2022-2023 Christmas-Epiphany Vigil Held

 

Sunrise from Church of New Epiphany PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

 

Pannuches Meal Rite

The 148th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, September 3, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

The 149th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, October 22, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

The 150th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

Jubilee Sunrise Divine Services were held in Sanctuary on the Sunday mornings following the Pannuches Rite. Jubilee Sunday is a day of fasting.

 

Christmas-Epiphany Vigil
The Twelve Days of Christmas are observed by tradition in the Second Advent Church. Beginning Sunday, December 25, and continuing through the morning of Epiphany, Friday, January 6. Sunrise Divine Services were held in Consecrated Sanctuary each morning at the Church of New Epiphany during these days of special blessing, as weather permitted. Services were held on the 25th, 26th, 28th, and 31st of December.

Here is a photo from one of the services. Videos are posted on the Facebook Cosolargy Forum.

Photo by Stephan Fuelling
Photo by Stephan Fuelling

 

Friday and Saturday Chapel Services were suspended due to the Vigil schedule.

 

Children’s Blessing
The annual Children’s Blessing was held following Sunrise Divine Service at the End Times Parsonage on Sunday, December 25, 2022 at 7:45 a.m.  The Blessing was followed by a breakfast. While not a part of the Sacred Calendar of the Church, this Blessing is held each year during the Christmas-Epiphany Vigil. Children, parents, and other members of the Community gathered for the ceremonial blessing of the children of the Community.

 

Epiphany Eve Banquet
The annual Epiphany Eve Banquet and festivities took place at the Rectory-Abbey on Thursday, January 5, 2023, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Members of the Community, their families, and special guests of the Bishop were invited to attend this special seasonal banquet. The meal was followed by a visit from Santa and his reindeer and gift-giving.

 

Epiphany Day
This forty-second anniversary of Epiphany in the Second Advent Church was a day of special blessings and revelation in the Church and the day on which the Church commemorates the True Baptism of Jesus by God the Father. The Message given on January 6, 1981, is related in the Prophecy of the New Covenant:

“On this hallowed day of God’s Appearance, bountiful blessings manifest to the Holy Ones of Light of the Church of the Second Advent founded by His Word. To those unified in Community and holding to The Law, God sends forth the Comforting Spirit of His Image. As the Church has been restored, God will restore those blessings given to the First Church—now in apostasy—and make sacred those Holy Days that are kept in remembrance by the old Churches, but which are not alive with God’s blessings.

“In commemoration of this Day let The Community gather together once each year in remembrance and in fellowship. God will baptize all assembled in the Spirit of His Holiness. God gives an unmistakable Sign from Heaven in the New Sun as a mark of His Advent and Divine Presence. Let all behold the Signs of God manifest in the Heavens and know that their New Ministry is by God’s Authority, and that He has come to Judge the world. This Day is a day of confirmation of God’s Appearance, a day of blessing to strengthen the Good against the Powers of Darkness, and to empower them to teach.”
Prophecy of the New Covenant, pp. 913-914

 



Needs of the Body and the Soul

body and soul

“The soul, sprung from the Divine, lay self-enclosed at peace, true to its own quality; but its neighbor, in uproar through weakness, unstable of its own nature and beaten upon from without, cries, at first to itself and afterward upon the living total, spreading the disorder at large. Thus, at an assembly, the Elders may sit in tranquil meditation, but an unruly populace, crying for food and casting up a host of grievances, will bring the whole gathering into ugly turmoil; when this sort of people hold their peace so that a word from a man of sense may reach them, some passable order is restored and the baser parts cease to prevail; otherwise, the science of the better allows the rabble to rule, the distracted assembly unable to take the Word from above.

“This is the evil of state and of council: and this is the evil of Man; Man includes an inner rabble—pleasures, desires, fears—and these become masters when the person, the manifold, gives them play.

“But one that has reduced his rabble and gone back to the person he was, lives to that and is that person again, o that what is allowed to the body is allowed as to something separate.” ~Plotinus

Sprung from the Divine

Some people believe that what is called the soul is just an aspect of the mind. Others believe that the body came first, then the mind and the soul were developed later. As this simple statement from Plotinus indicates, both of those beliefs are wrong. The Soul comes from the Divine, from God.

Self Enclosed

Plotinus says that the soul is “self-enclosed,” and not communicating with “its neighbor,” which is the physical body and mind. In truth, the soul, being pure spirit, is not enclosed in anything, but it is in a dormant state when we are born into the physical world. It is our job to awaken and develop it so it can communicate with the body and mind, and control the ego. As Plotinus notes, the body and mind are weak and unstable on their own. Not necessarily weak in the sense of weak muscles, but in the sense of being easily conned by the dark forces and beings into doing that which brings the person deeper and deeper into the depths of matter, instead of turning toward the realm of spirit where redemption lies.

