CALIFORNIA DIGEST 2014A Newsletter for New Church residents and friends of California www.californiadigest. org July/August

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"I Am The Lord Your God"A Sermon by the Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr.

(Taken from www.newchurch.org)Life progresses. I'd like you to think for a moment

about what your life may be like a year from now. Countless things will happen to all of us between now and then. We will all experience another Easter, another Thanksgiving, another Christmas. Some of us may retire. Others may change jobs, or become grandparents for the first time, or move. Those of us who are married will celebrate an anniversary; it may be a third anniversary, or a thirtieth or fortieth anniversary. Those of us who are parents will notice that our children will develop substantially: they will become more independent and more competent. This might be the year for a child to move out of the house – even get married. We will all celebrate a birthday this year.

Whatever activities or landmarks fill our time, we can be assured that life will keep rolling by. Each day brings with it new experiences and challenges; some which give us joy, and others which test our endurance.

Through it all we will be developing as people. Our perspectives will change as we see more of life. We know that beyond the various things which fill up our day, we are supposed to be making spiritual progress. Each year we get closer to the time when our lives in this world will be over, and we will enter the spiritual world, which includes heaven and hell. Our primary goal in this world should be to prepare for that time – to be led by the Lord towards heaven. From time to time, then, it's useful to reflect on how religion will play a part in our lives. How will the Lord Himself help us to make some spiritual progress this year? What is He leading us towards? What does He want us to see about our choices and ways of acting, and consider changing? What is most important to Him?

The First Commandment. Today's focus is on the most central religious principle to keep in mind as we strive to make progress in our spiritual lives: dedication to the Lord our God. That is why we will look at the First Commandment today – the first thing, and in one sense the most important, which the Lord commanded from Mt. Sinai. He said:

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before My face. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third

and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments (Exodus 20:2-6).

"That which reigns universally." There is a teaching in the Writings for the New Church which says: "What is stated first must be held in mind and must be seen to reside universally in everything that follows" (Arcana Caelestia 8864:3). In one sense this means that the First Commandment must be held in mind when we look at the rest of the commandments, for it "reigns universally" in them. For example: • The next two commandments teach us how to worship the Lord alone or have no other gods before His face: we are not to take His name in vain, which means that we honor and revere Him; and we are to remember the Sabbath day, or take time to focus on the Lord and make Him a priority. • We are not to steal, because the God whom we worship forbids it. • He commands us not to commit adultery because He is the God of marriage.

• We are not to murder, lie, or covet because in doing so we are not loving the Lord nor keeping His commandments, as the First Commandment requires.

In general, the First Commandment calls us to commit ourselves to the Lord to let Him reign in our lives. If we think about it, we need this command. For religion to make any sense, we have to know who the Lord is – He is the central focus, and the object of all our religious devotion. For us to see value in the Bible we have to know the Revelator – then it can be a Divinely authoritative guide for us. If we are to accept the path of regeneration or spiritual rebirth, we need to worship the Savior who makes it all happen.

One teaching in the Writings for the New Church says: "What reigns universally with a person is that which is present in every idea of his thought and every desire of his will… That which reigns universally within a person should be the Lord" (emphasis added, Arcana Caelestia 8865). Another teaching says: "A person's whole character is determined by the nature of whatever dominates his life" (Arcana Caelestia 8858). The Lord asks us to let Him "dominate" our lives. He asks that we love Him above all things, that we make Him and His ways the priority in our lives, for He is the Source, the Beginning, the Lord our God.

The Tone. One of the things we notice about the First Commandment is that it is stated in the negative: "You shall have no other gods before My face," rather than "You shall worship the Lord your God alone." If we fail, He will "visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate [Him]." For He is a

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jealous God and one whom we should fear. We might wonder why this is the case. If worshiping the Lord alone is so important, why does He appear so foreboding, commanding, and manipulative – so distant? As you may suspect, there are several reasons for such a tone. First, the Israelites, to whom the Ten Commandments were first revealed, needed such an image. They would not have listened unless a powerful, jealous God was speaking. Such an image caused them to pay attention!

But another reason for the tone is that it teaches us how to make the Lord our central focus. "You shall have no other gods before My face," it says. How? By not carving any images, or making any likenesses of anything in heaven, on earth, or in the waters below. All these represent things which stand in the way of letting the Lord reign in us. "Gods" can mean selfishness – putting ourselves before the Lord, which is the root of all evil. They can also mean worldliness, or a lack of concern for anything beyond what we can see and experience, namely the Lord and heaven. A "likeness in the heavens above or the earth beneath" means pretending to be a good person. A person who acts like a spiritual and moral person externally, is making a likeness or putting on a façade (see Arcana Caelestia 8871:1). The Lord calls such people hypocrites.

