PHOTO: 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.

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from the Second Prophecy to the Americas, Chapter 31, “On Men of Two Worlds” (pp. 215-218):

< Click here to listen to this week’s reading. (3 minutes) >

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from the Gospel of the Egyptians:

O living water, O child of the child, O glorious name!
O Living Aeon, Living One who sees the Aeons! Who is eternally eternal!
You are what you are, You are who you are!
You who lives in the heart, This great name of yours is upon me, O self-begotten Perfect one, who is not outside me. I see you, O you who are visible to everyone.

For who will be able to comprehend you in another language? Now that I have known you, I have mixed myself with the unchangeable. I have armed myself with an armor of light; I have become light!

For the Mother was at that place because of the splendid beauty of grace. Therefore, I have stretched out my hands while they were folded. I was shaped in the circle of the riches of the Light which is in my bosom, which gives shape to the many begotten ones in the Light into which no complaint reaches. I shall declare your glory truly, for I have comprehended you,

O God of Silence! I honor you completely. You are my place of rest, O formless one who exists in the formless ones, who IS, raising up the man in whom you will purify me into your life, according to your imperishable Name. Therefore, the incense of life is in me. I mixed it with water after the model of all archons, in order that I may live with you in the peace of the Holy Ones, you who ARE, really truly forever.

Saturday, November 2, 2013
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RC Elizabeth Reece
Cantor: Rev. Amanda Buchanan
Reader: Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer

Sunday, November 3, 2013
6:20 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Epiphany
Leave: 5:30
Gate: 6:05
Sunrise: 6:35
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 New Philadelphia                 Rev. Robert Anderson
Church of New Qumran                 Dr. Thomas Lee
Church of New Bethany                                 Dea. Stephan Fuelling

Wednesday, November 6, 2013
12 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
Rev. Robert Anderson

Friday, November 8, 2013
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
RC Ted Staver

PHOTO Roger Weld

A candle light prayer vigil was held on Friday evening, October 23, 2013 to honor the victims of the Monday shooting at Sparks Middle School and the victims’ families.

The event, held Sparks Middle School, was organized by Reverend Howard Dotson of Spanish Springs Presbyterian Church. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Native American, Protestant, and Second Advent faiths were represented.

During the ceremony Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. read from the Odes of Solomon. Other clergy delivered memorial statements or other scriptural readings.

PHOTO Roger Weld

At the Grand Opening Ceremony on September 27, 2013 for Sierra Manor II, a housing property for senior citizens in Sparks, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. performed the dedication ceremony and prayer.

As a member of the advisory council of the Northern California/Nevada branch of Volunteers of America, one of the largest human services organizations in the country, and president of the Nevada Clergy Association, Bishop Savoy is an active supporter of the work of this service organization in the region. The program included ribbon cutting, tours, and refreshments.

Present at the ceremony were the regional president and CEO of Volunteers of America, Leo McFarland, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development field representative Tony Ramirez.

Sean Savoy, President and Chief Explorer of the Andean Explorers, revealed plans for a historic tour to ancient sites of Peru during the 2013 Convocation. The announcement was made on October 3rd as part of the “Solar Cultures of North America & the Sierra Seminar” at Camp Galilee, Lake Tahoe.

All Community members are invited to accompany the Peru Tour & Pilgrimage, which will take place in July 2014.

The Pre-Registration form provides an itinerary of the fascinating areas to be visited. Further details on the trip will be provided as arrangements develop.

< Click here to view or print a copy of the pre-registration form. >

Presenters at 2010 Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.

This year will mark the 28th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service. The performance of this interfaith service, titled “Give thanks in every moment,” has been a much-revered tradition in the Northern Nevada community and one that is largely unique nationwide in its scope of faith diversity. The service will be held on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 7 p.m. It will be hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reno Nevada Stake at 1095 Golconda Drive.

Monetary donations will be given to Volunteers of America Family Shelter. Food donations will go to Restart Food Pantry.

The last four previous hosts were: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Cathedral (2012), St. John’s Presbyterian Church (2011), Trinity Episcopal Church (2010), and Sparks United Methodist Church (2009).

This worship service of prayers, readings and music from a variety of faith traditions is sponsored by The Nevada Clergy Association, of which Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. is president.

For information call 775-786-7827 or email gsavoyjr@communityofchrist.org

Every one, of whatsoever city it may be, who has suffered therein on my account, would not be giving light, even as the sun, if I had looked towards my accusers and not towards God and if also I had not been deemed worthy to be given a share in those things . . . brought to pass by God; for this affair is not mine but Christ’s who made me mighty.
– from The Bazaar of Heracleides

Representation of the Counceil of Ephesus 431, at the center Cyril of Alexandria shows the image of the infant and Mary, proclaiming her divine maternity. Image from the Church Notre-Dame de Fourvieres, Lyon, France

The Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
Soon after Pentecost, the bishops and imperial officials assemble at Ephesus. Only the famous Augustine of Hippo and the other bishops of North Africa are indisposed to attend, owing to the Vandal invasions of their territories. John of Antioch, held back by circumstances surrounding a drought in his territories, sends the message that he hopes to arrive in several days and not to wait for him to convene the council. Cyril and his followers, with the support of the Bishop of Ephesus and the populace of Ephesus, assemble in the Church of the Theotokos. Nestorius is summoned but refuses to attend until all the bishops are assembled. With the Gospels placed on the throne to represent the presence of Christ, Cyril proceeds to open the first session without delay. Creeds and letters are read at the first session. Cyril’s letters are received with acclamation, those of Nestorius with anathemas. The council deposes and excommunicates Nestorius. When John of Antioch and the bishops of the East arrive four days later, they immediately hold council to depose Cyril and excommunicate all those who will not repudiate Cyril’s twelve anathemas. Three days later, an imperial rescript arrives that rebukes Cyril for his haste and commands all the bishops to await the arrival of an imperial commissioner. Cyril continues the council anyway. Rome’s legates arrive and give their support to Cyril at a second session. During the fourth session, John sends the message that he refuses to have anything more to do with Cyril and his supporters.

