they saw was the Divine Substantial,-the very primitive of all material things. But the disciples, blinded by the natural appearance, were unable to differentiate between the material and the Divine Substantial. Nor could any man, except of the Lord's Divine mercy. Yet the mercy of the Lord endureth forever.

     By means of the Heavenly Doctrine He has fully revealed that which was covered, and made known that which was hid. For the Writings of the New Church are indeed the Spirit of truth which will guide into all truth. Here is a revelation of the Divine Rational Itself. Here is the sign that will stand to all eternity as a living proof of the Lord's Divinity. Amen.

LESSONS: Genesis 27. John 2. A. C. 3509.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 534, 54.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 53, 54.

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PASSING OF A KING 1936

PASSING OF A KING       Rev. F. W. ELPHICK       1936

     (Delivered at a Memorial Service for King George V of England, held at Alpha, South Africa, January 28, 1936.)

     "And Thou hast made us unto our God Kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:10.)

     From the beginning of the human race upon the earth, men have lived under forms of government. Without government, no society, civil or ecclesiastical, could exist. In the most ancient times, government took the patriarchal form, the father of the family being the chief who combined the functions of king and priest, everyone of the family worshiping the Lord. That such an order existed in those earliest times, is evident from its survival in the Old Testament character of Melchizedek, "king of Salem and priest of the most high God," who, as the New Church Doctrines declare, was representative of the Lord,-King as to Divine Truth, and Priest as to Divine Good. But after the most ancient times, and especially in the decline of the Ancient Church, the love of self, of rule, and of dominion, began to infest men, and society eventually resolved itself into the form of nations, in which the two forms of government, civil and ecclesiastical, were distinct, with the consequent rules and methods for separate existence, involving means for aggression and defense by the civil powers.

     Yet the Divine Providence, leaving men in freedom to do whatsoever they willed, has guided their destinies in such a way that, in the functions of government, there has ever been the regal and the priestly, the civil and the ecclesiastical, the State and the Church, things temporal and things spiritual, the "rendering unto Caesar" and the "rendering unto God." And in the rise and fall and ever-changing natural life of nations and empires there is ever the contest between one power and the other. It is a contest that comes to every smaller form of society.

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Yea, the battle is waged in every individual heart and mind, whether of crowned king or subject citizen.

     Moreover, history records how nations have dethroned kings when they have become tyrants. History also shows how nations have retained royalty, honoring their king or queen, and yet have developed along the modern idea of the "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." Contemporary history also shows that, in this quickly changing world, freedom and order are in contest; autocracy battles with plutocracy, and monarchy vies with republic. We, of this generation, are living in such times of change. And in these times there has lived a King who, on the one hand, had no power, and on the other, great power; a King who was cognizant of the world-changes taking place under conditions in which all nations can see together and hear together, and be simultaneously aware of every important event in modern life. In this remarkable age His Majesty King George V has lived. Today the Home Country, the Empire, and all nations mourn his death,-his passing into that spiritual world to which all men and women go after their decease.

     The character of this mourning, however, is varied according to the different religions and doctrines of the King's subjects. But in times of crisis, when great men of world-renown pass to the beyond, there is a general sphere from the spiritual world causing millions of minds to reflect upon life and death. And so it comes to pass at this time that, beneath the arches of the Christian cathedrals which have witnessed the coronations and the burials of monarchs, or have commemorated such events, it is the Church,-the priestly function, the power spiritual,-that administers the last rites for those in whose person, by hereditary descent, the royalty, the kingly office, the duties of Caesar, power temporal, has been embodied. The office, the function of kingship, never dies. "The King is dead: long live the King!"

     Of the life and character of a king, his subjects may know little. He can only be mentally seen by them from what they have read and from what they have heard. But in the late King's life there was this exception: In these days it is possible for a ruler to be more intimate with his people. This was manifest in King George's personal message of Christmas Greeting, spoken to his peoples in all parts of the world.

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All the testimony gives the impression that George V was an exceptional Monarch,-keen to grow with the ever-changing modes and forms of modern life; a man of affairs, and of duty; and one who was able, in times of crisis, to give counsel and balance, and this in a thoroughly constitutional way.

     Because it is more inherent in some nations than in others to be loyal to a Monarch, recent history has revealed how deep was that loyalty to the late King, and what great respect other nations have felt toward him. In his passing, his subjects feel that they have lost a near friend; and however much they may differ in religious doctrine, all unite in feeling that he had a profound belief in God, the King of kings,-and carried that belief into the duties of his royal office.

     In the Doctrines of the New Church we are told why men die at various ages. Four reasons are given: 1. On account of use in the world. 2. On account of use while in the world to spirits and angels. 3. On account of use to themselves in the world, that they may be regenerated. 4. On account of use in the other life after death. (Spiritual Diary 5003.) These are universal reasons; and if we apply them to the passing of our King, we may well deduce the fact that a great use was accomplished, possibly for the cause of freedom and order, and that unseen uses were and will be accomplished in both worlds. For all the unrest that is today touching the destinies of nations is the result of unrest and judgment in the spiritual world. And, in the broadest view, it is all, directly or indirectly, a means looking to the spiritual welfare of mankind, especially by the establishment of the true Church on earth.

     In the case of every man, regeneration is linked with his use in 'the world, and he does not enter the spiritual world until a use can be performed there. His real spiritual character and value are known to the Lord alone, who determines what his eternal use is to be, and how far that use will correspond to the use and function performed in the world, whether by the great or by the lowly. For in every station of life, all who have endeavored to live according to the Lord's commands become "kings and priests,"-"kings," in the sense that they are in wisdom from Divine Truths, and "priests," in the sense that they are in good from the Divine Love,-images and recipients of the Lord's Divine Wisdom and Divine Love.

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And when this state is acquired, the Divine Love and Wisdom reigns in the Lord's Church in the heavens and upon the earth. For then is fulfilled the words of our text, "And Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm 63. Revelation 5. N. J. H. D. 311-316; 319-325.
DIVINE NATURAL 1936

DIVINE NATURAL              1936

     "The Lord made the natural man in Himself Divine, to the end that He might be the First and the Last, and thus might enter with men even into their natural man, and might teach it from the Word and lead it. For He rose with the whole natural or external man, and did not leave anything of it in the sepulchre; wherefore He said that He had bones and flesh, which spirits have not; and He ate and drank of natural foods with His disciples, and in their sight. That He was Divine, He showed by passing through doors, and by becoming invisible, which never could have been done, unless the natural man itself had also been made Divine with Him." (Invitation to the Ne2er Church, no. 56.)
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1936

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1936

     A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1936

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936

     The March and April readings cover the exposition of the forty-seventh chapter of Genesis in the Arcana Coelestia, nos. 6059-6188. We are here told of Joseph's presenting five of his brethren and his father to Pharaoh, and of their assignment to the land of Goshen; of the famine which compelled the starving Egyptians to become the serfs of the State; and of Jacob's approach to death, and his exacting a promise from Joseph that he be buried in Canaan.

     The Arcana explains the chapter in reference to the glorification of the Lord's Natural, but illustrates it through more comprehensible laws which govern man's regeneration.

     "To sojourn in the land are we come."

     There is a universal endeavor within all things, spiritual and natural, to enter into ultimates, to "Seek something ulterior in which to be and act as cause acts into effect, to the end that they may continually be producing something" (6077). Thus the mind endeavors to express itself by speech and deed through the body, and thereby to amplify and fructify itself.

     For the same reason our spiritual reflections desire ever to clothe themselves in the forms of natural knowledge such as the world and the literal sense of the Word supply. Truths seek to live in knowledge, that they may be preserved in the natural mind, and may produce new states. Joseph's brethren sought to live in Egypt's pasture lands, which represents this need.

     Unless truths of spiritual doctrine be thus introduced into the statements and phrases of the letter of the Word, the literal sense leads the mind away into every sort of heresy; while if the true doctrinal interpretations are insinuated from the internal sense as a source, the Biblical phrases become pellucid vessels in which "transparent truths" cause apparent discrepancies to vanish (6071).

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     The truths thus introduced dwell in the inmosts of our doctrinal knowledges from the Word. "Rameses" in Goshen therefore represents "the inmost of the spiritual in the natural mind"-which is a region full of ineffable things which can only be seen "in the light of heaven, thus by angels" (6104). Herein are nurtured the tender perceptions of spiritual truths which are devoid of the gross ideas of personal prejudice and of material consideration, and free from the stress of time and from the limitations of space, and which are sustained by an influx from the internal mind ("Joseph"), each according to the quality of innocence which is present with it (6107).

     "Buy us and our land for bread"

     The famine in Egypt signified a state of spiritual desolation, by which the natural mind is finally made submissive, so that even those knowledges from the Word which are not infilled with the truths of the church may become reordered and thus conjoined with these truths. Such vastation seldom occurs with man until after death (6109); and even with angels, in their evening states, and in their sensation of hunger, there recur traces of the same desolation-necessary that they may be perfected (6110). Spiritual "famine" is permitted for the sake of inducing a desire for spiritual nourishment.

     The Egyptians first gave up their silver for bread. The silver signified "all knowledges true and suitable," i.e., not darkened by falsities, or "perverted by applications to falsities and to evils by others or by one's self, for these remain when once impressed on any knowledge " (6112). What a striking picture this gives of the desolations of a church! A passage of the Word to which a false or sinister meaning is still attached is not acceptable spiritual currency within the church or within the mind.

     The next year, the starving people sold their horses and cattle. The spiritual life-and value-of scientifics from the Word can be sustained a little longer by the fact that there are knowledges from the intellectual ("horses"), which procure man freedom of choice and an ability to perceive truth; and also by the fact that, while truth cannot be seen in a state of desolation, yet the goods of truth ("cattle"), formerly acquired, still remain (6121-6125).

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     Finally, the Egyptians had nothing to give but their bodies and lands; and in making themselves serfs at Joseph's disposal, they represented the acknowledgment that all goods of the church in the natural mind, and even the faculty of receiving good and truth, belong to the internal man, thus to the Lord. This self-renunciation marks the climax of grief, and also the end of vastation and want: "In order to render one blessed and happy, the Lord desires total submission, that is, that man be not partly his own, and partly the Lord's " (6138).

     When this state comes, in the spiritual world, the spirit's natural memory is reordered, so that all things become confirmatory to the general doctrines of the church. Wherefore, the people of Egypt are said to have been removed by Joseph into cities throughout the country. Joseph supplied them with seed, but a fifth of the produce went back to the crown. This "fifth" signified goods and truths from the Lord which have interiorly affected men, and are stored up in the interiors (as states of the interior memory), where they are preserved as "remains," lest they be mixed with evils when man comes into some evil or worldly state. During regeneration they are let down into the exteriors again. But the "four fifths," which the people kept for themselves, signify states of good and truth which man has experienced, but has not appropriated interiorly or from free will, and which therefore "do not become remains." but are (so to speak) used up in the course of his external life (6156, 6157).

     Elevation into the Interior Natural.

     Because regeneration is not in knowledges (6181), but in a withdrawal from sensual thought, the spiritual sequence requires that Jacob's approaching death be next spoken of; for his death signifies the new life, or regeneration, of the natural.

     The regeneration-or, properly speaking, the "reformation"-of the natural, is effected by the Lord's insinuating spiritual life into its knowledges. This makes man to be of the external church. But "if man be such that he can be further regenerated, he is elevated thence to the interior natural, which is under the immediate auspices of the internal" (6183).

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It is thus that man is elevated into interior thought and affection, into the internal church, into spiritual good, and thus into the second heaven. This promise of "elevation" is signified by Joseph's promise that Jacob-here "Israel"-should be buried in Canaan; and also by Israel's "bowing himself upon the bed's head"; for the "head" of the bed stands for the things of the interior natural, to which man then turns (6188).

     The interior natural is what enables man to think abstractly and "spiritually," to see spiritual truths in rational light, and thus come into illustration. It is the plane of thought which is opened in the Writings for the use of the New Church. (For a treatment of this subject, see the article in NEW CHURCH LIFE for September, 1935, pages 309-319.)
DOCTRINES AND THE WORLD 1936

DOCTRINES AND THE WORLD       A. STANLEY WAINSCOT       1936

     An Impression of the Visible Effects of the Works of Swedenborg upon the Thought of the World.

     London, England, 1935.

     One hundred and seventy-eight years have passed since the Last Judgment of 1757 and the advent of that unique body of Doctrine which is in actuality the Second Coming of the Lord. One would think that such an event would have produced world-wide and far-reaching effects, inasmuch as it struck off the fetters of spiritual bondage, opened up vistas of rational understanding in spiritual things, and offered complete and satisfying answers to all human problems. Nothing less might well have been anticipated than a total overthrow of orthodoxy, and a wholesale acceptance of these wonderful revelations by the more illumined of the clergy-the intellectuals-and by the charitable of all classes.

     Unfortunately the sad facts are otherwise, and today the approximate number of people who believe in and belong to the New Church is only 15,200, out of a world population of 1,500,000,000. During Swedenborg's lifetime, only thirty people, in Sweden and England, accepted his Writings; and in 1783, eleven years after his death, only three persons were meeting in London for the purpose of discussion and study.

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Much opposition was met with; indeed, the virulence and harshness with which all attacks upon the nascent Church have been conducted compares with the physical persecutions suffered by the early Christian Church. And even among the members of the organizations of the New Church, there have been schisms and upheavals, which have been the means of insidious offensives in the hands of its enemies.

     Together with this, during almost the whole period in which the Writings have been in the world, a suffocating blanket of indifference to spiritual things has been cast over all human mental activity. Materialism, with its sponsor Haeckel and his followers; the cult of Modernism, with the bewildered Fundamentalists in a wavering and hysterical defense; the Higher Critics, with their destructive ratiocinations; and the elusive but insidiously fascinating activities of Theosophy, Spiritism, and Idealism. Among the latter, more than one have claimed Swedenborg as their shining light, which circumstance alone indicates their appalling lack of spiritual vision.

     Although we may at times feel despondent at our numerical weakness, we must recognize a few arresting and significant facts.

     Firstly, the astonishingly large number of small centres of the organized New Church, which have sprung up in nearly every country of the civilized globe.

     The General Church has 28 centres in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Sweden, France, and Holland, with a membership of 2,136, steadily growing. The General Conference possesses 68 societies in Great Britain, with a membership approximating 6043. The General Convention in America has 83 societies in 39 States, with a membership of about 6000. These two bodies admit a decline in membership in Great Britain and the United States. In other parts of the world they have centres in the following localities: Fifteen centres in Africa; 10 in Central and South America; 22 in Canada; 5 in Australia; 5 in the Philippines; 2 in New Zealand, receivers in India, Ceylon, Malay States, Japan, and societies and centres in Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Such a distribution of centers throughout the world is of Providence, since the New Church is to be a universal Church.

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And these viral centers of radiating influence are provided for the sake of the growth and expansion which must inevitably take place in the future.

     Secondly, we must appreciate that the work done by such bodies as the Swedenborg Society (London), the Swedenborg Foundation (New York), the Swedenborg Scientific Association, and the Academy of the New Church, has had, and is now exerting, an influence upon the trend of general theological, philosophical, and scientific thought in the world. Among other instrumentalities, they are the channels through which the eternal verities of the Second Coming are poured out by the way of the printing press, and, if time permitted, a survey of the fruits of their work would make encouraging reading.

     Thirdly, there is that "unknown quantity,"-the passing on of the truth to others by interested readers and believers; the apparently accidental contact with the actual volumes, or attendance at lectures and services; the perusal of tracts and periodicals; or the arresting of the mind by a statement of a prominent cleric, philosopher, or scientist, whose outlook has been modified by the inspired teachings. Such an imponderable activity can never be gauged, but it nevertheless exists.

     The New Church Evidence Society expresses the opinion that science and philosophy today has been largely affected by Swedenborg's prevision. Attention is called to the works of Royce, James, Munsterburg, and other writers in the realms of psychology and philosophy, where definite evidence is found of the great influence the works of the Seer have exerted.

     It appears, however, that, in the ranks of orthodoxy, there is still a persistent drift away from the central doctrines of the New Church,-the Divine Humanity of the Lord, and the plenary inspiration of the Word.

     Among secular authors, there has been a considerable amount of comment and recognition, albeit of a somewhat lukewarm and sentimental character in some instances. But it is becoming evident that today there are the beginnings of a mental rebound from the stark, grim, godless maneuvering of specks of animated protoplasm; and a faint interest is being awakened in such realities as Love, Life, the Hereafter, and man's relation to God, free from much of the
extravagances of an earlier epoch.

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This may coincide with the greater availability of copies of the Writings. Moreover, articles are appearing in the popular press, which, while not stressing the fact of a New Dispensation, possess a tone that is sane, correct, and dispassionate,-in great contrast with the unreasonableness of earlier years. Helen Keller is one of the notable personal influences that have made themselves felt in the stirring of the world's thought into an interest and appreciation of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Her triumphs over physical defects, and her eminence in the intellectual world, have caused many people in all parts of the world to dispose their minds, in greater or less degree, to investigate the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem.

     In conclusion, it may be said that we cart perceive somewhat of a preparing of the ground going forward at this day. And while it is true that the centre of the Church should be built upon the firm foundation of "Thus saith the Lord," much has been done by the mental radiations from the centre out into the world, and much more will be done in the future, if to our Church we "rest but true."
OPTIMISTIC OPINION 1936

OPTIMISTIC OPINION              1936

     "It would be possible to fill a goodly sized volume with instances of human belief in the personal and visible second coming of the Lord, and of expectations of the destruction of the earth. We have reason to be thankful that throughout the Christian church there is a growing Perception of the truth that the Second Advent is to be understood as a spiritual coming of the Lord. The new heaven and earth are realities, but not in a material sense. That there is a new Christian heaven in the spiritual world, formed of all those who have believed in and obeyed the Savior; that this new heaven is ultimating itself in a new social order in this present world; and that the Lord has already made His second advent by unfolding the internal sense of the Divine Word; are truths that have been taught by the New Church for more than a hundred years, and which are finding a wider acceptance and more ready welcome day by day." (From an editorial in THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, March 4, 1936.)

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1936

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     FRENCH VERSION OF A WORK; ON MARRIAGE.

     LA VERITE SUR LE MARIAGE. (The Truth About Marriage). By Mr. B. Murray. Translated and Adapted from the English by Albert Morris. Paris: Eugene Figuiere, 1935. Paper; crown 8vo; pp. 192.

     In the original book, The Truth About Marriage, published at Los Angeles, California, in 1931, the Rev. Walter Brown Murray discusses many phases of the subject of Marriage and entrance into it, treating them in forty-four short chapters, mainly in a practical way and with reference to present-day conditions and problems. While the views are set forth as the author's own, his evident object is to bring the light of the New Church to bear upon the questions with which he deals, though no reference is made to the New Church, and Swedenborg is not mentioned until the last chapter. In a Bibliography at the end, there is a list of some books of the day treating of Marriage; Swedenborg's "Marriage Love" is called "the classic for all time"; and the titles of a number of New Church collateral works are given.

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     Mr. Morris, in preparing his French version, has reduced the forty-four chapters to thirty-nine, and has added a distinctive touch by quoting a brief statement from the Writings at the opening of each chapter. He has been quite free in translating and adapting the text, and naturally encountered some difficulty in finding French equivalents for the American vernacular and slang which here and there characterize the original. His extended Biographical Notice contains a brief account of Swedenborg and some New Church organizations, cites at length the so-called "testimonials" of prominent persons, from Emerson to President Coolidge, and closes with a partial list of Swedenborg's philosophical and theological works. As a missionary booklet, the volume will serve a good purpose among French readers if it is instrumental in leading the stranger to the wonders revealed in the work on Conjugial Love.

     PERMEATION THEN AND NOW.

     At the beginning of its second year of publication with the Winter, 1936, issue, THE NEW CHRISTIANITY, quarterly periodical of the "Convention Liberals," reaffirms the editorial purpose of the journal, which was reviewed in our pages last year. (March and May, 1935.) In doing so, it recalls the magazine bearing the same title which was edited by the Revs. B. F. Barrett and S. H. Spencer (1887-1906), who represented the "permeation" point of view at that time, though not to the entire satisfaction of Mr. Wunsch and the present-day "Liberals" who sponsor the new quarterly. The earlier magazine proposed to "try to meet the growing demand for the best religious thought of this New Age, in its manifold variety of expression and adaptation, and to apply the principles of religion as now revealed to the wrong practices and mistaken theories prevalent in our day, and especially to such as threaten the physical, moral and spiritual welfare of the rising generation," while the editors of the later journal hold that they "are as eager to note auspicious trends and helpful thinking as we are 'wrong practices and mistaken theories.'" But the modern permeationist has progressed still further, as the editorial goes on to say:

     "In the first issue of the earlier NEW CHRISTIANITY, however there was an editorial on 'Our Name,' which fell far short of giving to the name the significance which we attach to it.

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The editorial defined the Christianity of the day as 'the system of doctrine and precepts taught by Christ,' and the coming Christianity as the system revealed by the Lord through Swedenborg as His servant. For one thing, there is continuity surely between what Christ taught and what He teaches now by whatever agency. More emphatically still, Christianity from the first was more than a system of beliefs, and must now be. Christianity was active discipleship then, and so is it now. Historical or promised, Christianity is religion, not merely theology.

     "Our conviction as New Churchmen is that the Lord in His Second Coming is reviving the spiritual life. Christians are being stirred and urged in countless ways to a Christian life epochally new in scope and depth. It was because that life was reviving that a teaching was formulated at the hands of Swedenborg to satisfy, guide and interpret it. The life does not follow in the wake of the doctrine, but the emergence of the life calls for interpretation and guidance.

     "Our name therefore means that we shall endeavor to interpret and promote this renewing Christian life-a life markedly different from what traditional practice had become, one that is alive with inquiry into the content of faith, intent on expression in private and public affairs, humble in self-examination as it beholds the divided and slow-moving agencies to which it falls heir in the churches, and spurred to realize its full self as it studies the contemporary world, the tendencies and spirit of which have entered the churches themselves all too influentially." (THE NEW CHRISTIANITY, Winter, 1936, p. 13.)

     The advocates of the permeation theory, as here outlined, are quite evidently less concerned about "the wrong practices and mistaken theories prevalent in our day," to which the editors of the former NEW CHRISTIANITY wished to apply the "principles of religion as now revealed." But we are assured that "the Lord in His Second Coming is reviving the spiritual life"; "Christians are being stirred and urged in countless ways to a Christian life epochally new in scope and depth"; and it was "because that life was reviving that a teaching was formulated at the hands of Swedenborg to satisfy, guide and interpret it."

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And "the life does not follow in the wake of doctrine, but the emergence of the life calls for interpretation and guidance."

     To us, this means that the Lord is now coming primarily in good, and secondarily in truth, after the manner prevailing in the Golden Age of the first celestial church. But if this is the mode of revival at the Second Coming, we are led to ask whether there is "continuity between what Christ taught and what He teaches now." For Christ taught that faith is the first thing of the church,-the first in time with the man of the church; and if there is "continuity" at the Second Coming, then He is now also to be received in faith first of all, as the means to a reception in life. And it is our impression that this is the teaching of the Writings-that the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, in which the Lord has made His Second Coming, is first to be received in a faith of the understanding-an enlightened understanding of the doctrine now revealed by the Lord, as the only way out of the natural life into the spiritual life-a faith followed by repentance and spiritual temptation in the long course of the regeneration; and that only in this manner can spiritual good-the good of the spiritual life-be received from the Lord; that is, by a prior reception of the revealed doctrine which teaches what that good is, which man can learn from no other source, and which will lead him into the reception of that good from the Lord, if he is willing to follow the leading of the doctrine. In short, life does "follow in the wake of doctrine," and not the reverse. This is the Divinely revealed mode of operation in the "revival" or raising up of a spiritual church among the remnant of the Christian age.

     "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8.) He comes when only a few, a remnant, are able to receive Him. These are said to be in "simple good which has in it a longing for truth," and among Christians it is a remnant of Christian good. These few, of Providence, are indeed "quickened" as to their good and its affection of truth, and thus prepared by the Lord to receive His newly revealed truth when it is presented to them, that they may be led thereby into the spiritual life. If there are many at this day who are being so quickened, why is it that so very few are openly and avowedly accepting the Heavenly Doctrine?

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Every New Churchman would rejoice to see genuine signs that many are being " satisfied " with the precious truths revealed in the Writings of the New Church. We do not believe that there are such signs. The New Church is still with a few. And it is our conviction that the permeationist is mistaking the post-Judgment state of freedom in matters of religion and theology for a genuine "revival of spiritual life." We may recall what is said concerning this new freedom:

     "Hereafter the man of the church will be in a freer state to think about matters of faith, and about the spiritual things which are of heaven, because spiritual freedom has been restored. . . .I have conversed with the angels about the state of the church hereafter. They said that they do not know things to come, because the knowledge of things to come belongs to the Lord-alone; but they do know that the servitude and captivity, in which the man of the church has been hitherto, has been taken away, and that now, from restored freedom, he can better perceive interior truths, if he is willing to perceive them, and thus to become interior, if he is willing to do so; but that still they have slender hope for the men of the Christian Church. . . ." (Last Judgment 73, 74.)

     And as to modern writers on theology, where among them will you find any perceptive acknowledgment of the Lord in His Divine Human! You may perhaps find one here and there who has caught the phrase from a perusual of the Writings, certain volumes of which have been widely distributed among the Protestant clergy, who may make some slight use of them before selling them to a secondhand bookstore. This kind of permeation is taking place, but it leads to no actual reception of the Lord in His Second Coming among those who do not really want the guidance of a New Revelation, but who are mainly concerned with a revamping of the theology of a dead Church in the light of their own learned opinions-that is, when they are not invalidating the most vital things of the Christian theology by their scientific naturalism.

     The New Church, with its revealed Doctrine, has infinite things to impart to the present-day Christian theologian, and little to receive from him-and this chiefly the evidence that he is not willing to accept the new Doctrine. And those New Churchmen who affect to see so many signs of the Second Coming in the writings of the theologians would do well to ponder the warning contained in what Swedenborg wrote about his own case in a letter to Dr. Beyer, as follows:

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     "My opinion concerning the writings of Bohme and L-I have never read either; I was forbidden to read writers on dogmatic and systematic theology, before heaven was opened to me; because unfounded opinions and inventions might thereby have easily insinuated themselves, which afterwards could only have been removed with difficulty; wherefore, when heaven was opened to me, I had first to learn the Hebrew language, as well as the correspondences according to which the whole Bible is composed, which led me to read the Word of God over many times; and as God's Word is the source whence all theology must be derived, I was enabled thereby to receive instruction from the Lord, who is the Word." (Tafel Documents, Vol. II, p. 260.)
BULLETIN 1936

BULLETIN              1936

     An issue of THE BULLETIN OF THE SONS OF THE ACADEMY for February, 1936, comes to hand in printed form, and under the editorship of Mr. Richard R. Gladish, appointed to succeed the Rev. Vincent C. Odhner, who has resigned on account of the press of other duties. This 8-page "Bryn Athyn Chapter Number" is featured by a photograph of Dr. Alfred Acton and a brief account of his career; editorial comment; news of the Sons' organization; and interesting information concerning activities "Around the Academy." Further issues of THE BULLETIN are promised for March and May, to be devoted to the activities of the Sons in England, South Africa, Sweden, Glenview, Canada, and Pittsburgh, where the Annual Meeting is to be held, June 26-28, 1936.
SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION MAGAZINE 1936

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION MAGAZINE              1936

     We have received the December, 1935, issue of Tlhahiso (The Expositor of the Revelation of the New Church), edited by the Rev. F. W. Elphick and printed by the General Church Mission at Alpha. For financial reasons, this 46-page number is the only one published in 1935, instead of the customary sit. It contains many items of Mission news, and a series of brief articles in Sesuto, Zulu, and English, some of them in all three languages.

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     This will be my last news report, as, with the Bishop's approval I have obtained the acceptance of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson as pastor in my place, and he will, I presume, keep the thread of the news unbroken by sending reports to New Church Life hereafter.

     On Sunday, January 13, the inauguration of Mr. Henderson into the Hurstville Pastorate took place, and we now look forward to the continuation and consolidation of the Lord's New Church in this delightful and fast developing district.

     Another news item is the canceling by Miss Taylor, of the remaining debt of about 5300.00 on the church building, so as to leave more money free for church expenses.

     Then there are our Christmas celebrations that must be chronicled. These were extended over three days. The first was a children's Christmas service on Sunday, December 22, in place of the usual Sunday School. Mr. Henderson officiated, and at the conclusion of the service a very fine Representation of the Christmas story was shown.

     On the 23d, at 8.00 p.m., a Christmas celebration was held, at which three tableaux were shown, the scenes being: 1. The Three Wise Men; 2. The Shepherds; and 3. The Babe in the Manger. Before each presentation, Mr. Henderson read suitable portions of the Word.

     On December 25, we held our first Christmas Day service in Hurstville. Services on that Day were last held among us many years ago in Miss Taylor's home.
     RICHARD MORSE.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Since the beginning of the year, our pastor has discontinued the Children's Services, and instead is devoting a short portion of the Sunday morning service to a children's address, taking as subject each week one of the Ten Blessings. This address, which is made quite understandable to our future New Church men and women, is followed by a hymn from the Hymnal, old and young joining in the singing of this well-loved music.

     Although no party had been planned to celebrate St. Valentine's Day, as it happened it was remembered. A number of people turning up for the weekly supper and class, and finding that the pastor was prevented by illness from attending, enjoyed an impromptu party of ping pong and bridge, hurriedly arranged by our very active young people.

     The "showery" season would appear to be somewhat premature in our society, as a lovely "shower" in honor of Miss Ruby Smith, a March bride-to-be, would exemplify. Arranged by the Ladies' Circle, a downpour of pots, pans, and almost every utensil essential to a well-equipped kitchen, assured Ruby that this variety of "shower" was most welcome, even if it wasn't the season.

     Such a day as the twenty-ninth of February could not be passed by unnoticed, and the young people had a golden opportunity to work out all sorts of novel ideas for a Leap Year Dance-ideas that were projected in entirely different decorations, dances and refreshments. Perhaps the most novel idea of the evening, and certainly the most lively, was the grand prize of the evening,-a Shetland collie pup!

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Those attending heartily agreed that it was a Doggie Party!

     The Ladies' Circle has been well "tea-ed" this month, two being held during February. The first was post-nuptial tea, held at the home of our most recent bride, Mrs. Sydney Parker; and the second was in honor of Mrs. Emil Cronlund, of Bryn Athyn, who has been visiting her sister, Miss Blanche Somerville.
     M. P.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     At our weekly Friday classes the pastor is delivering a series of seven or eight lectures which comprise an outline of Doctrine,-a course on the fundamentals of New Church Doctrine. And they seem, as designed, to leave out no important feature of our teaching, though dealing with all points in as striking a way as possible. The idea is to make these lectures the foundation of a booklet for Such purposes as the term "outline" may suggest. The course is proving very informative, even to those older members who are well read in the Writings, and the talks are being followed with rapt attention by all.

     Several men in our society have been injecting considerable new interest into the work of the Day School, by offering lectures to the children on various subjects which are their specialties. Among the men who have engaged in this work are Judge Charles Cole, Mr. Ralph Synnestvedt, and Mr. G. A. McQueen with his famous talks on the Castles of England. And Mr. Werner Hager, a professional singer, has provided an hour of solo singing and a talk about songs.

     Other men of the society, both old and young, acting under a committee of the Sons of the Academy chapter, have arranged a schedule under which they will give their time and services in promoting sports among our school children and young people, including the giving of instruction in such sports. This is a very laudable undertaking, and ought to be of great benefit to our society. Judge John Synnestvedt gives instruction in billiards, as an indoor winter sport; Mr. Alan Fuller in tennis; Mr. Leslie Helm in volley ball; and others in other games, including even ping pong. The project is not in full swing as yet, as it is too soon for outdoor sports.

     The principal social event during the past month was a Mardi Gras entertainment, starting with a supper of appropriate viands, the chief item of which was an ample supply of genuine Italian spaghetti. All attended in costume, and a rich evening was enjoyed, with specialties, concert numbers, and dancing.
     J. B. S.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     On January 29 the school children were entertained at a luncheon party to celebrate Swedenborg's Birthday. The program commenced at 10.30 o'clock, and after luncheon, while still at table, the members of the senior class read papers on a variety of subjects connected with Swedenborg. The Rev. Henry Heinrichs then addressed the children, coordinating the subjects of the different papers. A large birthday cake, iced in yellow and blue, was the center of attraction at the luncheon table. In the evening the society honored the day with a banquet and social. Mr. Heinrichs spoke on the subject of Swedenborg's inspiration, showing that it was rational enlightenment, thus quite unlike the verbal dictation to the prophets. Messrs. Rudolph Potts and John Kuhl treated interestingly of Swedenborg's contacts with men of his time. The latter part of the evening was given over to a social time with dancing and cards.

     The Young People's class sponsored a Valentine's Day Party on February 14. Elaborate decorations, skits, and other numbers interspersed between dances, comprised an evening of lively entertainment. A good orchestra kept the dancing going until well past midnight.

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     The cold weather during the past winter provided excellent ice on the Carmel School rink, and consequently many hours of fun for the children and young people. A sleighing party to the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Kuhl on March 1 concluded the season for winter sports.

     Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Scott from Toronto and Mr. and Mrs. A. Steen from Guelph were here to swell the attendance at a record Friday supper on March 6. After the doctrinal class, an informal card party sprang into being, as we could not allow our visitors to depart so early.

     At the Friday classes, Mr. Heinrichs has been giving an interesting series of lectures on the "Principles of the Academy," using the booklet by Bishop W. F. Pendleton as a text. A thorough study of the doctrines underlying each principle is being presented.
     C. R.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     Dedicatory Services.

     When De Charms Hall was visited by a destructive fire on Sunday, February 3, 1935, the stone wails survived and were retained in the rebuilding operations, which were sufficiently completed to make it possible for the Bryn Athyn Elementary School to enter into the use of the new building on Monday, March 16, 1936.

     Owing to the limited capacity of the Assembly Room on the first floor, it was found necessary to hold two Dedicatory Services, one for adults on Sunday evening, March 15, and the other for all the school children on Monday morning. Both were inspiring services, and we feel sure that the readers of the Life will be interested in an account of these occasions, and in a brief description of the building.

     Seating accommodations for 300 persons had been provided in the Assembly Room, and on Sunday evening there were approximately 325 in attendance, a number being compelled to stand. In addition, a score or more could not gain access to the room, and devoted the time to an inspection of the building.     

     The service opened with the singing of the Introit, Hymn No. 82, during which the officiating ministers, the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner and Bishop de Charms, entered the Chancel. Bishop de Charms first opened the Repository, and placed therein a copy of the Word; then followed the Sentence, and the regular sequence of the VIIIth General Office, with the exception of the substitution of the Psalter on page 209. The Lessons were read by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, the First Lesson being from the Prophet Zechariah, chapter 8, and the Second Lesson from the work on the Divine Providence, no. 317a. These were followed by the singing of Hymn No. 117, after which Mr. Odhner delivered an intensely interesting address, a summary of which follows.

     "Our hearts are uplifted with gratitude today," he said, "as we gather for the dedication of this building to serve in the eminent use of educating children according to the principles of the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church, given by the Lord in His Second Coming."

     He then outlined the gradual development of primary education in Bryn Athyn, tracing its growth from the time when, in 1903, the school occupied four rooms on the first floor, of Benade Hall, through the twenty-five years during which De Charms Hall had served this important use, and during which period about 300 pupils had graduated from its halls. He spoke of the parental privilege of educating their children, which parents had jealously guarded in all past ages, in spite of its having often been claimed as a right by State or Church. The call for New Church education came from parents, who offered their children into the care of the school, in order that the training begun in the home might be more effectively and satisfactorily carried toward its ultimate goal of transforming all worldly knowledge into means for spiritual progress and eternal usefulness. Further he emphasized the necessity of Baptism, as bringing insertion among spirits of a similar faith, and as means of protecting our children against the engulfing spheres arising from spirits of alien religions.

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While New Church education cannot ensure salvation, it constitutes a preparation for the life of regeneration, and aims to do more than prepare the citizen of earthly society, directing the mind rather to dwell upon the Lord's eternal kingdom of uses, and upon heaven as pattern of life.

     "It is for the presence of the Lord in and through our work that we pray on this day; that He may cause the translucent walls of His New Jerusalem to descend protectingly about our children. May He bless the Church of His Holy City, and provide that the City shall yet be `full of boys and girls, playing in the streets thereof'! (Zechariah 8:5.) May He make this school a haven against the storms of doubt and perversity! May He dedicate us all to uphold the hands of those to whom the conduct of this work may be entrusted, and grant to them wisdom and illustration, so that in these halls the uses of heaven may be reflected!"

     The address was followed by the singing of the 37th Chant, after which Bishop de Charms, placing his hand upon the Word in the Repository, "In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ" formally dedicated the building to the uses of New Church Education. And the service ended with an earnest prayer that we all might be inspired to "suffer the little children to come unto Him," in order that He might "take them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and bless them." As the officiating ministers retired, the congregation sang Hymn No. 54 as a recessional.

     After the service the whole building was open for the inspection of all present, and the teachers received visitors in their classrooms. Enthusiastic approval was universal. All were surprised and delighted with the beautiful and extremely efficient accommodations achieved by those who were charged with the responsibility of constructing the new building,-the Building Committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn; the members of the Faculty, who made an extensive study of the needs of the school; the architects, Messrs. Carswell, Berninger, and Bower; the builders, William T. Wright, Ltd., of Newtown, Pa.; and the artists, Messrs. Thorsten Sigstedt and Louis Ewald, who carved and decorated the Repository.

     The new structure has been built entirely within the limits of the old walls, except for a semicircular addition at the Northeast corner, approximately 13 feet wide and 9 feet deep, which is utilized on the first floor as the Chancel in the Assembly Room, and on the second floor as a glassed-in alcove for the Kindergarten room.

     The entire East end of the first floor is occupied by the Assembly Room, which is about 56 feet long and 30 feet wide, exclusive of the Chancel. This latter, as before indicated, is a semicircular recess, in the center of which, built into the wall, is a beautifully carved Repository for the Word, the background for which is in deep blue, a large Star in the center symbolizing the Lord as the "Morning Star," and a crown of twelve stars in an oval form around it symbolizing all knowledges by means of which the Lord is known. On the inner side of the doors of the Repository, when opened, may be seen Two Cherubim. (Ezekiel I.) The base of the book rest is carved with a Hebrew inscription, meaning "Holiness to the Lord!" At the top of the Repository is a Greek inscription meaning, "Suffer the little children to come unto me"; and the design on the outside of the doors is to represent the two olive trees seen by Zechariah, which are "the two spirits of God." The Chancel is raised two steps above the floor of the room.

     In addition to the Assembly Room, the first floor contains rooms for the School Print Shop and Manual Training, and a Play Room 56 feet by 24 feet in size, occupying the entire West front of the building. On the second floor in front there is a large Religion Room, and next to it the Principal's Office; also classrooms for kindergarten, first, second and third grades.

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Classrooms for grades four to eight are located on the third floor, where there is also a recreation room for the teachers.

     All the classrooms are furnished with large slate blackboards and cork tack boards in neat gray frames, with ample closet space, and with ward-robes for each grade in its own classroom; and all the rooms are abundantly lighted through immense windows which are to be shaded by venetian blinds. Each classroom has up-to-date desks and chairs for teachers and pupils.

     As in the old building, corridors run through the middle of each floor, being well lighted by prisms in the classroom walls. Here the floors are mastic the laid in 10-inch squares of several different colors. On the floors of all the rooms there is linoleum of a brown color with lighter streaks running through it, and with a black border. The walls are finished in a rough plaster of an attractive buff tint, and the ceilings are a pearl gray that well reflects the indirect electric lighting.

     The space at our disposal will not permit a more detailed description of this most beautiful and satisfying school building. Suffice it to say, that it is far better in every way than the most optimistic among us dared to hope for with the funds at our disposal. Cordial thanks are due to all those who participated in the work for their highly satisfying achievement.

     A most delightful Dedication Service was held in the Assembly Room on Monday morning, March 16, at 9 o'clock, with an attendance of about 200 children, twelve teachers, and a few visitors. The children, accompanied by their teachers, marched in procession from their classrooms, and during the singing of the Introit, "Arise, O Lord, into Thy Rest," Bishop Pendleton and Bishop de Charms, and Principal Otho W. Heilman, entered. Bishop de Charms conducted the service and read the two Lessons,-from Revelation XXII:1-4, 12-17, and Apocalypse Revealed 151. After the singing of a hymn, he addressed the children, and we give a summary of his remarks:

     When a building is erected for an important use, it should be dedicated and set apart just for that use. The building in which we are gathered was erected in order that it might be a school for the children of the Bryn Athyn Society. The old building was destroyed by fire, and for more than a year we have been without a proper building in which to hold school. And now, in entering this new building, our first thought must be of the Lord.

     Our school is a New Church school. Its first purpose is to teach about the Lord and heaven, and about how we must live in order to come into heaven; and we can only know these things from the Word. Therefore the central thing in all our work is the Word, and we must have a room-the most important room in the building-where the Word may be kept, and where we may worship the Lord. There must also be a Repository, in which the Word may lie, and which is to be opened when we worship the Lord, and kept closed to protect the Word at all other times. When the priest first opens the Repository, and puts the Word into it, that brings the Lord into the building. In speaking the words of dedication, the priest places his hand upon the Word, and thus the words he speaks become a solemn oath before the Lord that the Word will be guarded against all harm; and everyone present takes part in this oath, and becomes responsible for its keeping. In the present instance there have been two services of dedication, but they are really one; and therefore all the children who take part in this second service also take part in this oath.

     Bishop de Charms then explained in detail the meaning of the symbols carved upon the Repository, and closed by expressing the hope that these things would help them to remember and do their part in this work.

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     Principal Heilman then spoke to the children, saying that this would be the first of a series of short talks he planned to give them, telling them what he had learned during the building of the new school,-about the Building Committee, the architects who drew up the plans, and the builders who erect the building. He spoke of the necessity for close cooperation between the different departments of the work, to the end that each part may be ready at the right time to fit into its proper place among the other parts. There are two ways in which cooperation may be obtained. One is to have legal papers, with penalties if things are not done on time; the other way is far better, and it is the method used in erecting this building,-to gather a group of men together in whom we have confidence, and who all love the work they are to do, and work together for the common and from love, and not from compulsion. He counseled us all to continue to cooperate in this way, and to carry on the work we have now begun.

     Bishop Pendleton then addressed the children briefly. "It seemed like a misfortune to us when the old building burned down, and we were very unhappy; but we have now found new happiness in a much better building. Similar things happen in the lives of all the people we know. Happiness alternates with unhappiness. It is true even with children. And the knowledge that we are going to be happy again gives us strength to bear the unhappiness. The Lord provides these changes, and we can only be saved by going through temptations. Periods of distress and misfortune must come, because they are the only means by which we can work from a lower to a higher state of life. The Lord continually provides the happiness. We see that the Lord has indeed blessed us in permitting our old building to be burned. May it be a lesson to us for all our lives!"

     The service then closed with singing, a prayer, and the pronouncing of the benediction.
     WM. R. COOPER.

     MINISTERIAL CHANGES.

     Bishop Pendleton has announced that the Rev. Dr. Alfred Acton will be ordained into the Third Degree of the Priesthood of the New Church at the service in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral on April 5, 1936.

     The Bishop has also informed us of the following changes:

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson has been chosen as pastor of the Society at Hurstville, Sydney, Australia, succeeding the Rev. Richard Morse, who has retired from the pastorate of that Society.

     The Rev. Elmo C. Acton, pastor of the Durban Society in South Africa, has accepted a call to Bryn Athyn to teach in the Schools of the Academy of the New Church, and to perform certain ministerial duties in the General Church.

     The Rev. Philip N. Odhner, of Bryn Athyn, Pa., has been called to the pastorate of the Durban Society, and has accepted. He expects to sail for South Africa early in the month of June.

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"NO TEMPLE THEREIN." 1936

"NO TEMPLE THEREIN."       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936




     Announcements.




NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          MAY, 1936           No. 5
     "And I sate, no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty is the temple of it, and the Lamb." (Revelation 21:22.)

     Among all the apostles, it was given to John alone, the last surviving, to be introduced-while still a mortal-into the very audience-chamber of God. There he saw represented the state of the church at its end,-a reign of terror and mystery and judgment. But when, in his vision, the final spiritual judgment had been completed, the wrath and the mystery ceased, and in the calm light of God's own glory John saw the Divine end and purpose of the church, and of all Revelation, pictured in its coming fulfilment as a descending City of Truth, built of clear gems, in which the souls of the blessed would walk on streets of pure gold, as of transparent glass.

     And the sacred text adds, that John "saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty is the temple of it, and the Lamb." Nor had the City need of sun or moon or candle, for the Lamb was the light thereof, and no night could there prevail. From the Lamb's throne there proceeded a pure river of the crystalline water of life, and on its banks the tree of life bore continual fruit, its leaves to be for the healing of the nations.

     John saw no temple in this New Jerusalem, where angels walked with men. Yet we observe a strange likeness-apparently intentional-between John's description of the Holy City and Ezekiel's vision of the New Temple at Jerusalem, of which he prophesied in the days of the Babylonian captivity.

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In Ezekiel's Judaic mind, his vision of a restored Temple, with its city round about, stood for an ultimate glorification and triumph of the Jewish theocracy, a return to an ideal order of society under a just prince, where peace and untold plenty reigned, and where oblations and unending burnt offerings assured Jehovah's perpetual protection for an obedient people. But this vision could never become a reality. It took its eventual place upon the vast heap of broken human hopes,-brittle hopes and ambitions which again and again smashed against the hard facts of man's selfishness and easy self-deception. An approximate fulfilment indeed came about. Jerusalem's temple was rebuilt, and for a brief period the Jews were even given an opportunity to live under their own monarch, in complete liberty. Yet they could not sustain such freedom, but fell back into sin and bondage.

     Even the letter of Ezekiel's vision shows that only in a symbolic sense could it ever be fulfilled. The deepening river of healing waters proceeding from the temple doors is but an instance of this. And the Writings make clear that the real prophetic burden of Ezekiel's vision was a spiritual order that could come to pass only after the Coming of the Lord,-the order of the Spiritual Heaven, an order reflected on earth, in partial and thwarted ways, in the sporadic accomplishments of the Christian Church, which spiritualized the prayers, the visions, and the oblations and sacrifices of the people of Israel. In the Temple of Ezekiel, with its narrow windows and hidden chambers, its courts of vast dimension and its spreading suburbs, we can discern the character of the Christian Church.

     John was a Christian. As he wrote his Apocalypse, he pictured the ancient Jerusalem in ruins-according to the Lord's prediction-and the sacrificial worship ended for all time. In the heaven-born New Jerusalem, he could discern no temple; "for the Lord God Almighty"-he adds-"is the temple of it, and the Lamb." The day of merely representative worship was over." God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth," must turn, not to the Temple of stone, but to the Temple of the Divine Body, rebuilt in the resurrection of His Human on the third day! The river of spiritual life shall not proceed from beneath the threshold of the Temple, but out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

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     John saw in the New Jerusalem the idealized fulfilment of the Christian Church then commencing-the Church of the Apostolic age, which was destined for persecution and temptation, and which, after a cosmic judgment had sifted both the quick and the dead, would miraculously take new and final form under the Lord's own auspices.

     It was, then, a New Christian Church, commencing with a return of the Christ in glory, in a Second Coming, that John described. For in the First Christian Age the Temple of representations still persisted inwardly, if not externally. There were no bloody sacrifices, no oblations. But the spiritual counterparts of the Jewish worship were there, and (with these) the tendency to confuse the representation with the actuality; until men in their human offices were credited with Divine powers, and relies or images with healing efficacy and prayers, and oral confessions or benefactions were stressed instead of the regeneration of the heart. A subtler kind of idolatry, a less discernible hypocrisy, an external worship without its internal soul of innocence and humility and charity, sprang up,-a representation of piety without a reality to sustain it, a shadow of Judea's temple lingering still in Christian lands.

     No such temple could John recognize in the New Jerusalem. Yet it is stressed in the Heavenly Doctrine that the absence of a temple in this Holy City "does not mean that there will not be temples in the New Church, but that in it the external will not be separated from the internal." (A. R. 918.) Even in heaven there are temples in which the Lord is preached and Divine Truth is taught (A. E. 699e), as even the Apocalyptic visions testify. (Rev. 11:19) And among men this worship in bodily fact, through external modes of piety,-through "the frequenting of a place of worship, the hearing of preaching, and prayers,-is also necessary" (A. C. 7038), whether it is done from love, or from the obedience of faith. The celestial of love to the Lord, which is inwardly present in all states, "cannot exist without activity, and worship is its first activity." (A. C. 1561e.)

     "At this day, those who place Divine worship in frequenting places of worship, in hearing preachings, attending the Holy Supper, with devotion, and think no further about them than that they are to be frequented because they have been instituted and commanded, belong to the external church; but they who at the same time believe that such things are to be observed, but that still the essential of worship is a life of faith, that is, of charity toward the neighbor and of love to the Lord, are of the internal church." (A. C. 8762.)

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The "temple" of external worship without any internal, a representative not even motivated by the obedience of faith, is not to be in the New Church! For such a "temple" implies the idolatry which comes from ignorance or the hypocrisy of deceit.

     Even the man of the internal church-because in internal worship continually-perceives more fully the uses, the needs, the efficacy of external worship. He accepts the leaching of the Lord in His Second Coming, that "man . . . ought not to be otherwise than in external worship also; for internal things are excited by external worship, and by it, also, external things are kept in holiness, so that internal things can inflow. Moreover, man is thus imbued with knowledges (cognitions), and is prepared to receive heavenly things; and is also gifted with states of holiness, of which he is unaware, which are preserved for him by the Lord for the use of eternal life; for in the other life all the states of his life return." (A. C. 1618.)

     What "returns" after death is the internal state which was within the worship,-states of holiness and tender trust and submission and humiliation, which are the essential things of worship, and indeed those things to which worship should lead. Such states are secretly preserved by the Lord for man's use-as a qualifying motive in all his acts, and for his actual use in the after-life. In heaven, those states are opened up and become consciously realized; the internal worship begins to express itself clearly in its own correspondent forms and external modes. The life of heaven is likened to a perpetual Sabbath, because all angelic uses are, in differing degrees, impregnated with the spirit of worship. And in order that this spirit may prevail more and more in the particulars--in the new external states of the natural of the angels-and unify their developing lives more and more, there are special Sabbaths proclaimed, for external worship and instruction, in the societies of heaven.

     Yet it is profoundly true that there is no temple in the New Jerusalem, no temple apart from God Almighty and the Lamb, no external worship which is not an actual entrance into the Body of the Lord, into the sphere of the Divine in heaven, and thus into the Divine Human.

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     The Lord must needs be present in man, to give to man of His Divine life that man may live. But man must also be in the Lord, that there may be the conjunction which is salvation. Of this the Lord spake when He said, "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." (John 14:20.) The Lord inflows into man's soul and mind and body, because He is the Creator and the Sustainer. But man's presence "in the Lord" cannot be effected except by man's free cooperation,-by his voluntarily yielding himself to the Lord's will and design. Man is in the Lord, in the Divine Body, the Divine Human, when he acts according to the order of Divine Truth from Divine Good, which is the order of internal worship. With men of the church, therefore, admission into heaven is said to be effected by their worthily partaking of the most ultimate sacrament of external worship, which is significant of the reception of the Lord's Divine Body and Blood,-a sacrament in which the Lord is wholly present in His glorified Human, and with the whole power of redemption. (T. C. R. 716-719.)

     The Lord can be wholly present with men only where every plane of mind and body is attuned to receive Him, or is correspondent and responding to His presence. All of external worship, therefore, is a preparation for the Holy Supper, a preparation and training to segregate from our worldly minds what interferes and disturbs the operation of the Lord's particular presence, and to instruct our spirits to walk in the order and light of heaven.

     External worship is a preparation for the conjunction of the external man within us with the internal man. For these two at first are in disagreement. We are taught that "the disagreement between the internal and the external man is especially known [and recognizable] during worship, yea, in every single thing of worship; for when, in the worship, the internal man wants to regard ends of the kingdom of God, and the external man ends of the world, there is a disagreement which shows itself in the worship, and this so much that the least of disagreement is noticed in heaven." (A. C. 1571.) This disagreement, when it occurs with the man of the church, must not become a matter of too great discouragement.

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It is but an indication of the need of greater integration and unity of mind; it is a natural fault to be overcome by devotion and prudent effort.

     It would be different if no internal prompting, even from the good of faith, were present with man. The quality of external sanctity with those who are, as to spirit, in the loves of self and the world, and yet live an apparently moral life, are described in the Writings. Nothing of their worship is elevated to heaven or heard there, for it "flows out from some thought of the external or natural man, and thus from their mouth into the world." "For their interior thoughts, which are of their very spirits, are full of craftiness and fraud against their neighbor; and yet it is through interiors that there is elevation to heaven. Moreover, their worship in churches, and prayers, and gestures at such times, are either the result of habit from infancy, and are thence become familiar, or they are from a persuasion that such external things contribute everything to salvation; or they are a consequence of there being no business for them at home and abroad on holy days, or of a fear of being regarded as irreligious by their companions. But worship with those who live a moral life from a spiritual origin is altogether different, for it is truly a worship of God; for their prayers are elevated to heaven, and are heard; for the Lord leads their prayers through heaven to Himself." (A. E. 182:4.)

     Thus we are further taught that "all the worship of God passes through the heavens up to the Lord, and is purified on the way, until it is elevated to the third heaven, and there it is heard and received by the Lord; everything else, being impure, is wiped off on the way." (A. E. 700:3.)

     The merciful mediations of the heavens not only clothe and modify the influx of life from the Lord, but also purify the ascending worship of our harried and earth-bound hearts. Only the pure and genuine essence of love and innocence can reach the throne of the Lamb. All the echoes of the turmoil of the world, all the fevered pulsings of the mortal flesh, die out, and are turned aside; for our angelic guardians mercifully attend only to the spiritual need,-the thirst for the water of life, the hunger for eternal good.

     But by whatever arcane modes this purification of our prayers may be effected, the promise is that the more profound messages of our hearts may be conveyed to the Lord, and may tap the infinite source of love and its wisdom in never-failing answer to our needs.

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Even like guarding cherubim, the inmost heaven, with its celestial angels, "is a guard lest anything be elevated to the Lord Himself except what proceeds from the good of love to Him and from Him." (A. E. 700:5.) This was the reason why the cherubs and vessels of the Tabernacle were overlaid with pure gold. This, too, was the reason why the New Jerusalem-wherein God and the Lamb was the Temple-had streets of pure gold.

     The gold of the Tabernacle was used to represent the sphere of Divine Good which encompasses and protects heaven,-the Body of Divine Uses, of unchanging mercy, in which the angels dwell. It is an immaterial sphere, an embodiment of Divine Truth conjoined to Divine Good, which, like an unseen atmosphere, is "the bounding, enclosing, and containing ultimate of heaven," and which "operates around an angel, and contains him in its form and power." (A. C. 9499.)

     By this sphere heaven was created, and through it is heaven maintained, and the Divine presence tempered. (A. C. 9498, 9502.) It is through this that the angels "live, and are moved, and have their being" in God. It is the medium of Divine government, through which every angel is protected against the irruption of evil out of hell, or out of his own dormant sensual will. It is the foundation and the pillar of heaven, the ultimate basis and law thereof. It is that which finites and circumscribes the limits of angelic lives, adapting their uses to the precise degree in which good and truth have been conjoined in their lives.

     Such is the Temple of Heaven, which is a one with the Divine in heaven, or with the Divine Human there. And Swedenborg once, in heaven, saw a temple-edifice which vanished utterly when, for a while, light from the inmost heaven shone in. And instead of the temple was seen the vision of the Lord alone, standing upon the Word; but so overpowering was the sphere of His holiness that the light had to be withdrawn.

     And so-in some measure-with all who, in their worship, can sustain the sphere of heaven and walk awhile on the streets of translucent gold, the temple walls will dissolve away or be transfigured into the everlasting arms of inscrutible mercy, which bear them up; and the Lord alone will be seen,-Human in approach, infinite in power-inviting them to enter into the Divine pattern of human uses. Amen.

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LESSONS: Ezekiel 40:1-5; 47:1-12. Mark 11:119. A. C, 8762.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 627. 565, 594. Psalmody, p. 107.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 54, 131.
JUNE NINETEENTH. 1936

JUNE NINETEENTH.       EVELYN E. PLUMMER       1936

In song we hail the glorious morn
     That dawned in June o'er deepest night;
From God in heaven its rays newborn
     Shone forth to fill the earth with light.
No greater day has e'er unfurled
     Its banners bright across the sky,
A hope of life to dying world,
     The advent of the Lord Most High.

To ransomed souls, imprisoned long,
     The joyful hour of freedom came,
Released they rise with shout and song
     To praise the Lord's most holy Name.
And through that world with fervent zeal
     The twelve who followed Him of yore
Glad tidings from their Lord reveal,-
     The gospel that He reigns once more!

And all the flaming heavens flash forth
     The glory of the living Word;
From east to west, and south to north,
     Declare the coming of the Lord.
The seed is sown, and men shall reap
     The harvest and its precious boon,
While nations yet unborn shall keep
     With grateful hearts this day in June.
               EVELYN E. PLUMMER.

     Tune: "O Maryland!"     See Social Song Book, page 6.

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JOHN THE BAPTIST 1936

JOHN THE BAPTIST       Rev. PHILIP N. ODHNER       1936

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     We read in the Word about a man who was sent to prepare a way for the Lord when He came to men on earth. This man was sent as a witness that the Lord had come, and as a messenger to tell them to make themselves ready to receive the Lord. The name of this man was John; not John the disciple, who followed the Lord while He was in the world, but another, called John the Baptist, because he baptized thousands of people in the waters of the river Jordan, making them ready for the Lord. And today we wish to recall what is said in the Word about this John, and tell why he was sent before the Lord as a messenger and a witness.

     John the Baptist must have seemed a strange and wonderful man to the people who lived at the time the Lord was in the world. He lived by himself in the wilderness of Judea, and he was clothed with the hair of camels, and had a belt of leather around his waist. Nor did he eat what other men eat; but it is said that he ate locusts and the honey left by wild bees.

     And while John was in the wilderness, the Word of the Lord came unto him, which means that he was filled with the love of teaching the Word. And so he went forth and preached to the people of Judea, and they came in great numbers to listen, and to wonder at this man, so roughly clad, who told them wonderful things about the Lord. John told them that the Lord, for whom men had waited for ages and ages, had at last come into the world, and that they must make themselves ready to receive Him. He said that in order to prepare themselves they must repent, that is, they must cease to do the evils forbidden in the Word, and learn to do good. When the people asked him what they should do, he said they should have charity,-that if they had two coats, they should give one to him who had none.

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And when the publicans, who were those who collected taxes for the Roman Government, asked him what they should do, he said that they should demand no more money from the people than was due. And the soldiers also came and asked him what they could do, and they were told not to do harm to anyone, and to be contented with the wages they received. People of all kinds came to John, and he instructed them what they must do to make ready for the Lord. (Luke 3:10-14.)

     John seemed so strange and wonderful that many began to think that perhaps he was the Lord for whom they waited. But John told them that he was not the Lord, but only a man sent to make them ready for the Lord. He said that he was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the solitude a highway for our God." He was the Lord's messenger, a prophet who was to prepare the people, lest the Lord when He came should " smite the earth with a curse." From this they knew who he was, for such a one had been foretold in the Word of the Old Testament. (Malachi 3:1 and 4:5, 6.)

     Besides, many of the people must have remembered the things that took place when John the Baptist was born,-how an angel had appeared to his father Zacharias in the temple, and told him that his wife Elisabeth would have a son, who would be called John; and how, because Zacharias doubted the angel, he was made dumb, and could not speak until John was born. These things made the people wonder what kind of man John would be. But John told them that he was only a humble messenger for the Lord, unworthy even to unlatch the Lord's shoes.

     The people came to John at the Jordan river, and there he baptized them with water. And there he said to them that the Lord would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire, which meant that, although John could make them ready by baptizing them, the Lord alone could save them and raise them into heaven.

     And while John was baptizing in the Jordan, the Lord Himself came unto him to be baptized. And John had never seen the Lord before, and he thought he was not worthy to baptize the Lord. But the Lord told him that it must be done, in order to fulfill all righteousness. So John baptized the Lord also; and when this was done, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God was seen descending upon the Lord as a dove.

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And a voice was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And John said: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" John then told all round about that this was the Lord, and many people followed the Lord.

     John had said that the Lord would increase, and that he would decrease. And after John had baptized Him, the Lord Himself began to preach and teach men. So John's work was done. A short time afterwards the evil king Herod cast John into prison for telling him he had done wrong, and later had him beheaded, as he had promised the daughter of Herodias.

     It was foretold in the Old Testament that unless a messenger should be sent before the Lord to prepare the people, the earth would be smitten with a curse when the Lord came. About this we are now told in our Doctrines, that if John had not made the people ready by teaching and baptizing them, the Lord could not have come among them to teach and save them. They would not have been able to bear the holiness of His presence, but would have been smitten with all manner of diseases.

     We may wonder why this would have taken place when the Lord came. The reason is, that those people were so evil that there were no longer any angels with them. There were only evil spirits, who hate the Lord. Evil spirits love all that is against the Lord. Because the Lord is light in heaven, they love darkness; and whenever the Lord comes near them, they go blind, as do owls in the daytime. The voice of the Lord in their ears is like terrible thunder. His presence puts them in horrible torture, as though they suffered from all diseases. And so it would have been with men, if the Lord had come when there were only evil spirits with them; for these evil spirits ruled their very lives. But John's baptizing purified them, so they could bear the Lord's presence, and not perish. (A. E. 724:7, 8; T. C. R. 688-690.)

     And so the Lord had first to send some one to prepare His way. And He sent John, who taught and baptized men, announcing that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, and that the Lord had come. This prepared a way, because those who were taught and were baptized could then have angels with them, and not only evil spirits. Angels are always sent to men to prepare them to receive the Lord, and to warn them to receive Him in a worthy manner. (S. D. 1648, 656; A. C. 8028.)

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The angels knew and loved what John's baptism meant, and as soon as a man was baptized by John, there was something with him that the angels knew and loved, and therefore they could be with that man, and protect him when the evil spirits were punished and conquered by the Lord when He came on earth. For the angels love the Lord and everything that is His, and when they are with a man, then that man can also love the Lord and obey Him.

     This, then, was the great use performed by John the Baptist,-that he taught men to know and love the Lord, and baptized them as a sign for the angels that they could come and live with those men, and that they were made ready for the Lord to come to them. This also is why everyone in the New Church is baptized, and is taught about the Lord.

     We must all learn the lesson taught by this story of John the Baptist. We must make ourselves ready to receive the Lord when He comes to us. For the Lord wishes to come and dwell with each one of us, and He comes to us in the Church, and after death when He brings us into heaven where He is. The Lord sends us a messenger to prepare us, and this messenger is His Word, together with the angels who inspire us to love what the Word teaches. And He commands His ministers to baptize us, as a sign for the angels that they can be with us, to guard us against evil spirits. The Lord gives us instruction from His Word, just as He gave John the Baptist to teach the Jews. And He gives us the baptism of the Church, just as He had John baptize the people. All this is to prepare us to receive Him in heaven, which you will do if only you hearken to His message, and shun the evils which the Word forbids, and do the goods that it commands.

LESSONS: Isaiah 40:1-8. Matthew 3.
MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 82, 88. Liturgy, page 754.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1936

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1936

     A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. 1936

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.       HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936

ANNUAL REPORTS JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1935.

     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     The last annual report (New Church Life, 1935, page 110) recorded 2173 persons upon the membership roll of the General Church at the end of the calendar year of 1934. During the year 1935, ninety-three names were added to the roll, and twenty-six deaths and three resignations were reported. On December 31, 1935, therefore, the Church had a membership of 2237.

     As usual, the South African Native Mission is not included in the above roll of General Church membership. The Mission reports forty new baptized mem hers and the deaths of five adults during the year, which gives an estimated adult membership of 956 at the end of 1935.

     Correction: In our last report of New Members, (New Church Life, 1935 page 111), for "Mr. Joseph Linthuis (Maria Adriana Pool)," please read "Mrs."

     NEW MEMBERS.

     January 1 to December 31, 1935.

     A. IN THE UNITED STATES.
     
     Birmingham, Ala.
Mr. Alonzo McDaniel Echols, Jr.

     Denver, Colo.
Mr. Matthew Savage

     Atlanta, Ga.
Mrs. H. L. Barnitz (Elizabeth Downing)

     Chicago, Ill.
Mrs. Hilma (Osterberg) Bergman
Miss Virginia Grace Cracraft
Miss Josephine Adele Nash, now Mrs. Richard R. Gladish

     Glenview, Ill.
Mr. Harold Frederick Cole
Mr. George Cleo Starkey

     Rockford, Ill.
Miss Dagmar Ruth Astrid Rosander, now Mrs. Theodore Gladish

     Maiden, Mass.
Mr. Ernest Justus Burnham
Mrs. E. J. Burnham (Heidi Brumaghim)

     Detroit, Mich.
Mr. William Wayne Walker
Mrs. W. W. Walker (Frederica Howells)
Mr. William Howells Walker

     Highland Park, Mick.
Mrs. Elizabeth Anne Coombs

     Westfield, N. J.
Miss Jaqueline Hicks
Mr. Samuel Pendleton Hicks

     Stanfordville, N. Y.
Mr. Randolph Greenleaf Cranch

     New York, N. Y.
Miss Christine Jarvis

     Blairsville, Pa.
Miss Mary Pitcairn Richey

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     Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Miss Winnifred Elsie Allen
Mr. Edward Theodore Burton
Mrs. E. T. Burton (Mildred Florence Ward)
Miss Elaine Cooper
Miss Elizabeth Guthrie Cronlund
Mr. Philip Robert Cronlund
Mrs. Elizabeth Helen (Owens) Doering
Mr. Edmund Pollock Glenn
Miss Elizabeth Hope Glenn
Miss Judith Glenn
Mr. Robert Gurth Glenn
Miss Elsie Irene Heimgaertner
Mr. Frank William Ingersoll
Mr. Charles Jennings Kintner
Mr. Shawn Rittenhouse Pendleton
Miss Karen Pitcairn
Mr. Nathan Pitcairn
Mr. Ariel Rosenqvist

     Glenolden, Pa.
Dr. Albert Joseph De Horsey

     Philadelphia, Pa.
Miss Edna Georgine Bill, now Mrs. John Joseph Walter
Miss Anna Marie Walter
Mr. John Joseph Walter

     Weslaco, Texas.
Rev. Walter Edward Brickman
Mrs. W. E. Brickman (Anna Katherine Schoenberger)
Miss Vera Brickman

     B. CANADA.

     Kitchener, Ontario.
Miss Flora Leone Heinrichs
Miss Elma Lucinda Spence

     Toronto, Ontario.
Mr. George Robert Griffin Baker
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (Norris) Baker
Mr. Ralph Raynor Brown
Mr. Raymond Langlois Carter

     Waterloo, Ontario.
Miss Phyllis Louise Bellinger
Miss Berith Jessie Bond

     C. ENGLAND.

     Chelmsford, Essex.
Mr. Martin Pryke

     Colchester, Essex.
Mr. Noel Alwyne Appleton
Mr. Alan Edward Boozer

     D. AUSTRALIA.

     Sydney, N. S. W.
Mr. Frederick William Fletcher
Miss Irma Jean Guthrie
Miss Elida Olivia Heldon
Mr. Lindthman Heldon
Mi. George Morgan
Miss Norma Alice Rose Radford
Mrs. Dorothy Mima (Higham) Stephenson

     E. SOUTH AFRICA.

     Durban, Natal.
Mr. Frank David Bamford
Miss Winifred Rosalie Bath
Mr. Gordon Dunbar Cockerell
Miss Jean Cockerell
Miss Lorna Cockerell
Miss Jean Kirkwood
Miss Doreen Madeline Ridgway
Miss Elsa Melville Ridgway
Mr. Cecil William Royston
Mrs. Mary Jessie (Scrooby) Royston
Mr. Willem van Enter Schuurman
Mrs. W. v. E. Schuurman (Beatrice Maud Forfar)

     F. FRANCE.

     Montreuil sous Bois, Seine.
Mr. Andre Lucas
Mrs. Andre Lucas (Helene Henriette Mathieu)

     St. Cloud, S. et O.
Mrs. Desiree Myrrha Hussenet
Mr. Elisee Hussenet

     Suilleboef, Euve.
Mr. Daniel Lucas
Mrs. Daniel Lucas (Suzanne Malnoury)

     G. HOLLAND.

     Rotterdam.
Mr. Pieter Poortvliet
Mrs. P. Poortvliet (Jacomina Neeltje Cornelia Geluk)

     H. SWEDEN AND NORWAY.

     Appelviken.
Mr. Gustaf Michael Baeckstrom
Miss Britta Margareta Liden

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     Jonkoping.
Mr. Lennart Torstensson Fornander
Mr. Torsten Bror Herman Sigstedt

     Kattrabyhamn.
Mr. Charles Otto Matte Andrew Wilson

     Oslo.
Mrs. Randi Hoidal

     Stockholm.
Mr. John Gunnar Ahrfelt
Mr. Bo Georg Febelius
Miss Esther Maria Johansson
Miss Kerstin Gunner Lillbrid Lunden

     DEATHS.

