By Gabriel

To me, being a novice is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  The Order of Christ/Sophia is something I never knew could exist and is exactly what my soul longed for.  The priests here are real.  They live a God-centered life and I feel my own growth being quickened just by being around them.  Living in the same house, I get opportunities that I never would have had if I had stayed living on my own.  Old, stubborn ways I block God now get revealed to me through their help.   It’s an incredible feeling to have things that I've struggled with for years being brought out into the light so I can heal them.  It feels often like getting out of jail!  No matter how difficult or messy the process is, I always feel loved and supported through it by them.  That alone has healed my heart. 

The other joyful surprise is that the priests are so much fun.  Since joining the Order I have laughed more than I ever had previously in my life.  They constantly blow my mind because I never expected to meet such clear, transformed people who live in their integrity.  Frankly, I never believed such people existed.  Not only do they exist, but I share a roof with them!

by Deacon Lucy

When I was growing up, I often heard people talk about “doing God’s will”.  I asked once how we were supposed to know what God’s will was for us.  The Bible gives general guidelines, but it’s not very personal to our individual lives.  The answer I got was that no one really knew – you just did what you thought God’s will was.  This seemed pretty wimpy to me.  How were we supposed to live our lives according to what God wanted if we didn’t even know what that was?

As I got older, I tried many different ways to grow closer to God – attending church services and events, reading the Bible, listening to religious music.  It would work for a while, and I would feel more fulfilled.  But then, something would happen, or I would just drift away, and I would feel just as lost as ever.  By the time I was finishing college, I had pretty much given up on any chance that we could have any real contact with God.  After all, I’d been around for 20 years, and I hadn’t found anyone yet who knew how to make that happen.

I did keep searching though.  I changed churches.  I started taking yoga and studying astrology.  I saw that a lot of things in my life were really miserable.  One day I stood in my kitchen and said, “I want to get things right so I don’t have to come back [in another life] and do this all over again!”  God heard my prayer, and within a few months, I had learned about the Center of Light.

I attended my first class and was amazed that the teacher talked about being able to hear God’s voice inside and that many students had been taught how to do this!  It was what I had been looking for for so long, and here it finally was!  I continued attending the classes and started attending more events from time to time.

Over the last several years, my involvement has increased and my relationship with God has grown and deepened.  I am now the one who can tell people that hearing God inside is possible and how much more relaxed I can be, knowing that I am building a firm foundation on the life that God wants for me.  When challenges come along, I can rely on God for my source of help and love and peace.

Is this something that you’re looking for too?

We are looking to make a difference in the world -- in your world and in the larger world.

• Do you have a garage full of stuff you'd like organized?
• Do you have a basement, closet or attic that needs some serious spring cleaning?
• Do you have a bunch of stuff you want to get rid of?

Would you like some help?

At the Center of Light in Milwaukee, we've started a new project called "Whole Earth Cleaning and Recycling" and we would love to help you!

Our rates are very reasonable and we donate all earnings to peace!

This is what we are talking about -- making a difference in the world.

Perhaps it sounds too good to be true, but it's for real.

We donate our earnings to the Sophia Peace Center in Colorado -- they give non-profit groups strategic retreats so they can regroup, recoup and reconsider how best to focus their monies and energies in the smartest, most effective ways.

There are two ways Whole Earth Cleaning and Recycling can help you and this great cause at the same time:

1. Cleaning: yards, basements, attics, rooms, garages.
2. Recycling: if you have stuff you want to get rid of that is nice, we'd like to sell it on eBay or craigslist. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to supporting non-profit groups. No hassle for you and you can feel good that your extra stuff is being transformed into peace for the world!

The people with Whole Earth Cleaning and Recycling work quickly, efficiently and consciously. We can have up to 12-15 people helping on your project -- before you know it that cluttered area will be all fresh and organized!

The volunteers with Whole Earth Cleaning and Recycling are members of the Centers of Light, whose mission is to help people become peaceful in their hearts, which in turn will help bring more peace to the world. We started Whole Earth Cleaning and Recycling as a way of supporting this mission of peace.

If you are interested in having Whole Earth Cleaning and Recycling help you with a house or yard project or if you'd like to donate items to our eBay store, please call Rev Margaret at 414.248.7405.

Blessings of peace.

#1: The Word dwells among us. Now. Today. Here. In *you*!

