“Now the expression of vision, of reality, of beauty, at an artist’s hands—the creation of new life in all forms—has two factors: the living molding creative spirit, and the material in which it works. Between these two there is inevitably a difference of tension. The material is at best inert, and merely patient of the informing idea; at worst, directly recalcitrant to it. Hence, according to the balance of these two factors, the amount of resistance offered by stuff to tool, a greater or lesser energy must be expended. … You, accepting the wide deep universe of the mystic, and the responsibilities that go with it, have by this act taken sides once and for all with creative spirit: with the higher tension, the unrelaxed effort, the passion for a better, intenser, and more significant life. The adoration to which you are vowed is not an affair of red hassocks and authorized hymn books; but a burning and consuming fire.” ~Evelyn Underhill

The Task of the Artist

I find it curious that many people seem to thin that the life of the artist is one of leisure, barely working at all, hardly exerting himself. As one who has dappled in art at various times throughout my life (oil painting, soapstone carving, wood burning, etc.) I know there is considerable work involved in making art.

The task of the artist is to take raw material of some sort, and turn it into something else. Often, the goal is to make something beautiful out of something plain or ordinary, though it can also be to make a social or philosophical comment.

The Task of the Teacher

If you think about it, you can see that the task of the teacher, especially the spiritual teacher, is very similar to the task of the artist. The teacher takes someone raw, untrained, uncouth, and tries to improve him or her. In some cases, the teacher is only teaching a very limited subject, so the student isn’t exactly transformed by the process, but is still changed in some way, hopefully for the better.

Read the complete blog post at Solar Wind.

Visit and bookmark Harold Boulette’s blog Solar Wind at:  http://spiritsun.net/

“A fact well known to the ancient mystical orders, but less commonly realized among the general public today, is that the eyes not only receive light rays and relay them to the brain, but also transmit energy beams. You can conduct a simple experiment to demonstrate this, by staring at a person some distance from you who is not looking in your direction, even when you are not facing one another. More than fifty percent of the time they will turn to look directly back at you. The more fixed your gaze, the greater the success. Planet Earth is basically a big electro-magnet, and the very substance of the material world we live in is itself a conductive medium. The human is the only mammal whose eye has the sclera, or white of the eye, which is probably an indicator that we are the only mammal capable of transmitting as well as receiving light energy.

“Back in the 1930s, Dr. Paul Brunton coined the term ‘Ocular Radiation’ for this phenomenon but, unfortunately, should you do an on-line search for this phrase today, it will most likely yield information about medical radiation treatment. A more apt title would be ‘Ocular Transmission.’ One way you can hone your skills in this practice is by focused contemplation. I first experienced the awareness of eye-gazing at a focused meditation conducted by the Brahma Kumaris at Ubud, Bali, in 2002. A group of about twenty people sat in a darkened room and focused on a pin-point of light on a neutral coloured wall in hour-long sessions. The Hindu Yogis called this gazing meditation ‘Trataka.’ The effect is to awaken the knowledge that the beams of energy travel in two directions, both in and out of the eyes. That the eyes are ‘the gateway’ or ‘window to the soul’ (Psyche) is an expression variously attributed to Shakespeare, The Gospel of Matthew, Herman Melville and Edgar Allen Poe.

“Recognizing that the human eye is not only a passive receiver, but also an active transmitter of radiation, is of great assistance in utilising our creative energy, by sharpening the focus of our willpower. It is said that this radiation consists of electricity and magnetism, the latter, of course, being the instrument of attraction. There is much information out there these days on the popular topic of ‘The Law of Attraction (LOA),’ and Ocular Transmission enables one to cultivate and achieve fixed attention, while the pineal receptor works in drawing the object of desire to oneself. It is advisable to first activate the line from the Intelligible or Solar Heart to the eyes before establishing your needs and wants, firstly because the Psyche, seated in the solar centre, is the best judge for what is right for us and, secondly, our aims have more chance of success if we believe in them ‘with all our heart.’ The reason why so many LOA practitioners fail in their attempts is they accept the validity of what their brain-based ego-self thinks it wants, when all the while there is a conflict going on at the subconscious level between the head and the heart. Passionate beliefs of the heart will usually trump the capricious fancies of the brain.”

