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Birthday of Mother Mary – 8 September



The dates of 7 and 8 September are the most sacred to devotees of Mother Mary.  The 8th of September is known as Her birthday.  The first initiation into the Temple of Mary is taking place on these auspicious days. 

Mary is personification, embodiment and goddess of  spirit in ‘matter’ (mater = mother).  The sacred body of Earth and all living beings is the Mother.

As we approach the end of Kali Yuga, a transformation is taking place and a new mythos is being born into the consciousness of humanity :  that of the Cosmic Mother and the Sacred Feminine and very importantly and powerfully, the mythos of the Sacred Marriage, the Union.

Mary, as divine mother for our times,  is recognized in all cultures and traditions.  Here is an extract written by Elizabeth Clare Prophet in the lineage of the Ascended Masters :

Mary – World Mother

In knowing Mary as she really is, I have come to see her as a relentless and constant force, challenging the oppression of her children everywhere, in every faith, in every religion.
She is a World Mother, and I have seen this in her tremendous mastery of life. Her knowledge of administration and organization, as she has conveyed it to me, has given me the real teaching of how to administer my organisation and, with a very capable staff, bring it to this level of complexity of service that we enjoy.

The Mother Flame

When we want to master the details of life in any field, we realize that it is the Mother aspect of God that actually corresponds to Matter, or the Matter universe, as mater is the Latin word for Mother.
And so, here on earth, if we are going to accomplish anything, we must invoke the Mother flame. We must understand the Hindu concept of the Mother aspect of God as the Shakti, the active principle, the force that brings into manifestation the Father’s will.

Ask Mother Mary

So if you want to know how to get things done and how to get them done because your aim is helping people and glorifying God—which is our only reason for being—then ask Mother Mary. And you will find that she is truly a master and not an ignorant peasant woman who happened to be called to give birth to Jesus, as some would have us believe.

Virgin of the Globe - Mother MaryTwin Flame of Archangel Raphael

Mother Mary is of the angelic evolution. These hierarchies also serve on the seven rays of the Godhead that emerge through the prism of the Christ consciousness.
Mother Mary’s ray is the fifth ray, the ray of emerald green, the ray of healing. It is the ray of science, of medicine, of supply and abundance. The economy also comes under the fifth ray.

The Mind of Mary

Mother Mary, then, has great talents in many areas. I don’t think there is a field of human endeavor where she does not have the expertise and understanding to teach others how to realize and implement the highest and best goals. Mother Mary’s mind is vast, vast beyond comprehension.
As we see Mary in the present day, we move to the understanding of a woman in our midst—a Mother Mary who is as modern, as liberated, as tough, as determined as many of the finest women we might meet on earth who are fighting for various causes.

Friend and Companion

We need to see her as friend, as companion, as sister, although she may rightfully be called “goddess” because of the tremendous God consciousness she has.
We must not place her on the pedestal that forces us to become idolaters of her image. But we should revere her in the sense that she has great attainment and great standing in heaven and was chosen to be the mother of Christ because she had the ability to hold the light and the balance for his entire mission.

Mother Mary – Healer

And so the Mother comes to heal us of our sense of sin regarding ourselves or other people. She comes to liberate us, especially in the Christian world, of the enormous division that renders Christianity ineffective. And of course, she comes carrying the sorrow of the people of every single nation on the planet and the determination to help them as we give the prayers and the calls.

Archetype of the New Age Woman

Mother Mary Archeia of the Fifth Ray copyright TSLMother Mary has bequeathed to humanity the archetype of the New Age woman. By her example and constancy, she calls forth the Divine Woman in us all.
She not only shows us how the feminine principle can be redeemed, but why it must be redeemed in order that the Divine Manchild as the unfolding Christed man and Christed woman might appear within every son and daughter beloved of God.
Until the feminine principle of the Godhead is ennobled in each man and each woman, the Christ cannot be born. And until Christ is born in the individual, the evolving identity of man and woman cannot experience the new birth.
Thus, the rebirth of the Christ in man and woman, often referred to as the Second Coming, is necessary for the salvation of the soul; indeed the individual Christ Self is the Saviour of the world of the individual.

