Chemistry, Love, Marriage and Everything

"Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon." My grandmother remarried when she was 77 years old. We all looked on in amazement as these two "oldsters" were transformed into "youngsters". Such is the transformative power of love. They had 10 very happy years together. We were very happy for them and grateful that they had been given this joy in their old age.

My son, the erstwhile baker, is also taking chemistry in high school. I wonder if he knows how closely chemistry and baking really are? You cannot bake a cake or bread without a chemical reaction. I bet even the beginning of creation is actually chemistry rather than physics - after all, the basic molecules, protons, neutrons, are really descriptions of chemistry at work. If you have ever baked cookies with children, you know how this goes. You end up with flour all over the place, and huge smiles on their faces!

Science is changing so fast today, that teachers can't keep up. Instead, they have come up with a very sensible solution - they teach the kids How to Learn. Where to look for the answers, and how to figure things out. Our church is like that, too. We do not take things on blind faith. We are encouraged to look for deeper meaning behind even the simplest of words. If we come to a priest with a question, we are almost never given a direct answer. We are guided where to look, and to find the answer ourselves. Everyone learns differently, and looking at the same thing, will get a different answer.

Our church was founded in the early 1920's, by a group of fairly young, radical free thinkers, who wanted to look at Christianity in a new way. We have no dogma. When one of our priests comes to give a talk, they almost always precede it by saying that this is simply something they are offering from their own point of view and experience and research. It is offered in the spirit of a free gift, for each of us to take from it what we wish, or what speaks to our hearts.

When you see two people on a movie screen, sometimes people say, they have good chemistry. Sometimes two people just seem to click for no special reason, like my friend Stephanie in California and I. It's a mystery. Love is the greatest and most ancient Mystery. In fact, our world as we know it today, could not exist without it. Nothing good can exist or endure without love. Love in its highest form is sacrifice. You have to give up something, usually ego, but sometimes it can be your very life. Women face this fact every time they prepare to give birth. The greatest act of love is to give up your own life or self, for that of your fellow man. There is no fiercer animal on the face of the planet than that of a mother fighting to protect her young.

If you look up love in a comprehensive dictionary, you come up with something interesting. As a suffix, it becomes, beloved. In Old English, Old German and Middle Dutch, it becomes, belief, believe and faith. Out of love comes faith and hope.

In a marriage, though, love is not enough. There must also be mutual respect, trust, support, etc. It has to be carefully nurtured. It will not survive abuse, being taken advantage of, neglect, or being taken for granted. These things come out of ego, as do desire and need. Again, it is about sacrifice. If you take the phrase, I want peace, for example, take out the I (individual), and want (need), you are left with peace.

Different tunes are always running through my head, so here's one I'd like to leave with you,

Don't know much about history,
Don't know much about biology,
Don't know much about my science book,
Don't know much about the French I took.

What I do know is that God loves you
And if you know that you love God, too
What a wonderful world this could be.

Let's get cooking!

This past Sunday, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our church building, had a wonderful visit by a member of our Future Initiatives Group, and a delicious pot luck lunch.

A few months ago, in our North American newsletter, it was announced that we were "expecting" company! This was very exciting. Then last Sunday, a messenger came saying that we could actually help to prepare for this company. Even more exciting!

I love having company. It galvanizes you into doing all the little things you can't seem to find time for on a day to day basis. It means washing windows, vacuuming, dusting, getting out the good china and crystal and polishing them up. It means planning the meal and putting out the welcome mat. And just maybe, changing a few small things around just to freshen things up - don't forget the fresh flowers, too!

We always love our potluck gatherings, because we never know exactly what people will bring. There is a variety of tastes and textures, and somehow it all comes together.

Today, the kitchen has replaced the living room in terms of where people want to gather and congregate. When you have company, everyone pitches in by bringing something for the meal or helping to prepare things. Although it is nice to be presented with a meal already prepared, it is even more satisfying when you have made some kind of contribution.

One of the things I love about our church is the space each individual is given to make their own decisions and exercise their own free will. No one is told exactly what they should do or say. We are each invited to explore our inner self and connection with the Divine.

We have reached a phase, though, where we can begin to find ways to bring outwardly what we have found inwardly. How can we do this?

Each contribution, or thought, adds to the "feast", and it becomes something more than the sum of its parts, in a very organic way.

