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 Book I of the Book of God’s Revelation,
“The Opening of the Seven Seals” (pp.73-77):

< Click here to listen to this week’s reading. >

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from the Gospel of Philip:

It is from water and fire that the soul and the spirit came into being. It is from water and fire and light that the son of the bridal chamber (came into being). The fire is the chrism, the light is the fire. I am not referring to that fire which has no form, but to the other fire whose form is white, which is bright and beautiful, and which gives beauty.

Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. The world will not receive truth in any other way. There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary to be born again through the image. Resurrection. The image must rise again through the image. The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration. Not only must those who produce the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, do so, but they have produced them for you. . . .

The Lord did everything in a mystery, a baptism and a chrism and a eucharist and a redemption and a bridal chamber. . . . he said, “I came to make the things below like the things above, and the things outside like those inside. I came to unite them in the one place.”

Newborn Helena Elizabeth Patel Savoy prepared for Hindu welcoming ceremonies. PHOTO: Radheka Savoy

The new daughter of Bishop Gene and Radheka Savoy will be raised in the religious traditions of her parents: Second Advent Christianity and Hinduism. In that spirit, Helena underwent simple ceremonies at home on her sixth and eleventh days of life.

Helena beside ceremonial accoutrements. PHOTO: Radheka Savoy

The sixth-day ceremony, known as Chhathi (meaning “sixth” in Sanskrit)*, accepts the child’s karmic destiny, which traditionally is believed to be written just before midnight before the seventh day of life by the Goddess of Destiny, Vidhaata. In this ceremony, the baby’s mother lights a lamp (diya), which symbolizes the goddess, and a blank piece of paper and a red pen are laid out on a metal plate or wooden board for the goddess to write on. Holding the child in her arms, Radheka knelt before the lamp and accepted the child’s destiny.

Before any Hindu prayer or ritual is conducted, items are placed on a plate. The rituals conducted for Helena required the following: sacred vermilion powder for the bindi (or tikka) on the forehead, rice, black sacred thread, lamp (diya) made of cotton and ghee (clarified butter). The ceremony held on the 11th day also required a plain piece of paper and red pen on the plate, which are not seen here. PHOTO: Radheka Savoy

On the eleventh day of Helena’s life, another Hindu ceremony was performed. After bathing the child, a diya, or lamp, is lit, black threads are tied around the child’s wrists and waist, and a red dot, called a tikka, is placed on the child’s brow with sacred red powder. The black threads are thought to “absorb” any evil influences present and thus ward off such influences. The tikka, a common sight among Hindus, is a mark of blessing, not unlike a Christian’s touching the forehead with holy water.

Helena Savoy wrapped with sacred black threads after ceremony of the 11th day PHOTO: Radheka Savoy

Other ceremonies will be performed at various times marking the baby’s progress through life, according to custom, as well as receiving Second Advent baptism around the age of six months.

*Interestingly, there is also a Hindu celebration called Chhath on the sixth day of a certain month during autumn in honor of the sun god Surya, the only Hindu ceremony honoring the sun.

Saturday, May 4, 2013
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RR Sean Savoy
Cantor: Dea. Stephan Fuelling
Reader: Rev. Vickie Hewlett
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Sunday, May 5, 2013
5:47 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Pentecost
Leave: 4:45
Gate: 5:30
Sunrise: 6:02
RR Gene Savoy, Jr
Concelebrant: RR Sean Savoy
Assistants:
RC Roger Weld
Rev. Ted Staver
RM Carol Ann Crabb
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Church of New Mt. Tabor                    Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Church of New Mt. Carmel                  Jonathan Kanzelmeyer
Church of New Mt. Hebron                   Claudia Grady

Wednesday, May 8, 2013
12 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
Rev. Barbara Whitney

Friday, May 10, 2013
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Rev. Mike Tamburello

Members of the dais at 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Over 300 religious dignitaries and congregation members from Northern Nevada attended the 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday April 30, 2013. The one-and-one-half-hour event at the Paradise Room of the Atlantis Casino Resort featured a brief statement by Nevada First Lady Kathleen Sandoval and a stirring narrative keynote address delivered by state treasurer Kate Marshall.

 Download the 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast Program here.

