A shout out to the Rosicrucians

These past nine days have really made a huge difference in where I am at and the perspective that I have on my life at the moment. Though there were events and discussions out in the real world that were part of it, a lot of it has to do with being able to use this blog as a workspace to explore long standing issues and confusions.

Over the weekend a shift occurred that I did not expect to see for five to ten years. It started by following up on an email from my best friend in the Order and one from headquarters giving the figures regarding a revitalization among the membership and new applications [47% increase in number of active members during 2009]. My friend confirmed those numbers on the ground. Our local group that has been just holding on for years has doubled in size in the past two months.

This is really the fruit of a long process. We have held jurisdiction wide visioning sessions for about a decade. That culminated in a Vision Plan released by the leadership team about a year ago. When I saw it I could hardly believe the proposed changes. It was the Rosicrucian equivalent of the Mission Shaped Church report (from the CofE). Emerging Rosicrucianism has apparently hit the scene along with other cultural changes that are part of Phyllis Tickle’s “Great Emergence” as the wider phenomenon of which Emerging Christianity is a part.

When I saw the Vision Plan last year, I noted the potential but knew that I couldn't just run right back. I did however mention it to a priest with whom I attended the Emerging Church conference last year in Albuquerque (only a few weeks away from the second one, yeah!). We noted the large scale qualities of this shift.

With confirmation that things actually have made a difference, I was immediately drawn to reconnect. Though I have been away from my local Rosicrucian group for about two years, my dues actually only lapsed nine months ago. My lessons, notes, etc. have only been boxed up for about six months. Perhaps that was just enough time to have successfully let go so that I could return freely later. I read something the other day that said “There is a big difference between still believing in something and believing in something again.” I think I needed to be able to switch from one mode to the other.

So the end result is that I have reconnected with my friend, reactivated my membership, and even exchanged short but joyful emails with the Grand Master. Hearing from her was like reconciling with an old friend. She and I never had any personal trouble (in fact in years past she was very kind to my father), but she represented a whole structure that I had thought I needed to leave behind. I truly did not realize how much quiet pain remained by being estranged from the Order which since high school has trained, encouraged, and supported me.

If I can move forward toward reintegrating both my Christian and Hermetic sides that would be truly amazing.

Funny story about the Corpus Hermeticum to wrap this up: When the early Muslims were coming through what is now Turkey, they encountered the Sabeans. Looking for the third option beyond convert or die, they said that they too were a people of the book. When challenged, they ran and got a copy of the Corpus Hermeticum and said, “This, this is our book”. So for somewhere on the order of 1200 years, Hermeticists have been the “fourth people of the book”. Funny how things work out sometimes.