new church life: jan uary / february 201 4
pastoral moves in africa
Rt. Rev. Brian W. Keith
• The Rev. Edward Akotey has become the first resident pastor for the
Nteso congregation in Ghana.
• The Rev. Jake Maseko has retired from the active ministry. The
Diepkloof Society, near Johannesburg, South Africa, is being served by
theological school students studying for the priesthood.
• The Rev. Alfred Mbatha has retired from the active ministry. He was
pastor of the Impaphala Society, north of Durban, South Africa.
• The Rev. Phila Xaba has been called as pastor of the Impaphala Society.
The Alexandra Society, near Johannesburg where Phila was pastor, is
being served by theological school students.
• The Rev. Malcolm Smith has been called as pastor of the Westville
Society in Durban, South Africa. He will assume this office July 1, 2014.
• The Rev. Coleman Glenn has been called as associate pastor to the
Westville Society. He will assume this office July 1, 2014. The Dawson
Creek Society, where Coleman has been serving, is working with the
General Church in Canada and the Bishop’s Office about future services.
a new translation
After a hiatus of 11 years, the fourth volume of Spiritual Experiences (paragraphs
4545 to 6110½) has been completed by the Rev. Kurt Nemitz. This completes
the mammoth work, begun by the Rev. J. Durban Odhner, of producing a
fresh edition of the Latin manuscript and translating it into English.
This new edition includes material written by Swedenborg that was not in
the previous edition – material which he had included in his own index to his
spiritual experiences. Mr. Odhner was called to the spiritual world before he
could finish the translation, and Mr. Nemitz was called on to finish the work.
This is an exciting new edition of Swedenborg’s personal journal. It was
titled The Spiritual Diary by its first translators, with good reason. But its
newly discovered name, Spiritual Experiences – Swedenborg’s name for it –
is a perfect description of its contents. It is a goldmine of experiences of the
amazing world of the human spirit.
This book is an unending resource for spiritual psychologists and anyone
who wishes to understand more intimately the workings of the human mind –
both good and evil – and of the spiritual world. And it gives advanced students
of Swedenborg’s published theological writings a rare look behind the scenes
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