Mary’s Appearances Since Her Ascension

Since her ascension, Mary has made several famous appearances and continues today to respond immediately to the call of any and all of her children on earth. In the twentieth century alone, more than two hundred appearances of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, have been reported in over thirty countries.
Some claim Mary has appeared to them as they pray. Others say they have watched her statues “weep” or have seen her images on walls or windows. And some tell us that Mary has revealed to them urgent prophecies and secrets.
Mary has entrusted her messages to unlikely ambassadors—not prelates or popes, presidents or politicians, but children and simple folk. Innocent ones who could receive her messages in humility and convey them with undiluted simplicity.
For forty years Mother Mary gave messages through Mark and Elizabeth Prophet to comfort and enlighten spiritual seekers of all paths.


Excerpted from The Age of the Divine Mother, The Golden Word of Mary series by Elizabeth Clare Prophet.

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Upcoming retreat by The Temple of Mary

Rose Window Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris
Many voices tell us the same message in different languages, symbology, hidden messages and at times obscure poetry.  One has to keep in mind that there is always power at play.  When you have something that someone else wants, you are holding the power.  This is also true for the ‘spiritual’ journey.  There is only one way to ‘know’ and that is to trust your heart and to disobey the Judge.
Seemingly a simple and straightforward step, to trust yourself, but as we know, layers of conditioning have distorted your mind and has led you to believe in the ‘other’ within.  At all times you are self-conscious and aware of watching yourself or being watched by others and acting on the assumption that you are separate from ‘God’ and that there are others who know better or more.
When you discover that you are the ‘other’ and that all beliefs in separation grows from your own mind, you face an inner chaos and darkness which seems impossible to navigate and survive.  And it seems easier and simpler to hold onto someone else’s belief system or to jump back into trying to control your physical reality.
True knowing is not an intellectual activity.  The left brain that continually analyses and tries to make sense of what is going on, depletes your energy system;  breaks down your immune system;  opens you to accident and events that is hurtful.  The left brain ‘rapes’ and plunders the psyche, the Soul within, the heart which is intrinsically part of the One Heart.
This inner division grows into a web of characters and sub-personalities and the inner child (the heart self) becomes stressed and falls into childhood patterns of thinking and reacting.  You may feel overwhelmed and disheartened by the ‘state of affairs’ when you look upon ‘the wasteland of the lands ruled by the wounded fisherking’.  Indeed, fairy tales and myths, mystics and religions alike, have been telling us that we are living in the age of the mind, the brilliant Sun, that scorches the land in the absence of the rain of mercy.
In the alchemical process we are shown the importance of becoming the one.  Or I should say, realising the One.  The duality is created by the mind – the One exists at all times, behind the shadow play of the mind.  And remember, this is not an isolated case of Maya;  this is a collective group mind that has developed through the Age of the Father.
 The first step is to become one in the personality self.  To end the voices of dissension and self-sabotage;  to unite under the Beloved leader within and to obey each and every command of the heart, without question.  One could call this Answering the Call.
Once you have answered the Call, you have to stay with the course, despite the winding labyrinth that your journey takes.  Here you will face many adversaries :  distractions, fear, doubts, suspicion, and running after every red herring that crosses your path.
But it is to stay focused, with your eyes fixated on the symbol of the Beloved, reminding yourself that this work demands the tempering and forging of the sword (the symbol of the mind that serves your healing and highest purpose).
The symbol of the Beloved in the Temple of Mary is indeed the Eternal Bride, the Beloved Goddess and the Sacred Feminine, the Feminine Soul of the One.  The qualities of the feminine are wisdom, beauty, mercy, grace, compassion, nurturing and feeling :  an all-embracing Self that creates and births the alchemical container through Self-Acceptance and Self-Love.
The centre of the alchemical process is the hermetically sealed container and the ability to live with the pressure and the tension of the ‘cooking process’.   Indeed, the many layers of the self will be melted down and this is not a glorious process.  It will invoke fear and resistance in you;  you will try every trick in the book to escape this certain dissolution of the walls of the castle;  and you will fall and you will fail.  But you always have the choice to return to the Great Work and to pick yourself up from the last fall and to take the next step.
The Great Work is the Hieros Gamos, the Sacred Marriage between self and Self;  Heart and Mind;  Psyche and Eros;  God and Goddess.
You right now, already know yourself as all of the above, you are just not aware that it is indeed conscious and present.  Who is looking through your eyes right now?  Who is reading these words?  Who is it that feels great love awakening within your heart?
Maria Sophia is one of the oldest names of the Goddess in Sanskrit.  Maria Prophetissa is the oldest known Alchemist in our mythical history.  She is the Soul, the Shekinah, the in-dwelling Divinity and Presence in you.  The undivided One.
Why do we refer to Her as feminine?  Why do we use gender at all?  Why the Great Mother and the Goddess?
Do not be blindsided by the terminology :  symbols are a way of describing that which we cannot describe with words.  Words limit our knowing and experience as it puts us back into the left brain.  By stepping into the imagery through ritual, ceremony, movement, sound, contemplation and witnessing our feelings, we immerse ourselves into the Knowledge of the One :  the One who is closer than your own breath.
This is a small taste of what you can expect during the first initiation of the Temple of Mary, during the weekend of 7 September.  A weekend of awareness and direct experience;  simple and practical exercises to awaken the inner knowing;  ritual to stir the unconscious and bring the Love to light – a balance between structure and free flowing.  You will receive a note book which you can read in leisure after the retreat and keep with you as a guidebook.  This weekend will be the first of many – each designed to deepen the knowing of Love and to support you as you step out on your path of Soulful purpose and meaning.
All energy blessings (diksha), darshan and any blessings that you receive during this weekend, you may use for your own healing and the healing of others;  you may freely pass it on to others and you will be shown how to do this.
In Grace
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Feast Day of Mary Magdalene