     Reported in 1935.

Allen, Mr. Percy Bertram, Denver, Colorado, May 19, 1935.
Ashley, Miss Emily Amelia, London, England, May 21, 1935.
Blair, Mrs. James G. (Fuller), Pittsburgh, Pa., July 2, 1935.
Boatman, Mr. John Stewart, Kyger, Ohio, April 2, 1935.
Coffin, Mr. Alfred Nelson, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., December 9, 1934.
Kuhl, Miss Emma, Kitchener, Ontario, April 8, 1935.
Larsson, Mrs. Arne (Broadbridge), Newark, New Jersey, February 19, 1935.
Lindrooth, Mr. Alvin Edmund, Chicago, Illinois, January 21, 1935.
Lyman, Mr. Addison Franklin, Wadesboro, North Carolina, November 18, 1934.
Nelson, Mrs. Seymour G. (Magnusson), St. Petersburg, Florida, April 24, 1935.
Parker, Mr. William E., Cleveland, Ohio, November 16, 1934.
Potter, Mr. John, Colchester, England, July 31, 1935.
Robinson, Rev. Thomas Frederick, Northampton, England, June 15, 1935.
Schnarr, Mr. John Henry, Kitchener, Ontario, September 26, 1935.
Schott, Mrs. Arthur C. V. (Dover), Laurel, Maryland, June 22, 1935.
Scott, Mrs. George (Augusta Hachborn), Toronto, Ontario, January 6, 1935.
Smith, Mr. Charles Sonntag, Bryn Athyn, Pa., January 9, 1935.
Stroh, Mr. Jacob Gaukel, Waterloo, Ontario, May 23, 1935.
Tengstram, Miss Alma Axelina, Stockholm, Sweden, April 27, 1935.
Van Paassen, Mrs. Adriaan, Toronto, Ontario, March 7, 1935.
Zilver Rupe, Miss Corneliz Geertruide, The Hague, Holland, January 24, 1935.

     Deaths, informally reported:

Ahrens, Dr. Alfred Emanuel, Stratford, Ontario, October 6, 1929.
Boyesen, Mrs. Adonjah Wilhelm (Elsa Amalia Carlsson), France, probably October, 1933.
Darmitte, Mme. Yvonne (Babillot), France, probably January, 1933.
Kendig, Mrs. Wilfred (Margaret Elisabeth Manning), date unknown.
Southgate, Mrs. John, Denver, Colorado, date unknown.

     RESIGNATIONS.

Malmgren, Miss Anna Lngrid Katarina, Stockholm, Sweden.
Liden, Miss Jenny Marianne Elisabet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Gallico, Mr. Alfred Huish, West Norwood, London, England.

          Respectfully submitted,
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
               Secretary of the General Church

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REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. 1936

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1936

     January 1, 1935, to January 1, 1936.

     The present membership of the Clergy comprises three members of the episcopal degree; 37 members in the pastoral degree; and 2 members in the ministerial degree; making a total of 42 members. (See last Directory, published in New Church Life, December, 1934, pp. xi.-xvi.)

     Changes in personnel during the year of 1935 included: (1) the resignation of the Rev. F. E. Waelchli as Visiting Pastor of the General Church, effective as of December 31, 1935; (2) the ordination of the Revs. William Cairns Henderson and Erik Sandstrom into the pastoral degree; and (3) the passing into the spiritual world of the Rev. Berry Maqelepo, on November 20, 1935, Transvaal, South Africa.

     Of the 42 members, 21 are more or less occupied in active pastoral work in various societies and circles; 12 are engaged in the educational work at Bryn Athyn, though virtually all of these also perform uses in the episcopal and pastoral fields; 5 are in secular work; and 4 are no longer in active service.

     Connected with the South African Mission are: 4 native pastors, 6 ministers, 5 authorized leaders, and several theological students.

     Up to March 31, 1936, the Bishop of the General Church has received reports for the year 1935 from all members of the Clergy, except Pastors Albert Bjorck (Mallorca, Spain), T. S. Harris (Westfield, N. J.), Henry Leonardos and Joao de M. Lima (South America), Richard Morse (Australia); Minister Vincent C. Odhner (Bryn Athyn); and three native Ministers of the South African Mission.

     The RITES AND SACRAMENTS of the Church have been administered as follows (the figures in parentheses indicating a comparison with the year 1934):

Baptisms                                        104 (-12)
Confessions of Faith                                    36 (- 5)
Betrothals                                             10 (- 4)
Marriages                                             24 (+ 5)
Funeral services                                    33 (+ 8)
Holy Supper:
Quarterly: as Celebrant 67; as Assistant 30                     97 (+ 3)
Monthly: as Celebrant 38; as Assistant 8                     46 (- 46)
Private                                         20
Ordinations                                         2 (- 3)
Dedications:
Private homes                                    3 (- 5)
Ecclesiastical buildings                               2

     Note: The above figures do not include returns from Brazil, nor from the South African Mission (save those as to the dedication of ecclesiastical buildings).

     For the South African Native Mission, Superintendent F. W. Elphick reports estimates of 23 infant baptisms and 40 adult baptisms; and 5 adult deaths.

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     From the reports received, the following facts and comments have been selected as of general interest, or for the sake of record:

     The. Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton reports that, as Bishop of the General Church, he presided over the Fifteenth General Assembly, June 13-19; the weekly meetings of the Consistory; the Executive Committee and Joint Meetings; the Pittsburgh District Assembly, November 1-3; and the Ontario District Assembly, October 9-11. Preached in Pittsburgh and Toronto, at which places he administered the Sacrament of the Holy Supper.

     He presided over the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Academy; and the meetings of the Corporation of the Academy. Lectured twice a week to the first- and second-year College women, from January 8 to May 28, and from September 19 to December 19.

     On February 1, 1935, by and with the approval of the Board of Directors, he appointed the Vice President, Bishop George de Charms, Supervisor of the Academy Schools.

     He also presided over the regular meetings of the Pastor's Council and the Board of Trustees of the Bryn Athyn Church, and the Spring and Annual Meetings of the Bryn Athyn Society. Preached in Bryn Athyn eleven times, and conducted services when not absent. Gave a series of Doctrinal Classes in the Spring of 193S,-March 15, 22, 29, April 13, 20, 27, and May 4 and 11.

     The Rt. Rev. George de Charms, as Assistant Bishop of the General Church, reports that he presided at the District Assembly in Glenview, in October, on which occasion he preached and administered the Sacrament. He also made episcopal visits to Chicago, Illinois; Akron, Ohio; Saginaw and Detroit, Michigan; Palmyra and Newark, New Jersey. On an unofficial trip during the Summer to the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Bostock, in the Catskills, he preached and conducted a service.

     As Vice President of the Academy, he was appointed by the President, by and with the approval of the Board of Directors, supervisor of the Academy Schools, beginning February 1, 1935. Since that time he has presided at all Faculties, and has directed the educational policy of the institution. No important changes in the organization of the Schools has been introduced, except that the social program has been placed under the direction of Mrs. R. M. Cole.

     As Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, he preached six times, conducted ten Doctrinal Classes, administered the Sacrament four times, and continued in charge of Children's Services, receiving assistance in this work from other ministers. He also continued to teach Religion to the seventh and eighth grades of the Elementary School.

     The Rt. Rev. Robert J. Tilson reports that he presided at the Twenty-Eighth British Assembly, held at Colchester, England, during August last. At one of its meetings for worship he ordained, at the request of the Bishop, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom into the second degree of the priesthood. He also ordained the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson into the second degree. He took some temporary supervision of the Colchester Society during the absence of its pastor.

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In addition to the duties of the pastorate of Michael Church, London, he visited Bath, Bristol and High Kilburn. He continued as President of the "New Church Club," and as Chairman of the Committee charged with the endeavor to obtain legal recognition of the proposed British Finance Committee of the General Church in Great Britain. Although he did not secure reelection to membership of the Swedenborg Society's Council, he remained a member of its Revision Committee.

     Rev. Alfred Acton, as Visiting Pastor of the Washington (D. C.) Society, reports that there are now ten children in the Society, several of whom are of an age to receive religious instruction. A healthy state of active interest in the things of the Church has resulted in a recent decision-made with great enthusiasm by the Society-to resume the former custom of having services twice a month, instead of monthly as at present. This opens out a better prospect of instructing the children. During the year, the Society celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his pastorate in Washington.

     Rev. Elmo Carman Acton, as Pastor of the Durban (South Africa) Society, and Assistant Superintendent of the South African Native Mission, reports that his Mission work is taking up more and more of his time. In addition to his regular duties as Pastor of the Durban Society, he has taught Religion, Hebrew, Latin, Geometry, Algebra and Science in the local school.

     Rev. Karl R. Alden reports that, in addition to his duties in the Academy, he conducted five Children's Services at Bryn Athyn, and preached there three times. He delivered addresses and preached once each in Pittsburgh and Toronto. He continued to direct the Whittington Chorus.

     Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, Pastor of the Stockholm (Sweden) Society (Nya Kyrkans Forsamling), reports that, in addition to his regular duties, he has administered the Holy Supper to groups once in Jonkoping (Sweden), and in Oslo and Stavanger (Norway); and twice to an isolated member in Malmkoping (Sweden). He also held doctrinal classes in Jonkoping and Oslo. He delivered 34 public lectures in Sweden and Norway (4 in Stockholm, 23 in other places in Sweden; and 7 in Norway), with an average attendance of 92 persons, slightly more than last year.

     Rev. Hendrik W. Boef, as Pastor of the Gabriel Church, Los Angeles (California), and Visiting Pastor in California, reports that since December 8, 1935, Divine worship has been held alternately at 807 North Edinburgh Ave., and at Winifred Pollard Studios, 3020 West 48th St., Los Angeles, with average attendance of 15 and 20 respectively. A second Doctrinal Class was started last September, and is held twice a month, on Fridays, at Long Beach, Compton and Inglewood. Children's Services are held in the afternoon. He reports that the depression has rendered the financial status of the Society quite precarious, and that "if it were not for the spirit of sacrifice on the part of members, the Society would not be in existence." He edits and distributes an enlarged and improved mimeographed "Calendar and Bulletin." He reports that there are at present 42 baptized adults in Southern California, and 7 in Northern California; also 21 baptized miners in South California, and 2 in North California;-malting a total of 72 baptized persons in California, members of or associated with the General Church.

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In addition, there are 14 more or less interested adults and 4 children.

     Rev. L. W. T. David reports that he has preached six times at Bryn Athyn, conducted Summer services four times, assisted in morning services twelve times, and evening service and children's service once each. Rev. Frederick W. Elphick, as Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa, reports that during the year he visited the following Mission groups the number of times indicated by the attached figures:-

Basutoland: Khopane 2, Luka 3, Mafika 1, Qopo 1.
Cape Province: Sterkstroom 1.
Natal: Esididini 2, Cundycleugh 1, Tongaat 1, Mayville 1, Turner's Avenue 1.
Transvaal: Greylingstad 1.
Zululand: "Kent Manor" (Impapala) 2.
Alpha Church (Native): 4.

     Detailed reports of the work of the Mission have been sent half-yearly to the Bishop; also occasional news items to New Church Life. He also conducted services for the Durban (European) Society on July 28 and August 11.

     There are now 8 male and 13 female teachers in the 9 Day Schools; and 2 male teachers in 1 Night School; also 2 male teachers in printing and carpentry.

     Rev. Alan Gill, "on behalf of the members of the Carmel Church (Kitchener, Ont., Can.) wishes to express appreciation for the valued work of the Reverends F. E. Gyllenhaal, Henry Heinrichs and F. E. Waelchli, who, during the past year, assisted in maintaining the uses of the Society during my illness and absence from Kitchener."

     Rev. Victor J. Gladish, Pastor of the Colchester (England) Society, reports an apparently complete recovery from the effects of his accident last July. The difficulties created for the Society were ably overcome by the extensive labors of Bishop Tilson, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, and several members of the Society. The financial burden was generously borne by the British Extension Committee, the Colchester Society, and several individuals (including a group in Failsworth which he had been about to visit when the accident occurred). The Society is in a fairly encouraging state. When at the General Assembly in the United States, he preached at Bryn Athyn, Chicago and Glenview; and addressed the School at Pittsburgh.

     Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal, Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada, reports that he held special services in Toronto, Kitchener and Montreal in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the late King George V of England; also, in Toronto, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of that Society. The Ontario Assembly was held in Toronto, November 9-11, and was unusually enjoyable, owing to the excellent addresses and the unusually large number of visitors.

     In the Day School, in addition to all the Religion and Hebrew for four grades, he taught Arithmetic to Grades 6 and 7, English History to Grade 7, and Spelling to three grades.

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He says: "This seems the only means at present of keeping our School up to Public School scholastic standards in all subjects; and to get pupils we must do this."

     He visited Montreal four times, and in March baptized 4 children, and administered the Holy Supper to 11 persons.

     He concludes: "The adoption of the envelope system in making our offerings has proved entirely successful, and as a result our financial position is improving."

     Rev. Henry Heinrichs reports that, owing to deaths and removals, it became necessary to disband the Denver (Colo.) Society at the end of May, 1935. He then took up his residence in Kitchener (Ont., Can.), and, under appointment by the Bishop, rendered such assistance to the Rev. Alan Gill as was necessary. He will continue in this work for the Society and the School for the first three months of 1936, while the pastor is on leave of absence.

     Rev. W. Cairns Henderson reports that early in the year he was appointed Assistant to the Pastor of the Hurstville (Australia) Society. In consequence, he relinquished his duties as Visiting Minister in England at the end of April, and commenced the duties of his new appointment at the beginning of August. Before sailing for Australia, he visited the Stockholm Society, where he preached and conducted a Doctrinal class.

     Rev. E. E. Iungerich, Pastor of the Paris (France) Society, reports that the statutes of the Society, drawn up by the Rev. F. Hussenet in 1912, were modified and revised so as to conform more closely with the order and organization of the General Church. The society unanimously approved of the revision; and the same was then officially recorded by the French authorities.

     He visited the British Assembly in August, contributing a paper on the status of the Worship and Love of God.

     From August to December he conducted a correspondence with leading proponents of De Hemelsche Leer.

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, and Professor of Theology in the Academy, reports that he has been on the chancel 30 times, preaching 13 discourses and giving 3 children's addresses. He delivered 8 doctrinal lectures to the Bryn Athyn Society and 5 public addresses at Bryn Athyn, Pittsburgh and Toronto. During the months of January to May he conducted about 12 weekly classes for a small, local lay group. The Chancel Guild and ushers' organization were under his supervision. He gave four courses in Theology and Religion in the secondary and higher schools of the Academy. Some of his time was given to the "Notes on the Calendar Readings "published in New Church Life, to the revision of prayers for the Liturgy, and to the work of Secretary of the General Church.

     Rev. Philip N. Odhner reports as half-time teacher in the Academy, and Visiting Pastor to Northern New Jersey, Camden and West Philadelphia. In addition to these duties, he preached three times in Bryn Athyn during the Summer, conducted seven children's services, and held a weekly class in Bryn Athyn for young people.

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     He notes that, in September, the congregation of the Advent Church in Philadelphia resumed Sunday services, meeting in the Presser Building, 1714 Chestnut St.; the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt and himself taking turns in conducting the services. In this move, the two groups of the Philadelphia area are again united as to worship, and so far all has progressed satisfactorily.
The average attendance has been 30, and the Holy Supper has been administered three times, with an average of 20 communicants.

     Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society, reports that, beside his regular uses in the Society, he has conducted a series of missionary classes in Tarentum, Pa. Beginning in September, these classes have been held on the third Tuesday of each month. During October, he paid an unofficial visit to the General Church group in Youngstown, where he conducted a doctrinal class.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter, Pastor of the Wyoming (Ohio) Circle, reports that, in addition to the regular work, monthly suppers were instituted at the opening of the Fall season. The outstanding event of the year was a series of five missionary talks, with an average attendance of 15 persons who were non-members and, for the most part, unacquainted with the Doctrines. Of the 42 persons reached by these talks, only a few seemed to acquire any promising interest. In July he preached four times in Glenview; conducted a funeral in Middleport in April; visited the Detroit 'Circle in November, there conducting worship and a doctrinal class; and addressed the Glenview chapter of the Sons of the Academy at their annual banquet in May.

     Rev. Joseph E. Rosenqvist, of Gothenburg (Sweden), engaged in secular work, reports that during the year he translated Dr. Acton's The Crown of Revelations into Swedish. In a volume of some 700 pages, he has written out references to the Prophets and Psalms from Dr. G. A. Beyer's "Index Initialis in Opera Swedenborgie Theologica."-Part III.

     Rev. Erik Sandstrom, since October 9 the Pastor of the Jonkoping Circle (Sweden), and before that date Assistant to the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom in Stockholm, reports that, besides his regular duties in these places, he has visited five isolated members at three different places, conducting nine services, at two of which the Holy Supper was administered. At one place he gave daily religious instruction to two children during two weeks. He also gave one missionary lecture, with an attendance of 80 persons.

     Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Ill., notes that he is teaching Religion and Hebrew to six classes of the School for nine hours a week.

     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt reports, in connection with his work in Philadelphia, that the North Side group of the Advent Church has continued its weekly meetings, with an average attendance of 19 since the Summer. (Previous to that it was 24.) Three families have moved to Bryn Athyn and two to West Philadelphia. But the sphere and interest are unimpaired. The reunion with the West Philadelphia group this Fall has been a blessing. He also reports that he preached in Pittsburgh about nine times and once in Bryn Athyn; and conducted funeral services at Pomeroy (Ohio) and Pittsburgh. He does a good deal of pastoral visiting.

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     Rev. Fred E. Waelchli, as Visiting Pastor of the General Church, reports that during the year three visits were made to Arbutus, Md.; two visits each to Erie, Renovo and Johnstown, Pa.; Middleport, Akron, Niles, Youngstown and Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit and Bay City, Mich.; one visit each to Riverside, Ont., Pontiac, Mich.; Allentown, Pa., and Huntington, W. Va, At these fifteen places in the field, the ministrations of the Church were brought to about one hundred adults and forty young people and children.

     Unofficially, in the course of travel, two visits each were made to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

     On January 13, as substitute for the pastor, he conducted services and preached in Philadelphia.

     At Bryn Athyn he preached twice, and gave three addresses at children's services.

     Two visits were made to Kitchener, Ont., Can., during periods of illness of the Pastor. The first, on invitation of the pastor and the members of the Carmel Church, was for one week in May, during which time several addresses were given at meetings, and a children's service and the regular services conducted on Sunday. The second, as the Bishop's representative, was for three weeks during June and July, in order to be helpful to the Society in planning for the next school-year. At this visit he preached three times, and conducted a class at a Ladies' meeting.

     He concludes his report: "Because my strength was no longer equal to the work, I found it necessary to submit to the Bishop my resignation as Visiting Pastor, the same going into effect at the expiration of the year."

     Rev. William Whitehead reports that, in addition to his regular Academy duties, he conducted services in the New York Society 4 times, administering the Holy Supper and holding a doctrinal class each time; preached four times at the Bryn Athyn morning service, and once in the evening; also performed the duties of Secretary of the Council of the Clergy.

     Rev. Raymond G. Cranch, Bryn Athyn, Pa., reports that, during the year, his "only church activity has been the further collection of data on the subject of `Social Justice in the Light of the New Church,' with a view to its later publication."

     In addition to the above, statistical reports without special comment were received from the Revs. A. Wynne Acton (London, England), Reginald W. Brown, William B. Caldwell, Emil R. Cronlund, Charles E. Doering (Bryn Athyn), Willis L. Gladish (Chicago, Ill.), Ernst Pfeiffer (The Hague, Holland), Theodore Pitcairn (France), and George G. Starkey (Glenview, Ill.).

     MINISTERS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Reports were received from five of the six Basuto ministers; and from three out of the five Zulu ministers, as follows:

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     Basuto.

     Rev. Belry Maqelepo late Pastor at Greylingstad, Transvaal, who died on November 20, 1935, left records, supplied by his wife from his diary, which Mr. Elphick kindly forwarded. These show that to the last he faithfully ministered to the 59 members of his own Church, and taught the Scripture and Doctrine every day in the Day School of some 50 pupils. He appears to have administered the Holy Supper a number of times in various districts of the Transvaal. An interesting obituary of this native pastor, by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, appeared in New Church Life for February, 1936, pp. 58-59. Rev. Jonas Motsi, Pastor of the Alpha (native) Society, reports that he visited the Quthing Society in June. He says: "There I celebrated the 19th of June; and people were about 108. There were Headmen in that celebration. The subject was on the Second Coming of the Lord. . . .On the following month I interviewed the Chief of the district about the site of the Church. He refused to grant the site, but the people at Quthing wanted the New Church. The work at Alpha is still going very well. We work hand to hand with the Superintendent. Note that Starvation and illness still prevail over the people you have brought the New Revelation."

     Rev. Jonas Mpkatse has been minister of the Qopo Society (Basutoland) since June, when he left the Alpha Theological School. He reports services of an average attendance of 50; weekly doctrinal classes, a Day school and a Sunday school, and a social supper on the 19th of June.

     Rev. Nathaniel Mphatse, Minister at Mafika-Lisiu (Basutoland), and Rev. Sofonia Mosoang, Minister at Khopane (Basutoland), also send excellent statistical reports.

     Zulu.

     Rev. John Moses Jiyana reports that, in addition to his duties as Pastor at Lusitania and Esididini, he also made several visits to Dundee, Newcastle, Elandslaaghe and Ladysmith, "giving public lectures to those who are interested in religion of the Christian Churches. Some are getting interested in the New Church doctrines, and they see the difference between the Old faith and the New faith of the New Jerusalem."

     Rev. Moffat Mcanyana, Traveling Minister in Natal, reports that the first seven months were spent exclusively in visiting different districts in Natal, holding meetings and giving lectures. The last few months were spent in endeavoring to organize a branch of the Mayville Society, holding regular weekly services and doctrinal classes.

     Rev. Philip Johannes Stole, Minister to the Turner's Avenue and Springfield societies, Durban, reports much activity in his regular work, also mission lectures. The social suppers at Turner's Avenue Society are said to be held at Christmas, New Year and New Church Day.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

152


Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     ARTHUR HENRY APPLETON.

     An Obituary.

     On march 5, the oldest male member of the Colchester Society passed from our earthly view. In spite of having completed eighty-one years of this natural-world pilgrimage on December 29, 1935, Mr. Appleton always impressed one as an example of sound health, with the youthful vigor of a robust and active life. But a sudden attack of bronchial pneumonia effected his "promotion," as Mr. Walter Childs used to call it, in less than a week after the onset.

     The manifestations of Mr. Appleton's love for the Church seemed unending, and his mind continually returned to careful thought concerning her doctrine and her welfare. But his integrity of character and his delightful disposition were known to a wider circle than the people of the General Church, through business and other contacts, so that his death brought considerable mention of him and his achievements in the local press. His formation of fellow workers into a building organization, and his later organization of a firm of builders and contractors of his own, has been several times mentioned, as it was also in trade journals before his death. In some papers there have been surprisingly accurate quotations from the funeral address by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish. It is understandable that they should put down the reference to his tireless "efforts to spread the Gospel of the Second Advent" merely as "efforts to spread the Gospel." The address referred somewhat more definitely to certain of his personal characteristics than is common in General Church funeral services, because the members of this society saw in these an example of the impersonal and lasting contributions of the members of his generation in this center of the Church.

     The following outline of his activities in the Church in this locality was compiled by a compeer of Mr. Appleton, Mr. F. R. Cooper, who served as secretary of the society for twenty-eight years:

     Born at Great Bralted, Essex, Mr. Appleton came to Colchester in 1875, and first heard of the New Church through the lectures of the Rev. Joseph Deans in 1881, and was baptized by the Rev. Charles Griffiths, January 1888. In 1894, he and three other members cooperated with the Rev. T. F. Robinson in the establishment of the first New Church day school in this town, which lasted only two years, but paved the way for later efforts. In April, 1897, he was received as a member of the General Church of the New Jerusalem. In the years and vicissitudes which followed, Mr. Appleton gave active and faithful support to the ministrations which the little society was able to obtain, and to the general life of the church. At this point we may mention the pastorate of the Rev. W. H. Acton, with the day school under his charge, from 1898 to 1901, and the final establishment and organization of the Colchester Society as a unit of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, which was effected by the Rev. E. C. Bostock, who returned to England in 1902, partly for that purpose. Mr. Appleton was one of those enrolled by Mr. Bostock at that time. "For twenty years Mr. Appleton was Custodian of our society.

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He was ever desirous that we should possess a church building of our own, and he helped forward the realization of this possession in no small measure. The society is deeply indebted to him for his self-sacrificing labors on its behalf."
     VICTOR J. GLADISH.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     Our celebration of Christmas was ushered in on December 23 by a special festival for both children and adults. After the singing of many carols, Mrs. Gladish presented gifts to each child from a lighted and gaily decorated tree. Stockings and oranges were also given with the gifts. The singing of more carols was followed by the representation of the Christmas Story in tableaux, arranged by Mrs. N. H. Motum and Mrs. John Cooper. Each scene was introduced with appropriate readings by our pastor.

     Once again we came together to worship the Lord on Christmas morning, and to sing the carols and hymns we love so much. The pastor gave a talk to the children, and afterwards received their gifts, which they brought to the altar.

     Miss May Waters and Mrs. Sanfrid Appleton arranged a Christmas party for the children, to which adults were invited. After a magic lantern show, everybody joined in the old-fashioned games.

     On New Year's Eve a supper and social was held amid gay and seasonal decorations. At midnight a service was held, with suitable readings by our pastor. The evening closed with the singing of the 48th Psalm.

     An innovation in the form of a Sacred Concert was recently arranged by Mr. Owen Pryke and Miss W. Everett. Between delightful vocal and instrumental solos, the congregation joined in the rendering of the 18th, 39th and 44th Psalms from the Psalmody. The evening was very successful and much appreciated.

     The celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday, although not attended by so many visitors, seemed to excel itself, and reached a high standard. The Rev. Victor J. Gladish was toastmaster, and made the opening remarks, which were followed by toasts and songs and the reading of four enjoyable papers on the following subjects:-"History of Former New Churchmen," Mr. Colley Pryke; "Robert Hindmarsh," Mr. Alan Boozer; "Richard de Charms," Mr. Norman Williams; "Lessons to be Learned from New Church History," Rev. A. Wynne Acton. The whole evening was very satisfying, and everyone left for home, conscious that lovely sphere had pervaded the celebration.

     Since Christmas our doctrinal classes have been held weekly, with one or two exceptions. We are still studying the work on the Divine Love and Wisdom. One class was devoted to talk by our pastor on the subject of the revised Liturgy.

     The first monthly social of the year was held at the church, being arranged by the social committee. It commenced with a humorous story by W. W. Jacobs, which was read by Mr. Colley Pryke. After we had partaken of the refreshments, the evening was spent in competitive team games. Although strenuous and exhausting, they were very enjoyable.

     Early in February a tea was held at the home of Mrs. Rey Gill to enable everyone to listen to Mr. Fred Waters' very interesting and detailed account of his recent trip to the United States and Canada.
     MAUDE COOPER.

     SOUTH AFRICA.

     A Fire at Alpha.

     Our readers will join us in expressing keen sympathy for the Rev. and Mrs. Frederick W. Elphick in the misfortune which has overtaken them in the loss of their home at Alpha which was destroyed by fire on the 17th of February. Mr. Elphick writes to us from Durban, where he and his family are at present residing, and states: "Our house at Alpha was struck by lightning, and the building and contents were completely destroyed by fire, except for my desk and a few books, which were rescued by Mr. Norman Ridgway.

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Fortunately no one was hurt. The family were all away from home-the first time for over twenty months."

     OSLO, NORWAY.

     In the first days of March I undertook my annual visit to our group in Oslo, and gave in this city two public lectures, with an attendance of 87 and 125 persons respectively. On the following Sunday a public service was held, attended by fifty persons.

     With the reading circle there on another day I gave a lecture on "Israel from Egypt to Canaan," spiritually considered, and a private service on Sunday evening, on which occasion four adults and one boy were baptized into the New Church, and the Holy Supper was administered to ten persons. Of those who were baptized, three have made application for membership in the General Church, having left the State Church organization. The fourth of the baptized adults would also like to do so, but she thinks that she must wait a little, because of her husband, who, though he fully accepts the Heavenly Doctrines, does not see the necessity of leaving the State Church. There are others in the Oslo Circle who are in the same situation, and I think that they will come out all right when they get more accustomed to the idea of leaving the organization to which their ancestors have belonged for centuries.

     For a year I have been sending to the Circle in Oslo, for use each Sunday, the sermons that I have preached in Stockholm, and I believe that this has been of a great value for the spiritual development. I do the same thing to a number of isolated receivers in different places in Sweden, and believe that it is very useful to do so.

     It seems as if the prospects for the Church are now considerably brighter in Oslo, not only because our own people now are coming out more distinctly New Church, but also because the interest of others seems to be increased. At the two public lectures I sold books for no less than Kr. 123:- and besides for Kr. 27: total of Kr. 150:- on this visit (more than $37.00).

     After one of the lectures, a lady blamed me for taking the personal devil away from her, and at the same time another wanted to have no hell at all. As I had to answer both the ladies at the same time, I would have preferred to have them talk the matter over together. However, the one without hell was finally pleased with my explanations, but the other did not want me to take the personal devil away from her. So she may have him still to her satisfaction.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Michael Church.

     An "At Home" was held by Mrs. Tilson on November 28th, the main object of which was the disposal of sundry articles left over from the Sale of Work. An excellent tea and pleasant conversation helped towards this end, and the result was a welcome addition to the fund already realized for church expenses. A Whist Drive was given by Mrs. and Miss Greenwood on December 3 at which the winners were the recipients of some choice prizes. At the monthly social tea on Sunday, December 8, Bishop Tilson gave a paper on "Imagination," dealing with his subject in happy and interesting style. It led to some appreciative comments from several of his listeners.

     The morning service on Sunday. December 15, was specially adapted to the children in preparation for Christmas. The Rev. A. Wynne Acton gave them an appropriate address from the steps of the Chancel, and called their attention to a model of the scene of the Nativity, which had been skilfully prepared by Mr. Cooper.

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On Christmas morning the service was an inspiring one, though the congregation was somewhat smaller than in former years. Bishop Tilson gave the address, and the prayers, lessons and music together formed a harmonious whole. The Holy Supper was administered, and was followed by the Reception of Gifts.

     On Tuesday, December 31, there was a Children's Party at 4 p.m. Thirty-two children and nineteen adults sat down to a Christmas Tea in the schoolroom, superintended by Miss Lewin, one of our Sunday School teachers. At the conclusion of the meal, the crackers were pulled, and the young guests, having donned their fancy hats and caps, went upstairs for further entertainment. Games and competitions were thoroughly enjoyed, during which a ratatat was heard at the front door! This heralded the arrival of the "Postman" (otherwise Mr. Acton) who brought a small present for each child. The evening ended happily with the sinning of "Auld lang syne," after which three cheers were given for Miss Lewin and for Mr. Acton, who were jointly responsible for the arrangement of a very delightful gathering.

     On the following evening, January 1, 1936, the opening of the New Year was celebrated by a social for the adults under the auspices of the Social Committee. Miss Lewin again superintended the program, and a variety of games, vocal and instrumental music, and recitations went to make a very enjoyable entertainment.

     Sunday, January 26, was full and memorable day. In the morning, a Service of Remembrance for our beloved King George V was held, and brought a full congregation. Special prayers were used; the Lessons were Psalm re; Luke xii:22-40, and A. E. 899:3, 4. Psalm xxxix was sung, and Bishop Tilson preached a most appropriate and impressive sermon, taking as his text Apocalypse xiv:13. The National Anthem was sung at the conclusion of the service.

     At 6 p.m. a Social Tea was given in celebration of the Birthday of Emanuel Swedenborg, and there was again a good attendance. The Rev. A. Wvnne Acton presided, and the subject which had been chosen for the occasion was "Swedenborg's Rules of Life." The first two Rules were dealt with by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish, whom we were glad to welcome as our guest; and Mr. Acton addressed himself to the last two Rules with marked success, making them live in a very real way. Bishop Tilson expressed thanks to the two speakers and added a few remarks on the subject.

     Thus on this day was expressed our gratitude for the life and work of two of the Lord's "good and faithful servants," the one in the State, the other in the Church, surely a happy combination, the memory of which should long remain with us.

     At the Social Tea on Sunday, February 9, Mr. Wilfred Pike was the essayist, and gave a very interesting and well thought-out paper on the "Uses of Ritual," which led to some useful discussion. At a similar function on March 8, Mr. Fred Waters delighted his hearers with a long and most interesting account of his recent visit to the U. S. A. and Canada-and all without the use of a single note! When he had finished, we almost felt as though we had been with him!

     The weekly Theological Classes, conducted in alternate months by Bishop Tilson and Mr. Acton, and the fortnightly classes for young people, with the meetings for table-tennis, both under Mr. Acton's guidance, the latter varied by an occasional social or whist drive, complete the total of current activities.
     K. M. D.

     Memorial to Mr. Buss.

     At a special service in the church of the Kensington Society on Saturday, January 18, attended by a large congregation representative of the various London Societies of the General Conference, the Rev. H. Gordon Drummond dedicated a walnut paneling which had been placed in the Chancel to commemorate the faithful and loyal service of the late pastor, the Rev. James Frederick Buss.

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The paneling of solid walnut was taken out of the Cunard steamer "Mauretania," and re-erected to the designs of one of the members of the Society.

     The Rev. Arthur Clapham, President of Conference, delivered the address, and the Rev. F. F. Coulson, pastor of the Kensington Society, also took part in the service. The words of dedication were:

     "To the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ our God and Savior, and in affectionate and enduring remembrance of the blessings which He vouchsafed unto the New Church, and especially to the Kensington Society of the New Church, through the Ministry of James Frederick Buss, I now dedicate this paneling to its use in the adornment of this building for the worship of the Lord. To Jesus Christ be glory and dominion for ever and ever!"-(New-Church Herald, Feb. 29, 1936.)

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     At the monthly meetings of the General Faculty during the present school-year, the papers presented and discussed have dealt with a wide variety of interesting subjects, as follows.

     "Swedenborg's Ether and the Michelson-Morley Experiments," Mr. Wilfred Howard; "Woman's Preparation as a Teacher," Miss Celia Bellinger; "Diversity of Worlds in Reference to Their Habitability," Rev. Reginald W. Brown; "Improvements in Classroom Methods," Professor Otho W. Heilman; "The First Natural Point," Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner; "Present Problems of Academy Education," Bishop George de Charms.

     Seminary Change.

     After sixteen years of eminent service as Principal of the Girls' Seminary, Miss Frances Margarita Buell, B.S., has asked to be relieved of that function, and her request has been granted by the Academy. She will continue her teaching in the Seminary and College. Miss Dorothy E. Davis, Assistant Librarian, has accepted the appointment to succeed Miss Buell as Principal of the Seminary, and mill enter upon the duties of that office at the beginning of the next school-year in September.

     The reopening of the Assembly Hall, closed for two months as an economy measure, was celebrated by the students with a fine Leap Year Dance on the evening of February 29th, 1936.

     An excellent staging of "David Copperfield" was presented by the students of the Academy in the Assembly Hall on March 28, 1936.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     On March 10 our Society suffered the loss of an old and loved member, Mrs. Robert Carswell, who passed into the spiritual world in her ninety-second year. The funeral service at her home on the 12th was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Acton, who came from Bryn Athyn with Mrs. Acton.

     During his visit, Dr. Acton conducted the doctrinal class on Wednesday, the eleventh, giving great pleasure to the members who attended.

     The Society learned with regret of the passing of Mrs. A. K. Roy at Bryn Athyn on March 10. Many years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Roy were very active in the uses of this society, and we extend our sympathy on this occasion to Mrs. C. R. Brown.

     The Forward Club-Sons of the Academy had their monthly meeting on the 19th, with the usual dinner and recreation, and the reading of a sermon of the Rev. Karl R. Alden.

     On Saturday the 21st the members and friends attended the marriage of Ruby, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Smith, to Mr. Ernest Zorn. Her sister, Mrs. Mary Parker, whose marriage we had the pleasure of celebrating in January, was matron of honor, and Mr. Alec Craigie was best man.

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The church was filled to its capacity with the friends of this popular couple. After the ceremony a reception was held in the assembly hall, which had been decorated for the occasion. The guests were received by the wedding party. Mr. and Mrs. H. Watson Knight, uncle and aunt of the groom, acting in the place of his parents. Ruby has been faithful in many uses since her school days, while Ernest is widely known as founder and first editor of the society periodical, "Chatterbox." The bride and groom later left Toronto to take up their residence in Montreal, and we all wish them joy in their new surroundings.

     The quarterly meeting of the Society was held on March 25, when a change of policy was decided upon. two semi-annual meetings replacing the four quarterly meetings hitherto held. The end of the financial year was changed from May 31 to August 31, and the annual meeting and election of officers will be held in September.

     A notable prelude to this meeting was a surprise party given to the Society by Mrs. Nellie Carson. When the members arrived to attend the customary weekly supper, they found that this lady had appointed herself their hostess, and had provided a lovely supper, with punch and everything, as a recognition of a pleasant winter in our midst. A very pleasant way to close these notes, say we!
     A. C.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Our service on Palm Sunday was conducted by the Rev. George G. Starkey, in the absence of our pastor, who was attending the Council Meetings in Bryn Athyn. The customary extensive ceremonies peculiar to the day were postponed a week, and combined with the Easter service. The evening of Good Friday was devoted to a service with the administration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which was most impressive.

     Easter Sunday was a warm, bright day and practically everyone attended church. The pupils of the school in their robes were grouped together, and joined in the service with two recitations and two songs with the choir. Floral offerings were brought to the chancel, first by the school children, then by the younger ones, some of them infants in arms. The augmented choir rendered the anthem, "Unfold, ye portals everlasting," by Gounod, and the congregation sang the Te Dominum and the hymns, "Ride on, ride on in majesty," and "Roll out, O song, to God." The pastor's sermon on "The Resurrection" was adapted to the children, and impressed upon us all the importance of the Day.

     On Thursday, March 26, the first of a series of school assemblies was held. Parents and friends were invited to this assembly where they heard and saw examples of the work being done in several departments of the school. Actors of the second grade presented a fairy play, and pupils of the eighth grade gave a summary of the Civil War in the form of oral and written compositions. Third grade pupils recited poems of their own selection, and the fifth grade scholars read papers illustrative of the course in the geography of the Middle Western States. As their contribution to the program, the fourth grade rhythm band played two numbers. The audience was delighted by all these efforts.

     A very pleasant social event in the society was the marriage of Miss Aileen King, daughter of Mrs. Louis B. King, to Mr. Carl Hermann Synnestvedt, of Bryn Athyn, which was solemnized in the church on Thursday, April 9, at 8.30 p.m., the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith officiating. A number of relatives and friends came with the groom, arriving several days before the wedding, and what with receptions, dinners, luncheons, "showers" for the bride-elect, and household preparations for the great event, we were agog with anticipation of the great event. And the occasion was equal to our expectations.

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The congregation filled the church, which was becomingly decorated, and there was a very delightful sphere over it all, as the handsome and happy couple pledged their vows, and afterwards received our congratulations and good wishes in the parish hall. The bridal party included Miss Gwendolyn King, maid of honor; Mr. Russell Stevens, best man; the Misses Virginia Cole and Rita Evens, bridesmaids; Marjory Anne Synnestvedt and Jane Scalbom, flower girls. Miss Jane Synnestvedt, sister of the groom, presided at the organ, and played selections from Brahms, Mendelssohn and Bach.
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Since last going to press a number of things, expected and unexpected, have happened in Pittsburgh.

     The Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha sponsored an interesting and entertaining Valentine Party for the children on Saturday afternoon, February 15th.

     Mr. and Mrs. M. Emerson Good, who were married in Bryn Athyn on February 2, welcomed the members of the society to their home,-the apartment above the school rooms,- on February 28, following the Friday supper and doctrinal class. We in turn welcomed them by turning the "at home" into a "shower" for them. It was a happy occasion, and they received many beautiful and useful gifts. It is a pleasure to have them with us.

     The Women's Guild gave a card party on March 6 al the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Lindsay. Mrs. Donald H. Shoemaker was an able chairman, and the Lindsay home made a charming background for a successful evening.

     The semi-annual meeting of the Pittsburgh Society was held on March 13, following the Friday supper. The treasurers, Messrs. S. S. Lindsay, Sr., J. Edmund Blair, and Walter H. Horigan, gave a very clear report of our financial status, which is a shade brighter. Rev. Willard Pendleton reviewed his uses in the Society and the Pittsburgh district. He felt that the Society had progressed spiritually and naturally, and urged spiritual charity among us. He spoke briefly of our finances, and pointed out the necessity of reducing the mortgage on the buildings.

     The melting snow, together with heavy rains, caused the rivers to rise on March 17 and 18, marooning the Pastor and Mrs. Pendleton in Fox Chapel. No lights, no power, no heat, no telephone! Plenty of water, yes, plenty seeping into the furnace room and auditorium at the church, not from the rivers, but from the higher ground around the church property. The ever-faithful sump pump would not work without power, so Mr. A. P. Lindsay, Mr. Elmer G. Horigan, and a number of the young men, assisted during the wee hours of the morning by two gentlemen of color, manned hand-pumps until power returned. These circumstances made it necessary to close the day school and church for several days.

     During the spring recess for the day school, March 29-April 6, the pastor and teachers attended the meetings of the Clergy and General Faculty at Bryn Athyn.

     The Le Roi Players, all-star New Church cast, presented "The Romancers," by Edmond Rostand, in the auditorium on Wednesday evening, April 8, for the benefit of the church mortgage fund. There was also a cake and candy sale. This entertainment was very diverting, and netted a tidy sum. All those who worked to make the evening a success deserve high commendation.
     E. R. D.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The members of the society had the great pleasure of attending the performance of "David Copperfield," given on March 28 by an excellent cast of the Senior classes of the Boys' Academy and Girls' Seminary, assisted by some of the Juniors and one or two others. The play was prepared under the direction of the Rev. Karl R. Alden and Miss June Macauley, who are to be congratulated upon this fine production.

     An ingenious arrangement of the story was used.

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The opening scene depicted the Wickfield home on the return of David Copperfield from his travels subsequent to the death of his "child-wife" Dora. By this time he has evidently made up his mind that Agnes Wickfield is the true object of his affections, but is diffident about declaring himself. In response to her question as to what he has been doing lately, he tells her that he has been working on a new novel, which is to be the story of his own life. He then takes the manuscript from his pocket, and they adjourn to a comfortable settee just outside the curtain, where he begins to read extracts to her. There they remain for the rest of the play, except the last Act, each scene being introduced by a short extract read aloud from the manuscript, their places in the story being taken by other and younger players, depicting them as children and young people. Then, in the last Act, they resume their places on the stage, and bring the play to a satisfying end with the complete and utter discomfiture of the villain, Uriah Heep, as the lovers get off to a good start at "living happily ever after."

     Mrs. Annie E. Roy.

     Two days after her eightieth birthday, our old friend, Mrs. Roy, passed into the spiritual world on March 10, her death resulting from a fall in her room a few weeks before.

     Annie Emily Russell was born in Toronto on March 8, 1856. Her father, Andrew Russell, was the Historian of the Canadian Government, and her early life was spent in the atmosphere of Court circles and society at Toronto and Ottawa. Her first knowledge of the New Church was received from Mr. Alexander Keiler Roy, whom she subsequently married. In 1888, while members of the Convention Society in Toronto, they became interested in the Academy movement, and associated themselves with the Parkdale Society, taking an active part, in the development of what is now the Olivet Church. Their adopted children, Ella and Francis, were given the benefits of a New Church education at home and in the Academy Schools.

     Shortly after the death of her husband, in 1908, Mrs. Roy came to live in Bryn Athyn, where for twenty-five years she has been a loyal and devoted member of the church and community. Keenly intelligent in spiritual things, she was also widely read in the world's literature. Markedly unselfish in character, she bore ill fortune without complaint. Poor health has been her lot for many years, but her cheerful disposition and submissive trust in Providence have never failed, and her many friends rejoice that now at last her vigor is fully restored, and she can enter with joy into the uses of life eternal.
     WILLIAM R. COOPER.


     SONS OF THE ACADEMY.

Annual Meetings, to be held at 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, Penna.

     Program.

     June 26, Friday. Noon, Buffet Luncheon, Paper by a Sons' Representative. Afertoon, Entertainment by Pittsburgh Church School. Dinner, 6:30 p.m. Evening, Paper by Academy Representative (open to all Church Members). June 27, Saturday. Morning, Business Meeting, Elections. Noon, Luncheon. Paper by a Sons' Representative. Afternoon, Business Meeting (if needed). Evening, Banquet (open to all Church Members). Celebration of 50th Anniversary of the Founding of New Church Education in Pittsburgh. June 28, Sunday. Morning, Worship at 11 a.m.

     Any "Son" planning to attend is urgently requested to drop a card to the Chairman of the Housing Committee, Mr. William F. Blair, 421 7th Ave., Pittsburgh, Penna.
     FRED. J. COOPER,
          Secretary.

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ORDINATIONS 1936

ORDINATIONS              1936




     Announcements.



     Acton.-At Bryn Athyn, Pa., April 5, 1936, Rev. Dr. Alfred Acton, into the Third Degree of the Priesthood of the New Church, Bishop N. D. Pendleton officiating.
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1936

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION              1936

     The Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday evening, May 22, 1936, at 8 o'clock. Address by Dr. Charles R. Pendleton on "Problems Connected with Swedenborg's Ether."
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1936

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       E. S. KLEIN       1936

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Saturday evening, June 6, 1936, at 8 o'clock. The public is cordially invited to attend this meeting.
     E. S. KLEIN,
          Secretary.

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TRUTH LIBERATING 1936

TRUTH LIBERATING       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          JUNE, 1936           No. 6
     (Delivered at the General Assembly, June 16, 1935.)

     "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32.)

     These words were uttered by Jesus in the course of a bitter controversy with the scribes and Pharisees,-a controversy that is still unsettled in the modern world, where antagonism to the truth is as great as in the days when the words of the text were spoken. Yet human freedom is in the knowledge of the truth.

     Truth is the one thing that the modern world seems most willing to avoid. Therefore there is no political security, and the moral and social environment in which we live today is worse than the world has ever known. The love of the world, which is chiefly the love of gain, has spread like a disease, exhibiting that immoral twist of the mind that longs for profit without service, and for personal advantage without any regard to the common good of society. The sphere of worldliness and of unchastity has grown so strong, as our Doctrine tells us, that it descends even to little children. Yet the great majority, having no knowledge of truth from heaven, do not know that the world is a spiritual wilderness. They are ignorant of the darkness that surrounds them. And therefore it is that the cup of futility must be drunk so frequently by those who long and labor for the real progress of the New Church, who must feel temptations of despair. Modern conditions, even at best, are not very favorable to the growth of the New Church.

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     But with those few who are willing to be of the New Jerusalem there is some considerable hope. And success will be realized, but only to the degree, we believe, that they succeed in maintaining a social and moral environment that is right,-that agrees with the truth now known in the New Church. For everything of genuine religion centers and rests in the social plane.

     The genuine truth cannot be seen and acknowledged by those who are immersed in the love of self and the love of the world. They call never see that the church has come to an end when it has come to an end. They do not know how desperate is their own need of salvation. When the Doctrine of the New Church was given to the world, the Christian Church was consummated. Not a single genuine truth then remained; or, as the Lord expressed it, "Not one stone was left upon another." And unless a New Church had then been instituted, no man eventually could have been saved. This truth is not known in the modern world. And the reason it is hard to accept is that it is the truth.

     In our modern world, so highly scientific, and so wonderful in many respects, most people are worshipers of self and of nature. Yet the Lord is present with every person, urging and pressing to be received. His arm is stretched out still. He is present with men in the Word. His presence in the Word is altogether by means of its spiritual sense, and not in any other way. By this is He able to be present and to redeem. The Word is the fountain from which those of the Christian world have drawn living waters in the past. But a Church which accepts the Word in its literal sense only is in the obscurity bf a cloud, while the Church that accepts it in its spiritual and celestial senses is in the glory and power of the Word. And only to the extent that the falsities of the former Church are seen and rejected can the New Church grow. For truth cannot enter until falsities have been cast out.

     In all the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments there is but one general subject which is the key to truth: The End of the Age, the Lord's Second Coming, and the New Church then to be established. The understanding of this subject is the key by which we may unlock the treasuries of the spiritual sense of the Word, which otherwise would lie hidden from view and remain entirely unknown. Without knowledge of this subject,-without knowledge of the cause and the manner of the Lord's Second Coming,-people are like men walking in the night, who, because they do not see clearly, live in doubt as to all things relating to the church. Such is the world today, living for the most part without religion, in doubt about God, in doubt about heaven and hell, in doubt of Divine Providence, in doubt of all spiritual things which transcend nature.

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The doctrine of the New Church would give them light, but they continue to grope, and remain in doubt of those things which are of more importance in life than any other things. Although they need not remain in darkness, they do not readily and joyfully receive the light of truth that would make them free.

     II.

     Redemption is deliverance from evil and falsity, and all redemption is by means of truth. Redemption consisted definitely of three episodes: the subjugation of the hells, the arrangement of the heavens into order, and then the preparation for a new spiritual church among men. But this truth has hitherto lain hidden from Christians, like the wreck of a ship, whose valuable cargo lies at the bottom of the sea. There has been no knowledge of what redemption is.

     Redemption was the deliverance of men from falsities, since these are the enemies of men. They blind the eyes and destroy the soul. Redemption was, first, the separation of the good from the evil in the spiritual world, the elevation of the good into a new heaven, and the removal of the evil into a new hell. In this way the good were made free,-free from the influence of the evil. This was done at the last judgment. The second phase of the work of redemption was the coordination of all things in the heavens, and the subordination of all things in the hells; and by this the good were still further separated from the evil. The third phase of redemption was the revelation of Divine Truths out of heaven, and by this the bringing into existence of a New Church. And by this the good were still further separated from the evil. The purpose of all this was that the Lord might regenerate men, and thus save them; for unless one is regenerated, he cannot be saved. Thus an individual redemption results from the general one as often as the truths of the New Church are known and accepted. (Coronis 21.)

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     This is the glad message-the gospel-of the New Church, that all who reject the dogmas of the former Church, and receive the truths of the New Church, can be regenerated, and so saved from the evil. But he who is unwilling to be regenerated by these means takes upon himself and retains the evils implanted in him from his parents. This truth lies concealed in the prelude to the Ten Commandments: "I am zealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and doing mercy unto the thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments." The "iniquity of the fathers" is hereditary evil. This is what is "visited upon the sons" unless they are created anew by the process of regeneration. All men remain merely natural unless they are made spiritual through the love and worship of the Lord. The Lord's "doing mercy unto the thousands of them that love Him" means that He regenerates and saves them.

     And the very first step in their regeneration is the rejection of what is false in doctrine, and the reception of the truth of doctrine. This is what sets men free from the evil. It redeems them from their spiritual enemies. For it is the end of the Lord's mercy to separate the good from the evil .more and more completely. And Divine Truth is what does this. For the evil flee from Divine Truth. The third phase of redemption was to reveal the truths of heaven to men. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

     III.

     It is never questioned that men long for freedom. Everyone longs for freedom to defend himself against those who would take away his freedom. He wants to make his own choices in life, as to what he shall do and how he shall live. But without the truth of Divine Revelation he has not the freedom either to defend himself or to do what he wants to do, but he must always obey the impulses of his hereditary love of self and of nature. The truths of heaven provide him with the weapons of defense against the hells, which inspire in him all his evils. The truth defends him, in a manner, from himself, and not only against those who are inimical toward him, but often against his friends and companions.

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The truth enables him to make a choice, and many of them, which otherwise he could not possibly make.

     The revealed doctrine enables him to see what is false and what is true. He need not grope his way through life with uncertainty. If he is willing to be led into heavenly life, he is free to choose it, because, from a knowledge of the truth, he may know with certainty what the heavenly life is. He knows that the way to it consists in fighting every manifestation of ill-will and pride in himself, of dominion over others, to whom he imagines himself superior. He knows that it consists in fighting indifference toward the Lord, the Word, and worship. He knows that he must fight against the delight of praise and gain from others as a leading incentive, against the thought and conversation of things unchaste and unclean, and especially against that devastating sphere of thought which denies the reality of the spiritual world, which denies the possibility of any Divine Revelation, and which denies the necessity of living a life according to Divine Law.

     The freedom which the knowledge of truth confers is the freedom and the confidence of being able to fight with effective weapons, and the security that comes from knowing how to use them. Divine Revelation is given, as the third thing of redemption, because it enables men, by adherence to the truth, to deliver themselves "still further from the evil in the world." For even friendships with those who take no delight and show no interest in spiritual truths, when it is contracted for the sake of social pleasures only, is detrimental to the good of the man who is truly in the affection of heavenly truth. Our doctrine declares that the greatest number in our times are worshipers of self and of nature.

     And although, for the sake of his use, one may go far in accommodating himself to the ways of the world, still many situations must arise in which, if he is faithful to his religion, he must refuse to follow the way of his companions, and must follow instead the dictates of Divine Truth; There are things to which he must not be a party. There are bounds beyond which he cannot willingly go. And if such refusal to "follow the crowd" should result in his separation from their favor and their company, he should accept that separation calmly, and turn himself more heartily to his true friends, even though they are few.

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He must be willing to suffer "persecution for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." And in such ways are the good still further separated from the evil in this world, as has been done so perfectly in the world beyond.

     For while it is a fact that there are no men who are good of themselves, and that no one should ever begin to imagine any such thing in connection with himself, still, and to the great joy of the angels, there are those who are affected by truth, and who are willing to be faithful to it. It is these who are really free from self-righteousness; and it is these who do actually ascribe all good to the Lord, Whom in this manner they are willing to serve. And this is genuine internal worship.

     If it should appear that the occasions are rare when one may not follow the way of the world and of his companions, perhaps this is because the state of the world has not yet been clearly seen. On the other hand, if there should be found many occasions when the way of religion runs counter to the way of the world, and if the decisions of a spiritual conscience are hard to make, because of those with whom we are associated, then it is an indication that one should separate himself from those who make the way of truth difficult. It is far more likely, however, that they will separate themselves from him. Yet such separations, for the sake of truth, are never in any way to be regretted. In reality, a separation from those who are a drag upon progress in spiritual life sets one free. The truth of heaven makes a man free by liberating him who loves it from the influence of those who do not love it. The affection of truth operates continually to separate still more widely the good from the evil, so that the well-disposed may have increasing freedom. It is this spiritual freedom that is meant by the promise, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

     IV.

     The "pure river of the water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God," is said to signify that particular truth of Divine Doctrine which is contained in the spiritual sense of the Apocalypse. It is said, " Happy are they who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book." And further, "Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand."

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This revelation of truth is necessary, for the reason that the previous Word is no longer read and regarded with spiritual affection.

     The understanding of the Apocalypse is necessary for those who desire to receive influx of life from the Lord, who wish to be inspired to do genuine good works from Him. And the entrance to the Holy City is through its gates, which are the knowledges gathered from all the books of our Heavenly Doctrine. Through the knowledge of this truth of doctrine, one may enter through the gates into the city, and may have "power in the Tree of Life."

     "Let him that heareth say, Come; and him that is athirst, let him receive the water of life freely." Let him do so who is willing. The meaning of these words is, that anyone who knows anything of the New Heaven and the New Church, which are the Lord's kingdom, should pray that His kingdom may come. And he who desires truth should pray to the Lord to come to him with light. Taking of the water of life freely, means to be willing to learn truths and to appropriate them to one's self.

     The affection of the Lord's Divine love for His New Church, and the affection of the love of the New Church for Him, are expressed in the closing words of the Apocalypse. "He that testifieth these things saith, Behold, I come quickly!" And the reply of the Church is, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" These are the words of the betrothal of the Bridegroom to the Bride, looking to the union of the Lord with His Church. By the words of the Lord, "Behold, I come," are meant that He has revealed and opened the Apocalypse, teaching the glad tidings that He now comes in all the fulness of His Divine Human, which He took upon Himself in the world and glorified. And that the genuine Church desires to receive Him, to be His Bride and Wife, is the meaning of the words, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" And upon the Church that is ready to receive her Lord, He speaks this Divine benediction: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen." For the "grace of the Lord " means the affection of Divine Truth, which will grow and increase continually, once it has descended into our hearts.

     The Lord does not come to the people of the Christian world in any real sense until they understand and believe the truth which is contained in the explanation of the Apocalypse. For without this they would continue to believe the falsities which have enslaved them prosperity of the New Church for human salvation.

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Nothing would ever happen by which men could be made spiritual, and be set free from the falsities which are their spiritual enemies. They would think that all is well with the world, while yet they would remain in spiritual darkness, and the coming of the Lord would have no real meaning to them. But there is an influx of light, and of the heavenly affection of truth, when men know what is meant by the descent of the New Jerusalem, and are willing to receive its Heavenly Doctrine. This is the truth which, when it is known, is able to make men free.

     The blessing and grace of the Lord is with you, members and lovers of the New Jerusalem, who know the meaning of the End of the Age, the Lord's Second Coming, and the New Church. You are blessed, because there is with you the affection of Divine Truth-the Divine Grace. Continue in the prayer that His new kingdom may come! "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Amen.

LESSONS: John 8:12-32. Revelation 22. T. C. R. 772-774 or Coronis 21.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 532, 550, 565.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 115, 131.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1936

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1936

     A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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TABERNACLE OF GOD 1936

TABERNACLE OF GOD       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1936

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     The Lord loves all men. From infinite mercy He longs to remove every cause of sorrow and of suffering, that He may impart happiness to everyone. But only those who love the Lord can receive happiness from Him. We cannot love anyone whom we do not know; and for this reason, if we are to love the Lord, we first must know who He is. We must see Him. We must realize something at least of all the wonderful things that He is doing for us every day of our life,-how He protects us from evil, and provides what is good. When we see what the Lord does for us, we can begin to understand how great is His love, His power, and His wisdom. We can begin to understand how weak and helpless we are, and how constantly we are in need of the Lord's protecting care. Then we can learn to love Him as our merciful Heavenly Father, and from love we can try to keep His law and do His will. And, in return, the Lord can give us the happiness of heaven.

     The Lord is really present with all, even with those who are in hell. But the evil do not know that He is present. This is not the Lord's fault, for the Lord tries to make Himself known to everyone. But evil men turn away from Him. They are so busy thinking about themselves, and trying to attain the things they want for themselves, that they are blind to all those things which the Lord is doing for them. They do not love the Lord. And when the Lord takes away from them something that they want, in order that they may realize that of themselves they have no power to do anything, then instead of turning to the Lord for help, they turn against Him in anger and hatred. And when men do this, although the Lord still loves them, He cannot make them happy.

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     The Lord is said to "dwell" with those who love Him and keep His commandments. He dwells with them in what is His own, that is, in the teachings of His Word. From these teachings we learn about the Lord, about heaven, and about the way in which we should live, so that the Lord can bring us into heaven after death. When we read the Word, when we hear the stories of the Word, we come to know something of how the Lord watches over us, to guard us and to lead us. And with this knowledge the Lord builds in our minds a place to which He may come, and in which He may abide with us. And this place in our minds is compared to a tent or a tabernacle.

     Long, long ago, during the Golden Age, before there was any evil in the world, men lived in tents. By them they were protected from the heat of the sun in the daytime, and from the cold winds at night; from the rain, and from the wind of storms. They found in them a home. And there the Lord appeared to them, to teach and to lead them. They knew that it was He who had taught them to make their tents. They knew that it was He who caused the fruit and the grain to grow, which they used for food. They knew that He took care of them, and provided all that was necessary to their life. And for this reason they loved Him, and worshiped Him alone, as their Father and their God.

     Ever since that day, the angels have thought of the place where the Lord can dwell with men as a tent; and whenever the idea of a tent comes into their minds, they think of the Lord, and of all His merciful kindness toward them. They are moved to worship Him from the heart. And for this reason, the Church where men worship the Lord is called a Tent or a Tabernacle in the Word.

     Once upon a time, Swedenborg saw in the other world a tent such as that in which Abraham lived when the three angels came to tell him that he was to have a son. It was a very simple abode, made of skins sewed together and stretched out with cords and stakes, and supported by a central pole of wood. But in it was a great stone, under which was a copy of the Word, as a sign that the Lord dwelt there, although Swedenborg did not see Him.

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Then a door was opened from heaven, and the light of the Spiritual Sun shone upon that tent, and at once it appeared no longer simple, but as a magnificent Temple, like the one which was built by Solomon in Jerusalem, constructed of stone, with beams of cedar covered with gold, and filled with beautiful furniture, richly carved. And then the stone, under which the Word was hidden, was seen to be set with precious stones of many colors, from which lights played upon the ceiling and the walls.

     Again, another door was opened in heaven, and now the whole temple disappeared, and the Lord alone was seen, standing upon the foundation stone, which was the Word. Around Him, in a circle, were seven golden lampstands. He was clothed in a shining white garment, with a girdle of gold. His hair was white as snow, His eyes were like a flaming fire, and He held in His right hand seven stars. He appeared just as He had been seen by John, on the Isle of Patmos. And Swedenborg was told that this vision represented what is meant by the promise given in the Book of Revelation: "Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things have passed away."

     This is a prophecy of the New Church,-that Church which the Lord is now beginning to raise up among men on the earth. For long centuries the Word lay, as it were, buried deep under a great rock. Men knew that it was there, but they could not read it; they could not understand it. But now the Lord has opened the Word. He has explained its inner meaning. He has taught men how to draw out of it those things which He can use to form a tabernacle in their minds, wherein He can dwell with them. At first, when you are little children, you cannot understand very much of what the Lord teaches in His Word. And the Lord can build in your minds only a simple tent, like that in which Abraham dwelt. But when you have grown up, and increased in wisdom, He can change that tent into a great temple, full of gold and precious stones and glorious lights.

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And if you go on, becoming wiser still, He can open your spiritual eyes, that you may see Him, present in His Divine Human, even as John saw Him in heaven. And when you see Him in this way, you cannot but love Him with all your heart, and worship Him in spirit and in truth, so that He can impart to you the blessing of heavenly happiness and peace.

     Such is the New Church to which you belong. It was formed first in the other world, beginning in the year 1770, when, on the Nineteenth day of June, the Lord called together His Twelve Disciples, and sent them forth to teach all men that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only God of heaven and earth. Since that time, it has been slowly descending to the earth from God out of heaven, that the Lord may bring true happiness to men, who have been so long under bondage to the hells, and compelled by evil spirits to suffer great sorrow and hardship. From this bondage the Lord has set men free, having overcome the hells and shut them up, so that they may no longer persecute men on earth.

     You should grow up to love the New Church more than anything else in the world. For by means of the Church you can learn the teachings of the Word, and from them can come to know the Lord, that you may worship Him alone, and that He may build in your minds a glorious Tabernacle in which He may dwell with you, to protect you from all evil, and to bring you at last into heaven, where you may know the ever-lasting happiness of the angels.

LESSONS: Genesis 18:1-8. A. R. 926 (part).
MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 81, 96, 194 (no. 118).

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1936

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1936

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., MARCH 30 TO APRIL 5, 1936.

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.

     The Thirty-ninth regular Annual Meeting of the Council of the Clergy was held in the Council Hall of the Bryn Athyn Church, March 31 to April 4, 1936, Bishop N. D. Pendleton presiding. These sessions were held at a later date this year, on account of the temporary use of the Council Hall by the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. (No regular sessions were held in the Assembly year of 1935.)

     Besides the Bishop and Assistant Bishop of the General Church, there were present eighteen members of the second degree, and one member of the first degree, as follows: The Revs. Alfred Acton, Karl R. Alden, Reginald W. Brown, Wm. B. Caldwell, L. W. T. David, Charles E. Doering, Alan Gill (Kitchener, Ont., Can.), Willis L. Gladish (Chicago, Ill.), Frederick E. Gyllenhaal (Toronto, Ont., Can.), Henry Heinrichs (Kitchener, Ont., Can.), Hugo Lj. Odhner, Philip N. Odhner, Willard D. Pendleton (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Norman H. Reuter (Wyoming, Ohio), Gilbert H. Smith (Glenview, Ill.), Homer Synnestvedt, Fred E. Waelchli, Wm. Whitehead, and Raymond G. Cranch. (Total, 21.)

     Following the meeting of the Consistory on Monday, March 30, the Council held regular morning sessions from Tuesday to Friday inclusive; one public session; three afternoon sessions with the teachers of the Academy Schools and other visiting teachers; and one session with the Executive Committee. (See Minutes of the Joint Council.)

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     The leading doctrinal discussions this year centered on two papers: a thorough and highly interesting study on "The Doctrinal System of Charles Augustus Tulk; with some introductory remarks on the History of New Church Doctrine," by the Rev. Philip N. Odhner; and a stimulating review of the doctrine of "Immediate Divine Influx," by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner. Other subjects receiving attention were: "The Arrangement of the Heavens," the proposed new Liturgy, NEW CHURCH LIFE, the Calendar Readings, etc.

     At the public session of the Council, held in the Assembly Hall on Thursday evening, April 2, a profound and inspiring address on "The Church Eternal" was delivered by Bishop N. D. Pendleton before a large audience.