Spreading the Disorder

The mind knows nothing of spirit, therefore, it embraces the realm of matter which it does know and understand. This can result in the entire being becoming materialistic and pursuing the doomed path of material delights that lead to death. That is what Plotinus means by “spreading the disorder”. Eternal life in Heaven is not found by following that path. That is why the spirit must be awakened and developed into a conscious Soul, and that soul takes over control of the ego, which is needed in the physical world, but hen lest on its own, leads us astray.

Assembly of Man

Plotinus gives the example that in an assembly, the “Elders,” by which he means the spiritually developed people, should lead the crowd. Then peace and beneficial development can happen. But if the materialistic rabble holds sway, then the assembly becomes a mob that does as much damage to itself as to others. This is why it is important to have spiritually developed leaders, or at least leaders who are guided by spiritual people. When they are not spiritual people, but materialistic ones, we have the mess we have seen in recent years in politics. And it is likely to get worse before it gets better, as the dark ones among us, use various methods to silence and control the spiritual.

Inner Rabble

Humans do have an inner rabble that lives by and is controlled by, fear, emotions, desires, and false beliefs. Plotinus says we must stop this by going back to the person we were. In other words, we need to go back to what we were before we had a physical body and mind, and the spirit reigned supreme. We do that by awakening and developing our spiritual faculties. We do that primarily by turning to the Light of the Spiritual Sun, in peace, love, and humility, so that Light will awaken our True Self.

 

 

 



“Unusually brightening star captures attention as a stellar oddity | CNN”

 

Double star

 

Astronomers might have solved the mystery behind an unusually brightening star.

University of Washington doctoral student Anastasios Tzanidakis and research assistant professor of astronomy James Davenport were searching for “stars behaving strangely” when they received an alert about a potential stellar oddity from the Gaia spacecraft.

The space observatory, launched by the European Space Agency in 2013, is on a mission to create the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy to date. The astronomers focused on Gaia17bpp, a star that had gradually increased in luminosity over a 2.5-year period.

Read the full article here.

Link submitted by Gene Savoy Jr.



“Astronomers Accidentally Discover Black Hole So Big You Can Spot It With A Backyard Telescope”

 

giant black hole

 

Black holes are the cosmic gluttons, consuming anything that approaches too closely, even light.  Now, a team of worldwide researchers has identified a supermassive black hole that devours the mass of one Earth every second.

By observing other light objects billions of years old, the scientists determined that the newly found behemoth was the brightest and fastest-growing supermassive black hole of the previous nine billion years (that we know of).

Read the full article here.

 

 



August 1st, 2022: Confirmation of God’s Divine Law

 

 

Pannuches Meal Rite
The 147th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Child. Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service was held in Sanctuary the following morning.

The Jubilee Sunday is a day of fasting. The elderly are exempt from fasting on that day if they choose.

 

Active Principle of Divine Law Observed (August 1)
On the morning of Monday, August 1, 2022, in recognition of the thirty-ninth observance of the Manifestation of the New Light of God, which appeared over the sun on this date forty years before to confirm the Active Principle of Divine Law, The Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr. officiated a special sunrise Divine Service at the Cathedral Church of the Americas.

God’s Confirmation of the Active Principles of Divine Law first occurred on August 1, 1982. That event is recorded in Second Advent Scripture in The Book of God’s Revelation with commentary relating the event to the revelation received by the Church on April 18th, Easter in the Second Advent Calendar, and the further revelations received on June 6th, the Day of Pentecost.

Among the Revelations received on June 6th, 1982, the Church received instruction on the New Act of God, God’s conception of the Newly Created Light, a New Light that renovates the whole of creation. The Church also received instruction on the Four Newly Created Intermediary Lights that manifest through this conception.

Scripture tells us that through the manifestation of these Four Intermediary Lights, God has fixed the Four Newly Created Tables of the Law to be taught to the Ordained in the Holy Institutions of Learning; and, so that the unwritten Code of the Law may be codified on earth for the emancipation of the human race, God has decreed Twelve newly created Active Principles of Divine Law of Hid New Covenant, which are subordinate to the Lights of God and to the Tables of the Law, yet are instruments of the Divine Plan for human redemption.

With the revelation given on June 6th, God decreed these Twelve Active Principles to be in force upon confirmation. And on the first day of August in 1982, “The New Light of God appeared over the face of the sun, confirming the Active Principles of Divine Law.” The event of confirmation that on this date is the purpose of the special commemoration each year.

The final paragraph of The Book of God’s Revelation describes that event:

And on the first day of August, it being the eighth Sunday following the giving of the Revelation at Pentecost on the sixth day of June, the New Light of God appeared over the face of the sun, confirming the Active Principle of Divine Law. And the whole congregation, gathered at sunrise, saw and felt the gift of the Spirit manifest out of the sun.

