CALIFORNIA DIGEST2015
A Newsletter for New Church residents and friends of California March
1
Why NOT to Pray
by Rev. John Odhner
New Church Connections Magazine 2012 Issue 3
So you don’t have a prayer? You’re not alone! Lots of people don’t pray. Some are firmly opposed to prayer, but most just don’t know how or don’t get around to it. I imagine you are familiar with some of the good reasons to pray. There are also lots of reasons not to pray. Perhaps some of these will seem familiar to you as well.
1. I’m too busy. I don’t have enough time to dedicate to a sincere prayer.
Life is busy, and prayer can add serenity, peace, and even productivity. Instead of adding prayer as a new task in your day, infuse a current task with prayer. For example, pray when you wash your hands or the dishes, or on your commute to or from work.
2. So, who am I talking to? I don’t really understand who or what God is, so how do I talk to God?
Not knowing who you are talking to can really be a barrier. I imagine being in a dark room and knowing someone is with me but not seeing the person’s face. “Hello...? Is someone there?” You can learn about God by reading a book like the Gospel of John or Divine Love and Wisdom. The most important thing to learn is that God is Love, and you get to know God by learning to love people. “Everyone who loves, knows God...for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8) When you can understand that God loves you and wants to have a loving relationship with you, you can then relate to God in the same way you relate to anyone who loves you, like your father or mother or best friend. That’s why God took on a Human form in Jesus Christ, so that we could know His love for us and relate to Him directly. It’s like turning the light on in that dark room.
3. I don’t know what to say...
Prayer is just talking with God. None of us is born knowing how to talk. We learn by practicing. Even when you have learned to talk fluently, you still might be tongue-tied when you have to speak to a crowd, get lost in a foreign country or get caught in an embarrassing situation.
Some tips: Words aren’t important. God listens to your heart, your thoughts and feelings.
Prayers that are short, simple and stumbling are just as good as eloquent, sophisticated ones. Just say, “God, I need your help!” or “Thanks, Lord,” or “Father, forgive me!” Also, you can find a book of prayers and read one that expresses your needs and hopes.
4. I tried prayer and it didn’t work. I prayed for my mom’s cancer to be healed, and she died. What’s the use?
Prayer is not a solution to every problem. Sometimes we have too high expectations of what prayer can accomplish. The Lord doesn’t promise a life free from challenges, pain, hard work and loss. In fact, He pretty much promises that we will have those things. Jesus said, “In the world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) If you pray for God to change someone else’s life, or to change your own circumstances, giving you health, wealth and friends who admire you, chances are you will be disappointed with the results. On the other hand, if you ask for patience, courage, wisdom, determination, compassion, kindness or humility, you might become aware of an inner change in yourself even before your prayer is complete.
5. What if my friends found out? I can just hear them saying, “So you’re praying? I thought you were too old to have imaginary friends. Ha ha.”
Really? Your “friends” would say that to you? Are you sure you’re not just imagining that they are your friends? That aside, prayer isn’t about what other people think of you. Jesus said, “Don’t stand on the street corner praying! Go into your room and close the door! Your heavenly Father hears when you pray secretly.” (Matthew 6:5-6) Do you have doubts about whether God exists? That’s OK. Most good people have times of doubt. God listens to prayers like these: “Lord, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24); “Lord, increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5)
6. I’m not getting any answers. Just stony silence. Do I have to do all the talking? Is prayer a conversation or a monologue?
The book Secrets of Heaven tells us that there is always an answer from God, but the answer from God touches our inner spirit more than our superficial consciousness, so it doesn’t come to our awareness except as a feeling of hope bringing comfort. (Secrets of Heaven 8159) Try this experiment: pray for strength and wisdom to get through a difficult time and then notice if you feel any sense of inner peace or hope afterwards.
Life / Faith
New Century Edition
By Emanuel Swedenborg
Translated by George F. Dole
Portable paperback, 104 pages, $6.99 / E-book $1.00 or free
What does it mean to do good? What does it mean to be good? In the two short works Life and Faith, Swedenborg explores these questions and how they can shape our spiritual lives.
Life refers not to the vital force that sustains us but to the way we conduct our lives. This piece focuses on the concept of regeneration, or spiritual rebirth, as a process of consciously rejecting our own destructive impulses and internalizing divine love and goodness. Swedenborg includes an overview of the inner sense of the Ten Commandments as a way to understand the choice between good and evil.
In Faith, Swedenborg argues that faith is not a choice to believe things that make no rational sense. Instead, he defines faith as an inner recognition of truth, and emphasizes that real faith can occur only in people who love others and treat them well.