     The joint meetings of the Council with the teachers and workers of the Academy, on Tuesday to Thursday afternoons inclusive, witnessed attendances of 42, 53 and 57 respectively. Visiting Elementary School teachers were: the Misses Agatha Starkey (Glenview), Phyllis Cooper and Anna Heinrichs (Kitchener), and Angella Bergstrom and Elizabeth Lechner (Pittsburgh).

     On Tuesday afternoon, with Bishop N. D. Pendleton in the chair, Professor Otho W. Heilman read a paper on "The Duty of Our Schools in Propagating the Heavenly Doctrines (Article II of Academy Charter)." In characteristic interesting style the speaker set forth reasons for teaching students to accommodate doctrine to various states. "Education is for the purpose of enabling the student to do more effectively that which he will do anyway. Our students will attempt to spread the Doctrines. In this they will need help. If they do it effectively, they will have some will-success. In doing this work, they will confirm themselves in the Doctrines." The paper showed the relation between the processes involved in classroom instruction and evangelization, intimating that a study of the latter would not be out of line with our regular study in the profession of education.

     On Wednesday afternoon, with Dr. Alfred Acton in the chair, Miss Margaret Bostock presented an able paper on "Art in the Academy Schools." This involved a review of the history of art instruction in the Academy, from the early days of Professor Faber and others. It also enumerated the many artistic opportunities and privileges available to Academy students at present, and urged the importance of more training in this field.

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The paper was well discussed and warmly appreciated.

     On Thursday afternoon, with Dr. C. E. Doering in the chair, the Rev. Reginald W. Brown delivered a paper entitled "Some Reflections on Mind-Building." The gist of the paper emphasized education and the growth of the mind in its totality, including not only its intellectual side, but primarily its emotional side or the development of the will.

     "There is nothing which we can do to change Divine life and influx. We can, however, modify its reception; we can assist in producing normal and healthy or good conditions. . . . On the other hand, we can help produce abnormal and mentally unhealthy conditions, which will impede the reception of Divine influx, inhibit normal activities, keep the mind closed. . . ."

     The actual processes involved in the Lord's work are concealed, not only because they are so infinitely complex as to be beyond human comprehension, but also essentially because men must feel that they have the real responsibility in mind-building.

     "In the degree that we attempt to abstract religion from life, its uses and responsibilities, in the degree that we sacrifice our proper field of work by an undue absorption in a purely pietistic, mystical, or faith-alone attitude and life-so generally mistaken as religious, to the neglect of human or social responsibilities and activities,-we can get nowhere."

     "The work of the angels in heaven follows the same fundamental laws, philosophy and methods which must be followed in this world."

     It is not realized how much damage is done to children by the excitation and storing up of "evil remains." The problem of reeducation is far more difficult than normal education. Pseudo feeblemindedness, if not re-educated in time, may become a fixed and permanent state of imbecility.

     There are ever dangers of lack of normal stimulation, and of over-stimulation.

     "Tremendous work lies ahead for New Church education. When we consider what has been accomplished in recent decades, in clinical psychology and physiology, we begin to realize the fuller meaning of Swedenborg's optimistic and amazing prophecy (n. 190 of "Notes and Observations on Christian Wolff's Psychologica Empirica, written in 1733-34).

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The prophecy is even more completely embodied in the revelation to the New Church, if we but take the pains to read it."

     Professor Brown's paper was well discussed from several points of view; and a vote of appreciation was unanimously passed. A resolution of grateful thanks for the work of the Women's Guild in providing refreshments after the sessions was unanimously passed at the final meeting of the Council.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary.
ORDINATION 1936

ORDINATION              1936

     At the Sunday morning service at Bryn Athyn, Pa., April 5, 1936 (Palm Sunday), the Rev. Alfred Acton was ordained into the third or episcopal degree of the priesthood of the New Church by Bishop Nathaniel D. Pendleton. The service furnished a most impressive and fitting occasion, a very large congregation being present.

     Bishops Pendleton and De Charms, and the Revs. F. E. Gyllenhaal and Hugo Lj. Odhner served on the chancel. The sermon, delivered by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, was on "The Spiritual Illustration of the Priesthood" (Exodus 28:30). The Lessons were: Exodus 28:15-30; A. C. 10551.

     The "Declaration of Faith" delivered by the candidate for ordination follows:

     DECLARATION OF FAITH.

     When I was ordained into the first degree of the priesthood of the New Church, I declared my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ now revealed in the Writings of His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg. This faith I again affirmed on my ordination into the second degree. And now, when I am called to enter into the third degree, it is of order that I again solemnly confess my faith. This, therefore, I now do, but with deeper conviction and fuller realization.

     But on this occasion, when I appear as a candidate for the highest degree in the priesthood, it is meet that something further be added.

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I do therefore declare my belief in the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine that there must be degrees in the priesthood, and that to the highest degree is adjoined the office of government, and this for the sake of the observance and preservation of order among men in things ecclesiastical.

     The call which has now come to me to enter into this highest degree has come without any expectation or solicitude of my own, and it is with a sense of deep humility that I acknowledge in it the leading of Divine Providence. I do therefore accept this call. And before the Lord, and in the presence of this congregation, I do now solemnly declare my purpose to fulfill the duties of this sacred office so far as in me lies, and as the needs of the Church may require. And I do humbly pray that I may be of service in the upbuilding of the New Church upon the earth, and that in the work that lies before me I may be led by the Holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone can establish the kingdom of heaven among men.
JOINT COUNCIL 1936

JOINT COUNCIL       Various       1936

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., APRIL 4, 1936, AT 10 A.M.

     1. The Forty-second Annual Meeting of the Joint Council of the Clergy and the Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was opened with worship conducted by the Bishop, the Rt. Rev. N. Dandridge Pendleton, who presided.

     2. The following members of the COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY were present: Bishop Pendleton; Rt. Rev. George de Charms; Rev. Messrs. Alfred Acton, K. R. Alden, R. W. Brown, W. B. Caldwell, R. G. Cranch, L. W. T. David, C. E. Doering, Alan Gill, W. L. Gladish, F. E. Gyllenhaal, Henry Heinrichs, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Philip N. Odhner, Willard D. Pendleton, N. H. Reuter, F. E. Waelchli, William Whitehead.

     The EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE was represented by Messrs. K. C. Acton, E. C. Bostock, R. W. Childs, Edward H. Davis, David Gladish, Hubert Hyatt, A. P. Lindsay, C. G. Merrell, Harold F. Pitcairn, and Raymond Pitcairn.

     3. The Minutes of the last Annual Meeting, which was held on February 3, 1934, were adopted without reading as printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1934, pages 110 to 113.

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It was noted that no meeting had been called in 1935, because the General Assembly convened in June of that year.

     4. The Report of the Secretary of the General Church was read and, on motion, adopted and filed. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, May, 1936, page 141.)

     5. On motion, an epitome of the Report of the Secretary of the Council of the Clergy was read and filed. The full report is published in the May issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, pages 144-151.

     6. The Report of the Executive Committee of the General Church was verbally presented by Mr. Randolph W. Childs. The report was approved and ordered filed; it is printed herewith in its full form:

     REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

     As secretary of The General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation, I submit the following report for the period from the Joint Council Meeting held in 1934 to the present meeting of the Joint Council. At a meeting of the Executive Committee held in May, 1935, a project was approved for the revision of the present Hymnal and Liturgy, and the publication of a volume combining the revisions in both the Hymnal and Liturgy. At a meeting of the Executive Committee held on April 3, 1936, Bishop de Charms placed before the meeting the feasibility of making more extensive revisions of the Hymnal and the Liturgy. A thorough revision would increase the new plates from 210 to 356, this increase including 96 pages of Antiphons. The Committee approved in principle the suggestion that these more thorough revisions be made.

     The General Church has been obliged to continue the curtailment of its expenses, involving reduced General Fund salaries, the discontinuance of the publication of New Church Sermons (except monthly reprints of two sermons in New Church Life), the reduction in the size of New Church Life, and other curtailments.

     The Rev. F. E. Waelchli resigned as Visiting Pastor, and his resignation was accepted with an expression of deep appreciation for the lengthy and very useful service which he has given to the Church since his ordination in 1888. A pension was granted to Mr. Waelchli.

     The General Church, in addition to its other uses, has contributed to the expense of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson's going to Australia, of the Rev. Philip N. Odhner's going to Durban, South Africa, toward the Rev. Elmo C. Acton's return to Bryn Athyn, and to the support of the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, who is not only acting as Pastor in Wyoming, Ohio, but also doing some of the work formerly done by Mr. Waelchli as Visiting Pastor.

     A meeting of the Corporation was held in Bryn Athyn on June 17, 1935, in connection with the General Assembly, at which eleven new members were admitted.

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Doctor Acton raised a question as to whether our instrument of organization should not provide that the Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem be ipso facto president and a director of the Corporation. Mr. Sydney Lee proposed that the Executive Committee consider having local representation in the Societies of the General Church. (See New Church Life, 1935, page 230, and correction, page 368.)

     Provision was made for the reprinting of the "Statement of the Order and Organization of the General Church of the New Jerusalem."
     Respectfully submitted,
          RANDOLPH W. CHILDS,
               Secretary.

     7. The Treasurer of the General Church submitted the printed Annual Report, which the members have already received. This was adopted. Mr. Hyatt added verbally that a certain ignorance seemed to rule amongst our young people and some others in regard to the actual uses which required support from the General Church treasury, and in regard to their personal relation to the General Church. He was considering the possible usefulness of enlarging the treasurer's report into an annual Bulletin of Information, which could familiarize our people with the relationship of society and General Church uses. He was grateful whenever pastors made these uses clear to the members under their charge. The question of resuming the old custom of publishing the names of subscribers in acknowledgment of their contributions had also been under consideration, but was regarded as undesirable.

     The Treasurer expressed his hope that the time for making special appeals for funds was now past, and that this year would see definite improvements. He also described the present working out of the method of having treasury representatives in the various districts of the Church.

     8. The Report of the Chairman of the Orphanage Committee was then read by the Secretary, received and filed:

     REPORT OF THE ORPHANAGE COMMITTEE.

     During 1935 the Orphanage Committee received a generous response from the members of the Church, which not only enabled us to carry on the work as we had in the past, but also permitted us to make a small reduction in the amount of our debt.

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     At the present time we have the responsibility of assisting two widows and their dependent children, as well as a large debt that was incurred when our expenses exceeded our income. It is our hope, therefore, that the generous support of the Orphanage will continue.
     Respectfully submitted,
          MOREL LEONARD,
               Chairman.

     9. The Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE gave an ex tempore Report, which was accepted, and filed as printed herewith:

     REPORT OF THE EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE" AND "NEW CHURCH SERMONS."

     With the material obtainable I have endeavored to make the best possible use of the space available in the 32-page monthly issue of New Church Life. I have found difficulty in providing exactly twelve pages for the New Church Sermons pamphlets, as sermons do not come in standardized lengths. Next year I hope we can arrange to make the size of the pamphlets flexible, and I believe this can be done without adding to the cost.

     The chief lack under present circumstances is that we are unable to publish the longer articles, addresses, and studies of 12 to 16 pages. These are of special value to our ministers throughout the world, and to the more studious lay men and women. When it becomes possible to return to a larger monthly issue of the Life, we shall be able to print longer articles, or a larger number of short articles, thus furnishing a greater variety of subjects and authors, more fully and truly representative of the thought of the General Church.

     We are naturally interested in the number of readers, although this is difficult to estimate. The Business Manager informs me that in 1935 about 480 copies of the monthly issue were mailed. In 1929 about 630 copies were circulated, and thus there has been a decline of 150 during the depression. This condition is now improving, and in time we may hope to increase to 630, and even beyond that figure. About fifty copies are sent free to our ministers, or in exchange for other New Church journals, and to Public Libraries, where there is evidence that the copies are being read.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. B. CALDWELL.

     10. After a brief recess, the Bishop introduced the subject of the TIME AND PLACE FOR THE NEXT GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal announced that the following resolution was unanimously passed by the Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario, at its quarterly meeting on March 25, 1936: "Resolved, that the Olivet Society extend a very cordial invitation to the General Church to hold its next General Assembly in Toronto."

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     The Rev. Willard D. Pendleton transmitted a unanimous invitation from the Pittsburgh Church, as formulated in the following statement addressed to the Council:

     GENTLEMEN: At the Annual Meeting of the Pittsburgh Society, held October, 1935, a committee was appointed to look into facilities here for accommodating a General Assembly. This committee reported its findings to the Semi-annual Meeting In March, 1936, to the effect that excellent facilities are available, that it seemed quite practicable to hold a General Assembly in Pittsburgh, and that an invitation therefore became the will of the Society.

     After a full discussion, the Society voted unanimously to extend a cordial invitation to the General Church to hold its next General Assembly in Pittsburgh, and instructed the committee to present an invitation to the authorities of the Church.

     Pittsburgh sincerely hopes the Council and Executive Committee will carefully consider this invitation, as the Society earnestly desires the opportunity of serving the Church in this manner, and will cooperate fully to make the Assembly a success. Respectfully submitted, The Pittsburgh Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.
     (Signed) WALTER L. HORIGAN,
          For the Committee.

     The Rev. W. D. Pendleton and Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay elaborated on the plans referred to above, and stated that an educational Academy situated in the outskirts of Pittsburgh (quite near the home of the local pastor) was available for the meetings, the catering and the service to be supplied by the staff of that institution. The facilities at our disposal would include an assembly hall, dining hall, four dormitories, a gymnasium, and even a golf-course. The cost per person was estimated as within $3.00 per day, inclusive of meals, housing, and privileges. Land was available nearby for motor-campers, and rooms in the city for those who desire more comforts than the dormitories supply. The central location of Pittsburgh was stressed, and mention was made of the number of isolated New Church people in the vicinity. The arrangements would ensure our preserving our own sphere in privacy, without interruptions.

     The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, on behalf of the Toronto invitation, referred to the details given to the Council at its meeting in February, 1932, when planning for the proposed Assembly for 1933, which was not held.

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The hotel offered for our use is the largest in the British Empire, and the costs reasonable. There was no obligation to take rooms at the hotel.

     The general discussion which followed brought out the need of holding General Assemblies at Bryn Athyn, if they fell only at long intervals, but that if they occurred more frequently, it was desirable to hold them alternately in various centers. Several speakers desired to see an Assembly in 1938. The expressed sentiment seemed to regard the Pittsburgh plan as the more practical, and the assurance was expressed that our Toronto friends would not regard it as a discourtesy if another invitation was accepted, despite Toronto's priority. The general success of the Assembly should be the deciding factor. But since many elements entered into the question, and the timeliness of an Assembly was, after all, a matter for episcopal decision, it was unanimously "Resolved, that the time and place of the next General Assembly be referred to the Bishop, and that the Joint Council expresses its deep appreciation of the invitations from the Pittsburgh and Toronto societies."

     11. The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
     Respectfully submitted,
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
               Secretary.
EDITORIAL NOTE 1936

EDITORIAL NOTE       Editor       1936

     The communication from the Rev. William F. Wunsch, printed herewith, deals with topics that are of perennial interest to all New Churchmen, involving an appraisal of theological opinion and religious life among Christians today, and of the effects of the Second Coming of the Lord. A further presentation of our views upon the questions raised by Mr. Wunsch must be deferred until our next issue.

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PERMEATION 1936

PERMEATION       WILLIAM F. WUNSCH       1936

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     In your April issue you gave considerable space to adverse comment on the NEW CHRISTIANITY. May I call attention to a few matters in reply?

     The New Churchman surely believes that God is active in the world, especially in the field of the religious life. It hardly seems possible that he should wish to dismiss this activity with a label like "permeation." The New Churchman also believes that the spiritual world is resident in our present world and is every moment active in it. He is convinced that in the spiritual world new heavens have formed in which the Christian life is lived in a new depth and light. This development must be seeking expression here. Again, does the New Churchman want to wave aside this reality with the word "permeation"?

     You question the statement which you quote from the NEW CHRISTIANITY that the Lord is reviving the spiritual life of men today. To what other end has He come! Do you mean that He has come in vain? More than once Swedenborg asserted that the Lord was raising up the church anew. Did he not mean something more than that a new ecclesiastical body was to be organized? None was being organized at the time; none was organized for a score of years. By the church Swedenborg meant the spiritual life realized in an age, an institution or an individual. Swedenborg's statement itself therefore means what we said-that the Lord was reviving the spiritual life among His followers here as in the new heavens. The formation of a new ecclesiastical body might follow as one result, but why substitute for the essential fact a formal result, for the inward reality an ecclesiastical organization?

     You also say that New Churchmen have nothing to learn from contemporary Christian thought.

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In addition you quote Swedenborg's statement that he did not read writers on dogmatic and systematic theology. His care in this matter doubtless served him, as he strove to apprehend what he was to write, but we have not his mission, and I suppose we are not called upon to imitate the person Swedenborg. We have to address the world with what he wrote, and to that end it seems to be in order to know what the contemporary Christian world is thinking. How do those who imitate Swedenborg and avoid contemporary religious discussion know that we have nothing to learn from this discussion?

     You make quite a point of the idea that truth or faith is first in time. Swedenborg says that even in time truth or faith is first only apparently (Arcana Coelestia, n. 3325). Wouldn't he have us transcend the appearance? Good is actually first, not only in significance, but in time. This is his constant point (nn. 4923, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 5351(2)). It is true not only of the individual life, in which "remains" antedate our being consciously' influenced by them and led to truth, but also of the world's experience, where there must be promptings to a fuller spiritual experience if men are to consider and seek any better ideas of that life. What else would prompt them to that quest? "No man can come to Me except the Father . . . draw him."

     It seems to me possible to have and believe confidently definite doctrines about the Second Coming, and yet to miss the reality. What happened at the First Coming makes that plain. Scribes and others, who were the dearest and surest that they knew how the Messiah would come, did not credit Him and passed the event by. The NEW CHRISTIANITY is only striving to do its part to avoid repetition of such blindness. When we pray about the Second Coming, "Open the eyes of the blind," do we mean only the eyes of others?

     May I add that the NEW CHRISTIANITY is not the journal, as you say, of "Convention Liberals"? Two or three members of its Editorial Board are members of Convention Liberals, but the Board is independent. When Convention Liberals last year proposed to make the support of the Quarterly one of their major objects, the Board declined with thanks.
     Sincerely yours,
          WILLIAM F. WUNSCH.
               Cambridge, Mass., April 13, 1936.

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     PHILADELPHIA ASSEMBLY BANQUET.

     This event, usually held early in February, took place this year on Friday evening, April 3, during the sessions of the Annual Council Meetings. The Assembly Hall was tastefully arranged with the speakers' table along the West wall, and the rest of the tables in diagonal lines leading up to it. The meal was served under the efficient supervision of Mr. Otho W. Heilman, aided and abetted by a group of waitresses from among the Academy students, who, for efficiency as well as for beauty and charm, I am quite sure could not be surpassed anywhere on this globe!

     Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn was toastmaster, and a better one could not have been selected, for the banquet was conceded to be one of the best we have had in recent years.

     The formal program opened with a selection by the Bryn Athyn Orchestra under the direction of Mr. Frank Bostock, and this was followed by the singing of "Our Glorious Church." The first speaker was the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, of Pittsburgh, who in a somewhat poetic speech presented the subject of the evening, "The Importance of External Uses to Man's Spiritual Life."

     The toastmaster intimated that Mr. Pendleton's speech was the only prepared one, and he was relying upon spontaneous and impromptu remarks from the door for the rest of the evening; but the promptness with which the rest of the speakers got to their feet, and the fluency and ease with which they discussed the subject before the meeting, led the writer to suspect that, strangely enough, they had been giving a lot of thought to that very subject recently!

     The Rev. Philip N. Odhner quoted from Divine Love XIII, and stated that the Writings there describe all uses as Divine, and define love to the Lord as the love and faithful performance of the uses of one's occupation. A New Churchman's relation to his occupation should not merely be one of honesty, but he should come into an ever-increasing perception that use, in itself, is Divine, being the Lord's with man, and not man's own.

     Dr. Acton spoke of the actual physiological changes brought about in the organism of the human body by regeneration, and pointed out that this is what makes the struggle for regeneration so difficult at times. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner, in commenting upon Dr. Acton's remarks, pointed out that the effort to regenerate actually creates a new body for the spirit to dwell in, by means of these actual changes in the organics of the natural mind. He also emphasized the necessity of balancing the two phases of regenerate life, namely, the shunning of evils as sins, and the active performance of uses to others.

     Bishop de Charms enlarged at some length upon the importance of these changes in the organic form of the minds of regenerating men, and emphasized that this is the only cure for the ills of the world. While the work of regeneration is generally regarded as a somewhat abstract proposition, it is in reality a very practical one.

     The toastmaster then invited Bishop Pendleton to make some remarks, if he wished to do so.

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Responding, the Bishop said that he had had no intention of speaking, but that since he was invited to do so, he would like to call attention to just one word that had been a great deal in his mind during the evening. And that word was "gratitude." He told of an interesting dream he had had some years ago, and closed by saying that if a man had but gratitude in his heart for blessings received, there was hope for him.

     The speeches were interspersed with songs. A group of female voices sang several numbers very sweetly, and Dr. William B. Caldwell rendered one of his inimitable poems, with a chorus in which all joined. The banquet closed with the singing of "Academia, Queenly! Peerless!" and "Our Own Academy" at an hour which was evidence of the unqualified success of the occasion.
     WM R. COOPER.

     NEW CHURCH LIFE COFFEE MEETING.

     Glenview, Ill.

     In New Church Life for April, 1920, mention was made of the fact that a weekly meeting had been started in a private residence, to be known as the "New Church Life Coffee Meeting." At these meetings the men of the Immanuel Church have gathered for the purpose of reading and discussing the articles published in the Life and other journals of the New Church. It may be of interest to your readers to learn that this weekly meeting has been held continuously up to the present time,-a period of sixteen years. It has proved a valuable aid to social life, and has provided plenty of opportunity to get in touch with the thoughts and doings of our Church, as recorded in the journals and literature of the various bodies of the New Church.

     The number attending this meeting is practically the same as at the start, and no effort has been made to persuade anyone to attend after he has been cordially invited to do so. Although there may have been some temptation to discuss the affairs of the local society, this has been successfully resisted. We have greatly missed the longer articles which have been crowded out of the Life in recent years, owing to its reduction in size. But we have been able to atone for this in some measure by obtaining the manuscript copies of some articles by leading New Church writers, and have greatly benefited by reading and discussing these at our meetings.
     G. A. MCQUEEN.

     PARIS, FRANCE.

     At our service of worship on Easter Sunday, after the opening of the Word, the sacrament of baptism was administered by the pastor for the infant son of the Rev. and Mrs. E. E. Iungerich. The responses were made, not only by both parents, but also by Mr. Jean Daly, who was godfather, and Miss Jacqueline Due, who was godmother. Mrs. Iungerich had previously pinned red and white ribbons upon the left shoulder of each of these little aides. The Lord's Prayer at the close of the office of Baptism was followed by the singing of a hymn, and this by the Lesson from the Word, Mark 16, with an extempore analysis of the same by the pastor as the sermon for the occasion. The Holy Supper was then administered to seventeen communicants. The service concluded with the singing of the 87th Psalm to the music composed by hit. Louis Lucas, the organist, and with the benediction. There were present in all twenty-two persons of whom five were children. After the service, Jacqueline, the little godmother, distributed drages, that is, sugarcoated almonds, to all present, this being a long-established French custom.

     During the Winter, Mme. Ernestine Lesieur and her grandson Paul and his wife spent four months in Paris, and attended many of the church services.

     Mr. and Mrs. Elie Hussenet and family, with Mrs. Hussenet's parents, have recently moved to Boulogne, close to the park and on the other side of the Seine from St. Cloud.

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This will bring them within easy walking distance of the New Church families in St. Cloud, increasing the number of their homes in this sector to four.

     Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Ebert arrived in Paris early in March, after an exciting episode in which they got separated for ten hours during the last stage of their journey. They then went on to Nancy, close to the German border, for their second semester's study. Their Easter vacation of two weeks has been spent in Paris, they being at the services on April 5th and 12th, and also attending several of the Wednesday doctrinal classes at Montreuil.

     Mr. Jean Sacques Gailliard, the painter, writes from Brussels that on Saturday, April 25, a radio broadcast was to be made from there describing the influence of Swedenborg on his art.
     E. E. I.

     ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

     A simple service was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Barnitz on Easter Sunday. Those present were: Mrs. T. D. Crockett and three children, Mr. and Mrs. Barnitz and three children, and Mr. J. A. Eraser. Notwithstanding the few in number, a joyous spirit of Easter and a delightful sphere of worship prevailed. Hymns appropriate to the occasion were sung, and the review of Mr. Waelchli's sermon, and the Lessons designated from the Word and Heavenly Doctrine, published in the Post of April 2, were read.

     These occasional gatherings serve to stimulate an affection for the truths of the Church, and to knit the ties of friendship more closely between us. Since Mr. Waelchli's missionary visits were discontinued six years ago, we have been without the services of a pastor, and the ministrations have been very greatly missed.

     At present two children await baptism in Atlanta, and two in Birmingham; and the administration of the Holy Supper is also greatly desired by the members of both of these groups. We are entertaining the hope that the General Church may soon find it possible again to delegate a Visiting Pastor to the Southern field, to supply these vital needs of the isolated members, and to continue the work instituted and performed by Mr. Waelchli for many years with very definite results.
     H. L. B.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     We observed Easter this year with two Sunday services. The first, held at 9.30 a.m., was for the children, who entered in procession bearing offerings of flowers and potted plants to the chancel,-a feature that always adds much of beauty and impressiveness to our worship. The pastor, in his address, told them about the "First Easter Day." Later, at eleven o'clock, there was a special service for the administration of the Holy Supper.

     The society was invited on Easter evening to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander P. Lindsay to celebrate with them their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Appropriate songs were sung, we all expressed our good wishes and congratulations, and Mr. Pendleton spoke enthusiastically of their past and present, and wished them much joy in the future.

     The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy met at the home of the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton on the evening of April 24. This was regular business meeting, and plans were furthered for the annual meetings to be held here in June.

     At the Sunday service on April 26, Mr. F. A. Stein was baptized by the pastor. The children's services for the season were concluded on May 3. The pastor is now giving a very fine series of sermons on the subject of the "Glorification." In the doctrinal classes the "Doctrine of the Human Mind" is being presented. The young Men's Reading Group is taking up Swedenborg's work On the Infinite.
     E. R. D.

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     BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.

     An Evangelizing Artist.

     On the outbreak of the Great War, after the invaders had occupied the city of Brussels, the German governor strictly forbade every form of newspaper advertizing. But the late Rev. Ernst Deltenre, in charge of the General Church Mission at 44 rue Gachard, decided to enlist the activities of a young artist, Jean Jacques Gailliard, who had recently joined the New Church, and whom he encouraged to paint a number of murals as a decoration of his chapel. After nine months of earnest work, the artist completed these symbolical murals, and the room was publicly inaugurated on November 22, 1915. During the ten days of the exhibition a multitude of notable personages came to view it. Not only were the arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature represented among them, but Catholic priests and Protestant clergymen also joined in the admiration of the results achieved.

     The central panel designated the "Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven." Four others severally pictured the four beasts or cherubim of the Apocalypse. At the entrance a winged calf bowing before a book represented the affection of knowing and that affirmative attitude towards Revelation which introduces to the Church. A winged bearer of a key showed the power against evil of a life according to the truth. An angel embosoming the three heavens, and bearing the Hebrew letters for "The Lord Reigneth," portrayed the fundamental teaching of the Sole Divinity of Jesus Christ. A great eagle represented the entrance of a Divinely illustrated mind into the secrets of faith. The winged white horse of a sixth mural depicted the understanding of the spiritual sense of the Word. Finally, the seventh mural, a seven-branched candlestick surmounted by seven stars, showed the descent of the Heavenly Doctrine.

     This exhibition was extolled in the newspapers of Belgium, France and England. L'Express of Liege said: "We wish to praise the luminous decorative work in this mission of the Church of the New Jerusalem, illustrating the doctrines and practices of Swedenborg, philosopher and prophet." La Renaissance d'Occident of Brussels declared: "Gailliard has been able to express the symbols, hieratism, and heraldry of a severe doctrine and an interesting cult." Le Pays Belge proclaimed: "This chapel is a little marvel, regaling the eyes. Its color scheme is one of the principal factors of its beauty and grace." Similar comments with extended descriptions appeared in four other Brussels journals, as also in The Studio of London and The New York Herald of Paris.

     Twenty years have elapsed since this first publicity was given the New Church by the industry and talent of the young painter, and his work along the lines which inspired this early effort has more than fulfilled its promise. He is now a recognized artist of high standing, not only in his native city, but throughout Belgium and its colonial empire. Quite recently, on April 25, 1936, Mr. Frederic Denis, who broadcasts once a week from Station 1. N. R. of Brussels, gave an appreciative fifteen-minute talk on "Jean Jacques Gailliard. Swedenborgian and Colonial Painter." Listening in were General Church members of Paris, London, Colchester, and Chelmsford, and they heard not only an interesting account of the career of the artist, but also the declaration that "it is the reading of the works of Emanuel Swedenborg that has influenced most profoundly the art of this painter." The broadcaster, Mr. Denis, is a prominent Belgian writer, author of numerous political pamphlets, and at present on the staff of Le Peuple, the great Belgian daily. A personal friend of Mr. Gailliard, he is interested in the Writings, and has read Heaven and Hell several times.

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     Of special interest to the New Church are three paintings by this artist illustrating an unregenerate man, a regenerating man, and one who has been regenerated. The first two are presented as ornate gardens, styled "Le Javdin Malade" (The Drooping Garden), and "Le Paradis Rose" (The Crimson Paradise). The third, "Un Ange" (An Angel), in the possession of the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, is a female face behind a thin veil upon which are faint silhouettes of a crown and of such animals as would appear in the spiritual world at a distance to represent the characteristics of the angel.

     Readers of New Church Life will recall the photograph of the painting in three paneled or triptych form depicting "The Three Testaments" which appeared as frontispiece of the January, 1925, issue.
     E. E. I.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Owing to our pastor's attendance at the Annual Council Meetings, held in Bryn Athyn early in April, we had no service in our church on Palm Sunday. An evening service was held on Good Friday, this being our only evening service during the year, and one which is found most impressive and instructive. The Easter Sunday service, at which the Holy Supper was administered, was well attended, as old and young gathered to rejoice together over the happy Easter message, "The Lord is risen!"

     On a recent occasion the men of the society proved themselves to be excellent hosts to the ladies of the society, who accepted their invitation to an evening's entertainment with keen delight and anticipation. After a well-served supper (in which there was, we suspect, a dabbling of feminine fingers) the guests were initiated into the mysteries of a business meeting of the Sons-Forward Club. That this sample was not to be taken too seriously, the hilarious nature of the reports of the secretary and the treasurer evidenced. The evening's enjoyment concluded with an account of the Council Meetings in Bryn Athyn by our pastor, whose remarks were ably enlarged upon by three ladies of Toronto who were fortunate enough to be present at the Meetings.

     The discontinuance of our Wednesday suppers is yet another sign of Spring, but the doctrinal classes will continue for a month or so.

     "Chatterbox," under its new editorship-that of Miss Vera Craigie-has maintained its fortnightly appearance to the enjoyment of all its readers. The last number, which was made up entirely of contributions by the pupils of the Day School, was particularly interesting.
     M. P.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     At our Friday classes, the pastor is bringing to a conclusion his series of lectures entitled "Outlines of Doctrine," to which we have referred briefly heretofore in these notes. His talks have been a very comprehensive treatment of the subject, very informative and stimulating to those who have heard them. The aim has been to cover the whole field of New Church doctrine, not omitting the fundamentals, and the presentation has left no reason for doubt or ignorance as to our beliefs and the things for which we stand. It is the hope of the pastor, and of all who have heard these lectures, that they will be published in book form. And a fine textbook it would be.

     The Women's Guild is active, meeting every month, usually in one of the homes. In addition to the regular business of the Guild in connection with church uses, there is an address by the pastor at each meeting, the last one being on the general subject of "States."

     A recent feature of the social calendar was a Bazaar entitled an "Oriental Evening," at which the costumes and the refreshments stressed the oriental note. For the bazaar portion of the entertainment there were sales of needlework, bakery goods, candies, plants, etc., and the proceeds of about $100.00 went to the support of worthy causes.

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     Mr. Seymour G. Nelson and his sisters, the Misses Emelia and Adah Nelson, returned later than usual from their Winter home in St. Peterburg, Florida, but the pleasure their home-coming was marred by an accident to Miss Adah, who fell upon the stone steps of their house and suffered a broken leg, with the prospect of a mending period of several months' duration.
     J. B. S.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     With the final doctrinal class of the season on Friday evening, May 8, the Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner completed a most interesting series of talks on the general subject of "Conjugial Love," in the course of which the various phases of the doctrine were presented with a delightful combination of frankness and rare delicacy which is one of the outstanding characteristics of this gifted speaker.

     The final Friday Supper of the season, on May 15, was followed by the Semi-annual Meeting of the Bryn Athyn Church. Reports were given by the Treasurer, Mr. Kesniel C. Acton; the Chairman of the De Charms Hall Building Committee, Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn; and the Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, Mr. Otho W. Heilman.

     Mr. Heilman, in the course of his report, announced the resignation of Miss Celia Bellinger, teacher of the sixth grade in the Elementary School, and the appointment of Mr. Richard Gladish as a member of the Faculty in that School. Mr. Gladish has been Instructor in the Boys' Academy during the past school-year. The retirement of Miss Bellinger will be sincerely regretted by the parents and the pupils in her charge, and by her associates in the work of the Academy Schools. She will be much missed as a New Church teacher of outstanding ability and long experience in the uses of New Church education.

     Following the reading of the reports, Bishop de Charms read a very interesting paper on the subject of "The Support of the Bryn Athyn Church," in which he outlined the various uses that are being performed, and presented many details as to their organization and operation.

     The Annual Flower Mart, given under the auspices of the Community Nurse Association, was held at the Assembly Hall on Saturday, May 9, and enjoyed most favorable weather conditions. It was under the general supervision of Mrs. Arthur Synnestvedt, ably assisted by a group of committee heads and workers. The plant committee, naturally the most important one, consisted of the ladies of the Bryn Athyn Garden Club, under the leadership of Mrs. Philip Pendleton. The other committees were organized under the following heads: Teas, Mrs. Evan Synnestvedt; Children's Teas, Mrs. Robert Synnestvedt; Competitions, Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn; Candies, Miss Tryn Rose; Publicity, Mrs. Samuel Croft; Hay and Putney Rides, Messrs. Lester and Griftith Asplundh; Boys Club Helpers, Mr. Harry C. Walter; Treasurer, Miss Anne Boggess.

     For the Competitions, Mrs. Harold Pitcairn had made and donated a series of simple cubicles in which to display the various flower arrangements, and the effect was most pleasing. There were the usual miniature gardens submitted by the children, and a new feature was a competition for the best breakfast-tray arrangement. Special mention should be made of the cooperation of the Boys Club, the members of which worked all day long most willing and cheerfully, setting up booths, directing traffic, washing dishes, and doing a multitude of other things.

     Miss Boggess subsequently announced that the Community Nurse Association benefitted to the extent of approximately $275.00.
     WM. R. COOPER

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1936

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       ELDRIC S. KLEIN       1936




     Announcements.



     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Saturday evening, June 6, 1936, at 8 o'clock. The public is cordially invited to attend this meeting.

     After opportunity is given for the presentation and discussion of the Annual Reports of the Officers of the Academy, the Rev. Dr. W. B. Caldwell will deliver an address on the subject of "The Reading of the Word by Children and the Young."
     ELDRIC S. KLEIN,
          Secretary.
SONS OF THE ACADEMY 1936

SONS OF THE ACADEMY       FRED J. COOPER       1936

     1936 Annual Meetings.

     Held at 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, Pa.

     Friday, June 26.

Noon.-Buffet Luncheon. Paper by a Sons' Representative.
Afternoon.-Entertainment by the Pittsburgh Church School.
Evening.-(Meeting open to all Church Members). Address by the Academy Representative, the Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner.

Saturday, June 27.
Morning-Business Meeting, Elections.
Noon.-Luncheon. Paper by Sons' Representative.
Afternoon.-Business Meeting, if needed.
Evening.-Banquet (open to all Church Members). Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the
Founding of New Church Education in Pittsburgh.

Sunday, June 28.
Divine Worship at 11 a.m.

     Any "Son" planning to attend is urgently requested to mail a card to the Chairman of the Housing Committee, Mr. William F. Blair, 421 7th Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.
     FRED J. COOPER,
          Secretary.
TWENTY-NINTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1936

TWENTY-NINTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY       VICTOR J. GLADISH       1936

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Twenty-ninth British Assembly, which will be held at Michael Church, Burton Road, Brixton, London, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, August 1st to 3d, 1936. Those expecting to be present are requested to notify the undersigned as soon as possible, or to write to Miss Mary Lewin, 80 Beckwith Road, London, S. E. 24, in regard to accommodations.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary. 67 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.
WANTED 1936

WANTED              1936

     Potts Concordance.

     We would like to correspond with persons having for sale bound volumes of Potts Concordance or any of the unbound Parts in which the work was originally published.
     ACADEMY BOOK ROOM,
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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REBORN OF GOD 1936

REBORN OF GOD        N. D. PENDLETON       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. LVI          JULY, 1936           No. 7
     "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, (even) to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, . . . nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12, 13)

     The phrase," born of God," is found but once in the Scripture known to the church as the Word of God. Also, the term "regeneration" is employed only once in the Word, in Matthew 19:28, where Jesus said, "I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration . . . shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

     The two quotations have the same meaning. The first marks a likeness between man's regeneration and the Lord's glorification, that is, a likeness as to process. The term "regeneration" in Matthew also implies this likeness, but it accentuates the difference. The Lord was not only conceived, but He was also born of God by the process of His glorification, as distinguished from the finite process of man's regeneration, by which man is made, not Divine, but spiritual or celestial. Therefore the Writings, in dealing with the process of man's rebirth, employ the word "regeneration," in contradistinction to the Lord's glorification. Upon an understanding of this likeness, and this distinction, the new Christian religion is founded. Every regenerate man is, indeed, reborn of God; while the Lord alone of all men was both conceived and born of the Father, and was therefore the Son of God as no other man ever was, or can be, since as the Son, He alone of all men became Divine.

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This doctrine is supreme, and overrules every other. Man's concern is that he may follow the Lord, and thereby be reborn of God through regeneration.

     The truth with reference to man's rebirth is also involved in the Old Testament teaching, but it is there covered by representatives; while in the New Testament the teaching is openly given in such phrases as "to be born again," or "born of water and the spirit, and not of flesh," which is the same as being "born of God." All these phrases express the idea of spiritual birth, or of a new-made man, over against his first natural birth, when he was formed of flesh and blood; whereas by regeneration he is reborn as to his spirit. In this rebirth no man is his father, but God alone; and the church is his mother.

     For this reason the term "regeneration" is of constant use in the Writings, and is often in our thought. While we know the laws revealed concerning its process, yet that process, in its operation, is so hidden that we have but uncertain evidence of it in ourselves; and we know nothing concerning it with others; and this, despite the fact that certain signs are given, which, if we interpret them aright, may indicate that this supremely vital process is under way, though we are, of mercy, debarred from certainty by the continued stress of temptations. Our nature is such that if we were given to know beyond a doubt, we would fall away from the Lord's environing security into a state of self-satisfaction. Yet signs are given, and it may be, at times, for our encouragement. Indeed, many signs are given-sometimes most discouraging; but as to this it may be said that in doubt hope is concealed. We interpret every sign in accord with our mood at the time-and our moods vary greatly.

     The true sign of advancing regeneration is the fact of spiritual temptations; and such temptations are ever attended by grievous doubts. How, then, may we know, if we doubt? We do not, with clarity, know whether our distress is spiritual or only natural; and this though it may seem to be concerned with our spiritual state. The natural hope of salvation, if only natural, if only a self-consideration; is not saving. This presents a confusing dilemma. We can break through it only by leaving our future in the hands of the Lord-by being content with His provision, whatever it may be.

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And yet, in this, His decision is never arbitrary; it is given in fulfilment of the life which we have freely chosen and made our own. Every temptation brings the appearance of damnation-almost the certainty thereof, from which there hardly seems an escape; from which there is, indeed, no escape, save by way of a blind trust in the Lord. We speak of a blind trust in the Lord, but this blindness is only the night which precedes the day with those who suffer temptations, if only they turn to the Lord, not in the formality of prayer, but in the sincerity of despair. In this case the Lord extends His hand.

     When man is in temptation he is held fixed in the thought of his evil. He is held bound by an environment of evil spirits; and from this prison there is no escape-no, not by a miracle of God-unless man rouses himself to break through, as if by his own strength. This requirement was made from the beginning of time. Not otherwise can a single evil be removed as if by man, but in truth by a grant of power from the Lord. To the end that man may exercise this power, the Lord allows evil spirits to inflow and stir the depths of man's self-life. And not only this. He provides that the angels may hold man in the sight of his evils. This would seem to make it doubly hard. The meaning is that evil spirits torment, while the angels encourage repentance in the face of evils. The Lord is man's only hope, and this man must see and realize. He must turn to the Lord, and to Him alone.

     Here is a curious fact. It is of the Lord's allowance that the unregenerate man may be quite deceived as to his own state of life,- that he may be allowed the thought of himself as good, that he may be satisfied by the flattery of self-conceit, in order that he may be withheld from temptation, and so not encounter spiritual affliction, lest a sight of his evil should induce temptation, and cause him to fall more deeply into evil. Those, therefore, who are not capable of regeneration, are, by means of self-satisfaction, withheld from spiritual temptations.

     Though the angels are commissioned to hold man in view of his evils, yet they do not induce evils. This is altogether the work of evil spirits-a work in which they rejoice. Herein we may understand, in some degree, the marvelous play and counterplay of the forces of good and evil within us. This is pictured as a contest between attendant angels and familiar spirits of evil, with the life of man as the stake.

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This inward drama is going forward daily as life advances; but as such it is hidden from us. We feel but obscurely the result, indicated in our vagrant thoughts and shifting moods, which seem to be so much our own that we may be disposed to deny any other presence within us; so that if we think of a God above, we think of Him as unconcerned, as far away, and of heaven as a dream.

     None the less, men inwardly are spiritual beings, and if their minds are in any degree open, they are gifted with the power of faith, and with a desire to know something of their inward states of life. And so they seek for signs of the working of the invisible Spirit within them, in evidence of that vital movement which looks to their regeneration. It is known that the mental sufferings called temptations are signs of that process; yet it is also known that signs may or may not be rightly interpreted, since there are so many kinds of temptations-some spiritual, and others not. Man's judgment may be quite bewildered. Still it is known that more can be discovered by an examination of affections than of thoughts. Thoughts are often vagrant, while affections are deeper and more stable. The one reveals less, and the other more, as to the actual state of man's life.

     By affection, life, as to its service, is determined. The angels have their place in accord with their service. So also men. In all the wide field of nature, men alone are created for spiritual uses. They, equally with the angels, are, in this, the chosen of God, that He may dwell in the uses they serve. If we would know somewhat concerning our state of life-whether it be inclined to good or to evil-we are advised to test our affections. If we do so, perhaps we may discover whether it is well or ill with us. As this is important, I quote the Writings, as follows:

     "Genuine affections are from a Divine origin, but as they descend into man they diverge into various streams, and form new origins; for as they flow into lower affections not genuine, so they are varied. In these new origins they may assume a genuine appearance, but they are spurious. The end in them reveals their quality, that is, as to whether they regard self or the Lord's kingdom. It is therefore the part of a wise man to know the ends that are in him. Sometimes it appears as if they are for the sake of self, when yet they are not so. It is the nature of man from habit to reflect upon himself.

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But if anyone desires to know the ends that are within him, let him note the delights he perceives in praise and self-glory; and let him note the delights he perceives in uses separate from self. If he feels delight in use, he is in genuine affection. He must also pay attention to his various states, for these vary his perceptions. A man can explore these things in himself, but not in another. This is the reason the Lord said, 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.' That the end determines the quality of the affections, is because a man's inner purpose is his very life. The angels are with man solely in his ends; and in so far as a man looks to the kingdom of the Lord, the angels are delighted with him as with a brother." (A. C. 3796.)

     If one would know, let him uncover his affections. Some which superficially appear to be selfish may not be so; and others, seemingly good, may be inwardly evil. How then may he know? If in sincerity he searches, with a view to amendment, there is good in this endeavor-even a saving good, from the Lord. Therefore the request is made than man should examine his states of mind from time to time, in order that by so doing he may discover his evils, and repent. In so far as he repents, he may know that it is "well with him." But repentance is more than a regret. True repentance is to cease to do evil-some one evil, discovered as present and pressing; and in so far the good that is called saving is done. This good is spiritual; it is from the Lord with man, and by it the spirit of man is reborn. Amen.

LESSON: Matthew l9. John 1:1-34. A. C. 8974.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 517, 525, 571. Psalmody, page 1.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 88, 140.

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UNIQUE PUBLICATION 1936

UNIQUE PUBLICATION       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1936

     Photostat Collection of Swedenborgiana.

      (From The New Philosophy, April. 1936.)

EMANUELIS SWEDENBORGII EPISTOLAE ET AUTOGRAPHA MISCELLANEA, being Documents other than works by or addressed to Emanuel Swedenborg, photostated from the Originals. Volumes I and II, pp. 1-400. Bryn Athyn: The Academy of the New Church, 1934.

     These are the first two volumes of a work that will prove of lasting value to the student of Swedenborg's life. As the title implies, it will contain "Miscellaneous Letters and Autographs of Emanuel Swedenborg,"-a collection of documents photostated, for the most part, from the originals. Preparations are being made to continue the publication, and when completed the work will probably comprise five or six volumes. Owing to the great expense of publication-for each page of each copy must be separately photostated-the edition is naturally a very limited one; and, also naturally, the work is costly,-seventy-five dollars a volume. Nevertheless, a copy should be in every library which hopes to serve the interests of original researchers into the facts of Swedenborg's life. Its contents cannot otherwise be consulted, save by visits to public and private libraries in many countries, including, so far as the present two volumes are concerned, various places in Sweden, and London and Oxford in England.

     The Preface informs the reader that the immediate cause leading to this publication was the fact that the researches of many students during past years had brought to the Academy a great number of photographs, photolithographs, typescripts, etc., of original documents written by or addressed to Swedenborg, which were preserved in envelopes and folders. Thus preserved, however, these documents, though carefully indexed, did not readily lend themselves to the use of the student in the Academy Library, and, of course, were entirely unavailable to those unable to visit that Library.

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It was resolved, therefore, in the interests of New Church scholarship, to publish them in photostat form.

     To quote from the Preface: "The Documents now thus presented to the public comprise:

     "1. All letters written by Swedenborg or addressed to him. Mention also is made of letters of this kind which are now lost, but which are known to have existed; and wherever possible the contents of such letters are noted.

     "2. All notes and memoranda written by Swedenborg which cannot properly come under the head of 'Works.' These include papers or drafts thereof which were prepared for the Secret Committee of the Swedish Diet, or for the Swedish House of Nobles, or for some committee thereof.

     "3. Signatures. Here are included all signatures found in books or albums, and also a selection of signatures as found on official documents of the College of Mines. To have included all of the latter autographs would have entailed a reduplication which would have been both bulky and useless. We have therefore made a selection with a view to showing Swedenborg's signature at different times during his life."

     The Preface also speaks of other documents in the Academy's possession which may possibly be published at some future time, "which, while not in Swedenborg's handwriting, nor addressed to him, are yet directly connected with his life and work." It may not be necessary to publish such documents in photostat form, but in any case their publication is devoutly to be desired. The collection of documents published by Doctor Immanuel Tafel in the four volumes of his Urkunden von Swedenborg, and the still more extensive collection published by his nephew, Doctor Rudolph L. Tafel in his Documents Concerning Swedenborg, have proved of inestimable value to the student in the New Church-a value evidenced by the fact that, so far as we know, there is not a single writer on any phase of Swedenborg's life who has not had occasion to consult one or other of these publications. But since the researches of the learned Tafels, many new documents have come to light, and there is imperative need that these be made available to the public.

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Swedenborg was the Revelator, the Servus nomini in His Second Advent, and not the slightest information concerning his life and work can be of indifference to the New Church student. But so scattered are the depositories where Swedenborgian documents are preserved, and so few the students who have the means or the opportunity of visiting these depositories, or even the knowledge of where the depositories are, that the present is indeed a welcome publication. And it is greatly to be desired that when it is completed it will be followed by the publication of the many documents concerning Swedenborg of which the publishers have so large a collection. Such a publication would be truly an inspiration for the production of works by many students in contribution to a deeper knowledge concerning the Revelation to the New Church and the means by which the Revelator was prepared for his divine mission.

     II.

     But let us take a nearer view of the documents now happily made public.

     The first document in the Collection is the title-page of a Disputation published in March, 1695, with its flyleaf showing the earliest known signature, "Emanuel Swedberg." If Swedenborg wrote his name during the year of publication-and there seems no reason to doubt this-he was then a lad of seven years.

     Of the following documents, however, there can be no doubt as to Swedenborg's age when he signed them. These documents are portions of the registers of the Upsala students from the Provinces of Westmanland and Dalecarlia, bearing the autograph signature of "Emanuel Swedberg" on June 15, 1699, when Swedenborg was eleven years old. Compared with the one previously mentioned, those signatures show in bold contrast the writing of the schoolboy of seven with that of the freshman student of eleven.

     Then comes the title-page of a Disputation published in May, 1699, also with Swedenborg's signature. This Disputation has an interest all its own. The subject is, "The Groves of the Hebrews and the Ancient Gentiles," but its peculiar interest lies in the fact that it is interspersed with Hebrew words in Hebrew characters, indicating that at this early age the young Swedberg had some elementary knowledge of Hebrew, as well as a knowledge of Latin.

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The latter fact is not to be wondered at, since the requirements of the age demanded a good knowledge of Latin, even by the young, if they were to enter into a university where all the lectures were given in Latin. Nor perhaps should we wonder that, even at this early age, Swedenborg had at least some knowledge of Hebrew, seeing that his father, the Professor Primarius of Theology and well-versed in Hebrew, wrote of his son as being "accomplished in the oriental languages" (3 Dec. 742). Moreover, it becomes easier to see how Swedenborg could so readily have taken up the study of Hebrew in 1747.

     We may add that this Disputation came into the possession of the Academy of the New Church in a fortuitous way some few years ago, when a letter was received from a Swedish secondhand bookseller, offering the pamphlet for sale. Previously its existence had not been known.

     Following these signatures is the reproduction of the title-page of a copy of Stephanus' Lexicon Graecolatinum (fol. 1623), now in the possession of the Swedenborg Society, Inc., London. The book had been presented to Emanuel by his father, Bishop Swedberg, whose signature is on the title-page; and beneath it, in a boyish hand, is the signature "Em: Swedberg 14 Sept: Anno 1700." Imagine a twelve-year old lad of today owning a ponderous Greek-Latin Lexicon!

     The next signature is on a copy of Suetonii Opera, published in Utrecht, 1690, and now preserved in a private library near Gothenburg. It bears the autograph inscription, "Emanuel Swedberg A 1703, d. 20 Octob." On the cover of this book is stamped in gold letters, "Em. S. 1703"-evidently a presentation copy given to Swedberg when he was fifteen years old. Fancy a modern boy of fifteen being presented with the Opera of Suetonius!

      A wonderment of a like nature is aroused by the inscription, "Emanuel Swedberg 1705" written on the title-page of a copy of the Opera Omnia of Plotinus (Basil, fol. 1580), now preserved in Linkoping, Sweden. The title-page contains also the signature "Erici Benzelii," and was evidently a gift to the youthful student from his learned brother-in-law.

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     But what perhaps is the most amazing tribute to Swedenborg's knowledge at this early age is seen in the reproduction of the title-page of a folio edition of the Greek works of Diodorus Siculus (1559) containing the autograph inscription, "Emanuel Swedberg, 1705, die 12 Octob. for 2 dl. 20 ore." Evidently, Swedenborg had himself purchased this book-now preserved in a private library in Laxa, Sweden-and again the imagination pictures the modern youth of fifteen years.

     The next signature is not reproduced, but merely noted, and this, we may add, on the basis of information given in a Swedish journal which announced the existence of a book, Via Devia, by Humphrey Lynde (London, 1630), containing the inscription "Em. Swedberg 1707." (The Photostat volume has "M" but this is an error for "Em.") Swedenborg was then nineteen years old, and his possession of an English work indicates that he had made some study in the English language; for despite its Latin title, the work was written in English, its full title being "Via Devia; the By-way, misleading the weake and unstable into dangerous paths of error, by colourable shewes of Apocryphall Scriptures," etc.

     Another interesting title-page is that of a copy of Hieronymus Vitalis' Lexicon Mathematicum Astrornicum Geometricum, Parisiis, 1668, now in the possession of the Astronomical Observatory Library in Upsala, containing the legend, "Emanuel Swedberg emi Londoni 1710. Aug. a 1 Carol." Swedenborg arrived at London in May, 1710. He was fond of visiting the famous secondhand bookshops, and it was doubtless there that he expended the "1 carol" (nearly five dollars, or a little over a pound sterling) for his Lexicon.

     III.

     Following the signatures come a number of letters addressed by Swedenborg to his brother-in-law, Eric Benzelius, the originals of which are now preserved in Linkoping.

     Most of these letters are written in Swedish, but among them we note one dated October, 1710, five months after Swedenborg's arrival in London, which is written in Latin, and in a somewhat schoolboy hand.

     By August, 1712, when Swedenborg had been in London over two and a half years, he felt emboldened to write to his brother-in-law in English; for among the letters we find one of that date, written partly in Swedish and partly in English.

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A passage from this letter will be of interest: "The memoirs of Literature: . . . in the literatur history. in folio. etc. and several other books, who, methinks have not escaped your, Sir! knoledge. I design within space of three or four months with God's assistance to be in French, because I desire the understanding of that fashonable and useful tongue. . . . Your great Kindnes and favour that I so many times have had proof of, makes me to believe, that your advises and writings to my father, wil occasion him to be favourable in sending me what is necessary to a yourny, and what wil give me new spirits to make further steps in what my busines is. Believe that I more wish and endeavor to be an honour to my father's and your's house, than on contrary you could wish and endeavour me to be.

     "P: S. I should have bought the microscope, if the prise has not been higher, than I coud venture to take it before your orders: it is what Master Marshal shewed me that in particular that it is a new and his own invention, and that it shows the motion in fishes very lively. it was a glas under it with a candle, which made the thing and object lighter: so that any could se the swiftnes of the blood in fishes like smal rivulets, which flowed in that manner and fastnes."

     Swedenborg did make some progress in the "fashonable and useful tongue" during his year's stay in Paris, for in December, 1715, a few weeks after his arrival in Sweden, he addresses Eric Benzelius a long letter in French, concluding with the words: "Pardonnez, mon chere frere! que je vous ecrive en Francois; a qui on pense on se divertisse a l'ordinaire; les pensees coulent a present sur cette language, mais quand le Cicero me divertira, je vous divertirois aussi comme un Ciceronien:"

     In connection with his English visit, we note the reproduction of a page from the Register of Foreign Visitors to the Bodleian Library at Oxford, with the entry "Emanuel Swedberg. Svecus. 1 d. Febru. . 17 11/12," i.e., 1712 in European reckoning, but 1711 in England, where the year then commenced with March first. Swedenborg spent five or six months in Oxford, where he probably had a letter of introduction to Thomas Hudson, the learned librarian of the Bodleian Collection.

     Another inscription on a book, different from the inscriptions hitherto noticed, is contained in the photostat of a title-page and flyleaf of a copy of Swedenborg's Prodromus Principiorum (Chemistry) which belonged to Doctor Boerhaave and is now in the possession of the British Museum.

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We can imagine the feeling of pride that animated the author when he sent this, his first publication outside of Sweden, to the world-celebrated Hermann Boerhaave, and wrote on its flyleaf: "Professori Amplissimo Doct: Hermanno Beerhaavio, Ingenio, Eruditione et Experientia per Orbem Celebratissimo, haec Tria Tentamina amice et officiosissime mittit Autor. Em: Swedenborg Coileg: Metall: Assess. in Svecia.

     The volumes before us include a number of documents, the existence of which was unknown when Doctor R. L. Tafel published his epoch-making Documents Concerning Swedenborg. Among these, we may mention a letter from Emanuel Swedberg to the Upsala Consistory, 1716, applying for a professorship; a legal agreement made in 1721 with Lars Benzelstierna as to the Starbo property; letters to the Upphandlingsdeputation, 1718, asking for payment of salary authorized by Charles XII; a letter to Baron Goertz, 1718; two letters written by Swedenborg to the King in 1720, asking for an appointment asOrdinary Assessor with salary; two letters on the same subject written to the College of Mines in 1723; two letters written by Swedenborg in 1721 to his old friend Ambassador Preis of The Hague; a letter to the College of Mines in 1723, asking for leave of absence to attend to some private business. Also several memorials, as, for instance, a memorial on manufactures, 1717; on papermills, 1717; on the currency, 1723.

     Among the documents comprised in these two volumes are many notations, indicating documents (mainly letters) that have been lost, but whose general contents are known, usually from references contained in answering letters. Thus, under the date May 1, 1713, we find the notation of a letter to Swedenborg sent by Hinrick Benzelius from Charles XII's place of confinement in Turkey, stating "that he has been with the King six months. See letter to Eric Benzelius, August 9, 1713," where Swedenborg tells his brother-in-law of the receipt of the letter in question.

     Another specimen of such notation tells of a letter from Eric Benzelius about December 1715: "[A particularly delightful letter. Informs Swedenborg concerning Mr. Werner's* character, giving many proofs.

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Makes request concerning dedication (of Daedalus Hyperboreus). Requests Swedenborg to buy shoes for Eric,** and to have a dress dyed for his sister.*** Invites Swedenborg to come to Starbo for the holidays.]" This information is derived from Swedenborg's answer to the letter in question, the letter being now lost.
     * Werner was the publisher of Daedalus Hyperboreus, with whom Swedenborg had some trouble.
     ** Benzelius' oldest son, and Swedenborg's favorite nephew.
     *** Namely, Swedenborg's older sister Anna, Benzelius's wife.

     It is to be regretted that so many letters that would normally belong to this collection are lost; but the notations to which we have referred furnish at any rate a place for their insertion in case they should be found. Meanwhile the notations themselves are not without their use.

     A number of letters are photostats from a printed or typescript text. In some cases the originals of these letters are lost; in others, however, their depository is known. It may be asked why, in such cases, the originals themselves were not reproduced. The answer is one that will, I think, be generally understood, namely, because of the necessity of reducing costs wherever the interests of necessary accuracy would not suffer.

     In the case of known autograph documents composed by Swedenborg himself, there is no instance where the original autograph has not been reproduced. The same applies to other documents where this could be done without undue expense, or where the nature of the document seemed to demand it. For the rest it did not seem prudent, at the present time, to incur additional expense in the case of documents printed or typewritten under the supervision of that painstaking and exact scholar, Alfred H. Stroh. Among such documents, we note letters from Polhem and Benzelius printed in the Opera Omnia published by the Royal Academy of Sciences, Sweden, the patent of nobility issued by Queen Ulrica Eleanora, etc. It is manifest that, in the case of such documents, the assurance of absolute accuracy which can be given only by a reproduction of the originals themselves, is not of great importance. Despite this, however, it is desirable that all these reproductions of documents be uniform whenever possible, and it is hoped that with better times this will be done in all future volumes.

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APPRAISING CHRISTIANITY TODAY 1936

APPRAISING CHRISTIANITY TODAY       Editor       1936

     We shall here present briefly our views upon the questions raised by the Rev. William F. Wunsch in the communication published in our last issue, dealing especially with the New Churchman's estimate of the religious life and theological opinion among Christians today, and the effects of the Second Coming,-a subject that is of recurrent interest to all receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem. In making such an estimate, the individual New Churchman will form conclusions that satisfy his reason and inclination, bringing the light of what is revealed in the Writings to bear upon the evidence afforded by conditions in the Christian world. In respect to this, however, there are two "schools of thought" in the New Church, which we may describe as follows:

     1. Those who hold that, in the Writings, the Lord has disclosed the interior spiritual devastation of the Christian Church,-a condition that made necessary His Second Coming to judgment, that He might effect a restoration by means of a New Church, the members of which undergo their individual judgment in the life of regeneration, beginning with a faith in the Lord in His Divine Human as revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine, and continuing in a life of repentance and spiritual temptation. This New Church will begin with a few, and gradually extend to many, chiefly through the children born and educated in the Church. Meanwhile, the good of life and worship among Christians is largely a natural good, and can only become spiritual with the few who regenerate, but who cannot attain to the higher spiritual good of the New Church except through a reception of the Heavenly Doctrine in faith and life.

     2. Many receivers of the Heavenly Doctrine hold that the Lord in His Second Coming is also effecting a restoration in another manner. Seeing evidence of the good of the religious life among Christians, and of the "discarding of the old falsities of belief," they take these for signs of a "New Age," and of the actual descent of the New Jerusalem, even among many who have no knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrine, this being effected by a kind of immediate influx from the New Heaven, "reviving the spiritual life" among the members of the Christian churches.

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They also see much evidence of the light of genuine spiritual truth in the writings of the Christian theologians. This mode of revival has long been characterized by others in the New Church under the term "Permeation," and this is what we meant by the term in our April editorial to which Mr. Wunsch takes exception.

     "The New Churchman," he writes, "surely believes that God is active in the world, especially in the field of the religious life. It hardly seems possible that he should wish to dismiss this activity with a label like 'permeation.'" Further, "He is convinced that in the spiritual world new heavens have formed in which the Christian life is lived in a new depth and light. This development must be seeking expression here. Does the New Churchman want to wave aside this reality with the word 'permeation'? "

     We cannot doubt that "God is active in the world," and that the life and light in the New Heaven is "seeking expression" among men on earth. But the effect of this, in Mr. Wunsch's own terms, is that "the Lord is reviving spiritual life among His followers as in the new heavens,"-among His followers, we agree, but not among those who are ignorant of the Lord in His Divine Human, as revealed in the Doctrine in which He has made His Second Coming, for these cannot "take up their cross, and follow Him" in His Second Coming. "God active in the world" does not operate in the things of religion apart from the free will of men; if He did, "all in the whole world could be brought in a single day to believe in the Lord; but this cannot be done, because that which is not received by man from free will does not remain." (T. C. R. 500.) The permeation idea is fundamentally contrary to this law of the Divine Providence.

     The life of the New Heaven can only descend as men, in freedom, receive and live the Doctrine now revealed out of that Heaven. And for this reason, we are told, the New Church on earth grows according to its increase in the world of spirits. (A. E. 732:3.) And so we must hold that the establishment of the New Church on earth can only be accomplished in those who actually receive the Lord in the Heavenly Doctrine in faith and life,-the genuine spiritual life acquired by regeneration.

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The Lord, through the New Heaven, cannot bring this about by "permeating" men who have no knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrine, thus no knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word, which alone reveals the spiritual life that is now made possible for the New Church. Still less can He bring this about with those who do know the Doctrines, but who reject them.

     As noted in our April editorial, the Lord quickens the good of life and the affection of truth with the remnant among Christians. These He alone knows; and He leads them to Himself,-the sign of which is that they gladly receive the faith of the New Jerusalem, and enter into its life and worship. We are not willing to accept the appearance of the religious life among Christians as the reality of the spiritual life, and assume that they are receiving it from the New Heaven by a "permeation" without paying the price,-the price that every New Churchman must pay in the long course of regeneration, if he would be truly of that Church. With such alone, we believe, is "the spiritual life realized in an age, an institution, or an individual."

     Our correspondent further avers that "the formation of a new ecclesiastical body might follow as one result" of the Lord's "reviving of the spiritual life of men today," but he asks: "Why substitute for the essential fact a formal result, for the inward reality an ecclesiastical organization?" We are led to ask: By what signs are we to judge of the presence of this "inward reality"? Are we to accept the "religious life" among Christians today as signs of the "inward reality" of the genuine spiritual life of the New Church, while at the same time we are skeptical of the signs of that life among those who have joined the organized New Church? When the disciples asked the Lord what would be the sign of His Coming, He told them to beware of false Christs and of wolves in sheep's clothing. We cannot, of course, pass final judgment upon anyone, as to whether he has the "inward reality" or not, but in this world of outward realities we must largely accept the visible signs of inward realities at their face value. And, for ourselves, we prefer the visible signs of New Churchmanship to the "religious life" of the day as the supposed sign of an invisible "inward reality."

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     There are New Churchmen today who speak with a certain contempt of the "organization," holding that Swedenborg "never founded a sect," nor contemplated one. At the same time they make much of the so-called "good in all churches." But the Heavenly Doctrine definitely prescribes an organized New Church, with its priesthood and sacraments, its worship and instruction, its education and distinctive social life. And such an organization, in the Lord's Providence, has come into being, and is recognized before the world as the "Church of the New Jerusalem." In contrast with a vague, indeterminate, invisible New Church, we prefer to recognize the existing ecclesiastical bodies of the New Church as the Church Specific of the Lord in the world today. This does not mean that all the salvable good in the world have been gathered into this organization, or that all the receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines have become members of the New Church organization. We believe, however, that those who actually receive the Heavenly Doctrine in a faith of heart, and who thus enter internally and essentially into the New Church, will normally seek consociation with others of a like faith, and will want to enter the New Church by the gate of baptism. We know of a recent convert who, becoming convinced of the truth of the Writings by reading Heaven and Hell, advertized in a newspaper to find out whether a New Church organization existed. By this means he discovered the facts, and drove five hundred miles in his car to attend a New Church gathering, there to experience his first great joy of consociation with other New Churchmen.

     Mr. Wunsch would regard the "new ecclesiastical body" as "one result" of the Second Coming. We prefer to regard it as the result of the Second Coming. But as no one would claim that formal membership in the organized Church confers the spiritual life of regeneration, neither should it be claimed that the "religious life" of Christians is the good of the "spiritual life." In making an appraisal of the apparent good in the world, we prefer to shun the guidance of any feeling that would magnify or overestimate that good, and to accept the guidance of the revealed truth that "few among Christians are regenerated," and that a spiritual devastation prevails interiorly, while only a small remnant survives.

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     The New Churchman, if he makes a frank appraisal of his own inner state, will acknowledge that he partakes of the prevailing devastation. In thankfulness for the fact that he has been blest with a knowledge of the Lord in His Second Coming, he will desire and strive to bring to the specific New Church any among the remnant who may be ready to receive the Light. We do not believe that this is to be done by persuading him that a "spiritual life is being revived" among Christians, and that such a life can be truly received apart from a knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word. Nor can it be done by addressing him in the terms of modern Christian thought and theology, instead of the new and distinctive terms of the Writings. Indeed, we think there is a positive danger in telling Christians that the spiritual life is already reviving among them, and that the doctrine of the New Church is merely given to "satisfy, guide and interpret" that life. As in the Lord's time, let the call be to faith and repentance.

     Very much that appears in THE NEW CHRISTIANITY from the pens of New Church contributors is couched in the language and style of present-day Christian writing, leaving the definite impression that more is derived from this source than is imparted to them in the form of distinctive New Church thought and teaching. This, we must hold, is not the way to bring the remnant to the New Church. Such a method, however, is consistent with the assumption that the light of the New Heaven is "permeating" modern Christian thought, and that it is our function to show them that this is the way of the Second Coming of the Lord, while we are careful not to say anything about the Last Judgment, or about the individual judgment which everyone who would enter the New Church must undergo, if he would separate himself from the evils and falsities of his Christian inheritance.