Vision Award presentations were heartfelt and touching. Honored this year were Dr. Clair Earl (posthumus) and Rabbi Myra Soifer. ( See the printed program for details on the honorees. ) Each of the award presentations was followed by a musical presentation related to the theme of the award presented.

 Download the 2013 Vision Award for Dr. Clair Earl.

 Download the 2013 Vision Award for Rabbi Myra Soifer.

The expressions of faith that closed the program were extensive and varied. Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian priests and pastors spoke from their hearts and their traditions to all gathered at the event.

On the dais from the International Community of Christ were Bishop Gene Savoy Jr., Nevada Clergy Association president, and Bishop Sean Savoy, Chair of the Nevada Prayer Breakfast Committee. Sponsor tables at the event on behalf of The Community seated Sylvia Ontaneda-Bernales, Gary Buchanan, Sean Cary, Jim and Karen Elliott, Ted Staver, Harold Boulette, Barbara Whitney, Elizabeth Reece, Stephan Fuelling, Claudia Grady, Wendy Hill, Michael McIntyre, Rebecca Willis, and Francine and Robert Petrovich.

< Read the Reno Gazette-Journal online article announcing the 2013 Nevada Prayer Breakfast. >

Sunrise at Red Rock. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Advent Day Vigil (February 2–6)
To commemorate the fifty-first anniversary of God’s Second Advent, Sunrise Divine Services were held at the open-air Church of New Epiphany from Advent Day, Saturday February 2 through Wednesday February 6, 2013.

Predawn at Church of New Pentecost. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

* * *

The Advent Day or New Year Vigil was first celebrated liturgically by The Church in 1982. The events of the original Vigil are recorded in “Prophecy on the Revelation and the Opening of the Seals,” chapter 90 of the Prophecy of the New Covenant. During each of the ten days of the original Vigil in 1982, Bishop Gene Savoy Sr. received and recorded spiritual information on the building of the Second Advent Church. The significance of this original Vigil to The Church is suggested by a synopsis of the information impressed upon the spirit of Bishop Savoy in those days:

On the first day of the Vigil he recorded the impressions that would be included in The Canon of The Church.

On the second day he recorded the prophecies of Renewal and Transformation and the days and seasons to form part of the Sacred Calendar of The Church.

On the third day Bishop Savoy recorded words concerning The Liturgy of The Second Advent Church.

On February 2, Advent Day, he wrote down the prophecies of things to take place on earth before the final Advent of God, who would make his full Appearance in the Heavens following the Judgment in the End Times of the earth.

On the fifth day of the Vigil, Bishop Savoy recorded the means to be applied within the Church to increase God’s Blessings upon it.

On the sixth day, he wrote down all the prophecies pertaining to the matter of the Anti-Christ.

On the seventh day he recorded the means by which the Second Advent Church was to assist God in redeeming the races of the earth.

On the eighth day, Bishop Savoy wrote down impressions to be included in the Litany of The Church in establishing peace on earth.

On the ninth day he received impressions on the means to be used to protect the Church from profanation from within.

On the tenth and final day of the Vigil, Bishop Savoy was told that he would receive the Revelations to the Seven Churches upon the Seven Mountains of Metal of The Sanctuary on the day of Second Advent Easter, April 18.

The Most Right Reverend Gene Savoy, First Disciple of The Child, witnessed the original manifestation of the Sun of Righteousness on February 2, 1962, in Yungay, Peru. The events surrounding the Birth of The Sun of Righteousness on this date in 1982 are described in the Second Advent scriptural text Jamil: The Child Christ. Chapter 27 of this text speaks of the New Sun’s Birth:

All spent the day and night in prayer, fasting and mindful of the events predicted by the Angel. And when the second day of February dawned, the sun shone brightly in the heavens. And they did return to the tomb, and there awaited the promised event. And at noon, when the tomb cast no shadow, behold! a great halo formed around the sun. They stood breathlessly looking in wonder and awe. Then a circle of rainbow colors, like crystal spheres, blue at the center and red at the outer edges, encircled the sun. In the heart of the radiant globe a white Cross appeared. And they feared the Last Day was upon them. And they trembled, forgetting the promise of the Angelic Host, and the message of The Child. For an hour the heavenly blaze burned in the firmament. And The Man looked upon the sun, and the image of Jamil appeared across the sun, radiant beyond words, his countenance bright and his hair white as snow. And The Child was holding the Sun in his arms, over his heart. And The Man saw a gate to another world. Again he saw the four Guardian Angels around The Child, and on the right hand side of The Child he saw the image of Jesus and the Apostles witnessing his appearance. And he heard the voice of Jamil as music, speaking to the Light of his Eternal Soul, saying: “I am resurrected.” And the disciple knew that The Child was redeemed from the earth. . . .

