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Friday Evening Lecture
Sacred Magic and Mystery: The Archetypes of the Mass

Date:	May 9, 2008 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Presenter:	Gene Powell Baker, M.Div, MSSW
Location:	St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Inwood at Mockingbird
$15.00 non-members (wine and cheese reception)

This lecture will consider how we can find enchantment in the 21st Century world. It will focus on the rediscovery of the sacred today in ancient rites, especially in the sacrament of the Mass or Holy Communion. Within the Eucharist (Greek for “thanksgiving”) is found the death and transformation experience, a significant archetype.

Father Baker also suggests that the death and resurrection motif is a reading back into history of the eucharistic formula. This is because the enchantment was there all the time waiting to emerge into consciousness. The foundation for the Mass or Eucharist is found in the ancient Egyptian formula of the Night Sea Journey or the “Nekya” and in the Passover meal of the Jews. Jesus of Nazareth, in his final discourse to his disciples, understands and capitalizes on the emerging archetype. As a Jew, is it possible he knew about the Egyptian rites as well?

Saturday Workshop
Sacred Traditions, Sacred Arts

Date:	May 10, 2008 9:30 a.m. – noon
Presenter:	Gene Powell Baker, M.Div, MSSW
Location:	St. Thomas Episcopal Church
$40.00 non-members (coffee and rolls provided)

The Saturday workshop will continue the discussion of the Friday lecture. Then we will turn to a more “hands-on” approach. First we will learn the making of incense. Incense-making follows an ancient formula developed over time by alchemists of widely variant traditions, from the Egyptians to Native American shamans. Afterward, participants will tour the church to study the symbols and the meaning of the sacred vessels used in the Holy Eucharist. From the various colors used in the paraments to the vessels themselves, we will study the parallels between the church and the Lakota tradition. Fr. Baker was initiated as a sacred pipe carrier in 1992 and is himself a descendent of the Dakotas. He spent three years in Manitoba, Canada, working with the Cree people and learning their traditions.

Gene Powell Baker is a retired Episcopal priest and clinical social worker. He first became active in the Analytical Psychology Association of Dallas, predecessor of the C.G. Jung Society, in 1977 and has remained active in the organization ever since. He holds an M.Div. from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin and the MSSW from the University of Texas in Arlington. He has done post-graduate work in clinical counseling at the American Institute of Family Relations in Los Angeles. Gene has served in a number of psychiatric settings in the Dallas area and as a visiting priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas.

 

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