Posted on 10/27/2004 1:28:00 AM PDT by Blogger
A Women’s Eucharist A Celebration of the Divine Feminine http://www.episcopalchurch.org/41685_52038_ENG_HTM.htm 10/8/2004
We gather around a low table, covered with a woven cloth or shawl. A candle, a bowl or vase of flowers, a large shallow bowl filled with salted water, a chalice of sweet red wine, a cup of milk mixed with honey, and a plate of raisin cakes are placed on the table. When all are seated on the floor and comfortable, one of the women lights the candles saying,
"Mother God, Giver of light, let this flame illumine our hearts and minds. May its warmth remind us of the love in which you embrace us all. We thank you, Mother, for light."
Placing both hands on the fabric covering the table, one of the women says,
"We thank you, Mother, for the hands that wove this cloth. May her life be rich and full. We thank you for the colors, the textures, and the patterns that cover our sacred time and places. We thank you for the wisdom of the weaver’s art, the glory of the interplay of thread and cord. May we be woven together with cords of love and trust as we weave the vision of our lives."
Gathering the flowers to her face, another woman says,
"Blessed are you, Mother God, for the fertility of this world. We thank you for the sight and scent of flowers, for the way their shape evokes in us the unfolding of our own sexuality, and for their power to remind us of the glory and the impermanence of physical beauty. May our days of blossoming and of fading be days spent in your presence."
Dipping her fingers into the bowl of salt water, one of the women says,
"Sisters, this is the water of life. From the womb of the sea, Mother Earth brought forth life. From the womb waters of our own bodies our children are born. In the womb shaped fonts of our churches, we are baptized into community. This is the water of life." Touching the water again, she continues. "This, too, is the water of our tears. Our power to weep is an expression of God’s love in and through us. We weep in sorrow for that which we have lost. We weep in anger for the pain of others. We weep in hope of healing and wholeness, and we weep in joy when our hearts are too full to contain our feelings."
Dipping her fingers in the water, each traces a tear on the cheek of the woman beside her saying,
"Remember, sister, tears are the water of life."
The chalice of sweet red wine is raised and a woman says,
"Blessed are you, Mother God, for you have given us the fruit of the earth. Red as blood, warm as life itself, sweet and intoxicating as love. We thank you for wine. We bless you for the power of this drink to remind us of our own power. We praise you for the strength and beauty of our bodies, and for the menstrual blood of womanhood. We embrace the mystery of life which you have entrusted to us, and we pray for the day when human blood is no longer shed and when woman’s blood is honored as holy and in your image."
The cup is passed hand to hand and all drink from it.
The cup of milk and honey is raised and a woman says,
"Thank you, Mother, for the abundance of life. Thank you for the rich, full, pleasing, and life giving milk of our bodies. Thank you for the children who drink from our breasts for they bring sweetness to our lives. We drink this cup as your daughters, fed from your own bosom. May we be proud of our nurturing and sustaining selves. May we honor our breasts as symbols of your abundance. Thank you for the milk and honey of your presence with us."
The cup is passed and shared by all.
The plate of raisin cakes is raised and a woman says,
"Mother God, our ancient sisters called you Queen of Heaven and baked these cakes in your honor in defiance of their brothers and husbands who would not see your feminine face. We offer you these cakes, made with our own hands; filled with the grain of life -- scattered and gathered into one loaf, then broken and shared among many. We offer these cakes and enjoy them too. They are rich with the sweetness of fruit, fertile with the ripeness of grain, sweetened with the power of love. May we also be signs of your love and abundance."
The plate is passed and each woman takes and eats a cake.
When all have eaten, they say together:
"We thank you, Mother, for revealing yourself to us in the mystery of our womanhood. We thank you for the water of life in which we swam in the womb and which gives us the power to weep. We thank you for the blood of life which flows in and from our bodies and which makes us creators in your image as we give birth to new life. We thank you for the milk and honey of life which we receive from our mothers and which we give to our own children. And we thank you for the rich, sweet, and savory taste of life found in the grain of the earth and the fruit of the vine -- the gifts of your body shared with us. May we cherish it and ourselves always, and may we live in your peace."
The Rev. Glyn Lorraine Ruppe Melnyk St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church 689 Sugartown Road Malvern, PA 19355
Here is some on that ReImaging conference. I think the Presbyterians officially pulled out after 1993. But the World Council of Churches remained a supporter.
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/reimaging.htm
I see a major split for the Episcopal church and it may not survive that split.
The ELCA is in full communion with the ECUSA.
http://www.elca.org/ecumenical/fullCommunion/episcopal/index.html
So is the devil.
LOL. "And honey, while you're in the kitchen baking those raisin cakes, bring me another beer, and make sure you don't spill too much of it to the Queen of Heaven."
"I think the Presbyterians officially pulled out after 1993.", I don't think so, Sophia worship is alive and well in the Presbyterian USA.
It has never been condemned in the official circles of the church.
Here is one of there prayers to Sophia:
"Our maker Sophia, we are women in your image: With the hot blood of our wombs we give form to new life ... Our mother Sophia, we are women in your image: with nectar between our thighs we invite a lover, we birth a child; With our warm body fluids we remind the world of its pleasures and sensations."
PFR missed positive attributes of declaration
November 7, 2003
Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) has missed some of the positive attributes of the Presbyterian Lay Committee's (PLC), A Declaration of Conscience. Additionally, there is a need for an outside perspective of our denomination.