     And may we here call the attention of our correspondent to the fact that, in our April editorial, we did not say that "New Churchmen have nothing to learn from contemporary Christian thought." We did say that "the New Church, with its revealed Doctrine, has infinite things to impart to the present-day Christian theologian, and little to receive from him." Swedenborg was "forbidden to read writers on dogmatic and systematic theology before heaven was opened to him."

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We may well heed this warning in our education of the young in the Church, guarding them until the light of the New Church fully dawns in their minds, and they are able to exercise rational discrimination. Let the adult New Churchman, in whose mind the Heavenly Doctrine is established and confirmed, read the Christian theologians as much as he pleases. But let him read them in the clear light of the New Church, and not read that light into them, still less read the Writings in the light of modern Christian theology.

     We thank Mr. Wunsch for his citations from the Doctrines on the subject of the priority of good in time as well as in reality. We are not in disagreement with him upon this clear teaching, but rather in its application to the matter of appraising the state of good with Christians. The passages quoted by him treat of those who are regenerating; as, for example: "They who are in truth, before they have been regenerated, believe that truth is both prior and superior to good; so also it then appears. But when truth has been conjoined to good with them, that is, when they are regenerated, then they see and perceive that truth is posterior and inferior." (A. C. 3325.) Note, however, that such were first "in truth," before regeneration could begin. And so it must be among Christians who may come to the New Church. The order is, that they must first receive the Heavenly Doctrine in a faith of understanding, and from this begin a life of repentance, which is "the first of the church with man." (T. C. R. 510.) Then, if one is such that he can be regenerated, the Lord will operate interiorly to implant the good of charity in the truth of his faith. This good of the Lord's operation is really first in time with the regenerating man, but truth is first in appearance with him, and what is first in appearance is first in time with him. Hence the error of telling Christians that they are already in the good of the spiritual life, and need only doctrine to "satisfy, guide and interpret" that good.

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     "Ill news travels apace!" We expect everyone has heard that our pastor has received call from the Bishop to carry on further uses in Bryn Athyn. The news came as shock to the society, as Mr. and Mrs. Acton have been with us for over ten years, and we have grown to regard them as belonging to us. We pleaded with the Bishop, but in vain. It is unnecessary to say how much they have grown into our hearts, and how much we shall miss them. We shall always remember Mr. Acton as an outstanding preacher, a fine teacher in the school and in his numerous weekly classes, and as a very good sportsman and friend.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Philip Odhner and family will probably be with us in July. We extend to them a very hearty welcome.

     Mr. D'Arcy Cockerell had been suffering from high blood-pressure for some time, but his passing into the other world on January 14 came as a great shock to all who knew him. We offer our deepest sympathy to his wife and seven children, and to all his other relations and friends, who will miss him terribly. He was a very lovable man, with sterling qualities, always so genial and sympathetic, and with such a cheery disposition. He was the eldest surviving son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Cockerell, the pioneers of the society in Durban, and he himself was one of the leaders of the church here in his earlier days.

     The new school-term opened on February 3d. Mr. Lawrence Odhner, Mrs. Acton's brother, who arrived from Bryn Athyn a week earlier, addressed the children with great sincerity and to the point, leaving them with the impression that they were going "to one of the best schools in the world." We welcome Mr. Odhner to our society, and hope he will stay with us for a long time. He is a stimulant that our young society needs. But recently he went with Mr. Billy Schuurman on a gold venture in the Transvaal, which proved to be very promising; so we are afraid it is going to take him from our midst.

     Mr. Acton and five other occupants of his car had a very fortunate escape from death on their return from "Alpha" at the end of January. The steering-wheel failed, and the car ran off the road and somersaulted into a ditch. None of the occupants was hurt, but the car was badly damaged. Mr. and Mrs. Scott Forfar were not so fortunate in February. They had a terrible accident, a head-on collision, caused through the carelessness of an Indian driver. Mrs. Forfar (Beatrice Robinson) suffered dreadfully with seven breaks in her face. We offer her all our sympathy, and are glad she is progressing so favorably. Mr. Scott Forfar was scalped, but after twenty-two stitches he seemed to recover rapidly, and ten days later acted as principal in a repeat of the play, "Green Stockings." Two of the three children had slight injuries, but they are all well now.

     We offer our heartfelt sympathy to the Rev. and Mrs. Elphick of "Alpha," who were in Durban when they heard the news that their home had been burnt to the ground. After an enforced extension of their stay in Durban, they are returning to "Alpha" on April 16, to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ridgway.

     The men of the society have been very active lately.

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Their fortnightly meetings have increased in popularity and enthusiasm, with an average attendance of twenty. Papers have been given by different members, and followed by interesting discussions. We are very glad to say that in March they inaugurated the Durban Chapter of the Sons of the Academy. Mr. Lawrence Odhner gave a splendid address on "Happiness," after which there was a thoughtful discussion by many of the young men. Several well-attended and enthusiastic meetings have been held since at various homes.

     Two "showers" were given for Miss Winnie Bath in March, in view of her approaching marriage in April. One was at the home of Mrs. J. H. Ridgway, where she was given linen, and the other at the home of Mrs. Melville Ridgway, where she received kitchen utensils. The amusing verses which accompanied the gifts helped to make the occasions exceedingly jolly.

     The wedding ceremony of Miss Winnie Bath and Mr. Gordon Cockerell, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Cockerell, was much enjoyed by all their friends on April 4th. The church was prettily decorated with pink dahlias and blue water-lilies, in keeping with the attractive pink hats and blue dresses of the bridesmaids, the Misses Elsa Ridgway and Lorna Cockerell. Mr. Neville Cockerell acted as best man, while Mrs. Ken Ridgway's two children looked adorable as page boys in white velvet. The reception was given under the beautiful trees in Mrs. S. D. Cockerell's garden. Many appropriate and witty speeches and toasts were given and enjoyed by everyone.

     The Theta Alpha gave the children an Easter Party at Mitchell Park. They needed little entertaining, with the zoo close at hand. Easter eggs were hidden for each one to find, and they were provided with plenty of good things to eat.

     The engagement of Miss Jean Cockerell, daughter of the late Mr. D'Arcy Cockerell and Mrs. Cockerell, to Mr. Max Poynton of Durban, has been announced. We wish them every happiness.
     S. P.

     SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.

     The 39th Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held in Bryn Athyn on May 22d, 1936, at 8 p.m., the President, the Rev. Reginald W. Brown, presiding.

     The meeting was well attended, 77 members and friends being present. At the business session the Rev. R. W. Brown was reflected president, and the following were elected members of the Board of Directors:

     L. F. Hite,
     Gideon Boericke,
     Harold F. Pitcairn,
     C. E. Doering,
     E. H. Alden,
     Alfred Acton,
     Leonard Tafel,
     Raymond Synnestvedt,
     Wilfred Howard.

     Dr. C. E. Doering presented the Treasurer's report, which showed a balance for the year, due largely to number of special contributions that have been made in response to an appeal for funds to continue publication of the New Philosophy. The membership of the Association is now 161.

     The report of the Literary Editor stated, among other things, that Swedenborg's work on the Cerebrum was ready for publication in book-form when the funds are available.

     The Address was given by Dr. Charles R. Pendleton, its title being, "The Problem of the Higher Atmospheres." In general, the paper discussed the question of scientific evidence in regard to the higher atmospheres, and emphasized four problems, as follows: 1) The number of atmospheres; 2) The ratio of the modes of higher and lower atmospheres; 3) The non-uniform distribution of atmospheres; 4) The motion of the higher atmospheres.

     In the active discussion which followed the reading of the paper the following gentlemen took part: Revs. Alfred Acton, R. W. Brown, C. E. Doering, Homer Synnestvedt, John Stockwell; Messrs. Wilfred Howard and Edward Allen.

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The discussions centered largely around the following questions:

     The relations of the ether and magnetic aura. Is there evidence of a discrete magnetic atmosphere?

     The bearing of the normal laws of refraction on atmospheres that are attenuated or thinned out, such as the air and ether.

     The work of Prof. Williams as evidence in support of a distinct magnetic aura.

     The belief on the part of some scientists that higher atmospheres may exist.

     The question of the correlation of the three atmospheres of the Writings with the four of the Principia.

     The spiritual nature of the first aura, in that it is the aura of human souls.

     In the course of the discussion, Dr. Acton pointed out that the first aura of the Principia was not created from the natural sun, but prior to it, and therefore could not be considered a natural atmosphere. He contended that if we keep this distinction in mind, the correlation of the three atmospheres of the Writings with the four atmospheres of the Principia is not difficult.

     Dr. Pendleton, in his concluding remarks, expressed his appreciation of the manner in which his paper had been received, and stated that, in general, he was in agreement with Dr. Acton's interpretation. He also discussed briefly a number of other questions that had been raised in the discussion.
     WILFRED HOWARD.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Unsuspectingly visiting the Craigie home under the pretence of attending a house-warming, Miss Isobel Fox became the very fortunate object of a delightful miscellaneous "shower." One week later, Isobel became the bride of Mr. Gordon Warnock at a very pretty wedding in our chapel. The wedding was a white one-white gowns and white decorations-and was very lovely, as weddings always are. We gladly welcome this newly-married couple into our midst,-the third in five months, an unprecedented occurrence in the Olivet Society.

     Wishing to bring the year's activities to a suitable conclusion, the Ladies' Circle held its final meeting at the church and sat down to a delicious supper prepared by the Executive Committee. After supper and a business meeting, four tables of euchre were arranged, and thus an evening's enjoyment and a year's useful work came to a close.

     The Forward Club-Sons of the Academy also held its final meeting at the church with a supper, followed by a business meeting, then recreation. The men, however, unlike the ladies, have a supper every month, and so the occasion was not quite such a novelty to them; although many strange and wondrous things are likely to happen when men prepare their own suppers. The meeting was a successful one, in regard to both instruction and recreation.

     During May, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal paid his Spring visit to the Montreal Circle. He motored there with three passengers, Mrs. Gyllenhaal, Mrs. Henry Becker, and Mrs. Thomas Smith. The Montreal group has recently been enlarged by two new members, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Zorn, bringing the total membership to twelve adults and nine children. On the afternoon of Monday, May 11, Mr. Gyllenhaal gave a children's class, and In the evening held a service at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Felix Du Quesne, where eleven adults were present. On the following afternoon, another children's class was held, and in the evening a doctrinal class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Timmins, attended by thirteen adults, including three visitors from Toronto. Everyone in Montreal looks forward to Mr. Gyllenhaal's visits, "which"-as one member states-"help so much in reminding us that, even though we have no place of worship or organized New Church society, we must carry on, in spite of 'apparent' yet permitted difficulties, and cling closely together in an effort to help each other in living up to the teachings of the Writings."

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     The migratory season has now opened with the appearance of visitors:-Mr. and Mrs. Sterling Smith and Mrs. Vincent Odhner, of Bryn Athyn; Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Zorn, of Montreal; and Mrs. Anderson, of Aurora.
     M. P.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Firmly established upon the strong foundation so well prepared by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli during the many years of his faithful ministry among the isolated members of the General Church, and inspired by the vigorous and capable leadership of the Rev. Norman Reuter, the group at Detroit continues to forge ahead with unabated zeal and high hopes for the future.

     Since October, 1935, when this group was officially organized and so auspiciously started on its way by Bishop de Charms, as reviewed in New Church Life of February, 1936, four meetings have been held under Mr. Reuter's leadership, the first being November 30-December 1, when he was accompanied by Mrs. Reuter, whom the group promptly adopted as a member ex officio. Her bright personality and the active part she takes in the social side of our meetings make her a valuable and always welcome addition to the group. This being Mr. Reuter's initial visit in his official capacity, to which he was appointed by Bishop Pendleton, an informal reception was held on the evening of November 30 at the home of Mrs. Anne Coombs. Most of the Detroit members turned out to welcome the new pastor and his wife, but the out-of-town members had to defer their welcome until after the service on the following day.

     On Sunday afternoon, December 1, a service was held at the Walker-Synnestvedt residence, the subject of Mr. Reuter's sermon being "Faith." The attendance was 35, including, in addition to the local members, the Childs family from Saginaw, the French family from near Pontiac, and members of the Bellinger family from Riverside, Ontario. It was the first service in the history of this group at which all those attending were members of the General Church. Eighteen members gathered in the evening at the same place for a doctrinal class, the subject being "Man's Ruling Love."

     Illness prevented Mrs. Reuter from accompanying Mr. Reuter on January 26, 27, when the service on Sunday afternoon was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Cook in Hazel Park, a suburb of Detroit. The attendance was almost 100 per cent,-a total of 37,-all being members of the General Church and their children. The sermon was on the subject of "Obedience." After the service came a very enjoyable social time, followed by an excellent supper, which was furnished and prepared jointly by the Cook and Steen families. To this feast all had been invited, and all remained, excepting the Childs family, who were almost one-hundred miles from home and had to get an early start.

     On Sunday evening a class was held at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Steen. Extremely cold weather kept the attendance down to 10, but those who ventured forth were rewarded with a very interesting reading, by Mr. Reuter, of a portion of Bishop Acton's "Life of Swedenborg," from the original manuscript.

     Another doctrinal class was held on Monday evening, this time at the residence of Mrs. Anne Coombs. Mr. Reuter continued his reading of the Acton manuscript, as being appropriate to the anniversary of Swedenborg's Birthday. Severe weather again held the attendance down, but those present greatly enjoyed the reading, as well as the subsequent refreshments, which seem to be an indispensable feature of all meetings of the Detroit group. In fact, the gastronomical propensities and digestive abilities of this organization are believed by Mr. Reuter to be without equal in the entire General Church.

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     Rev. and Mrs. Reuter arrived unexpectedly at the Walker-Synnestvedt residence on the evening of March 19, on their way to Saginaw, where they spent a few days as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs, and where classes for the children were held and evening worship was conducted by Mr. Reuter. On Sunday, March 22, all drove down to Detroit, where, at the Walker-Synnestvedt home, a service was held at 3:30 p.m., followed by the administration of the Holy Supper. The pastor's sermon on the subject of "Living Bread" made the sacrament which followed exceptionally impressive and significant. The attendance was 29, including two visitors, and the communicants numbered 17. At this service we had the benefit of the chancel furniture and drapes used by the Wyoming Society, Mr. Reuter having brought them as an illustration of what could be done to transform a living room into a real place of worship. So marked was the improvement, that Mr. Norman Synnestvedt promptly took measurements of the pulpit, and is now busily engaged in constructing a duplicate, which we hope soon to have in use.

     Converging upon Saginaw from such distant points as Holland (165 miles), Detroit (100 miles) and Pontiac (75 miles), the group gathered for worship on Sunday, May 10, at 12:00 noon, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs. One of the unusual and beautiful features of this home is a large pipe organ, built into one end of the spacious library. In this setting, and embellished by the lovely tones coaxed from the organ by Mr. Childs, this service was most uplifting and in every way delightful. And with such splendid organ music for inspiration and support, the many good singers among the Michigan members rendered the musical selections in an exceptionally fine manner. "Divine Providence in the Laws of Permission" was the subject of Mr. Reuter's excellent sermon. The attendance at this service was 32, and it included Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Vinet and their son, Pierre Jr., from Holland, Mich.; also Mr. Howells Walker, who had just returned home from Philadelphia after completing his four-year enlistment in the U. S. Navy.

     Following this service a dinner, jointly provided, was served to the entire group in the large recreation room below stairs. A social hour and a short doctrinal class rounded out the remainder of the afternoon until time to set out on the long homeward journeys.

     On the next day, Monday, Mr. Reuter's activities included some official calls, a class for children, held at the Cook residence during the afternoon, and a doctrinal class in the evening at the Walker-Synnestvedt place, the attendance being fourteen, and the subject "Spiritual Intelligence." A very happy social time followed, during which all joined in singing a number of rousing Academy songs and the inevitable refreshments were served.

     Mr. Reuter's next visit to Detroit is scheduled for Sunday and Monday, June 14 and 15. Because of its nearness to the 19th of June, one of the doctrinal classes will be in the nature of a celebration of New Church Day.
     WM. W. WALKER.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     For the members and friends of the General Church in England we now have a typewritten paper, called "A Monthly News Letter," and I propose to give abbreviated quotations from this paper concerning the recent activities of the Colchester Society.

     On Palm Sunday, Mr. Gladish gave a suitable talk to the children, after which the little ones carried their palm leaves up to the altar.

     In the evening of the same Sunday, the Sons of the Academy held an open meeting at the home of Mrs. Rey Gill. The paper, on "Precious Stones," was given by Mr. John Cooper, and he had brought many gems to illustrate his subject. The paper was very interesting, and was followed by a good discussion.

     On Good Friday a special service was held in the evening, one feature being the singing of the 39th Psalm as a solo by Mr. Norman Motum.

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     The usual Easter service was held on Easter Sunday, the Holy Supper being administered on the following Sunday.

     On April 17, Mrs. Gladish and Mrs. Sanfrid Appelton gave a social for the little tots of the society, who thoroughly enjoyed it.

     On the following Thursday, the older children were entertained at an Easter social arranged by the social committee and the young men and women of the society. As it was St. George's Day, the social commended with the singing of the National Anthem. This was followed by a talk from our pastor, in which he showed the relation of Christmas to Easter, and of Easter to the Second coming of the Lord. The remainder of the evening was spent in playing "team" games, and then all joined in the grand march, and the evening closed with the singing of "Alma Mater."

     At our doctrinal classes we are coming to the end of the work on the Divine Love and Wisdom, which we have been studying for about two years, finding it profoundly interesting and most useful.
     M. W.

     WYOMING, OHIO.

     In our last report, published in the January issue, we mentioned the removal of our activities to the pastor's residence,-an arrangement which has proven most satisfactory, except for the burden placed upon the pastor and his wife in preparing the living room for services and class each week. As one important gain, however, the sphere of worship has been greatly enhanced. The people enter the house by a side door, and pass through the dining room into the front room of the house, which is prepared as a chapel for worship. Shortly before the set time for the service to begin, suitable recorded music is played on a phonograph, with the result that the disturbance that may be caused by thoughtless talking is eliminated. Records are also used for the music of the interlude and postlude.

     During this season we have instituted monthly church suppers. Everybody brings something, with an appetite to match, and everybody has a good time, even if all do not happen to like chipped beef or hamburgers. After the supper an informal class is held, the subject usually being of an historical character. The supper-classes have been held at the following homes: Swedenborg's Birthday, at Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Merrell's home, Larchmont; February, at the beautiful home of Mrs. George A. Cowing; March, at the pastor's residence; April, at the Smith home. Recently a social evening was devoted to a political discussion of "Monopoly," and also celebrated the farewell tour of the Pastor Emeritus, Rev. F. E. Waelchli, as well as the return to Cincinnati of Dick and June Waelchli, at whose apartment these festivities occurred.

     Christmas, Good Friday and Easter were celebrated in the customary manner with services of great beauty. The Palm Sunday service was omitted this year, because of the extreme difficulty of having our pastor in Wyoming and attending the ministers' meetings in Bryn Athyn at the same time. We are also compelled to give up several other services during the year, in order that Detroit and Middleport may have occasional services. However, our pastor, knowing in advance that he will be away the following Sunday, makes up for his absence by giving us an extra long sermon-to last us for two weeks!

     The Nineteenth of June will be observed with a banquet. A picnic for the children has been planned, and later in the summer a picnic-not for children-has also been proposed. The summer vacation period has been shortened by common consent, since we are fortunate enough to have a resident pastor once more. The Sunday services will be held in the cool of the evening, with children's services in the morning.

     We have been fortunate in the number of visitors who have found their way to Wyoming.

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Mr. and Mrs. Fred Merrell have driven from Oak Park, Ill., several times during the year to see their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Merrell, and their children, Fred Junior and Stanley, who are living with their grandparents during the school year. We will miss these visits when the Fred Merrell family leave this Summer for the West Coast, where Fred has been appointed Western Sales Manager for the Wm. S. Merrell Company. From Los Angeles, Mrs. Will Smith has been visiting her son, William Allen Smith, and her daughter, Mrs. Paul Connell (nee Gwynnedd Smith). From Glenview have come Mr. and Mrs. Adolf Reuter, Mrs. Fuller, and Mrs. Harold F. McQueen. From Hunting ton, W. Va., Mr. and Mrs. Richard Waelchli have visited us several times during the year, and now that they have moved back to Cincinnati there is a twenty percent increase in the adult part of our congregation. We nearly forgot "Sneezer"-the first Waelchli grandson. "Sneezer" is a dear little fellow with beautiful ring lets and a seraphic expression,-but don't be misled by appearances! He's really a bundle of dynamite! We're glad to have the Waelchlis back. The Wyoming Society has had one or more Waelchlis for such a long time that we don't feel quite natural without them.
     DONALD MERRELL.

     A PASTORAL TOUR.

     Since my retirement as visiting pastor, the General Church has been able to arrange for the care of some of the places to which I ministered, but not as yet for all of them. Consequently, I am to some extent continuing the work for a while.

     Starting out on a three weeks' trip, the first place visited was RENOVO, PA., where, May 6 and 7, two evening doctrinal classes were held in the Joseph Kendig family circle. Our subject was the extension of thought into societies of the spiritual world, using as our text the teaching given in Apocalypse Explained 1092 and following numbers. In general, the doctrine is that "all the thoughts of man extend into the spiritual world,-spiritual thoughts, which are those relating to the Lord, to love and faith in Him, and to the goods and truths of heaven and the church, into heavenly societies; but thoughts merely natural, concerned with self, the world, and the love of these, and not at the same time with God, into infernal societies." The same subject was presented at all places afterwards visited, occupying one, two or three classes. At Renovo instruction was twice given to the two youngest children of the family.

     At ERIE, PA., doctrinal classes were held on Friday and Saturday evenings, May 8 and 9, each time with an attendance of eight. On Sunday morning, the 10th, a baptismal service was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Woodworth for their infant son, at which a number of relatives and friends were present. In the afternoon the regular service was held, with an attendance of ten, of whom seven partook of the Holy Supper.

     On Monday, May 11, at CLEVELAND, a class was held with an attendance of ten. Also, instruction was twice given to a child.

     Five days, May 13 to 17, were spent at AKRON. During this time we had three doctrinal classes. Four children were instructed in one home, and three in another. At the service on Sunday, the 17th, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Asplundh, there was an attendance of fifteen adults and nine children, a total of twenty-four. Of these, four were from Cleveland and seven from the Akron Convention Society. Afterward the Asplundhs entertained the Genera Church members at a delicious luncheon in their garden,-which Mrs. Asplundh had announced as "just a snack," but which proved far otherwise. Throughout the afternoon we had a delightful social time.

     On Monday morning, Mr. Arthur Wiedinger took me in his car to NILES, OHIO, and here I enjoyed a several days' rest in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Williamson, friends of many years. Instruction was given a child three times.

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And on Thursday evening, May 21, there was a doctrinal class, attendance six, of whom four were from Youngstown.

     On Friday, the 22d, I went to YOUNGSTOWN for a several days' stay. A class was held that evening, attendance thirteen. At the service on Sunday there were sixteen present, of whom fourteen partook of the Holy Supper. And in the evening there again was a class, and again with an attendance of thirteen. At the classes and the service, Youngstown, Columbiana and Niles were represented.

     At the six places visited, the ministrations of the church were brought to fifty-six adults and twelve children, a total of sixty-eight.

     I next went on to Cincinnati for a week to see the folks there. An enjoyable social of the Circle was held one evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Waelchli; and on Sunday, May 31, on invitation of the pastor, I had the pleasure of preaching again for the congregation to which I had ministered for sixteen years.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The grand banquet of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy was held on May 22, this being an annual affair to which all members of the Immanuel Church congregation are invited (at 50 cents per plate). Mr. Winfred Junge was toastmaster, and he was ably assisted by the other members. Mr. Warren Reuter made the principal speech of the evening, the theme of his discourse being the lives and progress of two supposititious young men whom he designated by fictitious names, one a New Churchman, and one without a knowledge of the Church. He traced their progress through school, adolescence and business life, showing equal business opportunity, but stressing the advantages of the New Churchman, whose motives and conduct were founded on the principles of our Church.

     The last of the Day School assemblies was held on June 5. The third grade pupils, with costumes and set tings of their own manufacture, dramatized the Return of Odysseus. The fifth and sixth grades offered further representations, and older pupils contributed compositions and talks, and the Anvil: Chorus was rendered by a rhythm band. Prof. Rydstrom's singing classes presented several part songs, well sung. At the close of the program the audience viewed an exhibition of the school work, and the children were rewarded with a surprise ice cream party.

     On Saturday, June 6, an audience of parents and friends of the children who "take music lessons" were entertained by the young performers. Pupils of Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt, Prof. Rydstrom, Mrs. Louis King and Prof. Jesse Stevens presented a varied program of instrumental music. Much progress was shown, and the augury is bright for the future.

     The men and boys of our society, acting under our able Park Commissioners, recently put in the best day ever in improving our Park, grubbing, cleaning, trimming, and planting many new trees and bushes, particularly many large evergreens, donated by the Nelson Nurseries and set around our buildings.
     J. B. S.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     The marriage of Donald Allen and Emily Boatman took place on February 15 at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Philip Stebbing, our pastor, Dr. Alfred Acton, officiating It was an attractive wedding; all of the Washington Society and a number of guests were there, each one giving the bride and groom the best of wishes.

     Mr. and Mrs. Ellison Boatman entertained the doctrinal class on Saturday evening, February 29, to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary, March 1.

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     Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Grant entertained the class on Saturday evening, April 11, at which time the Society presented our pastor, who had been made a Bishop the week before, with a globe of the world which we knew he would like to have, and Bishop Acton expressed his appreciation in his own inimitable way.

     Owing to circumstances over which we have had no control it has not been possible to hold the usual "suppers" these past six months. On Sunday, June 7, we were all invited by Dr. and Mrs. Stebbing to their camp at Woodland Beach, Maryland, for a final social time, as now we do not meet together again until September. It was more or less our celebration of the 19th of June; at the service in the morning Bishop Acton's sermon was on that subject. We drove to the camp after the service, and immediately sat down to a luncheon in the open, admirably prepared by our host and hostess. Swimming was indulged in by the men, and the weather was so perfect that the day was thoroughly enjoyed. Guests of the society that day were Mr. and Mrs. Edreth Acton and Mr. Edward Allen, of Bryn Athyn, and Miss Winifred Allen, of Denver, Colo., who is to be with us for some time and who, we hope, will be a member of the Washington Society before long.

     Since our last report, Major and Mrs. Alan Pendleton, Mrs. John S. Boatman, and Mrs. Donald Allen have become members of the Society; and again we can report a new baby-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rowland Trimble of Laurel, Maryland.
     E. G. C.

     Sail for SOUTH AFRICA.

     A score of relatives and friends went to Brooklyn, N. Y on June 1st to bid bon voyage to the Rev. and Mrs. Philip N. Odhner, who, with their two children, sailed that day for South Africa on the motorship City of New York, due in Durban early in July. Mr. Norbert Rogers sailed on the same ship for Cape Town, to spend two months with his mother and sister at Saron, C. P., returning in September to continue his course in the theological school of the Academy.

     The groups in North Jersey, Camden, and Philadelphia, to whom Mr. Odhner has ministered for several years, have held a number of farewell gatherings during recent weeks, with mutual testifications of affection and of regret at parting. At one party in Bryn Athyn, tendered by Mr. and Mrs. Kesniel C. Acton at their home, Bishop Pendleton, Bishop Acton, the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner and others spoke interestingly of the origin and development of the New Church in Durban, and of the spiritual ties which bind us to our friends of the General Church there.

     Readers of New Church Life will recall a brief account of the "Durban Pioneers" which appeared in the June, l930, issue, together with photographs of James and Susannah Ridgway, who, with their family, landed at Durban in July, 1850. They had brought several boxes of books from Liverpool, and among these books were the Writings. Before the boxes were unpacked, nearly all the books were destroyed by white ants, but not a volume of the Writings suffered this fate. "The family were very much impressed by this special Providence of the Lord, and regarded it as nothing short of a miracle."

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     New Church Club.

     At the 173d meeting of the New Church Club, held May 8, 1936, the members presented Bishop Tilson with a testimonial in the form of an illuminated scroll, in recognition of his long and valued service to the Club,-as principal chairman, 1920-1926, and as president, 1926-1936. The scroll contained a record of the March and April meetings of the Club, of the formal resolutions then adopted, and of the supporting remarks by the members.

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     Bishop Tilson tendered his resignation at the March meeting, when he stated that he would soon be seventy-nine years old, and that he had been advised to curtail his responsibilities. Because of his advancing age and consequent state of health, he felt that it was his duty to retire as president. The Rev. Victor J. Gladish offered a resolution of acceptance, with profound regret that it had become necessary, and with a deep and sincere gratitude for Bishop Tilson's many years of leadership, and for the many good things which had come through him. In seconding the resolution, Mr. Colley Pryke paid glowing tribute to the work of the retiring president, and to the love and affection from which it was done, and expressed the hope that he would still be able to attend the meetings of the Club. These sentiments were warmly endorsed by Mr. Alfred Godfrey, after which Bishop Tilson voiced his appreciation of what had been said, and assured the members that he hoped to be with them on future occasions, in presence as well as in spirit.

     At the April meeting, a resolution acclaiming Bishop Tilson as Honorary President of the New Church Club was offered by Mr. R. A. Stebbing, and seconded by Mr. James S. Pryke in words of warm tribute to the service rendered by the veteran president. The secretary read a letter from Mr. A. E. Friend, who spoke of the president's resignation as "constituting the completion of an epoch," and added that "he deserves the thanks of the Club, which should be accorded without stint or reservation." The resolution was unanimously carried.

     At this meeting, also, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton was chosen as Chairman, or Acting President of the Club.
     V. J. G.

     A meeting of the New Church Club for a dinner and discussion is held at the time of a British Assembly each year, and such a gathering was held in connection with the Thirteenth General Assembly in 1928. (N. C. Life, 1928, p. 734.)

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Joint Meeting.

     There was a good attendance at the annual joint meeting of the Corporation and Faculties of the Academy of the New Church, which was held in the chapel of Benade Hall on Saturday evening, June 6, the Vice President, Bishop George de Charms, presiding.

     The Secretary, Mr. Eldric S. Klein, read his well-prepared digest of the Reports for the year, giving an interesting account of the progress made in the work of the various departments of the Academy, and of the prospects for the coming year, including a number of changes in the teaching staff. After an interval of four years, a Catalogue for 1936-1937 is to be published in July, and the Journal of Education is to be resumed in the Fall, to provide for the publication of the Annual Reports, beginning with those of 1933, and bringing the record up to date as soon as space is available.

     An Address was then delivered by Professor W. B. Caldwell, who spoke on "The Reading of the Word by Children and the Young," taking as text the statement that "the historicals of the Word were given to initiate infants and children into the reading of the Word." (A. C. 6333:3.) He described how this initiation begins at an early age in the home, and is continued in the Religion classes in school, preparing the young for the actual, individual reading of the Books of Divine Revelation by the members of the New Church. Citations from the Writings indicated the vital importance of such reading, and its use, not only to the men and women of the specific church, but also to gentiles, and to the angels from all earths. The subject was discussed by a number of speakers.

     Elementary School.

     The closing exercises of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School were held on Thursday, June 11, Bishop de Charms conducting the worship. An address by Professor Finkeldey mingled the light and serious in an engaging manner.

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Principal Heilman presented Certificates to nineteen graduates, who in turn made a gift of eight copies of the Bible for use in the Religion Room.

     Commencement.

     The end of another school-year in the Academy was observed on Friday, June 12, with the Commencement Exercises in the morning, the large audience in the Assembly Hall including a number of visitors from Pittsburgh, Glenview, Toronto, and other centers.

     When the students and officials of the Academy had entered in procession, Bishop de Charms conducted the opening worship, and the service which followed included the student singing of a Hebrew Anthem and the 31st Psalm from the Psalmody. Dean Doering read the Lessons:-Luke 10, concerning the seventy apostles; and A. C. 6047, treating of the conjunction of the truths of the church with scientifics.

     The Commencement Address was delivered by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto. He was introduced by Dean Doering as one who had long served the Church with distinction, his pastoral labors in Denver, South Africa, England and Canada having been marked by productive growth. Mr. Gyllenhaal sounded a serious note as he counseled the graduates to hold to the doctrinals of the church as they went forth to meet the thought and science of the world, and to engage in its uses. Their new freedom involved a responsibility to uphold the ideals of the church. As they returned to the societies of the church from which they had come, they would find an opportunity to carry into the local activities what they had gained by their sojourn in the Academy, thus to promote the upbuilding of the New Church as well as their own spiritual welfare and happiness.

     Bishop de Charms then announced the graduations and honors, and presented diplomas to the graduates of the different departments, suitable acknowledgment being made by a valedictorian of each class. The diplomas conferring the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Science were presented by Bishop Pendleton. The following is a list of the awards:

     Degrees.

DOCTOR OF SCIENCE: Reginald William Brown.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Luelle Kavahra Starkey.

     Graduations.

     JUNIOR COLLEGE: Charles Snowden Cole, Jr., Doris Eleanor Cranch, Marion Cranch, George Edward Guthrie Dykes, Mary Howard, Florence Valerie Potts, Elizabeth Kuehner Walter.

     BOYS' ACADEMY: Ralph Eugene Allen, Gideon Tufts Alden, Rey Waters Cooper, Charles Frederick Davis, Quentin Faulkner Ebert, George Albert Field, Marlin Grant Heilman, Edward Duane Hyatt, Roy Hodson Rose.

     GIRLS' SEMINARY: Audrey Alden, Zara Bostock, Elizabeth Brown, Faith Childs, Elaine Cooper, Aurelle de Charms, Edith Marie Deigendesch, Arlene Glenn, Zoe Olive Gyllenhaal, Nancy Corinne Horigan, Katherine Howard, Morna Hyatt, Karen Pitcairn.

     Honors.

Oratorical Prize (Silver Cup): Roy Hodson Rose.
Deka Gold Medal: Karen Pitcairn.
Alpha Kappa Mu Merit Bar: Morna Hyatt.
Sons of Academy Gold Medal: Quentin Faulkner Ebert, Marlin Grant Heilman.
Theta Alpha Scholarship: Shirley Cracraft, Marion Pendleton Gyllenhaal, Sylvia Nadine Stevens (all partial); Florence Valerie Potts (tuition).

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TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH: 1936

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH:       N. D. PENDLETON       1936




     Announcements.





     June 21st, 1936.

     Age and declining strength make my retirement a necessity. The Assistant Bishop, the Right Reverend George de Charms, will take over the responsibilities of the Episcopal Office until the General Assembly shall select and confirm a new Bishop of the General Church.
     N. D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop.
TWENTY-NINTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1936

TWENTY-NINTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY       VICTOR J. GLADISH       1936

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Twenty-ninth British Assembly, which will be held at Michael Church, Burton Road, Brixton, London, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, August 1st to 3d, 1936. Those expecting to be present are requested to notify the undersigned as soon as possible, or to write to Miss Mary Lewin, 80 Beckwith Road, London, S. E. 24, in regard to accommodations.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary. 67 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.

     Program.

Friday, July 31.

     Gentlemen attending the Assembly are invited to participate in a meeting of the New Church Club, at the Old Bell Restaurant, 123 Holborn, London, E. C. 1, at 7.00 p.m. Address by Mr. J. S. Pryke.

Saturday, August 1.
     6.00 p.m.-Tea.
     7.30 p.m.-First Session. Presidential Address, Bishop Tilson.

Sunday, August 2.
     11.00 a.m.-Divine Worship. Preacher, Rev. Victor J. Gladish. Administration of the Holy Supper.
     7.00 p.m.-Second Session. Address by Rev. A. Wynne Acton.

Monday, August 3.
     11.00 a.m.-Third Session. Subject: "Extension of the Ministrations of the General Church in Great Britain." Report on "British Finance Committee." The "News Letter."
     3.00 p.m.-British Chapter of the Sons of the Academy.
     7.30 p.m.-Assembly Social, at the Loughborough Hotel, where also the Assembly meals will be served.
WANTED 1936

WANTED              1936

     Potts Concordance.
We would like to correspond with persons having for sale bound volumes of Potts Concordance or any of the unbound Parts in which the work was originally published.
     ACADEMY BOOK ROOM,
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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NATURAL DIVINE TRUTH 1936

NATURAL DIVINE TRUTH       Rev. ELDRED E. IUNGERICH       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          AUGUST, 1936          No. 8
     There is spiritual Divine Truth, such as we find set forth in the pure, abstract theology of a Divine Revelation; there is natural Divine Truth, such as we find in a truly rational philosophy like that of Swedenborg's Scientific Works, and also in the Writings of the New Church as "science from a spiritual origin," and having there the purpose "to confirm the spiritual truth" set forth beside it; and finally there is "science from a sensual origin," such as the irreligious world outside of the church cultivates and proclaims, which is "lowest, . . . material, . . . corporeal, . . . and having little or nothing of life." This interesting distinction between spiritual, natural, and sensual truth is set forth in the following passage:

     "'The dry place shall become a pool, . . . grass instead of reed and rush' (Isaiah 35:7). This with regard to the instauration of the church by the Lord; and that those will then have intelligence by spiritual Divine Truth with whom there had not previously been any, is signified by 'The dry place shall become a pool'; and that those will then have science by natural Divine Truth with whom previously there had only been sensual truth, is signified by 'grass instead of reed and rush.' 'Grass' signifies science from a spiritual origin, or by which spiritual truth is confirmed; but 'reed and rush' signify science from a sensual origin, or by which the fallacies of the senses are confirmed. The latter science, viewed in itself, is only the lowest natural science, to be called material and corporeal, in which there is little or nothing of life." (A. E. 627:8.)

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     This pronouncement as to the value and use of natural Divine Truth, over against sensual science, should be hailed by those New Churchmen who have asked how far the authority of the Divine Revelation made by the Lord to Swedenborg extends. Some of them have advocated limiting it to matters of pure theology, leaving the acceptance of their dicta on other matters to the individual taste. Others, going further, have declared that it was not a function of Revelation to teach science; that science was to be acquired solely a posteriori by sense observation; and that to defer to scientific statements in a Divine Revelation, over against the science of sensual observation, was to flout the guidance of Divine Providence in regard to the latter.

     The teaching of A. E. 627:8, just cited, only assigns a very low place to the science of the world, calling it "science from a sensual origin," saying it "confirms the fallacies of the senses," and declares it to be "the lowest, . . . material, corporeal, . . . with little or nothing of life." Distinctly above it, and in fact intermediate, so to say, between it and the "spiritual Divine Truth" which purveys intelligence, is what is called " natural Divine Truth," which is then described as being "science from a spiritual origin," and whose purpose is "to confirm" the yet higher spiritual Divine Truth.

     Every Divine Revelation has been the bearer of natural Divine Truth, of science from a spiritual origin, of natural confirmations of its spiritual truths. Spiritual Divine truths are to teach men the laws of God in regard to the regeneration of their minds, so as to fit them to have an angelic attitude on earth and to enter into angelic uses in the hereafter. Natural Divine Truths, confirmatory of the former, occur side by side with them in a Divine Revelation, but also outside them, as, for instance, in Swedenborg's Scientific Works, where they are the salient principles to truths of nature presented as a structural whole. Their purpose is to enable men to see the presence of Divine laws of order in ultimates. Merely sensual truths, when not allowed to confirm the fallacies of the senses, and thus blind the mind to the real suzerainty of the higher laws, are to enable one to profit from one's physical environment, and supremely to extend the rule of higher principles to wider reaches.

     In the Old Testament, we have as natural Divine Truths the miracles recorded there, such as those attending the Exodus, those of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and many others.

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The sensual scientist of today is skeptical as to these, being unable to duplicate any of them. Swedenborg disputes none of them, and affirms as to one of them, which is nowadays generally denied,-namely, Jonah's being swallowed by a whale,-that "it was actually done in the world." (S. D. 1391.) In the New Testament, we have as natural Divine Truths the mode of the Lord's conception, His resurrection, and His many miracles. Swedenborg disputes none of these, and even in his "Fragment on Miracles" describes the laws that operated in the changing of water into wine, in the withering of the cursed fig tree, and in the multiplication of the leaves and fishes.

     In the Theological Writings of Swedenborg, primarily among the natural Divine Truths that they set forth, we have what is said with regard to Swedenborg's own state and his intromission during thirty years into the spiritual world, which is declared to "surpass all miracles."

     As to other matters included in "the science from a spiritual origin" which the Writings set forth, I may list the following as matters that have awakened surprise and at times opposition:

     1. All planets and moons are inhabited. This has been opposed on the ground that science claims some to be still in an incandescent state, and that Swedenborg might have been duped by spirits versed in astrology and claiming to be under the influence of certain stars.

     2. Conception takes place in the Ovary. The Arcana Celestia and the work on Generation sustain this. Modern scientists do not corroborate it.

     3. The Original Arboreal Birth of Men and Animals. The Worship and Love and God sustains this, the History of Creation favors it, and T. C. R. 472 speaks in agreement with it. Modern scientists prefer a different theory.

     4. Spontaneous Generation of New Species, and also the Rising of Forms of Evil Uses at the time the Hells began. This is quite foreign to modern experience. It may be asked, however, whether Swedenborg's real teaching on the subject has been fully grasped as yet.

     5. Only One Set in Plants,-the Male Sex. This is generally taken to be in disagreement with sex distinctions as to organs which modern botany observes. It may be asked whether Swedenborg does not mean that plants have purely a male soul and no female soul.

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Possibly he is not talking about forms; and so some plants may have organs subservient to their male soul; some, organs subservient to the operations of the earth as a common mother; and some, organs subservient to both.

     6. Drones Accompany the Queen-Bee while Laying. In one of his scientific works he declares that the drones directly fertilize the laid eggs. Modern science has nothing to confirm this, and much to oppose it; for the queen lays eggs even when there are no drones in the hive. Perhaps future ages will disclose new facts, as, for instance, that fertilizing material put by drones in a given cell would fertilize egg after egg laid in it.

     7. Three discrete spiritual degrees and three corresponding natural degrees, not only in macrocosmic atmospheres, but also in microcosmic bloods.

     8. An Ancient Word, now lost, but still used in Gorand Tartary.

     A. E. 627 speaks of these intermediates between spiritual truths and sensual science as "natural Divine Truth," and the context implies that the term "Divine" is used because they occur in a Divine Revelation. Yet many such natural Divine Truths are found, not only in the Writings, but even in the Scientific Works, written before Swedenborg's spiritual faculties were opened; in fact, all but propositions 1, 4, and 8, of the above list. This is vouched for also by Swedenborg's explanation as to why he had first been a philosopher before chosen to be a revelator (Influx 21), in order that "truths rationally confirmed should open [the church] or an understanding illustrated by the Lord" (Docu. II, p. 256.) So the use of natural Divine Truths "to confirm spiritual truth" is performed not only by their existence side by side with the latter in the Writings, but also by their presence outside of them in the Scientific Works.

     Now the point of interest is whether a New Churchman should feel bound to accept these intermediate truths as matters of his faith; it being taken for granted that he must do so as to the spiritual doctrines of the Writings, which none but the Lord could have revealed, since only by a Revelation could a man know of the things essential to his salvation. (T. C. R. 273-276.) Certainly some of them are so bound in with the spiritual Divine Truths that they could hardly be separated; as, for example, the doctrine of the Virgin Birth of the Lord with the spiritual teachings of the New Testament; and the doctrine of Swedenborg's intromission into the spiritual world with the spiritual teachings of the Lord in His Second Advent.

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They are distinct, as natural Divine Truth confirmatory of spiritual Divine Truth is distinct from the latter; and yet no man could deny the former and persist in the denial without devitalizing the hold of the latter upon his mind.

     As to the list of eight propositions which we have just presented, it is conceivable that a man might oppose some of them and not suffer as to his faith in the spiritual truths needed for his salvation. In fact, as to proposition 3, the arboreal birth, Swedenborg, in the History of Creation, nos. 4 and 14, avers that the reader may believe as he pleases. A man may oppose such, and yet be saved, but the question then arises as to whether he can then be truly rational, and whether he will not be sacrificing an ability to extend the empire of the New Church in his mind.

     Perhaps we might say that we acknowledge fully all spiritual Divine Truths, that it would be unthinkable not to accept certain natural Divine Truths, and that we shall respect and restrain ourselves from impugning the remaining natural Divine Truths. As to sensual science, in which there is little or nothing of life, we are in lesser danger if we attack and criticize, for there is little danger of destroying life there, of injuring something that may be vital to us.

     Spiritual Divine Truths are vital to our happiness in our uses on earth and hereafter; natural Divine Truths are vital to our rational grasp of the former, and to our ability to make the sciences on earth connect with the eternal laws of order; and the facts of sensual science are as infilling particles that give embodiment to the highest by means of the intermediates. According to A. E. 1171, one who has a spiritual love in the natural has intelligence in spiritual things; that is, he will see illustrations of spiritual things in natural affairs; whereas one who has a natural love from the spiritual will have intelligence in natural matters. Such a one will be qualified to develop natural Divine Truths into structural systems that will be a monument to Divine Law. But one who is in a merely natural love has no light at all, but is in the conceit of his intelligence. Such a one sees no further than sensual science, which merely confirms the fallacies of his senses, while swelling his sense of his own importance.

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RESPONSIBILITY 1936

RESPONSIBILITY       Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL       1936

     (Academy Commencement Address, 1936.)

     The purpose of the education given in the Academy Schools is preparation for eternal life in heaven, and for a life in the world leading to that final goal. To accomplish this purpose, the mind is developed and the character molded according to an order revealed by the Lord in the Word and the Writings, yet by a curriculum of studies, and of social and sporting activities, similar to those of other schools in the world. The differences between the education here and that in all other schools are differences as to purpose and internal means. These differences will be recognized by noting that in the Academy a world beyond the one we now live in,-a spiritual world,-is studied. In every subject of the curriculum the true relation between natural and spiritual things is shown, also the subservience of uses to a man's regeneration. The education here also aims, through all environmental and even national differences, to unite the students in a common devotion to the Church as the Kingdom of God on earth, while protecting the individual student's devotion to his own country. For the importance of the love of one's own country is fully recognized, although the Church's transcendence of national differences is believed and fostered.

     Preparation for eternal life in heaven is not ended with school life. It is a continuous work throughout life in this world. Here some of the principles have been taught you young men and women who now are graduating, and an endeavor has been made to awaken in you a spiritual affection for them, to train your minds to see them in a rational manner to be true, and to show you how the scientific and sensual truths, both of Revelation and of nature, confirm them. Here you have been initiated into this true order of thought and action, and yours is now the responsibility to continue this work, that your preparation may steadily advance, and that you may be found ready, when your time comes, for the life in heaven.

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     Nor is your preparation for life in the world now completed. Whether you continue your studies, or engage in remunerative work, you should actively prepare for a better doing of the uses of life, not only by applying what you have learned, but also by ever increasing your store of knowledge. This is true of both spiritual and natural knowledge. Divine Revelation instructs us that "it is utterly useless for a man to know many things, if he does not live according to what he knows. For knowing has no other end than that the man may thereby become good." (A. C. 1100.) The knowing of natural things should have as an end that the man may do uses. Of course, when you begin work, whatever it may be, you will want to be successful. Success, however, does not always come with the personal or contemporaneous attainment of an object, but often only through blazing a trail of action and thought over which others can tread to accomplishment. Your work, especially when it is done in the right spirit, prepares you for further work, and prepares the way for others. A useful life in the world, however unimportant and mean it may seem to the one engaged in it, or to others, if it be actuated by unselfish and spiritual motives, is a truly fruitful life, and is rewarded with inward contentment and happiness.

     One of the marked differences between the education given here and that given in other schools is that an endeavor is here made to prepare for uses in the Church. you come from widely scattered societies of our Church, and your association here should help you to be a means of unifying those societies in their common uses. As the Rhodes Scholarships have helped much to promote mutual understanding and goodwill among English-speaking peoples, so the Academy education of students from widely separated centers and outposts of our Church produces a common understanding of our Church's doctrines, purposes, and problems. This service which the Academy is thus rendering to the Church is invaluable. It is your privilege to help in it, and a responsibility which none of you should ever shirk. Indeed, it offers you immediate opportunities of usefulness, and of experiencing the delights that are the most satisfying rewards of work.

     For upon you of the younger generation will fall the responsibility of doing the work of the Church. The School here has afforded you opportunities of training and experience in co-operation on several planes,-scholastic, musical, dramatic, social, and in sports and work.

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The spirit of co-operation is the vital element in all our associations, and you can have the right spirit wherever you may go, and with whomsoever you may associate, if only you will do as you have done here. The people of your home societies need your co-operation in their work. True, there will be difficulties in your future associations that you have not had here. There will be fewer like-minded companions of your own age; there will be lower-powered incentives, and perhaps a seeming lack of purposeful direction; but, knowing what you have accomplished here, and having been sensible of the element vital to success in co-operation, you can confidently enter your new fields of uses, and contribute your fair share of zeal, thought, and work in whatever has to be done. You know there are people who take everything they can get, and give nothing back. Here you have had great advantages and privileges which some day you will realize. Try to put back into the pool as much as you have taken out or more. You can do this at once in your own homes, and in your own societies, and in the assemblies of the church; and by so doing you will be making a return, even to the school here. Make up your mind that that shall be your attitude towards life. As life goes on, opportunities will indicate how best you may do your part. Look out for those opportunities, and extend your hand to meet them.

     Responsibility is a state of being called upon to pay one's obligations,-one's debts. It conveys the idea of a pledge given for doing something or fulfilling some engagement,-a pledge that should be redeemed. Your baptism was such a pledge. Without it you could not have enjoyed the privileges of the education you have received in this school. Even though you were baptized in infancy, thus without your consent, that baptism was such a pledge,-a responsibility that you should now honor by voluntarily confirming it. And in so doing you will honor your parents who acted for you in your infancy.

     The lesson read from the Writings teaches that "the doctrinal things of the church are first to be learned, and then the Word is to be examined to see whether these are true." (A. C. 6047.) You are now prepared to do this, and it is one of your responsibilities. Your acceptance of the education provided here was another pledge,-one to which you gave willing consent; and it can now be redeemed by your doing the uses for which it has prepared you.

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You will be left free to redeem these pledges in your own time, or to ignore them; but if a true conscience has been forming in you throughout the years of your childhood and youth, you will want to redeem these pledges, and you will find it delightful to do so.

     It is well at times to reflect and realize that, by our creation and birth, to which we cannot first give consent, we are entrusted by the Lord with abilities, with things material, natural, and spiritual, and thus with uses, because all things are for the sake of use. Supremely, therefore, our responsibility is to the Lord. We are answerable and accountable to Him for the rightful and faithful use of what He has given us. Yet the giving of all things by the Lord does not depend upon our use of them. He ever freely gives to all mankind, but our increasing reception and use of what He gives depends upon the quality and number of our actions. We also have responsibilities to the neighbor; for such is charity. Your education here has given you responsibilities of both kinds, because it is founded upon the Two Great Commandments. And if you regard those responsibilities in the light of Divine Doctrine, you will see them as the easy yoke and light burden which the Lord would have all men freely take upon themselves from Him.

     The discharge of responsibilities is a personal matter. Even when responsibility is shared in assuming it, one is not released by the failure of others to pay. The man who has a true conscience recognizes this. In the world today, however, there is little knowledge of a true conscience. Relatively few people have such a conscience, and there is spreading rapidly and alarmingly a state of irresponsibility, or of shirking one's responsibilities. The centralization of government is a result, not only of the love of power on the part of a few people, but also of the shirking of responsibility on the part of very many people. And both causes are due to the failure of modern education to form a true conscience in the individual, and, of course, to the individual's failure to acquire one himself.

     This condition of irresponsibility exists also in our Church. Perhaps it is increasing with us, owing to the influence of the world, and to causes within ourselves. But we have no legitimate excuse for irresponsibility.

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We cannot honestly plead ignorance of either a true conscience or the measure of responsibility. You cannot honestly plead ignorance of either, for your education here has not left you in such ignorance. On the contrary, it has prepared you to resist this worldly and infernal influence, and to discharge your responsibilities conscientiously in every field of usefulness. It has prepared you to take rightful advantage of many opportunities that other young people either do not see or wilfully neglect. But action rests with yourselves. A famous preacher once said in his sermon, "Nothing is so easy as to be religious on paper." Your education has been designed to make you truly religious, for it has been inspired by the Divine precept that the whole of religion has relation to every moment and every action of life, and that the life of religion is to do what is right and good.

     With gratitude springing from a realization of the blessings you have received, with courage inspired by faith and charity, with high hopes for a useful and happy life, go forth from your Alma Mater, our beloved Academy, to unite with her older sons and daughters in guarding her name, and watching her sacred flame!

     LESSONS: Luke 10. A. C. 6047.
DEDICATORY ADDRESS 1936

DEDICATORY ADDRESS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936

     "Suffer the little children to come."

     (At the Dedication of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, March 15, 1936.)

     Our hearts are uplifted with gratitude today, as we gather for the dedication of this building to its service in the eminent use of educating children according to the principles of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Church given by the Lord in His Second Coming. The Bryn Athyn Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem has long been devoted to the general use of New Church education, which indeed was the reason for its first establishment and the contributory cause of its growth.

     The proximate purpose of this building-sheltered still within its old walls-is to house the kindergarten and elementary school of the Bryn Athyn Church, and this now more commodiously and safely than formerly.

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Out of the fire of destruction has come, in the Divine Providence of the Lord, this more efficient instrument of such education. In the planning of its facilities many have labored,-a labor both of patience and of zeal, of talent and of devotion,-and into their labors we are about to enter.

     The spirit which animated the settlement of Bryn Athyn was from the first one of faith and of a deep trust in Providence. It was the spirit of taking no anxious thought for the morrow, as is enjoined in the command, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you." As the years have rolled on, our uses have slowly expanded, and the Lord has provided for the material ultimates, for the embodiments and instruments, just as soon as the needs for them became clearly manifested. For this is the spiritual law of all growth: "It appears as if the forms or organs were prior to the uses, when yet such is not the case." "For it is the use which commands the forms." "The use existed before the organic forms of the body came forth; and the use produced and adapted them to itself, and not the reverse." (A. C. 4223.)

     Thus, for a period, the use of the primary education of the children of the local church-which was regarded as an extension and normal outgrowth of the New Church training in the homes-was carried on with small conveniences and in various places. In 1903, the local school was accommodated in four rooms on the first floor of Benade Hall, which was then the newly erected home of the Academy. But on April 22, 1910, the separate elementary school building was dedicated. A gift of the late Mr. John Pitcairn, it was, at the society's request, placed in the hands of the Academy, together with a maintenance fund, to be held in trust for the purposes of Elementary Education, with the stipulation that, when the Academy of the New Church might at some later time desire to take it over, this fund and the recognized value of the building were to be turned over to the Bryn Athyn Society, which in the meantime would support the expenses of its primary education.

     The building was erected on the Academy grounds, and this particularly for the sake of the unity of the Church's educational uses, with a view to efficient cooperation and to various economies, such as that of an overlapping personnel. Nor has anything occurred to disturb our faith in the wisdom of these arrangements.

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For twenty-five years De Charms Hall served the Society, and in that time about 300 pupils have graduated from the elementary department. It has also served the Academy as a training ground for prospective teachers, many of whom have gone forth into the uses of our parish schools and as pioneers for New Church education. The value of the supervision of the work of the local school by the Academy staff-under the direction of the President of the Academy, who is the Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church-cannot be estimated. And in looking forward to future years in this restored home for the training of our children, it is with gratitude that we know that these mutual benefits may still continue to accrue.

     II.

     In stating that the use, the function, the need, is always prior to the forms or instruments which it adapts to itself, and by which it is carried out, the Writings refer to the fact that "use flows in from the Lord, and this through heaven, according to order, and according to the form in which heaven has been ordinated by the Lord, thus according to correspondences." (A. C. 4223.) All uses are from heaven, and their influx touches us through different provinces of the Gorand Man. The use of education, in itself considered, proceeds from the Lord's love of saving the human race, and makes one with the sphere of the love of offspring, or the sphere of preserving and protecting things procreated in their beginnings and progressions. (C. L. 386.) It is therefore a universal use, which acts together with the Divine Providence. Where spiritual loves exist among men, this use comes into its own; but even in a perverse and godless generation, it is present "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers," lest the earth be smitten with a curse. (Malachi 4:6.) It enlists in its aid even the self-love of man.

     Every generation instinctively as well as deliberately labors for the benefit of its posterity, for the perfecting of their environment, planning for the future good, for years which its eyes will not see, and planting crops which it will not survive to harvest and enjoy.

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And it is commonly recognized that one's work is judged, not so much for its value to one's contemporaries, as for its more lasting use to other generations. Every man, in building for his children, feels that his personality somehow survives in its distant fruitions; and for this he is satisfied to endure hardships and make sacrifices. To help to mold the animus, the minds, the fortunes of the young, appears as a work of vast effectiveness,-like shaping the substance of eternity! Thus the natural man, whose mind cannot sustain the thought of an eternal heaven after death, can yet glory in thus building for an earthly future, and find his satisfaction in the hope of a racial immortality.

     And so parents, in all past ages, have jealously guarded as their own the privilege of educating their children, although it has often been claimed as a right belonging only to the State or to the Church. This rivalry over the children of the race-from a desire to dominate the future-is ever present as a danger and a warning; and the problem has been lessened only by the facts that none of these three factors-parents, State, and Church,-can be dismissed, and that a wise Providence ordains that education, however thorough, is limited in its effects, and cannot take away the inner freedom of the spirit.

     The call for New Church education came from parents who offered their children into the care of the school, that the training begun in the home might be continued under more adequate conditions, satisfactory to civil requirements, yet looking towards the goal which the Church alone held out. This goal, which through the uses of worldly life looks beyond the world's transient objectives, and beyond racial and social survival, is the dominant thing in our schools, as it is in our lives; and it is this alone that can transform all worldly knowledge, and all the functions and employments of society, into means for spiritual progress and eternal usefulness.

     In the societies of our Church we speak of the children thus placed in their charge as "our children." For the Church is deeply conscious of its spiritual motherhood; and the use of education is spoken of as the proper use of charity of each established society of the Church,-a use without which it could not long continue to be blessed, since it is through one's use to others that blessings come. As parents, we teach our children, also, to look to the Church for ultimate guidance-when our own is insufficient, or when they reach a riper age.

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Indeed, feeling how largely we are dependent for support from the general sphere of the Church around us, we direct the young to the precept, "Honor thy father and thy mother," as teaching, in its spirit, that the Lord is the Father of the regenerate soul, and the Church, as a guardian of the Divine Truth, the Mother; and that in honoring them lies the seed of all true obedience to civil, moral, and spiritual order, and the promise "that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

     It is thus not to dominate the destinies of our children, but with a view to direct the children to the Lord in His Revelations, and to the freedom which the rule of a conscience of truth can give, that New Church education is instituted, and this building is erected. And in the Greek inscription over the repository-"Suffer the little children to come"-is expressed the ardent hope that the disciples of the Lord, be they parents, teachers or friends, will not forbid this approach or hinder it by word or deed, but cooperate in bringing the children of the Church ever closer to the Lord for His blessing and His healing touch. For it is upon the understanding cooperation of home and school and society that the realization of our educational endeavors depends.

     III.

     But what is it that we can hope for, even from the most perfected form of education, towards which these, our New Church schools, are the first pioneer efforts? Certainly what is said of baptism is true also of education,-that it "confers neither faith nor salvation." (H. D. 207.) What is represented by baptism into the New Church is continued in New- Church education; for education organizes the use of baptism and carries it on.

     Baptism testifies before men and spirits that a child belongs to the church, and can be regenerated. By the sign of baptism he is inserted among societies and congregations in the spiritual world, "according to the quality of the Christianity in him or outside of him," (T. C. R. 680), lest there be disorder in the spiritual world, and lest he be drawn away by spirits of alien religions, whose influx would disturb and distort his mind's growth, and estrange him from an affirmative response to the truth and the life of truth. (T. C. R. 678.)

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     The tender minds of children in the world of today are increasingly confused by conflicting spheres. One group is still cramped in the straight-jacket of a religious formalism which demands spiritual blindness as the only hope and condition for salvation. But the majority, in their schooling, are faced with the contradictions of many faiths, among which doubt alone is the binding link, and silence on religious questions is the only answer; and this while the creeping paralysis of a growing paganism and a subtler sophistication hardens their minds against the needs of religious humility and spiritual innocence.

     It is to protect our children from these engulfing spheres that we raise our solitary schools as homes for that sphere of spiritual truths which emanates from the new heavens. (T. C. R. 619.) The voice of the world dins ever more loudly in our ears, comes ever nearer to our homes. An external separation from the world is more and more difficult to accomplish, if, indeed, it was ever possible. As the enticements of modern life press in upon us, and the rival power of the organized learning of the world becomes more compelling, we must rely more and more upon the counteracting effects of a true education; and it is on this front that the battle for the future is bound to be fought.

     None of us can afford to depend upon a brittle external distinctiveness. Our distinctiveness must be internal, and adaptable to circumstances; our resistance must be founded in an ever deepening understanding and appreciation of the end which we are trying to reach. It is our hope that, by means of our schools, we have found a way by which the foundations of our children's minds may be well and truly laid on the basis of eternal truths, eternal sanctities; so that-so far as they pass from the protecting wings of an innocence born of ignorance, as they will with every step of their childhood, they may be given, in every new state, what tends to assist the Lord's secret work of growth, that they may thus learn, year by year, to discriminate what is true from what is false and fanciful, to distinguish the good from the evil, and be prepared for their inevitable and widening contacts with the actual world about them.

     The natural mind, as it is being built in childhood, is the basis for all states to come; and parents, teachers, and others also, are largely responsible for its sensitive form, which, in unexpected and sometimes exaggerated ways, reflects strange reactions to our neglects, our faults, our mistaken sense of values, our modes of thought and habits of life.

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We are assured that the injuries which others visit upon the spiritual life of a man can, by the Divine Providence, be restored in full, and be turned to his good. But it appears not to be so with the goods of the external man. We may injure each other in respect to the natural mind; and even regeneration cannot fully restore the damage, since at best the injuries remain as scars which have grown callous. (A. C. 9013.) We cannot fully make up to our children the impairments due to our neglects or unwitting mistakes. But we can endeavor to compensate by leading the children to influences which are not from ourselves, but from the Word and Doctrine of the Lord. We can uphold ideals that are higher than our own faulty attainments.

     IV.

     A New Church education cannot ensure salvation. For education cannot open the spiritual mind, but has only the power to mold the animus and to order the natural inclinations. (C. L 246.) But such instruction and discipline as the church offers do constitute a preparation for the life of regeneration, as well as for the life of use which is the focus of regenerate efforts. They do more than merely create an environment in which an aversion to the more obvious evils is instilled and moral disasters are forestalled. They do more than simply lead to good citizenship. They do more than to build broad foundations for good judgment and-by consistent teaching of the moral virtues-to insinuate an impatience with shams and a craving for higher ethical standard. Even secular education, from social necessity, undertakes to keep alive certain moral ideals.

     The training offered in our schools aims to do more than to prepare the citizen of earthly society. It directs the mind to dwell upon the Lord's eternal kingdom of uses, and upon heaven as a pattern of life. It provides-in all the fields of study-knowledges that are open to heavenly illustration, and can be used to confirm truths. It can give an intangible and distinctive quality to the natural mind of the child which makes it responsive to the influx and guidance of the New Church in both worlds.

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By dissuading the children from confirming falsities and appearances, and by stimulating sincerity and the love of truth, it encourages the mind in its faculty of seeing from spiritual light, of thinking analytically, of forming conclusions about what is just and right, of seeing what is honorable in moral life, and what is good in spiritual life. This is all within the scope of education. For "in things purely rational, moral, and spiritual, truths are seen from the light of truth itself, provided man has, from a right education, become somewhat rational, moral, and spiritual." (D. P. 317.) And a right education is now increasingly possible among men, because, through the Writings, spiritual truth can now be seen rationally.

     The promises given in the Writings, that a time is coming when there shall be illustration, when charity shall prevail, and conjugial love be restored, are what inspire the work of New Church education. And in this work, human personalities, which are necessary to the accomplishment of our conscious objectives, are lost sight of when they merge in the cooperative routine of the school,-the symbol and embodiment of the use, greater than the sum of its parts. The visible results of this human work, its merits and deficiencies, also vanish when we consider how the uses of men become but the means whereby the Lord extends to us, and to the unending generations, the Divine use of salvation. These Divine works we cannot measure or fathom; they are infinite, eternal, untraceable, although we fancy we discern their faint image as we look back upon the workings of Providence. Yet it is these Divine uses that give reality and blessing and permanency to human work.

     It is for the presence of the Lord, in and through our work, that we pray on this day: that He may cause the translucent walls of His New Jerusalem to descend protectingly about our children.

     May He bless the Church of His Holy City, and provide that the city shall yet be "full of boys and girls, playing in the streets thereof"! May He make this school a haven against the storms of doubt and perversity! May He dedicate us all to uphold the hands of those to whom the conduct of this work is entrusted, and grant them wisdom and illustration, so that in these halls the uses of heaven may be reflected!

     LESSONS: Zechariah 8. Divine Providence 317a.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1936

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

LITABA TSA SEHLOHO. A Sesuto version of First Elements of the True Christian Religion, An Introductory Catechism for the New Church, by Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner. Translated by Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng.

     A copy of this nicely printed 80-page booklet has been sent to us by the Rev. Fredk. W. Elphick, who states that the translation, printing, proof-reading and binding were done by the staff of the Native Mission at "Alpha," Ladybrand, South Africa.

SUN-RISE. The Magazine of the New-Church Native Mission in South Africa. Chief Superintendent: Rev. Edwin Fieldhouse, Box 23, Florida, Transvaal. Nos. 1-4, November, 1935, to February, 1936.

     The Academy Library has received four issues of this periodical of the General Conference Mission in South Africa.

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Mimeographed, with cover, the sixty pages of these numbers furnish interesting information concerning the activities of the Mission and its ten Circuits, in three languages,-English, Sesuto and Sixhosa.

SOME ASPECTS OF EDUCATION. By Rev. Brian Kingslake, Minister of the New Jerusalem Church, Southport. London: The General Conference Social Service Committee, 1936. Pocket-size, 48 pages, 2d.

     The author is evidently an earnest student of the whole subject of education in the light of the Heavenly Doctrines. In the limited compass of this pamphlet he presents his general views, and treats more in particular of the opening of the degrees of the mind during minority, comparing and contrasting the revealed teachings with some of the theories of the day. We shall not here attempt a detailed review, but will content ourselves with a few significant citations, indicating the author's attitude and approach to the subject:

     "A child's mischievous impulses must be curbed from without, before he can learn to curb them himself from within. No doubt a lot of this modern stuff is a quixotic reaction against the cruel school terrorism of the last and preceding centuries; but it is toleration gone out of its wits. If the education of children in Swedenborg's day could be likened, as he says, to the combing of the head so cruelly that blood flowed round about, then that of our day can be likened to the leaving of the hair uncombed altogether, under the principle that it will find its own parting!"

