Reverend Normand O’Connor Passes into the Light

We recently received the news that long-time Consociate of the Community, the Reverend Normand O’Connor, passed into the Light on January 31, 2023.

Normand lived in Elliot Lakes, Ontario, Canada where he worked as a miner until his retirement.

He was born October 1, 1939, and has been a Consociate of the Community since November 1967.

He received his first level ordination in Oct 1974, second level (Deacon) in Oct, 1994, and third level (Presbyter) in Sept, 2007. He attended our annual convocations frequently.

Feathered Serpent II

His participation in The Community included being a member of the “Ship’s Company, Feathered Serpent II Sea Expeditions” starting 1977.

Gran Vilaya

He received a Participant Award for the Gran Vilaya V Expedition, 1990.

He was a benefactor to the Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary development and other community projects, including the building of the Chapel of the Holy Child in 1981.

Understanding Mind Through an Awakening Experience

A peaceful warrior in flight like the wind

“I became the wind, yet with eyes and ears. And I saw and heard far and wide. I blew past the east coast of India near the Bay of Bengal, past a scrubwoman busy with her tasks. In Hong Kong, I whirled around a seller of fine fabric. I raced through the streets of Sam Paulo. …

“I left no country untouched, I thundered through China and Bangladesh, and across the vast, rich land of the Soviet Union.¹ I gusted through the valleys and alpine meadows of Austria, sliced cold through the fjords of Norway, I tossed up litter on the Rue Pigalle in Paris. One moment I was a twister ripping through Texas; the next I was a gentle breeze, caressing the hair of a young girl in Canton, Ohio.

“I experienced every emotion, heard every cry of anguish, and every peal of laughter. Every human circumstance was opened to me, I felt it all, and I understood.

“The world was peopled with minds, swirling faster than any wind, in search of distraction and escape from the predicament of change, the dilemma of life and death—seeking purpose, security, enjoyment, trying to make sense of the mystery. Reality never matched their dreams; happiness was just around the corner—a corner they never turned.

“And the source of it all was the human mind.” ~Dan Millman (in the book Way of the Peaceful Warrior)

The Wind with Eyes

The book this quote came from was written about Millman’s unusual spiritual awakening that began with him meeting an enigmatic old man he called Socrates, who proceeded to teach him there was more to life than attending college and being an athlete. During one of Millman’s visits with Socrates, Socrates touched him in the head leading to the experience in the above quote.

Obviously, Millman is speaking allegorically when he says he became the wind. What really happened is his mind left his body and traveled around the world at a speed that made it seem like he was the wind.

Empathy

Millman says he was a wind with eyes and ears, but there was more. He describes sights and sounds, but more. He also describes the emotions of the people he came close to on that unusual journey of mind. Feeling the emotions of others is a form of empathy. While Millman may not have had much empathy normally, during this strange journey that Socrates sent him on, he did. He not only says that he felt it all, but he also understood, meaning he understood why these people were feeling these emotions.

A World of Minds

Millman concludes that ours is a world of minds. He doesn’t say it yet, but if he does understand as he claims, then he knows that those minds are responsible for a lot more than most of us are aware of, or even believe. Many now understand that our minds are responsible for how we react to circumstances in our lives. We are not responding to the circumstances, but to how the mind feels about the circumstances. For example, the mind of a vegan would interpret being served meat differently than the mind of a meat lover.

But the mind does more than interpret our surroundings, it helps create them. When the world is full of angry people who can’t get along, their minds send a vibration into the environment. Those angry vibrations cause storms, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes. Experiments have shown that people who talk nicely to their plants have healthier plants. It isn’t the speaking that does it, but the vibrations from their minds. And when a group of spiritual people surrounded a polluted lake in Japan and prayed for the lake, the pollution quickly disappeared. Our individual minds may not have such power, but collectively, they do a lot.