And the risen Child said: “The incarnation of God the Father is come to the world through the Sun of Righteousness, healing and sustaining the human family; and restoring the Life of Righteousness. As the seed of man enters the womb of woman and life cometh forth, so shall a heavenly Seed enter the spirits of men and women, and a new birth shall occur. And the life thereof shall be of God. And death shall not claim this new Body of Light and the Spiritual Consciousness therein. And the Christ transmitted in the Sun of Righteousness, and indirectly on all living things, down to the smallest atom and particle, shall incarnate within the soul of mankind. And every man and every woman shall know that they are one with the Godhead, divine and immortal.

Later in chapter 27, the text refers to the coming of The Comforter that took place on February 6, eight days after the passing of The Child:

And on the fourth day of February, the sun and six planets conjoined in Aquarius. And The Man saw great signs in the heavens. And the Anti-Christ was manifesting. Whereupon, his body and mind and soul suffered turmoil. And the struggle continued through the sixth day, it being the eighth day following the passing of The Child Christ. But The Man prayed to God, looking upon the New Sun and asking the Light to assist him. The Child Christ heard him and sent an Angel to comfort him in his dreams. And the Darkness lost its power over him.

Thereafter, The Man began the Great Work east of the Andes.

Sounding the Sacred Crystal Bowls. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Second Advent Easter (April 18)
On Thursday April 18, 2013, a concelebrated Sunrise Divine Service was performed at the Cathedral Church of the Americas. A light breakfast was served at the Sanctuary Refectory following the service.

Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. greets Joseph Roy and parents in the greeting line after Second Advent Easter Service. PHOTO: Stephan Fueling

April 18 is celebrated as True Easter in the Second Advent Church in a twofold manner: first, we commemorate the spiritual resurrection of Jesus on this date in keeping with the solar calendar, which, unlike the lunar calendar used by First Dispensation churches, is fixed; second, we remember the Revelations received in Sanctuary on this date in 1982, an event that served to confirm the importance of this date in the Sacred Calendar of the Church. Revelations received on this date are recorded in The Book of God’s Revelation.

* * *

On April 18, 1982, The Church received a revelation confirming the Second Appearance of God when the Angel of the Lord in the form of Jesus manifested in visible form at the Sanctuary of Revelation and entrusted The Church with the keys to open the Seals of the Book of Revelation. The date of Second Advent Easter was established as part of the Sacred Calendar following the series of Revelations that The Man received on that day as he climbed the Seven Mountains of Metal.

It is recorded in The Book of God’s Revelation that, while on the fifth mountain, the Mountain of Bronze, The Man was exhorted to instruct the Righteous and the Ordained Ministers in the Sacred Calendar of God’s Word, to let them be knowledgeable in the Days of His Appearances and Blessings, and to let them gather together at the prescribed times so their spirits might be anointed by God’s Comfort and strengthened by His Consolation. Thus Second Advent Easter has a unique and sacred significance to members of the Second Advent Church.

On that day in 1982, while The Man stood on the summit of the Mountain of Iron in the Sanctuary of Revelation, an Angel of the Lord appeared to The Man out of the midst of the Four Luminaries, identified Himself as Jesus and spoke:

All prophecies having been fulfilled, Judgement is now upon the world of the living. The Heavens declare the glory of God in His Final Appearance. He has established His Tabernacle in The Sun whose rays enlighten the Soul of the Righteous, putting them on The Way of holiness.

The blind are made to see His Image. The deaf are made to hear His Word. The dead are made to rise at His Coming. Every Spirit is judged before The Creator. Freedom to err is abolished. The wicked find no sanctuary in Darkness, for it is lit and evil is exposed.