Read the full article on Paul’s blog at his web site SolarAncestors.com.

This article was first published in New Dawn Magazine, Issue #159 November/December 2016.

Saturday, December 31, 2016
7:10 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:25
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

11:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
Service Suspended

3:00 PM CHILDREN’S TEA
Rectory-Abbey at Bishopstead
Officiant: RM Elizabeth Reece
Assistant: Sabrina Savoy

Sunday, January 1, 2016
SUNRISE  DIVINE SERVICE
Cancelled due to New Year’s holiday.

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Cancelled due to New Year’s holiday.

Monday, January 2, 2017
7:13 AM SAUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:28
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Tuesday, January 3, 2017
7:13 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:28
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Wednesday, January 4, 2017
7:12 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:27
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

12:00 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
Rev. Ben Hubbard

Thursday, January 5, 2017
7:13 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:28
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

6:00 PM EPIPHANY EVE BANQUET
Rectory-Abbey
RR Gene Savoy Jr.

Friday, January 6, 2017
7:11 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:26
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Service Suspended

Each week of the liturgical year, a reading from Second Advent Scripture is delivered as part of the Saturday Communion of Fellowship Service held in the Chapel of the Holy Child. This reading follows the Sacred Calendar of the Church; that is, Prophecies and Revelations that have been received by The Church on sacred dates are recalled in a liturgical context during the appropriate season each year. This reading is delivered by the Officiant of the Communion Service (that is, Bishop Gene Savoy, or occasionally in his stead, Bishop Sean Savoy) just before the final blessings. Each service also includes a reading from the ancient scriptures, prayers, or wisdom sayings of various world religions past and present and is usually thematically related to the Second Advent Reading. This reading is delivered by the Reader right after the announcements that begin the service and is thus the first reading of the service. An video recording of the reading from Second Advent Scripture delivered on the date above is provided here below together with a transcript of the first reading of the service that day.

Click here to watch this week’s readings on YouTube. (13:25 minutes)

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from the First Prophecy to the Americas, Chapter 10:
“On the Cycles and the Signs,” (pp. 104-107)

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from an Egyptian Prayer to the Sun at Solstice:

Great sun, wheel of fire, Ra in your glory,
hear me as I honor you
on this, the shortest day of the year.
Summer has gone, passed us by,
the fields are dead and cold,
all of earth sleeps in your absence.
Even in the darkest times,
you light the way for those who would need a beacon,
of hope, of brightness,
shining in the night.
Winter is here, and colder days coming,
the fields are bare and the livestock thin.
We light these candles in your honor,
that you might gather your strength
and bring life back to the world.
O Ra, mighty sun above us,
we ask you to return, to bring back to us
the light and the warmth of your fire.
Bring life back to earth,
Bring light back to earth.
Hail Ra! Ruler of the sun!

Click here to watch this week’s readings on YouTube. (13:25 minutes)

PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

“I came across a brilliant article written by Marcus Julian Felicetti, which can be read in full at http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5999/10-Healing-Benefits-of-the-Sun.html. Following is just an excerpt from it:

“Atapa Snana is the yogic phrase for the healing science of Sun bathing. We live in a modern world that is bombarded with paranoid messages about how dangerous the Sun is. We should remember that the ancient yogis and many other cultures knew how to use the Sun to heal all kinds of illnesses, and bring about radiant health. In the West we also have a history of using Sunlight therapy that dates back to the ancient Greeks. It was called heliosis. Today, the name for Sunlight therapy is heliotherapy. We evolved as a human race … under the warmth and love of the Sun.”

Read the entire article online at solarancestor.com.

