| | December eNewsletter 2016 |
| | Jesus Christ
The Good Shepherd of souls opened his arms to all, rejecting none, and with universal love coaxed the world to follow him on the path to liberation through the example of his spirit of sacrifice, renunciation, forgiveness, love for friend and enemy alike, and supreme love for God above all else.
As the tiny babe in the manger at Bethlehem, and as the saviour who healed the sick and raised the dead and applied the salve of love on the wounds of errors, the Christ in Jesus lived among men as one of them that they too might learn to live like gods. Paramahansa Yogananda The Yoga of Jesus |
| | | "We in Self-Realization Fellowship believe in the true worship of Christ, the Christ in Spirit. The real celebration of Christmas is the realization within ourselves of Christ Consciousness.
"Self-Realization Fellowship has started the idea of devoting one day at Christmastime entirely to meditative worship of Christ and that idea shall never die. Each year at Christmastime there are strong vibrations of Christ Consciousness in the air. Those who are attuned by their devotion and by deep scientific meditation will receive in their own consciousness these vibrations of the universal Christ Mind that was in Jesus.
"This is my wish: that you make every Christmas blessed by your own realization of the Christ Consciousness. Then we shall never be apart: whether in the body or not, we shall always celebrate this day together with our own Father. We in SRF have started a fire of true devotion to Christ that shall never be put out, that shall conflagrate this earth with a new illumination, and help to destroy war and misery in the holy flames of Self-realization.
"One of the most encouraging signs of a spiritual rebirth in the world today is the increased willingness of Christians to observe the birth of Jesus by these long meditations and chanting meetings. This spiritual custom of Christmas meditation will in time be adopted by all Christians---I predict it."Paramahansa Yogananda Self-Realization Fellowship Manual of Services |
| | All Day Christmas Meditation
"The idea of an all-day Christmas meditation was really given to me by Christ, that he might do something for you. He wants to bless you, but his hands are tied if you are not receptive. He wants to come to you, but he can't if the portals of devotion, through which alone he can enter your life, are closed. Wherever he finds sincere souls, he tries to come to them; but how can he get in when the doors of calmness are shut and the latch of restlessness has locked up the soul? Yet if you meditate long and deeply, and call to Christ with all the love of your soul, removing all barriers of restlessness and doubt, you will find him willingly entering in. You will know the real meaning of joy of Christmas."Paramahansa Yogananda From A Christmas Message Winter 2008 Self-Realization Magazine *************This year our All Day Meditation will be on December 17th. The meditation will begin at 10:00 am and continue until 5:00 pm. After 10:00 am no one will be permitted to enter the chapel once the meditation has begun. There will be an intermission at 1:30 pm for 20 minutes. It is requested that devotees plan to stay for the full meditation period. However, one may attend the first half and leave during the intermission if circumstances do not permit remaining for the entire meditation. Please do not plan to attend only the afternoon session as no one should be admitted for just the second half. These rules were instituted by Paramahansaji for the best possible conditions of calmness and attunement. He insisted that anyone with a cough or cold should not attend the meditation, but meditate at home. Please bring devotional offerings, called pranami, of fruit and a monetary donation. The fruit symbolizes the devotee's love and devotion for Christ, Krishna, and the line of SRF Gurus. The donation is a symbol of loyalty and faithfulness to the cause of Self-Realization Fellowship. Please arrive a little early so that you may become comfortably settled and calm before the meditation begins. You may bring a small cushion to sit on and an extra sweater or shawl for comfort. You may also come early and individually practice the Energization Exercises in India Hall before the meditation begins. |
| | New Year's Eve Meditation Service
We will hold our annual New Year's Eve Meditation Service from 7pm-10pm on Saturday, December 31st, 2016. All are invited to attend. You may enter and leave on the hour. |
| | | | DFW Building Fund--$208,500!
We have reached another milestone in the DFW Building Fund Project. As of the last report from Mother Center we have reached this new total in our efforts to have a new home for the DFW Meditation Group of SRF. Thank you all for your devotional donations to this project. All donations to the work of our Guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, serve to bring his message of Self-Realization and love for God to all Truth seeking souls. |
| | Altar Project
Over 1 year ago we embarked on the effort to refresh and renew the altar where we present the images of the Guru's of Self-Realization Fellowship. We are now coming to the end process of this endeavor. We have commissioned a new upper portion of the altar to be built with CNC process, which is Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing. We have been meeting with Mr. Phill Pittman of Masterwerks, in Garland,who is helping us design the altar in a 3D environment which is then sent to the cutting machines that carve the exact image out of MDF material. He has extensive woodworking experience doing architectural and religious work by hand until the late nineteen nineties before switching over to machine fabrications. Machines cut the exact dimensions in 3D from the 3D renderings on the computer.
We have also been meeting with a group of our members that have shown a great interest in this project on all aspects of the altar design. When the design is approved by our group, we will be sending it to Center Department for their approval. It must be approved by Mother Center before it can be used to represent SRF at our chapel.
Our much beloved altar of some 20 years will be moved into India Hall to be used in our Sunday School. |
| | Annual Elections
We will hold our annual group elections on Sunday, January 15th, 2017 at noon after Sunday services. Elections are held according to SRF Election Guidelines. Please see detailed information on the process and requirements in the front foyer and listen for them in our announcements.
This year's Nominating Committee has been approved by the Management Council and they are; Chairman, John Salih, with Venu Boddu and Judy Cherry. If you would like to nominate yourself or suggest someone for any of the elected positions please feel free to contact them. You may ask any questions that you have about SRF group elections. We appreciate your participation in our election process.
John Salih---- johncsalih@gmail.com Venu Boodu-- vboddu@hotmail.com Judy Cherry-- jscherry@sbcglobal.net |
| | Paramahansa Yogananda Special Events
Sunday, January 1, 2017-- 12 Noon after services we will have a brief Birthday Cake Social for Master.
Thursday, January 5, 2017-- 8:00 pm Paramahansa Yogananda Birthday Commemoration Service.
Saturday, January 7, 2017-- 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Paramahansa Yogananda All Day Commemoration Meditation. |
| | Needed--Previous Years SRF Catalogues
Our Sunday School would like to make use of previous years SRF catalogues. Please bring in previous years catalogues instead of throwing them away. The pictures in them can be used for crafts in our Sunday School programs. |
| | No Sunday School
There will be no Sunday school :
Sunday, December 25th, 2016
Sunday, January 1, 2017 |
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| Dallas Fort Worth Meditation Group Services
Please join us for our services at any of these times:Wednesday evening Meditation Service at 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Saturday morning 3 hour Meditation Service starting at 9:00 -12:00 pm
Sunday morning Meditation Service at 10:00 am -10:45 am
Sunday morning Reading Service at 11:00 am -12:00 pm
Sunday School for children 5 to 13 from 11:00am-12:00pm on Sundays.
*Please note that our group chapel is only open during the above times.
More information about our services is on the DFW Meditation Group Website. As the official branch of SRF in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, our meditation group has been meeting continuously since 1972. Our History. |
| | For those who are new to Self-Realization FellowshipSelf-Realization Fellowship (SRF) has more than 500 temples, retreats, ashrams and meditation centers around the world offering all interested seekers the opportunity to come together to experience the power of group meditations. Additional information about meditation with videos and the world wide work of SRF can be found on the international web site; Self-Realization Fellowship |
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