Mystics ~ Center of Light

Mysticism is not a religion, it is rather a way to practice a certain religion. Mysticism is defined as distinctive practices, discourses, texts, institutions, traditions, and experiences aimed at human transformation, it is expressed differently in each religion.  There are mystics in Christianity, but there is also Judaism mysticism called Kaballah. Muslim mystics are Sufi. 

Christian Mysticism is the "spiritual process of coming into the experience of God at the center of one’s being." Mystics do this through practices of meditation, prayer and being in relationship with God on a daily basis, all in an attempt to know God with a personal relationship. Famous Christian mystics are St. Francis of Assisi and St. Catherine of Siena. 

Centers of Light otherwise called Order of Christ Sophia, are a Christian Mysticism self proclaimed Holy Order with multiple centers around the United States. They "teach, share, and cultivate spirituality through sacraments, meditation, seminars, classes, and practical instruction" and are unique to other denominations that they believe Jesus represents the masculine aspect of God and Mary represents the feminine aspect of God. The Order's Co-Founder, Peter Bowes, left in 2012 and the group saw a major shift to a more inclusive and collaborative spiritual community. 

I attended the Santa Fe Center of Light Church's 9:30 am service. 

The center was in a small commercial area in a suburb of Santa Fe. There was a small group. They start out with a 30 minute guided meditation. There were two licensed ministers who performed the service. There were hymns sung, then a reading from the bible. 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.         ~ Mark 12:30

One of the ministers, Leah Johnson, gave a sermon from The Poem of the Man God which is a text that was a forbidden text by the Vatican until the 1990's. It is an Italian nun, Maria Valtorta's, interpretation of the Gospels. The story told was one that compares Mother Mary to Lilies of the Valley with her humility. Then she talked to the two models that spirituality often speaks of - Wholeness and Perfection. The Wholeness approach is often referred to as the feminine model - inclusion, cooperation, and acceptance of all aspects of life and the world as some level. The Perfection model, often considered more the masculine of the two focuses on achievements, competition, and a results oriented approach. Johnson spoke of how the two should both be integrated and honored in spiritual studies. 

There was then Communion which everyone was welcome to receive regardless of their affiliations or beliefs. They first prayed over the wafers and wine. Their prayers, even the Lord's Prayer, incorporate Mary into them. The way they hold the Mother Mary in esteem and include her in their rituals and prayers, reminded me of some catholic practices. After the service, the members hugged one another. 

They offer a variety of classes, meditation times, and social events. 

THANK YOU Center of Light Church for allowing me to share your service with you. 

God's House Church

Apostolic Church is a pentecostal faith that believes in the "infallibility of the Bible, and it is founded on faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God" and seeks to have a faith practice based on first-century Christianity, in other words based on being an Apostle of Christ. The church teaches applying New Testament standards to everyday life. Most Apostolic Churches are part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). 

Founded in 1916 by an Evangelical Prayer team the Pettifords, God's House has been the hub of a vibrant and God loving community in Albuquerque for close to a Century. Eventhough God's House was one of the founding churches of the Mountain States Council which is a PAW organization, they no longer seem to be a member of that Organization. 

I attended God's House Church 11am Sunday Morning Celebration. 

God's House is an ethnically rich and diverse congregation that welcomes all to Worship God.  

A wonderful group of young adults performed the music for the service and they did a fantastic job. As is the norm in Pentecostal services - the congregation participated during the music - singing, clapping, and standing. 

And the Levites, of the children of the Korhites, STOOD UP to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.                                  ~ 2 Chronicles 20:19

NM State Treasurer, James Lewis, spoke briefly and introduced gubernatorial Candidate, Gary King  spoke to the congregation and shared a little about himself and his commitment to giving back to the community. 

Hallelujah 

The guest speaker was Pastor Barbara Norfor whose home church is in Roswell NM. Pastor Barbara was a Powerhouse of Praise. She encouraged us that even in the face of adversity - Don't Stop Praying - Don't Stop Believing - Because Something Good is Coming! It is vital to not give into the Despair of your circumstances and whatever comes your way DO NOT let it change your relationship with God. Glorify God in the life you live and the words you speak. She emphasized that rather than complaining about the things you don't want in life or that are challenges - everytime you open your mouth, it should be to praise God. 

Congregants who had prayer needs were asked to come to the front and prayed over.  

Their tithing ceremony was unique. Everyone first stood and blessed their offering then the ushers directed everyone up front where they deposited their envelopes into baskets. After the tithing procession many congregants left, but for those who stayed we witnessed an individual get baptized. 

THANK YOU God's House for letting me join in your Celebration of God. 

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe

Unitarians first came about in the 16th Century in Great Britain. They were reformist both in religion and in politics and they did not conform to the new Anglican State. They were called "Rational Dissenters." Unitarians originally were, "Christians who did not believe in the Holy Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Instead, they believed in the unity, or single aspect, of God." They intellectually stressed, "rational thinking, each person's direct relationship with God, and the humanity of Jesus."

In the 1800's, the faith broadened to more of a transcendental movement with such influences as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Universalists were originally Christians who believed in universal salvation and felt that all people would one day be reconciled with God. The movement came to America in the late 1700s. They are most well known for ordaining the first woman to full denominational authority, Olympia Brown, in 1863.   

