"A bride beautifully dressed for her husband" (Revelation 21) |
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The Lord is continually leading everyone toward what is good There are so many things in this imperfect world that seem inherently frustrating, even depressing. And yet, there are predictions in the Bible that give a glorious picture of a bright and uplifting future. This
Sunday we'll consider the vision at the end of the Biblical book of Revelation in which the apostle John describes "the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." (Revelation 21) It is a vision of "the church" which can be understood on a macro and a micro level.
Yet another
Notice: Annual Church Meeting - Sunday, June 10 at 12:15 pm Per our By-laws, which require us to hold an annual business meeting in May or June, we will convene said meeting after church, during our luncheon, on Sunday, June 10. As usual, I will do my best to keep the meeting relevant, useful, informative, and brief (about an hour). This is the meeting when we have
elections for Officers and Trustees. We also hear a financial report and a Pastor's report. Guest Speaker! I now have confirmation that for our Annual Meeting we will welcome a guest presenter, Mark Wyncoll, from our church headquarters in Bryn Athyn, PA. He is in charge of planned giving for our global church. I have invited him to talk about
his work and how he can help Sunrise Chapel specifically.
Thinking of you all with love and respect,
Nathan
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UPCOMING ACTIVITIES AT SUNRISE CHAPEL
11 am WORSHIP SERVICE 12 noon LUNCHEON
MONDAY
6/4/2018 11 am Tai Chi Basics 6:30 pm Bereavement Support
Group WEDNESDAY 6/6/2018 9:30 am Worship Team meeting
11 am Tai Chi Yang 24 Friendship Hall
7 pm Women's Group: Contact Elise Gladish for location 11 am Worship 12 noon LUNCHEON 12:15 ANNUAL MEETING in Friendship
Hall
Update on Arizona Mountain Camp July 13-22,
2018 |
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MORE ABOUT THE ELKS YOUTH CAMP - OUR NEW LOCATION! This is a photo showing the bathhouse on the left and two of the
sleeping cabins to the right. The main gathering place (dining room, meeting hall, and kitchen) is to the left of the bathhouse. There are about 8 steps (with handrails) up from the dining room to the bathhouse, and then there are several steps (with handrails) into each cabin. For those familiar with the camp we used to use on Mt. Lemmon, the Elks Youth Camp is not as hilly. So far, several people have visited the Elks Youth Camp to see for themselves what it's like. Ask Mike Villeburn or Wes Babcock for their observations. Several others are hoping to stop by early in June to get a personal tour.
If you want the "customary" "church-oriented" experience of previous years, come the first weekend (Friday, July 13 through Monday, July 16). That is when we will include many of the features that we have enjoyed over the years - worship, sharing
groups, entertainment, crafts, etc.
If you want a more relaxed, more informal, and reflective experience come up anytime Monday afternoon, July 16 through Sunday afternoon, July 22. This will be a time for anyone, especially parents and grandparents with young children, to enjoy community with activities
planned as the spirit moves people.
The theme of the camp will be Spiritual Growth featuring the recently published deck of 52 spiritual task
cards. Location: The camp is about 150 miles from Sunrise Chapel, about 45 miles north of Globe.
Workman's Creek is part of the watershed that empties into the Salt River Valley below and then forms Roosevelt Lake. The road that ascends from the Salt River in the valley to the campground reminds me of going up Mt. Lemmon before there were any guardrails. Beautiful vistas. The final mile to the camp is on
a lightly maintained dirt road (approximately 1 mile).
Map: From Sunrise Chapel, the drive to camp is at
least 3 hours and 15 minutes depending on the condition of the roads. Here is a link to a page of maps. http://www.elks4kids.org/campmap.html Elks Lodge information: http://www.elks4kids.org/camp.html You Tube video: https://youtu.be/LSRQUgVCMhc We have reserved the camp from Friday, July 13 through Sunday, July 22.
Anyone is invited to be part of the planning team. Linda Waddell has offered to organize meal planning and preparation. Christine
Morey has offered to be the Camp Director.
The registration form is being completed. Stay tuned!!
Nathan |
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Another weekly UPDATE
on Special Financial Request See RED notes below for current data |
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Once again, THANK YOU to everyone who gives to the general operating fund! Your generosity helps keep Sunrise Chapel serving. And as we approach the end of our fiscal year on June 30, please consider giving what you can to help meet our budget goals. Every donation to the general operating
fund is needed and useful.
Thank you, also, to a few people who have contributed to our two current matching opportunities.
If you have been waiting and wondering how this will play out, I encourage you to contribute in the next couple of weeks! Our deadline is June 30.
Between now and June 30, extra donations to two funds will be MATCHED. Your contributions will be DOUBLED! 1. Recently, the Asplundh Foundation awarded us a grant for special projects to enhance our programs and facilities. Part of the agreement is for Sunrise Chapel to raise $1,500 in local contributions. In turn, the Foundation will award us $9,250! This week we received a pledge for another $50 donation, making our local total $1,013, so now we just have $487 left to raise. Any amount
helps! 2. The Endowment Fund is a new initiative to provide income in perpetuity to sustain the uses of Sunrise Chapel. Since it was launched in December 2017, we have already accumulated $4,000! Additional local contributions up to $1,000 will be matched
until June 30 by a remote donor, bringing the overall total to $6,000. Please consider donating to this important cause. This week we received a pledge for another donation of $50, making our total so far $760, so now we just need $240 to get the full match! Even small donations help towards
our goal. These are exciting additions to our financial future! Donations can be made to "Sunrise Chapel." Just include a memo to our Treasurer, Bill Smith, specifying your preference. To donate online through our PayPal feature click on the Donate button above, or go to http://sunrisechapel.org/donate/ To donate by check, the mailing address is Sunrise Chapel, 8421 E Wrightstown Rd., Tucson, AZ 85715. |
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Readings for this
Sunday's church service |
The Apostle John's Vision of a New Jerusalem Revelation 21:1-5, 9-14
Then I (John) saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared
as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this
down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
One of the seven angels... came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the
gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The Inner or Spiritual Meaning of "the New Jerusalem" New Jerusalem 1 - Swedenborg
When people read the above quotation from Revelation, they understand it only in literal terms. They think that the visible heavens are going to be destroyed along with the earth and that new heavens are going to come into being and come down onto the new earth in the form of a holy city, a Jerusalem with the dimensions given in the description.
Angels understand it in a
completely different way, though. They understand in a spiritual way the details that we understand in an earthly way, and they understand what those details really mean. This is the inner or spiritual meaning of the Word. In the deeper or spiritual meaning that angels are engaged in, a new heaven and a new earth mean a new church both in heaven and on earth. The holy city coming down from God out of heaven means its heavenly teachings. Its length, breadth, and height, which were equal, mean
everything in those teachings that is good and true, all gathered together. Its wall means the truths that protect it.
This is what the spiritual meaning of the Word is like; the earthly or literal meaning serves as its foundation. These two meanings, the spiritual and the earthly, are bound together by their correspondence.
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Helping people experience heavenly joy through spiritual growth www.sunrisechapel.org
nathan@sunrisechapel.org Office 520-298-1245
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