The eyes of Mary Magdalene by bear 48 on www.deviantart.com

Traditionally, the feast day of Mary Magdalene
is celebrated by reading poetry in the Bridal Mysticism tradition.

She, who is the Beloved of the Loved One.
She who is the Lover, the Beloved and the Union.

Ode to the Beloved

Your love snakes like a fiery river

undulating through my soul

Setting alight the liquid desire within

igniting the passion for the Real

White-hot flames

Tempers the metal
Forges the steel
Honing my soul

Your love flows like a river of ecstasy

Melted ice seeps into my bones

Pooling love into the deserted plains

of my forsaken heart

Your love roars like heavenly winds

Screeching through my throat,
Howling with unearthly delight,
Sweeping me through the darkness,
Into the tunnel of light

With the touch of your fiery eyes,

the pure-white fire of your mind
with the gentlest whisper
the kindest word
With the lightest touch
of your beautiful hand
You melt the iron bars
that trap my soul

Your love breaks my cage

conquers the dragons of fear
Your love sets me free
Only to return
to the Eternal Spring

–0–
 
The Swan Princess
 
She glides gracefully on the mirror of water
Content to bask in the beauty of her own reflection
Arching her neck proudly
Arrogantly the crown glints in the light of the sun
One unto herself
She needs no-one
The waters stir
Passions churn
Turmoil
Old rotten leaves mulched into mud
Flies up, black everywhere
Water churns, splashes,
Intense waves form
In the white foam He appears
Wearing the moon on his crown
 
He surrounds her
Make her His
His embrace splits her being, pierces her heart
Radiant light snakes through their bodies
Conjoining them into One
 
Feathers splayed, wings spread
Stretching to the ends of the Sky
Necks arched
A halo of light as two crowns meet
Graceful heads bowed
Love fulfilled
 

For more on Divine Union and Bridal Mystica Poetry please visit my blog Alchemical Marriage at
http://alchemicalmarriage.blogspot.com

blessings

 

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The Temple of Mary Newsletter – July 2012

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The Temple of Mary, Our Lady of the Dove
Newsletter
July 2012
Sri Hettienne Bhaktymayi Ma
http://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.com



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Welcome to the second newsletter from the Temple of Mary, Our Lady of the Dove.


The Temple of Mary offers a temenos for communion in Bridal Mysticism, the Divine Marriage or the Yoga of Tantra.

Kundalini, Tantra the sacred weaving, the ‘Divine Marriage’ and the role of the ‘Divine Feminine’.

Tantrica, Tantra or Sacred Tantric Practice, in its purest form, describes both the process and methodologies for the resolution of all conflicts of opposites.From earliest times, the symbology used has been based on the interpenetration of what is, metaphorically, referred to as male – female. In modern terms, it is the search for non-duality.
This is the source of the corruption of the teachings because, if you read further, the metaphor covers the concept (in evolution) of the conjugate metamorphosis of Ishtar-Tamuz (Babylonian), Prajna-Vajra (Buddhist), Sophia Christos (Christianity), Isis Osiris (Egyptian), Shekinah – Ruach (Kaballistic).
The origins of Sacred Tantric practice and doctrine can be traced back at least to the “Indus Valley” civilization that was contemporary with the Sumerian and the beginnings of the Egyptian Old kingdom. The records and doctrines and practices found in archaeological digs finds parallels in ancient Hittite worship.
Tantra, as currently and popularly defined and interpreted within the concept of sacred sexual practices can be considered as a defilement of the essence of Tantra.
In Sanskrit ‘Alla’ means mother.


