Residents, family, and friends joined at Prana, headquarters of the Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA) and Peace Theological Seminary (PTS), for a special weekend of events celebrating Passover and Easter.
On Thursday, March 28, Prana hosted a Seder dinner, led by MSIA President Paul Kaye and MSIA minister Jim Dutka. Prana staff, residents and volunteers prepared the place for the Seder evening. They set the tables, cooked, cleaned dishes, and did everything necessary to welcome the Seder guests.
After calling in the Light, Jim and Paul introduced the Seder, with Jim noting how the Seder is a celebration of the spiritual roots of our tradition studying the Traveler’s teachings.
To help bridge the Passover tradition with MSIA and the teachings of Soul Transcendence, Paul read “Passover Story: An Allegory of Soul Transcendence” to the group. The following is a passage from that reading:
“Throughout Judeo-Christian history, there has been a wayshower who taught the people of the times about one God.. The Seder is a celebration of the overcoming of darkness, of the annunciation of the Messiah, and of Soul Transcendence, symbolizing the inner journey of leaving the darkness to travel on the path of the inner name of God, the holy Sound. The wayshower leads us into the Light, the Holy Land, the promised land, the spiritual promise of our own Soul, Divinity, our return home into the heart of God.”
With this blessed beginning, the Seder unfolded with great unity and upliftment. Jim presented the Passover story with great humor and eloquence, inviting everyone to participate as a child, as if hearing the story of Moses, the Israelites, the Egyptians and the Pharaoh for the first time — and to hear it as the story of every Soul’s journey. We read from the Haggadah, the traditional text for the Seder, and learned about the symbolism of the meal and the origins of matzoh (matzoh is unleavened bread, developed by the Jews when they needed to leave Egypt quickly before the Pharaoh changed his mind — arguably the first fast-food!). We raised our glasses to share symbolic cups of wine in celebration of the journey through darkness (grape juice never tasted so sweet!), ate parsley, charoset, bitter herbs, and hard-boiled eggs, and delighted in the warmth of homemade matzoh ball soup (prepared over the course of three nights in advance by Marjorie Eaton) all to make ready for our Seder feast.
When the time came for dinner, Prana staff member, Kevin McMillan, appeared to lead the hungry crowd to the Promised Land. The group traveled up Prana’s winding staircase, through the halls, and down a back stairwell leading into the dining room with nary a grumble or fear about any delays of 40 years! And what a feast there was — well worth the journey. All of the traditional dishes were present in abundance — succulent beef brisket, roasted chicken, sesame green beans, rosemary herbed potatoes, and, of course, gefilte fish.
As the first phases of digestion set in, the Seder continued. A child led the way, as Alissa Frankel found the afikomen and collected her reward. The tempo and energy of the evening continued to lift, with the Haggadah shifting from text to joyous songs of expansion, gratitude, and liberation. We shared a moment of peace together to send Light to the Middle East, and a sweet energy of brotherhood filled the house.
As the Seder came to an end, Jim led the group in the traditional closing, a joint shout of “Next year in Jerusalem!” with a call to hear those words in a different way — that “Next year in Jerusalem” is now, and we are in the promised land now, and always have been.
On that sweet note, the Seder ended and the call to dessert rang through the halls. Groups of peacemakers made their way again to the dining hall to savor baked apples and a deep, dark chocolate cake. Helping hands abounded to clean up, and after our guests had left, Prana residents continued the celebration, dancing in the halls and sharing shouts of joy. It was a beautiful night of inspiration, inclusion, and feeling love from the soles of our feet to the tops of our heads. And that was just the beginning…
Two days later, Prana hosted another event — a Community Service Day to prepare for Easter. This was a sort of “waystation holiday” in our waltz from Passover to Resurrection, and the day did indeed have a quality of waltzing with the Lord. The kitchen bustled with food preparation, a “macho crew” of residents and volunteers pitched in to set up tables and grills for an outdoor buffet by the labyrinth.