     Quoting the Diary statement, "If men were in the love of true faith, they would have no need to write so many books about the education of infants and children," Mr. Kingslake observes: "Since Swedenborg's day, the flood of literature has become a tidal wave, in which this pamphlet is but a tiny drop of moisture. My only hope is that its water is pure." And at the end of the treatise we find this Conclusion: "It will be evident that the New Church accepts many of the modern popular theories of educational method, as applied in the Secular Field. But it demands, also, that there shall be Religious Instruction and other environmental influences which shall enable the child, later on, to resist his hereditary tendencies to evil, and receive a new will from the Lord."

     It is heartening to observe in this pamphlet the signs of a zeal in the direction of distinctive New Church education,-something that is all too rare in the New Church at large.

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Leadership in this field, having a pronounced effect in the home, and in the establishment of New Church schools, would provide what is most needed to stem the admitted decline of interest and numbers in the General Conference and the General Convention.

SWEDENBORG'S SEARCH FOR THE SOUL. An Address by Harold Gardiner, M.S., F.R.C.S., at a Swedenborg Birthday Celebration, London, January 29, 1936. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1936. 48 pages, one shilling.

     In this Address we find a clear, affirmative and finely written epitome of the teachings of the Philosophical Works, coordinating the cosmological series of the Principia with the physiology and psychology of the works on the Animal Kingdom and Rational Psychology. Well versed in the system as a whole, and also in the science and philosophy of the learned world, the author's general position may be gathered from these brief extracts from the Address:

     "Since Swedenborg's time a great deal of experimental work has proved the truth of a large number of these ideas, but there is a still larger number which today are not proved, and some which remain in direct contradiction to accepted scientific thought. So much, however, has been proved to be correct that he would be a bold man who would maintain that in years to come the remainder will not also be shown to be true."

     "Swedenborg's works should not be regarded as scientific, but as philosophical. . . . If these works are so regarded, there is a clear progress of mental development shown in all his writings, from the early and purely scientific, through the philosophical or rational phase introduced by the Principia, to the Spiritual which followed the opening of his spiritual mind,-a progress corresponding exactly with that expounded by him in his later inspired writings on spiritual development and Regeneration.

RATIONAL CHRISTIANITY A Magazine edited by Blythe Wade. London, 32, Shaftesbury. Ave., Piccadily Circus. Nos. 1 and 2, January 1 and 14, L936. Eight pages, with cover.

     The Academy Library has received two issues of this curious periodical. As stated on the cover, the "object of this publication is to do something towards helping to dispel the prevailing but false and grievously harmful conception that the Christian religion is irrational."

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Apparently the editor is a receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines, though his many quotations from the Writings are printed without any indication of their source, and he nowhere mentions the New Church.

     His theological position may in some measure be gauged by the heading of one article: "To know, that God exists would instantly destroy intellectual freedom, and thus destroy man himself." We note also this: "The Second Advent can be discerned. Speaking in a general sense, we believe that truer and better lives are lived today than any history records, for individually and collectively there now exists a deeper and more earnest desire for the welfare of others. Continued progress in this direction is leading to such expansion of the understanding that we cannot fail thereby to gain truer perception."

     That is to say-In present-day goodness of life we may "discern the advent" of a God whose very existence we cannot "know." Surely a novel form of "rational" Christianity!

SWEDENBORG AU TRAVAIL (Swedenborg at Work). By Alfred G. Regamey. Lausanne and Geneva: Agency of New Church Publications, 1935. Pp. 48, with Analytical and Chronological Table of his Manuscripts, 1743-1772.

     As stated upon the title-page, this is a "study of the special preparation of Swedenborg for his mission, and of his methods of work." A review of the book will appear in an early issue.

HEAVENLY ARCANA. From the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. Volume II: nos. 824-1520; Genesis VIII-XII. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1936. 18mo; pp. 565. Paper, 6d; cloth, 1/6; leather, 3/6.

     As noted in our pages (January, 1935, p. 20), this edition is uniform in size with the volumes of the Everyman's Library, and makes the Arcana Celestia available in convenient pocket-size at the low price of sixpence per volume. The English text is that of the Standard Edition, and has the subdivisions of the Potts Concordance.

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This second volume has been read through and prepared for the press by L. Gilbey, B.A., and a Prefatory Note states that further volumes will appear from time to time until the whole of the Arcana has been printed in this form.

     The publishers are to be commended for this undertaking. Many strangers who would find the larger volumes formidable may be tempted to read the Arcana in the smaller volume, and it should also prove useful to New Churchmen in various ways.

     MODERNIST BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION.

     As an example of a method of approach in the study and interpretation of the Word which we should think impossible for a New Churchman, and which offers no contribution to the dissemination of New Church views, we may cite "A Study of the Book of Joel" which appears in the current issue of THE NEW CHRISTIANITY (Spring, 1936). Evidently written in the atmosphere and under the influence of the modernist school of Biblical criticism, it contains not a word about the marvels of the spiritual sense of this prophetic Book, although these are abundantly unfolded in the Writings of the New Church. The style of treatment will be manifest from these brief citations:

     "At the close of the book, a later hand has written a beautiful, though not original, description of the wonderful fertility of Judah and the wonderful spring that would flow out of the temple, watering the valley of Shittim. . . "

     "Joel has added nothing of ethical or spiritual importance to the great prophetical movement of Israel. Placed beside an Amos or a Jeremiah, he pales into insignificance. Like most of the post-exilic prophets, he was more of the priest than prophet, in the old sense of the word. But as a poet he ranks high among the best that Israel ever produced. We shall not soon forget his ringing phrases, the staccato rhythm so perfectly matching his subject, his forceful figures and the vigor of his language. We feel the genuineness of his deep belief in the mercy and pity of Jehovah, his sincere conviction that right must ultimately triumph. We feel that here is a man whom religion has touched deeply that here is a man that would lead others to God through prayer and penitence. We cannot, of course, forgive his narrow nationalism, except as a vehement prophetic urge towards the perfect restoration of the spiritual Judah and Jerusalem, that is, the supremacy of the Church Universal. For this consummation no terms can be too strong. (Richard Il. Tafel in The New Christianity, p. 44.)

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     Wholly foreign to a New Church mode of interpretation is such a mingling of the supposed personal state of the prophet with what he was given to write. "The prophets wrote as the Spirit from the Divine dictated; for the very words which they wrote were uttered in their ears, . . . and they had no perception of what they signified in the internal sense." (A. C. 70553.) "The Lord spoke with the prophets, not by an influx into their interiors, but through Spirits who were sent to them, whom the Lord filled with His aspect, and thus inspired the words which they dictated to the prophets. . . . As the words came forth immediately from the Lord, each of them is filled with what is Divine, and contains in itself an internal sense." (H. H. 254.)

     But let us cite another New Church writer, who well defines the attitude we must take toward the modernist and his method of dealing with the Scriptures:

     "Every one who has any acquaintance with modern Bible criticism knows that its tendency is definitely destructive of faith in an inspired Word of God. The books of the Bible are declared to be purely human compositions, for the most part dating from periods centuries later than those traditionally assigned to them-composite documents, pieced together from various sources, edited and revised, abounding in 'corruptions,' 'glosses,' 'interpolations.' The conclusion is, that they convey no revelation of the nature and will of God to man, but are of value solely by reason of expressing man's ideas about God, and showing the development of those ideas."

     "It is because the New Church is satisfied beyond all doubt that Swedenborg has demonstrated the Divine content and thus the Divine authorship of the Scriptures, that it is quite unable to accept the conclusions of modern Biblical criticism and quite unmoved by them. It regards the critic as having gone on quite the wrong track. It respects their scholarship, and believes that, under Providence, this is destined to serve a purpose undreamed of by them; but it recognizes that, because they have had no idea of the internal sense, they have completely misconceived the nature and purpose of the text of Scripture. Concerning themselves with the shell of Divine revelation, supposing that this was all there was, they have misjudged it entirely." (Rev. E. J. Pulsford in The New-Church Herald, April 18, 1936, pp. 184, 185.)

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     The last bulletin from our remote center, printed in your April issue, announced the resignation of the Rev. Richard Morse from the pastorate of this society. Thus closes a first and only pastorate, which extended over half a life-time, and which ever received nothing less than a whole engagement of heart and mind from him who served it. It was on October 12, 1919, that Mr. Morse was ordained into the first and second degrees of the priesthood, but he had served our society many years before then, and his labors as leader and pastor spanned more than thirty years. They have been years of pioneer work, of that back-breaking effort to wrest from the wilderness of spiritual indifference a home for the realities of life. And they have been crowned with the success granted the true pioneer who has the courage to fight alone and never relax. For our name and faith, our life and thought, have been firmly established in this land. The ground has been cleared and a foundation laid, and our former pastor leaves us that upon which the Lord may build, if we are worthy to enter into His labors.

     Before continuing the chronicle of events, we would like to safeguard Mr. Morse against a possible misunderstanding arising out of his report published in the April Life. In strict fact, the meeting on Sunday, January 12, was not an inauguration, but a business meeting at which the undersigned, as the sole nominee of the Bishop, was chosen as pastor by vote of the society as a whole.

     During the Summer months-January and February-some changes were made in our program. The doctrinal class, which meets on Sunday evenings, was suspended until March, and the service transferred to the evening, the Sunday School continuing to meet as usual in the afternoon. Our members appeared to enjoy the distinctive sphere of the evening service, and to appreciate no less a break in the classes; and as attendances seemed also to justify the experiment, it is likely to be continued in future Summers.

     Three special events took place during this time. An all-day picnic was held at a nearby beach on January 27, but was attended mostly by the younger members. Two days later we celebrated Swedenborg's Birthday. This was our first observance of the day, and, we are led to believe, the first in Australia. The ladies of the social committee who prepared the banquet performed their new duties exceedingly well; and at the end of the social meal the toastmaster, Mr. Ossian Heldon, explained the purpose of our gathering, closing by proposing "The Church." The pastor then gave an address on Swedenborg's preparation, and after some discussion a toast to Swedenborg was honored in song. Tables were then cleared away and three tableaux presented: the first showing Swedenborg as a child conversing with members of the clergy, the second suggesting the appearing of the Lord to him in London, and the third representing the writing of the famous Hic liber est inscription. Before each tableau was shown, its subject was briefly explained by the pastor, and with these representations our program came to an end. For our Sunday School picnic, which was held the following Saturday, we were favored with congenial weather, and a strenuous but happy day was spent on the beach.

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     With the beginning of March came the resumption of a full round of activities. Two short series of doctrinal classes were given on the "Principles of the Academy" and the "Lord's Glorification," and we are now engaged in a longer series on the "Last Judgment." The young people's class resumed its weekly meetings at the beginning of March, and is now engaged in studying the general doctrine of the Word. The Ladies' Guild, now under the presidency of Mrs. Taylor, meets once a month, either for social intercourse or for the reading and discussion of a paper. In the Sunday School the main changes have been a rearrangement of the worship to include a reading from the Word and a short address by the pastor, and a monthly meeting at which the teachers may discharge routine business, exchange ideas, and discuss the problems they meet in their work.

     Under the Business Committee appointed last year, the financial and administrative side of our society life progresses in a satisfactory manner. The Social Committee has been responsible for several attractive functions, the most noteworthy, perhaps, a social held on March 16, which stands out by virtue of the fact that it was made the occasion of expressing in tangible form the affection and esteem in which Mr. Morse is held by his friends in the Church. A handsome inkstand was presented to him by the pastor in the name of the society, and in the speeches connected with the presentation there was a perceptible sphere of mutual affection.

     We pass on now to our Easter celebrations, which began with an evening service on Good Friday. On Easter Sunday morning the sermon was on the Lord's Resurrection, and the pastor administered the Holy Supper at the close of the service. A children's service took the place of the usual school session, and at its conclusion the children were shown a representation of the Easter story. We chose the evening for the introduction of another new feature,-a Feast of Charity in place of the usual doctrinal class. A goodly number of members and friends sat down to supper, after which the pastor read passages from the Writings in explanation of the purpose of such feasts. Unfortunately our selected essayist failed us, but Mr. Ossian Heldon read the Rev. William White head's fine study on "State and Church," published in the December, 1935, issue of New Church Life, and an interesting discussion followed. Discussion was varied by the singing of hymns and songs of the Church, and the meeting closed with the benediction. Our friends were so delighted with this feature of General Church life that it is intended to hold such a Feast once in each quarter. A picnic had been scheduled for Easter Monday, but intermittent heavy showers declared it off without reference to the Social Committee.

     This rather lengthy report will show that, although we are a small and isolated group, we are fully engaged in the uses recognized by the Church as pertaining to its life. In this regard our main regret is that it has so far been impossible to reopen the day school, which closed down with the marriage of its founder and first teacher, Miss Mora White, now Mrs. Fletcher. Excellent work was done in that little school, and will, we hope and believe, be done again in the future; but the time is not opportune for its resumption at present.
     W. C. H.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     An open meeting of the Sons of the Academy was held at our church on June 11, when a very fine address was delivered by the Rev. Frank F. Coulson, of the Kensington Conference Society, on the subject of "The Sons of Jacob," illustrated by several charts showing the different order in which the Twelve Tribes are mentioned, and their correspondence, and also by a map of the Land of Canaan as divided among the Tribes.

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The discussion which followed indicated how very much everyone had been interested in the address, and how all appreciated the amount of study and thought which Mr. Coulson had devoted to its preparation.

     Our children's celebration of New Church Day was held on Thursday, June 18, commencing with a tea, all singing the grace "Hodhoo" in Hebrew. While all were still seated at the table, our pastor asked Freda Appleton to read from Continuation of the Last Judgment, nos. 27-31, and then all sang "Through Bygone Ages" from the Social Song Book. Brian Appleton then read a well-composed little paper on "The Meaning of June 19th." After the tables had been removed, the children gave two Representations: 1. The Stages of the First Christian Church; 2. The Completion of the True Christian Religion, and the Promulgation of the New Church in the Spiritual World.

     For the first representation, two of our boys, John Motum and Garth Cooper, had drawn and painted pictures of the Four Horses of the Apocalypse. As a Prologue, the pastor read from the White House, nos. 1-3, and then one of the boys entered carrying the picture of the White Horse and his Rider. He stood in the center of the room and recited from Revelation 6:2; and while the picture was still held in view, the pastor (offstage) read A. R. 298, giving the significance of the White Horse and his Rider.

     This boy then withdrew, and his place was taken by another carrying the picture of the red horse and his rider. He recited Rev. 6:3, 4, and the pastor read from A. R. 305. The next two boys followed in order, carrying the pictures of the black horse and the pale horse, each reciting his verses; and the pastor reading short passages which spoke in simple terms of the significance of these horses and their riders. (A. R. 839, 611.) This first representation was very well carried out by the younger boys. The second was done by the older boys and girls.

     Swedenborg is seated at a table writing. Three angels appear, and sing "Great and Wonderful." Then, offstage, a portion of Revelation 21 was read. Swedenborg laid down his pen, and T. C. R. 791 was read. Peter, James and John, representing all the Disciples, approach Swedenborg and bow to him, and he to them. He then hands each of them a volume of the Heavenly Doctrine, and they go forth in different directions. Swedenborg then closes the True Christian Religion, and all the children gather in a group and sing Doxa.

     These short representations were so arranged as to be carried out very simply, and with but one rehearsal. As we have very few girls, we were much pleased to have with us the four older girls of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Waters, who were on holiday at Mersea.

     Our adult celebration was held on Saturday evening, June 20, when we were honored by the presence of Bishop and Mrs. Tilson and several other friends from London and elsewhere. The tables for the banquet were decorated beautifully with pink sweet peas, and the social committee had prepared everything in their usual efficient style. Mr. Colley Pryke was toastmaster, and the program of toasts and songs interspersed the three papers, which were: "The Promulgation of the Heavenly Doctrines by the Priesthood," Bishop Tilson; "Promulgation by the Press," Mr. E. G. T. Boozer; and "Promulgation by Word of Mouth," Mr. Owen Pryke. After we had heard these extremely interesting papers, many accepted the invitation to speak and offer toasts. One in particular should be mentioned,-a toast to "The Ideal of Youth," proposed by one of our youngest members, Mr. Martin Pryke, who told how the passing of Mr. Appleton; Senior, had made him realize that the older men were leaving us, and that the young men must be ready and willing to carry on the work which the others had commenced. All felt that this had been one of our best celebrations of New Church Day.

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     At the service on the following Sunday morning, Bishop Tilson delivered the sermon, and the Holy Supper was administered.

     In the evening a social gathering at the home of Mrs. Rey Gill heard a short paper by Mr. Fred Waters, of London,-a "Plea for Simplicity in the Church." It was a clear and sincere presentation of the speaker's ideas on why and how our ceremonies and rituals should be kept simple and in keeping with our states and surroundings. A very full discussion followed, nearly everyone taking part, and all felt that a useful and very interesting evening had been spent.
     M. W.

     PARIS, FRANCE.

     On the weekend of May 24 I undertook a brief trip to Belgium. Two days were spent in Brussels, where I met Mr. Jean Jacques Gailliard, the artist, and several of his friends, and talked with them about the New Church, its religion and its philosophy.

     At our Sunday service in Paris on June 21 at 10:30 a.m., the central theme was the Lord's Second Advent, the sermon being an explanation of the statement that after the True Christian Religion had been published the Lord would operate both mediately and immediately towards the establishment of the New Church. (Document 245BB.) An immediate operation by that work, and so by all the Writings, indicates that they are the Lord's immediate presence in the world, thus His Word. His mediate operation by the Writings is by means of those whom they move to become diligent laborers in His Kingdom.

     After the service, at one o'clock, twenty-two persons sat down to a sumptuous banquet at the Point de Vue restaurant,-fifteen adults, six children, and a four-months-old baby. Among the visitors present were the Rev. Norman Mayer and Mr. Hepburn; also Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Ebert, of Bryn Athyn, who were spending their last week in France with the Pastor and Mrs. Iungerich.

     Mr. Ebert read a paper in French on the subject of "Patriotism," which aroused an animated though affirmative discussion, in which nearly all the men present took part. He especially stressed the point that without loyalty to the constituted heads of Church and State the seeds of anarchy would find a soil in which to work.

     The same evening Mrs. Stephanie Hussenet, whose slow recovery from a painful accident suffered in April had made it impossible for her to attend the celebration, gave a dinner at her home, attended by members of her family, at which Captain and Mme. Jeunechamp and their three children, recently returned from Morocco, were present. Toasts were offered to former and present friends, among them Mme. Regina Iungerich, Honorary Vice President of our society.
     E. E. I.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     At our 19th of June banquet this year there was considerable discussion of the question as to whether or not we should in the future have bigger and better celebrations of the Day. Somehow this serves to recall the civil war among the Lilliputians, the opposing factions fighting for their lives over the momentous question as to whether an egg should be opened at the big end or the little end! At the banquet, however, all seemed to be "Big-endian Exiles," for there was a unanimous sentiment in favor of making more of June 19th as the "Day of all days" in the
Church.

     In his opening remarks, Mr. Philip C. Pendleton as toastmaster quoted True Christian Religion 791, and pointed out that the celebration of the 19th of June marks us as Church apart. It is a distinctively New Church observance, wholly unknown in the world outside. But even in the New Church the day was not made the occasion of a special celebration until the rise of the Academy.

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He then called upon us to sing "Academia" and "Our Own Academy."

     The Rev. F. E. Waelchli was introduced as the first speaker,-"one of the 'old-timers' of the Academy!" He reviewed the gradual development of the 19th of June as an important day in the Church, from the earliest days of the Academy. In the year 1876, twelve men met in Philadelphia to organize the Academy. One of them was appointed to serve as secretary, and asked, "What is the date?" It was then discovered that it was the 19th of June. Thereafter, this day became the to be celebrated as the great festival day of the New Church. In reminiscent mood, Mr. Waelchli recalled various celebrations of the day in different centers of the Church, and in conclusion said: "In Bryn Athyn, and throughout our General Church, may the 19th of June be, for young and old, a great festival of joy and happiness because of the Lord's Second Advent and the blessing of that Advent, now and into the ages to come!" All united in singing "Our Glorious Church."

     The toastmaster then introduced Bishop de Charms, who spoke on "Celebrations of June 19th in the Future," making a fervent plea for a revival of the fitting celebrations that were held in the earlier days of the Academy. In Bryn Athyn, he noted, there are difficulties at that time of year, owing to the multiplicity of events in connection with the close of the school-year. But the climax of the church-year should be the 19th! He looked particularly to the younger generation to perpetuate this ideal. The celebration cannot be staged simply as a tradition. The spirit of it must be rekindled in each generation, and must be the outgrowth of a common spirit, not that of a few enthusiasts. No sacrifice will be found too great, if it is realized what the 19th means to the Church. Only so far as the Church is living and vibrant in our hearts as individuals will it be living and vibrant in our organization.

     Bishop de Charms stated that an ideal celebration would include three things: 1. A service of worship in the morning, with the children and the parents taking part together; 2. A celebration in the afternoon suited to the children; 3. A banquet for adults in the evening. "Whatever we do," he said, "the 19th of June is to be the great Day of days of the future:"

     A number of others contributed brief remarks, and the banquet was concluded at an early hour.     
     WM. R. COOPER.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     June the Nineteenth-the high point of our church activities for the month, and indeed for the year-was celebrated in a fitting manner by a banquet which combined a happy social gathering with more serious thoughts concerning this "Day of days. After a delicious dinner, there was an interlude between the material and oral part of the program, in the form of a "Sing Song," after which Zoe Gyllenhaal and Laurence Izzard expressed their reactions to school life in Bryn Athyn in impromptu speeches. Taking up the subject of the day, Mr. Alec Sargeant then read a paper of the late Rev. C. Th. Odhner, and Mr. Frank Wilson followed with a thoughtful paper treating of the events which preceded the 19th of June, 1770. The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal brought the evening to a close by drawing our attention to the spiritual meaning of the words, "Behold, I make all things new!

     Earlier in the month, the Theta Alpha season closed in high spirits with a banquet at which the young ladies of the society were guests. After a satisfying repast came entertainment of a more serious nature in the reading of short papers. The President, Mary Parker, spoke, on "The Uses of Theta Alpha"; Grace Gertrude Longstaff and Helen Anderson voiced their ideas of Bryn Athyn, where they hope to become students in the Academy Schools; Zoe Gyllenhaal gave her impressions as a student, and Miss Edina Carswell as a recent visitor in Bryn Athyn.

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Later in the evening, a skit entitled "All for Aunt Matilda" was presented by an able cast, including the Misses Vera Craigie, Jennie Gaskill, Edina Carswell, and Mrs. Percy Barber, under the direction of Mrs. Ray Brown.

     This excellent performance was repeated a week later, when an entertainment under the auspices of Theta Alpha was held for the purpose of raising money for the local scholarship fund. In addition to "Aunt Matilda," an excellent musical program was provided by Mrs. Joseph Pritchett and her assistants. Homemade candies were sold to great advantage, both to the fund and the buyers, and the entire evening was voted a success, recreationally and financially.

     The Day School Closing was most enjoyable. After a display of the pupils' work, upon which both teachers and pupils are to be congratulated, a delightful little play, "The Goody Witch," was presented by a cast that included most of the pupils of the school. Piano solos and solo dances concluded the program, and thus a happy and industrious school-year came to a close.
     M. S. P.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The Nineteenth of June was celebrated by a luncheon at noon for the school and a banquet in the evening for the adults of the Sharon and Immanuel Churches, about 180 attending. Mr. Theodore Gladish was toastmaster, and with speakers from among the younger men he presented the subject of the evening-The Last Judgment-in a capable, if different, manner from the usual. There was much bantering back and forth between the toastmaster and his speakers, and the meeting never really learned whether or no the Rev. Willis L. Gladish had prepared the outline of speeches, as he would not definitely deny having done so! The Rev. and Mrs. Reginald W. Brown, of Bryn Athyn, were among those present, and we were favored with a few remarks from Dr. Brown. After the regular program the toastmaster gave us an account of the forming of the Rockford Circle,-a reading group of from fifteen to twenty persons.

     On the two following days, two weddings were very delightful social events,-that of Miss Jean Smith, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Gilbert H. Smith, to Mr. Harold Cranch, of Philadelphia, and that of Miss Rosamond Brown, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Reginald W. Brown, to Mr. Edward Spicer. This young couple met as students at the University of Chicago, and after the wedding they departed for Arizona, where they will do special archeological research work for the university.

     Death of Mrs. Schreck.

     On July 4, the passing of Mrs. Frances Aitken Schreck removed from among us one who had been a valued member of our congregation for the last five years. After the death of her husband, the Rev. Eugene J. E. Schreck, in 1931, she came from England to reside in Glenview, making her home with her niece, Mrs. Alvin Nelson, and has endeared herself to the people of the Immanuel Church by her kindly interest in them and in all the church activities. Affectionately known as "Aunt Fannie," she will be greatly missed by us all.

     In his funeral address our pastor recalled that Mrs. Schreck was "among the first group of Academy people in Philadelphia, the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Aitken, being a social center for the young people and for the students of the Academy Schools, of which days she cherished happy memories. Through her long life as a devoted and helpful wife of a New Church minister of note, she had a very wide acquaintance among New Church people. An excellent example of one grown old in the knowledge and love of the Heavenly Doctrines, she won the hearts of young and old wherever she lived; for an affectionate interest in people was one of her outstanding characteristics.

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She was a woman of clear understanding and appreciation of the things of our Doctrine. Her thought upon such things was definite, and her courage in following what she believed to be right and of Providence was remarkable."
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     On June 19th, at 10.30 a.m., the closing exercises of our Day School were held in the auditorium. The pastor read Lessons from I Samuel and from the Spiritual Diary concerning the education of infants and children in the other life. Mr. J. Edmund Blair delivered an interesting and instructive address on the Life of Bishop Benade in relation to establishing the fifty years of continuous New Church education in Pittsburgh. Papers were read by the graduates,-one by Betty Jean Horigan on "Mark Twain," and the other by Franklin Stein on "The Nervous System." Certificates of graduation were presented, and honors were awarded to those who had been outstanding in their work and attitude during the year. Mr. Pendleton expressed our deep appreciation and gratitude to Mrs. Alexander P. Lindsay for the excellent course in Anatomy which she gave the 7th and 8th grades this year. The older grades sang a group of songs under the direction of Miss Elizabeth Lechner, and the primary grades presented several little plays in a most delightful manner. The exercises were followed by a picnic lunch in Frick Park, Theta Alpha providing the milk and ice cream.

     In the evening a service was held in the church, and the pastor gave a fine address on "The Spiritual Significance of the Nineteenth of June."

     Sons of the Academy.

     Pittsburgh welcomed many "Sons" and a few "daughters" for the Annual Meeting of the Sons of the Academy, which opened on June 26 with a luncheon in the auditorium and entertainment furnished by the members of the Bryn Athyn Chapter. At the business meeting held later in the afternoon the organizing of a Durban Chapter was hailed with enthusiasm. After dinner, the Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner delivered an address entitled "A Perspective on Education," which was warmly received, and followed by an informal gathering in the same hall.

     On Saturday morning the problem of scholarships was considered, being presented in an inspirational way that will undoubtedly quicken our realization of the needs of the future in the support of the scholarship fund. The entertainment at luncheon was provided by the Glenview Chapter. In the afternoon, the visiting "daughters" and the ladies of the society were most delightfully entertained at tea in the home of Mrs. Charles H. Ebert.

     In the evening, about 185 persons sat down to the banquet in celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of New Church Education in Pittsburgh. Mr. John J. Schoenberger made an able toastmaster, opening the program in lighter vein by presenting gold (?) medals to representatives of each chapter, and having them sing a song to the occasion.

     Mr. Daric Acton, international president, spoke briefly on the new position which the Sons of the Academy are assuming, looking toward the future and "new Academy days."

     Mr. J. Edmund Blair gave a splendid paper on the "History of the New Church School in Pittsburgh," showing us that the fifty continuous years had not been maintained without effort and sacrifice on the part of the members of the Pittsburgh Society, who look to the future with a renewed assurance.

     The Rev. Willard Pendleton spoke on "The Spirit of the Academy," pointing out that the spirit of the Academy is the spirit of loyal devotion to the Writings.

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This spirit has characterized the Academy from its beginning, and the real significance of the present celebration lies in the fact that it is an opportunity for a new generation to reflect upon the responsibilities which this spirit involves.

     Bishop George de Charms spoke in an inspiring way upon "The Future of the Academy," noting that while we cannot prophesy the future, there is every indication that the Academy will endure. If we should prove unworthy, it will not endure with us, but others will be found with whom it will remain, if we fail. The meetings closed with the service on Sunday, June 28, at which the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, of Toronto, delivered a fine sermon on the subject of "Spiritual Life," the text being from John 6:63. During the service the pastor performed the Rite of Confirmation for the Misses Elizabeth Brown and Nancy Horigan.

     On Sunday evening, June 7, the society met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. G. Percy Brown, and fittingly "showered" Miss Freda Schoenberger and Mr. Bert Nemitz, whose marriage was solemnized by the pastor following the service of worship on Sunday morning, July 5th.
     E. R. D.
BOOKS WANTED 1936

BOOKS WANTED              1936




     Announcements.



     We are prepared to purchase one or more copies of Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church, by Robert Hindmarsh; also bound volumes of Potts Concordance, or the unbound parts in which this work was originally published.
     THE ACADEMY BOOK ROOM,
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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CHURCH ETERNAL 1936

CHURCH ETERNAL        N. D. PENDLETON       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. LVI      SEPTEMBER 1936          No. 9
     (At a Public Session of the Council of the Clergy, April 2, 1936.)

     The following comments are based, more or less directly, upon The Coronis, and The Invitation to the New Church.

     The terms "Infinite" and "Eternal," when applied to the Divine, are coequal. With reference to finite forms, they may be sharply distinguished. While the word "Infinite" is never rightly used to describe a finite, the term "eternal" may, with propriety, be so employed with reference to those higher forms of finition which are so nearly adjoined to the Divine that their renewal from within is constant and sustained. In this sense the heavens composed of angels are eternal; and, as well, the souls, and thence the minds, of men. Also, the Writings speak of the church as eternal; and this, not so much with reference to the inevitable rise of a new church in the place of one which has lost contact with the Divine; but the term "eternal" is specifically applied to the New Christian Church. While that Church, or the men who compose it, must of need undergo vicissitudes, pending its ever higher development, yet, being the last, and truly characterized as the "Crown," it cannot but maintain a continued advance.

     It should be understood, however, that the term "eternal," in the sense of ever enduring, is not applicable to any finite form of itself, but only because of the near or inner presence of the Divine; so near, indeed, that restoral is unceasing.

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In this way the Divine is related to the souls of men; if not, neither men nor angels could be. It is by virtue of this near presence of the Lord that the church is established, and, in case of need, reestablished. Not even the crowning church can be, or become, self-sustaining. Yet it is revealed that the New Christian Church will endure to eternity.

     We know that the men of that Church will encounter spiritual vicissitudes, to the end that they may become regenerate; that they will undergo temptations, and therein reflect in themselves the story of the race,-the rise and fall of past churches, the inner history of which is now revealed from heaven out of the Word.

     While we may understand that the past history of the churches will, in an image, be reenacted in individuals, yet this will not prevent, but prepare for, the continual advance of the church. This is now clearly evidenced from the Word of God, in its letter; for that letter is so written that it not only recounts the past, but also infolds within itself the future. As given to the Jews, the letter is a history of that people, so written as to be altogether prophetic of the Lord's coming into the world. In like manner the Gospels and the Book of Revelation predict His Second Coming, the establishment of a New Christian Church, and its eternal endurance. Moreover, the Writings tell us that the final church was "foreseen from the creation of the world" as the Crown of the several ecclesiastic ages.

     As to the future of the New Christian Church, the final Revelation, in its turn, is prophetic. This is manifest from the fact that an open revelation concerning the future state of that church was given before the church was established. This prior revealing was prophetic, in that it foretold the interior state of the church which was yet to be, by the statement that the New Christian Church would be characterized by "spiritual peace and internal blessedness of life." In considering this promise, accent should be placed upon the word "internal," since the man of the church may be gifted with "internal peace" even while encountering the seeming misfortune called temptations. Indeed, it is only by way of spiritual temptations that "internal blessedness of life" can be secured.

     This gift from the Lord, while apparently attained by man through temptations, is not the less a pure gift from the Lord.

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It is a gift which is imparted by, or through, the internal sense of the Word, as now revealed; for by virtue of that sense men may not only sustain spiritual temptation, but also for the first time enter into "worship truly Divine," since that sense alone, when opened, has power to inaugurate such worship by the conveyance of immediate light from the Lord to man. This conveyance is spoken of as the supreme of all miracles; and to the end that the light may be received in its purity, externally compelling miracles are forbidden, lest the minds of men, instead of being interiorly opened, should be externally compelled.

     We must understand, however, that by immediate light from the Lord is not meant light apart from knowledge. The facts of revelation must first be affirmatively received and memorized-as, for instance, knowledge concerning the Lord's glorification, concerning the arcana of heaven, and concerning the Last Judgment. These knowledges are the provided means of entrance into the light of the internal sense, which conveys, we are informed, "treasures concealed" from the beginning of time, some of them so deeply concealed that they could not be seen, even by the men of the Golden Age.

     II.

     After the progressive consummation of the First Christian Church, and as the final end drew nigh, all who were subject to the judgment were gathered immediately above the hells, which at the time were "stretched under the angelic heavens," closing the way for the descent of truth to men in the world "yen that truth which alone could raise the souls of men into the " land of the living." The intent of the judgment was that order might be imparted to the good, and imposed upon the evil, to the end that the good might stand under the auspices of the Lord, and the evil under His control. The order imparted to the good raised them into heaven, while that imposed upon the evil cast them into hell, and, in so doing, provided for their security in subjection. The order provided in both cases was threefold. By it the good were bound from within, freely, in all parts and degrees, by an influx from the Lord; while the bells were bound from without by a permanent constraint. The end in view in both cases was that the way might be cleared for the passing of the internal sense from the Lord to men in the world, and thereby the establishment of a new and final church on earth.

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This was effected by a new Divine Revelation passing through the heavens to men in the world.

     Every new church on earth is raised up by an inflowing of truth through heaven; but that truth is made manifest to men in the world by an opening of the former Word. This opening is likened to the "mouth of the Lord" speaking, and granting release to the minds of men from former constraints, and the consequent allowance of a more "spontaneous" spirit, in which case the new doctrine, on entering the minds of men, encounters either a quick rejection or an open reception. In the latter case, the influx, in its effect, is likened to the "morning dew." It is in fact a "gentle attraction" from the Lord, felt by man as an impulse within himself. Those so moved are called the "truly redeemed."

     Yet the work of redemption, in a wider view, was all inclusive, and given in a threefold order. Its first phase was a separation of the good from the evil-manifestly so in the spiritual world, and this by virtue of the nearer presence of the Lord, drawing the good to Himself, and rejecting the evil. By this the good were freed, and the evil placed in bondage. This first stage of redemption, while in itself a conclusive judgment, was not the last of redemption.

     The second phase of redemption was effected by an inner coordination of the heavens and an outer subordination of the hells. By this second phase the good were more distinctly separated from the evil, that they might enter into a greater freedom. By this means the new heavens and the new hells were more clearly distinguished, the one from the other.

     The third phase of redemption was a revelation of truth from the Lord out of the new heavens to men in the world, by means of which the good were still further removed from the evil. This was made manifest in the spiritual world, but not so clearly to men on earth; still, this latter phase of redemption became increasingly clearer as the Divine Doctrine descended and was openly received by men.

     We note, therefore, that this threefold redemption was the result of a successive ordering, and that it enabled an increasing reception of light, which is ever the result of a more adequate order, by means of which a basis is laid for such reception, on the one hand, and an imposed obedience, on the other.

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This imposition was also redemptive, in that it was the applied means whereby the evil were withheld from entire self-destruction. By this inclusive work, therefore, all men were redeemed by the final Judgment-both those who were uplifted, and those who were cast down.

     There is no security outside of order of some kind or degree, since the effect of order is that men may freely and fully receive and reproduce that which inflows into them, each in his own way; and this, whether the influx comes to man by way of heaven or by way of hell. If from the Lord through heaven, the minds of men "ascend to receive, and descend to reproduce." The reverse is the case if the influx comes by way of hell. Then the minds of men descend through their outer senses into nature to receive, and then ascend to reproduce. The ability to reproduce, in either case, lies in man's free will, or in the faculty thereof, into which every man is born.

     This freedom was represented in the beginning, and ever thereafter, by the choice of man between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If the tree of life is chosen, man is enabled to ascend in receiving, and to see the most vital of truths, namely, that all truth and good is from the Lord alone, and nothing thereof from man. This may be confessed from a simple state of obedience, or it may, to some extent, be rationally understood, and, in the highest degree, perceived. With this in view, man was created in a threefold order-natural, spiritual, and celestial. This order, in potency, characterizes every man. It is, however, varyingly fulfilled. To this end it is provided that all men should worship God under some idea, or by means of some representation of Him, which constitutes their religion.

     III.

     It may here be noted that no religion-no religious worship-is ever allowed quite apart from some revelation, whether near or remote; for the universe was created that men might see God through the forms of their worship, and so, from revelation and of their own choosing, "walk with God." It was with this end in view that preliminary representative churches were established, in their series, that through outward, visible forms the higher invisible things of the spirit might be set forth-even the invisible things which could not, in and of themselves, be seen in the light then given, but which were foreseen as becoming visible when Jehovah God should make Himself manifest by the assumption of a natural human, taken upon Himself from the world, through which human He could provide direct access to men, and of men to Him.

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And in so doing He put aside the former objective representatives, by gathering and making them in Himself Divine. By this means He opened the way for a direct approach to Him on the part of men. They could so come to Him because they could see Him; and by virtue of sight, or this direct seeing, they were enabled to approach Him by that which is called the "short way."

     Prior to this, it was allowed that men should look upon, and regard, objects of nature which represented Him, as in themselves holy; and indeed they were, in that they were Divinely provided containants. These sacred images, while expressive of Divinity, were not in themselves Divine; but they were so regarded when, from innocence, even inanimate things were sensed as living. It was quite otherwise when innocence departed. Then the ultimates of nature relapsed into dead forms. Because of the failure of innocence, and the loss of spiritual vision, the Lord must, of final need, and in the orderly way of nature, come into the world, and by the direct power of His personal presence displace every former idol, and Himself become the object of man's worship. This supreme end in creation was accomplished, first in fact, by His coming into the world as man born, and later in truth, by His coming as the internal sense of the Word. In both cases there was an appearing of the Lord-a new "calling, a covenanting, and a judgment," and thereafter an opening of the way for the Light of truth through heaven.

     Apart from the Lord's First and Second Comings, men would have been entirely subjected to the overpowering influence of nature round about them, because of its dominant appeal to their bodily senses. This insistent drive from nature through the outer senses of man could be equaled only by the Lord's bodily presence in the world. No man can, of himself, or unaided by a Divine Revelation, see through nature to God, since apart therefrom man's rational mind could not but be formed out of, and controlled by, nature. Therefore God revealed Himself in person in the world-as a man therein-in order that men might see Him, and be induced to receive Him, and so enter upon the newly ordained way to heaven.

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     That God should, during the first ages, reveal Himself to men, not directly nor in person, but through angelic and natural representatives, was of order, and indeed of necessity, since only by this preliminary means could the final mode of His self-manifestation be foreshadowed and prepared for. It is ever the rule of Providence that a fore-representation of a coming event should be given. Hence the primal Word and its ancient sequents were veiled in representatives, and indeed so deeply veiled that, unless some perception of their spiritual significance had been granted, no genuine church or churches could have arisen. Because of this, the end involved from the beginning was never quite lost to view. That end was the personal entrance of the Lord God into His creation, to make it again His own, even as it was His from the first, before evil entered the world, but now again become His by a new and more direct means.

     Prior to this event He could not be directly conjoined to the interiors of man's spirit, and make manifest in the natural His Divine Celestial and Spiritual; that is, not otherwise than by a fore allowance of outward representatives couched in angelic and worldly forms, and this for the reason that truly Divine things, in themselves, were far above the bodily senses of man and the natural rational derived therefrom. Therefore the Lord Himself must, of need, enter into man by way of the world, that is, by taking the world upon Himself through the normal way of birth, in accord with the established order of creation. If He had drawn nigh to men otherwise than by this accommodation, they would have been either consumed by the fire of His Love or no contact would have been effected. A non-destructive contact was, however, the imperative need. Therefore He was born a Man, and by self-glorification He produced and added the Divine Natural to His former Divine Spiritual and Celestial. Thereby He established an ever enduring bond between Himself and the natural and even with the sensuous degree of man's life. By this means, also, the way was prepared for His second and final coming, whereby the minds of men were opened to a more interior conjunction with Him-even to the highest or spiritual- rational degree. "In that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye in me, and I in you."

     Prior to this, conjunction could take place only through the former worldly and angelic representatives.

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It is said, worldly and angelic, because angelic representations were but visual images affecting the senses. Both men and angels were thereby enabled to acknowledge the Divine, but that acknowledgment was, during the first ages, a confession of the Lord who was yet to come. This was so from the first beginning. By that confession men were enabled to receive holiness through the types and images of their religion; but as they increasingly nullified that holiness, their religion became superstitious and idolatrous.

     After the Lord's First Advent, and especially after His Second Coming, this ancient mode of indirect worship was put aside, to make way for the direct reception of the spiritual light which now shines out of the Word from the Lord, enabling Him to be seen as present in His Human glorified. This new light, on entering the minds of men, "remains to eternity"; hence the Church of the Divine Human is said to be an Eternal Church. Therefore the invitation to enter that Church is an invitation to enter into the Light Eternal, called the spiritual sense of the Word, the revealing of which is a miracle beyond all miracles, since it carries within itself the power of a spiritual healing which is no longer palliative, but a Divine cure.

     The spiritual sense of the Word brings the Lord's immediate presence by opening the way for a direct approach to Him, both naturally and rationally. This is now not only the "short way," but it is the only true way of Christian communion. It enables a direct looking to the Lord, and to Him alone. That which is truly seen must be "looked at directly." Such intercourse as this was never before granted; no, not from the foundation of the world; for the very Lord Himself is now openly present in the spiritual sense as He never was in any other. He is in that sense with His Divine, and from that sense His Human now stands clearly to view in the natural sense of the Word, in unity with the Divine. By the same token the world of nature may now be conjoined anew with heaven, by this open revealing of the internal sense of the Word.

     To effect this revealing, the Seer of the Second Advent was intromitted into the spiritual world, both as to his mind and his body, (that is, as to his spiritual body). This, he tells us, surpassed all former miracles, in that no like intromission was ever granted to anyone from the beginning of time.

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He further notes that, while the men of the Golden Age conversed with angels, they did so in natural light only, that is, through natural representations; but with the Seer this converse took place in spiritual and in natural light at the same time. That it might be so, Swedenborg was prepared from his earliest youth; his mind was molded under the immediate guidance of God, so that he was able to "perceive the Word." While clearly understanding the letter, he perceived its spiritual sense, in which the Lord is openly and immediately present, both in His Divinity and in His Human made Divine-the revelation of which, as now given, is entire and final.

     Beyond this revelation in its threefold degrees, there is nothing which can come within the range of human minds. The Divine Itself cannot be seen. It must ever be revealed through a veiling, either as formerly, through outward representatives, or, as later, by the Divine accommodation undertaken when God became Man; or, as now, by an open revelation of the significance of that event, in the light of which men may be drawn nearer to God than ever before.

     The internal sense was revealed to men of the Golden Age, and in a lesser degree to the ancient churches. It was revealed perceptively to men in the beginning, but in forecast. It looked forward to fulfillment-to a dual fulfillment, first in fact, and then in truth-in the fact of the Lord's actual presence in the world as a Man among men, and then in the truth of His presence by a revelation of the internal sense of the Word, which unveiled the glory of a new and higher light proceeding from the Human made Divine.

     This light was never before given. It carries a power never before imparted. It may be said that the light and potency of the internal sense as now revealed is sevenfold greater than the light of ancient days. Being one with the light of the post-advent Sun, it was not perceived by men in its descent; but, as reflexed from the literal Word of God in the minds of men, it was seen as a Divine exposition of Scripture, given in answer to the final and most imperative of human needs. By nothing less potent, less uplifting, could an undying church be raised, and sustained through the ages to come.

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NEW CHURCH IN THE LATTER DAYS 1936

NEW CHURCH IN THE LATTER DAYS       A. STANLEY WAINSCOT       1936

     (A Paper read at Michael Church, London, June 18, 1936.)

     At this time of the year, more perhaps than at any other, our thoughts are directed towards the Church of the New Jerusalem, its first institution by the Lord in the spiritual world, its progress and vicissitudes, and its ultimate destiny as the realization of Divine ends. We meet together as a society of that Church to listen to papers concerning these matters and to discuss them in a sphere of mutual charity, in spiritual company with the many similar gatherings wherever a New Church Society exists. And while we feel a great delight in such consociations, the realization of our numerical weakness, and our lack of influence upon the intellectual and religious thought of the day, occasionally obtrudes itself, aided and abetted, no doubt, by spirits who are opposed to the descent of the Holy City.

     Mere statistics are dullish things at the best of times; they are metallic shells in which there is little of life; they are no revelation of the activities and reactions of myriad human thoughts and affections, and they do not recognize that which is inarticulate. But they have their uses, and by means of them we are able to see that the New Church is rapidly approaching a state which may be described as static, in so far as its modifying influence upon the world is concerned. This is merely temporary, we admit; nevertheless, it means that there must soon be a definite movement forward made by the Church, "as of itself," embracing wider fields, up-to-date methods, and a recrudescence of its early enthusiasm, else it must needs fall backwards.

     Since the Last Judgment of 1757, there has been inaugurated a state of spiritual freedom, as a result of the dispersal of the imaginary heavens and the restoration of the influx of good and truth into the minds of men. From our vantage point of one hundred and seventy-nine years away from the beginning of this era, we may well ask ourselves a few pertinent questions, such as:

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(1) Has the quality of the thought of the Christian World improved, owing to the above circumstance? (2) Can the New Church adapt itself to meet the needs of these latter days? (3) Do we realize the danger of the suffocating sphere of apathy towards spiritual things, and the craving for distraction, which permeate modern life? (4) Has the New Church power to infuse the love of Divine things and doctrines of genuine truth into this welter of dead traditions, sectarian trivialities, scientific achievement, and flashily brilliant intellectualism, everywhere saturated with a dense fog of spiritual indifference? And if it had the power, how could it be wisely exercised?

     It may easily be seen that, while our times have produced great varieties of wonders upon the natural plane, and much facile, eclectic, and superficially erudite expressions of thought, the quality of the modern mind, as to good and truth, love and wisdom, is in reality of a lower degree than it was, say, a hundred years ago. Even if the nascent New Church had to meet with violent opposition in those early days, there was present, in the general mind of the average man, somewhat of a love for matters of an interior nature. Whether that love was directed into false channels or not, it was decidedly a healthier state of things. Today, very few persons indeed possess this love; or if they do, they refrain from giving it expression for fear of ridicule. Hence we find that few attend lectures and debates dealing with fundamental subjects, and fewer still indulge in intelligent discussion.

     Prominent men of science and letters, who, in the past, have been more or less influenced by the Writings of the Second Advent, such as Carlyle, Emerson, Browning, Goethe, Buffon, Kant, Laplace, and Darwin, are considered somewhat demode, while the few real New Church scholars of the caliber of Tafel and Garth Wilkinson, together with the little band of modern scientific men of definite New Church principles, are yet too powerless to affect the bulk of the world's thought to any appreciable extent.

     The various organizations of the Old Church, bitterly assailed in the past by foes from without in the shape of the young, self-confident giants of science, and in the present by foes from within, such as the cult of the Higher Criticism, have relapsed into a stupor behind the hastily erected bulwark of "natural charity" and the "doing of good," while evading any attempt to expound that which should be their one Authority,-the Word of God.

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     The public mind, frustrated in its innate desire for intellectual satisfaction and lasting happiness, endeavors to find palliatives in an erotic psychology, the alluring fripperies of spiritism and idealism, the ratiocinations of Christian Science and kindred cults. It vainly probes amid the refuse heaps of a science steeped in agnosticism, to be pulled this way and that, like a rudderless ship, and is easily fascinated by the multitude of external pleasures and diversions, to the exclusion of nearly all serious thought.

     The ominous nature of the problem which will soon confront the New Church begins to become apparent, involving, as it does, the adaptation of its organizations to meet these conditions, augmented now by the deadly poison of apathy, which stifles even honest and virile opposition. The danger of admitting some of that poison within the sacred portals of the Church must be recognized and averted before the power and efficacy of the Lord's Second Advent through its means can be felt.

     The post-judgment state of intellectual freedom in spiritual things has been interpreted by one section of the New Church to mean the beginnings of spiritual life and the operation of the Glorified Human, by which " Christians are being stirred and urged in countless ways to a Christian life epochally new in scope and depth." (NEW CHRISTIANITY I, 1936.) The Rev. W. F. Wunsch, writing in the June issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, seems to be confusing the Church Specific with the Church Universal. We all recognize that the Lord's Divine Providence is continually operating, leading all, of whatever creed, to Himself, if they be willing. The Lord alone knows who they are, and they are termed, collectively, the "Church Universal." We are taught in great detail as to the nature of the Church Specific, and we are left in no doubt as to the term's application to that organized body, possessing an orderly priesthood, wherein the Lord in His Divine Human is worshiped, and where a life according to His precepts is lived.

     Mr. Wunsch also assumes that Swedenborg, when referring to the Church being raised up anew, meant the "spiritual life realized in an age, an institution, or an individual," and that the Lord is "reviving the spiritual life among His followers here as in the new heavens."

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To advance this point of view without due cognizance of other teaching regarding the uses of the Church Specific, in order to support the idea of permeation, seems mistaken; for the results of such efforts during the last hundred years or more do not justify the adoption of this policy in the future. This becomes evident when it is realized that the membership of that body whose policy is that of a spiritual blood transfusion has declined, while that body whose policy is education within the Church is slowly but surely adding to its numbers.

     We read in the work on the Last Judgment, nos. 73-74: "The angels said . . . that the servitude and captivity in which the man of the church has been hitherto has been taken away, and that now, from restored freedom, he can better perceive interior truths, if he is willing to perceive: them, and thus to become interior, if he is willing to do so; but that still they have slender hope for the men of the Christian Church." Again, in True Christian Religion 784, we are told: "In proportion as the new heaven, which constitutes the internal of the church in man, increases, in the same proportion the New Jerusalem, that is, the New Church, comes down from that heaven; so that this cannot be effected in a moment, but in proportion as the falses of the former Church are removed; for what is new cannot gain admission where falses have before been implanted, unless those falses be first rooted out; and this must first take place among the clergy, and by their means among the laity; for the Lord says, 'No man putteth new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break,-and the wine runneth out, but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.'"

     We might adduce many passages illustrating this truth concerning the office of the external New Church, but they are very familiar to you all, and enough has been said to demonstrate the fallacy of imagining that it is possible to infuse new and interior truths into vessels that have hitherto contained falsities.

     It is misleading to state, as does Mr. Wunsch, that good is first in time as well as in significance, citing Remains as antedating men's being consciously affected thereby and being led to truth; for Remains are states of innocence and affections of good implanted by the Lord during childhood, and are not that good which is referred to in the Writings as being first as to end, but second as to time.

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     Sufficient thought has not been given to the fact that the love of, and the desire for, spiritual things among the members of the Old Church is, generally speaking, dead. The simple good therein are under the Lord's auspices, and belong to the Church Universal; and, in the Lord's time, not ours, and when their spiritual states warrant it, they will be led to make contact with the fountain of living waters.

     The Church whose consummation is treated of in the Writings is the First Christian, a specific ecclesiastical body that has not preserved its integrity in the performance of its use. The New Jerusalem is another specific ecclesiastical body, experiencing a difficult childhood in the wilderness, but destined to become pre-eminent. We, who possess the privilege and responsibility of membership within the latter body, have no inflated or disproportionate views regarding the importance of the organization, as has been postulated by some, but we do feel the need for order,-in government, constitution, and uses,-which cannot obtain without heeding, both in letter and spirit, that which the Lord has revealed.

     In view of the fact, before noted, that the state of the world today is worse, spiritually, than it was at the time of the Second Advent, and bearing in mind that the New Church has a worse foe to contend with than ever before, in the shape of a complete indifference to spiritual things, it must appear evident that a problem confronts it which is of paramount importance.

     How can the New Church move forward, and begin to influence the world's thought, not interfering with human freedom, yet adopting a more virile and actively up-to-date role, instead of one that is too passive and inert for these days of worry, bustle, spectacular advertizing, and big business? The tactics of the early stalwarts, such as Hindmarsh, Sibley, Noble, Clowes, Clissold, Proud, and others, would prove of little avail today; their prolific and verbose styles are not of this age.

     In the New Church we are fortunate in having a fair proportion, to our numbers, of priests, teachers, scholars and laymen of sterling worth, and of natural and spiritual gifts of an exceptionally high order. Is their strength sufficient to withstand the insidious spheres of apathy and indifference that beset the Church!

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Are their "loins girded, and their lamps lit," ready to carry the everlasting Gospel to all mankind!

     This matter of the Church's future approach to a swiftly deteriorating state of its environment is one that will have to be faced sooner or later. It is of vital importance, undoubtedly, that the preservation of the essentials within its ranks should have been, and still should be, heavily stressed, and the retention of the youth by education according to revealed doctrine be still in the forefront of its field of activity. The time will surely come, under Divine Providence, when simple souls will be ready for what we should be able to supply. If we are not prepared to minister to them, the New Jerusalem will not fail, but the use will be taken from our custody.

     It is not within the scope of this paper to suggest a solution to this problem, but only to point out that it exists, and that such a solution will not be found in the lukewarm policy of steering clear of the fundamental dictum, "Thus saith the Lord," or in the indulgence in mild flirtations with the consummated church. If we build our temple firmly on the Rock, the "temple not made with hands" will dwell therein, enabling it to triumph in its temptations and fulfill its high destiny.
VACATIONS 1936

VACATIONS              1936

     Ministries, functions, offices and labors keep the mind intent, and this is to be relaxed, revived, and recuperated by diversions, which vary according to the interior affection that is within them. If the affection of charity is within, then all the diversions here mentioned are for its recreation,-spectacles and plays, musical harmonies and songs, all the beauties of fields and gardens, and social life in general. The affection of use remains interiorly within them, and while thus resting is gradually renewed. A desire for one's work breaks or ends them. For into such diversions the Lord inflows out of heaven, and renews; and in them He also gives an interior sense of pleasure, concerning which they who are not in the affection of charity know nothing. He breathes into them a fragrance and sweetness perceptible only to one's self; a fragrance, by which is meant a spiritual pleasantness, and a sweetness, by which is meant a spiritual delight. (Doctrine of Charity 192, 193.)

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1936

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
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     INDIA.

     NEW CHURCH WORK IN INDIA. A Report by D. Gopaul Chetty, Royapettah, Madras, April 10, 1936. Paper, 12 pages and cover.

     From the contents of this Report for the year, April 1, 1935, to March 31, 1936, we gather that the author is devoting himself with great zeal and enthusiasm to the cause of the New Church in India. This he is doing, not only by translating and distributing the Writings, and by books of his own, but also by lectures, and by correspondence and personal interviews with educated gentlemen, a number of whom are leaders of religious thought in other religions and philosophies. We judge, also, that he is not "hiding the light under a bushel," and he is sanguine of a widespread acceptance of the Heavenly Doctrine in India. "The past year," he states, "was one of very great activity for me, and productive of good results in the cause of the New Church Teachings."

     During the year he sold 257 copies of the four Tamil Editions of the Writings, as follows: Divine Providence, 98 copies; Divine Love and Wisdom, 76; Doctrine of Uses, 46; and Doctrine of Life, 37.

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Under the auspices of the Swedenborg Society of London, he is now engaged upon the translation into Tamil of the work on Heaven and Hell, and expects it will be published at the end of the year.

     He is also writing a book entitled Jesus is God, to consist of about 300 pages, and of this work he says: "The book itself will prove to be one of the most valuable publications in the interest of the New Church. I am quite sure it will create a good deal of sensation at first, and finally meet with great approval in this country, owing to my presentation of the subject in an acceptable and convincing form, quite different from the incorrect and unacceptable way in which it was done by the Protestant and Roman Catholic Missionaries."

     Mr. Chetty has also written a book entitled The Mystery of Creation Scientifically Explained, and states that " this book of mine has been very much appreciated in this country, owing to the presentation of the subject according to Swedenborg, on a scientific basis of which Hinduism knows nothing. Many who have read this book have begun a serious study of Swedenborg's works."

     At the close of the Report we read: "I was known to Count Leo Tolstoy long before Mahatma Ghandi came to be known to him. I am quite sure that Count Leo Tolstoy had a good deal of love for me. And I am sure his son, Count Ilya Tolstoy, will pay some respect and attention to my words, and begin a study of Swedenborg's works."

     AUSTRALIA.

     The Sixteenth Conference of "The New Church in Australia," held in Melbourne at Easter time, was marked by a revival of issues which have long been debated in the New Church, leading to the separation of the Brisbane members from the Conference, which voted down their motion asking the Conference to "disassociate itself publicly from the Academy Church, Teaching and Doctrine." For the information of our readers we cite an account of this occurrence from the June 1, 1936, issue of THE NEW AGE, an Australian Monthly Journal edited by the Rev. Richard H. Teed, Minister of the Melbourne Society. A summary of the business trans acted at the Conference is given by the Secretary, Mr. A. H. Near, who describes the incident in these words:

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     "Another matter, although a rather painful one, about which members should be informed, was the withdrawal of the Brisbane representatives on the second day of meeting. A motion had been moved by them, 'That Conference disassociates itself publicly from the Academy Church, Teaching and Doctrine.' This resolution they considered necessary from their fear that the lines of demarcation between the Association and the 'General Church' were to some extent being obliterated, and although during the discussion it was made clear that no member accepted the views of the 'General Church'-though, as is natural, some held them in more disfavor than others-on the motion being lost, the Brisbane members decided to sever their connection with the Conference. This was thought to be quite unnecessary, and very regrettable, though one and all recognized that their action was taken with sincerity and from honest conviction." (Page 185.)

     In the same issue of THE NEW AGE, an editorial by Mr. Teed undertakes to set forth the Conference attitude toward the situation in Australia, which may be said to involve a division of the members of the New Church there into three groups,-" left," "center," and "right," the latter being the "extreme conservative" or General Church point of view. We quote a good part of this editorial:

     There appears to be developing here in Australia a movement within the Church parallel to what is termed the "Convention Liberals" in America. We have our liberals in Australia; and at this Conference their attitude was more forcefully expressed than at any previous Conference. We may now say, therefore, as regards the New Church in this country, that we have on the one hand the Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, situated in Hurstville, Sydney, representing the extreme conservative point of view. In the center we have the main body of the Church holding what might be called the orthodox Conference attitude. This attitude expresses the overwhelming point of view of all associated with our Conference. There is in this the emphatic repudiation of the peculiarly distinctive interpretations of doctrine held by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. This was stated again and again in the Conference in unreserved terms by practically all the speakers. We have our "Conference" point of view in regard to the Revelation given to us in the Writings, and we are not disposed to be shifted from that point of view by any influence or appeal whatever. The chief claim that this "Conference" attitude makes, which wins general support, is its basis of freedom, leaving to the individual complete liberty in interpretation and opinion in regard to all non-essentials.

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There are but two essentials of the Church-belief in the sole Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the life of Charity, which should be lived from Him.

     On the other hand, this "Conference" attitude, as it expressed itself in our recent sessions, is not willing to accept a whittling down of our distinctiveness. While leaving the individual free to draw his own conclusions in regard to all matters of doctrine, this "Conference" attitude is not willing that any doctrines should be deliberately ignored or publicly rejected, nor that any manmade notions should be thrust into undue prominence as though they were matters of doctrine.

     For instance, our "Liberals," as represented mostly in the members from the Brisbane Society, wish to raise the subject of ecclesiastical vestments to the plane of a doctrine of importance. Our "Liberals" oppose all vestments as being- disorderly. In vain was it to point out that the use of vestments is only a following of the Conference and Convention traditions. No, our friends wanted a bonfire, and nothing less would satisfy them! . . .

     In some of the debates there was manifest a readiness to refer to the "mistakes" of Swedenborg, also to some of the "disgusting" and "awful" things he taught. A whisper even reached us of the "nonsense" in Swedenborg's Memorabilia. Now, as we understand it, the "Conference" attitude makes no objection to a member holding such views, and even expressing them publicly; but there is a very definite objection to any effort which might be made to maintain that such is the accepted and official view of the Conference body. We must not allow freedom to develop into license. Our "Liberals," during this last Conference, made a very definite bid thus to impose a viewpoint of their own upon the Conference body as a whole. What a mistake it is surely to endeavor to dictate to others what they shall or shall not believe! Why can we not leave one another in the complete freedom which is permitted under the broad acceptation permitted in the Conference body? Surely to attempt to dominate the beliefs and policies of the Church is as much to be resisted, whether it comes from the right hand or the left. Why can we not rejoice in the freedom we have secured in the Conference body, instead of attempting to upset this by imposing a creed upon any of one's fellows?

     Certainly the main body of the Church in Australia can have this sense of satisfaction, that no effort has ever been made to interfere with the freedom of our "Liberals." There has ever been granted to them liberty to think as they like, and act in accord with their own convictions; this effort to define and limit belief and action has come from our "Liberals."

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     Now those who constitute the overwhelming majority of the Church in this country bear no ill will to any who differ from us. We wish our "Liberals" God-speed and all success in their accepted methods and policies; indeed, we parted on the very best of terms with the handshake that betokens charity. If our Liberals or our Conservatives can show us some new thing, some better, more successful way, we shall only thank them. Meanwhile, we watch their respective experiments, refusing to be drawn aside from what we deem to be the clear call of the Lord's New Church.

     These admirable sentiments come with the force of an invitation to the various groups in Australia, affording them an opportunity to present their doctrinal views, that all may be free to choose between them. In the same issue, therefore, Mr. Teed offers, "with a full recognition of their crude limitations," some statements of General Church teachings, in contrast with those of " The New Church in Australia." We reprint them herewith:

     THE DIFFERENCE:

     Between the Teachings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem and those of "The New Church in Australia."

     I. THE GENERAL CHURCH teaches that the mission of Swedenborg was to be an amanuensis for the Lord, and thus that his Writings are the Divine Word.

     OUR CONFERENCE teaches that, as Swedenborg claims to be a "human instrument," evidences of human limitation will show themselves in his Writings; none the less he was an instrument competent and adequate.

     II. THE GENERAL CHURCH teaches that because influx to the Church is given through the priesthood, therefore the Church should be governed thereby.

     OUR CONFERENCE teaches that Divine influx operates into the office of minister, whether such minister he a regular clergyman or not; and is limited only by the capacity of the recipient. Essential ordination is of the Lord John xv., 16), and the external rite is representative of this.

     III. THE GENERAL CHURCH teaches that the permissions indicated in the work Conjugial Love are Laws of Order.

     OUR CONFERENCE teaches that these permissions are laws of disorder; in these, therefore, the regenerating New Churchman ought not to indulge.

     In all other respects, so far as we know, the teachings of the two bodies are identical. The above statements are offered (with a full recognition of their crude limitations) to endeavor to clear the air and to answer the question now being asked by many as to just what is this difference to which so much reference was made at the recent Conference.-Editor, New Age. (Page 191.)

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     WHEN HISTORIANS LAPSE.

     A friend has sent us some excerpts from A Short History of Sweden, by Ragnar Svanstrom, Ph. D., and Carl Fredrik Palmstierna, Ph. D., (Oxford, 1934), whose chauvinism seems to have betrayed them into historical inaccuracies in their mention of the "brilliant Emanuel Swedenborg," who is said to have been "at one time the son-in-law of Polhem!" Also, "he was probably the first Swede to embrace fully the great Sir Isaac Newton's theories." Of "Swedenborgianism" the work has to say:

     "In the course of his investigations into the functions of the human brain, Swedenborg had been gradually led on to meditations about God and the soul. In 1743, while on a visit to England, he received, so he believed, a divine revelation, and from that moment until his death he consecrated himself to his new mission. His mystical doctrines, based on an interpretation of the Bible as revealed by angels and the spirits of the departed, were strongly colored by the Neo-Platonism, with its efforts to combine philosophy and religious mysticism, which he had absorbed in England in his youth. He regarded the whole of existence as one organism, a well-ordered life flowing out from God, in which everywhere the lower, in a mystic way, reflects the higher. Swedenborg's doctrines never attained any very great popularity at home, where they were considered too speculative, but this same quality assured them a peculiarly sympathetic reception in the Anglo-Saxon world. It may be sufficient here to recall the name of his later disciple, William Blake.

     MODERNIST APOSTACY.

     While the New Church mind is repelled by the naturalistic interpretations of the modernist, so destructive of faith and spirituality, yet he cannot be satisfied with the rigid literalism of the fundamentalist, who is unwilling to forego the tripersonal and vicarious atonement appearances in Scripture. But our sympathies are with the latter so far as he gives evidence of a belief in the Divinity of the Lord and the Word, for without a faith in these essentials a Christian is hardly in a state to receive the Heavenly Doctrine, either in this world or the next.

     The controversy between the two groups is still rampant in the Old Church, and here is what one fundamentalist has to say:

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     "The ecclesiastical modernists must be intellectually dishonest to take an ordination oath of belief in the virgin birth of our Lord, in His deity and substitutionary atonement, and in the infallibility of the Bible as the Word of God, and then to spend their time propagating a philosophy which denies these foundation facts. If a great section of the ordained clergy will play fast and loose with such things as these, how can they be trusted in anything else? Here is the prime factor in the emptiness of churches. We have found that simple Bible preaching, without book reviews, social service essays or political diatribes, fills a large church building to the doors, rain or shine, summer or winter. Zechariah put the whole thing in a trenchant sentence, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.'"-Donald Grey Barnhouse, D.D.

     Why is it that both schools do not find the power of that Divine Spirit in the spiritual sense of the Word, now revealed and demonstrated in a manner to satisfy both faith and reason?

     CHALLENGING THE MIRACLES.

     The modernist Biblical critic, unwilling to acknowledge the actual manifestation of the Divine omnipotence in the miracles recorded in the Word, and ignorant of their spiritual significance, will undoubtedly seize upon a recent book, entitled Gospel Light, wherein the author, George M. Lamsa, explains away some of the Lord's miracles upon linguistic grounds and in accordance with ancient customs. A native of Mesopotamia, he claims to be the first person in modern times to translate the original Aramaic texts of the New Testament into English.

     The Lord's walking on the sea, he holds, was simply a walking by the sea, according to the Aramaic style of speech. Because Eastern travelers carry their own food-supply in their garments, this was the real source of the leaves and fishes wherewith the multitude was fed. "It was a greater miracle to inspire an unselfish spirit, and create in the people a desire to share their bread with others." And so in the case of the water turned into wine at Cana, Mr. Lamsa would have it that Jesus, according to certain customs of the time, "simply ordered the servants to give the guests water, which, to the chief guest, tasted best of all."

     One could wish that such a knowledge of ancient languages and customs had been employed to confirm the Scriptures, rather than to invalidate and profane them.