Visit and bookmark Paul Young’s blog at: www.solarancestors.com.

contributed by Paul V. Young

“We must understand that, while our Souls do contain an Intellectual Cosmos they also contain a subordination of various forms like that of the Cosmic Soul. … They must have their provinces according to their different powers, parallel to those of the World Soul. …
“Emancipated Souls, for the whole period of their sojourn there above, have transcended the Spirit-nature and the entire fatality of birth and all that belongs to the visible world. … If the Soul returns to this sphere it finds itself under the same Spirit of a new, according to the life it is to live.
“The Universal Circuit is like a breeze, and the voyager, still or stirring, is carried forward by it. … The vessel itself furnishes incident , tossing as it drives on. And the voyager also acts on himself in virtue of that individuality which he retains because he is on the vessel in his own person and character. … This it is that constitutes destiny.” ~Plotinus

The Nature of the Soul

When Plotinus says that our souls contain an “Intellectual Cosmos”, he means that it is a cosmos which is intelligently guided, not that it is an intellectual in the sense that we use that word today. If it were, that would mean that “Soul” is just another word for mind, which it definitely is not. Yes, the Soul has intelligence, more than the brain-mind has, but it is spiritual intelligence; knowledge of truth, wisdom, Gnosis.

Plotinus says these Souls must have “their provinces” according to their different powers. In other words, just as our bodies and minds are individuals, so are our Souls, though perhaps not to as big a degree. Physically and mentally we may be very different and have many different, and even opposing, opinions on things. On a spiritual level, however, Souls are almost identical, but the slight difference is important. On a spiritual level, we may all have the same general mission, which is to return the physical universe and everything in it back to its original state of spirit (or Light, if you prefer), but when you get down to the details, we each have a specific mission, a specific calling, and we need to learn and understand what that is. Some of us may be destined to inspire with great spiritual art, others with spiritual writings, others by bringing spiritual sensibilities into business or politics, and so on. Just as we have certain aptitudes on the physical and mental levels, we have certain spiritual aptitudes and we should listen to our intuition with regard to that.

Read the complete blog post at Solar Wind.

Visit and bookmark Harold Boulette’s blog Solar Wind at:  http://spiritsun.net/

Saturday, December 24, 2016 
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RM Elizabeth Reece
Cantor: Dea. Shane Grady
Reader: Rev. James Elliott

CHRISTMAS DAY
Sunday, December 25, 2016
7:11 AM  SUNRISE  DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:26
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Cancelled due to Christmas-Epiphany Vigil

11:00 AM COMMUNION & CANDLELIGHTING 
Chapel of the Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RM Rebecca Willis
Cantor: Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Reader: Rev. Dorothy Kubiak
Scriptural Reader: RC Robert Petrovich

Monday, December 26, 2015
7:12 AM SAUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:27
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Tuesday, December 27, 2015
7:12 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:27
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Wednesday, December 28, 2015
7:12 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:27
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

12:00 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
Rev. Barbara Whitney

Thursday, December 29, 2015
7:13 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:28
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Friday, December 30, 2016
7:11 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:26
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Assistant: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Service Suspended

Each week of the liturgical year, a reading from Second Advent Scripture is delivered as part of the Saturday Communion of Fellowship Service held in the Chapel of the Holy Child. This reading follows the Sacred Calendar of the Church; that is, Prophecies and Revelations that have been received by The Church on sacred dates are recalled in a liturgical context during the appropriate season each year. This reading is delivered by the Officiant of the Communion Service (that is, Bishop Gene Savoy, or occasionally in his stead, Bishop Sean Savoy) just before the final blessings. Each service also includes a reading from the ancient scriptures, prayers, or wisdom sayings of various world religions past and present and is usually thematically related to the Second Advent Reading. This reading is delivered by the Reader right after the announcements that begin the service and is thus the first reading of the service. An video recording of the reading from Second Advent Scripture delivered on the date above is provided here below together with a transcript of the first reading of the service that day.

Click here to watch this week’s readings on YouTube. (9:27 minutes)

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from First Prophecy to the Americas, chapter 7, “On the Judgement of Goodly Men” (pp. 89-94).

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew:

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “. . . what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of the birth pains. . . .

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. . . .

“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

Rev. Harold Boulette

Click here to watch this week’s readings on YouTube. (9:27 minutes)