The Centers of Light are always growing and evolving, especially in our efforts to reach and heal the hearts of many.  The happy news is that the Centers of Light have announced plans to expand outreach efforts into neighboring cities around several Centers. What that means for the Milwaukee Center of Light is that I will be starting a class in Madison, Wisconsin in the beginning of April! I am so honored and excited to receive this call to love and serve in this way. Other centers around the country are also doing a similar thing in sending out ministers to the next major city near them.  The Dolores center, for example is creating a Satellite Center in Durango, CO, and Lansing is reaching out to Ann Arbor, MI.

My experience has been positive in feeling the energy of Madison. The people seem very receptive, respectful and friendly. I've traveled there on two separate weekends, to check out potential spaces and hang flyers and just be with the people and the area.  Madison is known for its liberal political leanings and an openness to bigger ideas. The area I’ve primarily enjoyed is the University of Wisconsin Madison area.  As you probably know, Madison is a large liberal college.   The state capital and the university are just twelve blocks apart, and connecting them is the “happening” area of downtown - namely:  State Street. There are several new age book shops and a spiritual store where they sell Quan-yin type figurines and crystals etc.  (I even found a figurine of Mary Magdalene). There's a more open energy around alternative spirituality there. Those people have been very friendly with me and helpful in finding a space. One store, Mimosa, offers a nice space for possible future events but I have found a temporary space for six weeks at the Library.  This will allow me to hold a complete six-week Introduction to Meditation and Christian Mysticism course as I get settled into Madison. The first introductory class will be held on Tuesday nights from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m, starting on April 7th.

Blessings to you,

Rev. John Mark

By Caleb


When I got to college at UW-Madison, I studied Psychology, and for a brief period bought into the strict materialistic-Newtonian viewpoint espoused there. They had constructed a universe that had no need for a God to make it run, and I thought the "scientific" viewpoint was the most practical. One day I was doing some research for an experiment I was designing and came across a book called "Explaining the Unexplained" by Hans Eysenck. He was a researcher I really respected, and I was surprised he had written a book about ESP, psychokinesis, reincarnation and other phenomena that were "unscientific". The book was about all the legitimate scientific research that has been done on these subjects, which the mainstream scientific community essentially ignores.

The book didn't really offer much theorization about God, but it did get into how quantum physics could possibly explain some of the phenomena. Reading the book caused a chain reaction for me. I realized I had always wanted to believe in something more than the materialistic humdrum of everyday 21st century American life. Even though the book wasn't focused on spirituality, it brought up a lot of questions for me, and I soon began devouring books on parapsychology, spirituality, meditation, religion, metaphysics, shamanism, and anything I thought could bring me a new piece of the puzzle. I realized at the esoteric core of every major religion, they were essentially saying the same thing. The Islamic Sufists, the Kaballists, the Zen Buddhists, and the Mystic Christians - they all believed in reincarnation, they all believed in the unity of everything, and the more I learned about quantum physics, the more it started to sound like another way of arriving at the same truths divulged by the great prophets thousands of years before particle accelerators.

I read many great books, and often after a new one, I would think "Now I've really got it figured out. Fear is irrational, God is love, and everything is great." The only problem was I didn't get much happier. Loving everyone wasn't as easy in practice as it was in theory. I'd like to think I made some progress over the 5 or 6 years when most of my teaching came from books, but if I did, I still wasn't exactly basking in the infinite love of God. It was about a year ago that I first found a real spiritual teacher. He could see things about me that I couldn't see myself. I found him through a martial arts studio I was attending. Even though there was a teacher there, there wasn't really a community, and I realized my current social network wouldn't support the type of consciousness I was trying to cultivate. I decided to check out some activities at the Center of Light, and was surprised by how similar the spiritual work they did was to what I was doing with my other teacher, who did not have a Christian background.

The more time I spent at the Center, the more the clarity, love, and integrity of the priests became apparent to me. About a month after I completed the Intro to Christian Mysticism class, I went on the bi-annual spiritual retreat. I had some great experiences there, and it was at that point when I really became devoted to this path. Shortly after retreat, my other teacher abruptly moved to a different state. I feel blessed that he was here just as long as I needed him.

So, now I've been in the novice program for a little over five months and I'm participating in lent for the first time. As a novice, I have a regular 40 hour/week job, in addition to all the spiritual work we do here. There are two other novices who live here (and two more are moving in soon), as well as two priests. The intensive spiritual work is great, but what I really didn't expect is how much fun we have here. There are times when it is really challenging too, but that's where the greatest rewards are.

