Christmas Lights

The December Holiday edition of the Chaplain's Corner by Pastor Dave, SCYL Chaplain

In the dark December days, there is a blessed light. The whole month seems to be filled with Christmas cheer. Lights go up on houses and trees. Decorations go up inside houses. People seem happier. The dark December days are lit up with the cheer of Christmas.

Our church calendar is also brightened with the coming of Christmas. We think of that little baby in the manger, of innocent shepherds, of the chorus of angels singing praises to the newborn Christ child. This is a season that especially honors the family. In this season, motherhood is placed in the center of religious observance. Christmas is especially about that special bond between a mother and her child.

Christmas demands a great leap of faith. Our theology teaches that in Christ’s birth, God came to humanity. The word Immanuel in Hebrew means “God with us.” And that is what this church teaches. The miracle of Christ’s birth is that God took on a human form. God came to a world that was darker than December nights. The Word of God had been replaced with rituals and customs of men. Inhumanity reigned free. Horrible acts of cruelty were commonplace.

Into that darkness a light was born. Into an insignificant manger, a baby and his mother celebrated the miracle of birth. Into a quiet manger, a baby was born who would transform the world. This is what Christmas means to me. It means all of the above: cheer, Christmas lights, giving gifts, the bond of mother and child, and the coming of God into the darkest night, in the darkest age of humanity. This Christmas season, let Christ come into your hearts. Let Christ’s Spirit fill you with joy. Let Christ’s love shine through you. Celebrate the coming of Immanuel, and let God be with you.

Former League President Rev. Dr. David Fekete

We continue our profile on former SCYL Presidents ~ Where are they now?

This month's featured former League President:

Rev. Dr. David Fekete
Served 1973

(current SCYL Chaplain)

[Dave at age 19]

When I became President of the SCYL, things were pretty dismal. I was elected at Convention in 1973. There were maybe 7 of us, and that represented about how big the SCYL was then. Church membership was falling off at alarming rates. There was no League Journal. There were only us few. It looked to us like the SCYL was going to die out.

I decided to revive the Journal that year. We gave it the title Clear Blue Sky, because we had hopes for a new, greater future.

[Dave preaching at age 13 in the Almont Chapel]

That summer I was hitch-hiking across the US and Canada. People were doing that back then, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend it today. I decided to visit all the leaguers who were spread across the country and get in touch with them. I also got their addresses so we could send them Clear Blue Sky and keep those in touch who were spread out, though there weren’t many. We published a Journal each month from Detroit, where I lived then.

We had Christmas retreats at Almont then. But the only minister there was the Detroit minister, and most of the leaguers were from the Detroit church. We got a few from New England. As it is today, we all had a great time together. We enjoyed religious sessions and having fun with each other.

[Rev. Dr. Dave today]

It is thrilling for me to see how the SCYL has grown since I was president. You now have significant numbers and close ties of friendship. The SCYL is a strong organization now. The hopes we had way back in 1973 of a vibrant youth group are realized today. And the SCYL is growing stronger by the day.

Fryeburg Youth Group Christmas Sleepover

Our Christmas sleepover was great last Saturday night. Eleven of us gathered at the Fryeburg New Church to swap gifts, eat spaghetti, talk Swedenborg, play Sardines (of course), Apples to Apples, Psychiatrist, and other reindeer games. Hungry Hungry Hippo and the Rudolph play set keep us entertained. Holly and Celie came from Portland and joined the Fryeburg teens. Ian was the only boy, so that was quite interesting (he did not stay overnight, but left late and returned in the morning). As it was the first snowfall, once it got dark the teens made a little snowman and snuck around outside the church hunting each other and attacking with snowballs. This raised suspicion amongst the local residents who called the police suspecting foul play or a b&e in progress! A police officer crept in the church at 1 am and quietly came downstairs to observe what was going on (a rousing game of Apples to Apples). When we heard the upstairs door open and close, of course we suspected a ghost. When the officer came around the corner, all the girls screamed! I'm surprised he didn't pull out his gun. Lee and I straightened out the situation and then we had a good laugh. We went to bed around 1:30 am and then got up to a bagel breakfast and worship. This was a really fun overnight. I hope even more teens can join us for our next sleepover in the spring.