When we get to "the waters under the earth" we come to the direct opposite to worshiping the Lord. The waters and the things they contain represent a bodily-oriented person, who cares only for external pleasures (Arcana Caelestia 8872). Such a person is dominated by appetites for worldly things such things as food or possessions, or for physical, lustful pleasure. This is a far cry from what is orderly, with the Lord at the top, and these cravings much further down the list in their appropriate places (see Arcana Caelestia 911:3).

The purpose of stating the First Commandment in the negative is to warn us that we all have tendencies to love ourselves, to make ourselves appear like good people, to seek pleasure. If we focus on these things alone, the Lord cannot help us. Without Him, we live lives which are pictured by the Israelites in the land of Egypt-in bondage, controlled by negative influences which come to us by means of hell. Our lives will have qualities to them which don't bring us happiness, but instead make us feel miserable. We will act in selfish and manipulative ways, and cause harm to the people around us. But the Lord wants us to realize that it doesn't have to be that way. He can free us from these negative influences. If we put Him first, He delivers us from the influences of hell (see Arcana Caelestia 8866). He gives us a rationale for the way things should be, with Himself at the top governing and directing our lives, with charity to other

people next, as He commands. Then we can take care of our own needs, and experience pleasures in their proper measure, with appropriate goals: eating to remain healthy, earning money to support a family or even to live comfortably.

AmenBoynton Beach Retreat

(Formerly known as Eldergarten)                  UPDATE NO. 1 -- June 9, 2014

The 2015 Boynton Beach Retreat will be held January 18 – 22, 2015.  Once again we have lined up a great list of speakers.  The list includes a return by popular request of Greg Rose.  His topic will be “Culture and Politics:  Arab and American.”  Rev. Jeremy Simons, retired pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church and present chaplain of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral will be joining us for the first time. Rev. Thane Glenn, one of the very popular teachers of “Rookie Religion” to newcomers at Bryn Athyn College will also be presenting.  Our banquet speaker will be a long-time friend of the Retreat and popular speaker, Rev. George McCurdy.  On one afternoon we will offer a short optional program “How to tweak your memory of sermons and lectures for key information” presented by Phoebe Simons Tucker.  Hopefully, Karen Lehne will again be available for Tai Chi sessions.  This year’s main programs will be held in the Duncan Center’s beautiful chapel, just across the driveway. We have kept the fees unchanged for the past couple of years.  Last year we knew we were doing a little bit of “deficit spending”. But we felt our reserves were as high as they needed to be.  This year costs for the Duncan Center, the banquet, and travel have all risen.  Thus we are forced to raise the basic fees to $225.00 until October fifteenth, and $250.00 thereafter. We have reserved all forty guest rooms at the Duncan Center for this year’s event. Some have asked about availability of Jonathan Rose’s presentations at the 2014 program.  He has taped and edited them.  Rev. Alden has made them available to anyone wishing them at:   http://www.newchurchboyntonbeach.org/resources/BoyntonBeachRetreat_materials.html A copy of Dr. Kristin King’s interesting banquet speech is also available at http://www.brynathyn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/KK-BAC-Boynton-Beach-Address2014.pdf  Registration materials will be sent out later this summer.  If you have questions or a name to add to our mailing list just contact us at the email address below. Mark your calendar now.Bob Brickman, DirectorBBRetreat@newchurchboyntonbeach.org

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561-278-6037

Amazon DonationsAmazon started a new policy of donating a portion of

the proceeds from certain items. To participate, go to smile.amazon.com. Apparently you need to go to that URL instead of amazon.com when making purchases for them to trigger the donation, but they have quite a list of charities including "The California New Church Board". 

Philippines NewsOur New Church Day celebration in the Bataan New

Church has been a huge success. Thanks be to God. All seats were taken although our friends from Pampanga were not able to make it because of strong rains, and even Rev. Ronnie Sauler did not make it as planned from Cavite because of personal as well as the weather conditions that prevailed.  We started the service at 10:15 AM.  The service was followed by a very short program by the Sunday school kids who sang and danced, followed by the ladies led by Lydia Baltazar with Linda Cavinta, Saling Helen's mother, Nita and her daughter, and Liberty Tolentino. The seven members of the choir led by Carla Caranog also sang us a beautiful song. There were guessing games and gift giving. Foods and drinks were served afterwards.  It was a fun filled event, but we did not forget what the Lord has done for us in the New Church.