The dilemma of Life and Death

Many of us do spend much of our time hiding from the dilemma of life and death. Too much of what is happening in the world doesn’t make any sense, yet it continues to happen. We say we want peace, yet we continue to have wars. We say we want to be strong and healthy, but we eat junk food and do other things that weaken us and lead to illness. We think a loving God has created this world, yet it is not a world of love. Instead of seeking solutions, many of us hide from it all in distractions and entertainment like movies, fictional books, and sports. And the governments and media support this hiding from reality as it benefits them, as well as the demons whispering into their ears.

There is a solution. For starters, we must stop believing that a loving God created this world. The realm of matter was created by the false god, the Demiurge, and is therefore flawed. Hiding from the truth won’t make it better. We need to turn away from the failed paradigm of capitalism and materialism and develop our spiritual side. We do that with the help of God and the Light of the Spiritual Sun.

1 – This book was written in 1980, so the Soviet Union still existed.

“ Astronomers just mapped the ‘bubble’ that envelopes our planet”

local bubble

Published today in Nature, researchers from the Center for Astrophysics and the Space Telescope Science Institute have created a 3D map that reconstructs the evolutionary history of the “Local Bubble,” a 1,000-light-year-wide cavity of cold gas and dust that’s responsible for the formation of all nearby young stars—including our sun.

The study reveals that Earth and all of the stars and star-forming regions within 500 light-years of the planet reside on the surface of this bubble, which is good insight, according to Catherine Zucker, astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute and lead author of the study. Learning more about how the Earth came to be inside the Local Bubble could be yet another definitive step in better understanding our galaxy.

Read the entire article here.

“Hubble sees two overlapping galaxies”

two galaxies

The NASA/ESA Hυbble Space Telescope imaged these two overlappiпg spiral galaxies named SDSS J115331 and LEDA 2073461, which lie more than a billion light-years from Earth. Despite appeariпg to collide in this image, the aligпmeпt of the two galaxies is likely jυst by chaпce—the two are пot actually iпteractiпg. While these two galaxies might simply be ships that pass iп the пight, Hυbble has captυred a dazzliпg array of other, trυly iпteractiпg galaxies.

Read the entire article here.

“Largest galaxy in the universe stunning new composite image”

largest galaxy

NGC 6872, also known as the Condor Galaxy, stretches 522,000 light years from tip to tip. The Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light-years across.

The galaxy is visible in the southern skies as part of the Pavo constellation, and is 212 million light-years from Earth.

It was always thought to be among the largest stellar systems in the universe, but NGC 6872 was officially designated the largest galaxy known to science by NASA in 2013.

Read the entire article here.

2023 Nevada Prayer Breakfast Held

The ICC group at our table.

The Nevada Prayer Breakfast, organized by the Nevada Interfaith Association (NIA), was held Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 7-9 a.m. at the Paradise Ballroom of the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa. The theme of this year’s Nevada Prayer Breakfast was “Living Art – Pathway to Peace”
Guests were welcomed by Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony. Nearly 400 people from the Reno-Sparks community attended the event. The keynote speaker of the program Mark Salinas, Chairman of the Reno Arts & Culture commission.

In attendance from the Church were: Gene Savoy Jr., Barbara Whitney, Shinobu Sonoda-Fuelling, Stephan Fuelling, Paige Hubbard, Amanda Buchanan, Francine Petrovich, and Robert Petrovich.

The purpose of the event is to gather community members of all religions to come together and offer prayerful support for state and local leaders according to their own traditions. Many of the City, County, and State leaders and their representatives were there to join those in attendance as they prayed in their own way.

The Nevada Prayer Breakfast is a gathering of citizens — as well as civic, business, and community leaders — who wish to pray on behalf of our State and bring the spiritual resources of the community together to bear on issues that face Nevadans. Although members of the community may believe differently in their approach to the Divine, they gather at the Nevada Prayer Breakfast as equals. Together, they devote their energies to the good of the State of Nevada. And together, they pray.

