The Bible speaks of hope, and we feel emotional impact. Let's start with our sad times. For such times, an obvious part of the Bible is the book of Lamentations. In our lamentable states we can at least have a little glimmer of hope. Chapter 3 says it is good for us "to hope and quietly wait for the Lord" (verse 26).

Hope in times of trouble is also a theme in the book of Psalms. We experience what is called "despair." Etymologically, that is the absence of hope. In the spectrum of human states of mind, it is the pit. In despair, we are in the very depths. And we pray to God from "out of the depths." That is precisely what Psalm 130 does. From mental depths the individual says, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - Yes, more than those who watch for the morning."

Sometimes, we just feel downcast. Psalm 42 repeats a question, "Why are you cast down?" and the answer emerges. One is to "hope in God." Psalm 39 says that each one of us walks about "like a shadow." We heap up riches and know not what will become of them. We see no purpose. The individual at last speaks to God, "What am I waiting for? My hope is in You."

The hope may be faint, but it is at least something to hang on to until the morning dawns again for us.

Hope is not always faint or dim. It can be bright and shining. The angels above wish us the inspiration of hope. Emanuel Swedenborg portrays "a bright state of hope" that can some to us when we have passed through darkness (Heavenly Secrets 8165).

In the book Divine Providence, there is an intriguing answer to the question of why we are not allowed to know the future. It is because there is excitement and fun when we look to the future, not with absolute certainty, but with hope. A sports competition is fun when we don't know who will win. A story or drama is absorbing when we care about the outcome but cannot foretell it. (Divine Providence 178)

We do not know the outcome in life for sure, but we can have optimism. We can have a state of pleasant expectation. And by the grace of God our hope can grow steadily brighter.

Let us conclude with some phrases from the 71st Psalm:

"In You, O lord, I put my trust. You are my rock and my fortress. I will hope continually and I will praise You yet more and more. I will go in the strength of the Lord God. You shall comfort me on every side. My tongue shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long."

We would like to see the Hurstville Society grow, more people enjoying and profiting from the wonderful new teachings we know are from the Lord. Also, of course, there is much work involved in running a Society and the burden should not be on just a few. Also, could we be seen to be hoarding this new teaching so desperately needed by the world now? Few people have a clear idea of God, the One God, in one Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Infinitely Wise, Infinitely Loving Creator, whose purpose in creation is that there may be a heaven from the human race. There is also wonderful news about true marriage love, and of the spiritual sense hidden in the Old and New Testaments. 

How may we help to make the New Revelation more widely known? One way is for us to read the Word daily, something from the Old and New Testaments and from the Writings. This was part of Rev George McCurdy's message to us on Sunday 19th August. It does not have to be much at first, just a daily habit. There are benefits not only to ourselves but also to others, and even to angels, for we are taught that when people read the Word devoutly, angels are delighted to perceive deeper spiritually what man perceives naturally, and this in a moment. This is effected especially when man is reading the Word, or when he or she is thinking from it. (Arcana Coelestia 10604³) Also, as both the Divine Good and Divine Truth are in the Word, therefore it vivifies those who are reading it holily. (Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 19)

The acknowledgement and worship of the Lord, and the reading of the Word effect the presence of the Lord, and these two, together with a life according to His precepts, effect conjunction with Him. (Apocalypse Revealed 796²) Also, as we read on one of the signs in the church garden, "The angels understand the internal sense better when little girls and boys are reading the Word". (AC 1776)

Certainly, it follows that the better we understand the doctrines of our Church the better we will be able to tell others about them, and because of the great Outreach work going on now there will be many more people searching for truth.

New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 56

Sarah 00To begin, my name is Sarah Marie Elder, daughter of Todd and Sue (Mulholland) Elder. I am 21 years old and the youngest of three children. I have an older brother Dustin (26), and sister Denielle (24). Denielle married Jason Schnarr, a theolog at Bryn Athyn College, in 2004. About a year ago, they had a baby girl, named Adara, thus making me an aunt. I was born and raised in Michigan and attended the Oak Arbor Church School 1st-6th grade. In eleventh grade, I left home to live in the Glenn Hall dormitory and go to school at the Academy of the New Church. Since then, which was about five years ago, I have found myself loving Bryn Athyn, even spending entire summers working there.