A couple weeks ago, the Milwaukee novices took a trip to Minneapolis to see one of the Master Teachers of our order Mother Clare, and to visit the novices in Minneapolis. It seems like there's an instant bond with the other novices I have met in the order. It's rare to meet people in today's society who are devoting their lives to knowing God. The world makes it seem like that's a crazy thing to do. Bonding with other people who are vibrant, young, intelligent and also on this "crazy" path helps to affirm the truth of the choice we've made. They get it. They want to KNOW.

So, that's a little bit about the life of a novice. We meditate and take communion, we go to work, we eat dinner together and talk about our day and what came up for us. We work on clearing the crap out of ourselves that is blocking the energy of God from flowing through us unimpeded. We watch a lot of movies. We change and transform, becoming more functional and capable in the world while simultaneously less attached to it. We experience and give more love than we previously could. We ride rollercoasters at the Mall of America. I know, it's crazy.

All of the previous entries were written by me, Rev Margaret, but it seems like it will be more interesting and relevant if you hear from all of us -- Priests, Deacons, Sisters (and Brothers, when we have some), students, novices, and community members alike.  Then you will get a real sense of who we are and what it is like to be part of this spiritual community.

It's the end of Thanksgiving 2008 and all day I've thought about what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for this spiritual community and how the people here strive to have a relationship with God, that they practice it every day and every moment in the choices they make to love or to get angry, to give or to be selfish, to stand in their knowing or to go along with the crowd.  I am grateful to share much of my life with people who have integrity, who have real conversations, and who are working and dedicated to becoming the best humans they possibly can be -- to be the way God created them.

I am so thankful that we have real Master Teachers leading our Order and bringing people into a deeper consciousness and knowing of God and of themselves.  Who teach us that we have God inside of us and that we can have a deep and personal relationship with the Self within.  I am so grateful for the sacrament of Communion and having the opportunity everyday to be washed clean by Grace. 

I am so thankful for our beautiful Center of Light on the Eastside of Milwaukee.  The place is gorgeous and huge and it sleeps lots of people (we had 26 people for Thanksgiving dinner!).  I love that God brought me to Milwaukee -- I think Milwaukee is a fabulous city and has so much to offer.  There is a freedom here and an openness to be yourself.  I really appreciate how Milwaukeeans enjoy life.

Finally, I am grateful that Obama is the president-elect -- and I am hopeful for our country and the world.  The times ahead are going to be tough, and I am thankful that Obama will be leading us through the future challenges.

There are so many things to be grateful for because God has been so generous to me and those I know.  It really is incredible to look at my life and the way I've grown and expanded into a place of love and peace and hope and serving.

I hope, for those who are reading this posting, that you too have many things you are thankful for, and if not, that you find a way to create a life you love!

Blessings to all on this day ~ Rev Margaret

Everyone at the Center of Light, Milwaukee is so excited that Father Peter is coming this weekend!! 

Why is that? 

Are we excited about the series of lectures he will be giving?  Sure, but more importantly we are excited to be in the presence of a Master Teacher! 

"Master Teacher" is not a very well-known phrase in the United States -- the word "Guru" is actually more recognizable even though it comes from the East -- so what is the big deal, and why is it so exciting to be around a Master Teacher? 

A Master Teacher is one who has been taught the way back to God, and who has been empowered to lead others back to God. They have the tools to bring someone who is determined and open through all the steps of the path back into union with God within (there is a part of God that lives inside you, inside your soul, and this part gives you life).  Can you imagine working with someone on this?  On discovering the divinity that resides within you?  Did you know it was even possible?  Did you know you had some part of you that is perfect and whole and loving dwelling within you?  Now that you do, don't you just want to discover it, uncover it, work with it and know it?  That's what it is to work with a Master Teacher.  Sadly, working with a Master Teacher is a privilege few seek, and even fewer have the opportunity to experience since there are so few real Master Teachers on earth.

Master Teachers are ordained Priests, but they are more than Priests -- they have reached a much higher level of consciousness than the world could ever understand, and they work with and for Master Jesus and Mother Mary bringing heaven and healing into the earth and its people.  They embody the qualities of light, life, and love.  They speak Truth, and their word holds power to create and manifest things on earth. They hold in their hands the keys that open up the door for people to have a personal relationship with God, to have peace in their hearts, to have power in their words, to know what love truly is. 

I invite you to come and be with our Master Teacher, Father Peter, this weekend -- to learn from him, to listen to him, to come closer to healing and love and peace and God than you ever have been before.

Father Peter Bowes will be in Milwaukee starting Thursday, November 13 through Sunday, November 16, and will be giving a series of lectures on the spiritual life, the qualities of devotion, and what a gift God gave to us in Jesus.