NIA is a non-profit interfaith network of religious and spiritual leaders in Nevada. Programs include the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service, the interfaith Nevada Prayer Breakfast, the Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service, and the biannual Interfaith Clergy Luncheon.

Bishop Gene Savoy, Jr. led the Nevada Interfaith Association (formerly the Nevada Clergy Association) as its president from 1999-2017.

Services for the Week of May 27, 2023

Saturday, May 27, 2023
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child

RF Robert Petrovich
Lector: RC Amanda Buchanan
Cantor: Rev. Greg Klinedinst
Reader: Claudia Grady

Sunday, May 21, 2023
SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
New Pentecost Church
Leave: 4:30
Gate: 5:20
Sunrise: 5:41
RF Ted Staver
Concelebrants:
RF Robert Petrovich
Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION

Church of The New Covenant Dea. Marilyn Taylor

Church of the Americas RC Amanda Buchanan

Wednesday, May 31, 2023
12:00 NOON COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RC Peter Foust

Friday, June 2, 2023
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Rev Noriko Roy

Bishop Savoy Announces Several Liturgical Changes

RRF Gene Savoy, Jr. making the announcements.

On May 20, 2023, Bishop Gene Savoy, Jr. announced some changes in the liturgical practices of The Church during the Communion of Fellowship Service at The Chapel of the Holy Child.

The first announcement was that on Second Advent Pentecost — June 6 — following Sunrise Divine Service, ordinations for the new Patriarchs and Matriarchs will be performed at the Cathedral Church of the Americas. The new Patriarchs and Matriarchs are the Reverend Fathers Robert Petrovich and Ted Staver, and Reverend Mother Barbara Whitney. The Reverend Mother Elizabeth Reece will also receive matriarchal ordination. (The Reverend Mother Rebecca Willis is on medical leave.)

The second announcement was the proposal that Ministers would no longer be required to wear the traditional clerical collar for Sunday Sunrise or Sunday Communion services at the Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary. The Bishop said he will leave it as a choice for each Minister to decide whether to wear it or not.

He also proposed a change in the vestments for Acolytes. He proposed that the red and black cassocks be phased out, and that Acolytes always wear white and blue with a gold Solar Cross, as seen in this photo. (White, blue and gold are the colors of The Community.)

Acolytes in white robes.

Regarding Emancipated youths who wear the black cassock, Bishop Savoy announced that in addition to the black cassock being phased out, the Emancipated would be considered to have received their First Level Ordination and would wear a simple white surplice with Cross. (Youths who are fifteen years of age or older are eligible to receive the Rite of Emancipation. This Rite bestows upon the youth full adult membership in the Congregation and entry into the The Academy of the Jamilian University of the Ordained for initial studies.)

The next announcement was the appointment of certain Ministers to the office of Lector. Lectors are authorized to read a particular prayer during the Saturday Communion of Fellowship Service. Lectors are distinguished from Cantors and Readers. The new Lectors are the Reverends Harold Boulette, Larry Coesens, Bruce Kanzelmeyer, Greg Klinedinst, Dorothy Kubiak, Michael McIntyre, Francine Petrovich, and Noriko Roy, and the Reverend Mother Barbara Whitney. They will join the Reverend Fathers Robert Petrovich and Ted Staver, the Reverend Mothers Rebecca Willis and Elizabeth Reece, and the Reverend Canons Amanda Buchanan, Peter Foust and Robert Roy.

Finally, the Bishop announced that Amanda Buchanan has been appointed Prioress of Steamboat Springs. (Amanda is also in the above photo of the Acolytes.)

Bishop Savoy Traveling to New Zealand and Australia

Bishop Gene Savoy, Jr. and his wife, Radheka Patel Savoy will be attending the Geothermal Think Tank conference in New Zealand and Australia next month representing Steamboat Hot Springs Healing Center & Spa. They will leave Reno on 6/14 for Auckland, New Zealand and return to Reno on 7/5 via Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, California. The full attendance for the conference is 150 people from around the world, however, only 25 slots were open to people from the United States.

