The public is invited to attend the opening of the 6th season of the Health & Spirituality series at La Porte New Church Swedenborgian, 812 Indiana Avenue, on September 11, Community: We’re In It Together. Each monthly program will be on 2nd Wednesdays from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., through May. This season's theme will be on the importance of community and its positive and impacting results of caring for one another and also for one’s self. Community, by definition and whose roots are in Old French, is a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.
Mayor Blair Milo, who will be the guest speaker for this program on Community, says, as quoted from this year’s State of the City address, “…what excites me the most are the intangibles that are the driving force behind our collective success: the unity, teamwork and most importantly, the faith in this community and in one another. My vision for La Porte is to be a community that believes, takes action and achieves goals. All of these collective successes have taken us steps closer to making that vision across the community a reality.”
The pastor of LaPorte New Church, Rev. Kit Billings, will expound on the relationship and the spiritual benefits of incorporating the essence of community in our everyday lives.
The New Church enhances its Christianity through the Bible and the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg who offers a new approach to spirituality for free thinking individuals. For Swedenborg, we are created to be useful to the world and to our neighbors. Spiritually healthy people love to perform useful acts for society and for people individually. Swedenborg adopts the traditional Protestant doctrine that through our occupations we serve society and the neighbor. A love of useful work is the same as love for the neighbor.
Swedenborg’s claim is that it is not hard to live the life that leads to heaven. All we need to do is live kindly, take into account our neighbor’s welfare, and recognize the source of our life and love in God. Even here on earth, we can taste the nature of heaven as we experience joy in our loving relationships and when we do good things. Heaven is just that for Swedenborg: a loving community where persons perform useful activities that they love to do and that serve the greater good. Thus heaven is much like an ideal form of earthly life: “On earth as it is in heaven.”
The program schedule through May will include the topics of Peace in the Community, Education, One-ness of Religion, Compassion, Perception, Warm Hearts, Conflict Management, and Happiness.
Everyone is invited to come, listen, and share thoughts and experiences on this topic. Open and informal discussion is welcomed with every presentation. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. Donations are welcome.
For more information on this monthly series or about LaPorte New Church, Manna House, and their other programs, or for pastoral care, email the minister at revkitbillings@comcast.net; call (219) 362-1959; or visit www.laportenewchurch.org. Sunday worship begins at 10:00 a.m. Newcomers are always welcome.