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 audio 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. (14:15 minutes)

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from the Prophecy on the Golden Age of Light and the Nation of Nations, Chapter 84: “On the Golden Age of Light and the Nation of Nations” (pp. 711-720).

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from the Teachings of Confucius:

“The superior man accords himself with the Middle Way. Though he may be unknown, unregarded by the world, he feels no regret. It is only the sage who is able to do this. The way that the superior man pursues reaches wide and far, and yet is secret. Common men and women, however ignorant, may meddle with the knowledge of it; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage does not know. Common men and women, however much below the ordinary standard of character, can put it into practice; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage is not able to put into practice. The way of the superior man may be found, in its simple elements, in the society of common men and women; but in its utmost reaches, it shines brightly through Heaven and earth.”

The Master said, “The path is not far from man. When men try to pursue a course that is far from the common indications of consciousness, this course cannot be considered The Path. Therefore, the superior man governs men according to their nature, with what is proper to them, and as soon as they change what is wrong, he stops.

“When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path. What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others.”

Click here to watch this week’s readings on YouTube. (14:15 minutes)

The gold chalice and the wooden one cast identical shadows. Those people who see only shadows, and live their lives accordingly, will find it nearly impossible to recognize that one chalice is worth far more than the other. The shadow of smoke plumes from a forest fire look much like the shadow of a cloud bringing rain that can put out the fire. How can you tell which is which if you only see the shadows? If you can only see the shadow, how do you know that you are walking toward the rain and away from the fire? Shadows can be deceptive in many ways. This photo of a Javanese shadow play shows shadows that are somewhat human, but they have been stylized according to the art of that country. If one saw this as reality rather than as a play, he might think he was seeing strange alien creatures (are you listening channel H2?).

< Read the complete blog post at Solar Wind. >

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

contributed by Harold Boulette

Amazon, the giant online retailer, has a program called Amazon Smile that allows customers to designate where Amazon will send charitable donations. (This program may not be available in all countries.)

If you are not familiar with this program, you can find out about it here:

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/ch/about

Now you can designate International Community of Christ as the recipient of your donations.

When you get to the list of charities to select from, enter “International Community of Christ” in the search window. This will return about twenty pages, unfortunately, and you will have to scroll down several pages (currently page 5) to find the right one, which looks like this:

If you already belong to Amazon Smile, you can change your charity by selecting the same way.

If you have selected correctly, you should see this when you log on to Amazon Smile:

Thanks for your support.

submitted by Harold Boulette

Saturday, March 12, 2016
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RM Elizabeth Reece
Cantor: Rev. Greg Klinedinst
Reader: Rev. Mike Tamburello
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Sunday, March 13, 2016
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS
7:00 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 6:15
Gate: 6:45
Sunrise: 7:21
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrant: RR Sean Savoy
Assistants: RC Roger Weld
RC Robert Petrovich
Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Church of the Americas       Dr. Thomas Lee
Church of the New Covenant     Dea. Stephan Fuelling

Wednesday, March 16, 2016
12:00 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
RC Robert Petrovich

Friday, March 18, 2016
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Rev. Barbara Whitney

“We must be ‘oned with bliss’ if we are to be aware of it. That aspect of our being by which we may attain this communion—that ‘marrow of the Soul,’ as Ruysbroeck calls it—usually lies below the threshold of our consciousness; but in certain natures of abnormal richness and vitality, and under certain favorable conditions, it may be liberated by various devices, such as contemplation. Once it has emerged, however, it takes up, to help it in the work, aspects of conscious self. The surface must co-operate with the deeps, and at last merge with those deeps to produce that unification of consciousness upon high levels which alone can put a term to man’s unrest.” ~Evelyn Underhill

Becoming one with “bliss”, or more accurately, one with God, is indeed the way to truly expand consciousness to higher levels. It is also true that when our soul is awakened and our consciousness on that level starts to grow, the surface level of consciousness, or ego, is generally unaware of it and may remain so for years. Nonetheless, that spiritual awareness, that Divine Consciousness, may be growing below that surface.

< Read the complete blog post at Solar Wind. >

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

contributed by Harold Boulette

As a special gift for this time of year, the Church has sent out to all active Community members the Community Calendar for 2016.

For practical purposes, the calendar follows the traditional monthly format beginning with January, but it contains all the significant dates of The Community’s Sacred Calendar, which begins on February 2nd (refer to Jamil: Child of Light, chapter 27).

In addition to dates for liturgical observance or remembrance, the moon phases for the year are also included. In relation to these moon phases are indicated days to view sunrise or sunset according to the important Lunar/Solar Cycles Generative Technique familiar to Cosolargists who have advanced through The Cosolargy Papers.

Once again, thanks go to Deacon Dr. Stephan Fuelling for compiling and designing the calendar in consultation with the Publishing, Editing and Liturgical departments and with Bishop Gene. Thanks also go to the Reverend Ben Hubbard, who prints the calendar using our printing system at our production facilities located at the Steamboat Hot Springs.