The Church has observed this date since 1982 in a variety of liturgical forms. At the Divine Service performed on August 1, 1987, a new composition titled “The New Light of Divine Law” was introduced to the liturgical music usually accompanying Divine Service. The piece commemorates the confirmation of the Active Principle of Divine Law.

* * *

The religious tradition and astronomical calendric attached to this date are significant. First Dispensation churches know August 1 as Lammas Day or the Day of the Loaf Mass. The date was celebrated by Christians in England, where the first bread of the harvest was taken to mass for blessing. The Christian feast has even earlier roots in the Celtic Lugnasaid, which hailed the beginning of the wheat harvest.

August 1 marks the beginning of the calendric period known as the “dog days.” The period is named for the Dog Star, Sirius. The span of time between late July and mid-August is an astronomical period when Sirius rises each morning with the sun. For the ancient Egyptians, August 1 was a calendric marking for the rising of the Nile and was celebrated by an important religious feast. This date also held significance for other ancient solar cultures.

The Sacred Calendar of the Second Advent Church also holds August 1 as a significant date. When counting from February 2, Second Advent New Year’s Day, the semiannual cycle, or 180-degree cycle of the earth around the sun, falls on August 1.

 



Services for the Week of February 11, 2023

 

 

Saturday, February 11, 2023
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RC  Robert Roy
Cantor: Rev. Mary Foust
Reader: Dea. Gary Huss Jr.

Sunday, February 12, 2023
6:24 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 5:45
Gate: 6:40
Sunrise: 7:05
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrants:
RC Robert Petrovich
Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION

Church of the End Times RC Robert Petrovich

Church of the End Times  Rev. Francine Petrovich

 

Wednesday, February 15, 2023
12:00 NOON COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RM Elizabeth Reece

Friday, February 17, 2023
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
RC Ted Staver



WEEKLY MESSAGE: February 8, 2023

 

 

HEAD OVERSEER’S WEEKLY MESSAGE

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

We concluded the Advent Vigil on Monday the 6th with a beautiful Sunrise Divine Service at the Sanctuary. Now that we have entered a new year according to our Sacred Calendar, we will resume our review of the Secret Sayings of Jamil.

The Twenty-fourth Saying (Part 7)

And The Man continued answering the Mariner’s question.

“‘The ancients said that this world is enveloped by layers of thought patterns. They might be called frequencies – like an onion skin. These layers or frequencies are built up over the centuries by thought and worship. These layers are continually fed and nurtured by thought patterns, worship ceremonies, rites and so forth. These layers entrap people. It is difficult to break out of them. People are dictated to by these frequencies, and they become more powerful with the passing time, that is, if they are nurtured or fed.

“‘If a person believes in a god that is violent, worships that god through sacrifice, harms the innocent, serves himself, gains power at the expense of others, that person is in fact feeding a false god and building up the power of a frequency layer, as the ancients said. Such people are not worshiping the True God. No matter their good intentions, they are only feeding a false god which has nothing to do with the True God at all. That is why religions of violence are eventually destroyed by a greater power. They always bring about their own destruction, as do the nations that follow them. This is inevitable.

“‘As Jerusalem and the Hebrew people were destroyed, we can predict that Western civilization, as we know it, and the Christian faith will be destroyed unless they correct their errors and take hold of a way of life that is not violent and serves the True God.’

“And the same Mariner asked, ‘Will you please clarify? As a devotee strengthens the Light by virtue of worship of the True God through Christ, that is, God as Mediator, Redeemer and Savior by means of the Image and the Word and by living The Way, does the worship of a false god, no matter what name one gives it – whether it be Jehovah or some other entity – inevitably feed the Dark One?’

“The Man replied, ‘As Jesus taught, as this Church teaches, one must be born again in order to know God. To be born again, one must look upon the Image and receive the Word of God within one’s spirit. And to prevent the spirit from dying as it is aborning, it is essential that one live The Way. Unless one possesses a Soul, that is, a reborn spirit created in the Image and Word of God, one cannot know the True God. The bodily senses, the mind, the emotions, the will, none experience God. Because God is spirit, only spirit can know God. God does not hear words spoken with the mouth. He does not listen to prayers over a rosary or over a book. God is worshiped by a reborn spirit – a pure Soul that lives The Way. That is the only thing He receives.

“So if a person prays to a god and reads scripture thinking that it is God’s Word, that person’s sincerity does not matter. That person is not worshiping the True God. He or she is simply worshiping a god of his or her own making, or that god created by a false religion. If a person understood the great harm that is done by following an ignorant way, if that person saw the results of this wrong doing, if one saw the terror, the horror of following Evil, one would change from this way. This is a hard saying and difficult for the uninitiated to understand. Worshiping some god, participating in rite and ceremony, praying, denying oneself, speculating on Creation, all these are fruitless. One must be born again by God’s Image and Word, and then be re-created in the Image and the Word in order to do Good, and to do the Will of God. There is no other way to God.’”