In 1961, Unitarian and Universalist denominations on the most part consolidated. Eventhough UUs originated from Christianity, today it is a non-creedal faith and most present day congregations do not identify with being Christian. There are however a few UU Christian churches and a group of Unitarians that did not merge and are today called Christian Unitarians ~ most of these churches are on the east coast and in other countries. 

UUs are very intellectual in their beliefs. They believe in working toward social justice, religious naturalism, and supporting humanitarian issues.
I attended the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe Sunday 11am service. 

God's Love embraces the Whole Human Race!

They started the service by singing hymns and then lighting the Chalice. The Chalice is the symbol of their religion and is lite at the beginning of all services. 

Before the children went off to Sunday school, they gathered at the front and were told a story. 

There was a soloist, Karen Hall, who sang during a guided meditation. For applause, the congregation uses a silent clap by shaking the hands - the same as used in sign language.  

The guest speaker was Pastor Michael Dowd, an Evolutionary Theologian who believes in marrying Christianity with Science. 

A religion that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.   - Carl Sagan

Pastor Dowd shared that God is not like a clockmaker, overseeing a project, rather he is part of this World - everything from the Wind & Ocean to you and I. He said scientific and real evidence is God's language.  

He spoke of our greatest duty during our time on Earth is to act and be a Blessing to those of the Future and by doing so you will live a life that honors God. 

They ended the service with singing, extinguishing of the chalice and then a closing benediction - members all held hands for the closing words. They then shared in fellowship after the service. 

They were very friendly to me as a newcomer. 

THANK YOU - UU of Santa Fe for allowing us to see your form of Worship. 

Messianic Judaism - A Blending of Two Faiths

Messianic Jews believe Jesus is the Messiah that was promised in the Old Testament, yet they embrace the covenant responsibilities of the Torah & of Jewish life. They believe Jesus died for the sins of the human race, was raised from the dead, and is alive today. Traditional Jewish faiths believe in the pending arrival of the mashiach and recite the Shemoneh Esrei three times daily to pray for the coming Messiah. In Messianic Judaism, they refer to Jesus to by his Hebrew name, Yeshua HaMashiach.  

In the late 1800s, revivalist protestants in the United States and Europe, sought to tell Jewish people about Yeshua (the Hebrew word for God's Salvation) or Jesus. Some people did become followers of Yeshua during this time which sprang into whole congregations of Jewish believers of Jesus. This movement became known as "Hebrew Christianity." Messianic Congregations today generally include Jewish people who believe Jesus is the Messiah as well as Protestants who wish to worship God through historically rooted Jewish traditions.

I attended the 10:30 Shabbat Saturday service at Adat Yeshua 


Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.   
               בֵּית, יַעֲקֹב--לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה, בְּאוֹר יְהוָה.                   ~ Isaiah 2:5

Upon entering the Synagogue, there were yamulkes at the front available for men and many of them wore prayer shawls. 

Congregational Leader Jamie Shapiro lead the service and his wife Deena directed the music. There was an extensive amplified band. Mrs. Shapiro led the congregation in many musical numbers at the beginning of the service, she had a great exuberance about her and an obvious passion for her faith. I was surprised by how charismatic the musical part of the service was ~ people stood up and sang, raised their hands to the lord, and were very energetic.

He is My Defense, I Shall not be Moved

Jewish Liturgy:
• Bar'chu is the calling of the worship prayer, the prayer is recited while standing. During the second line of the prayer, the members bowed at the waist.

• Then the Shema or Sh'ma was performed, three biblical passages work together to create a model for remaining faithful to a belief in God and in God's unity. 

• People then greeted each with the peace offering, Shabbat Shalom. 

• A Kaddish prayer, which is a mourner's prayer, was said in remembrance of all who have died in the fight for Isreali's independence. A young man from the congregation, read from the holy book. Their Torah, scrolls, are kept in a cabinet called an "ark" in the Synagogue. 

• Yom Ha’atzmaut was the topic for the sermon, a Jewish holiday that will be observed on May 5th of this year. It commemorates the Israel's Independence day (May 14th, 1948)  - a significant day for those of both the Jewish and Messianic Jewish Faith. Pulpit Minister, David Harris gave the sermon, an historical breakdown of how the Jewish State of Israel came about. He discussed the father of the idea behind it, Theodor Herzl. It was an extremely interesting lecture. 

• They concluded the sermon by singing HaTikvah (The Hope — Israel's national anthem). The first time they sang it softly as a prayer, the second time was sung loudly as a declaration. 

• Communion was then offered. All of the congregation gathered around a table and a modified Kiddush prayer was said as a blessing of the wine. Each congregant took a morsel of Matzah bread and soaked it in wine or juice. 

• To conclude the service, the prayer Aleinu (“It is our duty to praise”) is said. People gathered in groups - they enveloped each other in prayer shawls and put their arms around each other. A young couple near me were kind enough to come up and adopt me into their prayer group.  

After each service, the congregation shares an Oneg Shabbat which means Joy of Sabbath. - it is a dinner where the congregants enjoy fellowship. 

There are so many different rituals involved in Judaism services. I know I have left many elements out, but it was a wonderful experience to be a part of - the cultural pride and religious sanctity was very impressive. 

THANK YOU Adat Yeshua for sharing with me your unique and meaningful worship of Adonai. 

Note: Since Hebrew is written in reverse of English - the Siddur (Jewish Prayer Book) goes backwards in numbering.