Teen Profile: Dorothy

Awhile back, in April actually, I got the chance to get to know Dorothy at the annual Kitchener/Waterloo Spring retreat. I was amazed at her talent as a writer and artist. She is 19 now (first drawing here is a self portrait of her) and is happily finished with High School and moving on to bigger things. Dorothy gave me a little profile of herself so I could share a bit about her and her wonderful work with the other teens in the SCYL.

Dorothy is 19 years old and attends the Church of the Good Shepherd church in Kitchener, Ontario. She loves Zelda and Manga. Dorothy has been writing a Zelda Fan Fiction trilogy for more then 4 years now. Along with her writing, she creates amazingly edgy and imaginative illustrated characters and scenes. Her Swedenborgian faith influences her Zelda stories greatly. She particularly draws inspiration from imagery in the book of Revelation such as the 7 headed dragon (Rev 12:3), 7 headed horned leopard beast out of the sea (Rev 13:1,2), the horned ram that speaks like a dragon out of the earth (Rev 13:11) and the two edged sword (Rev 1:16). We I emailed Dorothy this week to get her permission to share her artwork on this blog, she mentioned to me that she is rewriting her fan fiction as her style has matured. She plans to rework her links to Swedenborg's writings by making them more accurate and impacting. I can't wait to see what she does. If you like Manga, Zelda or just appreciate original art check out her work here:

http://www.link-reborn.deviantart.com/.

Dorothy is a gifted artist and her stuff is awesome. I think you'll be impressed. Feel free to leave her a message, comment or review. I'm sure she would love to hear from you.

Winter Retreat Primer

This year's winter retreat is practically here! This is a big one. If you've never been to a SCYL retreat before, this is one to go to if you can.

Those of you who have been before already know this!

If you are a teen on the mailing list, you should have received your flyer by now. If you didn't get one, please let me know. The staff this year is shaping up great. Sessions leaders include League Chaplain, Rev David Fekete, Rev Alison Longstaff and Rev Jenn Tafel. The teen group is large and energized. The SCYL nominations and elections will take place at this retreat too. I think they will be interesting and exciting this time around. If you've read your flyer, you know about the retreat theme. I've included stuff about the theme below for those of you who haven't seen it yet. I know you all come to retreats for the engaging theme and the sessions; not to hang out with friends, go skating, eat pizza, play Ultimate Frisbee in the snow/mud, and watch movies so I wanted to make sure that you had all the information about the topic ;-). I'm looking forward to seeing all of you. I know this will be a great retreat. With such a fantastic group of teens - how could it not be!

Our retreat theme: Baffled by the Bible?

Understanding Biblical Controversies

Most teens do not like to be told what to do. It is all part of the process of growing up and breaking away from parental control. Teens rebel against those in power, fight against establishment, and struggle to create their own environment. This is quite contrary to most existing Christian faiths, where laws and rules about what to believe and what to do are laid out pretty clearly and obedience is expected.

But this isn’t how Christianity started out. Jesus was all about rebellion and revolution. He was a huge risk taker and ultimately it cost him his life. The early followers and leaders of Christianity were minorities and nonconformists. Most were persecuted and killed. Then there is the Bible an ancient collection of stories, laws, prophecy, and prayers. Filled with rules handed down by God through men and principles taught by Jesus and his early followers. The message is often do this or else!

Now, here we are in the twenty-first century, 2000 years after the time of Jesus. We try to fit scripture together with science, politics and the myriad Christian sects with their varied beliefs and as a result become totally confused. Is it that the Bible and today’s modern world just don’t work together? Religion does not seem to play well with science and technology. And why does it often appear that God is just sitting on the sidelines ignoring the whole show?

These are the questions and dilemmas that we will explore at this retreat. The Swedenborgian church offers satisfying and unique perspectives on many controversial issues. These age old questions have practical answers that you can believe in, trust and understand. Come to this retreat and realize resolution.

Former League President Kathryn Pruiett

We continue our profile on former SCYL Presidents ~ Where are they now?

This month's featured former League President:

Kathryn Pruiett

Served 1987 - 1988

Kathryn as a teen at winter retreat

Where is she now?

