A standing ovation met Phil Danza when he announced, “John-Roger is the true godfather of Soul!” to the 1000+ initiates who packed the main room and spilled into an overflow room. And so began an amazing Initiates Meeting for the 2001 Conference of Alignment.

Mandeville Press had won a Benjamin Franklin Award earlier in the month for John-Roger’s book, Divine Essence. A brief video highlighting that event was shown to a huge burst of applause, after which David Sand and Stede Barber presented the award to J-R.

The first two raffle winners for the coveted PAT X trip to Israel and Egypt in Spring 2002 were chosen: Greg Freitas and Victoria Montgomery, both radiating joy as they received their winning tickets.

Phil Danza, Paul Davidson, and Deborah Martinez performed a beautiful song in honor of our Beloveds, John-Roger and John Morton, opening the hearts of everyone in the room.

John Morton then spoke. I enjoyed hearing him sharing childhood experiences. His stories touched everyone’s heart. For me, I found great value in John’s seminar.

As John and J-R prepared to leave the room after the closing “Baruch Bashan,” someone started softly singing the old MSIA song “Light and Sound.” Imagine the sound of 1000 initiates singing ever-so-gently as the Travelers left the room, the conclusion of our 2001 Initiates’ meeting for the Conference of Alignment.