News & Announcements
By BJ Neuenfeldt In the fall of 2023 at the October meeting of the Michigan Association, armed with the knowledge that Convention 2024 already booked at Michigan State University (go Spartans!) and the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, the group was getting excited about welcoming other Swedenborgians to our great state. The budget was set […]
Say Yes to Michigan! Read More »
By Rev. James H. Barry, Inductee I have a sixty-five year old friend in Philadelphia who spoke of how he found a new life thirty years ago. We were talking on a spring evening in a gathering of friends at a neighborhood church. He told me when he was young, he was doing well. But,
A Change of Perception Read More »
By Rev. Junchol Lee, Induction Speaker First, I’d like to express that it’s such an honor to be the induction speaker for this very gentle, fine person, Rev. James Barry. I only have known him maybe two years, max. But there are two things that Jay deeply impressed me with that I would like to
From Natural to Spiritual Read More »
By Rev. Dr. Devin Zuber We often think of commencement as the end of something—often marking the conclusion of an academic school year, accompanied by a graduation. But etymologically, commencement is actually the beginning of something, with a great energy or force—the comm in “commencement” or to “commence” comes from a Latin root which means
Commencing into the Green Earth Read More »
By Rev. Betsy Coffman “This is Holy Ground, we’re standing on Holy ground, for the Lord is present, and where he is, is Holy…” “Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, Blow through the wilderness, calling and free. Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, Wind, Wind on the sea—over the eons you called to each thing…You
Called by the Spirit Read More »
By Rev. Dr. Jim Lawrence We continued to evolve how we gather for our annual convention in three strategic ways this year: staying in a hotel for in-person, advancing our IT support for virtual attendees, and shortening our overall schedule. Early assessments from participants have been quite positive on all these directions. For the first
Honing the Style of Our Annual Conventions Read More »
A Message from the President At our upcoming convention two proposals will be put on the floor for consideration as “Standing Resolutions” in our official denominational proclamations. These are published on our website (https://swedenborg.org/community/diversity-equity-inclusion/denominational-statements/) and in our annual Journal of the Swedenborgian Church. The Social Justice Committee (SJC) is proposing a Standing Resolution on Climate
Where is the Line Between Church and Politics? Read More »
Editor’s Corner Following Up to “How Do We Grow” I have received and overwhelming amount of positive feedback about my recent editorial titled “How Do We Grow?” and I want to thank everyone who took the time to either write to me or talk with me about it. I am really pleased that my recent
Following Up to “How Do We Grow?” Read More »
By Rev. Dr. George F. Dole This discussion is taken from Rev. Dr. George Dole’s book, A Thoughtful Soul: Reflections from Swedenborg (West Chester, PA: Chrysalis Books, 1995) in a chapter titled, “The Good Life.” Swedenborgians have shied away from labeling Emanuel Swedenborg as a mystic, largely, one suspects, because he does not hold out