My name is Kathryn Pruiett (used to be Rienstra).
I was President of the NCYL (New Church Youth
League as we knew it) in 1987 and 1988. Those
were truly wonderful years!!!!! Now I am a
mother of two wonderful children and have been
married for 15 years. I also work full time as a
Supervisor/data analyst for AT&T (used to be SBC
or Southwestern Bell Telephone). I have been
with the company for 12 years.  

The years I spent in the league have helped shape
who I am, and always serve as a foundation in all
the decisions I have made, and will make.

TrueTube Retreat in LaPorte

TrueTube? That was the question we pondered at the youth retreat in LaPorte. Ten teens gathered at Manna House over the weekend in late October to look at and discuss video created by teens or concerning relevant teen issues and/or spirituality. We explored how popular culture relates to Swedenborgian theology and considered how closely this reality matches our own personal experience. Prior to the retreat, I spent several days scouring YouTube for interesting, relevant retreat-worthy topics to view with teens. I ended up finding about 25 videos that I sorted into 5 topics (God, religion, the afterlife, life’s big questions, and interfaith music). The videos represented a wide cross-section of culture. They varied greatly – some serious, some funny; some animated, some photographic; some scripted and acted, some spontaneous improv. It was extremely enlightening to view popular video on these subjects. I learned a lot. When I searched for “God” and “religion” I was particularly surprised at how much and how popular anti-religion and anti-God commentary was. But, for the most part, the God that was ridiculed was not the God the I worshiped and the religion that was attacked was not what I believed.

We spent the weekend retreat doing mini-sessions, where we would watch a video and then discuss it. In between sessions, we visited a funky coffee house, played Catch Phrase, hung out and talked, or listened to music. Vince spent much of his time drawing pictures of me on his notepad as various animate and inanimate objects. He managed to fill the whole book. Very funny. I can’t pick a favorite, but I like Kurt as a microwave, Kurt as a rainbow and Kurt if he were invisible. Since no one took any pictures (sorry about that) I thought I'd post a few here. I’ll try to remember to bring the pad to winter retreat so you can see them all. On Saturday night we had a big movie party with loads of popcorn and candy. We watched three movies, White Noise 2, Fired Up and What Dreams May Come, until 3 am. Most everyone fell asleep at some point during the movies. We awoke Sunday morning just in time to run over to the church to catch the beginning of the worship service. Then we headed downstairs to do one last session where we were joined by Ashley and Emily. For the last session we watched a series of short music videos on different faiths including; Tao, Hindu, Islam, Jewish, Christian and Native American. We closed with a prayer circle then said our goodbyes. Although we missed our friends from Michigan and Ohio, this retreat was great. You teens taught me quite a bit and I had a wonderful time. I hope that you found something valuable to take back home with you too. If you discover anything interesting on YouTube that you think might be nice to share with your SCYL friends pass me the link. Thanks.

Angels and Demons

The October Halloween edition of the Chaplain's Corner by Pastor Dave, SCYL Chaplain

We are constantly surrounded by angels and demons, and they influence us. They usually don’t affect our physical lives, but they do affect the way we think and feel. Demons exert their efforts to try to destroy our lives. Demons are not a special class of being, they are just mean people who have passed over to the next life. In the next life they remain the same as they were on earth—mean. On earth, demons tried to ruin people’s lives so in the next life they are the same. They try to ruin our spirit. They try to fill our minds with self-doubt, with messages that we are worthless, with messages that we are bad people. They can fill our emotions with anger against other people. They can make us think we are superior to others. In short, they fill our minds and hearts with dark forces.

But we also have angels who are with us. The angels are not a special class of being—they are simply good people who have passed over to the next life. The angels try to fend off the demons. They try to fill us with positive and encouraging thoughts and good feelings. Angels fill us with love for other people, for God, and for the things of religion. They tell us that our lives are cared for by God and that everything will be alright.

We have a choice as to who we will listen to, and to which kind of spiritual company we will keep. We can choose to attract angels or demons. By asking God into our lives, we surround ourselves with God’s power and love and we also surround ourselves with angels. When we have God in our hearts and when we are surrounded by angels, we have peace of mind, and joy.

Cody and MB

Cody and MB kept us all laughing at Blairhaven with their crazy dancing and antics. Thought you would all appreciate a taste of what we enjoyed!