The event begins on June 21st in Auckland, New Zealand. Events for that day include a trip to Aroha with a visit to the Te Aroha Museum and the Aroha Spa. The next day, they will visit the Okoroire Hot Springs and the Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa. The remaining days will include similar visits to various hot springs and spas in New Zealand and Australia as well as other sites of interest. There will also be seminar discussions regarding the hot springs and spa industry on most days.

Radheka was born in Auckland and grew up there until her family moved to the United States in 1991. Gene has never been to this part of the world. A full report will be provided upon their return.

Weep for the Soul Trapped in Matter

A soul trapped in a cage of matter

“Who will release me from the pits and prisons of assembled lusts that I loathe? Who will take me over the flooding sea, the mouths of conflict that give no rest? Who will save me from the jaws of pitiless beasts who destroy and terrify? Who will lead me beyond the walls and over the moats that boil with fear and trembling from ravaging demons? Who will take me beyond rebirths, and free me from the waves which give no peace? I weep for my soul, saying, May I be saved from this, from grotesque beasts who eat each other! The human body, birds of the air, fish of the ocean, quadrupeds and insects, who will take me beyond them? Who will save me so I won’t turn and plunge” “into those hells, so I won’t live in their muck or suffer rebirth devoid of living plants? Who will save me from the swallowing height and the devouring deeps of hell and distress?

“And while I wept on the ground, I heard the voice of the beneficent king.

“I shall save you from the powers of revolution who terrify. I will release you from deception, a field of turbulence, and the torment of death. I will end the forces that destroy. I will ban sickness, which has dismayed you, and death. I will take you from the hands of hell’s guardians, who treat the spirit and soul without mercy. I will take you eagerly, and we’ll soar on wings high over dark powers and recalcitrant princes. I will take you into the primeval calm of new land, the new paradise, and will show you the design of the father’s being. You will know joy and praise, go beyond pain, and in luminous dress you will gird on light. On your head is your diadem of authority. Spirit spoke and built on that structure the vast fortress of the noble emperor. The primeval firstborn merits a palace as his dominion. The first human clothes himself in gladness and binds on the diadem of sovereignty. On his friends he binds the diadem and clothes their bodies in the garment of gladness. And those faithful elect he clothes” ~Parthian Songs

Pits and Prisons

What is the writer of this song talking about? The pits and prisons of the material world, the realm of the fallen. As a creation of the false god that the Gnostics call the Demiurge, it is full of unpleasant things like death, disease, hunger, violence, etc. The terms pits and prisons are allegorical, as are the others he uses, such as “the mouths of conflict,” and “ the jaws of pitiless beasts.”

I weep for my Soul

The singer weeps for his Soul, not his body or mind because he knows the realm of matter is the rightful place for the body and mind, but not for the divine Soul that belongs in Heaven. He weeps as he fears that Soul might never return to heaven, but I think we can assume that the one writing this song is sufficiently awakened to know that it is possible to save the Soul and turn back to Heaven, as we shall see from what he writes later on.

Beasts Who Eat Each Other

This is not just about animals that eat others of the same species, but about any being that eats other beings. And it doesn’t matter much whether those beings are animals or plants, Eating other beings violates the Law of God, but we have descended so deeply into matter that we have no choice. We cannot survive only on God’s Light as we were intended to do. But as we take in more and more of that Divine Light, we start to change, and can eventually reduce our eating of other beings.

Soar on Wings

Yes, God does invite us to soar on wings above the powers of darkness, in other words, He invites us to climb out of the pits of darkness into the higher dimensions of Light and higher levels of consciousness. And when we reach those high levels of beings, we will cloth ourselves in Light, because we will be spirits only, conscious Souls that are made of Light, just as the highest dimensions are of Light, but Spiritual Light, not ordinary light.