For the second Sunday in a row--we are trilled to welcome back Rev. Dr. Jonathan Mitchell, Pastor Emeritus of The Garden Church!
Rev. Jonathan says the following about the message for this Sunday: "The Song of Song is unique among the canonical books of the Bible: a sequence of love poems in which a female lover and a male lover alternately celebrate each other's beauty in highly poetic and erotically charged language.
As a Biblical text it has often been read in allegorical terms. For the Rabbinic tradition it describes the love relationship between Israel and The Holy One. And for the Christian contemplative and monastic tradition it expresses the soul's passionate desire to be united with the Lord.
And while our relationship with God can indeed be experienced as a passionate love affair, this Sunday I will be sticking to embodied human romantic love.
It struck me upon rereading the Song that the female voice is the more fully developed one in terms of interiority and agency. She experiences love as a call that arrives in its own time and on its own terms. She courageously seeks out her beloved at risk to herself and suffers for her daring.
This Sunday, with the Song's female lover as our inspiration, we seek to take the risk of loving another human being, whoever the beloved, and whatever the love that calls us."
Rev. Jonathan Mitchell has been a Swedenborgian Minister for 25 years, serving ministries in Washington DC, Wayfarers Chapel, San Diego, and most recently the Garden Church (2017-2022), He looks forward to seeing how the Garden and you all have grown over the last year.
Thank you for joining me in welcoming back Rev. Jonathan to the garden this Sunday.
In Faith,
Rev. Amanda
Sunday Rhythm:
3pm Work Together
4pm Worship Together
5pm Eat Together
All Are Welcome
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