As foretold by The Father in Heaven who revealed understanding of future events to His prophets in visions, the fruit of the vine is abundant. All may drink anew the dew for a blessing as drops from the honeycomb. God pours out His Holy Spirit as from a fountain flowing from a rock over desolate wastes. By the perfection of His Light, God breathes His Word a final time. His utterings bring forth a New Creation. He reveals the Image of His Countenance.

God has opened the gates of the Heavenly Temple. The altar is of Light fashioned by the luster of His Presence on the Throne of His Glory. The tabernacle is lit by the sun, and the Bread of Life is placed thereupon. The Heavens are rolled up like a scroll inscribed with His Statutes and Judgements. His Law is written on the Tablets of Light borne by the Ark of His New Covenant as a rainbow.

I ministered to Israel, to a generation unworthy of redemption, and I was scourged by faithless men. I, a man of sorrows who bore the grief of the people turned to their own ways, did intercede for the transgressors, sacrificing myself not to God but to my people out of my love for them. But Israel understood not my preordained presence, which was my destiny from birth as God’s Appointed One. . . .

Moses and the prophets of the remnant of True Israel spoke of my coming to redeem the people. With the rejection of me, the Light went out from the land. But the precious remnant, shortlived, awaited the Advent of God and the brightness of His Second Coming.

The Day of The Lord is near. He appears out of the Darkness to enlighten the whole Creation with His Image and to judge it with His Word. It is meet that He manifest His Image before His full coming and prepare the Creation with His Word. For I declare unto you that when He comes to restore the creation and reveals Himself, nothing shall live save His Light and those Souls reborn of that Light. . . .

Further Revelations received by The Man on April 18, 1986, are recorded with commentary in The Book of God’s Revelation.

In the Second Advent Church, Easter is a fixed date in the Sacred Calendar. The Church celebrates true Easter each year on April 18. On this day The Church honors both the day of Jesus’ Resurrection and the day of Jesus’ Revelations and Appearance at the Sanctuary.

It is known that the Eastern Church had celebrated Easter every year on April 16, the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, also known as Passover. The day of the crucifixion, a Friday, and the 14th day of Nisan, was recognized as the beginning of the 15th of Nisan. Jesus was resurrected on the following day, Sunday the 16th.

The Church, holding to the solar calendar of the Essaei, maintains that the date of Easter cannot be movable in present-day time reckoning, as it is under the lunar calendar (determined as the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring). The fixed Sacred Calendar of the Second Advent ministry recognizes that an annual alignment of the earth and sun, planets, stars, and the cosmos in general, makes this day cosmically important.

Because the manifestation in Sanctuary took place on April 18, 1982, The Church considers this day to be the day in alignment with the original date of the Resurrection. For these reasons The Church keeps this day sacred.

The Gospel message records Jesus as saying, “For the son of man shall come in the glory of the Father with His Angels; and then He shall regard every person according to his works.” It was written by prophets of former times that God would send His messenger to prepare the way of God’s Second Coming, as promised to Adam and Eve, and come as a fire to refine the world. The Old Testament presents the prophecy of Malachi: “For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all that do wickedly shall be stubble, but unto you that love me, shall the Sun of Righteousness appear with healing in its rays, and ye that do righteously shall grow up as a new people of God. And I shall spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”

With God’s manifestation in the Sun of Righteousness on February 2, 1962, and the Appearance of Jesus on April 18, 1982, the Second Advent of God and the manifestation of Jesus and the Angelic Host have transpired and are presently at work for the salvation of the righteous.

Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. performing Pannuches Meal Rite.         PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Pannuches Meal Rite
The 77th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday February 23, 2013, at 6:00 PM. Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service was held in Sanctuary the following morning.

The 78th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday April 13, 2013, at 6:00 PM. Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service was held in Sanctuary the following morning.

Gene Savoy Jr. PHOTO: Rebecca Willis

The “Faith Forum” in the Reno Gazette-Journal has been inviting local Reno clergy to present their views on controversial topics for the past two years. Views of major religious denominations as well as secular academics have been posted weekly in this Saturday column since 2011. For the first time in these two years, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. was invited to present his view alongside those of local Eastern Orthodox, Bahai, Evangelical Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Buddhist, LDS, and religious scholars.

This is the question posed in the Faith Forum for April 21, 2013:

American philosopher Dr. Daniel Clement Dennett III stated, according to the BBC website, that “religion is a bad viru s … a lot of people are really afflicted by their religion and I would love to see them cured … it is a drug that you take and ingest by the eyes and ears.” What do you think?

