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At this critical juncture in our culture and history, we stand not alone; in a very real way, the ancestors are all at our backs, with us in our hearts and minds.

At the heart of Swedenborgian theology is a fundamental concept of freedom: that we must all be left in freedom to choose (the good of God, or the selfish loves of ourselves and the world).

As a community, we are nevertheless called upon to “be a light in the darkness,” and to broadcast a (gospel) message of hope, love, and redemption. I hope the beauty of the late spring can give you courage and conviction to meet this moment.

We might feel powerless at circumstances that seem far outside of our control, but more than ever, we need to find solace in one another’s company – for we are truly not alone.

In Swedenborg’s theory of correspondences—his so-called “science” for the spiritual valences of nature—birds represent intellectual and spiritual things we can perceive with our minds: truths, in other words, which can take us places.

Like all our mothers, the Earth has rights and obligations we should respect if we are to “honor our father and our mother,” as one of the biblical Ten Commandments instructs us to do.

Since 1895, through catastrophic earthquakes and world wars, periods of civil and social unrest, and the holocaust of the AIDS crisis, our church has stood as a special sanctuary, offering refuge and reflection for San Franciscans in times of need.

It is such a sad irony that people created a powerful position in order to manage the nation effectively, but then the people who held such positions became drunk with power.

In John, Mary Magdalene does not acknowledge that she is speaking to Jesus until he calls her by her name. According to the Gospels, Jesus calls only 11 people by their name.

Swedenborg places strong emphasis on the mission of Jesus as redemption rather than salvation. It took me a while to understand the reason for this distinction…