Hurstville Society June 2008
The New Christian Church is...being established...through revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word and teachings about life after death... (see Coronis Summary).
The doctrines of the New Church are continuous truths laid open by the Lord by means of the Word (see True Christian Religion 508:5).
Every year in June people meet to celebrate the birthday of the New Church. But in what way is the New Church "new"?
When the Lord came on earth, He gave people a new understanding of how to live spiritually. These teachings became the books in the New Testament known as the Gospels and Revelation. The Lord also promised to come again as the Spirit of Truth to explain things that people were not yet ready to understand. It is the faith of the New Church that the Lord has come again, in the form of a new revelation that explains the inner, spiritual meaning of the Old and New Testament and teaches about the life after death and much more. In the teachings of the New Church, people find answers to their questions about the nature of God, His care of creation, the purpose of life, etc.
Through this new revelation, called the Writings or the Heavenly Doctrine, the Lord provides rational truths for people to seek out, understand and live. The Nunc Licet Temple (pictured on front cover) is a symbol of the new understanding, made possible by the new revelation. It has crystal walls so that the open Word and the angel inside can be seen clearly. Above the entrance to the temple are the words "Nunc Licet" which mean "It is now permitted." Indeed, now it is permitted to enter with understanding into the mysteries of faith.
From New Church Vineyard June 2006
Further reading from True Christian Religion 508
One day a magnificent church building appeared to me; it was square in plan with a roof like a crown, with arches above and a raised parapet running around. Its walls were all windows made of crystal, its door of a pearly substance. Inside on the south side towards the west there was a platform, on which the open Word lay at the right surrounded by a blaze of light, so bright as to spread round and light up the whole platform. In the middle of the church was a shrine with a curtain in front of it; but this was now raised and there stood a golden cherub with a sword which he brandished in all directions in his hand.
[2] When I caught sight of all this, as I meditated, the meaning of each of the details came flooding into my mind. The church meant the new church; the door of a pearly substance, entry into it; the windows of crystal the truths which enlighten it; the platform the priesthood and their preaching; the Word on it, open and lighting up the top of the platform, the revelation of its internal, or spiritual, sense; the shrine in the middle of the church the link of that church with the heaven of angels; the golden cherub there the Word in its literal sense; the sword brandished in his hand meant that this sense can be twisted in different ways, so long as it is made to refer to some truth. The lifting of the curtain in front of the cherub meant that now the Word was laid open.
[3] Later, when I got closer, I saw there was an inscription over the door: NOW IT IS PERMITTED. This meant that now it is permitted to enter with the understanding into the mysteries of faith. Seeing this inscription led me to think that it is extremely dangerous to enter with the understanding into the dogmas of faith which have been put together out of one's own intelligence and the falsities it produces, and even more so to seek to support them by quoting the Word. This has the effect of shutting off the understanding at the top and little by little also at the bottom, to such an extent that theology is not only disliked but actually wiped out, like the writing on a paper being destroyed by book-worms, or the wool of a piece of cloth by grubs. His understanding then concerns itself only with political affairs which affect his life in the country where he lives, and with civil affairs relating to his official duties, and with domestic affairs of his household; and in all of these he constantly embraces nature, being led by the enticement of its pleasures to love it, as an idolater does the golden image in his lap.
[4] Now since the dogmas of present-day Christian churches are put together not from the Word, but from people's own intelligence and the false ideas that come from that, and also by means of some ideas supported from the Word, for this reason the Lord's Divine providence has seen to it that among Roman Catholics the Word has been taken away from laymen, while among Protestants it remains open, though shut off by their frequent saying that the understanding must be kept in obedience to their faith.
[5] But in the new church the opposite happens; here it is permitted with the understanding to approach and penetrate all its secrets, and also to support them from the Word. The reason is that its doctrines are a series of truths revealed by the Lord through the Word; and proving them by rational argument causes the understanding to be opened up above more and more. This lifts it into the light enjoyed by the angels of heaven; and that light is in essence truth, and it makes the acknowledgment of the Lord as the God of heaven and earth shine out in all its glory. This is what the inscription 'NOW IT IS PERMITTED' over the door means; and the removal of the curtain of the shrine in front of the cherub has the same meaning. It is a rule in the new church that falsities shut off the understanding, and truths open it up.