Life / Faith is part of the New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg (NCE), an ongoing translation series. The NCE series incorporates the latest scholarship and translation standards for a more accurate and accessible rendering of Swedenborg’s works. Traditionally titled The Doctrine of Life and The Doctrine of Faith, these short works are often published together with two others—The Lord and Sacred Scripture—under the title The Four Doctrines. These four titles will be published together in the forthcoming NCE hardcover annotated volume The Shorter Works of 1763.
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Picture a compass. Put the compass in your hand, and watch the needle rotate like the hand of a clock. If it's working correctly, the needle will point to "N," the magnetic north. An instrument of navigation, a compass offers direction when we're unsure where to go.
Tools 4 Life camp, held on the ANCSS campus,is like a compass, away to navigate and make decisions about life beyond high school. Rising juniors and seniors explore the value of networking, attention to personal growth, and service to others. This camp is a safe setting topractice moving beyond the familiar into investigation of what is to come with thementorship ofseasoned college-age counselors. There is plenty of time spent off-campus,including two college visits, a career dayexperience, and a fun team-building adventure.
If yourstudent is currently in 10th or 11th grade, this summer camp is for him or her! The dates for this year's camp areJuly 12-18, 2015. Registration is $400 (meals and lodging included). Sign up before March 1, and receive $50 off the regular fee!
Visit download & print the registration form, as well as thehealth forms.
Questions? Call Jennifer Allen .
PHILIPPINE NEWS
New Christian Church School
Visiting the Lucky Me Noodle Factory
Our Education tour was on January 29, 2015. Our beginning assembly time was 3 am at Villa Esperanza Social Hall with departure time at 4 am.
Our first stop was the Jollibee mega station where we were supposed to have our breakfast, but unfortunately they were still closed when we arrived there at 6 am, so we had no choice but to leave and have our breakfast in another station at another fast-food chain along South Luzon Expressway.
After having breakfast, we left the station and went to our next location, which was the Gardenia Bread Factory. We arrived at 8:30 am. Before we toured the factory, we first watched a video on how Gardenia breads are made. Then we went inside the plant and saw exactly how Gardenia Breads are made.
The plant produces 6,000 loaves of bread in an hour. Everything is done by machines, so there are only a few people inside the plant. The kids were amazed to see the large amount of bread being made by big machines inside the factory. Cameras and other gadgets are not allowed inside the Gardenia factory, so we are not able to take pictures.
After that, we went to our next location, the Lucky Me Noodle Factory. Like in Gardenia, cameras were not allowed, but they capture photos and post them on their Facebook account, so we were able to download our photos from the factory.
While touring the plant, one of their staff explained to us every step in making a noodle. The plant is also powered by many machines and few people are inside the plant, like in Gardenia. After that, they gave us “giveaways” that we brought home.
After touring two factories, we went to Nuvali Park and had our lunch there. At 2:00 pm, we left Nuvali Park and went to Enchanted Kingdom and tried all the rides we could. We stayed there until 7:30 pm. That was our last stop.
We left there at around 8 pm. The kids were all tired by that time, as well as the parents and teachers, so many of us slept on the bus while traveling back to Bataan. We arrived in Bataan at 11:30 pm. Everyone was tired and ready to have a rest in their homes,but it was a great day. We were happy to see that the children enjoyed every location that we visited.
Carla Caranog
NCCS Teacher
Palo Alto News
Our next service isMarch 1st with Rev. Mark Perry, who will be back from performing a wedding in the Philippines.
We are looking forward to another special visit this month when Bishop Brian Keith and his wife, Gretchen, will be visiting and giving us a service on March 15th!
We look forward to seeing you at Church!
Hannah & Jonathan
Central California News
Our next service is scheduled with Jean Atta on March 29th.
Los Angeles News
Lesli and Kimora Djedje
We had a very exciting February in Los Angeles. After Kimora Djedje’s baptism late in January (which was so delightful to share) her mother, Leslie Djedje decided also to be baptized. February 8th was a wonderful day to share Leslie’s ceremony, and the Los Angeles group celebrated with a pot luck luncheon featuring grilled sausages and African specialties. It was also the send-off party for our pastor, Jean, who headed to West Africa to join his family reunion. With promises of photos to share on his return, he bid us farewell and set his sights on his home in the Ivory Coast. With successful song practices now under our belt during his absence, we look forward to his return in early March.
After the service on March 8th we will enjoy a society-sponsored baby shower for Leslie Djedje, who is expecting her second child mid-month. All are welcome to this festive occasion! Contact Susan Matchett for details, or just arrive at the manse for the church service to be followed by the pot luck and shower.