For such a perspective, let's consider the Barna Research's study, "Practical Outcomes Replace Biblical Principles as the Moral Standard" from Sept. 10, 2001. If one believes that the glass is more than half full, it will be surprising to learn that more mainline Protestants agree that abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances (50 percent) than the general public (41 percent). Also, the difference between mainline Protestants and the general public who agree that sexual relations between consenting adults of the same gender should be legal was essentially the same (almost 50 percent). This compares with 35 percent of those who attend non-mainline Protestant churches. On the whole, there was little difference between the general public and those who attend mainline Protestant churches. Regarding theological beliefs, Barna Research's study, "Religious Beliefs Vary Widely By Denomination" from June 25, 2001, provided similar results. The general public and Presbyterians:
Strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches (41 percent and 40 percent, respectively).
Strongly agree that they have a personal responsibility to tell others about their religion (32 and 33 percent).
Strongly disagree that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others. they will earn a place in heaven (30 and 31 percent).
45 percent of all Presbyterians strongly disagree that Jesus Christ committed sins while on earth compared with the general public (40 percent).
In this study, "Presbyterians" represented all Presbyterian denominations collectively. In general, Presbyterians from the PCUSA are less traditional/ orthodox than those from other Presbyterian denominations. If this study included only PCUSA Presbyterians, it would be expected that the theological beliefs of "Presbyterians" would have been less orthodox/ traditional than the general public.
Is the glass half empty or half full? Is optimism for our denomination warranted (not to be confused with faith in God)?
A Declaration of Conscience calls us to be "faithful stewards of all that he has entrusted to us and has called us as officers of our congregations to ensure that offerings are consistently used to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and carryout out his Great Commission." The PLC has clearly stated its evaluation of the denomination. They are asking us to prayerfully study these issues as well. If there is hope for renewal and reform from within, then our local congregations need to be actively engaged in the life of our denomination.
PFR's statement indicated that the withholding of funds during the ReImaging God controversy had a positive result. Why is this time any different?
The Presbyterian Lay Committee did not discourage – in any way – designated giving to missionaries, new church development, racial-ethnic ministries and other national ministries. Imagine the positive effect of unbridled generosity in faithful and enthusiastic designated giving!
Rev. Glen James Hallead, a PCUSA mission co-worker in Thailand, acknowledged his concerns about mission giving in his recent letter to Presbyweb, "My fear is that those of us missionaries who receive the majority of our support from the undesignated/non-directed mission budget will be the first to feel the crunch … Perhaps the Lay Committee would be willing to set up a system, or support a designated line item of support to be used in this manner. Perhaps the Committee would begin the rallying cry of Directed Mission Support for missionary salaries in general or for individuals in particular … I encourage each and every one of us to prayerfully consider how we can make mission happen in a way that is faithful, diligent, and responsible."
This is a reasonable approach that honors our Historic Principles of Church Order, "God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship" (G-1.0301).
Finally, A Declaration of Conscience is not without hope! The PLC leaves the door open for systemic change. Let's prayerfully consider what this option might look like! Without an objective assessment and evaluation of our denomination, this will be very difficult, if not impossible. We need not be afraid. Let's consider counter-intuitive measures like Solomon's that threatened to cut the baby in two (I Kings 3)!
Renee Guth
This is Pagan Goddess worship, this is part of a wicca group that has invaded the church.
They will answer to God the Father, and he will treat these women as he did (EVE)and LOTS Wife! Pillars of salt are they!
OPs4 God The Father and The Son and The Holy Ghost please Bless America in spite of these misfits.
Ref: Re-imagining Conference. Actually this was run by the Presbyterian Church USA. Only one or two Episcopalians went, and they travelled on their own ticket. ECUSA was not actively involved in that one because the Nat'l Church treasurer of the time refused to shell out any money for it.
As for hanging in there with the Lord Jesus Christ: no problem. And yes, ALL churches are dealing with the infiltration of the enemy in one way or another.
I really mean it when I say that I am convinced that "Judgement is upon us." Even if they do not realize it, people are choosing sides -- God or the enemy. The Lord Jesus Christ is preparing for Himself a Bride without spot or wrinkle which means that to be part of the Bride requires a lot of cleansing.
However, our relationship with God in and through Jesus Christ also requires relationships with one another within His Body, the Church. There have never been and cannot be any genuine "Free Lance" Christians.
I am a relationship of obedience to my bishop who is a genuinely committed, genuinely believing Christian shepherd. Without these structures our relationships have no accountability. The lack of accountability is what is at the root of all the chaos.
Only the Lord Himself can sort us out, correct, heal and make us His Bride.
His Hand will fall upon us. We can only put all our trust in Him.
True, Lillabettt. I see these types and their "queen of heaven" and I know this, whatever "queen of heaven" they mention, it is 10000% not, repeat not, the Queen of Heaven who was crowed by Jesus, and not the Lady I affectionately call my Momma!
I've heard that prayer in Catholic circles.
THere was a report a few months back about a Catholic church in Solon, Ohio with murals of "Sophia" on the walls.
You-have-got-to-see-this-crap ping.
}:-)4
I left in 1990!
---This is Pagan Goddess worship, this is part of a wicca group that has invaded the church. ---
If their Church will not censure them, but even sanctions their practice, then that Church must be cut off. This is just basic.
This is of course what Cardinal Mahony would like to see the entire Catholic Church become.
There seems to be quite a few of us. I bet we see more to come.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.