Announcements – Page 9 – Saint Uriel's Mission

Advent Eucharist

Hi folks,

I’ve just returned from spending an inspiring week in Melbourne at the Parliament of the World’s Religions – the largest interfaith gathering in the world. I had the opportunity to meet local and international people from a huge range of other religious groups, to practice explaining what the AJC is about and to hear about the core ideas, practices and beliefs of other religions.

Parliament was not just a huge encounter group for the religious, it hosted provocative sessions about groups working within and between traditions on social change: alleviating poverty, addressing indigenous disadvantage, creating sustainable communities and fostering peace. The Dalai Lama challenged all delegates to go home and use the energy we gathered over the week to create real change in our communities. As His Holiness said, “Good to talk, better to act!”

After such an inspiring week, I feel full of ideas about how to bring our work at St Uriel’s into the world in more direct and useful ways. Johannite spirituality is by nature both contemplative and active in the same breath and I believe that our work needs to take a more radical, active, participatory turn over the next few months.

Watch this space – or better, let me know ways you might like to get involved – in social action, in deepening your spiritual practice, in sharing our spiritual tradition with those who might benefit from it.

The community meets on Sunday for the first service in a few weeks. Join us if you can withstand a mad priest raving about his crazy week in Melbourne amongst the other mad people!

My blessings on your journey.

Tim+

Readings for the week

Service – 6pm
The service this Sunday will be a “Sophianic Eucharist”. The service praises Sophia or Holy Wisdom as the immanent, feminine face of the Divine and celebrates the sacred marriage between the immanent and transcendent aspects of Spirit. The service features prayer and chant and the sharing of the Body and the Blood in the form of bread and wine.

Sophia Café – 7pm
Sophia Café follows the service – stay around for tea, snacks and conversation. Each week starts with a short talk by someone from the community followed by open discussion.

Topic: “Three Shapes of the First Thought” from the Nag Hammadi library

The congregation at St Uriel’s meets every Sunday at 6pm at:
The Unitarian Centre
15 Francis St
Darlinghurst, NSW
Map

Rector: Father Tim Mansfield
email blog

Apostolic Johannite Church

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Parish of St Uriel the Archangel

5a Lilydale St

Marrickville, NSW 2204

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Services through to January

Sisters and Brothers,

Sunday services will be a little patchy between now and January, so I wanted to let you know what I’m planning, starting with this Sunday.

Sun 29 Nov
This Sunday I’m running a full day on Centering Prayer in Camperdown finishing with a Eucharist service.

If you’d like to come to this, there is still time to book at the event web page

As a consequence, there will be no service at Francis St on Sunday evening.

Sun 6 Dec
The following week, I will be attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne and so there will be no service that Sunday.

Sun 13 Dec
There will be a Sophianic Eucharist at 15 Francis St as usual.

Sun 20 Dec
We have been invited to join with the Unitarian Church for lunch and the Builders of the Adytum for a Christmas service and supper. I will not be celebrating a Eucharist on this day, but I will be at 15 Francis St all day and I encourage you to come and join in.

10.30am Unitarian Candle Service with music
11.30am Unitarian’s Xmas lunch – all welcome
1.30pm Any St Uriel’s members welcome to join me for a beer and a chat or a wander through the parks.
6pm Back to 15 Francis St to help BOTA set up for their service
7pm BOTA Kabbalistic Summer Solstice Service
7.45pm Supper with BOTA folks

All in all a fun day. If you’ve got time to come to any of that I’d love company and a chance to see you before you head off for the season.

Thu 24 Dec
Saint Uriel’s Xmas Eve
For any people still in Sydney, I’d like to hold an evening service around 7pm followed by a potluck supper. If you’ll been around and you’d like to come, please drop me an email.

This will be a home service somewhere in the Inner West.

And from then, we will be taking a break until mid-January when people are back from holidays. I’ll send an email to let you know when things are started up again.

I hope to see you over the next month, but if we don’t meet each other before the Festival of the Incarnation, may you have a blessed and safe Christmas and may you notice the Divine dropping you a sly wink from in amongst all the glittery tat of Xmas.

With love,

Tim+

The congregation at St Uriel’s meets on Sundays at 6pm at:
The Unitarian Centre
15 Francis St
Darlinghurst, NSW
Map

Rector: Father Tim Mansfield
email blog

Apostolic Johannite Church

You’re receiving emails from us because you signed up to receive announcements of services at the Parish of St Uriel in Sydney, Australia.

Unsubscribe <<Email Address>> from this list.

