new church life: march/april 2015
I did not, and do not, view the world through “the lens of inclusiveness.” I
view it through the lens of the Word. The General Church was founded for the
purpose of viewing all things in this way, through the lens of the Word.
I joined the General Church because I wanted the kind of inclusiveness
it did represent: that is, acceptance of the Writings in their entirety as Divine,
and those who shared that view.
In a word, I joined the General Church because it exists to serve the Truth.
(WEO)
here is what made the academy special
In a sense, I was a member of the Academy before I even learned that it still
existed. I had read about it in Marguerite Beck Block’s 1932 history of the New
Church, was much impressed by what I read, and wondered if the institution
still existed or what had happened to it. The author of that book, by the way,
was and remained Catholic, but her respect and admiration for the Academy
and General Church is very clear. Here is a brief statement from the chapter
on the General Church and the community in Bryn Athyn:
The thing that strikes the visitor to the Academy Schools is the fact that nothing,
apparently, is done, or left undone, without a doctrinal reason. Nothing seems to be
haphazard, or merely a matter of course, but everything is for the sake of a “use.” ....
But there is nothing morbid about this preoccupation with doctrinal sanctions. The
atmosphere is perfectly normal and wholesome. The boys and girls live in separate
dormitories, but eat together, and except for the high school years the schools are
coeducational.” (The History of the New Church In The New World, pp. 271-272)
Nothing was done without a doctrinal reason! That’s the General Church.
To some it might seem that this would make the Church narrow-minded,
hidebound, uncreative, intellectually stifling and boring. But nothing could
be further from the truth .... because the doctrine in question is the Heavenly
Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, consisting of Divine truths in which the Lord
Himself is present: Life itself! The Light of the world! It is a subtle, complex,
dynamic doctrine that relates to life in all its aspects, appeals to reason, and has
in it the power to completely transform those who take it to heart and make
them wiser, kinder, better human beings.
(WEO)
our own academy, we pledge our faith to thee!
When I first came into the General Church it was very common for Our Own
Academy, Our Glorious Church and various other toasts to the Church to be
sung at almost every gathering: clergy and board meetings, banquets and social
events, graduations, baptisms, weddings, home dedications, resurrection
services, and of course at Charter Day events, including the Theta Alpha and
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