My son is applying for a baking course at a local college, and on the application it asks, "Why do you want to take this course?" He answered, because I love to see the smile on someone's face when they taste something good.

Each Sunday, we come together to celebrate the sacrament of the Act of Consecration of Man. It is "feast", celebrating Life and Love. So this Sunday, bring your smiles, and help come celebrate, at a church where everyone's contribution is valued, respected and welcome!

Next blog: chemistry, love, marriage, and the whole ball of wax.

Gold as the theme for the July 2012 North-South Conference

Some of you may have noticed the large white paper hanging on the east wall downstairs in the Church. For those who don't know about it yet, Reverend Susan Locey had the idea to have a place where people could come up with phrases or words following the general theme of gold to develope the mood for the Conference. Whether they are quotations or your own thoughts it does not matter. There is construction paper, pens, scissors and tape on the counter by the clock to hang up individual wordings.

I will keep track of them and try to post all the new ones as they appear on the wall.

" A heart of GOLD "
" The golden fleece "
" Enlightenment through the Gold "
" The golden path... "
" A Golden oppurtunity "

" Sharing the Gold "

" GOLDEN STAR "

" Golden Sun "

" Golden Age "

" Good As Gold "

" Silence is golden "

" Gold Medal "

" the golden mean "

" the gold standard "

" Self knowledge - Golden Gift " (Christian Morgenstern)

" Gold treasure "

" The Golden Gate "

" Gold coin "

" The golden King "

" Silence is golden! "

" Chemical Symbol: Au

   from Latin "Aurum"

   meaning "Shining Dawn""

" HEARTS OF GOLD "

" Sands that shimmer like gold "

" Goldfish "

" Gold mine "

" Goldeneye (bird) "

" gold at home "

" Golden freedom "

" Golden west "

" Goldfever "

" Goldsmith "

" Goldfinch "
" The mother-lode "
" Golden flower
                   Chinese herb"

" Faust I - Scene VIII
 Last lines
              Margarete:
" ... to Gold still tends,
On Gold depends
All, All! Alas, we poor!""

 " The Earth as a New Sun

 Freedom and love for all mankind on earth,

divine, evolutionary goals

will become possible only

Through awakened wills

And sun-filled souls

It is a fairy tale that begins to shine and live

When someone finds a path
on which he may rise and give
his ego to the spirit of truth.
Here his consciousness is led to the fact
That through the love bestowed on us
by the Son of Man and through the holy act
of His accomplished deed
at the turning point of time
the future will show
its consequence divine,
The now darkening earth will become
With Michael's help, and ours,

A NEW, LIVING AND GOLDEN SUN."

" El Amor Brilla "
" Gold-leaf "
" Not everything that glitters is gold "
" Gold bullion "
" golden idea "
" good as gold "
" sharing the wealth "

The five senses as experienced in one of an infinite variety in the West Coast Biosphere

Very often after cleaning the Church yard I say to myself, " Yeah, nature is back!" It really is a good feeling to see a part of the natural world pretty much the way it should be. Sometimes I have memories of other places I have been in the past, including into my childhood. Much of the areas in Scandinavia and around the Alps I have visited really stand out but especially some of the outstanding environs in our part of the world.
These impressions are sort of a collection of scene memories from all over Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast.


Imagine it is summer and you are camped by the ocean somewhere up the coast at the edge of the rainforest.
*The feel of slightly moist sand while walking barefoot amongst the dunes in a small clearing just above the highest high tide line.
*The sight of the morning sun just breaking through a low fog bank over a calm tide.
*The aroma of dried driftwood, seaweed and the salt air mingling.
*The taste of of wild salal berries as you make your way along the edges of some bushes just inland from shore.
*The gentle sound of bees making their rounds amongst the honeysuckles and clovers.

The Act of Consecration for the Dead for Owen Lange

     Kara, Marilyn and Rosie at the Act of Consecration for the Dead

Owen Lange

April 5, 1946 to August 4, 2009

The Church was full last Saturday Dec.5th as we celebrated our memories of Owen. After the Service

and refreshments we formed ourselves into a large circle. Marilyn spoke about Owen's final days battling lymphoma and that he was lucid many times. At one point he told her that "they " had recorded all that he

had accomplished in his life and apparently he could see it as some kind of vast panorama. She spoke of

the "Three Mysteries" at the time of his death.