I am currently in my fourth year at Bryn Athyn College and am studying to become an Elementary/Grade school teacher. I decided to spread out my schooling over five years, thus making the workload less stressful and freeing a whole term to travel and intern on the other side of the world. I am hoping, after attaining my degree, to teach in a New Church school, possibly close to home. Aside from school, last year I was a resident assistant in Glenn Hall, the dormitory for high school girls at ANC. This job has its ups and downs, and I have learned much about myself and how to steer clear from high school drama. I loved being an R.A. so much, the staff want me back on board when I return from this internship.

Which brings me here, in Sydney Australia. I had been wanting to do an internship since I enrolled at Bryn Athyn College, but didn't think it was possible. That is, until now. The opportunity couldn't have come at a better time. So far I am loving everything Australia has to offer, especially the birds. I have felt very welcomed after arriving, not to mention jet-lagged. Everyone has been so kind, I feel I am a part of the community.

Carling and I have been here for almost a month, but feels much longer. We have done some work for the Church including organizing the Sunday school lessons and supplies, weeded in the garden, made up some order of services, and sung for church. We are about to begin dropping off books of the Writings to used bookstores in Sydney. We are hoping to plan an event, and do more music for Sunday services. This experience, although short, has showed me that it takes a lot to operate a church, especially without a permanent minister. It is awesome to see members of a society volunteer to lead worship, tend to the garden and make time in their schedules to gather besides Sunday mornings. There is much too, that happens behind the scenes when running a church, which I want to be a part of one day. I just hope whichever New Church society I live in will be as amazing as the group in Hurstville is.

I am very glad there are still weeks left before Carling and I head home to the States. There is loads more to see and do here in Australia. I am incredibly thankful for the friends I have made and for those to come. Thank you all for making me feel welcome, it will be hard to leave when November 15th arrives.

Carling 00 Hello Hurstville Society! My name is Carling Adele Wyncoll [age 20] and I am from Kempton, Pennsylvania, a rural town that is about one and a half hours away from Bryn Athyn, Pa. I have lived there for about 19 years with my parents Mark and Wendy, and my four siblings, India, Jenna, Seth, and Maia. Our house is in the woods about one mile from the Kempton New Church where I went to school and where my dad works as the Vice Principal. I am in my second year at the college, taking a variety of courses, and am interested in the floral industry, especially floral design which I did an internship in last spring.

One of the huge draws that made me choose Bryn Athyn College is their internship program. My internship at the florists was a huge success and it made me want to do another one. With the exception of visiting Canada many times, I have not done any other travelling outside of the US. That made me really want to travel and explore other countries. I had heard about the Australian internship from other interns and from the admissions office when I went to visit the college. I decided that this trip was too great of an opportunity to miss out on and talked to Soni Werner. Sarah and I were dance partners at the college and began brainstorming in the winter about the possibility of coming here. What do you know? We talked to our parents and Dr. Werner, bought the plane tickets and here we are in Hurstville Australia.

Though we've only been here a month, it feels much longer. I am having a wonderful time so far. Australia is beautiful and it is so exciting and different to be living in a foreign country. Visiting Sydney has been one of my favourite parts of this trip. The city is so beautiful and there is tons to see. The convenience of the trains makes it easy to get around and see the surrounding area. When I first saw the Opera House, I couldn't believe I was actually seeing it. After seeing so many postcards and pictures of it, I felt a great awe and splendour to be standing right in front of it.

Besides the lovely scenery, there are also some very lovely people here. I am really enjoying getting the chance to meet people in the congregation and other Australians. You seem to have an extremely welcoming culture and it makes travelling here much easier. I especially love hearing every one's accents. I often have to catch myself from imitating your accents while talking to you.

This internship comes at a really good time for me in my life. I am thoroughly enjoying the new experience of travelling and beginning to feel more confident doing it. It is nice to take a break from academic schooling and improve other skills in my life.