Personally, it was a solemn time for me. I shed a tear and thanked the Lord and the New Church for giving me a chance to be of use despite my weaknesses, health issues and other things that bothered me in the past. And I thank Bishops Ian and Trevor, Rev. Merlita and the PNJC people for being so supportive and loving.  Purihin ang Panginoon.!  Rev. Elpie Enriquez  (Pastor, Bataan New Jerusalem Church)

Palo Alto NewsAfter this service, our next is July 20th, with Rev.

Mark Perry.   The calendar for next fiscal year (starting July 1st) is under development. We look forward to seeing you at Church!

 -Hannah & Jonathan

Los Angeles NewsVery big things are afoot in Los Angeles!

Since the last CNCB meeting at the end of May, all of our energy has been about bringing Jean Atta to LA as soon as possible to take up residence and begin his new position as the second minister to the New Church in California! We have a manse here, owned by the General Church, which will shortly welcome him and his lovely wife, Tekedra. After their visit here last month, the mutual attraction was obvious. We have the passion and the possibility, and with the remaining energy of the small group, we back him whole-heartedly! We also have the weather, the structure, and the Festival of Books – and multiple other opportunities – for community building. (It is well-known that Jean Kamanen Atta is all about a challenge!)

Jean will enjoy the support and encouragement of the Regional Pastor, David Roth in Boulder; the first minister to the state, Mark Perry in San Diego; the head of New Church Outreach, David Lindrooth; and the entire Council of the Clergy, in the form of the Cyper-council. Bishop Keith has also expressed his great satisfaction with the placement, which seems like a good fit for a young, enthusiastic minister of the first degree.

Well, the latter situation will be changing shortly. More good news!

In fact, we want to extend a hearty invitation to one and all to attend Jean’s Ordination into the Second Degree of the Ministry of the General Church, which will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 21, 2014. Bishop Keith will preside, bestowing on our friend and pastor the blue stole of priesthood. In attendance as well will be David Roth, and many members of the California New Church Board, which will hold it’s meeting in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 20th. The occasion promises to become quite an event. (Is it just a coincidence that 9/21 is the International Day of Peace?? Perhaps not.)

So, for the next few weeks we are preparing the manse, with a grand sweep of improvements that have been sorely needed for years, overseen by the Treasurer’s Office in the person of Chris Carter. Chris, a member of the General Church Real Estate committee, comes to LA mid-July to work with contractors, repairmen and all disciplines needed to get the manse into tip-top shape for occupation by Jean and Tekedra, who will also arrive mid-July.

LA has been working with the CNCB in bringing Jean to California, and Jean has been working with the group in LA throughout this period. We conference call each week, and enjoy Jean’s prayers and leadership (so evident even on phone calls). He is truly the answer to so many long years of prayer, and our hearts rejoice to welcome him and Tekedra. May their work be blessed!

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Please plan to join us in this festive Autumnal celebration of the highest order! If you would like more information, please contact me, Gabrielle Reynolds, at gabrey03@yahoo.com. We would be honored to have you attend this momentous, festive, joyous and historic occasion on September 21, 2014!

-Gabrielle ReynoldsSan Diego News

Mario filling care bags Here in San Diego, we have a lot of homeless people, and the numbers seem to be growing.  We are a tiny congregation and there is not a lot that we can do about this huge social issue in our city. We have however (thanks to a few private donations of $$) bought some items and made up "care-bags".  These Gallon Ziplock bags contain 2 power-bars, a new toothbrush and toothpaste, a bottle of water and a small package of Kleenex. One of our newer attendees, Mario, helped me put all the bags together … we have 45 bags ready to go out this weekend.  We provide them on Sunday and people can grab a bag or two to hand out during the week. Every person that I have handed a bag to has been most grateful. -Cheers, Mark

Contents of a care bag

New BenchesThe church recently procured some beautiful new

benches. Here are a few pictures, but you should stop by and see them in person : )

New CarpetThe San Diego New Church got new carpet!

