Quoted from the booklet the journey is: "Being in touch with our higher nature means being connected to God. That is because our higher nature is made in the image of God: radiant, wise loving and whole. The wholeness is the source of our integrity. When we act from this place, our inside and outside align, creating a strength of character that can withstand the toughest pressure."
And God was present on the day and people connected with each other with laughter, engagement and relations. The day was filled with children singing angelic songs and a band that drum-rolled and sang beautiful music in the church. The congregation danced, rejoiced and praised the Lord with the band that consisted of three ladies and two male youth. The band were not New Church members except for one of them, and the rest of them seem to be at home with the congregation.
The Rev. J.M. Maseko was supposed to give a sermon, but instead explained the story of Joseph and like typical New Church style, he went into the internal meaning of Joseph and his brothers actions. "There is a seed in all of us" explains the Reverend, "that is waiting to blossom." When we are challenged by difficulty, the seed like a flower blossoms. We were also visited by the corporation administrator Heather Alias and Rev. Mark Alias who also spoke about their experience of the journey and the story of Joseph.
The Rev. J.M. Maseko conducted the children's talk about "Integrity" and making the children hold the nostrils while saying 'integrity', so that it came out with a little bit of a twang. The children's lesson was beautiful and so was their dress code. The church had made t-shirts that had "The General Church Of The New Jerusalem: Diepkloof" It felt very appropriate as it was a launch of "Integrity" and it is an important lesson that both kids and adults can learn and teach others. For everything connected to God has integrity, and everything disconnected to God, disintegrates.
The day was concluded with a lunch - typical of Diepkloof - where everyone who was not already signed up for the 7 week journey bought a book and committed themselves to walking the journey of integrity. The journey officially starts on April 7th, 2013. Hope to see you there.