Our mailing address is:

Parish of St Uriel the Archangel

5a Lilydale St

Marrickville, NSW 2204

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Palamas Sunday

This Sunday we remember Saint Gregory Palamas, that great Eastern contemplative and defender of experiential theology.

Certain saints after the Coming of Christ in the flesh see this light like an endless sea flowing miraculously from a single sun, which is the adored Body of Christ.

The Holy Name contains within itself that divine energy which penetrates and changes a man’s heart when it is diffused throughout his body.

Saint Greg defended the contemplatives of the Eastern church from Roman charges of heresy. He advocated the view that the experience of Divine Light the monks experienced in meditation (a style of meditation called “hesychasm” or “quietness”) was identical to the uncreated Light of God, the light which illuminated Jesus on Mount Tabor in the event known as the Transfiguration.

Though Palamas agreed that we cannot know God in His essence, His inmost being (and who can we know that way, after all?), we can know God in His energies – such as the Light experienced in Hesychasm.

His emphasis on direct experience, diligent spiritual practice and his constant return to the theme of Light as the wellspring of our original nature makes him a Saint beloved of Johannites everywhere.

We celebrate an Eastern Rite Eucharist in his honour this Sunday at the usual place and time.

Readings for the week

Service – 6pm
The service this Sunday will be an “Eastern Rite Eucharist”. Modelled on the style of service celebrated in Eastern churches like the Greek or Syrian Orthodox, the service is ceremonial and contemplative. It features silent prayer and chant and the sharing of the Body and the Blood in the form of bread and wine.

Sophia Café – 7pm
Sophia Café follows the service – stay around for tea, snacks and conversation. Each week focuses on reading and discussing an inspirational text.

This week: “The Three Shapes of the First Thought” from the Nag Hammadi Library

The congregation at St Uriel’s meets every Sunday at 6pm at:
The Unitarian Centre
15 Francis St
Darlinghurst, NSW
Map

Rector: Father Tim Mansfield
email blog

Apostolic Johannite Church

You’re receiving emails from us because you signed up to receive announcements of services at the Parish of St Uriel in Sydney, Australia.

Unsubscribe <<Email Address>> from this list.

Our mailing address is:

Parish of St Uriel the Archangel

5a Lilydale St

Marrickville, NSW 2204

Add us to your address book

Forward this email to a friend

Update your profile

Trinity XXII

Just a quick note this week that the parish meets on Sunday for a Sophianic Eucharist.

We’re reviving Sophia Café this Sunday, using the time after the service to delve into some of the texts from the Nag Hammadi library that might be less familiar.

This week we’ll begin looking at Three Forms of the First Thought. I’ll bring along copies of a nice translation. We’ll take turns and read it slowly and perhaps dip into some of the passages via Lectio Divina.

It’s a beautiful, bewildering text, and it should be fun – so come along and join in.

Readings for the week

Sophia Café – 7pm
Sophia Café follows the service – stay around for tea, snacks and conversation. Each week starts with a short talk by someone from the community followed by open discussion.

Topic: The text “Three Forms of the First Thought”

The congregation at St Uriel’s meets every Sunday at 6pm at:
The Unitarian Centre
15 Francis St
Darlinghurst, NSW
Map

Rector: Father Tim Mansfield
email blog

Apostolic Johannite Church

You’re receiving emails from us because you signed up to receive announcements of services at the Parish of St Uriel in Sydney, Australia.

Unsubscribe <<Email Address>> from this list.

Our mailing address is:

Parish of St Uriel the Archangel

5a Lilydale St

Marrickville, NSW 2204

Add us to your address book

Forward this email to a friend

Update your profile

Centering Prayer one day intensive

Friends,

I’ve just returned from a leadership retreat in contemplative prayer in New Zealand and I’m interested in acting while what I’ve learnt is fresh.

I’ve been practicing a Christian meditative practice called Centering Prayer for a while and it seems to me that it’s effects have been, as advertised, transformative, healing and fairly profound. As a
consequence of my own experience and encouraged by what I’ve recently learned, I really want to to share the basics of the practice with anyone who’s interested.

The usual way to do this is via a one-day intensive and I am, in these matters, a traditionalist. The day consists of a certain amount of teaching of the background and method of the prayer and a couple of opportunities to practice the prayer and ask questions.

If you’re interested in exploring Centering Prayer, this day is an ideal opportunity to learn the basics and try the practice. The cost of attending will be $30 to cover venue hire and a basic lunch.

Please consider joining me and sharing this delightful, simple, profound practice.

With love,
Father Tim Mansfield

Centering Prayer One-Day Intensive
Date: Sunday 29 Nov 2009
Venue: Buddhist Library, 90 – 92 Church St, Camperdown
Bookings essential – RSVP here