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But that can hardly be expected of those who allow the pride of learning and discovery to banish a reverence for the Word of God, the literal sense of which was so written as to be the embodiment of Holy Divine Truth. It requires no great ingenuity to build fantastic notions upon the roots of ancient languages.
SUPPORT OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1936

SUPPORT OF THE GENERAL CHURCH       G. A. MCQUEEN       1936

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I notice in the Report of the Treasurer of the General Church, (June, 1936, p. 179), that he "added verbally that a certain ignorance seemed to prevail amongst our young people and some others in regard to the actual uses which required support from the General Church treasury." He also suggested the necessity of making our people familiar with the relationship of society and General Church uses.

     The same remarks might well apply to membership in any of the various organizations of the Church. And I would here offer another suggestion,-that the time to furnish information regarding the financial support of Church uses is, first of all, with the children in the home, to be continued at school, and completed at the period when they apply for membership in the General Church. This applies also to adults who have not had earlier instruction. It is then much easier to do so than after admission.

     With a membership prepared in this way, the Treasurer would reap better results from his efforts to collect contributions.
     Sincerely yours,
          G. A. MCQUEEN.
               Glenview, Ill.

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Michael Church.

     Both on Palm Sunday and on Easter Sunday the Holy Supper was administered during the morning service, in order to give as many as possible the opportunity of partaking of it at this season. On the former occasion the Rev. A. Wynne Acton preached appropriately on the spiritual significance of the events connected with the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and on the latter Bishop Tilson, taking as his text Matthew 27:50-53, emphasized the importance of the Lord's resurrection for the salvation of all mankind.

     On the following Sunday, April 19, the morning service was specially adapted to the children, of whom there were about twenty present, and Mr. Acton gave them an instructive address. In the afternoon, a social tea was held at which Mr. Stanley Wainscot gave an interesting and well-informed paper on "The Resurrection of Ur," connecting its ancient history with the excavations there at the present time.

     A visit of the Table-tennis Club to Kensington on April 22 for a return match resulted in a decisive victory for the Michael Church team. This was to be expected, as our players had had much more experience. The visit was a very enjoyable one, the Rev. F. F. Coulson kindly showing the church to the visitors.

     The final social for this session took place on April 28, when the program, consisting chiefly of games and competitions, was provided by Mr. and Mrs. V. R. Tilson, and was very successful.

     On Sunday, May 10, Bishop Tilson again occupied the pulpit after a short holiday at Hastings in search of renewed health, and at 6 p.m., a social tea was held, followed by the Annual Meeting of the Society. The Rev. A. Wynne Acton was in the chair, and Bishop Tilson and he reviewed their work during the year,-strenuous work indeed! The Bishop, in addition to the duties connected with Michael Church, had visited Bath, Bristol, and High Kilburn, and had rendered some needed assistance at Colchester, in consequence of the serious accident sustained by the Rev. V. J. Gladish shortly before the Assembly. He had also worked on various committees. He paid generous tribute to the capable assistance given him in his declining years by the Assistant Pastor. "May he," concluded the venerable Bishop in touching tones, "go on from strength to strength, and for myself I pray that `at eventide there may be light!'"

     Mr. Acton's report of "services rendered" showed them to be of so numerous and varied a character that at its conclusion a member was moved to ask what he did with his spare time! The officers of the society then followed with their reports, and, after a few remarks by other members, the meeting was brought to a conclusion. On the whole, Michael Church seems to be in an encouraging condition, though there is room for improvement, more especially in the attendance at the Theological Classes. We are privileged to listen to sermons of a high order, whether from the Bishop or the Assistant Pastor, and if the principles so well laid down find willing recipients and an effort to apply them to life, the Church will surely grow.

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     On May 26 a Conversazione was arranged at short notice, in order that we might meet Mr. Donald Rose, once a scholar at Burton Road, and to afford him an opportunity to meet some of his friends of former years. Mr. Rose was returning to America next day on the "Queen Mary," which fact of course added to his attractions as the hero of the hour! Bishop and Mrs. Tilson were unfortunately absent in Yorkshire, but they had sent a message of welcome to the visitor. There was an attendance of about forty, and a very pleasant evening was spent. Included in the company was Miss Champion from Durban, South Africa, and a toast to "Our Visitors" was responded to by both guests. Mr. Rose recalled his boy hood days spent in England, expressed his pleasure at seeing so many relatives and friends of long ago, and his interest and astonishment at the changes that had come over the face of the countryside since he left these shores twenty-eight years ago. Miss Champion had some very interesting things to say about the progress of the school in Durban. Several other toasts followed, including one to "Mrs. Frank Hodson Rose and family," proposed by her brother, Mr. Harold Searle. Mr. Rose having another appointment, the proceedings had to close at an early hour. They have been described as "brief, bright and breezy," and the present writer (who was unfortunately absent, but who has lively recollections of Mr. Rose's youthful days) can well believe

     June Nineteenth.

     Our celebration of New Church Day took a dual form. On Sunday, June 14, we had a very full service. Bishop Tilson, again in the pulpit, after an absence of three weeks in York (during which time he had been seriously ill) preached a most impressive sermon from Malachi 3:4, and afterwards, assisted by the Rev. A. W. Acton, administered the Holy Supper.

     On Thursday, June 18, a Feast of Charity was held at 7:30 p.m. There was a good attendance, and Bishop Tilson, after opening the Word, read from the Chancel the "Memorandum" from T. C. R. 791. Our initial appetites having been satisfied, accompanied by informal converse, there was a short interval, and when the company had reassembled the Rev. A. W. Acton, who was presiding, gave a special welcome to Miss Champion from Durban, Miss Edith Craigie from Canada, Miss Blanche Summerhayes from Street, Somerset, and to some others who are not often able to be with us. He also read a note of Greeting from the Circle at Kilburn, York.

     The first Address was from Bishop Tilson, on "The New Heaven, and its Ultimation in the New Church on Earth." It was of great interest, and all present were delighted to note the signs of returned strength in the vigor and enthusiasm with which it was delivered. It was followed by the singing of "Vivat Nova Ecclesia." Then Mr. Stanley Wainscot, with a paper on "The New Church in the Latter Days," stressed the need for wider external effort. This was appropriately followed by the singing of the "Church Militant." The third and last paper was entitled "The Necessity and Use of the Organization of the New Church on Earth," by Mr. Wilfred Pike. All the speakers were listened to with pleasure. Differing in their method of approach, all led to the same center-the establishment of the New Church.

     The singing of "Friends across the Sea" was responded to by Miss Champion, who in a few concise yet comprehensive remarks gave us a very good idea of the way New Church Day is celebrated in Durban. She went on to refer to the apathy towards religion prevailing in the world, which had been mentioned by one of the previous speakers, and said it appeared to her that the very fact provided an opportunity for New Church people, if they were "real live wires." It occurred to at least one listener that Miss Champion herself exactly answered to that description!

     Mr. Acton thanked the speaker for her contribution to the interest of the evening, and invited any others who felt moved to address the audience to do so.

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Mr. Jesseman and Mr. Priest rose to the occasion, spoke in appreciative terms of all that they had listened to, and added characteristic comments. Bishop Tilson was asked to convey the good wishes of the meeting to the Pastor and members of the Colchester Society when he went to the celebration of New Church Day there during the next weekend, and after the singing of "Our Glorious Church," he closed the proceedings with the Benediction. The Sunday School goes steadily on, under the superintendence of the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, and next week there is to be a singing practice in preparation for the coming Assembly.
     K. M. D.

     OBITUARY.

     Alfred L. Goerwitz.

     A pioneer member of the Immanuel Church was taken from among us when Mr. Alfred L. Goerwitz passed to the spiritual world on July 9th at the age of sixty-four years. He was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., on July 12, 1872, a son of the Rev. and Mrs. Fedor Goerwitz, with whom he afterwards lived in Germany, returning to America when about seventeen years old. Another son, the Rev. Adolph L. Goerwitz, is now General Pastor of the Federation of German-speaking Societies of the New Church in Europe, with headquarters at Zurich, Switzerland, succeeding his father in this leadership.

     On his return to this country, Alfred was closely associated with the New Church people in Pittsburgh, and later with the Immanuel Church in Chicago in its early days. He was among those who began the "move to the country," and his marriage to Amanda Falk was the first wedding celebrated in the society at Glenview,-the beginning of a happy life of conjugial partnership, blest with the children whom we know, and adding one more home to the community. On his coming of age, and as a wedding gift, the young men of the society presented him with a set of the Writings, and the young women made bookmarks for them,-a gift that was fully appreciated and cherished.

     He was for many years Secretary of Swain Nelson and Sons, an able salesman and a splendid adjuster or "trouble man." He never spared himself when there was work to be done. To a genial disposition he added a keen mind, and he was an accomplished linguist.

     Alfred Goerwitz has been in our eyes a good man, a sweet and lovable character, unobtrusive, a good friend to us all, and a man of great love for the Church and loyalty to its teachings and institutions, a lover of his wife, his home, his children, his friends and his work. Earnest in his faith and honorable in his life, he took seriously the responsibilities of membership in the Church. His was the kind of practical New Churchmanship that has had much to do with the spiritual advantages which we now enjoy, and we shall greatly miss him from his accustomed place in all the activities of our society and community.

     Mr. Ed. Fuller.

     In the passing of Edmund Hamilton Sears Fuller at Glenview, Ill., on July 21, 1936, in his seventy-fourth year, the Immanuel Church has lost a devoted and valued member, a New Churchman of fine character, a constant reader of the Doctrine, a man of excellent spirit and understanding. Named after the Rev. Edmund Hamilton Sears, author of the well-known Christmas hymn," It came upon the midnight clear," he was at one time directed by his father toward a ministerial career. He chose another vocation, however, and served the Westinghouse Company at Pittsburgh for thirty-three years.

     The Fuller family held a high place in the affections of the members of the Pittsburgh Society, and when they removed to Glenview, in 1924, they made for themselves a corresponding place in the membership of the Immanuel Church.

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     Mr. Fuller is survived by his wife, Margaret Marshall Fuller, by a son, David Marshall, and two daughters,-Margaret (Mrs. Winfred A. Smith, of Bryn Athyn), and Elizabeth (Mrs. Norman H. Reuter).
     GILBERT H. SMITH.

     GENERAL CONVENTION.

     The 115th session of the General Convention was held at Brockton, Mass., June 6-9, 1936, with an attendance of forty-one ministers and ninety-five delegates. From the account in The New Church Messenger of July 1, 1936, we gather the following points of special interest to our leaders:

     The Convention this year "centered about its religious services," which in part marked the one hundredth anniversary of the Book of Worship as a Convention publication, selections from the original book being sung at one of the services. The music on one occasion was supplied by a Convention Chorus, organized and directed by Mr. Horace B. Blackmer, organist of the Boston church, who had also prepared an attractive illustrated "Keepsake," which gave information about the first Book of Worship.

     The general officers elected for the ensuing year are as follows: President, Rev. Fred Sidney Mayer; Vice President, Mr. Lloyd A. Frost; Secretary, Mr. B. A. Whittemore; Assistant Secretary, Mr. Horace B. Blackmer; Treasurer, Mr. Albert P. Carter. The meeting paid warm tribute to Mr. Ezra Hyde Alden, who has found it necessary to retire from the office of Vice President after a notable service of fifteen years in that capacity.

     Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Chadwick were welcomed as guests from England, Mr. Chadwick being the delegate from the British Conference. His fine address on "The Practice of New Churchmanship" appears in the Messenger of July 22.

     "It was voted to send the greetings of the Convention to the Rt. Rev. N. D. Pendleton, Bishop of our sister church, the General Church of the New Jerusalem, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania."

     From the report of the Board of Managers of the Theological School we learn of "the retirement, after twenty-five years of service, of the Rev. William L. Worcester as President of the School." As his successor, the Board "had unanimously elected the Rev. Franklin H. Blackmer." Formerly President of Urbana University, Mr. Blackmer is pastor at Brockton, Mass.

     At the Board of Missions session, the Rev. Paul Sperry gave an address and showed the pictures of New Church people and centers in Demerara, Georgetown, Tokyo, Czechoslovakia, Copenhagen, India, Burma, Trieste, the Philippines and Mexico, as well as some scenes in North America.

     The Council of Ministers held its annual session in the church of the Bridgewater Society on June 3 and 4. The Rev. Leonard I. Tafel delivered an address on "Revealed Truth in the Religious Life," and the Rev. F. A. Gustafson spoke on " The Moral and Spiritual Effects of the 'New' Religious Attitudes." The text of addresses and discussions during the Convention appear in the Messenger of July 8 and subsequent numbers.

     The Committee on Daily Readings reported that the Manual now had 1280 subscribers, and that twenty seven societies had ordered it for their members.

     It was reported that the way now seemed open for the publication of the Rev. W. F. Wunsch's new translation of Conjugial Love.

     The Rev. Henry Clinton Hay, Pastor Emeritus of the Boston Society passed into the spiritual world on June 24, 1936, in his eighty-fourth year. He became assistant to the Rev. James Reed at Boston in 1902, and succeeded him in the pastorate in April, 1919. An account of his career, accompanied with a photograph, is given in the Messenger of July 8, 1936.

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     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Rev. Norman Reuter's fifth visit to the group at Detroit occurred on June 13th and 14th. Because of motor trouble, of which he seems to be having more than his share, Mr. Reuter again had to make the trip by train. As it is only when driving his car to Detroit that he feels justified in bringing Mrs. Reuter along, we regret these lapses on the part of the family chariot, and feel that something should be done about it.

     A few members of the group gathered at the Walker-Synnestvedt home on Saturday evening to listen to a very excellent address by Mr. Reuter, his subject being "A New Vision for the New Church." A happy social time followed. Because of the long distances which separate the various families, most of our activities are confined to the one day, Sunday, but the local members are able to gather for a class on short notice, and we always welcome these extra opportunities to receive doctrinal instruction from our pastor.

     The service on Sunday was held at the residence of Mrs. Anne Coombs, the attendance being 39,-23 adults and 14 children, including two visitors. The subject of the sermon was "The Holy City," and the service closed with the administration of the Holy Supper. After the service the entire company, now augmented by the Misses June and Lilian Macauley, who had just arrived from Bryn Athyn, sat down to a substantial luncheon, at the conclusion of which a program was given in commemoration of the Nineteenth of June. An introductory talk by the pastor was followed by selected readings appropriate to the subject, given by. Messrs. Norman Synnestvedt, Cyril nay and Howells Walker. These were interspersed with songs from the Social Song Book. A fine address by Mr. Geoffrey Childs brought to a conclusion a very enjoyable and inspiring celebration of the most important day in our Church calendar.

     It must here be recorded that the pulpit and repository constructed by Mr. Norman Synnestvedt were used for the first time at this service. They are really fine, and Norman received much praise for his skill with saw, hammer and varnish brush. The pulpit is built in sections, is easily portable, and so may be used wherever our services are held.

     The Detroit Group has the distinction of having two of its members in Uncle Sam's Navy. Mr. Howells Walker has just re-enlisted for his second 4-year "hitch," and has been assigned to the new destroyer Cassin, nearing completion at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Mr. Marvin Walker recently completed his training course at Great Lakes, Ill., and is on the plane carrier Lexington attached to the Pacific Fleet.
     W. W. W.

     NEW CHURCH DAY AMONGST THE BASUTO.

     The celebration of New Church Day amongst the Basuto was held at Alpha on Sunday, June 21, 1936. All the societies in Basutoland, viz., Qopo, Luka's, Khopane, and Mafika Lisiu were very well represented, and all the Ministers and Teachers were present. In the morning, at the service which commenced at 11.30, the attendance, with visitors, was 258, and a hundred members approached the Holy Supper, the Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng, pastor of the Alpha Society, officiating. There were also five adult and three infant baptisms, which were administered by the Rev. Jonas Mphatse of Qopo.

     In the afternoon, five-minute addresses were given as follows: "The Second Coming of the Lord," by the Rev. Jonas Mphatse; "The Birth of the New Church," by Leader Aaron Mphatse of Luka's; "The New Church and Children," by Teacher Edward Semitlane of Khopane; "Prophecy concerning the New Church," by the Rev. Nathaniel Mphatse of Mafika-Lisiu; "The Old and the New Jerusalem," by Teacher Samuel Kojoana of Mafika-Lisiu; "The Birth of the New Church," by the Rev. Sofonia Mosoang of Khopane.

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     After these addresses, which were delivered with much vehemence, the Superintendent, with that characteristic simplicity which has made him so well understood, even by the most ignorant of our people, wound up with an impromptu comparison of the two great days,-the 25th of December and the 19th of June. Then the people, carrying, we hope, all these messages of the New Church in their hearts, dispersed to gather again for a big feast at the Alpha Hostel. There was much rejoicing that now the Lord had instituted the New Church in the spiritual world, and that He called His "delegate," Swedenborg, to declare the tidings of the Birthday of the Lord's Bride.     
     T. M.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     In Summer there is naturally a dearth of church activities, and so these notes recount the activities of our church people. Our pastor, Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, has started on vacation, and on his journey has Visited the Pierre Vinet home in Holland, Mich. The Rev. Frederick Gyllenhaal and the Rev. Norman Reuter will capably substitute for him in the pulpit, Mr. Gyllenhaal on August 2 and 9, and Mr. Reuter on the following two Sundays.

     The New Church summer resorts of Palisades Park and Linden Hills, on the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan, have had an unusual number of visitors from the Immanuel and Sharon Churches and elsewhere, many of whom maintain cottages there. Occasional Sunday services are held in their little church. It has been suggested that, if living quarters were added to the church building, ministers could be invited there, and thus the community would have the pleasure of regular Sunday worship, possibly all Summer. Others of our members have gone to camp in Northern Wisconsin, many to the Scalbom place near Hazelhurst. Even far away Lake Muskoka, in Ontario, has had its visitors from here. For those remaining in the Park, our little lake has furnished endless healthful pleasure, having had as many as fifty young ones in bathing at one time. Happy little brownies, most of them are learning to swim!

     We recently enjoyed visits from Mr. and Mrs. John Fogle, of Redmond, Oregon, on their return from a visit to friends in Bourbon, Indiana, where they formerly lived. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Tyrrell and daughter Phyllis also came here from Bourbon to attend church, a drive of 120 miles. The daughter may attend school next year in Bryn Athyn.

     Miss Janet Lindrooth has opened a womens' apparel shop in the center of Glenview,-the first one here. It is ornate and well equipped, and had a grand opening with refreshments. From the enthusiasm shown, it is a fine venture, and the auguries are for its success.     
     J. B. S.

     WEST AFRICA.

     At the General Conference in 1934, attention was drawn to the fact that the knowledge of the Doctrines of the New Church had spread to West Africa, where Mr. Africanus Mensah, a Fanti, was fired with missionary zeal in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Under the authority of that Conference, the Overseas Missions Committee arranged for the Rev. Arthur Clapham to pay a visit to that part of the world, and report on the prospects of missionary work.

     His report showed a large field ready for missionary operations, but needing the supervision of a white man. Of Mr. Mensah's work, Mr. Clapham spoke very highly: "Wherever Mensah goes the New Church becomes known. He is thoroughly versed in the Doctrines, and has devoted his thought, time and energy to them." On the basis of this report, Conference recognized for one year Mr. Mensah as Lay Missionary and Agent for the sale and distribution of New-Church literature in West Africa, granting him a sum of L50.

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     Mr. Mensah has placed himself unreservedly at the service of the Church, and has worked very hard to make the Doctrines known among his fellow-countrymen, to whom he has sold many books and distributed numbers of pamphlets. He is a remarkable colporteur. He has also established regular Sunday services in Port Harcourt at a cinema kindly loaned free of charge by the proprietor. The attendances are small, owing, Mr. Mensah reports, to a certain opposition from the orthodox Christian bodies, and to the fact that there is no white superintendence. (New-Church Herald, May 30, 1936.)

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     Since the events of Eastertide-with which our last report closed-our little society, after a brief return to its ordinary uses, has been privileged again to celebrate in the manner of the Church another anniversary of its heavenly nativity. Our preparation to harmonize our minds with the sphere of this holy festival began on the 31st of May, when the first of a series of three sermons on Revelation 22:12-14 was preached. A short Service of Praise was held in the evening of June 19th. Appropriate sections of the Liturgy were used, and an address based on no. 791 of The True Christian Religion was given. Those who were able to attend agreed that this time of worship on the actual natal day of the Church invited a very powerful sphere. In the afternoon of the 21st the Pastor conducted a Children's Service instead of the usual Sunday School, and in his address told the story of the memorable events in the spiritual world that made June 19th a holy day for the Church.

     The culminating point in our celebrations was the Banquet, which was held in the evening of the 21st. Thirty members and friends of the society gathered round a generously furnished and appropriately decorated table which was presided over by the pastor; and in toast, song and speech we renewed our loyalty to the Church me love. The subjects assigned the speakers-The New Heaven," "The New Word," and "The New Church,"-were ably treated by Messrs.
Lindthman Heldon, Ossian Heldon, and Thomas Taylor, respectively; and these gentlemen were rewarded for their unstinted labors by the adequate discussion that followed each paper. We dispersed with feelings of regret that another Nineteenth had so quickly passed, but with the belief also that we received from our celebrations that which will strengthen our hands in the ordinary uses of life to which we have returned.

     Meanwhile, the subsidiary uses of the society have continued as usual. The Ladies' Guild has held two meetings, at the second of which, on June 18th, a paper on "Women's Uses in the Church" was given by Mrs. Henderson. The Young People's Class has continued to meet weekly, except on the Thursday before the 19th, and is still studying the doctrine of the Word. In the doctrinal class we are still engaged in a study of the Last Judgment.

     On the social side we have to record a very enjoyable card party held early in May, and an attractive evening of little plays presented by the children of the Sunday School and produced by the lady teachers under the supervision of Mrs. Henderson.

     It is always pleasant to record accessions, and we are glad to close this report with the statement that, during the service on May 24, two of our young people-Miss Nellie Taylor, and Mr. Sydney Heldon-made their confessions of faith, and will follow on to membership in the Church and Society,-a welcome increase in our quality and modest strength.

     Commencing in July, we intend holding an Evangelical Service on the first Sunday evening in each month, and in our next report we hope to be able to give an encouraging, if not a glowing, account of this new use.
     W. C. H.

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SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1936

SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY       GEORGE DE CHARMS       1936




     Announcements
     The announcement of Bishop N. D. Pendleton's retirement as Bishop of the General Church has been received by the members with deep regret. Called to the task of leadership at a time when the Church was in the midst of a serious doctrinal controversy which threatened its unity, he met the challenge, and averted the impending danger with firmness, patience, and a practical wisdom which won the confidence of all. With unswerving loyalty to the teaching of the Writings, with keen and sympathetic judgment in their application to rapidly changing needs, and with sedulous concern for the protection of individual freedom, he has guided the Church safely through many subsequent trials and difficulties.

     The twenty years of his administration have been marked by slow but steady progress,-by a sure building upon the foundations laid by the Academy fathers. That he should be compelled by advancing years and failing strength to relinquish the heavy responsibility which he has carried so long, and with such notable success, cannot but be felt as an irreparable loss. Yet, with deep gratitude for the enduring service which he has rendered, we must recognize the necessity which alone could have prompted him to withdraw at this time from the office to which he had given such complete devotion. It is our hope that, released from the trying burdens of government, he may continue for many years to give the Church the benefit of his wise council. And may he realize, in some measure, the lasting personal affection and esteem which he has inspired in the hearts of the members of the Church.

     The retirement of Bishop Pendleton gives rise to the urgent need that provision should be made, without undue delay, for the orderly selection of a new executive Bishop. It is with this need primarily in mind that the normal time of the Assembly has been advanced, and we have, on behalf of the Church, accepted the cordial invitation of the Pittsburgh Society to hold the Sixteenth General Assembly of the General Church in that city during the week of June 28, 1937.

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More detailed announcements as to the exact dates of meeting, the program and arrangements, will follow.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Acting Bishop.
DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES 1936

DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES              1936

     Preliminary Notices.

     The Twenty-third Ontario District Assembly will be held at the Carmel Church, Kitchener, from Saturday, October 10, to Monday, October 12, 1936. Intending visitors are requested to communicate with Mr. Clarence Schnarr, 784 King Street West, Kitchener, Ont., Canada.-Rev. Alan Gill, Secretary.

     The Pittsburgh District Assembly will be held at the Church of the Pittsburgh Society, 299 Le Roi Road, October 16-18, 1936.

     The Chicago District Assembly will be held at the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Ill., during October, the dates to be announced in the next issue of New Church Life.-Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, Secretary.
CHARTER DAY 1936

              1936

     All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., October 23 and 24, 1936.

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PEARL OF GREAT PRICE 1936

PEARL OF GREAT PRICE       Rev. F. E. WAELCHLI       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI          OCTOBER, 1936          No. 10
     "The Kingdom of the heavens is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went away and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matthew 13:45, 46.)

     The kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom wherein the Lord is King, thus heaven and the church. Of it we pray," Thy kingdom come." Earnestly should we seek it, and with all the heart should we treasure it. It is the kingdom of peace, blessedness, delight, joy, and beauty. In our text it is compared to a pearl of great price, and the more we reflect upon this comparison, the greater becomes its meaning.

     How wonderful is a beautiful pearl, with its brilliant luster, its varying tints, its clearness, purity, and transparence! It delights, charms, and moves the affections. One can well understand the spirit of the merchantman seeking goodly pearls, who, finding one of great price, sold all that he had and bought it. The merchantman spoken of was one who loved his use for its own sake, and not primarily for the sake of gain. He delighted in the merchandise in which he dealt,-in the pearls which he bought and sold. His very life was in them, and so, when he found this most precious pearl, no sacrifice was too great, that he might come into possession of it, and we can picture his great joy in it.

     But it is not only a merchant, dealing in pearls and loving them, that finds such pleasure in them.

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It is the same with everyone who loves the beautiful. Who does not delight in wearing pearls, or in seeing them worn! It is so even in the heavens. Our doctrines tell of a wedding in heaven, at which the bridegroom gave the bride a necklace of pearls (C. L. 20); also of an angel-wife of the highest heaven, who wore bracelets of pearls. (C. L. 42.) Further, we are told of heavenly auras of resplendent pearly light (A. C. 1116); and of atmospheres of great pearls, transparent from their centers, and shining with the brightest colors. (A. C. 1621.) Then, too, in the Book of Revelation, John, describing his vision of the New Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven, declares that its "twelve gates were twelve pearls, every gate of one pearl."

     Let the thought of each one rest for a moment upon some most precious pearl,-let us say, the most beautiful in all the world; and let each one suppose that it is within his power to obtain it, either for himself or for some one he loves. How greatly it would be treasured, not merely because of its value, but because of the appeal inherent in its beauty. How wonderful would be the happiness in its possession! Picturing this in imagination, let each one now ask himself: Does the kingdom of heaven mean all this, and more, to me? Is this kingdom for me so precious a pearl that I would be willing to sell all that I have in order to obtain it; that is, to renounce all things of self-love and the love of the world, in order that I may come into the possession of it? Has the beauty of that kingdom, its everlasting joy and bliss, this appeal for me? Does it most deeply move my affections and fill the heart with delight?

     Everyone who loves that pearl which is the kingdom of heaven, and who longs to possess it, can obtain it. The way is open for him to acquire the gold and silver which will buy it. The gold is good received from the Lord, and the silver is truth, likewise received from Him by means of His Word. "The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went away and sold all that he had, and bought it."

     In the spiritual sense of the Word, a "merchant" signifies those who have knowledges of good and truth, and "merchandise" signifies the knowledges themselves. Each kind of merchandise signifies some particular kind of knowledge. In Old Testament times, Tyre was the great merchant-nation of the world, and it signifies knowledges of good and truth.

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Our first lesson (Ezekiel 27) spoke of the commerce of that nation, this signifying the procuring and imparting of knowledges. In order that the kingdom of the heavens may be established in us, the merchant in us must perform his use. Knowledges of good and truth must be acquired; for from them come spiritual intelligence and wisdom, wherein heaven consists.

     Such knowledges are in a most eminent sense signified by pearls. This is evident from what has already been said in regard to their quality,-their luster, varying tints, clearness, purity, and transparence. But by them are not meant knowledges which abide only in the memory, and so have in them little, if any, light, but such as are applied to life, and so are full of light and beautifully iridescent. They are knowledges from the Word as they are with those who seek the kingdom of the heavens, and who are meant by the "merchantman" in our text. It is said that he sought goodly pearls, or (as the word tan also be rendered) beautiful pearls,-beautiful be cause of the light of heaven which inflows into them, causing them to glow with all the colors of a heavenly rainbow.

     He who is a spiritual merchantman will find these pearls when he goes to the Word in its letter, and sees, in heavenly light, the truths there given. Truths seen when a man reads the Word in its letter appear in a beauty such as is perceived at no other time. He to whom it is granted to know the spiritual and celestial senses of the Word, as revealed by the Lord in the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church, sees the truths of those interior senses in such beauty when they shine forth for him from the Word of the Old and New Testaments. The beauty is that of the pearl. Every truth thus drawn from the letter of the Word is a goodly, a beautiful, pearl, to him whose heart is set on the kingdom of the heavens.

     Specifically, therefore, pearls signify the knowledges of truth and good from the letter of the Word. This is what they mean when it is said that the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem are twelve pearls. It is through these gates of pearl that there is entrance into the New Jerusalem. He alone can enter the Holy City, he alone can be of the church and of heaven, with whom there are these gates of pearl,-truths from the letter of the Word seen in heavenly light,-in that light which is of the "power and great glory" of the Word's internal sense, now revealed, wherewith the Lord makes His Second Coming in the "clouds of heaven," which are the Word's letter; and truths call be seen in that light only by him for whom they are truths of life.

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     It is said of the merchantman that he "sought" goodly pearls. The pearls must be sought, that they may be found. Love seeks that which it desires. And as man is conscious of his love in his affections, it may also be said that affection seeks that for which it longs. There must be an affection for pearls, for the knowledges of good and truth; otherwise they will never be acquired. And this affection must be spiritual in its character, and not merely natural.

     Knowledges are gathered from merely natural affection when the person has as his end reputation, honor, or gain, or even the mere self-satisfaction of possession. In such case the knowledges are not loved for their own sake, but for the sake of self and the world. It is for this reason that no light or beauty can be in them. Far different is the case when the seeking is from the spiritual affection of truth; for this has as its end eternal life and the uses of that life. Those who are in such affection love truths because they are truths, thus apart from the world's glory, honor, and gains; and those who love truths apart from such considerations love the Lord; for the Lord is in man in truths acquired from such love. The truths he finds are pearls. He who seeks these pearls, he who from spiritual affection loves truths above every good of the world, cannot otherwise than turn daily to the Word of the Lord. His affection impels him to it. His ardent love to gather heavenly pearls is his very life. There will be with him no anxiety in regard to finding them. Yet there will be solicitude. For he longs that the pearls should be "goodly,'' that they should be full of the light of heaven and its beauty. And because he is solicitous in this respect, he supplicates the Lord to lead and guide him in his reading of the Word, and to bestow the pearls upon him.

     Most wonderfully is his prayer answered. For it is granted him to find the one pearl of great price. This one pearl is knowledge of the Lord. Yet something more than knowledge. It is knowledge that is at the same time acknowledgment. The man had previously been in the acknowledgment of the Lord; for this was present in all his seeking for goodly pearls. But that acknowledgment had not been for him the one pearl of great price.

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Gradually, in the course of his seeking goodly pearls, there comes to a man the recognition of his one pearl, and thus the finding of it. He comes to see that knowledge of the Lord includes all the knowledges of the Word, and conjoins them into one. And so, wherever he reads in the Word, he sees the Lord, and seeing, acknowledges.

     The knowledge of the Lord is the universal of all things of doctrine, and thence of all things of the kingdom of the heavens. From it all worship derives its life and soul,-not only external worship, but also that internal worship which consists in a daily life that is well-pleasing to the Lord. It is because this is the one knowledge that every gate of the New Jerusalem is "one pearl"; for although the gates are twelve in number, yet all the various general knowledges which they signify have relation to the one knowledge, which is their containant.

     Let it be realized what is meant by the acknowledgment of the Lord. As is now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines from the Word in its letter, it means the acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one only God, the one only Divine Man, in whom dwells the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The seeing of Him, the seeing of Him everywhere in the Word, is the one pearl of great price. Not so, however, an acknowledgment of a trinity of three divine persons; for this is like a pearl divided into three parts, which, consequently, is utterly ruined. (T. C. R. 184.)

     It is in the reading of the letter of the Word that man finds the goodly pearls. And there also will he find the one pearl of great price. For there will he see, as a pearl of wondrous beauty, that knowledge of knowledges which is knowledge of the Lord; and in the knowledge there will be an acknowledgment, which most deeply moves heart and soul and mind to love of Him. So will it be wherever he may read in the Word.

     As an illustration of how the acknowledgment of the Lord should be the one pearl in all the Word, let us take the Lord's Prayer, which is a summary of the entire Word. The prayer opens with the acknowledgment of Him as the Father in the heavens. And this enters into all the petitions. We pray that His Name may be hallowed, that His kingdom may come, that His will may be done, that He may give us our daily bread, that He may forgive us our debts, and give us strength to forgive our debtors, that He may not lead us into temptation, but that He may deliver us from evil.

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And the prayer closes with the acknowledgment that His is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. In this prayer, the man who has found the one pearl of great price acknowledges the Lord in its every word. His thought rests upon Him, and upon Him alone, as the merciful Giver of all good.

     He who has found the one precious pearl desires to possess it, desires that it shall be the all of his life. He indeed comes into possession of it as soon as he finds it. Yet it does not so seem to him. For he is humble, and recognizes how very faint and weak is his acknowledgment of the Lord, how much there is in him that prevents that acknowledgment from being truly living in him. He feels that he has not the gold and silver, the good and truth, wherewith the pearl can be bought; and that he cannot buy it until he first "goes away, and sells all that he has."

     By his "going away" is meant that he fights against his evils, fights against everything that he recognizes in himself as preventing his coming into a fuller acknowledgment of the Lord, into a fuller looking to Him for guidance, into a fuller trust in Him in all things of life. This is meant by his "going away"; for when man fights against evil he is away from what is heavenly, and near to hell; for evil is of hell. In this combat against evil, he "sells all that he has," that is, he alienates, or puts away, what is of his selfhood, what is his own, and not the Lord's with him.

     In the degree in which man does this, the Lord bestows upon him the good and truth by which the one precious pearl can be bought. More and more does he come into possession of it. More and more is the Lord the All in all of his life. More and more does he see the Lord, and Him only, in His Word. And so also does this man, by means of states ever more truly heavenly, enter again and again through the pearly gates into the New Jerusalem. For he who is truly of the church enters in again and again; he enters in whenever the spiritual affection of truth imparts a new state and quality to his life. And so the Holy City becomes more and more his abode, throughout life in this world, and in heaven forever. Amen.

LESSONS: Ezekiel 27:1-27. Matthew 13: 33-52. Doctrine of the Lord, 1 (title) and 2.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 532, 553, 612.
PRAYERS: LITURGY, nos. 95, 190.

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JOY OF HARVEST 1936

JOY OF HARVEST       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1936

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     It is probable that Thanksgiving,-the feast of the ingathering of the fruits of the ground,-is the oldest of all human festivals. It has been celebrated by every nation and people in all ages. It goes back even to the Most Ancient Church; and the fact that it was observed at that time is involved in the story of Genesis. You remember that Adam had two sons,-Cain and Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. When the harvest was gathered, Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and the finest of his sheep. Both of them came to give thanks to the Lord for the rich blessings they had received, and to rejoice in the increase of riches which had been given them. Ever since that time, men have come each year, when the grain has been cut and gathered into barns, when the fruit has been garnered from the trees and the vines, to express gratitude to the Lord for His bountiful Providence. And always the harvest-home is attended with feasting, and song, and dancing, and joy of heart.

     There are two things connected with the harvest, namely, rejoicing and thanksgiving. We rejoice because we receive a plentiful reward for faithful work, for long and patient labor. The harvest is given only as the result of effort and striving. The ground must be ploughed and harrowed. Seeds must be sown. Weeds must be pulled up. Insects which would kill the plants must be destroyed. Beginning in the spring, we must work through all the heat of the summer, while the plants are growing, producing leaves and flowers.

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Only as the result of this care and labor does the fruit come at last to provide food for the long winter months. When the fruit is ripe, it must be gathered and prepared; and only after all this has been done do we receive the reward of our labor. Then is the time of rest and rejoicing.

     But while there are things which men must do,-things that seem difficult to accomplish if the harvest is to be reaped,-there is very much more that the Lord must do. If the Lord did not give us the seed, the soil, the sun, the rain, all our labor would be in vain; for we could not provide these things, and without them there could be no harvest. For this reason we not only rejoice because of a rich reward for our work, but we praise the Lord, and give thanks to Him for doing all those things which we could not do, acknowledging that the harvest really is a gift of His Divine love and mercy.

     This is true of the produce of the ground. But it is also true of other things, which are even more valuable, more to be desired and appreciated than the natural harvest. It is true of the things which the Lord provides for our happiness in the other world. This fact the Lord taught to His disciples by the parable which was read from the Word. He said that "the kingdom of heaven is as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day; and the seed should spring up and grow he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."

     Heaven, with all its everlasting blessings, is here compared to the harvest. And our life on earth is compared to the rest of the year,-the spring and summer in which the seed is growing. For this heavenly harvest also we are required to work. We must study, and learn, storing knowledges in our minds as seed is planted in the ground. We must learn what is true, and distinguish it from what is false. We must cherish the truth, obey it, protect it from evils which would destroy it. We must learn the Lord's Commandments, that we may keep them, and must resist every temptation to do the things which are sins against God.

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This is the work which the Lord requires of us, and without which He cannot give us the harvest of heavenly happiness.

     But, even as it is with the little seeds, so it is that, while we are doing this work, the Lord is doing many things which we cannot do, and without which there would be no harvest. He gives us His Word, from which we may learn His Commandments. He gives us minds, by which we may understand the truth. He gives us power to fight against evil spirits who would tempt us to reject the truth. He prepares a place for us in heaven, where we may find perpetual happiness after death.

     Now while this work of learning to know and to do the Lord's will goes on all through our life on earth, and the harvest is not gathered until after we pass into the other world, still the Lord gives us some return for our labor, some harvest, even while we are on earth. You study for a few weeks or for a month, and then you have a review, in which you gather together what you have learned, and store it up in your memory, as in a storehouse, from which you can take it as you need it. Every time you do this you reap a harvest, which is rich and full just in proportion to the work you have done. If you have paid close attention in class, and have faithfully done the tasks assigned to you at home, you will find the review easy, and you will receive a high mark to show that your harvest has been rich. But if you have neglected your work, if you have done as little as possible, and have spent your time in playing, then the crop will fail, and you will receive little or no reward.

     Again at the end of each school-year, you will have a longer review, gathering together all the things which have been learned over several months. This is a greater harvest. And if you have done your work faithfully and well, you are promoted to a higher class, or even to a higher school. When you have grown up, you reach the time when you are finished with school, and then you have a still greater harvest, called graduation. Then you are ready and prepared to go out into the world, and to perform a use to others.

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In this use you start at the bottom, doing simple things and small tasks for which you receive a small reward. But if you are faithful in your work, you will be advanced, given higher positions, greater responsibility, greater opportunity to be of service to others. And each time you reap a harvest, as a reward of your labor.

     Those who perform a great use to others derive therefrom, not merely the reward of money, but the greater reward of the approval, gratitude, and love of their fellowmen. And they are long remembered with affection, even after they have died. Such were all great men whose names have come down to us from the past, because of the uses they performed.

     But most of all, those are blessed with a rich harvest who, in fulfilling a use to others in this world, are at the same time serving the Lord, learning and keeping His Commandments, living in accord with the laws of justice, and honor, and honesty, showing kindness and mercy. These are fighting against the evil spirits that bring unhappiness and suffering to men, and helping in the Lord's work of imparting something of the happiness of heaven to men, even on earth.

     In all these harvests, there is gladness and rejoicing because of work well done, and because of rich blessings which the Lord pours out upon all who keep His Word. In all of them, while we are called upon to work, faithfully and well, the Lord is doing thousands of things which we cannot do, in order that we may enjoy the fruits of our labors.

     When we gather on Thanksgiving, therefore, to worship the Lord, and to enjoy a feast of good things which have been given as the harvest of the earth, let us think of these other harvests which are so much more important, and let us determine that we will do our part,-the little part which the Lord asks of us,-in order that He may bless us with the riches of heaven. And let us lift up our hearts with our hands in praise and thanksgiving to Him for all His infinite mercies toward us.

LESSONS: Genesis 4:1-5. Mark 4:26-29.
MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 200 (131), 104, 196 (123).

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1936

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936

     A Shift of Series.

     Many dutiful Arcana readers find the seriatim reading difficult because the exposition does not always clearly indicate the series of the internal sense-in part owing to the interpolation of much confirmatory material and many proof-texts, and the injection of many elucidating doctrinal details. Yet it is most important that the series be seen, for this is the connecting universal which orders the whole to its specific purpose.

     From May to October, the "Daily Readings" assign the chapters which expound Genesis 48 to 50 and Exodus 1 and 2, recounting the last days of Jacob and Joseph, the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt, and the birth, salvation, right and marriage of Moses. In a series of the stories from Abram to Joseph, the general subject involved is the glorification of the Lord's Human. But in a few of the chapters the Arcana explanation abruptly shifts to the internal historical sense, as in Genesis 34 and 38, or to the series of the church, or of man's regeneration. The latter is sometimes introduced as a series of reflections entertained in the Lord's mind while in His Human, on the subject of man's salvability; or else as human parallels which make intelligible the more profound states of His Human.* Yet the general series is still clearly that of the Lord's glorification.
     * See "The Connection of Series in the Word," New Church Life, 1932, pp. 537-546.

     But after the 40th chapter, it becomes increasingly difficult for the reader to discern that the exposition actually refers to the glorification, and this because the subject is now the glorification of the interiors and ultimates of the Natural, and the means by which the Lord disposed His Natural and His Sensual degrees before making them Divine.

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The states treated of are chiefly those which the Lord visualized within His Human as traceable to maternal heredity, and such states run parallel to the possible states of the church on earth. The Lord "not only regenerated, but also glorified Himself." (A. C. 3138.) The processes by which the Lord ordered and subdued the human states of the natural man in Himself, prior to their entire removal, corresponded to the modes by which He regulates and subdues man's natural affections and leads him to become spiritual. Indeed, the Lord glorified His Human through His very efforts to redeem and regenerate men, and to build up a spiritual church. Therefore the Arcana series on the Glorification seems to dissolve into a treatment of man's regeneration, and of the issues of the church, and this without any notice of a change of series.

     With the 49th chapter, the series on the Glorification apparently concludes (6497), and a new series begins-now concerned with the redemption and establishment of the spiritual church, which is signified by the exodus of Israel out of Egypt. Yet, even here, there is no real break in the continuity of the internal sense, for the glorification of the Human of the Lord proceeded in and through His redemptive work. And the drama of regeneration was first of all enacted in the mind of the Lord, which is now laid open to human eyes in the Arcana Coelestia.

     Ephraim Preferred.

     Jacob, in blessing Joseph's two sons, reversed his hands so as to lay his right hand on Ephraim, although-as Joseph remonstrated-Manasseh was the firstborn. This was permitted as a representation that, in the spiritual church, faith is given a place prior to charity, although, when enlightenment comes, man perceives that good is prior to truth. Truth is given the preference in the spiritual church, and the new will ("Manasseh ") is implanted by the Lord through the truths of faith (6222). But it is only "lest man should perish that the Lord provided that he might be regenerated as to the intellectual part"; for the old will has become so depraved that "now there are few with whom there is any soundness in the voluntary part, thus few who can become celestial men, but many who can become spiritual" (6296). Who may these few be?

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     That Ephraim should become greater than Manasseh suggests that the spiritual genius will prevail in the race on our earth.

     Ephraim and Manasseh were adopted as Jacob's or Israel's children, because the spiritual man is derived from spiritual good in the interior natural. Joseph's later issue-of which we never hear-was to have been his own, and would signify the celestial man, established in the rational (6240, 4286). The rational consists in inwardly seeing and perceiving that good is good and that truth is truth; but since such perception, which is from heaven, is not directly given with our race, the "celestial" must develop within the spiritual; and hence Joseph had no later offspring.

     "The intellectual of the church," which is represented by Ephraim, is "to perceive from the Word what the truth of faith is, and what the good of charity is"; or "in man's perceiving, when he reads the Word and carefully compares one passage with another, what is to be believed and what is to be done." This is possible with "the enlightened." But enlightenment is not a mere skill in persuasively confirming the tenets which the church teaches, nor in being dexterous in confuting heresies (6222); "for there is nothing which cannot be confirmed, this being the work of ingenuity, not of intelligence, still less of wisdom" (6500). Neither does enlightenment mean states such as those of the self-styled "Illuminati,"-mystics who relied upon their own "inner light" or imagined personal guidance from the Holy Spirit. The intellectual of the church, which can receive into itself the blessing of Israel (spiritual good), is "to perceive and see, before any tenet is confirmed, whether it be true or not; and then to confirm." (6222.)

     This blessing is the affection of charity (Israel), which is felt as "quietness and blessedness in doing good to one's neighbor without any view to recompense." And this affection is to inspire "Ephraim and Manasseh," that is, to inflow into the more external state of "willing and doing good from truth, because it is so commanded in the Word" (6299).

     The Prophecy Involved in Charity.

     Israel's blind eyes saw clearly into the future of the twelve tribes; and by his dying predictions are described the various states that will develop in the regenerate life after the good of faith ("Jacob") has lost its self-consciousness and its artificiality and ostentation, and has sunk deeply into man's spirit as a spontaneous motive of charity.

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This is described by Jacob's death. For it is "Jacob" who dies; "Israel" lives on in spirit!

     The states which are potentially involved in a regenerate beginning are thus described. Faith alone, which is always an attendant danger to the spiritual church, is condemned in the persons of Reuben, Simeon and Levi. Types that are characteristic of states within the church are pictured: those who are useful for propagating doctrine, yet are without enlightenment ("Zebulon"); those who at first "dispense good only to those who can recompense, and pass by the rest who are in greatest need" ("Issachar"); those who are in truth, but are liable to false reasoning, because not yet in good ("Dan"); those in works from truth only, and who therefore lack judgment ("Gad"); those who have contentment of mind from good affections ("Asher"); those who, after temptations, enjoy a new freedom of the natural affections ("Naphtali"); and those who are eager to deliver the good from the evil ("Benjamin").

     Judah and Joseph are dwelt upon at length,-Judah signifying the celestial kingdom, which was entrusted with the exalted, if transitory, function of ordering the spiritual before the Coming of the Lord (6363-6380); and Joseph signifying the celestial or highest development of the spiritual kingdom, which-empowered from the Divine Human-by gradual purification rises above the good of charity "even to celestial mutual love," which is the external of the celestial kingdom, and thus serves as a medium between the two higher heavens.

     The Brethren and Joseph.

     With the death of Jacob, a new series begins at chapter 50, a series which is difficult to connect. But it might assist us if we reflect that when charity, from being an act of self-compulsion, passes over into a spontaneous love, safely preserved within the spiritual mind and the interior memory, which is beyond our awareness,-a transition which is signified by Jacob's burial in Canaan,-then a new state begins in the external mind, which must now suffer many adjustments and judgments.

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     The truths of doctrine ("the brethren") as it were fear that they will be found guilty-as out of tune with the celestial internal of conscience ("Joseph"). For the conscious function of all doctrine is to teach charity; and in this state charity is no longer self-consciously with them. Self-accusation comes to the laboring mind, with a sense of unworthiness, as if one's opinions, after all, do not reflect the ends of neighborly love.

     But when a man's opinions lie prostrate before conscience (like the brethren before Joseph), a new conscious beginning can be made, and this, now less ambitious, retraces his path of progress into the line of obvious duty and daily work; and thus he comes into the infestations from which only a Divine deliverance can save him, but which he must experience if he is to become of the spiritual church.

     Joseph Embalmed.

     Joseph's death signifies a removal of the celestial internal, or the withdrawal of the interior conscience from the realm of the external mind, as takes place when man is infested or tempted. In connection with the Jewish-people, his embalmment in Egypt, and the carrying of his bones thence at the time of the Exodus, signified the preservation with the Jews of only the dead externals of the Ancient Church, that they might serve for a representation of a church through their rites, customs and architecture.

     The state of a consummated church is similar to that of the Jews. The likeness of religion remains, in ritual and custom, in public opinion and morals. But the vital breath, the understanding of spiritual uses, has departed. "The external remains still; moreover, the external is such that it has within it an internal; and yet this internal is not then with man, because he does not think about it; or if he does think about it, he is not affected by it; but it is with the angels who are with man. . . . Thus the internal of the church is preserved, lest it should be harmed by evil" (6595).

     The Afflictions of Israel.

     A new Pharaoh arose, who "knew not Joseph." Israel, increasing in numbers while bowing before its taskmasters, represents the state of the renewed church when good acts the first part and is made fruitful by the multiplication of its truths of faith, while increasing infestation by evils and falsities in the natural mind confirms and unifies it.

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The hells then seek to immerse in falsities every truth as it appears, even as Pharaoh commanded his people to drown every male child born to the Hebrews.

     Moses, "drawn from the waters."

     The birth, education and early life of Moses supremely represents "the commencements of the law Divine in the Lord's Human," and "the progress of this law," by degrees, until He was made the very law Divine and one with Jehovah (6714, 6766, 6827). This Divine advance, however, transcends human understanding (6716, 6827), and therefore the exposition relates instead the beginnings and successive states of truth Divine with the regenerating man.

     The truth signified by Moses is not the hearsay truth which is of the doctrine of a man's church, but the truth which man of himself acknowledges from the Word as truth, and which he loves as a principle of life. Hence it is called "truth Divine," and this although at first it is not esteemed, but is surrounded in the mind with "goods mixed with evils and falsities" signified by the ark of rush daubed with bitumen. Later it becomes recognized and distinguished as definite knowledge, which defends truths against false scientifics, even as Moses slew the Egyptian.

     But to see the issue between truths and the opposite falsities is one thing, and "to settle differences between matters of faith within the church" is quite another-indeed, a task suitable only for men "of more advanced age," who have the interiors of their understandings enlightened (6766); and even the enlightened intellectual "discriminates between apparent truths and real truths, especially between falsities and truths, although it does not judge about real truths in themselves" (7233:3). The Lord alone sees truths as they are ill themselves. Much harm can be done by a premature "taking of sides" in church controversies, when convictions are often formed merely from faith in men or from hasty confirmations. And therefore Moses took in good part the warning of the Israelite who said, "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?"

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     Moses-and Swedenborg.

     The flight of Moses to Midian, and his subsequent call by the Lord, offers certain pregnant parallels to the events of the most crucial period in Swedenborg's life.

     Moses dwelling by a well in Midian signifies a study of the Word in the sphere of the simple good, who are in simplicity of external faith in the literal sense, and in a life of obedience, but not in any interior truth, and not clearly illustrated by spiritual light.

     When evil shepherds monopolized the well, Moses helped the seven daughters of the priest of Midian to water their flocks, which signified that "truths of the law from the Divine" assist those who are in holy acknowledgment of the Word to instruct the good, in spite of false teachings and evil teachers. And in such reverent states there is an influx of the internal sense of the Word which secretly conjoins them with heaven, even though the internal sense be entirely unknown (6789); just as Moses, although known only as an Egyptian, came to eat bread in the house of Reuel.

     Swedenborg also found a brief refuge from the two Egypts of his native church and of scientific skepticism, by sojourning unknown within a Moravian community which was at that time in a good external state. (Diary of 1744, 202, 264; S. D. 3488, 3492.) And thence he was Divinely led through deserts of temptation to the very presence of the Lord, like a new Moses, to be called as an instrument of redemption and revelation.
MOSES 1936

MOSES              1936

     "Concerning Moses, who was seen.-The Jews asked the Lord that Moses might be shown to them, and he was therefore seen. He was then below in his own place where the ancients are, in a quiet state. He came to me also, and I spoke with him. He wits a serious man. He said that he seemed to himself to be a man of about fifty years of age, although in the world he had been 120 pears old; and that he has with him his five books, and also the ancient Word. I asked him about the Book of Jasher. He said that he has seen it, and told me that that Word is still with the ancients of his time, and is read. Also that he knows about the following Word which exists at this day, but does not read it. I recounted some of the things which he had written about certain ones in his five books, and he acknowledged them all, as if they were present to him." (Spiritual Diary 6107.)

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1936

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor               Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address and business communications should be sent to the Business Manager.

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents.
     SOME ERRORS IN TRANSLATION.

     We have recently noted several incorrect renderings of the Latin of the Writings in English versions, and believe they will be of interest to our readers as examples of those errors of statement or of doctrine which have crept into the English translations of the Theological Works, even with the best intentions of the translators.

     I.

     In the Standard Edition (1915) of The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, no. 187 reads as follows:

     "187. Those only who are being regenerated undergo spiritual temptations; for spiritual temptations are pains of mind induced by evil spirits with those who are in goods and truths. While those spirits excite the evils which are with them, there arises the anxiety of temptation. Man does not know whence this anxiety comes, because he does not know his origin."

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     The expression "his origin" should be "this origin" (hanc originem), namely, the exciting of evil by evil spirits, which is the origin of temptations. Perhaps "his" was a printer's error. In an earlier edition (1871) the passage is more correctly rendered: "Man does not know whence this anxiety comes, because he is unacquainted with its spiritual origin."

     II.

     In the American Edition (1904) of the Apocalypse Explained, a passage in no. 730:33 reads as follows:

     "He who knows what spiritual temptations are knows that when a man is in them he is so infested by evils and falsities as scarcely to know otherwise than that he is in hell; he knows, too, that the Lord fights in man against temptations from within" (tum quod Dominus apud hominem pugnet contra ill ex interiori).

     A correct rendering of the closing phrase would be: "also that the Lord with man fights against those [evils and falsities] from within," or that "the Lord with man fights from within against those [evils and falsities]," which is the true meaning of the passage. If it were "against temptations," the Latin would not be contra illa, but contra illas. That the pronoun illa here refers to the evils and falsities of hell, or the hells themselves, against which the Lord fights for man in temptations, is confirmed by the passage in the original handwriting, which reads: "tum guod Dominus apud hominem pugnet contra illa, ac subjugat inferna ex interiori." A line is drawn through the words "ac subjugat inferlza"-"and subjugates the hells,"-but they show that illa refers to the infesting evils and falsities. The same mistake is made in the Concordance, under "Temptation."

     An important point of doctrine is involved. In common speech we may indeed speak of fighting temptation, meaning a resistance when there is opportunity or enticement to do wrong or commit an evil in act. But in the Writings the term "temptation" is never used in this way, so far as we are aware, but involves all the phenomena attending a mental conflict between the goods and truths of conscience and the affections of evil and falsity. It is a combat between the good spirits and the evil spirits who are present with the man, and this is felt by him as anxiety as to which shall conquer in him, good or evil.

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The Lord is also inmostly present, fighting for the man, not against the temptation itself, without which he cannot be delivered from evil, but against the evil of hell, and rewards the man with the blessings of victory if he resist even to despair. He who is unable or unwilling to undergo temptations, that is, to meet evil in combat when it is aroused in him, such a one may fight against temptation and resist temptation itself. But he who is capable of regeneration, while he will not seek temptation, he will be prepared to resist and combat evil in temptation when it arises.

     This, briefly, is the sense in which the term "temptation" is used throughout the Writings. And in the light of this usage of our Doctrine we may understand the genuine sense of the Scripture, as where we read: "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41.) An injunction, not to guard against and be aware of temptation, but rather to be spiritually wakeful, vigilant, ready to meet evil and combat it, praying to the Lord for strength of spirit when the "flesh is weak,"-when evil spirits enter through the pleasures of the senses and the delights of the natural man, endeavoring to destroy the good affections of a spiritual conscience, and when they can only be defeated by a valiant resistance and bitter combat, and with the Lord's help.

     "That the Lord fights for man in temptation," see New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, no. 200. That we speak according to the appearance when we pray, "Lead us not into temptation," see A. C. 1875, 2768, 4299. For the Lord is not the cause of temptations; but man's evils, and the evil spirits who excite them, are the cause. And because evils cannot be removed, and goods appropriated in their place, except by man's victory, as of himself, in temptation combat, therefore we pray to the Lord, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," for without His aid there is no deliverance. Of like import are the Lord's own words in Gethsemane, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39.)

          III.

     In the very first English version of the Doctrine of Charity, made by Dr. James John Garth Wilkinson, published at London in 1839 and in many American reprints, a curious misreading of the original manuscript occurs in no. 101 of the work, which reads as follows:

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     "101. The externals of the body which belong to worship are: I. Going to church. II. Hearing sermons. III. Devoutly singing, and praying on the knees. IV. Taking the sacrament of the supper.

     At home also, I. Morning and evening prayer, and prayer at meals. II. Conversing on charity and faith, on God, heaven, life eternal, and salvation. III. And in the case of priests, preaching also, and private instruction. IV. And in the case of every man, communicating free and sincere instruction on religious matters. V. Reading the Word, and pious and instructive books."

     Dr. Wilkinson translated the work from two copies that had been made from the original handwriting, which is very difficult to read. And the phrase "communicating free and sincere instruction" should be "the instruction of children and servants," according to the Latin, "liberos et servos instruere," which had been misread "libere et sincere instruere." In subsequent English versions of the Doctrine of Charity, no. 174, we find the correct rendering of the passage, as in the Standard Edition: "4. And with everyone, the instruction of children and servants in such matters," that is, charity and faith, God, heaven, eternal life, and salvation.

     PRESERVATION OF THE MANUSCRIPTS.

     In the Advertisement or Preface of this first English edition of the Doctrine of Charity, Dr. Wilkinson, with typical zeal and earnestness, urges the preservation of the original manuscripts of Swedenborg's works,-a most worthy object which has now been attained, not by transcription, as he proposed, but by photographic reproduction of the original handwriting, making this directly accessible to the student and translator in all future time. As a pioneer in the cause, he would greatly rejoice to know of this accomplishment. He was also instrumental in dispelling the doubt, then existing, of the value of those works which Swedenborg himself did not publish by the press,-a doubt which has now largely disappeared in the New Church. As our readers will be interested in Dr. Wilkinson's cogent expression of his views on these subjects, we reprint them herewith:

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     ADVERTISEMENT.

     THE DOCTRINE OF CHARITY, now translated for the first time, is one of the numerous posthumous works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The original manuscript probably is in Sweden, but there are two copies of it in this country, one by Mr. Billberg, the other by Mr. Nordenskjold. In executing the present Translation, these manuscripts have been carefully collated, and the errors of each corrected by the other.

     I am at a loss to understand the apathy of individuals, and thence of Societies, in regard to those manuscripts of Swedenborg which are now in this country, and moreover, in this City. Differences of opinion may and possibly do exist as to the propriety of publishing them, but that there should be any division as to the propriety of preserving them by all the means in our power, I cannot for a moment imagine. By this preservation, we shall put future ages in the same position with ourselves, affording them the means of mooting the question of publication, and of judging whether or no such a course can, at any time, be wisely and prudently undertaken. As it is, we are settling (and this without any thought on our part either) that our posterity will not have, and ought not to have, any desire for that information on the spiritual world which is contained in the manuscripts of Swedenborg.

     The course I recommend is, that the "Society for Printing and Publishing the Writings of Swedenborg" should empower and require of its Committee to treat with the gentlemen who possess the manuscripts, and, after gaining their concurrence, immediately to engage competent persons in transcribing the manuscripts verbatim, in books to be made and kept for that purpose: or in case it should be incompatible with the Printing Society's objects to do this, that a new Society should be formed, for the sole purpose of "TRANSCRIBING AND PRESERVING THE MANUSCRIPTS OF SWEDENBORG." While I recommend this course, I must at the same time profess myself a warm advocate for the immediate publication in Latin of every iota the Author has left behind him, and especially, of ALL the Memorabilia contained in his Diary. We may fairly presume that the substance of what is valuable in Doctrine has already appeared in the works he published himself: but we have no reason to suppose that the facts disclosed in his Diary of Memorabilia are not new, wonderful, and instructive.

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Of my own knowledge I call certify that they are all this. But still I waive my opinion, and recommend the course of transcribing, (the way, recollect, in which the Holy Scriptures, and all other ancient books have descended to us), in order that the primary matter of preservation may not be periled by being confounded with that of immediate publication.

     On this subject, the Printing Committee, with creditable candor, condemns itself "for the small efforts made for the purchase of any manuscripts of Emanuel Swedenborg which may be extant, and upon which the progress of decay is doubtless going on."

     Dr. Tafel writes, "I have lately requested our friends in England to publish, in the original, all manuscripts of Swedenborg, they possess."

     Again he says, "It would be extremely beneficial to give, in Latin, all the remains which can now be procured. The difficulty of accomplishing this, accumulates every day that we remove from the time in which Swedenborg lived."

     M. Le Boys des Guays says, in his Magazine, "We join in the desire expressed by Dr. Tafel, and by many receivers of the Doctrines in France, to see in print the manuscripts which are in the
Library at Stockholm."

     He also adds, "The disciples in England cannot too speedily place beyond the ravages of time all the manuscripts which they possess or can discover," a sentiment which is cordially echoed by THE TRANSLATOR. Store Street, Bedlord Square, September 21, 1839.
NEW BOOK BY DR. IUNGERICH 1936

NEW BOOK BY DR. IUNGERICH              1936

     The New-Church Press, London, is shortly to bring out a new work, entitled The Soul and Its Representations, by the Rev. Dr. Eldred E. Iungerich, Pastor of the General Church Society in Paris. It will be a volume of about 260 pages, and when published will be on sale at the Academy Book Room at $1.50 per copy.

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MODE OF THE SECOND COMING 1936

MODE OF THE SECOND COMING       ELDRED E. IUNGERICH       1936

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I feel moved to make the following remarks in regard to the communication of the Rev. Wm. F. Wunsch, published in your June issue. The position of THE NEW CHRISTIANITY which he sponsors is, as I understand it, that the Writings of Swedenborg are only one small factor in effecting the Second Coming of the Lord, and that far more important factors are the development of modern science and a supposed replacement of the old doctrines in the bosom of the Old Churches by new views supposed to be counterparts of the Heavenly Doctrines.

     One of Mr. Wunsch's former pupils has quoted him to me as teaching that if New Church people, in spite of possessing the Writings, did not look outward to the world and the Old Church for signs of the Lord's appearing there, quite apart from any influence that the Writings have in that realm, our good people would be in danger of missing the real Coming of the Lord.

     Since reading his communication, I have added two short paragraphs to a book I am preparing for the press,-The Soul and Its Representations,-as epilogue to a section which treats of the Fourth Law of the Divine Providence, in regard to the Lord's operations for spiritual ends as being always by means of the Word and teachings thence. I would be pleased to have Mr. Wunsch's opinion of that book when it comes out, and hope these two brief paragraphs may whet his appetite for the meal. They are as follows:

     "74 a. In respect to the raising up of epochal Churches, and the new dispensational civilizations that environ them, history shows that fervor for a former Word, and what new freedom accompanies the sweeping away of the old regime, does no more than to maintain a state of willingness to receive the Word for the new church when it is presented. The mythological lore of the Greeks and Romans, derived from the Ancient Word; the Talmudic revival of interest in the Old Testament among the Jews; and the Neo-Platonic and other schools of philosophy among Gnostics; did no more towards developing a real Christianity than to keep intellectual and ethical interests alive until the Gospels. In their own light, could do the real building."

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     "74 b. The case is the same today. Revivals of fervor for the Bible, and the devotion of scientists to the discovery of fresh facts, and to the formulating of new theories that will take these into account, are merely keeping similar intellectual and ethical interests alive until the Writings, in their light, inaugurate the New and True Christianity. (S. S. 76-78; T. C. R. 167-276, 756-771.)"
     Respectfully yours,
          ELDRED E. IUNGERICH.
               Paris, July 12, 1936.
BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT 1936

BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT       Rev. CHARLES A. HALL       1936

     During a quiet period which we were able to enjoy not long ago, we realized that we had completed forty years' service in the Ministry of the New Church. The realization induced a reminiscent mood, and looking back over the years we were able to see how we had been led by the Divine Providence. But in the end we found ourselves thinking mostly of the manner in which we had been guided into the Ministry. The full story need not be told; it will be sufficient if we record two or three facts which illustrate a great truth which we feel moved to emphasize in these observations.

     In the first place, we recall that in our teens we accepted the beliefs adopted in the family circle. They were crude beliefs, including the literal inerrancy of the Bible, salvation by faith alone, the resurrection of the physical body, and the undying flames of hell in which the lost were to be eternally tormented. Authority, writ in capital letters, demanded the acceptance of these beliefs, and questioning was not permitted. But Authority, which had its way for a time, was not able to stifle questioning in the privacy of the mind. After a while the questioning attitude became pronounced, with the result that a period of agnosticism ensued. Then it was that we proudly proclaimed that we were engaged in the quest for truth. That quest led us into many byways and unorthodox associations. We were rather proud of our disposition; there was a good deal of youthful egoism in it. We like to think there was some genuine earnestness as well.

     Then, by what seemed to be mere chance, but which we now recognize as Providence, some of the teachings of the New Church were placed in our hands.

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They were received with avidity, and it was not long ere we were given opportunities for proclaiming them. Entrance into the Ministry was the sequel. We were glad to tell our associates that we had found the truth for which we had been seeking for some years, but were surprised that they were not particularly impressed by our enthusiasm.

     We insisted that we had found the truth, and, according to the appearance of things, we had. But as we look back from the vantage point of riper experience and maturer thought, we realize that what really happened was that the truth had found us. We now appreciate the fact that it is the Living Truth which stimulates questioning, research, and the truth-seeking disposition. It is Truth which creates the affection for Truth. As it is written in Arcana Coelestia, no. 9399: "Apart from the continual influx of the Divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord, man is utterly unable to perceive and understand anything whatever." It is quite right to say that we must have an affection of truth before we can perceive truth, but we must also understand that such an affection is a reactive response to the Spirit of the Lord, which makes us restless until we find rest in Him. Indeed, it is the Lord Who moves us to seek for truth, and it is He Who reveals it to us in accommodation to our moral and spiritual states. In the last analysis, Truth is not man's discovery, but God's revelation. Here is a fact we cannot over emphasize; the realization of it is basic to that which is the first thing in religion,-the acknowledgment of the Lord.

     We see quite clearly that our blundering and often blind quest for Truth, in which there was much personal activity, was stimulated from above, and that the Lord came to us, found us, when we accepted the teachings of the New Church. It was all due to His initiative.

     [Editorial Observations in The New-Church Herald, February 22, 1936.]

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     Ninety people were present at our New Church Day banquet, and as a hundred is about the capacity of the Hall, it seems we shall have to think of extensions very soon. Even now we feel crowded. The natural and spiritual foods at the banquet were excellent, but somehow the evening was not quite so spontaneous and lively as has hitherto been the case. I think everyone was depressed at the thought of losing Mr. and Mrs. Acton so soon. Mr. Acton was toastmaster, and very ably introduced the celebration of the birthday of the Doctrine of the New Church, making clear in a thrilling speech the ever new truth that "The Lord God Jesus Christ Doth Reign." A series of four excellent papers by Messrs. N. A. Ridgway, R. Mansfield, R. M. Ridgway and Scott Forfar, then dealt with the meaning of the words in Revelation 21:1-6, "And I, John, saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem. . . ." The informal part of the evening was enlivened by Viola Ridgway who bravely sang amusing original verses about various individuals, to the tune of "May they live in peace and clover!"