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Heart SurgeriesHeart surgeries have been uppermost on our minds

recently, as both Merlita Rogers and Caryl Peacock were candidates for them!  Merlita Rogers underwent heart surgery on June 9th and was in the ICU for 11 days and then the general Cardiac Ward for three more days. There was one “code blue” episode during her hospitalization, but she returned home on June 22nd and has been recuperating slowly.   The Rogers wish to thank everyone for their support and prayers. Merlita has been sorely missed by all and we look forward to her full recovery.

Leslie, Anne and their daughter, Anneliese Rei Rogers, ofTokyo were in San Diego to be with Merlita Rogers before,

during andafter her heart surgery on June 9th.

Caryl Peacock also underwent heart surgery; hers a Quadruple bi-pass that manifested without any warning!   Following Rehab, we are pleased to hear that she has all but recovered and able to drive again and will soon be able to come to church again.  Our love and best wishes to both Merlita and Caryl for your continued rehab and may shining good health be yours. 

-Lyn PerryJune19 th

June 19th was celebrated with a delightful picnic held at Guajome Regional Park in Oceanside.  Starting with a simple service and the reading from Revelation Chapter 22 that describes the river clear as crystal, and the tree of life whose leaves were for the healing of the nations.  These were read by Pastor Mark as we sat beneath some shady trees on folding chairs and rugs.  The story was quite by chance brought to life as the waters of Lake Guajome sparkled in front of us and near us stood a gnarled old pepper tree covered in its summer greenery! 

The enduring message being that truth not only draws near or is touched by good, but is interwoven with good through instruction and life’s experiences.

Guitar music strummed by Hazel Baltazar and Mark accompanied the singing and afterwards it was picnic time for all! 

Red and white tablecloths (our New church colors pertaining to Good and truth) decked the picnic tables that were filled with all kinds of yummy offerings. 

Errol Ovid set up volley ball and brought the much anticipated fishing equipment.  The two star ‘fisherladies’ turned out to be 3 year old Seraphina Jensen and 8 year old Janine Perry, who both caught fishes– well done girls!  

Bread for the ducks geese and water birds that abound had been sadly forgotten by all, but Errol saved the day and arrived with several bags filled with sliced bread!  I don’t know who had more fun; the children doing the feeding or the hungry birds being fed! 

Some of us took a walk around the lake and afterwards Robin Ovid – our ‘ice cream lady’ ladled out ice cream cones for all! 

Finally birthday cupcakes were passed around and we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to little Sophie Kahle who had recently turned three years old.  A heartfelt vote of thanks to Errol and Robin Ovid who booked the picnic site for us and did so much to make our June 19th picnic extremely enjoyable. Our June 19th is a unique celebration and one to be cherished.  .

EditorialI hope you are having an enjoyable summer! Since

the summer months are slower for news, I have combined the July and August news into one issue. Have a wonderful rest of your summer!

Send any news to catiedigest@gmail.com. God Bless,

Catie Jungé California Digest Editor

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California DigestPublisher: California New Church Board (CNCB)Editor: Catie Jungé Tel: 949-285-3626(email: CatieDigest@gmail.com) Donations: in US: $15; other countries $22 USDEditorial Content: articles, letters, comments welcome. Please submit to editor by 25th of the month. Contributions printed as space permits. Classified advertisements: please call for rates.

Los Angeles New ChurchServices temporarily held at the Manse: 5022 Carolyn WayLa Crescenta, CA 91214Tel. 818-249-9163Website: www.newchurchla.com

San Diego New Church 2701 Meadowlark DriveSan Diego, CA 92123Sunday Filipino Service 9:15 a.m. (Tagalog)Sunday 10:30 a.m. (English)Joint service first Sunday each month at 10:30 a.m.Pastor: Rev. Mark Perry Tel: 858-610-WORD(e: cmperry@san.rr.com)

Palo Alto New ChurchSunday services are held at the First Baptist Church, NE corner of Bryant and California in Palo Alto, CA

Thanksgiving Service: November 17th

Christmas Service: December 22ndChildren's class at 3:30 pm; worship at 4:00 p.m.Discussion/class at 5:00; Dinner/Social at 6:00 pmContact: Jonathan & Hannah Cranch T: 650-327-2788 (e: jpcranch@pacbell.net

GodIs

Good!

Central California New ChurchWorship at the home of Jane Schroeder in Mariposa, CA 95338.

T-209-966-3423 (Services/ doctrinal classes quarterly.

"A person comes into peace in proportion as that person comes into love of the Lord." -Emanuel Swedenborg (Arcana Coelestia 8455)

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