Patti Rayner joined teams of folks to prepare for the Easter service project with the Heartfelt Foundation — distributing Easter lunches to homeless people in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
The joy of service was everywhere — you could feel it in the air, smell and taste it in the food, and see it radiating off of the tiles in the labyrinth. It seemed as if the joy of service had put out a call across the land, Field of Dreams style, and people came from all over — some new to Prana, some long-time volunteers, some folks we hadn’t seen in a while — a perfect loving mix. When the lunch bell rang at 12:30pm, we gathered in a circle ringing the labyrinth and called in the Light. A peaceful energy settled over the group and everybody appeared to relax and receive the love from Spirit.
And then came the pizzas — a variety pack of specially made pizzas with toppings ranging from turkey sausage to avocado. Roasted chicken and salad rounded out the meal, and for dessert we were treated to some of Elaine Kitchell’s famous brownies (dark, moist, warm from the oven, packed with walnuts, yum).
And all of this was still but a prelude to the day we were all waiting for..
Easter Sunday dawned with a gentle, dewy glow. The love of the Christ was in the air. As the house started to awaken and bustle in preparation for our guests, the sweet sounds of a harp wafted across the property and through the halls. With her harp placed at the center of the labyrinth, Marjorie Eaton treated us to the magical acoustics of harp and labyrinth, sending out vibrations of love and welcome.
At about 9:30am, our Easter service began. MSIA minister Joey Hubbard MC’d the morning, welcoming everyone to Prana and introducing new folks to MSIA and the day’s agenda.
Jennifer Miller sang an Irish “Morning Song” to begin the day. After calling in the Light, we listened to songs of love and joy by Bob Tackney, Clea Rose, and a hauntingly joyous rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Deborah Martinez with Paul Davidson on guitar.
After these hymns of love, Light, and Sound, we listened to a John-Roger Seminar “Resurrection to the Newness.” The Network of Wisdoms team (NOW Productions) had set up sound systems throughout the house and property, so people everywhere could tune into the seminar. As J-R spoke, a stillness and peace came present and seemed to fill everyone, even with continuing kitchen preparations for the brunch to follow. People hugged, laughed, and love was flowing freely through eyes, smiles, and fingertips. When the seminar ended, Angel Gibson led the group in the Alleluia chorus.
Brunch began with fresh pancakes and eggs served up piping hot by our own “Grill Guys” Ken Jones and Glen Barnett. Other dishes included: chicken sausages, dilled baby carrots, roasted potatoes, a humongous fruit salad, more brownies and another Elaine Kitchell specialty, chocolate chip banana bread made for an incredible meal.
And just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, the Easter Bunny arrived on the roof of Prana! Sporting freshly coiffed bunny fur and a smile brighter than any egg yolk, the Easter Bunny came and played with children of all ages and sizes. Children and parents searched all around the grounds of Prana for Easter eggs filled with treats. After the egg hunt, many of the children discovered the reflecting pools and couldn’t resist splashing and sometimes immersing themselves in the water.
What can you do with energy that is running so high, with hearts so full, with joy so present? Why, direct it into service! After the Easter Bunny’s visit, Patti Rayner of the Heartfelt Foundation invited everyone to come into the dining hall to prepare the lunch bags for our service project. The hall filled with people who passed the bags down the tables assembly-line style. The volunteers prepared 500 sack lunches and 300 extra sandwiches to pass out to the homeless around the city. The group energy in the dining room was fantastic, as more than 75 pairs of hands stuffed bags full of delicious food: bologna and cheese sandwich, orange, juice box, donuts, Easter egg, Easter candy, granola bar, shampoo–and lots of loving. The bags had been pre-decorated by many caring children and children-at-heart. Once the lunches were ready, the group divided into three teams for distribution — one to downtown Skid Row area in Los Angeles, one to Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, and another to the beach, where there were reports of people gathering and asking when Heartfelt would be coming since early morning! One by one, cars pulled out of the Prana parking lot as people made their way to go out and share love and joy. Once at their destinations, these teams served more than 800 people. Lunches and hot coffee went like wildfire! All who participated were filled in even greater ways than those we served.
Back at Prana, the clean-up crew took to the tasks of good works on the homefront, washing pots, storing food, packing up pancake batter, and loving all the way.
As the sun set on our holiday weekend at Prana, our waltz with the Lord settled into a soft, majestic, easy flow. May every heart know that peace is present, that peace is a choice, and see the Christ within each of us for the highest good. We felt our worldwide community with us throughout this week of “firsts” here at Prana, and we give our thanks. Baruch Bashan!