[6] After this I saw what looked like a child overhead, holding a paper in his hand. As he approached me, he grew in size until he was a man of average height. He was an angel from the third heaven; all there look at a distance like children. When he reached me, he held the paper out to me. But since it was written in the rounded script customary in that heaven, I gave it back and asked them to expound the meaning of what was written on it in words I could comprehend in my thinking. _'What is written here,' he replied, 'is: FROM NOW ON ENTER INTO THE MYSTERIES OF THE WORD WHICH HAVE SO FAR BEEN HIDDEN: FOR EACH ONE OF ITS TRUTHS IS A MIRROR IN WHICH WE SEE THE LORD.'
Examples from Hurstville New Church
Back in December 2003 we printed the following:
This image of the magnificent church building and the NUNC LICET sign over the door has been an inspiration to many people in the New Church.
Here in the Hurstville Society, Robert Cooper has proven to be one of those people. Thanks to Robert's efforts we now have our own NUNC LICET sign on the archway that leads to the front door of the church. In Robert's words, "Whatever happens in heaven should happen in Hurstville." Who could possibly argue with that? It is our aim to help people see that the New Church is truly a place where "it is permitted to enter with the understanding into the mysteries of faith."
As many of you know Robert is now studying at the Theological College in Bryn Athyn.
Another similar example not pictured here but continues to be a source of inspiration to many is the magnificent painting done by Donna Heldon of the Temple of Wisdom and which is hung on the wall inside the porch of the Hurstville New Church.
This painting was done for the Family Camp held in January 2000 at Eleanora Heights near Sydney's northern beaches. The painting was central to the drama "A New Beginning" written by Norman Heldon and acted out on one evening of the week long camp. This drama told the beautiful and touching story of a young woman dying of cancer, her friendship with a young male artist who had been disfigured in an accident and their reunion in heaven after death. The Temple of Wisdom was the work of the young male artist.
Donna had the challenging task of creating a painting to depict the following quote from TCR 387 where we read "I was suddenly allowed to see the temple. Its form was remarkable. It stood up high above the ground, four-square, with walls of crystal, a roof of translucent jasper elegantly arched, the substructure of various precious stones. . . The floor on which I was walking was made of cedar planks, and the whole temple with its translucent roof and walls was built as a form for light to play upon." Have a close look next time you are in the church.
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Above - The Nunc Licet sign on the archway leading to the porch on the Hurstville New Church
Left - The painting in the porch of the Hurstville New Church depicting the Temple of Wisdom (see True Christian Religion 387 |
by Norman Heldon
Australian Professor Walter Murdoch wrote a very interesting essay on doors, doors in history, in stories, fables and the Bible.
There was for instance that persistent and scary knocking on a door somewhere in the castle of Macbeth, also that strange door in Stevenson's story, "The Sire of Malatroit's Door", in which a door, left unlatched, opened easily to a frightened fugitive young man, but when he entered the house the door shut firmly and locked itself. That story by the way had a happy ending with the romance of the young man with the Sire's daughter.
Murdoch mentioned the story of the ten virgins in the Bible who were called to a marriage. Five had lamps with oil, five had lamps without oil. The five who had oil for their lamps were admitted, but for the others five the door shut, "with an air of finality", as Murdoch puts it. The New Church reader will find that the five wise virgins are they "who are principled in love and thence in faith". It might be assumed therefore that those who were shut out were doomed to an eternal life of unhappiness. I admit I thought so myself.
