by Rev. Steven P. Gunther
For over a century, members of the New Church worldwide have held celebrations around June 19th every year. Over time, the way we celebrated the day has shifted, but in looking back through old editions of New Church Life I have found regular reports of picnics, pageants, banquets, sermons, and other festive traditions to honor the day.
But what’s so important about June 19th? There are two dates in history that stand out in the establishment of our church which we celebrate on New Church Day – June 19, 1770 and June 19, 1876. At the end of True Christian Religion (the last theological work Swedenborg would write and publish) Swedenborg added a note that said that once the work was completed the Lord gathered together His 12 disciples who followed Him in the world and sent them throughout the spiritual world to preach the good news that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns and His kingdom will be for ages of ages. It’s hard to put a date on the timeline for when the New Church “started,” but this passage seems to imply that the completion of TCR constituted the completion of the new revelation, and the sending out of the disciples constituted the establishment of the New Church in the spiritual world.
Then on June 19, 1876, a group of 12 men met in Philadelphia to formally declare their conviction that the truths contained in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are the second coming of the Lord. This meeting formally established the Academy of the New Church, which would pave the way for the founding of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, our branch of the New Church. This is the day that we recognize as the official establishment of a church body openly declaring the Divine authority of the Writings.
And so, when we celebrate June 19th, we celebrate both the internal and the external of the church. We celebrate the Lord’s work in revealing Divine truth to us that provides us with light to see the pathway to heaven. We celebrate those who came before us who saw that the Lord was immediately present within those truths which He revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg. And, perhaps more than anything, we re-commit ourselves to going to the Lord in His Word and in His Heavenly Doctrines to find Him there, invite Him into our minds and hearts, and walk the paths that He has laid before us.
And so, a happy New Church Day from all of us at Bryn Athyn Church. May the day be a solemn reminder of all God has done for us and a celebration of all that He offers!