Tag Archives: Society for the New Message from God

Our Kind, Cheerful Den Mother: Ellen Mitchell

Posted on by
8
Our kind cheerful den mother
Ellen Mitchell (1937-2022)

I rejoice and give thanks for the efforts and accomplishments of Ellen Mitchell, who left this world on March 2 at the age of 85. She was not well-known in the world, but among the Worldwide Community of the New Message from God, she was well-known and well-loved.

Our kind cheerful den mother

Ellen Mitchell’s testimony of hearing Marshall Vian Summers speak

I don’t know very much about Ellen’s life. The above testimony shows she first encountered Marshall Vian Summers in 1994. In 1998 she moved to Boulder, Colorado to support the New Message. She has been a member of the Society for the New Message from God for many years.

I don’t know exactly what she did as a member of the Society. But I do know that when people inquired about the New Message from God in one form or another, Ellen would patiently and cheerfully respond. She may have answered more questions about the New Message from God than anyone, living or dead. To me, she was our kind cheerful den mother in the Worldwide Community. Happy for our participation, hopeful for our advancement, compassionate with our struggles. She had an inner strength, an inner conviction, which enabled her to be so kind and encouraging to us.

Ellen Mitchell’s depiction of Step 23 of Steps to Knowledge, “I am loved, surrounded and supported by the Teachers of God.”

Ellen also created many artworks that illustrated the teachings of the New Message from God. I seem to recall occasional exhibitions of this artwork, but I’m not finding them now. I consider her artwork to be direct and to the point.

Our kind cheerful den mother. I don’t know very much about Ellen’s departure from this world. It seems to be the tendency of students of the New Message from God to die with minimal drama. All I know is that if the New Message succeeds, Ellen Mitchell will be one of the reasons why. By “succeeds” I mean “causes the human family to survive an increasingly difficult world.” Furthermore, “causes humanity to emerge into a greater community of intelligent life with its freedom and sovereignty intact.” Did she fulfill her purpose for coming to this world? I don’t know. But I believe she made a great contribution.

Sahaba or “Companion disciples” in Arabic calligraphy

In Islam, there are those known as the Sahabah, (“the Companions”) who recognized Mohammed as a prophet during his lifetime, and died as Muslims. Like Mary Lee, I consider Ellen 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. Ellen’s name is on that list.

* * *

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

A Worldwide Community Of Responders

Posted on by
Reply

Step 212 of Steps to Knowledge. I gain strength from all who practice with me. Earth from space. A worldwide community of respondersThe 2014 Encampment of the New Message from God had two firsts on Day 4. One of the firsts was a live webcast from an Encampment. The other first was a broadcast of a revelation from an Encampment, “The Worldwide Community of God’s New Message.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d69Ebit5PEc&list=PLC098FEE9DF940F62

This revelation was received on September 26, 2014. Yes, that’s right, about six weeks ago, about one week before the Encampment. The Encampment attendees had been notified that this revelation had been received. Therefore there was a certain anticipation as to what this revelation had to say about us and our fellow responders.

A worldwide community of responders

I can imagine someone reading this and thinking “Responders? Oh is that what you’re calling yourselves these days?” It is indeed. There was a time when we referred to ourselves as “students of the New Message.” But given that the Pashto word “Taliban” means “students,” that word has already been freighted with unfortunate connotations. One of the attendees on Day 2 referred to the people at Encampment as “first responders” to the Great Waves of Change, the difficult times ahead. The teaching Marshall read from Secrets of Heaven on Day 2 used the word “respond.” The revelation shared on Day 4 referred to us as “respondents,” as if the New Message from God was a plaintiff, requesting something from us. Variations of the words respond, responder, and respondent were in the verbal environment of Encampment.

The revelation “The Worldwide Community of God’s New Message” had many things to say. It is my hope you will read it. But in the meantime, I will try to share some of what it has to say.

The Society (some of whom I have recently introduced to you) will be the people who will play the leadership roles in the future of the New Message from God.

If you think the New Message from God is just about you, please do us all a favor and go somewhere else.