However I noted another reference that said that "the doors of Heaven are not ever closed" (AC 2130) In explanation it said that "the Lord has mercy on all especially on those who have been in spiritual miseries and temptations which are wretched and who believe that it is solely of the Lord's mercy that they are saved . . . It is said in the Word the door was shut so that they could no longer be admitted, and that they had no oil and came too late. . . . that the Lord rescued them and that they were restored to the Lord; therefore they rejoiced from the inmost heart, for they had been in despair". (Arcana Coelestia 2130)
This of course would not mean those who have confirmed a belief that faith alone without charity is the way to salvation.
by Bill Hall
"Reach out in that moment in the name of God and feel the joy that He intends for you, making a difference for good in this world." (Rev. Don Rose, Seeing New Beginnings in Life's Long Journey, Hurstville New Church Courier, June, 2002).
When we reach out to others in the name of the Lord, we are seeking to do the Lord's will, not our will. We want to encourage others to do their best in their work and recreation. We want others to be happy and content. When we feel the joy that we are receiving from the Lord, we want to extend that joy to others.
As we seek to live a useful and happy life in the name of the Lord, trying to do our very best for the welfare and happiness of others, our lives take on a new dimension. No longer are we caught up entirely in the sombre news of the world. We gradually come to see that though there are innumerable regrettable incidents occurring in the world that the Lord enables us to reach out to others in the name of the Lord and to try, as if from self, to do the Lord's will every second of our lives.
The distractions of time and space are reduced so that we feel we shall have sufficient time to complete our legitimate tasks. Life may be difficult, even very difficult, but we gradually come to perceive a new way of regarding our world. We come to see that the Lord is giving us a particular role to play in the entire scheme of life.
All we have to do is to turn to the Lord and seek to do the Lord's will every day and second of our lives. This means we can be filled with a new spirit of truth and good that enhances our lives. This new perspective enables us to be joyful and cheerful all the days of our lives. We do not have to be caught in a quagmire of doubt and uncertainty, and certainly not despair and desolation. Instead, our lives can become radiant and free.
The Psalmist joyfully asserts, "You, LORD, are all I have and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands. How wonderful are your gifts to me; how good they are!" (Psalm 16:5,6). When we hear those inspiring words and absorb them into our hearts and minds, totally and completely, then it is that we become born anew, not from ourselves, but from the Lord. Born to live as the Lord would have us live and not as we ourselves would have us live.
We see the world and everything in it from a new light of understanding, a new light of being willing to live as the Lord would have us live all the days and moments of our lives. We become lifted to a higher perspective that sees a situation for what it really is, and not as we may have imagined it to be.
We become truly content with the blessings we receive daily from the Lord and from the neighbour. We become blessed with the understanding that our perception of the events of our lives can link us with the Lord and with the neighbour. As we extend joy and goodwill to the neighbour, we have the inner conviction that all the good and truth we extend to the neighbour is from the Lord and nothing from ourselves. We truly perceive ourselves to be receptacles of the Lord's good and truth and that the Lord gives us the wonderful opportunity to extend the Lord's good and truth to the neighbour. Truly, the Lord blesses us every single instance of our lives, from now to eternity.
No longer are we despairing of our shortcomings or even of our transgressions of the past. For now we know from an inner conviction that the Lord is guiding our every step all the days of our lives. The Lord is truly sustaining us all the days of our lives. Hence we have no need to be fearful. All we have to do is to step forth and seek to do the Lord's will all the days of our lives.
Let us give humble, sincere and abundant thanks to the Lord for His blessing of enabling us to reach out to others in the name of the Lord and to feel the joy that He intends for us. May we see every moment of every day as a God-given opportunity to reach out to others in the name of the Lord, evermore feeling the Lord's love as we reach out to others in the Lord's name.
What more can we do except to give never-ending thanks to the Lord for the endless opportunities to be of service to the Lord and the neighbour all the days of our lives.
"The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitudes of isles be glad!" (Psalm 97:1).
Following our society dinner on Monday 5th May a most interesting talk was given by Rev Brian O'Neill. Although an ordained minister of the New Church Brian works primarily in counselling and psychotherapy especially Gestalt therapy. We asked Brian to talk about how his knowledge of the Writings of Swedenborg helps in a practical way in his professional work. This led to a wide ranging talk covering amongst other things how the influence of Swedenborg is being felt in subtle ways in psychotherapy.
