Summer/Fall Newsletter 2014

Newsletter Summer/Fall 2014

A New Exodus (Part 1) Grace and peace to you from our Deliverer! I have been reflecting recently on “New Exodus Theology” and St. Francis of the Woods’ role in a restored creation. This theology - this understanding of the Bible and the Christian story isn’t new at all. It is found in the scriptures; it was discussed from the earliest times of the Church; it is foundational for understanding Christ and our role as Christians.

The story of the Bible is one of deliverance. G-d always hears the cry of the oppressed. “He enacts justice for orphans and widows, and he loves immigrants, giving them food and clothing.” - Deuteronomy 10:18j

When the Israelites are taken into slavery, G-d rescues his people and calls them to be a light to the world - to show the world who G-d is and what G-d cares about. "I’ve also heard the cry of grief of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have turned into slaves, and I’ve remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I’ll bring you out from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll rescue you from your slavery to

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Chapel Services

The beautiful St. Francis Chapel is always open for prayer and meditation. Please join us for Daily Prayer offered every weekday at the times below. A service of Morning Prayer is offered on Sundays. We hope you find St. Francis of the Woods and the St. Francis Chapel a place of peace and renewal.

Monday - Friday

8:00, 12:00, 8:00

Sunday

10:30 !!!In This Edition

Fall Garden - pg. 2

Tim’s Tidings - pg. 3

St. Francis - pg. 4

Calendar of Events - pg. 5

St. Francis Day - pg.5

Book Review - pg. 6

Wildcrafting Retreat - pg. 7

ST. FRANCIS S p i r i t u a l R e n e w a l C e n t e r

OF THE WOODS


them. I’ll set you free with great power and with momentous events of justice. I’ll take you as my people, and I’ll be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, am your God, who has freed you from Egyptian forced labor.’" - Exodus 6:5-7

G-d even establishes a holiday for the people to remember this event. The Passover is commanded to be observed every year to remind the people what G-d does for the oppressed. But the people forget. And when the people forgot what it was like to be slaves in Egypt, they began oppressing others, and building up a human empire. Building up armies and arsenals, even building the temple in Jerusalem with slave labor. Prophets were sent to call the people back - to remind them that they were once slaves in Egypt and are called to bring G-d’s Kingdom of peace and justice - not a human empire of oppression, violence, and subjugation.

“[I]f you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly; if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don’t shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin, only then will I dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.” - Jeremiah 7:5-7

“The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other! Don’t oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; don’t plan evil against each other!” - Zechariah 7:9-10

But the people did not listen to the prophets. Over and over again followers of G-d completely miss the point of what G-d is all about. “Therefore, the holy one of Israel says: Because you reject this word and trust in oppression and cunning and rely on them, your sin will be like a crack in a high wall; it bulges, about to fall: suddenly, in an instant, it breaks!” - Isaiah 30:12-13

And G-d always hears the cry of the oppressed - even the cry of those oppressed by his own people. G-d allows the Israelites to be taken into exile - to remind them what it is like

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Fall Garden

We have a good sized Fall garden in the works thanks to the efforts of Eugene White. We hope to have a good crop of tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, okra, cucumber, radish, turnip, and other vegetables. When the crops are ready for harvest, we will use what we can, sell enough to cover our costs, and donate the bounty to those in need. Please consider stopping by for some fresh produce and, as always, farm fresh eggs for $3.00 a dozen!

Scripture

Learn to do good. Seek justice: help the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow. - Isaiah 1:17 (CEB)

I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other. - John 13:34-35 (CEB)


on the other side of oppression and violence. But G-d (never one to give up) continues to send prophets who express the hope that G-d would once again redeem the people of Israel as he had done in the Exodus from Egypt.

In this new Exodus, G-d would release his people from slavery to sin, corruption, and death. He would put an end to their exile, and gather them, along with the Gentiles, into a restored Kingdom and a New Jerusalem - where there would be no violence, no oppression, no prejudice, no hunger, no fear, no hatred.

“On that day, I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the creeping creatures of the fertile ground. I will do away with the bow, the sword, and war from the land; I will make you lie down in safety.” - Hosea 2:18. “God will judge between the nations, and settle disputes of mighty nations. Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools. Nation will not take up sword against nation; they will no longer learn how to make war.” - Isaiah 2:4 .

If you are a Christian, you believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised one. The one to usher in the new creation, the new Exodus. But today, an estimated 29.8 million people live in slavery (60,000 of them in the United States). An estimated 842 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. Severe malnutrition effects 32.5 percent of children in developing countries. Almost 5 million children die every year from lack of food. And the World produces more than enough food to feed everyone! How is this the Kingdom of G-d described by the prophets? Are we missing something?

! Peace,

+ Brad, o.c.