     Theta Alpha arranged the children's banquet the following evening. The decorations were in red and white: red poinsettias in bowls, red balloons hanging over the tables, red jellies and red raspberry juice; and the white cloths looked very attractive and gay. Five very interesting and well-read papers were presented: Bobby Cowley, "Clothes of the Angels"; Glenn Ridgway, "Divine Worship in Heaven"; Ray Cockerell, "Little Children in Heaven"; Joy Lowe, "Dwellings in Heaven"; Rona Ridgway, "Resurrection." Songs, toasts, and recitations of appropriate verses from the Word, were given between the papers. The banquet was one of the most successful ever enjoyed by the children.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Philip Odhner and family arrived at noon on Tuesday, June 30, and were met at the dock by several members of the society. They attended the school closing the same afternoon, and soon made themselves at home, and were liked by everyone.     

     The half-yearly school closing entertainment was a great success, and a fairly large audience was well pleased. The program included recitations by several of the children, a small play entitled, "The King's Breakfast," by the tiny ones, drill exercises by seniors and juniors, a Japanese dance, and songs sung in chorus.

     On July 3, a reception to the Rev. and Mrs. Philip Odhner was held in the Hall. The social committee arranged the room to look like a pretty tea garden, with hundreds of red poinsettias on the tables and at both ends of the room. Mr. Acton (Mrs. Acton, we are sorry to say, was not well that evening and was unable to attend), Mr. and Mrs. Odhner, and Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Ridgway, received the large number of guests. Mr. Acton and the Secretary of the Society, Mr. R. M. Ridgway made appropriate speeches of welcome, to which Mr. Odhner responded very fittingly. Everyone is very delighted with our new pastor and his wife; they inspire a sense of confidence and warmth, and we feel we are going to love them very much. The evening was very jolly; several amusing games were played, followed by refreshments.

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Informal dancing ended the evening at midnight.

     On July 5, a trousseau shower was given to Jean Cockerell at her home. She is to be married to Max Poynton on July 25. A happy evening was spent listening to funny verses written with each gift, of which Jean received numbers. A kitchen shower is to be given for her on July 14 at the home of Mrs. J. J. Forfar.

     Miss Denise Cockerell and Mr. Jimmy Stenhouse have also announced their engagement recently. We wish them every happiness.

     We are glad to see Mr. Melville Ridgway looking so much better since he and Mrs. Ridgway visited Zululand, and we hope he continues to improve in health.

     Very soon we shall have to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Acton and family. A Farewell Dance is to be given on July 31. They are spending a delightful last few weeks at Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Forfar's home, and many farewell gatherings are being arranged elsewhere.
     S. P.

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Celebration of June 19 at Cundycleugh, Natal.

     The 13th of June was the day appointed by the Lusitania Society to celebrate New Church Day, and also to give a farewell party to the Rev. and Mrs. Elmo C. Acton, who have been called to America by the Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Unfortunately, Mr. Acton was unable to come, owing to certain preparations for his journey.

     The Superintendent of the Mission, the Rev. F. W. Elphick, arrived with three other men who represented the New Church among the Basutos and in the Orange Free State. Rev. Jonas Motpi came by train from Greylingstad. Transvaal, where the late Berry Maqelepo was Pastor; he was met at the station by the Pastor of the Lusitania Society in a car.

     At 3 p.m. the celebration of the 19th of June commenced, and Mr. Acton's Letter to the Society was read by the Pastor. After the Chairman's opening remarks, Rev. J. M. Jiyana spoke on the subject of "The Twelve Disciples and the New Church," Rev. Motsi on "The New Church on Earth," Butelezi (student) on "The Four Preceding Churches," Mkize (student) on "Swedenborg's Preparation," Lunga (leader) on "The New Church Among the Few."

     The celebration interval was from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Then, at 6.05 p.m., commenced the celebration feast and also speeches from the members. The celebration was so pleasing that it took us almost six hours.
     J. M. JIYANA,
          Pastor, Lusitania Society.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     During the summer months, many members of the society have been away, but we have also welcomed many guests. The Rev. Homer Synnestvedt conducted services for several Sundays after the departure of the Rev. and Mrs. Willard Pendleton for their vacation. On one Sunday evening during Mr. Synnestvedt's stay, a basket picnic for the congregation was held on Mr. Walter Horigan's lot, adjacent to the home of Mr. J. Edmund Blair. About forty five attended, and after supper and games we gathered around the fire and sang songs and heard some fine impromptu speeches.

     The first meeting of the Woman's Guild was held at the home of Mrs. A. P. Lindsay on September 1. The following officers were elected: Mrs. G. P. Brown, president; Mrs. M. Emerson Good, vice president; Mrs. Donald H. Shoemaker, secretary; Mrs. S. S. Lindsay, Jr., treasurer; Mrs. A. P. Lindsay, housekeeper. With such a fine executive committee we feel that splendid things will be accomplished this year. Everyone is looking forward to the "Carnival" planned for early Fall, the proceeds of which are to go toward reducing the mortgage on the church property.

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     An interesting event of the summer was a "shower" for Miss Angella Bergstrom and Mr. John J. Schoenberger, held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Lechner on August 25. They received many lovely and useful gifts. Their marriage was solemnized in the church on Friday evening, September 4, our pastor officiating. The bride was attended by her sister, Miss Vera Bergstrom; her nephew, Barry Synnestvedt, was ring bearer. Mr. John W. Fraser was best man. A delightful reception in the auditorium followed the ceremony. We were pleased to welcome the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar A. Bergstrom, of Denver, Colo., and other guests who were present for the occasion.
     F. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     On the approach of a new season of activity in church uses, our pastor has issued a leaflet in which he calls the attention of the members of the congregation to their duties and privileges, stressing the reading of the Word and the Writings, regular church attendance, and adequate financial support.

     We are eagerly awaiting the resumption of the ever-popular Friday classes, and the day school will reopen with prospects of a large attendance of pupils.

     The "Subdivision" gave its annual carnival on August 22, with the usual successful display. Children's games started the show at 4 p.m., and the gathering did not disperse until late hour. Decorations and scores of colored lights made a beautiful picture.

     The Tennis Club is active, with contests between the various ages and classes and instruction of the young by our experts. On Labor Day the Club entertained with a cafeteria lunch and games.

     Among our visitors we note our good friend, Miss Dorothy Burnham; also Miss Rita Buell, for whom Miss Helen Maynard gave an enjoyable reception at her home, ladies of the society attending.

     Cedric King, who recently fell out of a tree in which he was at work and appeared to be seriously hurt, is, we are glad to report, whole again. He and Charles Cole, Jr., will attend the University of Illinois this Fall.
     J. B. S.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     With the passing of July and August, the two most inactive months in the external activities of our church have come and gone. At the Sunday services in July a number of visitors from other societies were with us. The church was closed for the four Sundays in August, during which time our pastor gained a long-earned rest from his pastoral duties, the first holiday of any duration he has enjoyed since he came to the Olivet Church.

     Under the leadership of Theta Alpha, the first Fall activity of the ladies of the society took the form of a double "shower" for two of our girls, Helen Anderson and Peggy John, who have the good fortune to be accepted as students in the Academy Schools at Bryn Athyn for the coming school-year. Many and varied articles, such as a young girl could most readily use during a sojourn at B. A., were received by these happy young ladies. These two newcomers, with one "old timer," Zoe Gyllenhaal, make a total of three girls simultaneously receiving the benefits of New Church high-school and college studies, this being the greatest number from Toronto in several years. One boy, David Richardson, will also be in attendance at the Academy, to represent the male element of our society.
     M. S. P.

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     BRYN ATHYN.

     The return of the many who have spent the summer months by the sea or in the mountains, and of a few who journeyed to foreign parts, has marked the beginning of a new season of activity in the various society and school uses.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn and family have come back to their Bryn Athyn residence, arriving from France on September 14.

     Earlier in the month, on September 4, the Rev. and Mrs. Elmo C. Acton, with their four children, arrived from Durban, South Africa, where Mr. Acton has been pastor for more than ten years, besides taking an active part in the work of the South African Native Mission. His new field of pastoral duties will include ministrations to the Advent Church in Philadelphia, Pa., and to the General Church groups meeting in Newark and Camden. New Jersey He will also teach several courses in the schools of the Academy.

     From abroad, also, Mr. Martin Pryke, son of Mr. and Mrs. Colley Pryke, of Chelmsford, England, has come to attend the Academy with the object of preparing for the ministry. Be was accompanied by his sister Ruth, who will continue her studies, begun last year, in the Girls' Seminary. From Sweden comes Harry Baeckstrom, son of the Rev. and Mrs. Gustaf Baeckstrom, to be a student in the Boys' Academy.

     Academy Schools.

     The opening exercises of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School were held in the Assembly Hall on Wednesday, September 16, at 9:30 a.m., a large audience and about 200 pupils being in attendance.

     Later in the morning, at 11 a.m., another good-sized audience was present in the Assembly Hall when the faculty and students entered for the opening ceremonies of the higher schools, inaugurating the Sixtieth School-year of the Academy of the New Church. The service was conducted by Bishop de Charms, assisted by Dean Charles E. Doering, who read the Lessons, Isaiah 55 and New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, 36-40. An excellent address was then delivered by the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, and it was an inspiration to teachers and students alike. He spoke on the subject of "The Aim of New Church Education." This aim, he showed, is one with the use of the Church, involving a preparation of the student for the opening of the faculty and powers of spiritual thought in the light of the Word as newly revealed for the New Church. In outward appearance, our curriculum of studies and other school activities differ little from those of other schools, but with us they are but the ultimate means of promoting the interior end and purpose of a distinctive New Church education. Unless we are willing to make sacrifices in the matter of external perfection, such an education cannot be established in these early days of the New Church.

     Enrollment

     The numbers registered in the various departments of the Academy are as follows:

Theological School           3
College                     26
Boys Academy                47
Girls Seminary                40
Elementary School               192
Total                     308

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DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES 1936

DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES              1936




     Announcements



     The Twenty-third Ontario District Assembly will he held at the Carmel Church, Kitchener, from Saturday, October 10, to Monday, October 12, 1936. Intending visitors are requested to communicate with Mr. Clarence Schnarr, 784 King St. West, Kitchener, Ont., Canada.-Rev. Alan Gill, Secretary.

     The Chicago District Assembly will be held at the Immanuel Church, Glenview. Ill., October 9-11, 1936.-Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, Secretary.

     The Pittsburgh District Assembly will be held at the Church of the Pittsburgh Society, 299 Le Roi Road, October 16-18, 1936.
CHARTER DAY 1936

              1936

     All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day Exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., October 23 and 24, 1936.

     On Friday, October 23, at 11 a.m., there will be a service in the Cathedral, with an Address by the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt. In the afternoon there will be a Football Game, and in the evening, at 7.00 p.m., a Banquet in the Assembly Hall.

     On Saturday, October 24, in the afternoon, a Tea will be given by the Faculty in Benade Hall, and in the evening, at 8.00 p.m., there will be a Dance in the Assembly Hall.

     Those expecting to attend are requested to notify Miss Freda Pendleton, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
STYLES OF WRITING 1936

STYLES OF WRITING              1936

     The Efficacy of Different Styles.

     "It was shown me to the life that there are some who study only brilliance of style, and keep their mind fixed upon a brilliant style and the applause it may bring, thus not upon the subject treated of, but solely that the writer may become celebrated because he treats of sublime things. While writing, he constantly reflects upon the praise and preeminence that may be his by reason of his style.

     "But such a style has no effect among those who are interior; for writers of this kind despise other writers and any style in which the subject is fully set forth to the grasp of the reader, the words and expressions following from the goodness of heart, looking to the amendment of the neighbor and his instruction. Then the subject matter forms the style of the writer, with each according to his gift. But with those in whom the style forms the subject matter, so that the reference is from the style to the subject, the writing is of no efficacy, because the subject matter does not govern the style." (Spiritual Diary 2993.)

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WATERS OF SILOAM 1936

WATERS OF SILOAM       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI      NOVEMBER, 1936          No. 11
     "When Jesus had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He spread the clay upon the eyes of the blind man, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." (John 9:6, 7.)

     The miracle here recorded is indicative of a spiritual change,-the impartation of a new faculty to the internal man, which is wrought by the Lord for all repentant souls who place themselves within His presence and sight. In bestowing the gift of sight upon a man born blind, in thus remaking and giving a new and richer meaning to his existence by what was virtually the gift of new life, the Lord taught that He can spiritually effect a similar transformation in the minds of all men,-that radical reorganization and reorientation of the spiritual faculties which is described in Sacred Scripture as "reformation."

     We recall the familiar events that led to the performing of this miracle. As the Lord was departing from the temple, where the Jews had sought to stone Him, He saw among the throng that had come to Jerusalem for the feast of tabernacles a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples questioned Him about this man, asking whether his own sin or that of his parents had caused his affliction. Answering, the Lord said he was such in order that the works of God might be revealed through him. Saying then that He must do the works of the Father while it was yet day, and that while He was in the world He was its light, the Lord made clay of earth and spittle, and covered the eyes of the blind man with the paste.

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There was a pool in the city, called "Siloam," in which He told the man to wash; and when he had done so, his eyes were opened.

     This simple account of an arresting miracle tells the whole story of human reformation. By the man born blind are typified all who are ignorant of truth, thus all the unregenerate. Sight is the reception of natural light, and spiritual sight the reception of spiritual light, which is the truth of faith; and this the unregenerate do not possess, though they may have formal knowledge about truth. Spiritually, therefore, all men are born blind. Like the man in the text, they are not without the faculty of seeing, but are prevented from exercising it by a foreign body which intervenes between the light and the spiritual organic designed for its reception. Only the healing touch of the Lord can remove this disability,-that touch which is Love's activity through Wisdom, the work of the Father that sent Him, and which is the reformation of the understanding. It is indeed a work entirely Divine, for it can be done only by the Lord, who, as the Divine Truth, is the Light of the world. And it must needs be done "while it is yet day,"-while the state of the mind is such that it can still be enlightened by Divine Truth. How the miracle is accomplished is also told in the text. For by the clay the truths of the letter of the Word are meant, and by the anointing therewith the gift of understanding through the agency of those truths. These truths are also represented by the waters of the pool of Siloam, and to wash therein is to be purified from evils and falsities. In this simple story, therefore, are revealed the source and meaning of reformation, and the means whereby, it is effected.

     Not all men, however, are reformed by the Lord. Reformation, like every other heavenly gift, is extended to all, but it is accepted only by the few who prepare themselves in ways prescribed by the Lord for its reception. And the things in which this preparation consists may also be learned from a careful consideration of the story. Certain weighty things are implied in this story, although there is no direct reference to them, and these things supply the key.

     It may seem unnecessary to say that if the blind man had not been there when the Lord passed out of the temple he could not have been gifted with sight.

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Yet his presence in the outer precincts of the temple in Jerusalem during the feast of tabernacles,-an act of obedience to the law which required attendance at that festival,-is pregnant with spiritual meaning; for, spiritually understood, it represents the only state of mind into which the Lord can enter to effect the reformation of the understanding.

     Jerusalem, and especially the temple therein, represents the church, which is a permanent state of love to the Lord and faith in Him as the Truth. But, among the many states of the church, the one denoted by the feast of tabernacles is specifically that state in which good is being formed in the mind,-the state in which the holy of love from the Lord is being received, and given back as love to the Lord and charity to the neighbor. Involved in this simple fact, therefore, is the important teaching that the Lord can effect reformation only for those who are moved by affection and obedience to the Word to introduce themselves mentally into the sphere of spiritual things, although they cannot as yet see those things. For it is in spiritual things that the Lord is present; and He can give spiritual sight only to those who, by entering into their sphere, come into His presence, and mutely beseech His aid. When this has been done; when, like the one born blind, the man of the church stands as to his spirit in the place where the Lord will pass by; that is, when he puts himself within the sphere of the extension of the Divine Love and Wisdom; then the Lord can work the miracle which bestows sight upon eyes that have never seen. He alone can do this. Reformation, like the regeneration for which it is a further preparation, is a work entirely Divine. For we may recall that, before reformation can take place, there is a work for man to do as of himself,-the work of repentance; and this fact, too, is implicit in the story. Some reflection upon what took place, and upon its implication, will show that this is so.

     A paste of clay was spread over the man's sightless eyes, denoting reformation of the understanding. But this, in itself, did not give him sight; for he was then commanded to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, and it was when he had done so that sight was received. Deep arcana are involved in this fact. For in the first act, which signified reformation, he participated only to the extent that he suffered the Lord so to anoint him, whereas in the second act, which represented actual purification by repentance, and by which he actually received sight, he himself was actively engaged.

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It is also of deep significance that the Lord did not assure him that this washing would give him sight, for by this his faith was tested. And an important truth is thus revealed,-that it is not the Lord's way definitely to promise heaven even before repentance begins, but to grant it to those who undertake the works of repentance because they are commanded, and who do them in the sincere conviction that to do what the Lord requires can lead only to a good end, even if they cannot understand why they are led into the ways in which they have to go. To all such faithful souls, who alone perform worthy repentance, the Lord grants spiritual sight where before was blindness.

     Thoughtful consideration of what is really involved in this miracle will show all that is meant by reformation, as the term is employed in the Heavenly Doctrine. First, it must be realized that its significance is not merely in the opening of the eyes; that is only a change in the spiritual organic; but its profound significance lies in the far-reaching consequences of the opening of the eyes, representing an organic change which reveals to the understanding an entirely new world, a world so new that to meet it the content of the understanding must be reorganized and reorientated, with the result that it becomes a new understanding.

     Consider for a moment what it means on the physical plane to be born blind. Those who are so afflicted are hopelessly conditioned by the tragic fact that they can have no true concept of the phenomena of the material world that make up their natural environment. Such ideas as they possess must needs be imperfect, being built up from within, without any corrective from without; they are built up from the mind itself, and not from the objects they are intended to reconstruct. And such concepts, fashioned upon a distorted idea of form, and lacking all knowledge of color, are phantasies having no basis in objective reality. Discrimination is lacking. At best, such concepts are ideograms; at worst, dream pictures on the canvas of the mind of scenes unknown. Attitudes giving form to the mind are built up; and if those eyes could be opened, there would be vital need for a series of fundamental readjustments so profound that the result would be virtually anew mind and a new life.

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     It is the same with the understanding of man before reformation opens his spiritual sight. Equally grave disabilities condition his spiritual life. Environed spiritually by good and truth, and by evil and falsity, he can have no true concept of the quality of those things which are the phenomena of the spiritual world. All his ideas of what constitutes good and truth, and what evil and falsity, are incorrect. They are not derived from without, that is, from the Word, but from within, from his own mind, and are thus subtly modified by his hereditary tendencies to evil. Truth is the form of good, and falsity the form of evil; and, lacking that knowledge of spiritual form which is derived only from an enlightened reading of the Word, he cannot discriminate them; as he is unable, also, to distinguish the warm red of heavenly love from the lurid glow of infernal desire, because he does not as yet know what either is. So his mental world is a phantasy which does not square with the real facts, as yet unseen. Natural good, and formal knowledges of truth acquired during the period of instruction, form part of the content of his mind, and from them he constructs his opinion of what is right and wrong,-an opinion qualified by the evil and falsity which also reside in the mind at this time. An entire attitude to life is built in the mind,-an attitude that is false, because it is based upon values that are themselves incorrect. Vital changes must be made before a correct attitude to the realities of life can be obtained, and it is the function of reformation to effect these changes. As the term implies, reformation is a reforming, a reorganizing, of the content of the understanding, which is effected by arranging man's thoughts around a new center,-around the Word of the Lord, instead of around self-intelligence, in which they concentrated before.

     That change is described in the text. With man, however, the time-sequence is also changed. Repentance in the power of the letter of the Word,-that purification from ultimate evils of life which is the washing in the pool of Siloam, and which is done through those truths, in the acceptance of which man performs worthy repentance,-must come first in time. And when this has been done, the Lord can then take the truths of the letter of the Word, even as He took earth and made it into clay, to effect that reformation which opens the eyes of the Spirit. Man has indeed known these truths, but their place has not been in the foreground of consciousness; he has not looked at life from them, but from himself, and so has been blind.

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     What is accomplished by reformation is that those truths which had been but formal knowledges now become the center. In the temptation combats that follow repentance, they become living things in which man puts his trust, with the result that they become transformed. Life is put into those dead knowledges, and they become the truth of spiritual faith, which opens the eyes. From looking inward to himself from himself, man has been turned, so that he now looks to the Lord from truth, which is the first state of reformation. New standards have been given to him,-a new conception of the meaning of life. A new world of thought and affection opens before his newborn sight,-a world that is new because it is spiritual reality, and not the shadowy picture of his own imagination. Henceforth he can see the living forms of truth that compose the spiritual world, can be conscious of the affections that give to them color and warmth; the truth, not falsity, now rules in his understanding, and has made it new by giving light in place of darkness.

     Of course, this does not mean that reformation involves infallible discernment of the truth that is now seen for the first time. Just as physical sight is so subtly qualified by bodily conditions that no two persons see a material object in precisely the same way, so man's seeing of truth is modified by his states and his reception of truth is not coincident with the truth itself. Affection supplies qualification. Love, it is said, is blind; and it is a fact that affection interprets vision, enhancing characteristics that commend themselves, passing over blemishes. Nor is this confined to bodily sight. Man's affections come between truth, as it is in itself, and truth as he sees it, so that it can never be said that man's new understanding is truth itself.

     Nevertheless, in reformation,-that work of the Lord which follows man's work of repentance,-the basis is laid for regeneration, also the work of the Lord, which is human salvation. Regeneration is the giving of a new will in the reformed understanding,-a new will that lives in doing spiritual good. Since spiritual good is inmostly truth, it can be done only from a doctrinal formation, so received as living faith that affection will powerfully move man to do as it teaches. And this basis must be furnished by man while he lives in this world.

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Wherefore, it is incumbent on the men of the church spiritually to bend their steps toward the temple at Jerusalem in the time of the feast of tabernacles, so that in the pool of Siloam their eyes may be opened to see that light which is the light of eternal life. Amen.

LESSONS: Jeremiah 18:1-10. John 9:1-38. T. C. R. 511.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 526, 525, 633.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 58, 64.
PERCEPTION 1936

PERCEPTION              1936

     "I spoke with spirits about perception,-that it is twofold, one of which is in civil and moral things, and is the perception of what is just and right; the other is in celestial and spiritual things, and is the perception of good and truth. The former is for man in the world, and is given naturally; the latter is for man in the other life, or for his spirit; it is interior or superior, while the other is exterior or inferior, and is the plane of the higher; for good and truth can inflow into what is just and right as into their corresponding form.

     "With respect to the lower perception, or perception in civil and moral things, it is given with men; it is a perception of what is just and right, and is called common sense. They who have a perception of what is just can, from a few things they know, perceive instantly whether a thing is just or not; but they who have a perception of what is right cannot do so, but only from the laws and such things as they have learned. It is evident that the former perception is more excellent than the latter. These perceptions exist naturally. But the perception of celestial good and of spiritual truth is not given at this day. The perception of celestial good was given with those who were of the celestial church, and is called the perception of good, and is immediately from the Lord. The perception of truth is given with those who have conscience, but according to the truth which they have learned, have impressed upon themselves, and know; this, too, is from the Lord through conscience. These are called spiritual; but how great is the difference is manifest.

     "From the perception in civil and moral things, they are called rational; from the perception of good, they are called celestial; from the perception of truth, they are called spiritual; the last two are eminently rational." (Lesser Diary 4644.)

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THANKSGIVING AND CONTENTMENT 1936

THANKSGIVING AND CONTENTMENT       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1936

     "The Lord is the portion of my part, and my cup. Thou sustainest my lot. My lines have fallen to me among pleasant things; yea, the inheritance is beautiful above me. I will bless the Lord, who hath counseled me; yea, in the night my reins chastise me." (Psalm 16:5-7.)

     The lots of men are widely different. Some eke out their uncertain subsistence from a desert soil; some live upon fruitful hills. Some seek their shelter in huts of straw; others dwell pleasantly in king's houses.

     Men judge their lot on earth by the ruffled surface of their lives-by the risks, the dangers, the brief victories, and the continuous strife and unquenched yearning, which mark their few score years of existence. Only a relatively few can appear to take command in the shaping of natural destines, whether their own or others. And even with these, their independence is an appearance; for they are tied by bonds stronger than themselves-tied by the invisible bonds of law and circumstance, the bonds which, out of many men and many minds, willing and unwilling, make the organic unity of the human race.

     The ancient East felt profoundly this dependence of man upon the forces of the world around him, and upon the unknown laws which connect events. With many, it created a worship of the fickle gods of nature, and the resort to magical safeguards against the hostile powers of the heavens. With most, it induced the superstitious fatalism which still broods over the Orient and over all primitive races. Yet beyond this fatalism, born of despair, there was a truth concealed-a truth inmostly perceived from the beginning-the truth that the Divine Providence rules. And in the Ancient Church there was reliance upon the government of the One God, as a rule of justice and mercy; there was a confidence in His power to save; there was contentment with His provisions; there was thanksgiving to the Lord, the provider of all good.

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     There can be no thanksgiving without contentment. It is out of a full heart, conscious of the many blessings of the Lord, that gratitude and praise spring up. And so it was natural that the Sons of Israel-in accord with the ancient custom-should be commanded to set aside for a thanksgiving feast the period which followed the ingathering of their crops, when every basket and store was full and every heart felt content. Yet the most acceptable offerings mentioned in the Word were not offerings from plenty. The widow woman of Sarepta, who offered to the prophet Elijah of her last handful of meal; the widow who, in the Lord's sight, cast into the temple-treasury her last two mites; these are they for whom praise is reserved. Content with little was a virtue esteemed as beautiful in the Ancient Church. "Give me neither poverty nor riches" the proverb was-"but feed me with food convenient for me." (Proverbs 30:8.) "Godliness with contentment," says the Christian epistle, "is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and it is certain we carry nothing out." "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers," sang the Psalmist, "neither be thou envious but rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him." (Psalm 37: 1, 7)

     In days of peace and plenty, it is easy to praise the Lord, to return thanks for good received. It is a different thing, in times of uncertainty, anguish, and deprivation, to say in the manner of the ancient Job, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21.) Job, in his state of temptation, breathed forth these words as a sigh, not as a song of joyful confession. He was determined not to lose faith in God, determined to remain faithful in the night of his abasement and despair. And even so the Psalmist is moved to cry, " It is good to give thanks unto the Lord, . . . to show forth Thy loving kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night." (Psalm 92:1, 2) For it is not for the Lord's own sake that we are called upon to give Him thanks and offer our sacrifices unto Him. What praise of man could add to His majesty? But we are prompted to give Him thanks that our hearts may be opened to receive Him.

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     And who shall say when we need to give thanks the morel-in the morning, when the Sun of His loving kindness sheds its good of love about us, or in the dusky night when shadows of ill rise around us, when our "reins chastise" us, when the delights of life run dry, when our waning affections can be sustained but precariously by the lingering promises of the truths of our faith? Even David-blessing the Lord, who had sustained his lot; David-who felt that his lines had fallen in pleasant places, and that his inheritance was beautiful before him-felt his unworthiness, as the night stole upon him. And like David, each man of the spiritual church remains mostly in the evening state, when his thanksgiving is sobered by regrets and self-accusations, when, from the despair of temptation, the heart is troubled and disturbed and divided. Then it is that man must learn to be content-to rest in the Lord, rest in the truths of faith, which teach patience and trust in the Divine Providence. He may then learn that no man can give thanks to the Lord from himself, or from his own inherited loves, from his impatient ambitions, his aggressive, self-opinionated desires. But from the truths of faith he may ask himself, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me!" And may respond, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord." (Psalm 116:12.) To "take the cup of salvation" means to accept from the Lord the good of faith,-to use the truths, which the Lord gives him to see, for the chastisement of his heart.

     The real thanksgiving is ever through uses, be these great or small. But no uses become a song of thanksgiving unless they spring from an internal content. Indeed, no positive uses can be performed except in a state of contentment. There is that in man which might rebel against such a statement. He asks: "Is it not through discontent that all progress is made?" Can we not speak of a "divine discontent" which kindles genius and spurs man on to greater achievements? Do not the child and the race alike grow because of dissatisfaction with old states, old conditions? Content would mean stagnation-retard. And it is true. Nothing is more deadening, in spiritual or natural life, than self-satisfaction. No thanksgiving is acceptable to the Lord which is in spirit with the words of the Pharisee, "I thank Thee that I am not as other men, . . . or even as this Publican!" (Luke 18:11.)

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     No use can advance which aims not to improve the conditions which it meets, and to better its tools and its methods. But let us realize that no use would ever be undertaken unless we were content to begin with the tools that are at hand, and start from conditions as they are. Contentment, as the Writings advocate it, does not mean to sit down and wait for influx; it does not imply a fatalistic philosophy which discourages action. Rather does it mean a practical recognition of what is outside the sphere of possibility-a confinement of ambition within proper limits-and especially a grateful acknowledgment of the laws of Divine justice which look to eternal things, and to temporal things only so far as they conduce to spiritual ends.

     It is contentment with the laws of God that is meant when it is stated that while the exterior good of natural life, or external charity, "comes to a man's sensation "as enjoyment or delight, yet the good of spiritual life, or the charity within one's interior man, does not so clearly show itself. It "does not come to sensation, but to perception that so it ought to be, and makes a contented mind." (A. C. 9103.) The blessedness of heavenly affections can produce no physical delights with man, and this because sensual delights are not regenerated. But they can show themselves, if only obscurely, "as a tranquillity from contentment of mind." (A. C. 6408.)

     There can be no gratitude, no thanksgiving to God or man, without innocence,-that fleeting virtue which lends charm to the tranquil minds of children. Yet the peacefulness of the little child is an external quality. "Heavenly peace," we are taught, "is possible only in men who are in wisdom from the conjunction of good and truth, and who in consequence have a sense of content in God; nevertheless, while they live in the world, this peace lies hidden in their interiors." (H. H. 288.)

     This "content in God," this prerequisite of all thanksgiving, is spoken of in our Doctrine: It is present in conjugial love "when a man lives content in the Lord, with his partner whom he tenderly loves, and with his children"; having in the world an interior happiness, obscurely present within the cares and anxieties of his life. (A. C. 3938.) "The blessing of Jehovah, in the sense which relates to the state of man in the world, is to be content in God, and thence to be content with the state of honor and wealth in which one is, whether it be among the honored and rich, or among the less honored and poor; for he who is content in God regards honors and riches as means to uses; and when he thinks of them, and at the same time of eternal life, he regards them as of no importance, and eternal life as essential." (A. C. 4981.)

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And he considers that the Lord provides for the good in their life-time "such things as conduce to the happiness of their eternal life,-riches and honors to whom they are not hurtful, and no riches and honors to whom they would be hurtful. Nevertheless, to these latter He gives in time, in the place of honors and riches, to be joyful with a few things, and to be more content than the rich and the honored." (A. C. 8717.)

     Whatever our station and condition in life, however small our opportunities, it is this "content in God" which gives to our thanksgiving its value and meaning. It is this content-persisting through temptation and hardship-which qualifies and exalts the uses of life. It is this content which rises as an offering to the Lord from all the works and words of the regenerating man. It goes forth from grateful hearts into the midst of men, and where its sphere operates, it soothes rebellion and tempers contempt; it promotes mutual understanding where dissension runs high; it leads in cooperation and obedience. It lends its counsel of patience to those in high places; and-without words-brings comfort from heaven to the suffering. It gives understanding to the simple, and throws a veil of protection over us against the phantasies of worldly vanity and acquisitiveness. It prepares the natural mind to submit and to turn inward, to seek the real meaning and the spiritual intent which the Lord would have us learn, in changing circumstances and conditions.

     Yet always does such content energize and lead men towards actual uses. It does not tend to produce unprofitable servants who-in continual self-pity, envious because they are less endowed-bury their small talent in a napkin! But it seeks to reciprocate the love which the Lord has for His creatures, by increasing our entrusted powers and possessions, through active uses of charity, natural and spiritual, not abusing our gifts and privileges.

     "The Lord is the portion of my part, and my cup." The natural sense of David's confession is obscure. It no doubt implies that David felt dependent upon the Lord even for meat and drink, and thus felt the Lord's help and guidance as the greatest of his blessings.

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But in the spiritual sense the inference is clearer, in that the regenerating man sees clearly that the Lord alone is the producer of good, and that nothing that we undertake can become a good of use except His Providence concurs in shaping its results for the common good. Man cannot foresee, except vaguely, the eventual results of his intentions and actions. It is the Lord who moulds human actions into a whole,-a network of spiritual uses.

     "The Lord is the portion of my part, and my cup." He fills with Divine blessings the parts which men have in the work of the world and in the uses of heaven. He also fills the vessels of our understandings,-cups built up from appearances and from prophetic shadows; fills these cups of understanding with the presence of His Truth, in the degree that they concord and correspond with the laws of His government.

     Surely the inheritance of David is beautiful before us, whose lots have been measured out in the pleasant places of the City of Truth, the New Jerusalem! Surely the voice of thanksgiving can be raised therein from fulness of heart and contentment of spirit! For, however our lives be marred by the scars of temptation, and by the futile storms of a faithless, troubled world, we may ever confess, from confidence in the clearly recorded truths of our faith, the everlasting mercies of the Lord, who alone gives reality and substance to our petty efforts towards virtue and usefulness; who alone protects our frail race by the laws of His kingdom; who redeems us again and again from utter bondage to our own self-will, and manifests in His successive Revelations the times and conditions of His spiritual harvests.

     The Lord alone can measure the extent of these, His harvests. It is not for man to labor for reward; in such meritorious works there can be no thanksgiving, no spiritual harvest. And hence it is not given to man to be certain what the Lord can gather from man's uses. Man's part is that he is only given to know that all who shun evils as sins perform their uses from the Lord; and from this continued effort he can gain that modicum of heavenly love which inspires a confidence that he will thus be gathered into the garnery of heaven. And there shall the genuine and everlasting thanksgiving be, when the Lord's purpose with our uses shall be made manifest, and each task be performed, not from an irking sense of duty, but from an abundance of liberated charity, joyfully and cheerfully.

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But, failing this celestial offering, what thanksgiving can the Lord require of us in our earth-bound estate? Not thousands of rams, nor rivers of oil! Not external rites or worldly gifts evasive of any internal sacrifice, nor uses which are done without content in God. "He hath shown thee, O man, what is good,-to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God!" (Micah 6:8.) Amen.

LESSONS: Psalm 37. Matthew 25:14-30. D. P. 220 8, 9, 10.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 533, 535, 595, 596, 668.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 178, 201.
SHEPHERDS OF JUDEA 1936

SHEPHERDS OF JUDEA              1936

     Certain learned spirits were present while I was writing the things which concern the internal sense of the Word, and then an obscurity at once intervened, and also a difficulty in understanding anything. In addition, there was a sphere from them that nothing of it would be understood. . . . And it was given me to say that these things cannot be received in the world by the learned, but by those who are not learned, as was the case with the shepherds who celebrated the Lord when He was born, who could receive and believe and celebrate Him from the good of faith. But the Rabbis could not do so; and if an angel had inflowed with them, he would have been rejected immediately and extinguished. So it is in the world with the internal sense of the Word. But if the learned were in good, then they would be of such a mind that they would wish to know the truth, and so would suffer themselves to be led and to hearken, and not to command. In that case the truth could be received by them. (Spiritual Diary 4734m; Latin, 4736.)
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1936

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1936

     A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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AIM OF NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1936

AIM OF NEW CHURCH EDUCATION       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1936

     (An Address delivered at the Opening Exercises of the Academy Schools, Bryn Athyn, Pa., September 16, 1936.)

     It is essential that man remind himself continually of the ends and purposes of life; for without periodic reviews he will bury himself in the details of life, which then become all important to him. So it is a useful and necessary custom, at the beginning of each school-year, that we raise our minds to the consideration of the ends for which this institution exists. Otherwise, while we are engaged in the means of accomplishing those ends-in the daily and often dull routine of school life-we may forget our greater use, and, immersing ourselves in the means, mistake them for the ends. This has happened in all the religious schools of the former church; and it will happen to us, unless we faithfully and actively rededicate ourselves to the ends for which we exist. It is important that those who are engaged in the work of teaching should keep these ends actively in their minds, and it is also important that the students should have an intelligent understanding of the path in which they are being led, that they may cooperate on their part.

     As to external appearance, our schools differ little from institutions of a similar kind in the world about us. The subjects we teach are similar; the manner of teaching is similar; the type of social life and recreation is the same; and so all of these things are ruled out as ends to which we look. If we say we have in view an education for heaven, so does every other religious institution. If we say we desire to lead our students to a good and upright life, this also is the avowed intent of every school, and of all educational philosophy. If we say our education is to prepare for regeneration, we come nearer to a distinctive expression of our purpose, but still the expression is too general to give a definite understanding, and must be infilled with many particulars. In reality, it is impossible to find a single expression that clearly sets forth the distinctiveness of that use for which these schools exist, and men will choose expressions of different kinds which to them may best set forth our aims.

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Howsoever this may be, so long as we agree as to the end itself, it matters little as to the mode of its expression. The important thing to see is that our end is a spiritual one,-an end in the spiritual world,-and therefore one that is not discoverable with the natural eyes;-an end that cannot be measured by the natural man, and therefore one that cannot be adequately described by a natural expression. That end is one with the end for which the Church exists; for the school exists for the Church. This was a fundamental principle enunciated by those who instituted New Church education with us. If, then, we see clearly the use of the New Church, we have before us the end and aim of New Church education.

     The true New Church is the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb, the Lord our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. And individual men, when regenerated, constitute that body, of which the Lord alone is the Soul and Life. By means of this body, the Lord is present with men to save and to heal. Thus the use of the Church is to become a body fitted for the presence of the Lord, that through it He may bring His blessings to men-not only to the men of the Church, which is truly His Wife, but also to men of all creeds and conditions of life who, through desire for the good of life, are prepared to receive Him. Thus the use of the New Church is a universal one,-a use that extends its benefits to all men. Yea, it is truly a Divine use, in which man is given to cooperate,-the use of maintaining the conjunction between angels and men, and thus the possibility of man's salvation.

     This is truly a glorious use, in which we are given to have a part as a sacred and holy trust,-a work which, of ourselves, we are unworthy to perform. If you ask why we, and not others, have been so placed, we cannot answer, though we do see clearly that the Lord has so placed us. It is our part to see and acknowledge this use which the Lord has seen fit to bestow upon us, and to perform it with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, at the same time realizing that it is not our use in any sense of possession, and that we, of ourselves, are not even to judge of the means of its continuation, because this is to be done by the Lord through His Word.

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     It is this use that makes the New Church distinct, that separates us from the uses performed by the institutions of the world. And so it is the preparation for the performance of this use that makes these schools distinct and separate from all other educational institutions. That men may be prepared to enter into this use is the aim and end of our New Church schools. The means by which this is to be accomplished are many, but the most potent is the teaching of the truths of the Word of the Lord. In most of our schools, so far, little more than the religious instruction has made them distinct from other schools, but if we are faithful to our ends, in striving continually to see further and more perfect means of its fulfilment we may feel confident that the Lord will reveal those means to us as needs arise.

     II.

     It is the desire of your teachers to implant in your minds a knowledge of the truths of the Word, and to implant them in such a way that you may receive them, not only in your minds, but also in your hearts; for truth without the affection of it contributes nothing to the fulfilment of a spiritual use. We are endeavoring to instill these truths in such a way that you will not only think of them, but that you will also think from them, in relation to all the problems of your lives; to implant them with an affection that will cause you to believe them because they are from the Lord's Word. Such thought is called "spiritual thought." This we cannot give; it must be received by every man from the Lord alone. What we can give is the material-the scientifics of truth-out of which you, by regeneration, can build within yourselves the faculty of spiritual thought. We must never forget that it is one thing to think concerning or about spiritual things, and quite another to think spiritually. All men who go to the Word can think concerning or about spiritual things, but only those who conjoin good and truth can think spiritually; and it is only those who think spiritually that can enter into the use of the Church.

     If we regard the world around us, we find that spiritual thought is entirely lacking. The men of the former church think about the Word, but there is no thought from or out of the Word, and thus no spiritual thought.

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Many men think about the Word, about spiritual things, but from or out of their own intelligence. Only to those who have received the New Word, now revealed, is it possible to think from the Word and to think spiritually. If you do not keep this distinction clearly in your minds, you are likely to become very much confused when you meet with upright men of the world. It is spiritual thought that the Lord has now made receivable by men; and it is our privilege to cooperate with the Lord in the performance of this use to the men of the world in which we live.

     This you can readily see when you examine the good of the world. What can the New Church add to the moral and civil life taught by the world! The moral life taught by the minister of the Old Church is that with which we would all readily agree. The civil life taught, the business principles enunciated, are not different from those held by New Churchmen. So much is this the case, that many born and raised in the New Church, on going out into the world, have doubted as to the use of the Church, because they have found so many apparently good and upright moral and civil men. But if they observe keenly, they will notice that few, if any, have shown any interest in spiritual things.

     To bring about spiritual thought with men, and a moral and civil life from such thought, is the special use of the New Church. In its external life, the New Church will not differ from the moral and civil principles now existing in the world; but as the men of the Church enter more and more into spiritual thought and life, their interest in natural things as ends in themselves will decrease, and there will be less seeking for pleasure, and more devotion of time and thought to the truths of the Word. But this external change must be brought about as a result of an internal love,-a love of entering into spiritual thought.

     III.

     As we have pointed out, it is essential that we should clearly set before our minds the end for which this school exists. This end, as we have chosen to state it, is a preparation for receiving spiritual thought, that the conjunction between heaven and earth may be maintained, and thus that the Lord may be present with all men, to give them the blessings of His mercy. Without your cooperation, your teachers cannot accomplish this end.

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You yourselves must see and acknowledge what we are striving to attain. You must enter into it from an affection of that end. Only so can you receive that which the school would give.

     New Church education will not make progress unless the teachers, the parents, and the students understand the spiritual use we are striving to attain, and unless they look upon the external forms of education merely as means to this end, realizing that the educational standard and the social life of the school are of no importance, except in so far as they can be used to further that end. If parents will not send their children to our school unless the standard of our education is equal to that of schools of the world then the use of New Church education will never be realized. There must be a willingness to sacrifice everything for the spiritual use. In this sphere of willingness to sacrifice, and in this sphere alone, can true New Church education continue to exist.

     It may be asked, "How can we tell whether or not our schools are performing the uses for which they exist?" The answer is that we cannot tell. For the uses are spiritual, and therefore cannot be measured by ordinary natural standards. However, there are signs which are to be noted, even as the Lord reveals to a regenerating man that he is on the true path. The most important sign that the end is being accomplished is to be taken from the percentage of our pupils who, after graduating from our schools, remain in the Church and lake an active part in its life, especially in reading the Word of the Lord as now newly revealed. Yet even this is not a sure sign, for people may remain in the Church for other than spiritual reasons. We must remember that the use we are trying to perform is the Lord's; and we must be willing to submit to His leading. We must have faith that He will bring about the fulfilment of this use, if we are willing to sacrifice our selfish and worldly ambitions. We must realize that our own intelligence cannot establish true New Church education; this is the Lord's work. It is our part to look to Him in His Word, and to be guided by the truths revealed therefrom. In this way, and in this way only, call the kingdom of heaven come upon earth. Only so can these schools become a spiritual mother, from which are born those who will become a part of that body which is the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 55. N. J. H. D. 36-40.

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TWENTY-NINTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1936

TWENTY-NINTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY       VICTOR J. GLADISH       1936

     HELD AT MICHAEL CHURCH, LONDON, AUGUST 1-3, 1936.

     The first session, on Saturday evening, August 1, was opened with a brief service of worship conducted by the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, Assistant Pastor of the entertaining society.

     The President, Bishop Tilson, welcomed the members and visitors, inviting all to take part in the deliberations. He then read a Message from the Acting Bishop of the General Church, in which Bishop de Charms spoke of the recent retirement of Bishop Pendleton, and expressed in strong terms the Church's indebtedness for the leadership of this able servant of her vital aims. He extended a warm greeting and encouragement to the British Assembly, and described the plan to hold a General Assembly in 1937, in order that a new executive Bishop may be chosen.

     With a unanimous rising vote, the Assembly then adopted the following Resolution:

     "This Assembly wishes to express its appreciation and thanks to Bishop de Charms for his message of greetings and good will. We also congratulate him upon his new office as Acting Bishop, and wish him all success. Further, we would convey to Bishop Pendleton our sense of loss at his retirement as Executive Bishop, and our appreciation of all the noble service which he has performed for the Church in the past."

     Several spoke in support of the Resolution, voicing the hope and expectation of further help from the teaching, sphere and influence of Bishop Pendleton in the days to come. As a sidelight upon his character and forthright qualities, the President read a speech by Bishop Pendleton, as recorded in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1920, pp. 569, 570.

     The Secretary read Messages of Greeting from: The Alpha Circle, South Africa; Mr. E. C. Kendal, Chester; Rev. and Mrs. Erik Sandstrom, Jonkoping, Sweden; Rev. and Mrs. W. Cairns Henderson, Hurstville, Australia; Mr. Percy Dawson, and Miss Whittaker, on behalf of the group at New Moston (Manchester); Mr. Horace Howard, Mrs. A. H. Appleton, Mr. and Mrs. F. R. Cooper, and Mr. and Mrs. Norman Motum, Colchester; Rev. and Mrs. F. F. Coulson, Kensington; Rev. W. T. Lardge, Lytham, St. Annes; Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Friend, Wembly.

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Dr. Iungerich told us of a letter received from his mother, dated three days before her death, in which she wrote: "I am glad you are going to the British Assembly." These evidences of good will from various parts of the world were received by the Assembly with manifestations of pleasure and approval.

     Bishop Tilson then delivered his Presidential Address on the general subject of "The Church as a Use," in which he showed that, just as man, spiritually considered, is a use (Divine Love XIII. 4), so in a wider sense it is its use that makes the Church. He referred to two men whose lives provided a clear exemplification of the principle of use: Bishop Pendleton, "who for twenty years has governed the Church in a manner which commands our sincere admiration and gratitude"; and Mr. A. H. Appleton, "that faithful steward in the Lord's New Church," who passed to the other world last March.

     In the course of an appreciative discussion of the Address, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton said that while this doctrine of use is so satisfying to our intellectual thought, it is only after combat that we can perform the uses which belong to the church militant. Messrs. Victor Tilson and Owen Pryke both spoke of the practical value of the doctrine of use; the address had "lifted us out of our work-day sphere, and prepared us for the two days of the Assembly." Mr. Harold Pitcairn was prevailed upon to speak, and gave us some thoughtful remarks arising out of the subject of the address. In closing, Bishop Tilson said that the tenor of the discussion reminded him of Pharaoh's words to Joseph's brethren, "What are your uses?"-the use, spiritually considered, being the essential man.

     Divine Worship on Sunday morning was attended by a congregation of 115 persons. Bishop Tilson conducted the service, and in the administration of the Holy Supper to eighty-eight communicants was assisted by the Revs. Victor J. Gladish and A. Wynne Acton. Mr. Gladish delivered the sermon, on the text, "Jerusalem is builded as a city that coheres in a one" (Psalm 122:3), applying this cohering unity to the "Doctrine of the Church," which is the Word of the Second Coming, and also to the doctrine and life which the Church derives from that source.

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     At the second session, on Sunday evening, the Rev. Eldred E. Iungerich delivered an Address on "The Apocalypse," during which both hearing and sight were served, as Mrs. Iungerich had prepared twenty-two water-colors, one for each chapter of the Apocalypse, and these were exhibited by the speaker as he dealt with the chief representatives of each chapter. In an extemporaneous address of eighty minutes, he brought livingly before us the drama of the Last Judgment upon the Christian Church and the descent of the New Jerusalem. The ensuing discussion voiced an appreciation of the interest and power of the address, and of the masterly way in which the leading representatives of the whole of the Apocalypse had been assembled. In conclusion, Dr. Iungerich replied to a number of questions.

     Mr. A. Godfrey asked why the Apocalypse Explained had stopped at Chapter 19:10. Mr. Gladish wondered whether it was adequate to say that the "white horse" signified Swedenborg's mind. Mr. Conrad Howard said that, as he saw it, the Writings are not the light, but the means of the light, which dwells in the internal sense of the Writings. In reply, Dr. Iungerich said that the A. E. stopped at Chapter 19:10 because the subject of the "white horse" begins at verse 11, and is treated in the separate work on The White Horse. Swedenborg's mind was then the only "white horse" in the world, but this should be the state of all New Churchmen who diligently read the Writings. While regeneration does unite a springlike state of love to what would otherwise be a cold light in reading the Writings, yet the understanding may be elevated into heavenly light apart from the will. There is light in wintry states, and it is said of the Lord in His Second Advent that even "they who pierced Him would see Him." (Rev. 1:7.)

     The third session was held on Monday morning, when the Rev. A. Wynne Acton delivered an Address on the Subject of "The Church," in which he showed most clearly and powerfully that the actual way in which man acknowledges that the Church is the Lord's is by exercising the "as of himself" faculty, assuming his just responsibility toward the uses of the Church. Among the many who discussed the address, and expressed their delight with it, we shall mention only Mr. Lewin, who, despite his more than ninety years, spoke at length, and in a very interesting way, concerning the "things new and old" brought forth by Mr. Acton.

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The zeal and lucidity of this response stirred the Assembly to hearty applause.

     The subject of "Extension Work," and of the general business affairs of the district represented by the Assembly, were then taken up for consideration. The newly established "British Finance Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem" presented a carefully prepared report on the nature and purpose of this Committee,-the "promotion of the specific uses of Assembly, and the facilitation of extending ministrations beyond the two societies" (London and Colchester). After discussion, a resolution accepting the report was adopted. The Treasurer of the Committee, whose duties include caring for the Assembly's finances, also presented his report, which was discussed and formally accepted. A resolution was also adopted expressing the Assembly's appreciation of Mr. R. W. Anderson's further donation of ?100 "for the good of the Church in Great Britain," the placing of which under the control of the Committee had been reported by the Treasurer.

     On request, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton gave an account of the ministrations to distant members and friends. "The total number of members and friends of the General Church visited by us is about 60 adults and 10 children. It is a work that should go on. While we cannot do as much as a priest devoting himself exclusively to such work, we do the best we can in our situation. The appreciation of the visits we are able to pay is of such a nature that it makes us very anxious to continue this work." Six issues of the "News Letter" have been sent out,-20 to 25 copies to isolated families, and about 10 distributed in each society. Bishop Tilson added: "I have a very heavy correspondence with some people of whom we know next to nothing, and I am quite certain that the hearts of the priests are moved very deeply at the opportunity afforded them. I hope indeed that later on we shall have an extra priest in this country who can devote himself entirely to this work; we work to that end and hope for it."

     The third and final session of the Assembly closed with the singing of the 47th Psalm, followed by the Benediction.

     On Monday afternoon there was an open meeting of the British Chapter of the Sons of the Academy.

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This meeting was interesting for the introductory remarks by the President, Mr. James S. Pryke, and for its reports and discussions, but especially for a short paper by Mr. Norman E. Williams on "The Priestley Use in Relation to the School." This was presented with a refreshing mode of expression and newness of approach, but its essence seemed wholly in harmony with the conclusions on this subject which are generally accepted among us.

     Assembly Social.

     The social gathering in the evening was a delightful affair in which the entertainers overcame last-minute difficulties and presented a succession of "turns," skillfully conceived and cleverly executed, that drew forth hearty applause and gales of laughter, while the toasts with which the evening ended capped the climax of a happy Assembly.

     After an appetizing and plentiful supper, the entertainment was provided upon an improvised stage. Mr. Victor Tilson was Master of Ceremonies, shepherding us through the earlier phases of the program with the able assistance of Mr. "Archie" Stebbing, and proving a masterly and felicitous toastmaster. The London friends gave a parody of a well-known radio feature, Mr. Fred G. Waters being the announcer and introducing us to a variety of broadcasters, including a writer, a prima donna, and some worthy country people. These parts were taken by Miss Mary Lewin, Mr. Victor Tilson, Mr. R. A. Stebbing, Miss Joan Stebbing, and Messrs. Norman Williams and Stanley Wainscot. In addition, Mr. Wainscot played two selections on his viola, with a piano accompaniment by Miss Stebbing. The rest of the entertainment consisted of a play, largely wordless, entitled "The Arcadians," which the Colchester contingent provided. The playwright's conception was intelligently comical in every detail, and the players presented that conception very effectively. The actors were: Miss Winifred Everett, Mrs. Gladish, Messrs. John Cooper, Martin Pryke and Denis Pryke, while Mrs. J. F. Cooper provided the music and Mr. Norman Williams wrote and read the prologue.

     In the program of toasts the vital uses of the Church which had brought us together were put stirringly before our minds once more, but in the congenial sphere of social fellowship.

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The subject of "Uses" formed the underlying theme, in harmony with the pervading topic of the sessions. Bishop Tilson responded to the toast to "The Church and the Priesthood"; Dr. Iungerich spoke on "The Uses of Assemblies"; Mr. Nathan Pitcairn replied to a toast to "The Visitors." The Rev. A. Wynne Acton proposed a toast to Bishop Pendleton, recalling some of the outstanding aspects of his leadership of the General Church. The Rev. Victor J. Gladish offered a toast to the President of the Assembly, Bishop Tilson. These were duly honored, and a number of impromptu toasts followed, including one to Martin Pryke, who expects to study for the ministry in Bryn Athyn.

     There is good evidence that a useful Assembly has been held. A delightful sphere of fellowship manifested itself throughout the meetings. The straightforward and fundamental character of the addresses and proceedings seems to have been very acceptable to both young and old. At any rate, a number of warm expressions of appreciation have come from a variety of sources. A distinct strengthening of the sphere was brought by the visitors. In addition to those whose names appear elsewhere in this report, we welcomed the Misses Anna and Lynda Hamm, Dorothy P. Cooper, Joyce, Cooper, and Mr. Rey Cooper, all of Bryn Athyn. The hospitality and the efficient care extended by the friends in London made all things smooth and delightful for those who came from away. At the head and front of this, in spirit and deed, were Bishop and Mrs. Tilson, but they and the others maintain that they found these efforts as delightful as we found their effect.

     On the day before the Assembly proper, the "Assembly Club" (The New Church Club, of London) was addressed by Mr. James S. Pryke on "Some Aspects of the Doctrine of Conjugial Love." This was a thoughtful and delightful paper, which brought an interesting and very appreciative discussion from a well-attended meeting.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary.

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     JONKOPING, SWEDEN.

     Since the close of August, the regular activity, intercepted by the summer months, has been resumed.

     The winter program of last year was terminated with the solemnization of New Church Day. It was thought that holding the celebration on the date, even though it happened to be a weekday, would do greater justice to the significance of the day. A short evening Service of Praise was held, the text of the sermon being the Gospel proclaimed in T. C. R. 791. After the service followed a banquet in the garden. Decorations in red and white, effectively arranged by
Mrs. Sandstrom, and a star-sprinkled sky, silent trees, mild and clear air, all contributed to forming an external setting which beautifully harmonized with a sphere of solemnity and peace. The subject of the evening was "The Lord's Second Advent." Three particular aspects of this subject were chosen: "The New Church and Our Day"; "The Second Advent Historically and "The Lord's Second Advent to the Individual." The speakers delighted us with both depth of thought and eloquence. Toasts, proposed to the Church, the General Church, and the Stockholm Society, brought near the sphere of the Church at large.

     During the summer months, two occasional services were held to bridge us over the interval. At the first of these, another of our members entered the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism. The second was noteworthy from its being held outdoors at the top of a high hill overlooking Lake Vattern. The hill is considered by tourists to be the most beautiful spot in the Jonkoping vicinity-a rating that says a good deal, seeing that said vicinity is supposedly one of the loveliest in all Sweden. The service was held upon the arrival of the members. An all-day picnic followed, with swimming and picking of mushrooms on the program.

     The forthcoming year of activity is planned somewhat differently than last year. Formerly our mid-week meetings consisted, by turns, of reading evenings, doctrinal classes, and discussion meetings. In place of these we shall now have "study-evenings"-in effect a combination of a doctrinal class and a reading evening, the subject of the year being the Gorand Man of Heaven and the correspondence of the human body therewith. The text is furnished by the articles on that subject which are interspersed between the chapters in the Arcana Coelestia. Along with the Arcana treatment we shall also acquaint ourselves with the anatomy of the human body. Another feature of these evenings is that they will be held in the homes,-an arrangement that will at the same time provide a regular social life among the members. As for the discussion meetings, the intention is to continue these, though it may prove too difficult to find the time for them.

     Other plans include a Christmas bazaar, for which the ladies have been working for several months. The idea is to make this a missionary as well as an economical affair.

     As last year, public missionary lectures will also be given, in the degree that the material side of it may permit. Besides, a small typewritten monthly periodical is contemplated, for the benefit of isolated members and such as are known to follow the development of the Circle with particular interest.

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The first issue is being prepared. But more concerning this in our later reports.
     ERIK SANDSTROM.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     Under the auspices of the Sons of the Academy, we recently had an interesting evening in the Hall, when Mr. Harold Millar, an old friend of many in the Society, displayed his remarkable paintings of South African birds, and gave a talk about the habits and haunts of numbers of them.

     The engagement of Miss Carol Cockerell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Cockerell, to Mr. Edward Lavarack was announced on July 23d. The Society wishes them every happiness.

     A pretty wedding took place in our church on July 25,-that of Miss Jean Cockerell, daughter of the late Mr. D'Arcy Cockerell and Mrs. Cockerell, and Mr. Max Poynton. The bride looked lovely and held a bouquet of rare white eucras lilies. Miss Denise Cockerell, the bride's sister, was the maid of honor, and her fiance, Mr. Stenhouse, was best man. The reception was enjoyed by a large gathering at Mrs. Cockerell's home, during which Mr. Acton made speech with his usual wit, concluding with sincerity and good advice.

     We were glad to welcome Miss Champion back to the Society and School after seven months leave of absence. She arrived from Europe on July 29, looking well and ready for work after a wonderful trip on the Continent.

     Theta Alpha gave a combined welcome to Mrs. Philip Odhner and farewell party to Mrs. Acton on July 30 at the home of Mrs. Scott Forfar. Unique and amusing competitions were planned, and by a strange coincidence Mrs. Acton won the prize. At ten o'clock they all drove to the "Doll House" for refreshments.

     Many farewells were given to Mr. and Mrs. Acton before they left, but an official one was held on August 1st in the Hall, which was decorated with showers of morning glory. A hundred people were present, and after speeches were made and presentations given the evening concluded with dancing.

     Two evenings later the Sons also held a farewell meeting at the home of Mr. J. T. Forfar. Mr. Scott Forfar presided, and Mr. Neville Edley read an interesting paper on "The Image and Likeness of the Lord." Mr. Lawrence Odhner afterwards entertained the men with clever impersonations. At midnight, fried eggs and bacon and other good things were indulged in.

     At Mr. Acton's farewell service on August 2, he confirmed five young people, namely, Miss Diana Cowley, and the Messrs. Toe Cowley, Horace Braby, Colin B. Ridgway, and Colin O. Ridgway.

     We are fortunate in having in the Society at present a talented pianist, Miss Ethel Visick, who gave a recital at Mrs. J. J. Forfar's home lately. Chopin's Sonata in B flat and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata were included in her program.

     Mr. and Mrs. Odhner have almost settled down to South African ways now. Mr. Odhner has recommenced weekly classes: Ladies' classes, mens' meetings, girls' classes, boys' classes, and doctrinal classes. He has also taken up teaching in the school, which he says is very interesting.
     S. F.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     On Saturday, August 29, the Rev. Norman Reuter, accompanied by Mrs. Reuter, arrived in Detroit for our first meetings of the 1936-1937 season. A class and social time at the Cook residence on Saturday evening served as a prelude to the main event,-the always inspiring and delightful Sunday service. This was held at the Walker-Synnestvedt home at 3.30 p.m. "The Spiritual Journeyings of Regeneration" was the theme of Mr. Reuter's sermon. An attendance of 37, of whom eleven were children, was encouraging evidence that our membership appreciates these opportunities for regularly organized General Church worship, and gives rise to the hope that arrangements may ultimately be made for more frequent visits by our Pastor.

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     A class was held on Sunday evening at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Steen, the attendance being 17, including four children. Mr. Reuter's talk had to do with the proper approach to an understanding of the Writings. He stressed the importance of an affirmative attitude, and pointed out that a rational conviction can only be acquired through study and prayer. The talk was of absorbing interest, and held the close attention of even the youngest listener.

     On Monday, Mr. and Mrs. Reuter visited the Bellinger family at Riverside, Ontario, where instruction was given the children during the afternoon and a class held for adults in the evening.

     At a business session of our group, held after the service on Sunday, a committee was appointed to seek for a suitable hall, or large room, with kitchen facilities, where our services and socials can be held. Our numbers have now grown beyond the equipment and resources of the ordinary home, and it has been felt for some time that new arrangements for our meetings are both necessary and desirable.

     Death of Mrs. Field.

     Members of the Detroit group were shocked and deeply grieved at the news of the passing into the higher life of Mrs. Henry G. Field, which occurred on September 16. She had numerous cousins and many friends in Detroit, where she was born. In and near this city she lived until a few years ago when the family moved to Southampton, Pa.

     Mrs. Field was one of the original members of the General Church group formed in Detroit during the early days of the Rev. F. E. Waelchli's visits to this city and vicinity. Her home was always open for services and social affairs, and we recall, with pleasure, many inspiring and happy meetings held at the Field residence under the leadership of Mr. Waelchli. Always an enthusiastic believer in and supporter of New Church education for the young, Mrs. Field saw to it that each of her children received the advantages offered by the Academy Schools at Bryn Athyn, where her son, George, is now a student. She was also instrumental in persuading other Detroit parents to send their children to Bryn Athyn.

     The members of the Detroit group, who knew and loved Mary Field, extend to Mr. Field and his family most sincere sympathy in their loss, which is shared by us all.
     W. W. W.

     NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

     After an interval of three years, a visit was recently paid to the San Francisco district,-to Palo Alto, Berkeley, and Oakland, in which places the Bundsen, Fred Merrell, and Jordan families reside.

     On Saturday, September 5, a doctrinal class was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Merrell, who have recently established their residence in Berkeley. A paper on "The Church as our Spiritual Mother" was read and discussed.

     The next day, Sunday, Divine Worship was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Bundsen in Pale Alto, fourteen members and friends being present. During the service, the sacrament of baptism was administered for Mrs. Nathan D. Platt, of Corte Madera, California. Mrs. Platt has been a reader of the Writings and a subscriber to New Church Life for several years, and made application to the General Church for baptism. It was a delight to us all to welcome her on this occasion.

     The sermon was on Memorabilia 6029, "Concerning those who do not think anything concerning the Divine, but still do not deny these things. There are some who do not deny God; neither do they deny the Word and the doctrine of the Church, but, still think nothing concerning them, because they immerse themselves constantly in worldly things, as (Count Fers.).

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In the other life they pass the time in places under the earth somewhat remote, and there they feel anguish interiorly, as if they were penetrated with pains. They have consolers, but in vain. They give them creams of milk, and eatables. Moreover, they delight them through musicals and plays, but still the poignant pains of the mind remain. They give themselves up to employments, but still the pains return. They change places, but there it is likewise. They give themselves up to employments and works, but when these are finished, they relapse into those anguishes, so that they lead a miserable life. The reason is, because they have no conjunction with heaven, nor with hell." The Holy Supper was then administered to eleven communicants.

     After the service, all present were regaled by Mrs. Bundsen with a most delightful and lavish picnic lunch. Mr. and Mrs. Bundsen entertained us in their beautiful garden, and it was with great reluctance that we left their hospitable home early in the afternoon, as we were invited to attend the dedication of the new church building of the Convention Society in Berkeley.

     The Rev. Fred S. Mayer, of Baltimore, Md., President of Convention, assisted by the Rev. Othmar Tobisch, pastor of the San Francisco and Berkeley Societies, conducted the dedication service, which took place during the Twenty-ninth Annual Meeting of the California Association. The new building is admirably planned, and is well suited to the uses of a small society. It was a pleasure to attend the Association Meetings, to which we were cordially invited. They were successful, and a delightful New Church sphere and enthusiasm for the Church was present. The work that is being done by the societies of the California Association, under the capable leadership of the four resident pastors, is progressive, and we are happy to see that the Church is in a state of spiritual development and activity, as well as of external growth.

     The following Sunday, September 13, I conducted Divine Worship at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Jordan at Oakland, eleven persons being present. The sermon preached was on the text from the Invitation to the New Church, the Syllabus VII, "That this Church is not instaurated and established (constabilita) through miracles, but through the revelation of the spiritual sense, and through the introduction of the spirit, and, simultaneously, of my body, into the spiritual world, that there I might know what heaven is, and what hell is, and that immediately in light from the Lord I might draw out the truths of faith, through which man is led to eternal life."

     It was a pleasure to be at Mr. and Mrs. Jordan's home, which is situated upon a hill from which there is a beautiful view over the city and across the bay to the hills. A delightful lunch was served by Mrs. Jordan, and in the afternoon we were entertained by Mr. Jordan, who played the trumpet, accompanied by encouraged by the hearty response of our friends in the North, and we hope that as times get better we may be able to resume regular visits to our friends in the Bay Region.
     HENDRIX W. BOEF,
     Visiting Pastor.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Our Day School opened on Wednesday, September 16, with exercises at 10 a.m. in the auditorium, the pastor giving a fine address on the Parable of the Sower as illustrating the reasons for education. He asked the pupils to keep in mind three things: 1) to pay attention; 2) to try to remember; and 3) to be humble. There are eighteen pupils, registered in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8. The teachers are: Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, instructing the upper grades in Religion and Hebrew. Mrs. John J. Schoenberger (nee Angella Bergstrom), head teacher, supervising and teaching all grades. Miss Elizabeth Lechner, assistant teacher, teaching in all grades, but devoting most of her time to the upper grades.

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We are again fortunate in having Mrs. Alexander P. Lindsay give her course in Anatomy and Hygiene to the seventh and eighth grades. Miss Nancy
Horigan is also an addition to the teaching staff, teaching Hebrew and Mythology.

     The Annual Meeting of the Pittsburgh Society was held on September 18, following the first Friday Supper of the season. The reports were encouraging. The 1937 General Assembly was discussed with enthusiasm. Plans for entertaining the General Church next June are going forward, and should be completed in a few months. The secretary reported an enrollment of eighty-four members of the Society, an increase of twenty members in four years. This figure does not include children, or adult members of the congregation who have not joined the society.

     The pastor is continuing the series of sermons on the Glorification as portrayed by the lives of the Patriarchs. The series is interspersed with sermons on various subjects. A carnival was held in the auditorium on September 25 for the purpose of reducing the mortgage on the buildings, which it did most successfully. There were several booths, attractively arranged, and amusements were provided for all ages.

     We are pleased to welcome Mr. Roger W. Doering as a new resident of Pittsburgh. He is in the Structual Design Department of Westinghouse Air Brake Company.     
     E. R. D.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     It is with a feeling of loss, and yet of gratitude, that the members of the Olivet Society note the announcement of the retirement of Bishop N. D. Pendleton. We are deeply grateful for the very real use he has performed to the Church during his years in the exacting office of Bishop. We hope that his retirement will be a peaceful, happy and useful one.