Former League President Ernie Eckberg

We continue our profile on former SCYL Presidents ~ Where are they now?

October's featured former League President:

Ernie Eckberg
Served 1966 - 1968

What did he do and where is he now?

I have been in Texas since 1967. I'm in my 37th year of being in the floor covering business. I specialize in custom motorcoach flooring.

I felt blessed that I was able to serve the local church in Elmwood and going to Convention to be elected President. I felt blessed that Convention allowed me to travel the country to visit the local leagues and to be an encourager for the youth. I was blessed to be asked to co-edit the Messenger with Rev Bob Kirven. I felt blessed to interview the President of Convention, Rev. Dick Tafel Sr. for my contribution to the Messenger. They, Corrinne and Dick let me stay at their home while I was in Philly. And Stewart Poole opened his home for me, also.

In my short 3 year term, I flew or drove to so many locations and met with so many folks that it would take me quite a while to assemble that list. I remember the last convention I attended and that was in Urbana. I was the outgoing president of the ANCL- American New Church League. I remember Sherry Fekete being there and we were good friends. I helped organize Conventions in Brockton, Philly and at Harvey Mudd College in California. I also served on General Council being asked to fill the unexpired seat of one of the members that had passed away.

The church has been the most influential part of my life. We are isolated members and have joined a couple churches here in Texas. There always seems to be a void in our life when we attend those church services - as we feel that what is being preached is not what we believe. Thus we do a lot of reading and praying by ourselves. I never felt the need for having a crowd around when I talk to the Lord.
[Editor note: Current Church President Chris Laitner was youth league secretary when Ernie was youth league President]

2009 Columbus Day Retreat at Blairhaven

The 2009 Columbus Day retreat (known as Blairhaven, as it is the only time a teen retreat is currently held here) was spectacular! As SCYL President Nina Sasser put it, "Best Blairhaven ever". We all learned so much about Swedenborg's famous fans. Rev. Lee taught us all about the amazing things that notable readers of Swedenborg like Blake, Jung, Cowherd, Emerson and MLK Jr. did with their lives. And Rev. Susannah vividly shared with us the life of Helen Keller by play the part and giving us the opportunity to experience blind, deaf disco bowling! At the Elmwood church on Sunday, we identified people that we admire and discovered traits that we have in common with them or would like to have. Back at Blairhaven, Rev. Lee explained how important it is to make positive change in your self to bring positive change into the world.

Of course, retreats are also all about fun with friends, and this retreat had plenty of that! Cody came all the way from LaPorte. Rev. Kevin Baxter made a visit on Sunday afternoon with Ephraim. The annual mudwalk turned into a frenzied mud wrestle. Blind deaf disco bowling certainly spiced things up. Brownie movie night was as yummy as ever and we laughed to Fired Up and screamed to Signs (some of us laughed at both ;-) ). We even got to take a hike up to the Myles Standish Monument, which was something we haven't had a chance to do for several years (and got a fun picture of our staged break in). And although Killer Croquet took a hiatus, I think all will agree that this Columbus Day retreat at Blairhaven was one to remember.

KURT'S AND CHRIS'S EPIC CONVERSATION!

comic from http://the-lawn.net/comics.htm "truth" by Liz Popolo '04

Chris and I had a fun Facebook exchange over the last week. Thought I’d post it to the blog. It’s very long (lol), which is part of the fun. It all started with…………..

Chris: God is nothing else but truth, and if we can see truth, we can see God; but out inner eyes are too weak to be able to gaze on truth itself. September 23 at 9:17pm

Chris’ friend: Where’s this coming from? September 23 at 9:19pm

Kurt: Where's the love? September 23 at 9:57pm

Chris: I'm not saying that there isn't a God, I'm saying that we can't see God until we die and go to heaven, and that's if our soul is good or not. The reason, I think, that we can see God if our soul is good or not, is because God is the ultimate form of good, therefore, when we partake in good, i.e., our soul being good, and truly being good, not like a good dog, or a good city. Being good for the sake of being, is when we can only see God and we can only stay truly good forever after we are dead, unchanging. There's a lot of love!
September 23 at 11:26pm