!!!All quotes from the Common English Bible

Statistics from worldhunger.org and borgenproject.org

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Day Visits Welcome

You are invited to visit St. Francis of the Woods any time, for a day visit, or an overnight stay. The grounds are beautiful and inviting. The meditative prayer garden is a wonderful spot for reflection. Our Library is open upon request and houses over 20,000 volumes on religion, spirituality, sustainable agriculture, psychology, and many other topics. We are home to beautiful, moss covered, walking trials meandering though diverse terrain, tall cedars, and deciduous trees. And our Chapel is always open. We hope you’ll plan a visit soon! Help support the work of St. Francis of the Woods and leave a donation in the box in the Chapel while you’re here.

Tim’s Tidings

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” - Mother Teresa

“God is using today’s difficulties to strengthen you for tomorrows. He is equipping you.” - Walking With the Savior

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” - Hebrews 11:2

“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.” - John Bunyan

“Breathe on me, Breath of God. Fill me with life anew, that I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do.” - Edwin Hatch


St. Francis of Assisi This three part column will share the background on the Saint whose name we bear and whose spirit we hope to embody at St. Francis of the Woods. This first edition is a reprint of the September 1989 Newsletter. The Canticle of Brother Sun, written by St. Francis, follows the article.

When Francis was canonized only two years after his death, it was as if “a plebiscite of Christendom” had decided that if any man deserved the designation “saint,” it was the poor little man of Assisi. The lesson of his live has taught every subsequent generation more eloquently than most lectures, more enduringly than most books. But to praise Francis the man is to betray him and his own understanding of poverty and humility.

Born in the Italian hill-town of Assisi, Francis experienced a dramatic conversion when he was twenty-four years old. He suddenly abandoned his former friends and aimless life of pleasure to follow a rigid routine of penance and discipline of utter poverty. The poor suffering Christ seemed to him a challenge to renounce the world and to live quietly and unostentatiously in the service of others. For some years Francis and a few followers lived, preached, and helped the poor in Assisi and its immediate vicinity. The group soon expanded in size and in 1209 received from the Pope a verbal approval of a “rule” for the establishment of the Friars Minor which in time became the Franciscan Order. Francis himself was never in the forefront of this institutional development, for his own views pointed toward more modest goals and he, for example, remained a layman, never seeking priestly ordination for himself. Two years before his death on a lonely hilltop near Assisi, he received the stigmata, the marks in his own flesh of the wounds Christ suffered on the cross.

In spite of an otherwise solemn and even somewhat gloomy dimension to his life and character, Francis the renunciant is remembered as a happy saint who rejoiced in God’s whole creation. The episode of his preaching to the birds is a case in point, and he has left among his few written remains a

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Peaceful Voices

“When another person males you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That’s the message he is sending.” - Thích Nhất Hạnh

“I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable.” - Anne Murrow Lindbergh

“The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.” -Swami Vivekananda

"Your duty is to treat everybody with love as a manifestation of the Lord.” - Swami Sivananda

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delightful hymn of creation known as “The Canticle of Brother Sun.” Penned in his own Umbrian dialect a year after the stigmata experience, this lyrical psalm rejoices in sun, moon, wind, water, fire, earth, even death - all creatures of the “most high, omnipotent, merciful Lord.”

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is Yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To You, alone, Most High, do they belong.No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures,especially through my lord Brother Sun,

who brings the day; and You give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!

Of You, Most High, he bears the likeness. Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;

in the heavens You have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather,

through which You give Your creatures sustenance. Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Water;

she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure. Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom You brighten the night.He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong. Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,

who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of You; through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in peace,for by You, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death,from whose embrace no living person can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!Happy those she finds doing Your most holy will.

The second death can do no harm to them. Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks,

and serve Him with great humility

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St. Francis Day Celebrations: October 4, 2014 marks the 788th anniversary of the falling asleep in the Lord of St. Francis of Assisi. Bring your pet (on a leash or in a crate) and join un in celebrating the Saint whose name we bear. At 4:00

we will have a pet blessing and outdoor eucharist. All are welcome.

Calendar of Events F a l l 2 0 1 4

Monday - Friday: Morning Prayer 8:00, Noonday Prayer 12:00, Evening Prayer 8:00.

Wednesdays: Potluck lunch 12:00 in the Learning Center.

Sundays: Worship at 10:30 followed by a potluck lunch in the Learning Center.

Saturday Sept 6, Sept 20, Oct 4, Oct 18, Nov 1, Nov 15: Video Discussion Group 7:00 p.m. in the Learning Center. Potluck Dinner.

September 26-28 - Wild Crafting Retreat. Jackie Dill will lead a retreat focused on identifying and foraging native plants. Retreat registration fee: $20. Lodging: $40 per-person per-night. Call or Email to reserve a spot. For more information see page 7.

October 4 - St. Francis Day! Bring your pet for an animal blessing and liturgy focused on the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Pet blessing and outdoor Eucharist at 4:00. Picnic potluck to follow. For more info call of email.

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The World Peace Diet - A Book Review by Kay Adair

A recent addition to the Cimarron Heights Library at St. Francis of the Woods is a comprehensive study of contemporary food production and consumption which documents wide spread, intense suffering inflicted upon animals raised in small, medium, and large scale food production operations.