The first was felt by his son, Peter, at the moment he died. Peter was standing outside and felt a strong

wind blow in one direction. Then it was very calm and then the wind blew just as strongly in another

direction. Suddenly a door slammed very loudly. The next mystery was that the house lost power. When

BC Hydro arrived the next day to deal with it, Marilyn was told that such a thing can happen by "even a

door slamming hard"! The third mystery was that Marilyn started receiving the Victoria newspaper,

Times Colonist, soon after Owen's death. Apparently it was ordered  by Owen on August 5th, the day

after he died!

Philip Thatcher reported that many in the community were attending the Conference of the North in

early August and that at the time of Owen's death the light from the aurora borealis was particularly

strong for this time of the year. Usually the lights are seen in September and October (around the fall

equinox).

These stories of wind and strong light are not so unusual as we all knew of Owen's love for the weather.

For many years he worked as a meteorologist for Environment Canada and wrote 4 books on the weather

of the Georgian basin.

Fiona, Constance and Candace during the refreshment break

Guenther and Marianne (and Patricia)

Gloria finds time to help with cleaning up

Sisters

Rosie says, "This is the way it usually is between us!"

(Original content from e-mail by Susan Koppersmith)

I am the Way, the Truth, the Light

Standing in the eye
of the hurricane,
Beauty and peace
surround me.

Now that I have kept you all on tenterhooks, I will try to finish my story to date.

It turned out that at the time that I fell into depression and sought the Way, my husband had also fallen into depression. Instead of searching for the Light, however, he was lured into the shadows, deeper and deeper into the darkness. We know that what is hidden will be revealed, and what is done in secret, good or bad, the Light will shine upon. His activities were finally revealed, and he is now in such suffering as I would never have imagined or wished for him. I could never have made it through those first awful weeks without the unflagging support of Rev. Locey. In true repentance there can be salvation, and in redemption, there can be transformation.
But, the Truth will set you free, and I am free to set my own course, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever. The suffering of all the children, though, is the cross I must now take up.

The year after my first delegates' conference, I was able to attend the next one, down in California. This one was even more special, because it allowed us to meet most of the priests in North America. The people I had formed a connection with the previous year, were greeted like old friends. How is it that such a strong connection can be made in a couple of days? This is one of the miracles that happens when people of one spirit come together.

To hear of the beginning of the work of our church in North America, struck a chord with me, as my family was also descended from early pioneers. I knew of the sacrifices that were made: of giving up everything they had known or possessed, in order to start a new life for themselves and their children, sometimes even their very lives.

The best vision happened during the Sunday Service. In walked 4 silver-haired priests in vestments, who quietly sat down. I knew they had dedicated their entire lives to our movement, and some of the sacrifices they had made in their personal lives, and my heart swelled with pride. Then in walked our Lenker, the leader of our church in North America, to celebrate the Service. He is slightly younger, with the grey only starting to show, but already he has led our church for around 15 years, and he has 20 more years to go, God willing. I knew of some of the sacrifices he and his own family had made, and I also had a good sense of the task he had willingly taken on. It was truly awe-inspiring, and my heart was filled to overflowing with love and pride for all the men and women who had set such an unbelievable example of faith and dedication.

So what has been the overall purpose of my story? I hope there are other members of our church who have also been inspired in some way, and would like to tell their story. Even though we experience life as individuals, there are common threads. In telling our stories, we can see how these threads are woven together, stretching back into the past, the present and beyond into the future, creating a beautiful, intricate tapestry, describing the evolution of our Selves, and of humanity.

What message would I like to leave with you? You have Value, no matter what you can do, even if it is just washing dishes or sweeping the sidewalk. God needs You to be his hands and feet, or, as Rudolf Steiner said, "to be the self-conscious instrument of the deeds of the spirits."
We do not tell people what they must or must not believe, or do, or say. You are provided the space and freedom to come to know God in your own heart, and in your own way. You will be helped and guided in finding your own path.

So, GET INVOLVED! BE INSPIRED! WHY?

WHY NOT? Everyone is born into this life with a purpose, and with limitless possibilities.

BE the CAUSE! Be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi), and see you in church. :)

In memory of Owen Lange

A stiff ocean breeze
Blows through my soul,
Leaving the taste
of salt on my lips.

The clouds are swept away
By the beating of angels' wings,
And my eyes are dazzled
By the rising of the Sun.

A new day is dawning!