Throughout the annals of mythology and spirituality, the devi – Kunti – (the Yin/Shakti opposite Yang/Shiva) has taken many forms and faces; some of these are translated accurately, others are not. Many have become owned (over time) by some cannonisation, doctrine .. or set of dogmatic rules.

At the deepest and most primordial, Yin and Yang .. deva and devi are the first separation but, they are never separate. In Hindi, she is Shakti, he is Shiva
deva : d’e’v’a is the primordial masculine principle; an essence or principle, originally; ‘a bright or shining one’ from *div- to shine; the “sign” or “omen” of the energy which pervades; bestowing, producing or imparting; as with hot fire or passion from “above” (as in Heavenly); sometimes seen as a “gift” with the concept of going inward, within or in; the life in-breath; as an aspect of Brahma
devi : dh’e’v’i is the primordial feminine principle; placement or holding; potential to go beyond or transcend; consciousness potential as in “hidden” or “the inner self” with wonder, awe; the energy which pervades ; bestowing, producing or imparting; as with cold fire or passion of receptivity; that which has the potential to ‘learn’ or evolve as the essence of compassion with the power to obtain or become something else
Yoga, itself, is the UNION of the deva and the devi — masculine and feminine — Yin and Yang — Shiva and Shakti
The Tibetans go one step further; they call it Tantra – describing it as the warp and weft of the cloth as in the “sacred” weaving akin to Christianity’s “Divine Marriage” of the Heavenly Bride (Yin, the devi) and Bridegroom (Yang, the deva) .. for it is written:
Tao gave birth to One;
One gave birth to Two;
Two gave birth to Three;
Three gave birth to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry Yin and embrace Yang
The two primordial breaths blend and produce harmony.
The Tao or “The Way of All Things” is a flow, an inter-penetration, an omniscience and an omnipotence and a homeostasis of both masculine and feminine, positive and negative principles

The function of the guide (teacher/guru) on the path of Self-Realisation

A teacher is one who lives free from the idea or image of being somebody. There is only function; there’s no one who functions. It’s a loving relationship; the teacher is like a friend.
A true teacher doesn’t take him or herself for a teacher, and she doesn’t take her pupil for a pupil. When neither one takes himself to be something, there is a coming together, a oneness. And in this oneness, transmission takes place. Otherwise the teacher will remain a teacher through the pupil, and the pupil will always remain a pupil. When the image of being something is absent, one is completely in the world but not of the world; completely in society, but at the same time free from society. We are truly a creative element when we can be in society in this way – Jean Klein


If you marry a belief system, then you are bound by its contracts and laws. So choose wisely. If you choose to marry Spirit, you are bound by the laws of miracles.

It is very difficult and almost impossible, to teach using words. Words are designed to identify and separate, to label and distinguish. Philosophers have written books on the power of words and have debated as to whether they are an empowering tool or a sword. The journey to at-one-ment, or unity consciousness, or simply realising that there is only One, is one of re-integration and dissolving the boundaries and borders, including those created by words! So it is a conundrum. Teachers and gurus so often say, just trust me till you understand, but the independent mind fear such a surrender.

And surrender is indeed the key.

Surrender is a very evocative word. Immediately the lower mind conjures images of dominancy or control or tyrannical mastership by Spirit; which ironically is the goal of the search! And awakening to the Self, only comes when the seeker, either willingly, or forced by circumstances beyond his or her control, completely subjugates personal will and give up the search and the efforts at attaining oneness.
Seeking implies that you are separate or that you have lost that which you are trying to find. If you accept and believe that there is no separation, why do you seek?
Who is doing the seeking?
Thus that which is so deeply feared, is the liberator or the lucifer. The goal of the search is for the material mind to be completely dominated by the spiritual mind. And the opposite is also true. The seeker tries to dominate and subjugate the lower mind with what he or she believes is the spiritual mind, but which in fact is only the Super Ego, or the idea of the idealised self!

The ideal is to have complete dominance of the spiritual mind. In other words, the material mind is swept away so far as its stubborn resistance and opposition to the promptings of the spiritual are concerned. It implies that the body will become the willing servant, or the assistant of spirit. And this is only achievable through surrender to Spirit.
In true surrender, there is absolute acceptance : acceptance of life as it is and not your idea of what life should be like.