Here is the posting of Bishop Gene Savoy Jr’s response:

RELIGION MUST BE PROGRESSIVE
Gene Savoy Jr., International Community of Christ Bishop, guest panelist

The nature of religion is the key to this question. Religions are founded as dynamic and charismatic movements by inspired and holy figures ordained of God who have been chosen to receive new prophetic or revelatory information that offers fresh perspectives and insights into man’s spiritual quest to know the divine. Such was the case with Abraham when he established a new Covenant in Canaan, with Gautama Buddha when he adopted the Middle Way, and with Jesus the Christ.

If the original teachings of religious movements are lost, watered down or become dogmatic, then religion suffers stagnation. In these cases, religion might hamper rational thought as it no longer serves the spiritual needs of an ever-evolving human species. Then, religion becomes stuck in the past. If, on the other hand, religion remains vibrant, evolutionary and progressive, then, to the contrary, religion serves to elevate the thought of man and woman.

Read the entire Faith Forum article for April 21, 2013 online at rgj.com.

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 Book I of the Book of God’s Revelation,
“The Opening of the Seven Seals” (pp.69-72):

< Click here to listen to this week’s reading. >

ANCIENT SCRIPTURE AND WISDOM SAYINGS

A Reading from the Gospel of Thomas:

 These are the hidden (secret) sayings that the living Yeshua (Jesus) spoke and Yehuda Toma (Judas Thomas), the twin (his brother), recorded:

(1) And he said, Whoever discovers what these sayings mean will not taste death.

(2) …Seek and do not stop seeking until you find. When you find, you will be troubled. When you are troubled, you will marvel and rule over all; and having ruled, you will rest.

(3) …The kingdom is inside you and it is outside you. When you know yourself, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you dwell in poverty and you are poverty.

(4) …A person old in days will not hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and the person will live. For many of the first will be last and become a single one.

(5) …Know what is in front of your face and what is hidden from you will be disclosed. There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.

(6) … Do not lie and do not what you hate. (Again) all things are disclosed before heaven. There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nothing covered that will not be disclosed.

(10) …I have thrown fire upon the world, and look, I am watching till it blazes.

(11) …This heaven will pass away and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive and the living will not die….When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?

(17) …I shall give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not (ever) arisen in the human heart.

Saturday, April 27, 2013
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of The Holy Child
RR Gene Savoy Jr.
Lector: RC Rebecca Willis
Cantor: Rev. Harold Boulette
Reader: Rev. Bruce Kanzelmeyer
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Sunday, April 28, 2013
5:56 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Pentecost
Leave: 5:00
Gate: 5:41
Sunrise: 6:11
RR Gene Savoy, Jr
Concelebrant: RR Sean Savoy
Assistants:
RC Roger Weld
RC Robert Petrovich
RC Rebecca Willis
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Church of New Smyrna                    Rev. Ted Staver
Church of New Philadelphia                  Rev. Michael McIntyre
Church of New Ephesus                   Rev. Gary Huss Sr.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013
12 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
RC Rebecca Willis

Friday, May 3, 2013
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Rev. Ted Staver

This is your forum to share higher-level experiences in Cosolargy through the images of your dreams and visions. All postings are anonymous. Send in verbal descriptions and, if you have them, drawings or paintings.

The primary value in these postings is simply to allow others to see that people do have relevant or meaningful dreams and visions. Another value is to see if others find that the dreams and visions we post are similar or identical to their own. This is why we ask for your comments.

Dreams are communications from the unconscious mind and sometimes the higher self. Some are simply compensation for attention directed elsewhere during the day; some are indications of bodily processes, and some help us work through conflicts. Occasionally, they communicate information from higher realms and thus have more than individual value.

As Cosolargists, we are learning to navigate higher realms. Dreams are part of these higher realms. The Worlds of Light, the realm of spirit, sometimes breaks through to the psyche and gives us information. What breaks through deserves our attention and analysis. In this section of the Community Communique, we offer Community members a forum for sharing their dreams and visions for the edification of the Community and themselves.