Chris’ friend: That is some serious deep thought for a Wednesday. I generally reserve that for Friday nights. September 23 at 11:47pm

Chris: Why Fridays? September 23 at 11:53pm

Kurt: Very nice, Chris. I asked, "Where's the love" in reference to you saying God is nothing else but truth. I believe God is the perfect union of truth and good (or wisdom and love). You clarified in your last comment by adding that God is the ultimate form of good (and not just truth). I like what you say, and generally agree. Good stuff. September 24 at 11:37am

Chris’ friend: Because Friday is the day for sitting around and chilling until you go out. And I was also making a joke. And this whole thing really contradicts Wiccan doesn’t it? Unless you lied on your Facebook information. September 24 at 1:04pm

Kurt: Chris wouldn't lie! Just ask his wife. September 24 at 1:18pm

Chris: Haha. Thanks Kurt, and yea I know... about my wife, we got married in Vegas. We have a kid now :s September 24 at 3:03pm

Kurt: Well....congratulations! September 24 at 5:39pm

Chris: You said you generally agree, what don't you agree with? I'm not mad, I'm just wondering. September 24 at 5:42pm

Kurt: Well, it's a bit deep and we could discuss it further at the October retreat, but basically, I don't think anyone can truly see God. Even the highest angels cannot look directly at God. That said, I also think that we can get glimpses of God while we're here on earth still in our natural bodies. To use a reference from the Harry Potter series, the veil between our world and the next is a lot thinner then most people think. When we are "in the zone" we are pretty much in heaven already. September 24 at 5:50pm

Kurt: As for truth, God is divine truth. We are not God and can never fully know divine truth (even as angels), but I think we can get closer and closer to that level of understanding as long as we remain on a good and positive path towards the divine. September 24 at 6:04pm

Chris: I guess my question(s) for that is then, if we can achieve heaven here on earth, like being "in the zone", why do we obsess so much over getting to heaven, when, some of us are already in it, and most of us have been in it. And if we fall out this "zone" does this make us bad people? How do we get to this said "zone", do we have to be good or can a person who sins on purpose achieve this? I think that the word 'good' is too iffy. I think that there is no bad, just lesser of good. Like Plato writes (something like this, not the exact) basically, there is a perfect form of good (which appears to be that which Augustine thought was God) and then we have objects. Everything that is, simply takes part of this perfect good, which I remind you, is more of an idea. Something that we call "bad" is just not as good as it’s counterpart. Let’s say we have a "good" marker, we say that because it marks well, and then we have a "bad" marker, we say this because it marks poorly. The "bad" marker is not bad, it just has less good than the "good" marker. I think that we can apply this to the idea of God. Someone who is a, lets say... Apostle and someone that is a Sinner. The Apostle is not better than the Sinner, it's just that the Apostle takes part of God more, which is considered, good. Simply the Sinner has less "good" than the Apostle. Kind of confusing but there it is. September 24 at 11:32pm

Kurt: Lots of great questions!!! Way too many to address on a Fb wall! I like your examples of good vs. bad (I also agree that there is not a universal bad or devil, just lesser amounts of good). I hope you are coming to the LaPorte retreat so we can kick this stuff around a lot more. Also, in the meantime, you might want to take a look at the scyl blog (if you haven't already). Dr Dave wrote a nice series on truth, good and love (April, July and August, respectively). September 25 at 1:29pm

Chris: Lol, I will read the blog thing. Speaking of the retreat, when is that? The weekend before Halloween? September 25 at 4:47pm

Kurt: Yes. the weekend before Halloween. And in case we do not get a chance to talk at the retreat, I should at least address a couple of your questions. Heaven is not a place. It has no location (or perhaps every location is a better way to state it). It is a state. It is accessible to all at any time, but we cannot stay in a heavenly state for an extended period of time or even truly know that we are there while we are in an earthly body. There is just too much noise, falsity, hatred and confusion on the natural level to allow us to remain in heaven. Angels in our heavenly community can see us when we are there, but we cannot converse with them. You asked how you get into the zone. You are in the zone whenever your passion, thoughts and actions align with your heavenly purpose or in Swedenborgian terms, your ruling love. You are not "bad" when out of the zone. Just not aligned completely with your own personal heavenly community. September 25 at 10:39pm

