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Who we are and how we do this

UNDERSTANDING THIS ONLINE MINISTRY OF THE SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH

 

Swedenborgian Community Mission Statement:

The mission of this ministry is to create a vibrant online spiritual community available 24/7 for Swedenborgians and seekers around North America and the globe to explore, share, and deepen their faith and connection to the Swedenborgian Church.  We aim to create a community where our members are known to each other, where they feel free to share openly their personal journey of faith, and where they feel nurtured and supported in their walk with the Lord.  We aim to create an open and welcoming community for new spiritual seekers, introducing the Swedenborgian Faith in an accessible way through our own powerful testimony and life experience with it

 

Goal of the Swedenborgian Community:

We strive to facilitate the spiritual well-being* of all people. Part of living this purpose is that we honor the spirit of inter-faith dialog.  On the other hand, we are not specifically a site for the purpose of interfaith dialog.  We are grounded in the General Convention Swedenborgian faith tradition, and its concepts are the basis of our programs. 

 

*From the Constitution of the General Convention of Swedenborgian Churches

¨      “The Swedenborgian Church exists to help people to be open to the Lord's presence and leading, especially by fostering personal and ordained ministries which facilitate the spiritual well-being of people and which have in common a working for the Lord in bringing in the New Age, the descent of the Holy City, New Jerusalem.  The light in which we see to walk shines from the Lord Jesus Christ in His second coming, available to us through the divine presence in our hearts and minds, and through revelation in the Holy Scripture and in the life and teaching of the Lord's servant, Emanuel Swedenborg.”

 

¨      When we refer to the 'Lord', we mean the Divine, which has many different names in world traditions.

 

¨      When we refer to the 'New Age, the descent of the Holy City, New Jerusalem,'  we refer to the creation of a new world - heaven on earth- in which everyone lives by the values of Divine Love and Wisdom, regardless of their faith tradition. 

 

Click HERE to find out more about the Swedenborgian Denomination and its other programs and ministries or click HERE to send an email to our minister for personal insight or further details.  

WHAT WE ARE

¨      We are a web community supported spiritually and financially by donations from the members, friends and General Council of the Swedenborgian Church.

¨      We are here to help fulfill the purpose of our denomination which is, in part, to facilitate the spiritual well-being of all people*

¨      We are a online congregation and community where the theology of the General Convention is the basis for worship services, classes, and pastoral care

¨      As part of practicing our tradition, we are a community that honors all other spiritual traditions, and strives to foster inter-faith dialog.

¨      We are a community based upon love, acceptance, understanding and communication where we can express all our feelings without making them seen as an attack on another person.

 

WHAT WE ARE NOT

¨      We are not a community where we try to convince others that their faith is 'wrong,' and ours is 'right.'

¨      We are not a community where we try to persuade anyone that they should  leave  their own faith tradition in favor of ours

¨      We are not a community where we engage in detailed theological comparison between traditions for the sake of indicating that one is right and one is wrong.

¨      We are not a public forum that focuses on detailed, scholarly analysis of the writings of Swedenborg.  However, this can be done through specific classes offered from time to time on our site which require pre-registration.

¨      We are not a community that accepts hostility in any form, either from a member or directed at a member.

 

COMMUNICATION POLICY

For The Swedenborgian Community

The online ministry of the General Convention of the

 Swedenborgian Church.

 

We are asking that while in all Community Chats and Discussion Forums, members strive to communicate their ideas without judging the opinions of others, while adhering to the policies established by the Center for Non-Violent Communication.  To learn more about the details of this type of communication, please click HERE to visit the NVC website. 

 

General expectations of online communication:

 

¨      Participate without judging or criticizing.

¨      Share your own ideas without judging or criticizing the ideas of another person.

¨      Make it clear to members if you are stating an observation, a feeling or a request.

¨      Listen to the feelings of others without trying to change them.

¨      Keep questions and responses clear to avoid any misunderstanding.




 

PLEASE JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, IDEAS, HOPES, DREAMS AND INSPIRATIONS.   WE NEVER CLOSE!