Let Her Name Be Enrolled Among The Respondents: Mary Lee

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Douglas

As new religious movements go, the Worldwide Community of the New Message from God is a little flock. It doesn’t happen very often, but from time to time a member of our community leaves this world. I offer gratitude for her life.

She gladly embraced necessity

Let her name be enrolled among the respondents. I first met Mary at the 2012 Encampment of the New Message from God. During one of our small-group sessions, she asked me “What could take you out? [of your relationship with the New Message from God and its Messenger]” Part of me was thinking about my answer, but another part of me was experiencing her dedication and determination.

I didn’t chat with Mary very much in the following years. It’s not like we were avoiding each other. She was working on something, and I was working on something. I am not aware of the details, but I know that Mary invested a lot of time, energy and devotion into the progress of the New Message from God. This investment goes back many years.

She was thoroughly used up

Let her name be enrolled among the respondents. I was informed in December of 2019 that Mary was ill. I had no idea of this, because Mary had been actively participating in our weekly online chats. She seemed to me to be the same dedicated and determined Mary I knew. She died peacefully on December 31, with many friends thinking of her and praying for her.

I believe that Mary fulfilled what George Bernard Shaw hoped for:

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

Let her name be enrolled among the respondents

In Islam, Aṣ-ṣaḥābah (Arabic: الصحابة‎, “The Companions”) were the companions of the Prophet Mohammed who had seen or met him, believed in him at the time when he was alive and also died as Muslims. I consider Mary to be one of the Sahabah of the New Message from God. There aren’t enough of them to have a name for them yet. Sometimes the word “respondents” is used to describe people who embrace the New Message from God. All I know is that somewhere, on a golden scroll in a holy place, are the names of the Sahabah of the New Message from God. Mary’s name is on that list.

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Do The Leaves Of Green Stay Greener Through The Autumn?

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Douglas

“Do the leaves of green stay greener through the autumn?
Does the color of the sun turn crimson white?
Does a shadow come between us in the winter?
Is the movement really light?” – Yes, “The Ancient: Giants Under the Sun”

Jesus had support beyond his disciples. Luke 8 tells us that Joanna, Susanna and Mary Magdalene financially supported the ministry of Jesus. In Luke 10, Jesus sent out 72 disciples to the places he would go in the future. The 72 disciples were an “advance team,” as it were.

Muhammad had the Sahabas, the companion disciples, who were with Muhammad during his lifetime, and died as Muslims. After the death of Muhammad in 632, the Sahabas played a great role in the preservation of the recited Quran in written form. Their testimonies were the basis of the body of traditions of the life of Muhammad.

Do the leaves of green stay greener through the autumn?

Who does Marshall Vian Summers have? The Society for the New Message from God. I have introduced them in this post, and described their accomplishments over their 20+ year history. The Society includes Ellen Mitchell…

Darlene Mitchell (no relation)…

and Jeanine Butler (who functioned as the in-house yogini during the recent Encampment)

Between the 2014 Encampment and now, the Society has grown in my mind. While they have accomplished a great deal, they are so much more than an advance team or a support team. The Society is a group of people who have demonstrated consistent representation of the New Message from God and its Messenger, Marshall Vian Summers.

I have said this before, and I will say it again, that if the New Message from God catches on in the world, the Society will be one of the reasons. But there is more to say than that. It was my blessing to have occasional chats with Society members at Encampment. While they were busy with a lot of work, their faces shone with joy. Do the leaves of green stay greener through the autumn? All I know is that Ellen, Darlene and Jeanine do.