Chris: If heaven is not a place that we "go" after we die (and just for the record I didn't think that heaven was a place, not being bitter also), what happens after we die? Do Swedenborgians believe in past lives and things like that? When we die we will go onto become another being, or when you're dead, you're dead? If that is the definition of the "zone" I don't think I've ever had that.. :s Gotta work on that, haha. September 25 at 11:22pm

Kurt: Basically, after we die, we live on. As spirits we remain ourselves, only even more "real" and more our true nature then while on earth. Angels and demons are just people no longer in their earthly bodies. In fact, some people who die suddenly don't know that they are dead at first. They wake up and think that they are just waking from a long sleep. Gradually, our outer layers slip away and our internal self becomes transparent for all to see. We no longer have "masks" and as we can no longer hide our inner self. We migrate into the heavenly or hellish community that most closely matches the life the we have led (what we have taken on as our ruling love) on earth. God does not throw or force people anywhere they don't already want to go. You are a collection of your own choices and once you are truly free to chose and cannot hide your inner self, you move into heaven or "cast" yourself into hell. God always insures you are as happy as you can be given your freedom of choice. Sat at 10:12am

Chris: Very nice. What do you base this off of (and by you I mean the Swedenborgians)? Just the writings of Swedenborg? I personally think that there is no hell the way people normally think of it, as in hell being bad. I think that "hell' is not flames and despair, it's just not heaven. Sun at 1:36am

Kurt: Yes. The writings of Swedenborg. Man, you sound so Swedenborgian. I'll bring a copy of Heaven and Hell to the retreat. You can keep it. It's a great introduction to Swedenborg's experience of the afterlife and whether your Swedenborgian or not, you should definitely check it out. Sun at 8:59am

Chris: Will do! I also want to get Suma Theologica by Thomas Aquanis or however you spell his name [Aquinas], but the real thing is like 1000+ pages and over 1000 dollars. How do I sound Swedenborgian? Sun at 12:22pm

Kurt: Lol, how don't you sound Swedenborgian! Your views on truth, afterlife, god, etc. of course, differences too. It's all good. Sun at 12:39pm

Chris: I'm not saying there is a God, I'm just saying that if this is all true I think this is how it'd be. Personally, I don't believe in God, but like I said, I think this is how it'd be if there was. Sun at 12:42pm

Kurt: I'm curious what God you don't believe in. I might not believe in that God either. Sun at 2:11pm

Chris: Well, I think that the flying spaghetti monster isn't real. But I'm saying that I don't think I believe in God at this moment in time. Maybe I will later on in life. Sun at 2:45pm

Kurt: I'm cool with that. Now, I have a question for you. I've had the pleasure of knowing many teens that don't believe in God. Why are they usually the ones with the clearest, most thoughtful and enlightened views of God, heaven and the next life?
Sun at 10:14pm

Chris: I think it is because, when the teens that you are talking about [the ones that don’t believe in God] don't just say it because they think it's cool and hip. They research, look for different religions that support their ideas, discuss, and most of all think about what they are saying. I'm not saying that the smart ones choose that there is no God. I'm just saying that these teens have not found any "proof" to say that there is. Proof is also a iffy word, so I can't clearly define it. These teens are not ok with just accepting that there is a God, and continue to worship that God for the rest of their life. If they are going to worship, they will research, and try to find what they believe to be the right answer. Sun at 11:21pm

Kurt: Thanks. Sounds reasonable. So not believing in God doesn't equal not believing in life after death? Mon at 9:35am

Chris: No, it does not. I also think that they [again, those that do not believe in God] have the best ideas of heaven and all that jazz because we are challenged to answer those questions, by other people, priests, and things of the like. Mon at 12:22pm

Kurt: Do you mind if I copy our Fb conversation and post it on the scyl blog? I think others might be interested in reading what we have been discussing. If you'd rather I didn't, that is ok too. Mon at 10:21pm

Chris: No no no, by all means go ahead. Will you post it and it'll be like,
KURT'S AND CHRIS'S EPIC CONVERSATION! Please :s Mon at 10:22pm

Kurt: Ok. That will be the title. Mon at 10:27pm