Urban householders have little or no contact with the widespread abuse of animals which is part of bringing meat, dairy, and and poultry products to the stores where we purchase these products. Author Will Tuttle illustrates in many ways how our lack of awareness of suffering endured by cattle, pigs, fish, and other sentient creatures we ingest, numbs our sensitivities and transfers something of the invisible pain into our organs, creating anomalies within our physical, mental and spiritual consciousness. This is not a comfortable book to read. Yet in the search for spiritual life-lines, this book offers a strong option for any serious seeker.

Early in October we will celebrate the life and message of St. Francis of Assisi, for whom this spiritual renewal center is named. As a young man, Francesco Bernardone, later known as Saint Francis, walked away from wealth, family of origin, and military ambition. Recovering

from war, he reconnected deeply with the natural world. After a visionary experience of Jesus, calling him to “rebuild my church”, his love for God, the natural world, and Jesus Christ led him to a deep sense of kinship with all living creatures.

Tuttle, Will M. The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony. New York: Lantern Books, 2005. is available in the Cimarron Heights Library at St. Francis of the Woods.

! !A Place for Individual and Group Retreats

St. Francis of the Woods is a place where persons from every background are welcomed. From the very beginning, sincere seekers upon any of the countless spiritual paths have been invited to share the grounds and facilities for worship, study, rest, work, and to be of service to one another, to God, and to the Center. We have three cabins that sleep up to four people and two lodges that sleep around 10. Both are equipped with kitchens and amenities for overnight stays. The Learning Center, has a large meeting space and a kitchen where meals can be prepared and served.

Individuals are always welcome to spend a few days in one of our cabins. Groups are invited to use our lodges or the Learning Center to host a retreat. The suggested donation is $40 per-person per-night. The Learning Center is available for $125 per-day. Schedule your retreat today

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Church Fathers

For it is evident that God will in truth be all in all when there shall be no evil in existence, when every created being is at harmony with itself and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; when every creature shall have been made one body. - St. Gregory of Nyssa (390) !He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share in his fullness. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. He takes on my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He enters into a second union with us, a union far more wonderful than the first. - St. Gregory of Nazianzus (390) !The Word seems to me to lay down the doctrine of the perfect obliteration of wickedness, for if God shall be in all things that are, obviously wickedness shall not be in them. For it is necessary that at some time evil should be removed utterly and entirely from the realm of being. - St. Macrina the Blessed (380)

Oklahoma Wildcrafting Retreat Hosted by Jackie Dill

Please join us on September 27th and 28th for the Oklahoma Wildcrafting Retreat hosted by Heritage Wildcrafter, Jackie Dill. Retreatants are welcome to stay Friday night and Saturday night. Registration for the Retreat is $20 plus $40 per-person per-night for lodging. There will be an optional yoga class offered for an additional suggested donation of $10. Participants have the choice to attend any of the following. !September 27, 2014 8:00 AM – Check in at the Learning Center, Morning tea and conversation 9:00 AM – Wildcrafting Walk on the mile-long path through the woods 11:00 AM – Wild Herbs of Oklahoma. Broomweed workshop Noon – Potluck Lunch in the Learning Center 1:00 PM – Cimarron Heights Library Tour 2:30 - 4:00 PM - Walk the grounds or Yoga with Mahina 4:00 – 5:30 PM - Oklahoma wild edibles, wine making workshop 6:00 PM - Potluck Dinner in the Learning Center 8:00 PM - Sit around the fire for some good conversation !September 28, 2014 9:00 AM – Oklahoma Wild Mushrooms 10:30 AM – Worship Service in the Chapel or free time 11:30 AM - Lunch in your cabin 12:30 PM – Walk on the farm 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Walk along the back roads 3:00 PM - Farewells !Please register soon. Spots are filling up fast. Contact Brad Wilson at 405.466.3774 for more information or to reserve a spot.

Photo Credits: All photos in this edition of the Newsletter were taken on the grounds of St. Francis of the Woods by Brian Mayo.

Thank You!


St. Francis of the Woods P.O. Box 400 Coyle, OK 73027

NOT FOR PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE PAID

COYLE, OK

PERMIT NO. 4

/stfrancisofthewoods @stfrancisofthewoods

St. Francis of the Woods Spiritual Renewal Center

St. Francis of the Woods is a place where persons from every background are welcomed. The chapel and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom signify our roots with earliest Christian traditions and the Center is named for Francis of Assisi, the most universal figure in Christian

tradition other than Jesus Christ. Sincere seekers upon any of the countless spiritual paths are to share the grounds and facilities for worship, study, rest, work, and to be of service to one another,

to God, and the Center.

It is our hope that you will find St. Francis of the Woods to be a place that honors St. Francis's memory and ministry. Please join us in our experience of God in creation or in the ancient worship

of the Church.

To reserve a cottage or lodge please call or email 405.466.3774 //[email protected]

find us on a map us at: 11414 W Hwy. 33, Coyle, OK 73027

Summer/Fall Newsletter 2014

Documents

Transcript of Summer/Fall Newsletter 2014