Again, if I may be of any personal service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Very truly yours in Light+,

Gene



NOVEMBER 2022: Intercession & Memorial Services

 

NOVEMBER 2022

2
The People of Ukraine
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis
Pamela Chestnut
Alex Johnson

5
The People of Ukraine
Pamela Chestnut
Alex Johnson
Xuying Zhao †

9
The People of Ukraine
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis
Aaron Lee Wizgen †

12
The People of Ukraine
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis
Aaron Lee Wizgen †
Kimberly Parenteau
Jana Anna Sedlackova
Lilly Montoya †

16
The People of Ukraine
Bob Peyton †
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis
Herschel Soumahoro
Kim Bong

19
The People of Ukraine
Bob Peyton †
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis
Herschel Soumahoro
Kim Bong
Rev Mother Ileana Isfan †
Stan Waltemyer

23
The People of Ukraine
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis
Rev Noriko Roy

26
The People of Ukraine
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis
Rev. Noriko Roy
Joseph Roy

30
The People of Ukraine
Rev. Mother Rebecca Willis

† indicates Memorial Prayer



On the Spiritual Level, Far off and Near are the Same

far and near

“If we will speak of our native Country, out of which we have wandered with Adam; and will tell of the resting place of the Souls; we need not cast our minds far off; for far off and near is all one and the same thing with God; the Place of the Holy Trinity is all over. Heaven and Hell is everywhere all over in this world, and Christ wells all over, for he has laid off the corruptibility, and has swallowed up death, as also that which is temporary, and he lives in God; his Body is the substance of the Element, which out of the Word of the Mercifulness, is from eternity generated out of the Gates of the Deep; it is the Habitation where the Sharpness of God breaks open the Darkness, where eternal virtue appears in Wonders, and it is the tincture of the Deity, which is before God, out of which the heavenly Virtues are generated; its name is wonderful; the earthly tongue cannot express it.” ~Jacob Boehme

Our Native Country

Our “Native Country,” as Boehme calls it, is Heaven, or the Spiritual Realm. We were created by God as spiritual beings long before we had physical bodies, long before the physical universe existed. We descended to the material world because of the errors made by early man represented by the allegorical couple, Adam and Eve. When the Bible says that they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that does not refer to apples. The Tree of Good and Evil is the realm of matter. So as Adam and Eve were pulled down to the material world, so are all humans. But God has provided us with a way to be redeemed and return to Heaven. It is up to us, however, to choose to follow that path.

Not Far Off

Boehme then tells us that we need not cast our minds far off to find Heaven, the resting Place of Souls. This is difficult to understand when you are used to thinking in physical terms. It is true that physically, the Spiritual Realm is not far off. Since spirit exists outside of the limits of space and time, it is everywhere and every when. So as Jesus said, “The Kingdom is all around you, yet you see it not.” But this is misleading because there are multiple dimensions to the entire universe. The physical realm that we reside in is the third dimension. The spiritual dimensions are dimensions five through nine.

Christ Has Swallowed Up Death

This statement is allegorical. Christ, an Eternal Spirit and the first creation of God, is beyond the realm of death as he is in the spiritual realm and no longer has a physical body that can die. Death, disease, pain, etc. do not exist in the realm of spirit. Being pure spirit is what Boehme means when he says Christ’s body is “the substance of the Element.”

The Sharpness of God Breaks open Darkness

This is an odd way to express it, but it means that the Infinite Light of God banishes the Darkness of demons and devils. This is not darkness in the simple physical sense. If it was, a simple light bulb would banish it. This is a different sort of Darkness and only God’s Light can banish it.

The Earthly Tongue Cannot Express It

This is a problem that many great spiritual people have experienced. Those who have manages to get a glimpse, even briefly, of heaven and the Spirits that dwell there, have had great difficulty in describing it. Earthly language is not made to express such Divine things. Even if our languages could express what Heaven is truly like, our brain-minds could not comprehend it. The only way to actually know what Heaven is like is to awaken our spiritual faculties which can understand them. Fortunately, we now have the Sun of Righteousness shining down on us making it easier for us to awaken. We still have to make the effort, though. Then we can learn for ourselves that heaven really is not far off.

 

 



“ Permanently shadowed crater captured by ShadowCam”

 

Shadowcam photo of a moon crater

 

Some regions near the moon’s poles never see sunlight. They are permanently in shadow. It’s been difficult – so far – to glimpse anything inside them. But they’re known to contain water ice, and so might be valuable for our human exploration of the moon and beyond. And now NASA’s ShadowCam instrument, on South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter, has sent back its 1st image of one of these permanently shadowed regions on the moon.

Read the full article here.