 We have started a blog about our travels while here in Australia. Here is the link, please feel free to check it out:

www.sarahandcarlinginAU.blogspot.com.

thank you!

love,
Sarah and Carling

We will shortly have CDs of Solomon Keal's Peaceful Solo Piano Music. Titles are Thoughts and Affections; Heritage; Advent; Peace of Heaven. ($20 each). These are used from time to time in our church services as incidental music and we always get compliments afterwards. Solomon, his wife Tirah and three children are part of the Kempton Pennyslvania society. If you wish to read more about him go to: http://www.solomonkeal.com

In mid November a group of 18 aboriginal children aged 12 to 18 years with some elders from Ngalangangpum School (say that ten times as fast as you can!) in Western Australia will be visiting Sydney. Ngalangangpum (aboriginal word meaning mother and child) School is located in Warmun Aboriginal Community, halfway between Halls Creek and Kununurra in the remote East Kimberley region of Western Australia. With a fluctuating population of over 400 people, this is one of the biggest Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. The majority of its residents are members of the Kija language group. The location of this school is as far in the outback of Australia as you can get and is nearby to the famous Bungle Bungle Ranges.

The Hurstville Society is happy to offer the use of their facilities in Baringa to help house the children along with the Lockharts and Mahys. Leanne Mahy, daughter of our friends Trevor and Maureen Mahy a few doors down the street from our church, has been a teacher at this school for two years and has arranged for this visit to take place. Funds have been raised to give these children who have spent their whole lives in the far outback an experience of visiting Sydney.

This gives us an exciting opportunity to help others. Please take the time to look up their fascinating website at:

http://www.ngalawarmun.wa.edu.au/Nga/history-school/historyschool.html

The school aims to teach the children new skills but still places strong emphasis on links to traditional culture. It is run by the Catholic Church but when it was formed in 1979 it was clear for the Warmun people that they wanted a Two-Way School for their children. They were aware that it was essential for their children to gain the educational skills that would enable them to deal with the wider society. At the same time they were emphatic that it was equally necessary for the children to be instructed in traditional skills and cultural values. They decided that the community members would be responsible for these latter aspects of the educational program

Tom [Bishop Kline] asked me to let you know that he wants to visit Australia, but will not be able to do so until probably March or April. He had intended to visit this fall [our Spring], but there are some critical matters for him to attend to in Korea, Bryn Athyn and elsewhere so he could not fit it in. He's very sorry about the delay.

Unfortunately, I'll be in South Africa for a large portion of November, so I could not have come before then either.

We continue to try and provide you with what support we can. George McCurdy said he and Lois had a wonderful time there. He noted how gracious everyone was, and he appreciated your warmth and hospitality.

Thanks,
Brian

 There are still spaces available at the Summer Camp. However if you would like to come and haven't booked please do so as soon as possible. Send your booking to Carolyn Heldon 15 Browallia Cr, Loftus NSW 2232.

A Property Trust Councillors' Meeting is scheduled for the first Sunday in October (7th).- now postponed. There will be our bi annual General Meeting on Sunday 21st October after church. Among other business we will be making decisions about Christmas celebrations and by this time we will also know whether Rev Alain Nicolier will be able to visit from late November through end of January or not. A Theta Alpha Guild AGM will be held on Sunday 28th October after church.

For October we have decided to do something a little different. Our hard working interns have agreed to prepare a social evening in place of the usual doctrinal class on Friday 5th. It is a while since we did something like this. Can't tell you too much about exactly what will happen at this stage and it might be good to have a few surprises. But there are likely to be some games, some New Church quizzes and well, let's leave it up to Sarah and Carling.

On Saturday 13th October we will be holding a Society Hike in the Royal National Park walking from Waterfall to Audley via Uloola Falls. It is along this route that in some years the waratahs are a spectacular sight, although September is the best time. Even if we miss the best of them it is a lovely walk so if you are free that day then come along. Please meet at Waterfall railway station at 9.45 am and bring your lunch and water bottle. The hike will end at Loftus station. Contact Margaret or Owen Heldon on 9545 3823 if interested.

Happy Birthday to: Robert Ridgway (7th), Vera Buck (8th), Stuart Heldon (10th), Audrey Favell (12th), Murray Heldon (13th), Darren Kermond (20th), Cameron Walsh (20th), Sonia Hicks (22nd) and Shirley Taylor (27th)

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 All are welcome and refreshments are served after church each Sunday.
Friday	5th October	7 00 p.m. Dinner & Social Evening
Sunday	7th October	10 00 a.m. Worship followed by Property Trust Mtg (Postponed)
Friday	12th October	6 00 p.m. Young People (at Roseville)
Saturday	13th October	Society Hike
Sunday	14th October	10.00 a.m. Worship
Sunday	21st October	10 00 a.m. Worship followed by Society Meeting
Sunday	28th October	10 00 a.m. Worship followed by Theta Alpha Guild AGM