A suggested donation of $20.00 by active Community members would be greatly appreciated to help defray costs for producing the calendar. Corresponding members may contact the Church offices to request a calendar for the same suggested donation.

The Nevada Clergy Association requests your presence at the 2016 Interfaith Nevada Prayer Breakfast “United In Peace.”

Tuesday, April 12 ~ 7 to 9 AM
Grand Ballroom ~ 2nd Floor~ Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Reno, Nevada

Welcome by Barbara Cegavske, Nevada Secretary of State
Keynote Address by Abdul Barghouti, Acting Imam, Northern Nevada Muslim Community
Master of Ceremonies: Rev. Sean Savoy, Chancellor, International Community of Christ
Featuring the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Choir

The annual Vision Award will be presented to:
Northern Nevada International Center

The Community Service Award will be given to:
the Honorable Gino Martini, Mayor of the City of Sparks,
and to the Honorable Bob Cashell, former Mayor of the City of Reno

Special announcement will be given on:
NCA’s partnership with Renown Health to create the
Interfaith Spiritual Center at Renown

Please RSVP by April 6 (tickets also available at door)
(775) 786-1800 or at NevadaClergy.net
Please send checks to Nevada Clergy Association
643 Ralston St., Reno, NV 89503
MasterCard, Visa & Discover cards are accepted.

Individual Tickets: $30 ($35 at the door)
Patron Tables of 8: $280; Non-profit: $200
Patrons will be recognized in the printed program.
Donations to help defray the cost of the event are also accepted.

To reserve tickets online visit the Nevada Clergy web page.

For those who do not prefer making online payment,
download the PDF and fill out the attached form on the back. 

Or download the PDF to help spread the word.

The Nevada Prayer Breakfast is a gathering of citizens — including civic, business, and community leaders — to offer prayers on behalf of our State and to bring the spiritual resources of the community together to bear on Nevada’s leaders. Although members of the community may believe differently in their approach to the Divine, we gather at the Nevada Prayer Breakfast equally and without discrimination. Together, we devote our energies to the good of the State of Nevada. Together, we pray.

The Nevada Clergy Association is a non-profit, interfaith network of religious and spiritual leaders in Nevada.

Saturday, March 5, 2016
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RC Roger Weld
Cantor: Dea. Stephan Fuelling
Reader: Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Sunday, March 6, 2016
6:18 AM SUNRISE DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 5:30
Gate: 6:00
Sunrise: 6:33
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Concelebrant: RR Sean Savoy
Assistants: RC Roger Weld
RC Ted Staver
Rev. Barbara Whitney
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Church of the Races of Man       RC Roger Weld
Church of the Golden Age of Light     Rev. Vickie Hewlett
Church of the Universal Theocracy     Rev. Karen Elliott

Wednesday, March 9, 2016
12:00 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
RC Roger Weld

Friday, March 11, 2016
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
RC Roger Weld

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 audio 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. (16:45 minutes)

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from the Prophecy of the New Covenant, Chapter 90: “Testament of the New Covenant” (pp. 1002-1011).

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from the Book of Wisdom of Solomon:

God created man for incorruption,
and made him an image of his own everlastingness;
but death entered into the world by the envy of the devil,
and those who belong to him experience it.
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will touch them.
In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died.
Their departure was considered an affliction, and their travel away from us ruin;
But hey are in peace.
For even if in the sight of men they are punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
Having borne a little chastening, they will receive great good;
because God tested them, and found them worthy of himself.
He tested them like gold in the furnace,
and he accepted them as a whole burnt offering.
In the time of their visitation they will shine.
They will run back and forth like sparks among stubble.
They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples.
The Lord will reign over them forever.
The faithful will live with him in love,
because grace and mercy are with his chosen ones.

Click here to watch this week’s readings on YouTube. (16:45 minutes)

“It is lamentable, that since the fall of Adam, we should be so continually cheated and befooled by the Devil, to think that we are not the Children of God, nor of his essence. He continually puts the monstrous shape or form into our thoughts, as he did into our mother Eve, which she gazed too much upon, and by her representing it in her imagination, she became a child of this World, wholly naked and vain, and void of understanding: And so he does to us also still continually; he would bring us into another Image, as he did Eve, that we might be ashamed to appear in the Presence of the Light and Power of God, as Adam and Eve were, when they hid themselves behind the trees.” ~Jacob Boehme

The first thing we need to get straight is the whole idea of Adam and Eve. Adam & Eve are an allegorical representation of the beginning of the human race in the material world, they are not intended to be literal, actual, persons. Next, we have to look at what their “sin” really was, and why they were kicked out of paradise because of it.

The sin of Adam and Eve was not in eating apples—which it never says they did in any version of the Bible that I have read. The bible does say they ate from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” That is not an apple tree. It is not a tree of any kind, at least not in the literal sense.

< Read the complete blog post at Solar Wind. >

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

contributed by Harold Boulette