Rev. Jean Atta has great plans for our growth and March is the first month of this plan. There are committees exploring suitable locations for our growing church group, and a renewed spirit in the Guild and Bookroom. Stay tuned for more news on this front!
-Gabrielle Reynolds
San Diego News
Having served as pastor of San Diego New Church for 12 years, I finally made it to the Philippines. As many of you know, San Diego New Church is comprised of both Anglo and Filipino members. At this point, about 60% of the San Diego New Church congregation is Filipino. My purpose for traveling to the Philippines was to administer a wedding for a couple, Jonathan Edwards and Eva Macaspac.
It took a full 24 hours of traveling before I finally arrived in Manila at about 11 o'clock at night. Manila was warm, and the traffic was crazy. I was met by Jess and Demi Lagman, as well as a professional driver named Hardy. Hardy is a fantastic driver who negotiated the streets and the traffic of Manila with ease. We arrived in Bataan at about 2 AM. I was exhausted!
The next day I met Rev. Elpie, the New Church pastor of the church in Bataan. He had been working behind-the-scenes to deal with a lot of legal logistics (obtaining the marriage license and the marriage contract) to ensure that this marriage would be legal. His help was invaluable. At about midday, we went to the school in Bataan and met the teachers, the children, and many parents. What an absolute joy this was. To welcome me to their school, the children performed a dance, followed by a dance performed by the parents and teachers. I have never felt so welcomed, loved, and accepted by such a large group of people at any time in my life. Children came up to me, took my hand, and touched it to their foreheads for a blessing. Parents invited me to stand with their children for pictures. I found the Filipino people to be sweet, kind, and genuine.
Classroom full of students, teachers and parents to welcome Mark
Teachers and friends celebrate Mark’s visit
While in the Philippines, my hosts and I traveled to Mount Samat where there is a monument dedicated to the fall of Bataan during the WWII.A massive cross stands up on the top of Mount Samat. An elevator inside the cross takes you all the way to the top of the monument. From this great elevation, you can see a wonderful view of the surrounding area including Subic Bay. While the history of Mount Samat is a tragic one, it also marks the powerful and indomitable spirit of the Filipino people, and forever cemented their strong connection to the United States of America. That same day we also traveled to Subic Bay where I met a friend of mine from San Diego, Port Turpin. It was a fun small world moment.
I was able to meet with Jonathan and Eva a few times before the wedding. They are both professionals working in Dubai. Jonathan is an engineer for a prestigious company there. He has built a beautiful home for Ava in her hometown of Pampanga.
On Sunday morning, I preached at the New Church in Bataan. Both Rev. Elpie and Rev. Ronnie were there. Ronnie is the brother of Ed Dela Cruz here in San Diego. I preached the story of Noah and his sons and how the angels always look to the good, never focusing on the wrong doings of others. They receive this quality from the Lord, who bends all evil into good.
That afternoon we drove down to Pampanga for the wedding. The wedding was indeed beautiful and attended by Eva's family and friends. Surrounded by love and affection, Jonathan was welcomed into their family. An unusual tradition included the releasing of two white doves during the reception following the wedding. The reception was a sumptuous affair which included, of course, lots of food…all delicious!
I invited Jonathan and Eva to come up to Bataan to check out the new church school. I wanted Jonathan to have the opportunity to see what might be accomplished in Pampanga, Eva's hometown. There is a beautiful little chapel
in Pampanga that was started by Duncan Smith with an original donated contribution of just $1000. I hoped to plant a seed with Jonathan about possibilities and the potential growth and development of the new church in Pampanga, which would perhaps include a future school. It is clear to me that Jonathan cares deeply about the community in Pampanga, land use, as well as improvement and development of infrastructure in the community. He was very impressedwith the new church community and school in Bataan.
I loved visiting with people in their homes. The genuine love and acceptance was everywhere. These are delightful people and I knew I would miss them when I left.
To say that I fell in love with the Philippines is an understatement. This was my first trip. It will not be my last.
To my new Filipino friends: for the warmth, affection and love, as well as for your gracious hospitality, from all my heart - SALAMAT (thank-you).
Eva and Jonathan Edwards
A Golden Wedding Celebration
Mike and Lyn Perry celebrated theirGolden wedding anniversaryamid family and friends at the San Diego New Church. With no real plans for the occasion, we ended up with a surprise celebration that unfolded all quite unbeknown to us.
Mark began Sunday's service by playing 'TheWedding song' by Paul Stookey. The words say:
‘A man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home
and they shall travel on to where the two shall be as one,
as it was in the beginning and till the end.