Taking Hold - wire bound book

The significance of our association with the Melchizedek Brotherhood for the fulfilment of our life purpose in the present

At the heart of The Centre, The Independent Church of Australia, lies the priesthood according to the Order of Melchizedek. The founder of our spiritual movement, Rev Mario Schoenmaker, said very clearly that his purpose in founding The Centre was to revive this ancient Order and bring it into conscious manifestation.

“This Centre has been raised up so that it can become the means by which those who originally belonged to the Order can manifest themselves, and those who are called to this Order can be trained. All those who are connected with The Centre are to a certain degree a part of that Order and Centre Members benefit to a great degree benefit from the spiritual and physical guidance of this Order.” (Rev Mario Schoenmaker speaking on The Order of Melchizedek in 1982)

This book begins by drawing attention to the fire within us, the impetus to fulfil ourselves and our life’s purpose. It describes the life-giving spirit that can be at work in our interactions with one another and characterizes this as beingness, initiative and the combining of head and heart. Melchizedek people are described as people who “keep moving forward, exploring, discovering, generating new experience, making a new thing. Something enables them to sustain a connection with their vital life force.

The place of the Order of Melchizedek in human evolution is acknowledged. The Brotherhood of Melchizedek has manifested at different times throughout the ages; evidence of this is to be seen in the continuation of different attitudes, practices and ideas in The Centre today. Sometimes these ideas are of great assistance; sometimes they are not. This mixture makes The Centre a testing ground, so we are ready to deal with the future. Our task is not to be overcome by moods but rather to arrive at conclusions based on knowledge.

The present situation is seeing the breaking down of old groups and the commencement of a new culture. In this new cultural situation a traditional priesthood can no longer adequately fulfil its function. New ways are called for, a new expression of the priesthood, less visible perhaps, less “set aside”, but more integrated into our daily life. This was recognized in The Centre with the ordination of “free priests” – free from traditional church duties to express the power of their ordination in the world at large, in their professions, in their day to day circumstances, duties and relationships.

Those who are connected with the Order of Melchizedek will body forth the reality that the Christ Spirit, the Sun Initiate, is now working within the earth, bringing into being a culture that has never been seen before.

The work of preparing for ordination as a priest into this Order and the work of living out this priesthood is described as “in the wilderness”. Here is where one discovers the real I AM, the Christ force within. Through reliance on the “I AM” one can stand firm, one can stand on their own, one can pass through the darkness of the valleys and withstand the pain of aloneness. There is a growth of confidence and strength and a discovery of the spring of living water which wells up to eternal life.

This is the spirit that shines through the daily life of a person associated with the Melchizedek Brotherhood.

Keywords
Priesthood, Metaphysics, Psychology, Evolution, Esoteric.

Book Details
Author: The Ministry Development Board: Rev Trish Cahill, Rev Max Clayton, Rev Heather Gilmour, Rev Ursula Klein, Rev Antoinette Schoenmaker
Published by ICA Press, July 2002

Wire bound book, soft cover
18.5 cm 21.0 cm size (custom)
29 pages

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