In August, the imperial commissioner arrives. He deposes and arrests Nestorius, Cyril, and the Bishop of Ephesus; he also tries to persuade the Cyrillians to confer with the bishops of the East, who have drawn up a formulary of reunion, but the Cyrillians refuse and continue to stir up the clergy of Constantinople with their appeals. On September 11, the emperor receives seven delegates from each side at Chalcedon, but no agreement is reached. The emperor dissolves the council, sends Nestorius back to his former monastery at Antioch, per his request, and orders the consecration of a new Bishop of Constantinople, who proceeds to depose those bishops who continue to adhere to Nestorius. After the rival parties go home, Cyril is released from prison and, in October, arrives at Alexandria in triumph.

Rome, in exchange for the vote to depose Nestorius, gets Pelagius condemned by an ecumenical council and wins greater prestige in the East because Cyril, going over the head of the emperor, had appealed to the Bishop of Rome; in exchange for the vote to condemn Pelagius, the Alexandrians get Nestorius deposed, as well as Cyril’s explanation of the incarnation canonized over the doctrine of Nestorius.

The Reconciled and the Irreconcilable
In spring 432, the emperor suggests as a basis of reconciliation that the East give up Nestorius and that Cyril give up his twelve anathemas. By autumn, John of Antioch and a few others go ahead with the reconciliation; some waver; and others, like the Bishop of Hierapolis in Syria, stand out. Those for reconciliation send to Alexandria an envoy who brings the Formulary of Reunion and other propositions; when the envoy arrives, John is pressed to accept the deposition of Nestorius, whereupon he is received into communion at Alexandria and admitted to preach there on Christmas Day as an orthodox bishop. In 433 John and Cyril sign the Formula of Reunion, and it is ratified by the emperor. After this action is taken, whoever wishes to be part of the catholic and orthodox Imperial Church must, in their thought and speech, avoid denying the humanity of the rational soul of Christ and at the same time avoid dividing his two natures into two persons. Some bishops of the East acknowledge the orthodoxy of Cyril but refuse to accept the deposition of Nestorius; others denounce both. The following year, Proclus, the old adversary of Nestorius, is consecrated Bishop of Constantinople, and the emperor orders all bishops of the East to abandon their resistance to John and Cyril. Many obey, but eighteen are deposed; they are banished to the mines of the Egyptian Thebaid, as persecuted Christians in the Roman Empire had been since Diocletian.

PHOTO: BBC News Magazine

“Alfredo Moser’s invention is lighting up the world. In 2002, the Brazilian mechanic had a light-bulb moment and came up with a way of illuminating his house during the day without electricity – using nothing more than plastic bottles filled with water and a tiny bit of bleach.

I”n the last two years his innovation has spread throughout the world. It is expected to be in one million homes by early next year. ”

< Read the entire article posted 12 August 2013 by Gibby Zobel BBC World Service, Uberaba, Brazil at the online BBC NEWS magazine. >

link submitted by Tom Fee

PHOTO: 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.

SECOND ADVENT PROPHECY AND REVELATION

A Reading from the Prophecy to the Races of Man, Chapter 70, “The Great Day of God” (pp. 454-459):

< Click here to listen to this week’s reading. (6 minutes) >

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from the Gospel of Truth:

The gospel of truth is joy to those who have received from the Father of truth the gift of knowing him by the power of the Logos, who has come from the Pleroma and who is in the thought and the mind of the Father; he it is who is called “the Savior,” since that is the name of the work which he must do for the redemption of those who have not known the Father. . . .

Since the perfection of the totality is in the Father, it is necessary for the Totality to ascend to him. Therefore, if one has knowledge, he gets what belongs to him and draws it to himself. For he who is ignorant is deficient, and it is a great deficiency, since he lacks that which will make him perfect. Since the perfection of the Totality is in the Father, it is necessary for the Totality to ascend to him and for each one to get the things which are his. He enrolled them first, having prepared them to be given to those who came from him. . . .

Those whose name he knew in advance were called last, so that the one who has knowledge is he whose name the Father has pronounced. For he whose name has not been spoken is ignorant. Indeed, how shall one hear if his name has not been uttered? For he who remains ignorant until the end is a creature of forgetfulness and will perish with it. If this is not so, why have these wretches no name, why do they have no sound? Hence, if one has knowledge, he is from above. If he is called, he hears, he replies, and he turns toward him who called him and he ascends to him and he knows what he is called. Since he has knowledge, he does the will of him who called him. He desires to please him and he finds rest. He receives a certain name. He who thus is going to have knowledge knows whence he came and whither he is going.

“Fasts and vigils, the study of Scripture, renouncing possessions and everything worldly are not in themselves perfection, as we have said; they are its tools. For perfection is not to be found in them; it is acquired through them. It is useless, therefore,to boast of our fasting, vigils, poverty and reading of Scripture when we have not achieved the love of God and our fellow man. Whoever has achieved love has God within himself and his intellect is always with God.” ~The Philokalia

“Just as some people will treat a national flag as a thing of worship, some people who consider themselves spiritual or religious think they are being holy when they act as if the tools used for spiritual growth are themselves divine. We especially see this in many Christians who treat the Bible as if it is actually God rather than simply a book about God and his prophets. Many Muslims act the same with the Koran, even threatening death to those who deface or destroy a copy of it, a book, as if it were indeed God and therefore of more value that a human life.”

< Read the entire article online at Solar Wind. >

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

contributed by Harold Boulette