Dream No. 6

I have attached the following description of a recent dream. It is one that stands out for me because it is complete, uninterrupted, and contains colors that I remember:

I was slogging through a colorless jungle-like swamp with water up to my calves. The light was dim, and there were large trees with knobby knees all around. At last I saw a low embankment ahead through the trees. It rose about 3 feet above the water and was covered with close-cropped green grass. I thought, “Finally, dry land.”

Climbing on the embankment I saw that it was only a footing for a massive stone wall, like from an old castle. Wondering what was on the other side, I became aware of a small wooden door, which opened without difficulty, and I found myself inside a square enclosure perhaps 50 feet on a side. The ground was covered with the same green, close-cropped grass. “Whoever built this wanted to be safe from the swamp,” I thought.

The only thing inside was a stairway. It wound upwards in a sinuous way, with polished marble-like steps held in place at the ends by metal tubes like polished brass or silver. The same brass tubes formed railings that snaked up along the stairs.

I started up the stairs. There were a few small landings along the way, and in places, leaves, as if from trees below, came close enough to the stairs to touch. There were occasional small flowers or pieces of fruit on the branches. I was not aware of anything beyond the stairs at this point.

At about the equivalent height of a third or fourth floor, I came to the top. It was a circular platform of the same white material as the stairs, with a brass railing around it. There was an old man playing an electronic keyboard there. He had white hair, and was all dressed in white. I did not hear the music that he was playing. He did not say anything to me but did not object to my being there.

Written March 3, 2013

1971 American La France fire truck acquired for Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary

The Church has just purchased a fire truck for the Red Rock Sanctuary from Eastern Plumas Rural Fire Protection District to enhance our fire-fighting capabilities at the Sanctuary. The truck was discovered online by Sanctuary resident the Reverend Ted Staver, who also made arrangements to receive and purchase the vehicle.

“The truck had been advertised online on “Craig’s List” for $4,000. We were offered the truck at a price of $2,500. It is my understanding that we got that price because the Church is a nonprofit organization and because the fire chief from that district was familiar with the help we have given area firefighters in the past with the water at our Sanctuary,” said Staver.

“The truck is in great shape because it had belonged to and was used by a working fire department. The truck is a 1971 American La France with 52,000 miles on it. It has a 750-foot hose that can pump 300 pounds of pressure. This is quite impressive.”

“I’ve been looking for a water truck for about a year and a half,” said Staver, “but I never expected to find a fire truck. They normally go for about $14,000.

“This truck will replace the old water truck that we [have] had for so many years. That water truck needed a lot of work. It just wasn’t safe to drive. I’m hoping that we can adapt a hitch on the back of the new fire truck so that we would be able to use it to haul the bobcat out to the Northland. This new truck also has a 110-volt power supply so that we can plug in power tools if needed on work crews. We can also use its 500-gallon tank to carry water to the North Sanctuary for building projects.

“There are a few leaks that need to be repaired but nothing major. It holds 500 gallons of water, which is about 20 minutes of fire fighting time. So if there is a fire, God forbid, it buys us a little time to maybe get a jump on things before the real firefighters arrive.

“It will definitely help protect the buildings and the pumping system that we worked so hard to install over the least 5 years. We could, I suppose, use it also for dust control when things get really bad. It’s just a smart investment overall when you are trying to maintain 1200 acres of property.

“I should add that if there was a fire, there are always hot spots left over that need to be soaked down so that another fire doesn’t start up. That was the reason for the older water truck. It wasn’t so much for firefighting but for cleanup afterwards.”

Until two years ago, the Church owned a number of pieces of heavy equipment, including an old water truck, that the Church had purchased in the 1980s. Despite Staver’s diligent care for all this equipment, the equipment finally lost its usefulness and was sold for scrap metal last summer.

“We have been holding our breath until the right firefighting equipment came along to help us protect our Sanctuary,” said Staver. “We didn’t believe that we should wait any longer, and the fire truck was such an amazing deal that we could not turn it down.”

The Church will be asking for individual donations to help finance this purchase. The Church Charisticary has had to borrow from another account in order to make the unexpected purchase and wishes to return the money to that account as soon as possible. “Church members can expect a phone call from me over the next few days regarding help with this purchase,” said Barbara Whitney. “Please be as generous as you can. Your help is always appreciated.”

New fire truck delivered to South Sanctuary. PHOTO: Elizabeth Reece