Searching for the Truth in the King James Bible;
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EDITOR:
Steve
Van Nattan
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THE LABYRINTH-- It ends in....
The object of this page is to show the CHAOS and despair.
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WALK THE LABYRINTHThis shows how the Labyrinth, an ancient occult and pagan ritual, has been taken into Christendom by silly Epsicopalians. Here is the Episcopalian description of what is happening: "What is a Labyrinth? A Labyrinth is a 40-foot circular sacred design painted on canvass and laid on the floor, to be walked as a spiritual meditation. The design requires the walker to begin at the outside of the circle and wind slowly in toward the center and then wind slowly out again, using the exact same path. The meditation focuses mindfulness first on "shedding" while walking in; second on "Illumination" while in the center; and third on "Union" while walking out. The Labyrinth is a transformative spiritual journey; it is open to anyone, regardless of faith or tradition."
PAGAN CATHEDRAL IN SAN FRANCISCO Grace Cathedral, San Francisco The AIDS Memorial Quilt: Bonfire of Hope Burning Through the Darkness of AIDS By Anthony Turney Nearly ten years ago, a San Francisco man named Cleve Jones struck a spark of hope in the impenetrable night of AIDS. That spark - a rectangular piece of fabric with the name Marvin Feldman, a dear friend lost to AIDS, spray-painted on it - quickly ignited in the hearts and imaginations of thousands of people who had lost lovers, friends and family members to the plague. Today, with some 33,000 individual fabric memorials celebrating the lives of men, women and children from all over the world, the Quilt blazes brightly as a symbol of the sanctity of human life, and, while recording the memories of those we have lost, lights the way for us in our individual and collective efforts to bring an end to the dying. Since that first panel was sewn, the AIDS Memorial Quilt has come to mean many things to many people. For tens of thousands, it has furnished respite from grief; for countless others, it became the symbolic resting place for mourned loved ones; and for an entire nation, it has clearly stood as a harsh reminder of the way we as a people have too often turned our backs on a largely preventable epidemic. In this, the 15th year of the AIDS epidemic, we of necessity have come to ask more of our government, our organizations and ourselves. At the NAMES Project, we have come to ask more of the Quilt itself. It is not enough that these simultaneously wonderful and terrifying pieces of fabric celebrate the uniqueness of lives lost; we are now using the panels made in memory of people lost to AIDS actually to save lives, particularly the lives of those most vulnerable to HIV- teenagers. Through an effort we call the call the National High School Quilt Program, we are driving home community-determined HIV prevention lessons in high school campuses from Walla Walla, Washington to Miami, Florida in a most emotionally compelling way: classroom showings of the Quilt panels - panels often made for young adults. Our effort is working: nine out of ten students who took part in a pilot phase of this program said that seeing the Quilt made AIDS more real for them - a remarkable finding for an age group which considers itself immortal. Eight out of ten students reported that the Quilt made them think more about taking steps to avoid getting infected with HIV or infecting others. And a surprising six out of ten said the Quilt inspired them to talk to their parents about AIDS. About 200,000 students in a wide array of high schools - urban, suburban and rural, public and private - have participated in the National High School Quilt Program since it began just over a year ago. While these statistics bear witness to the success of our effort, it's the glowing testimonials from students and teachers alike that fully illuminate the Quilt's effectiveness as a means of HIV prevention. "The Quilt was brought to the school to help people realize that AIDS is real, that people get it and died from it, and someday there could possibly be a panel in their name if they didn't learn about the dangers and take appropriate action now," said Hollie Hoppock, a student in Westhill High School in Syracuse, New York. "More positive, high-impact learning occurred as a result of this curriculum," said Lisa MacLean, RN, a teacher and school nurse at North Sutton, New Hampshire's Kearsage Regional High School. Such responses have been numerous. But while we've helped teach life-saving lessons to an impressive number of students, there are approximately 16,000 high school districts in the United States. Tragically, one out of four new HIV infections that occurred in this country last year happened to someone 13 to 19 years of age. Without a shadow of a doubt, effective efforts like ours, and those of other community-based organizations directed at youth, need to be expanded