In the past, there have been people who have considered the emergence of one of God’s messengers to be an opportunity to use the messenger to promote their own agenda. I’m recalling Simon Zealotes’s song from the movie “Jesus Christ Superstar”

“There must be over fifty thousand
Screaming love and more for you.
And everyone of fifty thousand
Would do whatever you asked them to.
Keep them yelling their devotion,
But add a touch of hate at Rome.
You will rise to a greater power.
We will win ourselves a home!”

If you are going to be a “cafeteria New Message responder,” someone who picks and chooses the parts to which they respond and rejects other parts, please do us all a favor and go somewhere else.

If you wish to demonstrate the sincerity of your response, there are some things you can do. You can take the Steps to Knowledge (referred to in the revelation as “the Pathway”). You can read the revelations. You can read the books. You can listen to the recordings. You can listen to the voice of revelation, the audio of the messages.

The ambitious, the self-seeking and the self-serving are hazards to the future of the New Message from God.

If you wish to implement your own plan for presenting the New Message from God, please do us all a favor and go somewhere else. The revelation characterized this as “playing the Judas role.”

After the death of Marshall Vian Summers, nothing further will be added to the New Message. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.

Being a responder to the New Message is being part of a community.

As I listened to this at Encampment, this portion resonated with me: “If you love humanity, if you love this world, if you love freedom, if you love inspiration, then this is the mountain you must climb. And this is not a mountain you will climb alone.”

I recalled the 4% figure Marshall shared as I heard this portion: “Even at this moment, there are millions waiting to receive God’s New Revelation. How will you find them? How will you reach them in time? How will you give them the gift that will liberate their minds and their hearts and provide a pathway out of the jungle of their circumstances?”

Marshall shared some things at the webcast, but I feel they should be addressed in another post. But after hearing the revelation, I came away with a clearer picture of what a worldwide community of responders might look like.

* * *

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Do The Leaves Of Green Stay Greener Through The Autumn?

Posted on by
Reply

beginning_of_autumn Do the leaves of green stay greener through the autumn

“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…

Ellen-MitchellDarlene Mitchell (no relation)…

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

Jeanine-Butler

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.

* * *

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

A Few People Have Helped Quite A Bit

Posted on by
Reply

Ana Burrows in the offices of the Society for the New Message from God. A few people have helped quite a bit

I believe many excellent ideas have failed to catch on in the world, for the lack of an organization to promote those ideas, I believe many unfortunate ideas have taken root and flourished in the world because of the passionate intensity of its supporters. The New Message from God has an organization, The Society for the New Message from God. This society recently celebrated its 21st birthday. The New Message from God has some passionate supporters, who shared a little bit about what they do in this video.

The Step 35 Review in Steps to Knowledge refers to “the Greater Community Way of Knowledge.” When the Society was founded, it was originally called “The Society for the Greater Community Way of Knowledge.” I believe the name was changed to its current name sometime in the 00’s. The Society started out with four people, and has grown to nine members and four core assistants.

A few people have helped quite a bit

What has the Society done over the past twenty years? They have documented and archived the messages received by Marshall Vian Summers over the past 32 years (a daunting task in itself). I seem to recall someone using the phrase “terabytes of audio” at the 2012 Encampment. They have published a number of books, which are in various stages of translation into 18 different languages. They operate a small flotilla of websites, one of which gets a substantial amount of traffic They have produced a number of events and gatherings, such as the now-annual Encampment. They operate an online school where the teachings of the New Message are studied and discussed in detail by roughly 1,300 students from roughly 90 countries.

How much money does it take to do all this? The Society’s expenditures were roughly $380,000 last year. I recall it being something close to that in 2012. This is a delicate subject. On the one hand, the Society doesn’t bombard its constituents with solicitations for money. There is a donation page on the website, but the link to it is buried at the bottom of the front page, quite a bit below the fold. It is my experience that the Society and its members go to significant lengths to avoid the very appearance of covetousness. On the other hand, the Society’s income fell short of its expenditures by about $80,000. Society member Ana Burrows (pictured above), sharing this news in the video, said “We didn’t break even last year, either.” Do the 1,300 students of the online school (like myself) need to step up? Maybe.

Margaret Mead said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Will the New Message catch on in the world? I don’t know. But if it does, I believe the historians will record that the efforts of the Society was one of the reasons. A few people have helped quite a bit.

*

* * *

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.