Brian also is the editor of a journal called Innersense which to quote the information on the website is "a journal that contains articles related to spiritual development, psychology, arts, teaching, holistic healing - a base for people to write about their spiritual backgrounds, and to focus on how they bring their spiritual beliefs into practice - a lived spirituality. We do have a copy of the first issue in the Bookroom and will obtain further copies as they come out. The next issue contains an article by Angela Heldon! Further information can be obtained at
http://www.illawarragestalt.com/InnerSense.htm or by emailing Brian on boneill@uow.edu.au.
As mentioned in last month's newsletter we will have the services of a final year theological student Coleman Glenn who will be arriving on 17th June and staying until 5th August. He will do most of the duties of a regular minister and is also scheduled to visit Perth over the weekend of 20th July.
We do now have a definite decision on the 2009 Family Camp! It will be at Phillip Island Adventure Resort from 2 pm Saturday 10th to after lunch on Thursday 15th January. This will be a return to the highly successful location (Silverleaves Campus) used in 2006.
There are 26 rooms each of which shares an ensuite with the room next door. There is a large dining room serving excellent meals, a large main function area as well as smaller meeting rooms. On site activities are Flying Fox, Giant Swing, Canoes, Gymnasium, Swimming Pool etc,
The length of the camp is one day shorter than usual to keep costs down. This means the day outing has been dispensed with but there is much to do on the Island in the afternoons if people wish and there will be no reduction in the programs provided.
The theme for the camp will be announced later and brochures and posters will be sent out soon.
At the Society meeting in April it was proposed that during periods when we don't have a visiting minister we consider not holding church at Hurstville on one day of the month e.g. the first Sunday. This would relieve those who spend quite a lot of time each week preparing services (i.e. church should not become a burden).
However as a side benefit there would be the opportunity to attend church at Roseville if desired. It was also suggested that the idea be circulated in advance so that everyone has an opportunity to become aware of it and provide feedback before any final decision is made.
If you have any thoughts on the matter please contact Owen Heldon on (02) 9545 3823.
On Sunday 22nd June we will be celebrating New Church Day. Following the service which will be the first taken by Coleman Glenn, we will have a banquet lunch during which Coleman will speak to us on a New Church Day theme. Our previous two New Church Days have included talks by Rev George McCurdy and Rev Frank Rose.
The cost of the luncheon will be $10. Please RSVP Lori Heldon on (02) 9579 5248 the week before to help plan catering.
Make this a date in your calendar and welcome Coleman to Australia
Naomi Heldon and Nick Smith have just announced their engagement. Congratulations to you both. We all wish you every happiness.
We understand John Hall's knee reconstruction operation was a success However full recovery from this sort of operation is a lengthy and painful process. Our thoughts are with John and Rhonda.
Shane and Lina Heldon's infant boy Kyan is having a difficult time following the removal of a benign tumour on his brain. However there are ongoing problems for the little boy and we fervently pray all goes well in the coming weeks and beyond. (STOP PRESS: The latest report coming through is more encouraging. Kyan appears to be making progress with his eyesight which is the biggest concern in his recovery.)
Norm Heldon says a big thank you to all those people who were able to spend time on Sunday afternoon 18th May helping with clearing a large amount of weeds and creepers from the far end of the property as well as other gardening chores.
Happy Birthday to Connor Hinds (3rd), Angela Heldon (8th), Michelle Heldon (8th), June Kirsten (9th), Isaak Horner (17th)
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Note: All events
are located at the church at 22 Dudley St, Penshurst 2222
(off Hillcrest Ave) unless otherwise stated. Contact the
Hurstville New Church on (02) 9580 1589 for more information
or email us at newchurch@optusnet.com.au |
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Sunday |
1st June |
10 00 a.m. Worship |
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Sunday |
8th June |
10 00 a.m. Worship |
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Sunday |
15th June |
10.00 a.m. Worship |
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Tuesday |
17th June |
6 10 a.m. Coleman Glenn arrives |
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Sunday |
22nd June |
10.00 a.m. Worship |
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Sunday |
29th June |
10.00 a.m. Worship |
