Our Lady of Soufanieh

Dear Friends,

Sometimes it is hard to find the words that are in your heart, but a picture is worth a thousand words.

Borrowing from my friend Stephanie Georgieff's theme on Madonna's, I found this image of Mary and Child. Mary appeared 3 times in this town outside Damascus in recent times. The yellow that you see in the picture is olive oil weeping from the picture.

Christianity is only represented by about 10% of the population in Syria, which makes this image even more special. From the New Testament, we know that both Saint Paul and Saint Thomas visited this area. From the Old Testament, Abraham is a well known and revered name.

We here in Canada are preparing to welcome 25,000 refugees from Syria in the coming months and I thought it would be interesting to give just a snippet of information. Syrian culture goes back thousands of years, and is thought to be as important to history as Egyptian.

What does the name Damascus bring up for you? Silk, of course, as it was on the famous Silk Road. In terms of cuisine, think coffee, hummus, baklava, tabbouleh and shish kebab.

The current troubles in Syria arose because of suppression of pro-democratic parties. It means that millions of people have been displaced. Imagine having to leave behind not just your belongings but in a way, your cultural heritage. These are ordinary people who now must learn a whole new way of life and adapt to a completely different climate. One might call it a modern day Exodus.

We have a proud history of welcoming people from all over the world and respecting their beliefs and culture - it is why we call it The Canadian Mosaic. It won't be easy, but I believe we will benefit in ways we cannot even imagine.

The words of the Epistle from Michaelmas, which I have heard for many years have never been truer or more relevant than today. We can and will extend the hand of friendship.

Sparky

Christ in You - Christ in the World!

Hello Everyone! 

The theme for this year's Delegates Meeting of the Christian Community is "Christ in You - Christ in the World".  I'm gathering thoughts from our community - where do we see Christ in the world?  How do we experience Him?  In our deeds, our social life, in our initiatives, in our hearts and minds, as individuals, small groups, our community!

I'll be sharing our thoughts at the delegates meeting and with you here on our blog, so more to come....  Join the conversation!

Erica 

A Moveable Feast

Dear Friends,

We were blessed in August to have a visit from Rev. Baan from the Spring Valley Seminary, which we called “The Moveable Feast”. It was held in 3 different locations in the Pacific Northwest.

This was so enlivening that we all felt enriched by the talks and workshops.

It would be impossible to put down on paper everything that occurred, but I would like to offer some small snapshots.

During the day on Vancouver Island, we did an artistic exercise in a small wooded area with gongs and chimes. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we wandered through the woods with our instruments. I stood beside a grand old cedar, and as I banged my gong, the tree seemed to respond in kind: B A U M! It’s a very interesting thing that the German word for tree is baum. It was a simply awesome experience.

My favorite exercise with Bastiaan is, of course, singing, which we did in Vancouver. I’m sure if he wasn’t a Seminary Director, he could easily be a Choir Director. Hmmm, or perhaps he is the Director of a Heavenly Choir of Angels (our seminary students)….

I included this picture, which presented itself to me this morning as I drove into work – a flock of geese flying overhead on the way to a local lake - listening to a song on the radio by Ed Sheeran called Photograph. Do try to find this song, or at least the lyrics, as it’s very touching:

Loving can heal
Loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know

Dedicated to Trudy MacMillan, who passed away suddenly at the age of 62.

Sparky                                           

New Beginnings

Dear Friends,



I have always loved this time of year, when for us at the northern 49th parallel, the stars seems so close, even intimate, as if they are trying to tell us something. To me it has always been a message of comfort and hope. If you follow my friend Stephanie Georgieff's facebook page, on the Black Madonna, you will notice that her article 4 weeks ago also talks about The Beginning.

3 years ago in 2012, the world observed in one fashion or another, the "ending" of an Age, and the "beginning" of another. One that promises to be more loving. One that could even be called the Marian Age, or the Divine Mother, or the Holy Sophia.

Often the ending of some thing, can be catastrophic, apocalyptic, sheer chaos. Something is torn away or given up, but that is Life.

This describes the transformation that naturally takes place in plants, insects and some amphibians. Take for example a butterfly. It changes from a caterpillar, which wraps around itself a chrysalis, and emerges as a butterfly.

I had the opportunity to watch a movie the other night called The Blue Butterfly. It is worth watching just for the cinematography, but it is based on the true story of a Canadian child who is diagnosed with cancer. His dying wish is to go to the rainforest to catch a blue morph butterfly. He travels to Costa Rica with a famous entomologist from Montreal, and somehow during this journey, his cancer is cured. One can offer a number of explanations, but my personal one is the power of nature itself, or, one could say, being able to connect with the Etheric Life Force.

This is becoming more and more not just a theory to ordinary people, but a reality.

3 years ago, we gathered together on Vancouver Island for the North/South America Conference. What is happening now?

Good News!

Almost everyone I talk to is experiencing something new and positive streaming in this summer, particularly during these 10 weeks between St. Johnstide and Michaelmas.

Now, in the 3rd millennium since the Deed of Golgotha, we are experiencing the true reality – not that “Christ is coming in the clouds”, but that He is already Here!



Sparky

Dear Friends,

On this solemn morning of Easter Friday, I would like to share some thoughts and images with you.

Last night, a few intrepid souls went to our Silent Supper and Close of Day Service for Maundy Thursday, led by Rev. Susan Locey. We have done this for a couple of years now, and it is always very beautiful. The eloquent outline of what happened that evening over 2000 years ago during the service, was underlined by the beautifully simple and quiet meal we had all just shared.

To share a meal together is one way of building community. As Rev. Werner Grimm has reiterated time and again, our church is not here “just” to provide a house for the Sacraments. Its ultimate purpose is to find ways to build community, not just between ourselves, but also between the Earth and the spiritual world. This is to aid the evolution of the Earth in such a way that we allow the spiritual to manifest in the material world.

I had a very touching dream before I woke up this morning that I would like to share:

I found myself wandering in an unknown neighbourhood, and came across some children playing. Beside lay them a small baby, thin and listless, unable even to summon up the energy to move, as most babies who love to wiggle and kick. I held this baby in my arms, and as I did so, she became bigger, stronger and healthy, just like my own granddaughter. Then my old, dear housekeeper  appeared, who surely must now be with the angels. She was still caring for children, and called me by name – only then did I recognize her.

Over the past few weeks I have been reading a series of books by James Redfield on the Twelve Insights, written primarily in the 1990’s. Many of these insights also reflect Steiner’s tenets, simply from a different angle. What I like about his books is that he says technology should ultimately be used to help make all basic human needs available to everyone, at little or no cost. That is certainly not the case at the moment. He also says that power should not be held in the hands of a few. He also says that not only one's actions, but one's thoughts and attitudes, especially towards each other, are extremely important.

This takes us back to the ideal of a group or community working together, to uplift every single soul into the realm of the spiritual. This can only happen, I believe, when everyone’s basic human needs are met.

Perhaps it is not a coincidence that this year is the Chinese Year of the Sheep.

“I Am the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep.”

Sparky

How the Altar appeared during the Twelve Days of Christmas

Here is how the Altar looked soon after Bruce and I had finished making the new sign which is to be hung up at the very front of the Chapel Hall during the Twelve Days of Christmas with the more modern wording of letters that Reverend Susan Locey had painted gold. Also of course we can see the new Altar painting by Wilfried Ogilvie which Monica had arranged to be brought to Canada, that Gieselherr, Leila and myself framed and hung up and which we have been fundraising for recently.