to the fullest possible extent in order to preserve the well-being of the upcoming generation. We are finding other ways to make sure that the dead who are commemorated in the Quilt continue to fight alongside the living to help bring an end to AIDS. Our new National Interfaith Program has made it possible for portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to be shown in places of worship in parts of the country where AIDS awareness efforts have only sporadically gone before. To date, some 55 churches and synagogues have hosted the Quilt - with the overwhelming support of their communities. San Francisco's own Grace Cathedral, of course, of which I am very proud to be a congregant, was one of the first locations for this effort. On last year's AIDS Day of Remembrance, almost 300 panels of the Quilt hung from the Gothic arched bays. One Quilt section is currently placed in Grace Cathedral's new AIDS memorial chapel. From our rapidly increasing involvement with the religious communities we're joining through the Interfaith Program, we are impressed with the growing spirit of compassion and support for people living with HIV that is on the rise among the faithful of all faiths. It is our faith in a future without AIDS, and the Quilt's role in helping bring that about, that inspires us, nourishes us, and goads us on - even as 100 new Quilt panels arrive at our office every week, and despite the staggering AIDS caseload and number of new HIV infections. Those figures leap up, and the Quilt inexorably grows, but there is hope. New drug therapies offer promising clinical benefits for those living with AIDS; newly developed tests are increasing the accuracy with which HIV disease is monitored; and lethally punitive legislation directed at HIV-infected military personnel has recently been repealed by members of Congress from both parties in a move that symbolizes increased understanding of this disease - and the needs of those living with it. This October, we will once again light our beacon of hope against the darkness of AIDS when we display the entire Quilt - 45,000 individual memorial panels - on the National Mall in Washington, DC. On October 11, 12 and 13, the Quilt will be unfolded from the grounds of the Capitol Building to the base of the Washington Monument and will be visited by three-quarters- of-a-million people. This will be the largest AIDS awareness event ever. It will be the strongest show of support for people living with HIV and AIDS to date. And it will be by far the loudest call to action heard, and the most forceful challenge to complacency felt, during the entire history of the epidemic. Our message will be that a world without AIDS can exist again, but only if we make it happen. Anthony Turney is Executive Director of the NAMES Project and a congregation member at Grace Cathedral.
LABYRINTH DEFINED- WELL SORT OF.. Veriditas and the Grace Cathedral Labyrinth Project invite you to our Summer Pilgrimage. Pilgrimage of the Soul AUGUST 9-11, 1996 "The soul thinks in Images ..." Aristotle Experience this profound tool of transformation at the source: Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Attend the Pilgrimage Weekend titled Pilgrimage of the Soul to learn about labyrinths and apply this tool of transformation to your own spiritual life. The labyrinth is a magnet that attracts all who long to be nourished spiritually. Some of us seek psycho-spiritual healing from our past in order to get on with our lives. Others of us need time to go within and look at how and why we feel stuck in our lives with seemingly little creative flow. Yet others of us are on our path and yet need to be reminded of our soul-assignments, our reason and purpose for being here on this earth at this time. Whatever you seek this weekend will nourish your soul with the labyrinth walk meditation, music, images, and building community. Lauren Artress will lecture on Sacred Pattern, Sacred Path and The Journey of the Soul. The centerpiece of each weekend is an evening candlelight labyrinth walk in the Cathedral with live music and chanting with Musica Divina. The weekend also include small group tours of the Cathedral, a dinner and an agape meal, and times for meditation and writing in your journals. The "Launching of the Labyrinth Network" continues on each pilgrimage weekend. Anyone who is working with a labyrinth or hopes to in the future can attend a special gathering on Saturday afternoon (when the other participants have unscheduled meditative time) to get to know one another, share ideas and envision the labyrinth community that is taking root around the globe. Any seeker from any path is welcome. Pre-Registration required, space is limited. Cost $190.00 per person and includes two meals. Special group rates. Call 415-749-6358 for registration and information on this and other pilgrimage dates. (Fax is 415-749-6357).
Veriditas, Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 ( 415) 749-6358 FAX: (415) 749-6357
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