Congratulations to Rev. Donna Keane and Pastor Kelly Milne on their launch of a new community television program! To view this work, go to the link below and search “Pastor’s Corner.” You’ll see a list of their shows, interspersed with another show. The subjects they have covered in their shows thus far are Grief, Grief and Depression, Spirituality, and Some Thoughts on Rebirth. All best wishes for their success as a pastoral presence in television in their community, and beyond!

The half-hour hybrid service at the Church of the Holy City in Washington, DC will take place from 12:00-12:30 EST and will include meditative readings from the last words of Christ and the Sermon on the Mount. Communion will be celebrated. If you join online, please bring bread and juice. The Zoom link is below.

For food and faith writers and podcasters Derrick Weston and Anna Woofenden, The Just Kitchen is about a passion for food, sharing meals, showing hospitality, and understanding cultures, faith traditions, food histories, and local foodways.

Their authentic podcast conversations spill over the pages of this book and explore how the kitchen can be a place where the things we care about most in the world are reflected in the foods we prepare and the way we prepare them. In a world where disconnection from the earth, our food, our faith, and each other is becoming the norm, Weston and Woofenden bring together voices of hope who are working for a world of organic reconnections. They invite us to dig deeply into the complexity of ecology and food systems, as well as how faith communities are connected to them.

This is an invitation to reprioritize the kitchen as a space for healing, community, activism, and celebration. Be inspired to see the sacred in the daily mundane, forge connection with the people and earth around you, and join the call of a just kitchen.

Rebecca K. Esterson explores how Christian methods of biblical interpretation shifted during the eighteenth century, producing a rhetorical rejection of allegory while embracing literalism. Under the influence of Enlightenment concepts of human reason and advances in the experimental sciences, Christian interpreters began casting Jewish biblical interpretation as allegorical, while presenting Christian interpretation as literal. This shift in self-understanding allowed Christians to portray their own interpretations as scientifically, philosophically, and historically superior, resulting in a new way of othering the Jewish people. This study of biblical exegesis, theology, philosophy, and the arts in English, Swedish, and German contexts is an essential resource for scholars interested in biblical reception history and the history of Jewish-Christian relations.

The Home Church in Bryn Athyn is celebrating 20 years of worshiping together! This is a biweekly service with a participatory, affirming format that is reflective of female spirituality, and is led by Rev. Roslyn Taylor. The hybrid celebration is in the Sunroom at Cairnwood Village on Sunday, September 10, 11am-1pm.

Congratulations to Sarah Walker on her ordination into the ministry of the New Church in Australia as a Regional Spiritual Director!

Gathering Leaves 2023 took place on August 24–27, 2023, at The Lord’s New Church in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, USA.
This was the eighth international retreat for Swedenborgian and New Church women. Please stop by our website to see pictures and videos from the event!

Gathering Leaves was started in 2004 to bring women of all the branches of our Swedenborgian tradition together to learn from one another, make new friends, and heal misunderstandings or divisions that we might have. It was founded on Revelation 22:2 “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” We measure its success by all the friends made and cherished over nearly twenty years, bringing the branches of the Swedenborgian community closer together. There will be enriching workshops to choose from, uplifting worship, and overall joy and fun in getting together. Limited financial assistance is available for travel and registration, please contact Jane Siebert, Steering Committee Chair at janesiebert@gmail.com.

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