     During the past year, it has been our pleasure to be guests at four weddings celebrated in our little church,-a winter wedding, a spring wedding, an early summer wedding, and the fourth, a fall wedding, when, on September 11, Miss Grace Barrett was married to Mr. Charles B. White. To the bride, a new member of our Church, and to the groom, the son of our faithful secretary, Mr. John White, we extend our best wishes for their future happiness.

     Theta Alpha held its initial meeting at the beginning of the month, the new president, Miss Jennie Gaskill, presiding. As is our annual custom, the pastor was present at the forepart of the evening, and gave a most interesting paper on "The Punishment of Children." The subject proved to be most instructive and prompted many questions. It was pointed out that punishment is a most important part of teaching. Although the membership of the chapter this year is small, there being no new members to take the place of those who have left, we hope for increased membership next year, when our three girls return from Bryn Athyn.

     Thursday evening, September 24, found Alec Craigie and John Parker preparing the supper for the Forward Club-Sons of the Academy's first meeting of the season. After partaking heartily of this meal, the Club enjoyed a mental repast in the form of a paper by the Rev. Dr. H. Lj. Odhner, entitled "Perspective of Education," which was read by Mr. Frank Wilson, and heartily received. The business meeting and the social period completed the evening's program under the presidency of Mr. John White.
     M. S. P.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     The Immanuel Church School opened September 16 with the largest attendance it has ever had,-73 pupils, distributed in nine grades and kindergarten. This is the first year that all of the grades are carried at the same time. The space of our building is severely taxed, and our leaders are trying to devise some way to provide more room.

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The teaching force for the coming year is: The Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, pastor, teaches Religion and Hebrew; Miss Gladys Blackman, principal, teaches grades 7, 8, and 9; Miss Venita Roschman, primary; Mrs. Jenny Cole Scalbom, 4th grade and kindergarten; Miss Agatha Starkey, 5th and 6th grades; Prof. Jean Rydstrom, singing. In addition, the school has the valued assistance of the following volunteers: Miss Helen Maynard, Miss Sophie Falk, Miss Collene Starkey, and Mr. Seymour Nelson. Our buildings have been thoroughly refurbished by the volunteer labor of parents and friends. As an extra-curricular activity, a little orchestra has been formed by Prof. Jesse Stevens, made up of the very young ones who are his pupils.

     The semi-annual meeting of the society was held according to by-laws on the first Friday of October, this date also marking the resumption of the Friday suppers. The annual meeting, held in April, provides for the election of officers, but the principal object of this semi-annual meeting, coming at the end of the fiscal year, is to hear and consider the reports of the officers, boards and committees. Our hard-working treasurer, Mr. George K. Fiske, told of his efforts to balance the budget, and of his hopes of seeing $6000 raised to meet the needs for the ensuing year. More money is needed to pay the increasing costs of the growing school, and for other uses. The report of our efficient librarian, Miss Helen Maynard, showed an expanding usefulness of the library, particularly in connection with the school, and that much new shelf-space is needed. Mr. Ralph Synnestvedt, for the Park Commissioners, reported on the results accomplished by the voluntary labor of our men and youth in the upkeep and betterment of the Park, without a cent of expenditure.

     We are looking forward to the visit of Bishop Alfred Acton, who is to preside at the meetings of the Chicago District Assembly which are to be held here, October 9-11. Among other preparations, a large choir is being formed for the service of worship on Assembly Sunday.
     J. B. S.

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

     After the summer's vacation, our services of worship were resumed on Sunday, September 13. On the previous evening, the church room was decorated for a wedding with a brilliant display of flowers, and Mr. Norman Jasmer was married to Mrs. Olga W. Timm, our pastor officiating. After the ceremony the relatives of both families met for dinner at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, and then the happy couple departed for a trip to North Carolina.

     The first Ladies' Meeting of the season was held at the home of Mrs. Harvey Farrington. Our pastor is reading to us from Robert Hindmarsh's Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church, with many comments and explanations, and we are finding the subject very interesting.

     The opening Friday supper and doctrinal class brought the usual number together. The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine will be studied in the class.

     We attended the Chicago District Assembly, held in Glenview, October 9-11, and after a delightful three-day meeting, Bishop Acton met the members of Sharon Church at their church room in Chicago on Monday evening, October 12, about sixty being present. In a very instructive talk on the Life of Emanuel Swedenborg, Bishop Acton spoke smoothly and fluently for over an hour to a very attentive audience. Following the lecture an excellent supper was served, for the preparation of which we are indebted to Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Headsten, and other ladies. For the artistic decorations of autumn flowers and shrubbery from the woods we owe a hearty vote of thanks to Miss Gene Headsten.
     E. V. W.

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WORD EXPLAINED 1936

WORD EXPLAINED              1936




     Announcements.



     VOLUME IV of the English version of The Word of the Old Testament Explained is now in the printer's hands, and publication is expected by Christmas. It will contain the explanations of the Book of Exodus, chapters I to XXII, thus furnishing interesting collateral reading in connection with the Calendar Readings from the Arcana Coelestia, which at the present time are setting forth the internal sense of Exodus.
AUTHORIZATION 1936

AUTHORIZATION              1936

     The Rev. Henry Algernon, of Georgetown, British Guiana, a member of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, has been authorized by Acting Bishop George de Charms for one year to teach and administer the sacraments in the name of the General Church.

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CHILD BORN, A SON GIVEN 1936

CHILD BORN, A SON GIVEN       Rev. F. E. WAELCHLI       1936


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVI      DECEMBER, 1936          No. 12
     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6.)

     These words are in the Old Testament, and were spoken by the prophet Isaiah about seven hundred years before the Lord was born. Yet they were spoken as if the birth of the Lord were already taking place. It is said, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." The Lord gave these words to Isaiah to speak, and what the Lord sees as something that is to be done at some future time on earth is with Him as if it were already done. So these words are Christmas words, telling of the Lord's coming into the world as the Savior.

     "Unto us a child is Born, unto us a son is given." The Lord came as "a child born" and "a son given." Like every little child that is born, He was very innocent, that is, very good. But His innocence and goodness were something far, far greater than that of any other little child ever born. For His goodness was that of God Himself, thus Goodness Itself; for His Soul was God. This is what is meant by the "child born." It means that God as Divine Good came into the world.

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     He is also called the "son given." This reminds us that when the angel told Mary that she would be the Lord's mother, he said, "He shall be called the 'Son of the Highest,'" and also "He shall be called 'the Son of God.'" This means that, as to that body with which the Lord was born, and as to the mind that belonged to that body, He was the Son of that Divine Soul which was God Himself. And it also means that in the mind of that body there would be God's own Truth, the Divine Truth, which would do wonderful things in saving mankind.

     "And the government shall be upon His shoulder." This means that the Lord, in that body in which He came into the world, would be the Governor, or Ruler, of all things of heaven and earth. The Lord while on earth made His body and its mind to be God, even as His Soul was God. And so when He went back into heaven He said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth." And it is interesting to know that a "shoulder" means power; for all power of the body comes forth through the shoulder. And that is why it is said, "The government shall be upon His shoulder."

     When the angel told the shepherds about the child born at Bethlehem, he said, "Unto you is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Surely we should wish to know what the Lord was as the Savior, and what He did as the Savior, and what He became as the Savior. These are the greatest of all things we should wish to know; and they are told in His names that are given when it is said: "And His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, the Mighty, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace." Each of these names means something of the Lord the Savior. And they must be holy for us; for we pray daily, "Hallowed (or holy) be Thy Name."

     There are six names in our text, and we can think of them as three pairs. The first pair is Wonderful, Counselor; the second, God, the Mighty; the third, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.

     "Wonderful, Counselor"-the first name is "Wonderful" I and, being the first, it leads to all the names that follow, and is present within them all. There are many ways in which we can think of how wonderful was the Child that was born and the Son that was given. But the principal way in which to think of it is that He came to do all that was foretold of Him in the Word. How are we to understand this? At the time the Lord came the Word with men was the Old Testament.

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This, in its deepest meaning, from beginning to end, in every word, tells what the Lord would do when He would come on earth. Thousands and thousands and thousands of things, more than could ever be numbered, it tells that the Lord would do when He would come into the world to save mankind from hell and to lead them to heaven. So very, very wonderful is that deepest meaning of the Old Testament. As that great Wonderfulness the Lord came, and did all that was said of Him, and by His doing it He was the Wonderful.

     As the Word, the Lord was the "Wonderful," and also as the Word He was the "Counselor," or Teacher. For as the Word He taught men concerning Himself, concerning love to Him and to one another, concerning giving up evil and receiving good from Him, and concerning the way to heaven and its happiness.

     "God, the Mighty."-In the Word the name "God" is used when it tells of something the Lord does in His great power. It is used when it tells of His creation of the world, of His changing man from evil to good, and of His founding the church, as where it is said that the New Jerusalem, or the New Church, comes down from God out of heaven. In the Hebrew, in which language the Old Testament was given, the word for God is "El." This word El means power, or the Powerful One. Now, this power belongs to the Divine Truth. You know that when something true is spoken, there is power in that truth. But the Lord is All Truth, Truth Itself, Divine Truth, and as such He has Divine Power. It was as Divine Truth in all its power that the Lord came on earth and did all that was foretold of Him; and so one of the names by which the child born and son given is to be called is "God."

     With the name "God" comes the name "the Mighty," to make us think of what the Lord, when on earth as the Savior did in the might of His Truth. The Hebrew word for "the Mighty," more exactly translated, is "Hero." God, the Divine Truth, was on earth as the Hero because as a great Hero He fought against all hell, which hates the truth, hates the Lord as the Truth, and seeks to destroy the Truth with men and with angels. But the Lord, the Hero, in great and terrible battles, fought against the great hosts of devils, and conquered them, and drove them into hell, so that He as the Truth might again, in all power, be with men and with angels.

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     "Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace."-As the names "God, Hero," make us think of the Lord as the Truth and of the Power of Truth, so the next two names make us think of His Love. The name "Father," when spoken of the Lord, means His Love. This is what this name should mean to us when, beginning the Lord's Prayer, we say, "Our Father, who art in the heavens." In our text the name is "Father of Eternity," the Father who has ever been, now is, and forever will be. As that Father of Eternity He came on earth as the Savior. He came because of His wondrous love. And in that love He did all that He did. And as that love He returned into heaven, where He reigns as the Father of Eternity.

     Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Father of Eternity, is also the "Prince of Peace." By peace is meant all the delight and joy of heaven. The Lord came in order to give that peace, and in His giving it He became Peace Itself, the Prince of Peace; and as such He ascended into heaven, where forever He imparts peace to all the angels, and also to all on earth who will receive it from Him. It is the same whether we say that He gives peace or that He gives heaven. And He gives it in His Love.

     When we spoke of the first name, Wonderful, we said that what it means enters into the meaning of all the names that follow. And now this last name, Prince of Peace, is that to which all the names going before lead, as it were step by step. It is the crowning name.

     Such are the holy names of the Lord which should be especially in our thought at the time when we celebrate His Coming as the Savior. But let us not think of these names as only being His at the time when He came. They are His now and forever, the names of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

     "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace."

LESSON: Isaiah 9:2-7.
MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 110, 111, 116, 198 (no. 126).

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CELEBRATING THE LORD'S ADVENT 1936

CELEBRATING THE LORD'S ADVENT       Rev. W. B. CALDWELL       1936

     "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people." (Luke 1:68.)

     These opening words of the inspired utterance of Zacharias are in acknowledgment of the imminent birth of the Messiah as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind. The whole is known as the Benedictus,-a Blessing of the Lord by men in praise and thanksgiving for His advent. And "to bless the Lord is to sing to Him, to announce His salvation, to preach His wisdom and power, thus to confess and acknowledge the Lord from the heart; and they who do this are blest by the Lord with all good and all felicity." (A. C. 1422.) "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people."

     Of like import are Mary's inspired words, known as the Magnificat: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit doth rejoice in God my Savior." (Luke 1:46, 47.) And these two enunciations became the earliest Christian songs in glorification of the Lord for His advent, voicing the ruling theme of that festival of the Nativity which has been kept by Christians down through the years, and is now observed with a new significance and affection in the Church of the Second Advent.

     In reality, every festival of the church is a celebration of the advent of the Lord. The festivals we observe during the year are celebrations in remembrance of what may be called four comings of the Lord,-His coming at creation, at the incarnation, at His resurrection, and His advent in glory.

     Creation itself was a Divine coming, as also is His perpetual new creation and providence, His perpetual presence and operation by influx. And this is acknowledged when there is a festival of thanksgiving at the time of harvest, when the productions of the earth bring to remembrance the Lord God who created the universe, even by His Divine proceeding, His Divine going forth to create and produce,-the finiting of His Infinity by means of substances emitted, sent forth, from Himself,-a giving of Himself, that there might be a habitation for men and angels, where He may bless them with the eternal joys of the truly human life.

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     The incarnation, or the advent of the Lord by birth and the assumption of the human in the world, is commemorated at Christmas. The Lord's resurrection and reappearing is celebrated at Easter. His coming in glory, and the manifestation of His Divine Human to the New Heaven and the New Church-in remembrance of this is the Festival of the Second Advent.

     These four comings of the Lord are the great events of all history, ever to be commemorated and celebrated by the church upon earth with joy and thankfulness of heart; for the race of men owes its existence and its preservation, its redemption and salvation, to these four comings of the Lord.

     II.

     Festivals of the church are observed by formal worship and thanksgiving in praise and acknowledgment of the Lord; also by feasts of charity, and by expressions of mutual love among the members of the church, united in the spiritual bonds of love to the Lord. For at His every coming there is the bestowal of the gifts and blessings of His mercy. He comes to give Himself for the happiness of His creatures, and is received by those who are in mutual love, who delight to share the Divine blessings, one with another.

     In the formal worship of the Lord at such times there is especially the confession of His Divine greatness, and praise for His manifold mercies to the sons of men, especially by glorifications of the Lord in music and song. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. . . .They shall pour forth the memory of Thy great goodness, and shall sing of Thy justice." (Psalm 145:3, 7.)

     In the Ancient Church, the sacred songs were glorifications of the Lord on account of His expected advent, and of the redemption then to be performed by Him. Of this we read in the Heavenly Doctrine:

     "The songs in the Ancient Church, and afterwards in the Jewish, were prophetic, and treated of the Lord, especially of His advent into the world, of His destroying the diabolical crew, at that time raging more than ever, and of His liberating the faithful from their assaults.

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And because those prophetic songs contained such things in their internal sense, by them is signified the glorification of the Lord, that is, celebration of Him from gladness of heart; for gladness of heart is especially expressed by singing, the gladness breaking forth as though of itself into sound. In such songs, therefore, Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is called Hero, a Man of war, the God of armies, the Conqueror, the Mighty One, a Defence, a Shield, and Salvation; while the diabolical crew that was destroyed is called the enemy that was smitten, swallowed up, overwhelmed, and cast into hell.

     "Of old, they who knew nothing of the internal sense believed that things in the world were meant by their songs,-worldly enemies, combats, victories, defeats and overthrows, of which the songs treated in their external sense. But they who knew that all these prophetic songs involved things celestial and Divine, and that these latter were represented in the former, knew that the subject treated of was the damnation of the unbelieving and the salvation of the believing by the Lord when He should come into the world. And they who knew this, and thought about it, and hence were internally affected by it, had internal gladness. At the same time the attendant angels were also in glorification of the Lord. And so they who sang, and they who heard the songs, experienced a heavenly gladness from the holy and blessed things which flowed in from heaven, in which gladness they seemed to themselves to be as it were taken up into heaven. Such an effect had the songs of the church among the ancients; and such an effect they might also have at this day; for the spiritual angels are especially affected by songs which relate to the Lord, His kingdom, and the church.

     "So it was that the glorifications of the Lord among the ancients who were of the church were performed by songs, psalms, and musical instruments. For they derived a joy exceeding all joys from the recollection of the Lord's advent, and of the salvation of the human race by Him." (A. C. 8261.)

     This, therefore, is the ruling theme of the church festival, in the past and in the present,-the acknowledgment of the Lord's coming with grateful reception. Nor is this confined to the festival occasion. Every service of worship is a representation of the advent of the Lord, which is acknowledged in prayer for His coming and presence, in praise for His continual gifts, and in actual reception of the Divine Light and Life in the instruction given from His Word, and in the partaking of the most holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

     The man of the church enters spontaneously into these formal celebrations when he is in a daily heart's acknowledgment that the Lord's presence is perpetual, and that His advent takes place with those who receive Him by believing in Him and doing His commandments.

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For the Lord said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20.)

     And this perpetual presence of the Lord, and His advent to the individual to liberate from the darkness of ignorance and the powers of evil, to enlighten and to save, was not only manifested and represented by the incarnation, when He actually appeared in the world in the body of man, but by that coming, and by His glorification, He took to Himself a new and more intimate presence with men and angels, even in the Divine Glorified Body, the Divine Human, in which He is present and coming forever, with power to instruct, to lead, and to save all who receive Him in the light and life of His glorious Word of Revelation, wherein He comes to bless with the gift of salvation and the joys of life eternal. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people." Amen.

LESSONS: Isaiah 25. John 1:l-14. T. C. R. 774.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 484(82), 497, 541, 650.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 76, 86.

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NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1936

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1936

     A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
GREEKS AND THE FIRST RATIONAL 1936

GREEKS AND THE FIRST RATIONAL       Rev. WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1936

     "And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." (John 12:20-24.)

     Seemingly this incident of the coming of the Greeks is a trivial matter, having no intelligible relation to the great events by which it is surrounded. It is but a few days to the Passover. A vast multitude of pilgrims floods the city of Jerusalem. Hearing the amazing story of the raising of Lazarus, they have surged out toward the Bethany road, with palm branches in their hands, to hail with their hosannas One who came even as a king might have come. So dominant at this hour, indeed, is the note of popular enthusiasm, that the pompous leaders of the Jewish world say bitterly, one to the other: "Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing! behold, the world is gone after Him."

     And now, into the midst of this prophetic pageant, there comes a small band of Greeks- "proselytes of the gate," they are called-who are grudgingly allowed to worship in the outer court of the Temple. These do not belong to the class of proselytes who have bowed to the entire Jewish ceremonial law, and so made themselves the blind, political tools of the Pharisees,-those proselytes whom the Lord Himself referred to as having been made twofold more the children of hell than the Pharisees themselves.

     These Greeks are a special class of proselytes who, having read portions of the sacred writings of the Jews, wish to share in the fulfillment of the Divine promises involved therein.

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They do not wish to become Jews. The literalism of Jewish culture is forbidding to them. But they are already convinced that there is a Divine government of the world, and that the excesses of the contemporary pagan world should be shunned as evils against the Supreme Good for which the universe was ordained. They were even dimly aware-because the remains of truth from the Ancient Word had never passed wholly into eclipse-that a Great Teacher and King of Truth-a Messiah-would some day come to bring judgment to their world. These things they know, not as a formal system of thought, a fixed creed, or a rationalized dogma. But intuitively, as by a higher influx of thought, they know them to be of the very essence of religion,-an ideal of life deeper and higher than anything which they could hope to find in the declining pagan world about them. So they follow these perceptions-half thought and half feeling-as men might follow the fitful shining of stars.

     To such comes the report of Jesus of Nazareth, who heals and saves as the Messiah of mankind. And in the dignity of humility, in a state of mingled desire and hope, they come therefore to Philip, saying, "Sir, we would see Jesus."

     We need not marvel that men despised by the Jews were to be admitted to signal notice by the Lord, even on the eve of His glorification. The very contempt of the Jews for these Gentiles was in itself-as it ever was and ever will be-the sign of a dead church, the token of a Pharisaism in which love of the neighbor is strangled in the exclusive love of self and of self's own.

     These "proselytes of the gate," these inquiring Greeks, represented the very class to whom the Christian Gospel was to be most successfully directed; for in the receptive minds of these, the most eminent of the gentiles, the seeds of the Divine Truth could be sown. The Sacred Scripture had abundantly indicated that the gentiles, even to the remotest islands of the ancient world, were to seek after a new order of righteousness to be established by the Messiah. "The isles shall wait for my law," ran Isaiah's prophecy (Isa. 42:4); "the isles shall wait upon me, and on my arm shall they trust." (Isa. 41:5.) In innumerable passages it may be seen that it was in the fulfillment of prophecy that "there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast."

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     II.

     History itself provides a rich variety of confirmation of the view that the mind of the Greek was prepared in Providence for the reception of the Christian Church. By disposition and environment the Greeks had become opposed to despotism, inertia, traditionalism, the idolatry of merely material things,-the very qualities which had slowly eclipsed the leadership of the old Asiatic world. The Greeks were not only strong, fresh, representing the Youth of a New Day; they were eminently alive and vital in the desire to see and know the truth on every plane of life. This was more than mere curiosity or restlessness of the mind. It was the birth of the first rational of the Aryan race, brilliant and unprecedented, eagerly searching for the source of all truth and good, knowing that in the love of truth lay the seed plot of all human virtues. Hence their deepest concepts of religion, poetry and philosophy were not only created out of some substance of the traditions of genuine celestial truth, but also embodied creative and vivifying impulses, the like of which the world had never before seen.

     From the knowledges of the Word of the ancient world, from reflections on moral and civic ideals, from the experiences of the senses, they fashioned on the anvil of truly alert minds the beginnings of the sciences and organized thoughts of modern man. With an intensity and sincerity not excelled by any men of science in our modern Western world, they challenged the old order of superstition and external force, and sought to make their world a place of harmony and balance from within-from the human mind, which in potency is able to rule the animus and the body of any civilization or of any individual. This is why they stressed the freedom and responsibility of the individual,-because they saw that the health and vitality of any society rests upon the power of its individual members to assimilate in freedom the nourishment of knowledge, culture, art, and religion, and to show an elastic adaptability in receiving the teachings of the kingdoms of Nature, Man and God. This is why they detested government by force, whether tyranny came in the form of one, or few, or of many. The external compulsion of an absolute ruler, or of a self-seeking aristocracy, or of a passion-swept democracy, was to them compulsion in which the genuine reformation and regeneration of the spirit and uses of man could not take place.

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Hence their cities were associations of free individuals, and their civil state was an association of free cities.

     This passion for freedom was so great that it carried them beyond the bounds of prudence, and prevented unity, even for self-defense against unscrupulous enemies. But, to the Greeks, freedom for the development of a world of ideas was a greater thing than freedom for a world of expanding material things. From the shriveled hands of the Semitic leaders, the Greeks took the remnants of wisdom from all ancient time; but under their leadership the Aryan race, plainly destined to a spiritual mission, was to organize thought and to institute a philosophy and science disentangled from the vagaries and monstrous literalism of the Asiatic mind.

     As far as the natural mind of man could go at this time, the Greek went. Philosophy, art, literature, history, science,-in a word, the foundations of our Western civilization,-were laid by them in the atmosphere of a freedom for the mind that, with all the modern man's assumed superiority, does not, as a social fact, exist today. The freedom of the spirit was the breath of Greek life. "Absolute despotism, polygamy, human sacrifices, the selling of children into slavery, were unknown in any Greek city in historical times."

     To the Greeks belonged the first example in history of states possessing a rational and free civilization, without which ordered freedom the mind of man could not have progressed out of the shadows of the old Eastern world, and no rational religion could have been established.

     Without the incomparable direction of Greek thought, Roman civilization would have remained in its crude beginnings, the Middle Ages would have contributed virtually nothing, the Renaissance would never have taken place, the Reformation would have been deprived of its means of success, and the modern mind robbed of many of its most fundamental ideas. So of systematic culture and schools, the Romans obtained these from Greece, and we through the Middle Ages from them. How the traditions of the Ancient Church passed from Asia into Greece, and thence into Italy, is several times noted in the Writings. (A. C. 8944:2, 10177:16; S. S. 117.)

     To the Greeks, therefore, the Christian Gospel was to carry its greatest appeal, as the Acts of the Apostles abundantly testify, as the great first century churches of Fhilippi, Salonica, Berrhoea, Nicopolis, Corinth and Athens, were soon to witness, as the first theologians and scholars of Alexandria were presently to reveal.

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Even the early bishops of Rome itself were, for three centuries, mainly Greeks, and their Churches, like all other Churches in the West, were Greek religious colonies. Their language, organization, writers, scriptures and liturgy were Greek.

     This was the race whose use it was to lay the natural foundations of a new order, to save the New World of gentiles in Europe from the Old World tyrannies of Asia, to make possible a culture based upon the free action of the human mind, especially as and when engaged in the pursuit of truth for its own sake, wherever that quest might lead.

     III.

     It is recorded that the Greeks spoken of in the Gospel text did not come directly to the Lord. They came first to Philip, who then communicated their desire to Andrew, and these together approached the Lord. Philip here represents the truth of the church in the natural or first rational, the truth of faith, and, in itself, truth only.

     This was the natural way of approach for those leading Gentiles who were as the Greeks, in whom truth was a passion,-namely, the further leading of that intelligence which they had developed amidst the symbolic and representative wisdom of the Ancient world into a new world of the mind, in which truth was no longer to be veiled in representations, but could be seen and known as the Divine Truth itself. This first love and acquisition of truth was the prior step. The quantity of truth received mattered little; the quality of the affection,-the desire to see the Logos, even in the flesh,-this was the first and indispensable step.

     For what is true of the successive unfoldings of the Divine Word is also true of the planes of the human mind. The affection for genuine natural truth, whether external natural or internal natural, must first be fostered, not only because the Divine is within every truth, but also because, from its beginning in the world of the senses, the natural mind should be prepared for correspondence with the things of the highest rational faculty of man,-his understanding and application of the truths of Divine Revelation. The knowledges of celestial-spiritual things cannot be arranged in order without this orderly opening and preparation of the natural mind.

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There is no sudden leap to celestial knowledge from the merit of man's own goodness.

     Andrew represents the obedience of faith, the humility that accepts the Divine Truth as revelation because it is the Word of the Lord come to lead and save the world of the gentiles. To see the Lord then, to see the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom of the universe, which was the highest striving of the Hellenic mind in its noblest works of philosophy and literature,-this was contingent to the waiting on Philip and Andrew. There was to be an orderly way of approach, a right manner of coming to see the Lord, not as a ceremonial for an earthly king, but as a succession of states,-distinct steps in the path towards spiritual life.

     But how is this connected with the Lord's instant announcement that the hour was now come that the Son of man should be glorified? This was the very eve of the Lord's passion, the last of His temptations, by which He fully glorified His Human, through which alone the human race could find spiritual salvation.

     The answer lies in the necessity of the death which the natural mind must die, that it may be glorified, even as the Son of man was glorified. This essential doctrine shines forth in the very letter of the Word, and is abundantly unfolded in the Writings of the Church. It is the seeming death of the natural mind, howsoever brilliant or learned, in a new birth of the mind, whereby the rational faculty of man does not perish, but through regeneration has everlasting life, as well as an abundant revivification of its natural powers.     

     The promise of eternal life lies in man's desire to see the Divine Truth,-his desire for enlightenment from a light and life higher than his own. The poise and balance of spiritual life and spiritual perception cannot be found merely in a fierce passion for natural knowledge, in a greediness for intellectual power over natural men and natural things. The appearance is that the rational mind derives its essence and life from itself. And so men in all ages have inclined to the belief that they themselves, even from the times of so-called primitive man, have made the rational mind from their own cultures, knowledges, and arts. But the truth is that the cultures, knowledges and arts are but the means, which a higher and Supreme mind, flowing in as far as man's reception permits, disposes and arranges for the spiritual welfare of the human race.

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If the naturally pagan mind of man holds to some obedience and receptivity to a higher spiritual law derived from the Word of God-even though expressed in general correspondential philosophies, as with the Greeks-then the hour is nigh that the Son of man should be glorified.

     IV.

     The attitude of desire to see the Divine Truth in the Lord's Word is the beginning of spiritual wisdom. This is plainly taught in the Doctrine, where we read:

     "The external man is corporeal and sensual; nor does it receive anything celestial and spiritual unless knowledges are implanted in it, as in ground; celestial things can have in these their receiving vessels, but the knowledges must be from the Word. Hence it may be evident that the Lord, in boyhood, was not willing to imbue Himself with any other knowledges than those of the Word." (A. C. 1461.)

     "The Lord when a boy thought thus, namely, that if He should be carried away by mere eagerness of the learning of knowledges, this learning is such that it would care no more for the celestial things, but only for the knowledges to which the eagerness of learning would carry Him away." (A. C. 1472.)

     These passages involve that knowledges from the Word were necessary as recipient vessels, even to the Divine Natural. How much more is the natural mind of man-even in his dealing with the abstract and non-spatial things of the spiritual world-dependent upon ultimate truth, whatever his internal state. There is no royal road to glorification save through the state of humiliation. For this reason, in our text, the Lord makes use of the striking comparison from Nature, namely, the dissolution of a grain of wheat. First, the seed falls quietly, as of an ordained destiny, into the ground, which receives it with seeming indifference, yet holds it as its right and home. Then there is actual decomposition and seeming death. But lo! as by a miracle, the life of the seed springs up from the dust of its tiny grave, and bringeth forth much fruit.

     In this teaching of the relation of the Lord's glorification to man's regeneration, there was much mystery, both to the disciples and to the gentiles; indeed, to the early Church in general.

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Hence we find Paul writing to the Greek members at Corinth: "Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (I Corinthians 2:6-8.)

     Paul's thought of the glory of the man of the Church was already deeply involved in a misconception of the passion of the cross, namely, that solely by the Lord's having suffered could the men of the Church be saved. And though this view, we are told in the Writings, did no harm to the truly simple who could not comprehend interior arcana, yet it is now quite clear that Paul induced a fatal bias of false emphasis and a lack of gentile humility upon the men of the early Church. For example, he writes: "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. . . . Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God. . . . But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him. But we have the mind of Christ." (I Corinthians 2:2, 12, 14, 16.)

     This glorifying of self, alas, lies across the record of the first Christian Church, to its eventual spiritual undoing. Yet the teaching of the Lord in this parable of the grain of wheat is clear. There can be no glorification and redemption unless life passes through the ultimate humiliations of experience in both worlds, even to the appearance of death, as at the cross.

     In the world of nature, the never-ending changes of decay and reproduction accompany the bringing forth of life. The pangs and pains as of dissolution are the heralds of the release of long-entombed and gathering energies. Time must proceed through its periods of glacial cold and winter before the verdant dawn of cultures may again spread over the earth. Everything in the world of nature and in the empire of man proceeds from life to death, and from death to life, in ever falling, yet still ever rising and widening circles of the spiral of being. And man finds, or he misses the opportunity to find, a higher equilibrium and freedom in planes of life to which it is given to him to adapt himself.

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     This is true of both churches and civilizations. For the world of nature is but a theater representing the universal spiritual world, with its laws and progressions; and there is nothing in the material world, not the smallest particle or the most trivial event, which does not exist and flow from that universal law of correspondence and representation of the spiritual world in the natural. And this law, in its most perfect form, is seen in man, in whom the spiritual and natural worlds meet and conjoin themselves. As the grain of wheat must fall into the ground, in order to decompose that which imprisons future life, so in man the natural part must hate itself, that is, must refuse to abide alone in the world of the fleshly senses, must reach out for unity with the laws of a higher plane, and so save itself for a life in a world above the gross contacts of the mere earth.

     To live, there must be the reaching after more life. No seed can bear fruit unless it fall into the ground and die. As long as it is merely stored within a granary, it holds its life within the shell; it remains but a single seed, fruitless and solitary. But let it be sown, and then it perishes as a seed, only to be born again in a multitude of grains for the advancement of others, as well as the revivification of itself.

     This Divine law appears especially on the plane of the moral and civil life of men. The man who selfishly loves his life,-that is, who seeks only the pleasure of self-expression, the gratification of his own desires, the ministry of his own needs,-will find in the end that his life is narrowed, warped and degraded by his proprial self, which has hardened, as it were, into a prison, so that he loses sympathy and unity with the progressing uses of his own age and generation. He has become hardened and confirmed in the wilful purposes of his own self-loves. And his great technical skill in adapting himself to the over-promotion of his own uses, and the building up of his own environment at the expense of his neighbor, finally brings the retribution that all over-specialization brings,-the inability to survive in any other environment than the one which he has builded for himself, to his own unwitting enslavement. This is why the natural man today is so greatly the slave of the very machinery which he has made to minister to the loves of self and of the world.

     The merely natural man may have collected many truths, but they are as grains of wheat stored away as a miser stores away money.

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They are mere possessions laid up in the granary of the memory,-not put to the uses of the human spirit, or for the good of the neighbor at large, but lost even to one's self in the dimness and disuse of advancing years.

     On the other hand, he who freely yields himself to the love of truth and good in the service of the Lord and of the neighbor; he who sincerely pursues the duties which Providence indicates for him from time to time; such a one will find his life through hating it; that is, through spurning its grosser husks, its mere appearances, its proprial delights, he will build for himself genuine standards of spiritual-moral culture,-those standards that will ultimately inspire the philosophies, the sciences, the arts, and all the manifold uses of the society of the future, pouring as they will from the regenerated will and understanding-the second rational-of the man of the Lord's New Church.

     V.

     This process is set forth in infinite detail throughout the Writings of the Church. But one passage may finally be quoted from the Arcana Celestia which has specific bearing upon the subject before us:

     "How the first rational was banished, when the Divine Rational took its place, shall he briefly explained: With every man who is being regenerated there are two rationals, one before regeneration, the other after regeneration. The first, which is before regeneration, is procured through the experience of the senses, by reflections upon the things of civic life and of moral life, and by means of the sciences and the reasonings derived from them and by means of them, also by means of the knowledges of spiritual things from the doctrine of faith or from the Word. But these go no further at that time than a little above the ideas of the corporeal memory, which comparatively are quite material. Whatever therefore it then thinks is from such things; or, in order that what it thinks may be comprehended at the same time by interior or intellectual sight, the semblances of such things are presented by comparison, or by analogy. Of this kind is the first rational, or that which is before regeneration.

     "But the rational after regeneration is formed by the Lord through the affections of spiritual truth and good, which affections are implanted by the Lord in a wonderful manner in the truths of the former rational; and those things in it which are in agreement, and which favor, are thus vivified.

     "The first rational, in the beginning, knows no other love than that of self and the world; and although it hears that heavenly love is altogether of another character, it nevertheless does not comprehend it.

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But when the man does any good, he perceives no other delight from it than that he may seem to himself to merit the favor of another, or may hear himself called a Christian, or may obtain from it the joy of eternal life. The second rational, however, with which he is gifted by the Lord through regeneration, begins to feel some delight in good and truth itself, and to be affected by this delight, not for the sake of anything of his own, but for the sake of the good and truth; and when he is led by this delight, he disclaims merit, till at length he rejects it as an enormity. This delight grows with him step by step, and becomes blessed; and in the other life it becomes happiness, and is itself his heaven. "Hence it is now evident how it is with each rational in the man who is being regenerated. But be it known that although a man is being regenerated, still each and all things of the first rational remain with him, and are merely separated from the second rational, and this in a most wonderful manner by the Lord. But the Lord wholly banished His first rational, so that nothing of it remained. . . ." (A. C. 2657.)

     This, then, is why the first rational must be prepared, in the Providence of the Lord, for the reception of the interior truths of the Christian Scriptures,-the spiritual sense of the Word of God.

     And so, to the man of today, as to the Greeks of old, standing in the glory of adolescence, proudly conscious of powers and possessions hitherto unknown, there is presented the ultimate test of fitness for the kingdom of heaven. "If any man will serve me," saith the Lord, "let him follow me." Let him give up the love of self, the pride of his own intelligence, the yielding to the world and its merely natural truth. Let him wait upon the Divine Truth now revealed, which is the blood of the living God. So shall he be loosed from the slavery of sin. This is indeed the supreme test of all thought and all action, of all philosophy and science, of all education,-man's willingness to proceed from the adolescent to the adult life of the soul.

     Dead though the language and civilization of the ancient Greeks may appear to be, that which the Greek mind in its highest glory represented is ever a living factor in the world of spiritual creation. And the restoral of its spiritual-rational energies, its creative impulses, after the present mechanistic age shall have passed-destroyed in the wars of its own greed-this age in which nations devoted to brute force and the worship of material things are once again pitted, as in Asia of old, against the spiritual yearnings of the individual man and his desire to see God,-the restoration of this essential Greek spirit is as sure as the coming of the morning sun.

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     And once again a new culture shall release the benumbed spiritual faculties of man, and prepare the mind for the reception of a true Christian faith and a truly Christian philosophy and science. Once again shall the isles wait for His law, and send their emissaries to the outer courts of His temple. Once again shall men come to Philip of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desire him, saying, "Sir, we would see Jesus!"

     "For the hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." And Jesus said, "For this cause came I unto this hour. . . . Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men Unto me."
NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1936

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1936

     THE WORD EXPLAINED VOLUME IV.

     As the exposition of the Book of Genesis was concluded in Volume III of the English version of The Word of the Old Testament Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg, translated by Alfred Acton, M.A., D.Th., the explanation of the Book of Exodus begins in Volume IV, now in the press, which will include chapters I to XXII, nos. 3194-4558 (Latin of the Adversaria, Vol. II: nos. 1516-2476; Vol. III: nos. 1-1055). It is estimated that three more volumes will be required to complete the work in English.

     The publication of the Exodus explanations will furnish valuable collateral reading in connection with the Daily Calendar, which at the present time provides for daily portions of the Arcana Coelestia where the spiritual sense of the Book of Exodus is set forth.

     DR. IUNGERICH'S NEW BOOK.

     The Soul and Its Representations, a new work by the Rev. Dr. E. E. Iungerich, published by the author, is now on sale at The New-Church Press, Ltd., London, at 6sh a copy (postage 6d), and will be on sale at the Academy Book Room at $1.50 a copy.

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     EVANGELISTIC BOOKLETS.

VARA DADA VANNER (Our Departed Friends). By Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom. Appelviken, Stockholm: Bokfiirlaget Nova Ecclesia, 1936. Paper; pp. 132; Kr. 2: 25.

     With the publication of this volume, Mr. Baeckstrom adds one more to the long list of books which he has prepared chiefly for missionary use among those who read the Swedish language, and which have enjoyed a considerable sale, especially in connection with his lectures in many places in Sweden and Norway.

SWEDENBORG ON HEAVEN AND HELL. By Rev. J. G. Dufty. 20 pages.

THE LIFE THAT LEADS TO HEAVEN. By Rev. Frank F. Coulson. 16 pages. London: New-Church Press, Ltd., 1936. Penny Pamphlets.

     GERMAN VERSION OF DE GEYMULLER'S WORK.

SWEDENBORG UND DIE UBERSINNLICHE WELT (Swedenborg and the Supersensual World). By Henry de Geymuller. A German Translation by Prof. Dr. Paul Sakmann, with Preface and Appendix by Prof. Dr. Hans Dreisch. Stuttgart and Berlin: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1936. Buckram, 8 vo; pp. 395.

     The original work in French, entitled Swedenborg et les Phenomenes Psychiquess (Swedenborg and Psychic Phenomena), was favorably reviewed in our pages, February, 1935, p. 54, where Dr. Iungerich expressed his belief that the work might "arouse considerable interest in the learned circles of Europe, and even lead eventually to a deeper realization of the fact that the Writings of Swedenborg elucidate the principles that govern all the fields of human interest and endeavor." The first part of this prophecy seems now to have been realized.

     As soon as the book appeared in French, the well-known publishing firm, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, asked for the German copyright, and the author prepared a shortened and thoroughly revised text which has now been translated by Prof. Dr. Sakmann.

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It was also read through by Geheimrat Prof. Dr. Hans Dreisch, of Leipzig University, author of many books on psychology, biology and natural philosophy, who furnishes the short Preface of the volume before us, and also an Appendix in which he praises Swedenborg for his biological doctrines, but chiefly for his "so carefully thought-out conception of plastic intermediate substances in organic life."

     The work has caught the interest of the learned world in Europe, and has thus brought the teachings of the Philosophical and Theological Works to the attention of scholars as nothing has done since the Swedenborg Congress of 1910. After its publication last Easter, 450 copies of the German version were sold within two months, and friendly reviews have appeared in the daily press and in specialized periodicals. We need not be unduly sanguine as to the permanent effects of all this. It remains to be seen how far the present-day scientist and philosopher will go in recognizing Swedenborg's system of creation from the Infinite, his doctrine of the atmospheres, and of their interplay with the degrees of the human soul and mind, and of the spirits and bloods of the body, to say nothing of the revealed truths concerning the Creator and His spiritual kingdom. Yet it is encouraging to know that these things are receiving affirmative consideration by learned minds in the world at large, with the possibility that some may be open to receive them.

     We are informed that Count Keyserling, famous essayist and philosopher, as a result of reading this book, has expressed his admiration for Swedenborg, whom he had never directly studied. He says that he never before came across anything approaching Swedenborg's spiritual experiences, so "permeated with thought, and so well-grasped intellectually." And while he thinks that Swedenborg was "not altogether free from preconceived notions,-theological concepts, overestimation of the powers of reason, typical of the 18th century,-yet the real meaning of Swedenborg's experience is plain." And he adds: "If ever a seer was worthy of belief, it is this one."

     We understand that New Churchmen in Sweden have expressed a desire to join their efforts towards the publication of a Swedish version of Henry de Geymuller's work, to appear in time for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Swedenborg's birth, January 29, 1938. There is also a possibility of an English translation, as New Church publishing interests in London are favorable to such an undertaking.

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Church News 1936

Church News       Various       1936

     A PASTORAL TOUR.

     On visits to several smaller groups of the General Church, the first was at RENOVO, PA., where, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, September 16 and 17, doctrinal classes were held in the family circle of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kendig. Our subject was "Man as an Image of the Lord."

     This was also the subject at the places afterwards visited, occupying one, two or three classes. The line of thought was according to the following statement of Doctrine: "Man by love to the Lord (in Dontinum) is an image of Him. The Lord is Divine Love, and He appears as a Sun before the angels in heaven. Light and heat go forth from that Sun, light being the Divine Truth, and heat the Divine Good; the universal heaven, and all the societies of heaven, are from these. The Lord's love with a man who is an image of Him is as fire from (ex) that Sun, from which fire and heat similarly go forth; the light is the truth of faith, and the heat is the good of love, each of them being from the Lord, and each implanted in the societies with which such a man's love acts as one. . . . Man is an image and likeness of the Lord by love, because by love man is in the Lord and the Lord in him." (A. E. 1093.)-At Renovo, instruction was twice given the two younger children of the family.

     At ERIE, PA., classes were held on Friday and Saturday evenings, September 18 and 19. On Sunday afternoon a service was held, with an attendance of fourteen, including three children; and nine persons partook of the Holy Supper.

     At CLEVELAND, OHIO, six persons were present at the class, held September 21. Greatly missed was Mrs. Rouette Cranch, who had passed to the other world on August 21. For many years Doctor and Mrs. Cranch resided at Erie and there gathered around themselves and their children what was at one time a considerable New Church Society, having regular services under the leadership of the Doctor, except when a minister visited, and also a Sunday School taught by Mrs. Cranch. In earlier years the Society had frequent visits from various ministers. I became visiting pastor in 1913, and during the years that followed I was usually entertained in the Cranch home. After the Doctor passed to the other world, on May 20, 1920, Mrs. Cranch and her daughter Edith moved to Cleveland, and on my visits here the class was usually held in their home.-During this present visit instruction at was given a child three times.

     A visit of five days was made at AKRON, OHIO. On Thursday evening, September 24, a doctrinal class was held in the hall usually occupied by the Convention Society, with eleven persons present. On Friday evening there was a most enjoyable social dinner, given by my host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Asplundh, at which, besides ourselves, there were present the other Akron General Church members, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiedinger, and Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Norris. Afterwards we had a doctrinal class. On Saturday evening another class was held at the Wiedinger home. A Sunday morning service was held in the hall above mentioned, with an attendance of thirteen adults and seven children, of whom three adults and one child were from Cleveland. In the evening there was a social supper at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wiedinger, with ten persons partaking. An informal class followed.

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Questions were asked and answered. One of these was what a New Church sermon should be. The answer given was that it should be the opening of the Word as to its internal sense, nothing less, nothing more; that every verse of the Word, or, let us say, every text, as to its internal sense is a doctrine. It is this doctrine that is to be given, and so given that there is conveyed, not only the doctrine as a truth of faith and of life, but also its inherent affection of truth. The entire evening was a happy occasion. During the stay at Akron, instruction was given three times to the four Asplundh children, and once to the three Norris children.

     On Monday afternoon, September 26, Mr. and Mrs. Wiedinger took me by car to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Williamson at NILES, and remained for dinner, whereby there was a strengthening of the church friendship. For several days I was in this home of old-time friends for a rest, excepting the pleasant occupation of giving their young daughter instruction four times. Then, on Thursday evening, October 1, four members came from nearby Youngstown, and a class was held.

     On Friday I went to YOUNGSTOWN, where a class was held in the evening with an attendance of thirteen, including members from Niles and Columbiana. On Sunday, October 4, a service was held, sixteen being present, of whom fifteen partook of the Holy Supper. Among those attending were the Wiedingers of Akron. In the evening we again had a class, attendance twelve. After each class there was an enjoyable social time.

     The round of visits to Circles being completed, I went to Saginaw, Michigan, to spend four weeks with my son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs. Instruction was given the three youngest children nearly every afternoon, and we had an occasional evening doctrinal class for the parents and the older children. Towards the end of my stay we had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. E. C. Bostock, of Bryn Athyn.

     There were for me also two big events. The first was going with Mr. and Mrs. Childs for a part of the Ontario Assembly at Kitchener; the second was attending with them a Local Assembly at Detroit on October 14. At both of these places I had done considerable of my life's work, and I enjoyed the privilege of taking part in the proceedings, and of being once more with the good friends of many years.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Chicago District Assembly.

     It was a great pleasure to welcome Bishop Alfred Acton, who came to preside at the Chicago District Assembly which opened on Friday evening, October 9, with an enthusiastic banquet attended by an unusually large number of the members and friends from Chicago, Rockford, and Glenview. The Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, as toastmaster, introduced the four toasts and responses, as follows:

     1. "The Church," Bishop Acton, who treated briefly but powerfully of the "Reception of the Divine by Human Vessels."

     2. "The Clergy," the Rev. W. L. Gladish making an appeal to us to look to the Lord in the teaching and guidance of the clergy, without regard to the personality of the priest, whose efforts should all be bent toward showing us the way to the Lord.

     3. "The Older Generation," the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith paying tribute to their virtues,-battling for the Church, reading the Writings, having an absorbed interest in spiritual things, and faithfully supporting the uses, financially and by personal effort.

     4. "The Younger Generation," Mr. Russel Stevens urged all such to consider themselves "part of a great machine," in which they should be active, that there may be a proper functioning of the whole.

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Others spoke, and this highly successful meeting closed with festive songs.

     On Saturday afternoon, Bishop Acton addressed a meeting of the ladies, and at an evening session of the Assembly he gave a most enjoyable discourse on the subject of "The Holy Spirit," describing the modes of the Divine Proceeding and its reception, from the time of the Most Ancient Church until the present, when, by means of the Writings, the Divine Love and Wisdom come to men in a more interior form than ever before. This was made possible through the preparation of a man in an age of revived interest in scientific and philosophical thought, that the arcana of heaven may be presented rationally, and men may enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith. When the Lord's Love and Wisdom are seen in the Writings, when the Divine Truths there given are accepted in faith and life, then the Holy Spirit is present and affects man, and accomplishes the miracle of reformation and regeneration. A number of speakers voiced our deep appreciation of this wonderful address.

     A large congregation attended the Sunday service, at which Bishop Acton delivered the sermon and administered the Holy Supper, being assisted by the pastors of the Immanuel and Sharon Churches.

     In the evening, the members of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy were hosts at a supper, after which the ladies joined the men, and all were privileged to hear a most interesting address by Bishop Acton on the subject of "The Limbus," this concluding the very delightful meetings of this year's District Assembly.
     J. B. S.

     MRS. MARIA APPLETON.

     Full of years, and well over the allotted span, Mrs. Appleton passed to the spiritual world on October 8, only seven months after the death of her husband, Arthur Henry Appleton. It is a loss we all feel keenly, but we shall surely rejoice at their meeting on the other side. Our friend found one of her chief delights in the sphere of her home and family, and "the daily round, the common task " were a source of constant satisfaction to her. With her husband, she shared the vicissitudes of the Colchester Society from the early days, a period of nearly sixty years. The good of the church was always a first consideration, and their active support was always forthcoming to further its best interests. The sphere of their spiritual presence is not lost to us, and should bring us inspiration for the future.
     F. R. COOPER.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     The group of Michigan and Ontario members of the General Church whose activities center in this city held their second "District Assembly" on Wednesday, October 14. It was a memorable occasion, for we were honored by the presence of Bishop de Charms, who made the principal address, and of our old friend and leader, the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, who Presided at the meeting. The Rev. Norman H. Reuter, our pastor, was unable to be with us, as a similar meeting was being held at Wyoming, Ohio.

     Bishop and Mrs. de Charms motored here from Kitchener, where the Ontario District Assembly was held. Mr. Waelchli came from Saginaw, Mich., and we were happy to have him preside at this meeting, as he did on the occasion of our first assembly, held in Saginaw a year ago.

     Members of our group to the number of seventeen first assembled for dinner at a convenient cafe, after which we adjourned to the home of Mrs. Anne Coombs, where our meeting was held. Mr. Waelchli made the opening address, and, on behalf of the group, heartily welcomed Bishop de Charms, assuring him of the pleasure and honor we felt in having him pay us an episcopal visit. The Bishop then addressed us on the subject of "The Lord's Own with Man," his paper being a magnificent exposition of the teaching that the Lord dwells in what is His Own with man.

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It was a rare privilege to hear this excellent lecture from the lips of the author, instead of having to be content with merely reading it. After a brief discussion of the subject, Mr. Waelchli, on behalf of the group, thanked the Bishop for his Address, which he hoped would be printed, so that all in the church might have the opportunity of reading and studying it.

     We trust we may not have to wait a full year for another visit from Bishop de Charms. Mr. Geoffrey Childs made a plea for more frequent episcopal visits to the isolated groups, which are dependent almost entirely upon the infrequent ministrations of a visiting pastor. He stressed the difficulties of bringing up children in the New Church way, where they see so little of church life and attend services so infrequently. It would be of great value, especially to the children and young people, if the Bishop could occasionally join the visiting pastor in the group services, and he hoped that episcopal visits more often than once a year might be arranged. In reply, Bishop de Charms stated that this need is recognized, and that while he could not at present promise more frequent visits, every effort would be made to provide them in the future.

     Mrs. Anne Coombs and her daughter, Lilian Macauley, then served an excellent lunch, which, with a most enjoyable social hour, added just the right touch to make our meeting a very complete and satisfactory affair.

     The weekend of Oct. 31-Nov. 1 brought us another visit by our pastor, the Rev. Norman Reuter, who conducted four meetings: A class for children on Saturday morning at the Cook residence; a doctrinal class on Saturday evening at the new home of the Norman Synnestvedts; a full service on Sunday morning; and another doctrinal class in the evening.

     The Sunday service marked a distinct step forward. For the first time we held worship in an auditorium instead of a private home. A large room in the Highland Park Y. W. C. A. had been secured on a very reasonable basis, and the Sunday meeting was by way of a try-out; we to find out as to the suitability of the room, the Y. W. C. A. officials to look us over before making any permanent arrangement. The results were highly satisfactory, the room proving admirably adapted to our purposes, and the Y. W. C. A. officials finding no objection to us. From now on we expect to hold our services there.

     Due to sickness in some families, the attendance at the service was reduced to twenty-five. The sermon was on the subject of "Conjugial Love," which, together with appropriate musical selections from the Liturgy, made the whole service helpful and impressive. Administration of the Holy Supper followed.

     A brief business session was held at the conclusion of the service, at which plans were made for our Christmas Service on December 27. The doctrinal class in the evening was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walker. The lesson was on "Order and Freedom," and the attendance fourteen.

     Mr. Reuter made good use of his new car on Saturday morning, driving many miles to collect the eight scattered lambs who comprise his children's class. This very important phase of his work is meeting with splendid success. The children take such a keen interest in the lessons that the time has been extended from half an hour to a full hour. This response by our children is truly gratifying, since there lies the promise for future growth and the success of our group.
     W. W. W.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The event of primary importance to the Olivet Society during October was the Ontario District Assembly, held in Kitchener. A small congregation at the Sunday morning service in Toronto was considered encouraging rather than otherwise, as forty three of our members had gone to Kitchener.

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And they returned with many glowing reports of the Assembly, from which those at home gathered that it was a complete success.

     On the Tuesday immediately following the Assembly weekend we had an "extra special" supper, and later in the evening the privilege of hearing Bishop de Charms give a very timely talk concerning the procedure in the choice of the Bishop of the General Church, imparting new information to the younger members of the congregation and refreshing that of the older ones.

     The children's Thanksgiving Service, held a week late because of the Assembly, was a delight to adults and children alike. These latter, led by the pastor, and holding fruit of the tree and the vine in their small hands, walked in a procession to the chancel, there to offer their gifts of Thanksgiving, which were placed on two large trays. Our pastor spoke to the children on giving thanks to the Lord, and later delivered a fine sermon on the subject. Toward the end of the service, young and old joined in singing the Thanksgiving hymn, "For peace and for plenty."

     The Wednesday suppers have been very well attended to date, as have the doctrinal classes immediately following. The subject of "The Doctrine of Faith" has proved to be most interesting and instructive, as a good discussion and many questions frequently indicate.

     The Ladies Circle, with the new president, Mrs. Fred Longstaff, in the chair, held their first meeting of the season at the home of Mrs. Frank Wilson. This group is comprised of many energetic members, whose active brains are planning many pleasant and interesting arrangements for a bazaar that is to be held at the end of November. The meetings of the Circle are usually opened by the pastor, who has been reading sections of the new biography of Swedenborg, by Bishop Acton.

     The Forward-Sons of the Academy held its monthly meeting, preceded by a supper with Mr. Percy Barber as chef. Later in the evening, Mr. George Baker gave a paper on the subject of "Social Credit in Alberta." A lively discussion followed this interesting talk.

     Theta Alpha held its second meeting at the home of Miss Edina Carswell, the attendance being rather slim, due to the exodus of a number who went to Bryn Athyn for Charter Day. However, plans were expediently laid out for a Hallowe'en Party for the school children. This latter event "came off" in due course, when the children arrived clad in wondrous costumes. A tasty supper laid on all attractive table, followed by games and contests such as only Hallowe'en can bring forth, made the party a thoroughly enjoyable one for the little folk.

     During the month, Mrs. Stanley E. Parker, of London, England, who came as a visitor but became almost as a member, left to return home via Bryn Athyn and New York. Her presence will be missed at our regular functions. Mrs. Nellie Carson has returned to our midst, and it is to be hoped that she will spend the winter with us.     
     M. S. P.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The Annual Meeting of the Bryn Athyn Church was held in the Assembly Hall on Friday, October 2, following the first Friday supper of the season. In opening the meeting, Bishop de Charms spoke of the matter of choosing a new Pastor for the Bryn Athyn Society, made necessary by the resignation of Bishop N. D. Pendleton last Summer, and made a brief statement regarding the Order of Government in the Church, and of the adoption in the past of a method of choosing a new pastor. The reasons for that particular method, which recognizes the Bishop of the General Church as ex-officio Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, still hold good, namely, that Bryn Athyn is both the episcopal seat and the center of the Academy Schools. In the future it might become necessary to make a change in this method, but changes should be adopted slowly.

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     The society must be in freedom, but we must provide that the Principles of Government under which we work shall be drawn from the Writings. For the present, he had reappointed the members of the Pastor's Council who had been appointed by Bishop Pendleton. He also stated that, in response to a request made by Bishop Pendleton before his resignation, the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn had returned to join with us in the uses of the society, and had resumed his duties as one of the Assistant Pastors.

     Bishop de Charms then spoke of the deep regret which he and the whole Bryn Athyn Society felt at the resignation of Bishop Pendleton, and presented to him, as a token of affection from us all, a silver coffee service, expressing the hope that the enjoyment of the gift would always be associated in his mind with the affections of the Bryn Athyn Church. In response, Bishop Pendleton thanked the members of the society for the gift, saying that he was deeply moved by the affection expressed by the gift, and found it difficult to express his own feeling in the matter. In the Lord's Providence, he said, we have all worked together for many years in the church and the society. He had tried to do his duty, and though not an emotional man, he could not find words to express the affection for the society that is in his heart. He hoped that we may all meet on the "other side."

     Bishop Acton then spoke feelingly of the twenty years of work that Bishop Pendleton had done in our midst, and expressed the hope that his remaining days would be spent among us in peace and contentment. He then led the whole meeting in singing, "May he live in peace and clover!" Rev. Theodore Pitcairn also spoke briefly, stating that he was looking forward to his work among us, and hoped that in Providence he might be a means for performing uses to the society.

     Reports were presented and accepted, all the present incumbents were re-elected to their respective offices, and the meeting adjourned at an early hour.

     It has often been said that there are entirely too many organizations in Bryn Athyn, though opinions differ as to which ones could most readily be dispensed with! Nevertheless a new one has come into being during the past summer, and it is one that has met with a very warm and enthusiastic welcome. It is the Bryn Athyn Orchestra Association!

     Many of us have felt the need for such an organization for a long time, and in June a representative few drafted a circular letter which was sent out to a selected number of those who, it was thought, would be interested in supporting it. Mr. Frank Bostock was asked to act as. President and Musical Director, and Mr. William R. Cooper as Secretary Treasurer. The announcement of the formation of the Association met with a most encouraging response, both financial and musical, and rehearsals were started in August. Before very long the Association hopes to give its first concert, and is looking forward to a long life of usefulness, both to the church and the community.
     WM. R. COOPER.

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Charter Day.

     A fine spirit reigned in the observance of Charter Day this year. Favorable weather on Friday morning, October 23, made possible the customary procession from the Academy to the Cathedral, and the large congregation included ex-students and visitors from Toronto, Pittsburgh, and other centers of the Church. The address by the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt was in reminiscent vein, as he carried us back to the beginnings of the Academy, picturing its aims and struggles, noting the reasons for things hoped for and accomplished, and casting glimpses into the future. All this was made vividly interesting as the speaker recalled his own experience in coming from the West to attend the Schools in Philadelphia, of his first impressions of the leaders and their work, and of his later observations, pointing lessons for our own time.

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     At the banquet in the evening, with nearly three hundred present, the celebration attained a high point of enthusiasm. Mr. Daric Acton was the capable toastmaster, and the program opened with a feature on the stage, entitled "The Academy Marches On!" Excellent photographs of Academy and pre Academy worthies, including most of the Charter members, were shown in succession on the screen. Behind the curtain, the Rev. Vincent Odhner gave a running historical account, with music at intervals,-strains of our familiar songs rendered by vocal and instrumental ensembles. And the portraits of the Academy leaders, both priests and laymen, became "speaking likenesses,"-voices out of the past,-as their utterances were read to us from backstage. In the case of Bishop W. F. Pendleton it was actually a phonograph record, and songs by Walter Childs were sung, the audience joining in the choruses.

     All present thrilled to this novel approximation of the historical talking picture,-a modern invention that may in the future bring living pictures of the forefathers to each generation in the Church, reviving and quickening an allegiance to foundation principles and gratitude for the labors of those gone before. The toastmaster and his assistants are to be congratulated upon this splendid project, so ably carried out in all its details.

     We were thus well prepared for the fine speeches that followed. Mr. Eldric S. Klein spoke most interestingly on "The Younger Generation and the Academy Movement," advocating a tolerance toward variety of opinion where there is unity in essentials. His engaging similes from the football field were taken up by the succeeding speaker, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, who held that while our team had lost the "argument" in the afternoon, they had done the essential thing,-" played the game!" He then spoke earnestly of the way in which the Church is to be built by our education, and this in turn to derive its inspiration from the Church. In the informal speaking that followed, Bishop Acton recalled impressively that the Fathers of the Academy were all "readers of the Writings," and Bishop de Charms concluded the program with words of encouragement as to the future, if we continue to go to the Lord in the Writings, caring diligently for the few until our numbers increase to many.

     On Saturday, the Faculty Tea and the Dance were delightful functions which rounded out an exceptionally enjoyable celebration.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Pittsburgh District Assembly.

     The meeting opened on Friday evening, October 16, with a reception for Bishop and Mrs. de Charms. The following evening, a banquet was held at which Bishop de Charms addressed the gathering on the subject of "The Lord's Own With Man,"-a fine paper that calls for deep reflection. Bishop de Charms brought a message of love and greeting from Bishop Pendleton. The forthcoming Assembly, to be held here next June, was discussed with enthusiasm. The Bishop stated that at the places he had recently visited he had urged all to attend. Mr. M. Emerson Good, as a representative of the treasurer of the General Church, spoke for the support of the general body, and hoped the Pittsburgh District would rally round and have 100 percent contributors on the next General Church report.

     On Sunday morning, Bishop de Charms preached an excellent sermon on "Regeneration," the text being Psalm 121:8. The service closed with the administration of the Holy Supper.

     The Pastor's Council met with the Bishop at the pastor's home on Sunday afternoon, and was entertained at supper.

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The subject and plans for the General Assembly were discussed at length. And on Monday morning, Bishop and Mrs. de Charms visited the Day School.

     In the doctrinal classes this year we are studying the work on the Divine Love and Wisdom. All are urged to have copies of the work, and to read a prescribed amount between classes. With the Woman's Guild, the pastor is continuing the study of the Lord's Life.

     Children's Services began on October 24, and the subjects of the addresses are from the Earths in the Universe. At the regular services the pastor is giving a series of sermons on "The Holy Spirit."

     The Tarentum class reconvened on October 26. According to reports it was an encouraging beginning. Not only did all the old members return, but a few newcomers were also present. To say the least, we have confidence in this extension of our uses; for the results have been most satisfactory. The subject this year is "The Underlying Philosophy of the New Church."

     The evening of October 30 saw the society gathered in the auditorium in various guises, amid pumpkins, corn shocks, cider, apples and homemade doughnuts. Games, dances and stunts provided an evening full of fun.
     E. R. D.

     DENMARK.

     For many years the New Church congregation in Copenhagen was under the charge of Pastor S. C. Bronniche, who passed into the spiritual world about five years ago, the funeral being conducted by the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, of Stockholm. (See New Church Life,1931, p. 442.)

     In the five-year interim since Mr. Bronniche's death, the Danish society has carried on its uses under the lay leadership of Mr. E. Hedegaard, who now appears gratefully to relinquish his post to a new minister,-the Rev. Bjorn Johannson, of Portland, Oregon, provided as the society's pastor by arrangement with the General Convention. We gather from the Journals of Convention that he was ordained in 1927, and acted as pastor of the Portland Society until 1931, when he was succeeded by his predecessor, the Rev. William R. Reece.

     Mr. Johannson entered upon his duties at Copenhagen in September, and his portrait is featured in the July-September issue of the Danish periodical, Nykirkeligt Tidsskrift.
     H. L. O.

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Mayville, Durban.

     It is greatly regretted by the writer that he does not feel himself sufficiently qualified to paint an exact picture of the event relating to the time-honored New Church Day Celebration and the Farewell given to the Rev. E. C. Acton by the Mayville Society. When the occasion arrived midst favorable weather conditions, and we could see the outcome of preparations which had long evoked a high measure of enthusiasm, the crowd which claimed accommodation reached the mark of expectation. For it was the well-known 19th Day of June which had caused the Society's members to flock together, while the departure of the Rev. E. C. Acton occasioned an extra large attendance, even including some beyond the confines of the New Church.

     Profound fervor and gratitude to the Creator of all characterized the speeches for New Church Day. In addition to these, the Mayville school children provided a musical festival, the senior and junior groups being led by Teachers R. H. Simelane and Mrs. B. Th. Ngiba respectively.

     Farewell to Rev. E. C. Acton.

     Songs especially prepared for this part of the programme were rendered by the school children and the New Church choir. By request, one of Durban's men, belonging to another church, spoke in the name of Mr. Alfred Mathibela, whose remarks on "New brooms sweep the cleanest" excited great interest.

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     The Society then presented the Rev. E. C. Acton with an illuminated Address, bearing the signatures of the Rev. M. B. Mcanyana, Natal Coastal Missionary, and Rev. B. Th. Ngiba, Minister of the Mayville Society. The Address (see below) was read by the Rev. P. J. Stole, and interpreted by the Head Teacher, Mr. R. H. Simelane. Other speakers supporting were: Messrs. E. Shangase, G. Gumede, G. Guzwayo, A. Gcabashe, and the Rev. B. Th. Ngiba.

     In his reply, Mr. Acton swayed his listeners through his usual spiritual fashion, until one felt as if he was parting with something he was never to regain. But he said: "Though I may be physically and naturally apart from you, yet spiritually-and that is essential-I shall be with you always." The Benediction closed the meeting, after which refreshments were served.
     B. TH. NGIBA.

     ADDRESS.

     To Rev. E. C. Acton, B.Th.

     We the undersigned, on behalf of the African Section of the General Church of the New Jerusalem at Mayville, hereby beg to record our appreciation of the services rendered by Lou in your capacity as our Minister, Pastor, and Assistant Superintendent, from your commencement of work in our midst, in 1925, to the date hereof.

     Owing to the achievements to which you have attained in leading the people of this country to the splendor of New Church enlightenment, and how you ably dealt with all the difficulties of the Africans whenever occasion warranted, we feel ourselves entitled to regard you as the most needed Minister of Religion to labor amongst us. That your term of service here is now ending causes our sorrow. Were we able, we would move for your further and desired ministrations in this country. Large numbers of illiterate and unchristianized, as well as untruly christianized, Africans show the greatest demand for serious New Church educational and evangelical action.

     We thank God for Your success, willingly assisted by Mrs. Acton, to whom kindly submit our gratitude.

     May your love for all human beings ever increase! And God grant our prayer for your safe voyage home with your family-and return again for service in this country at some future date.

     Kindly convey our loving and filial regards to Indhlovu and Indhlovukazi,-the Rt. Rev. and Mrs. N. D. Pendleton, respectively; as also to Mr. and Mrs. Pitcairn.
     Your humble servants,
     BENJAMIN TH. NGIBA,
          Minister of the Society.
     M. B. MCANYANA,
          Natal Coastal Missionary.
June 27, 1936.

     ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL.

     It is a pleasure to welcome the new periodical bearing this title and published at Bryn Athyn in the interests of the elementary schools of the General Church. Miss Lois Nelson and Mr. Richard R. Gladish are collaborating in the undertaking, which promises to fill a decided need in its chosen field.

     The first issue, November, 1936, comes to hand in typewritten form, dittoed, and the contents of its twenty-one pages are as follows: An Introduction by Bishop George de Charms; paper on "Teaching Mathematics," by the Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering, presented at the October meeting of the General Faculty; an article on "Variation in Receptibility," by Mrs. Besse E. Smith; and brief "Memos from a Teacher's Notebook."

     There will be eight issues of the Journal during the present school year, featuring a variety of topics of interest to teachers and parents. For one dollar they will be mailed to any address on application to Miss Lois Nelson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1936

GENERAL ASSEMBLY              1936




     Announcements.


     The Sixteenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, June 30 to Sunday, July 4, 1937. Further particulars, as to the Program, Arrangements, etc., will be announced later.
COUNCIL MEETINGS 1936

COUNCIL MEETINGS              1936

     Special Meetings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Joint Council of the General Church will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 1, 2 and 3, 1937.

     Because of the approaching General Assembly, the annual joint meetings of the Council of the Clergy and the Faculties of the Academy Schools will not be held.