By Rev. Nanci Adair
The Portland New Church, long known for its Swedenborgian heritage, is experiencing a remarkable renewal. What was once a small, fledgling congregation is blossoming into a vibrant center for Sacred Arts, a living ecosystem of spiritual seekers, healers, and artists who are co-creating a new vision for what church can be in this era.
At the heart of this transformation are our newly appointed Spiritual Director, Eco Chaplain Circe Moss MacDonald, and Rev. Magnus de Rhuddlan, also known as Rev. Paul S. Ridlon, who is stepping into the role of Church Council President. Together, they embody a partnership that bridges ancient wisdom and modern spirituality, uniting heart-led ritual with reason, art, and ecology.
Three Decades of Love for the Portland New Church
I have been a member of the Portland New Church for twenty-nine years, and I have never been this excited by the direction and growth of this community. Perhaps that reflects my own leanings in metaphysics, with years of study in shamanism and the arts. It is also because there is so much new energy from a community of like-minded and spiritually grounded people that it is bringing our mission to life.
The mission of the Swedenborgian Church of Portland is to sustain a community of individuals on a journey of spiritual growth.
A New Spiritual Director Rooted in Creation and Ceremony
Circe Moss MacDonald brings to the Portland New Church a life devoted to what she calls the Ceremonial Arts, the practice of reconnecting people to the sacredness of Earth and Spirit through embodied, creative experience. An Eco Chaplain, Water Priestess, and Ceremonialist, Circe holds ordinations as both a Trans-denominational Minister from The Star House in Boulder, Colorado, and as an Interfaith Chaplain from The Chaplaincy Institute of Maine.
Through her work with Ritual Lab: Ceremonies for People and Planet, Circe designs experiential ceremonies, weddings, memorials, and Cosmic Masses that celebrate connection, awe, and renewal. She has inspired the spiritual but not religious to rediscover belonging in community and reverence for creation. Her teaching background, from Grinnell College to the University of Southern Maine, reflects her passion for integrating Creation Spirituality with the arts, ritual theater, storytelling, and seasonal rites.
A New President Guided by Ancestral Wisdom and the Land
Rev. Magnus de Rhuddlan’s journey weaves together scholarship, shamanism, and service. A founding member of both the Evergreen Druid Fellowship and the Order of Maine Druidry, Magnus has long championed the sacred relationship between humanity and the land. With backgrounds in anthropology, archaeology, and social service systems, he brings a profound ethical awareness to issues of ancestry, decolonization, and community healing.
His life purpose, to inspire, especially the young, and to recover that which was lost, guides his ministry and teaching. Living simply in a Mongolian ger, surrounded by Maine’s natural beauty, Magnus teaches through presence, grounded wisdom, and an unwavering belief that spirituality must live in service to community and to the Earth.
A Growing Circle of Members and Friends
Under the dedicated leadership of outgoing Council President Anne Gresinger, the Portland New Church community has flourished. Anne’s dual role as Building Use Manager and President has been instrumental in transforming the church into a hub for creative, healing, and spiritual practices, a true home for the Sacred Arts.
Today, the sanctuary and meeting rooms hum with life. Dance teachers enliven the space with rhythm and movement. Shamanic healers, sound practitioners, and meditation groups share their gifts. Yoga teachers and Buddhist sanghas cultivate mindfulness and peace. A children’s art camp director and fine artists nurture imagination and creative spirit.
These gatherings are not merely building use; they are relationships. Each partnership reflects the church’s vision to be a living sanctuary where all paths that honor the sacred are welcome.
Anne’s ongoing efforts to connect with the building use community have drawn new friends and members into the circle, people who come to utilize the space, connect to like-minded spiritual groups, and build community. Through shared stewardship and creative collaboration, the Portland New Church has become a gathering place for those who seek meaning, artistry, and spirit under one roof.
Beautifying the Sacred Grounds
As this inner renewal unfolds, a visible transformation is taking place outside as well. The Church Council recently partnered with Kendrick and Bloom Landscapers to re-envision the front entryway and church yard, an investment in beauty, ecology, and welcome. The new design introduces color, planting of new trees, and natural stones that invite reflection and reverence.
This project began with the front of the church and reflects the community’s commitment to creating a living threshold, a welcome that mirrors the church’s mission within, to honor the sacredness of creation and offer spiritual hospitality to all who pass through its doors.
Honoring the Past, Welcoming the Future
The Portland New Church’s renewal is about honoring its Swedenborgian roots and expanding them. The mystical vision of Emanuel Swedenborg, which honors the living connection between spirit and matter, heaven and Earth, finds new expression in this community’s creative work and ecological consciousness.
As Circe, Magnus, and Anne lead this next chapter, the Portland New Church stands as a beacon of inclusion, artistry, and spiritual aliveness, a model for how sacred tradition and contemporary spirituality can not only coexist but thrive together.
“We are creating a space where the sacred is not confined to Sunday,” says Circe. “It lives in art, in movement, in ceremony, and in our relationships with one another and the world.”
In a time when many churches and community spaces are shrinking, the Portland New Church is growing, rooted in the past, blooming in winter, and radiating light toward a spiritually creative future.
Read the full issue of the November/December Messenger.
Meet Nanci Adair
Rev. Nanci Adair is a celebrated and gifted artist and healer. She currently has an exhibit at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine of her ComfortHER Art Quilt Project. Nanci has called the Portland New Church her spiritual home for the past twenty-nine years and was ordained as an interfaith minister by ChIME in 2012.