In true surrender, there is no effort; there is nothing to gain, and nothing to lose.
The power of studying a method such as A Course In Miracles lies in its ability to confront your ‘lower’ mind. (I use the word ‘lower’ in context to the understanding that you have a Spiritual mind and a lower/material mind. )
To see, reason and judge of life and matter in the knowledge of an all-pervading Spirit, that is the Spiritual mind.

‘once the spiritual mind awakens, nothing can stop its blossoming forth and growing into a Tree of Life’

I would like to here also point out that you have your physical senses and your subtle senses. The physical senses are in a symbiotic relationship with the lower mind and the subtle senses with the spiritual mind. Hence the expression, you will see it when you believe it!
The lower mind does not like change. It loves a routine or a pattern – that pattern may be chaotic and self-destructive, but the lower mind can be hypnotised by rhythms and cycles. The lower mind, through the physical senses, are closely linked to the body and it identifies with the body. In fact, it believes that the body is its sole existence.

There is no separation between the senses, that is the physical and subtle senses, and what they perceive, but it is determined by the lens that you choose to look through.

spiritual mind teaches that this life is about joy, pleasure and enjoyment’

Because the lower mind does not like change and it does not like being challenged, it creates a wonderful cocoon of security and comfort for itself, with you as its number one prisoner. The lower mind is often compared to a spider creating its sticky web within which to contain its prisoner as food. The lower mind is ‘sticky’ in its attachments. It creates many rules and laws and by-laws and it projects these onto others and onto yourself.

The web is infinite and the mind infinitely creative. It continues to spin the stories in order to keep itself and its world view safe. When you engage with this sticky web, you become entangled and you become attached.
A tool such as A Course in Miracles, confront the ideas of the lower mind. It offers a marriage of the opposites and a collapse of the lower mind as it eventually turns on itself. It is important to remember that, in its own words, the Course deals with psychological principles and that psychology is really the lay of the land in the mind, so to speak. Spirit and the Real is beyond the mind.
While it seemingly provides a ‘path’, it simultaneously shows you the Real beyond time and space, and thus the premise that this is a pathless path.
Self-realisation is instantaneous (although the unfolding afterwards can take years) and therefore it would seem to be easiest just to practice surrender and detachment. However, there is merit in coaxing the mind to surrender bit by bit, until it is ready to let go of its grasping.
ACIM has been compared to Zen teachings, Advaita Hinduism, Tantra and Christian Mysticism.

What you are fundamentally is a natural giving up. The mind becomes clear, there is a giving up, a stillness, fulfilled with a current of love. As long as there is a meditator, there’s no meditation. When the meditator disappears, there is meditation.

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Miraculous thinking is not the same as
magical
thinking.




All events are listed and updated on www.shekinahdove.org/
events.htm
and
temple-training.htm


Full information is given below :

  1. A two-day SoulCollage® workshop – The Hero’s Journey
  2. Temple of Mary intensive retreats
  3. Initiation into The Temple of Mary path and receiving Nama Diksha










Training in The Temple of Mary, Our Lady of the Dove

Training in the Sacred Marriage Within, will begin in September 2012. All initiations will take place during weekend retreats. Only a small number of students can be accepted and the training weekends will only be repeated after the course of one year. Each intensive is a pre-requisite for the next stage.

The first intensive will take place 7 – 9 September 2012 at Artemis, Franschhoek. Your 10% deposit will secure your place. Please book with me and request banking details for deposit. Group accommodation and transport is available. (See below for more details)

Students will receive a manual with notes, a copy of one of the recorded healing meditations (Shekinah Healing) and various diksha. Diksha is the sanskrit word that can roughly be translated as an energetic blessing. The path is one of Kundalini Yoga incorporating diksha, mantra and shaktipat.
The process of awakening can last years and even lifetimes and there is no focus on ‘enlightenment’, but rather on the direct experience and unfolding of the Divine Creatrix within the Self and the reflection in the personal life.





Group accommodation at Otters Bend, Franschhoek.
Otters Bend Lodge, Dassenberg Road, Franschhoek
tel:021-8763200
mobile:079-7474632 [email protected]
www.ottersbendlodge.co.za

Please contact Oliver at Otter’s Bend and mention that you are part of the ‘Artemis’ group. This is what is available and you can choose the type of accommodation that you want :
We have 3 double rooms available, 2 twin rooms, and 2 larger “family” rooms that have a double bed and bunk bed in each. We also have the dorm which has 8 beds and what we call the Hadida room which has a double bed and a single bed in it.
Prices are as follows:
Double and twins; R400 per room per night
Family rooms; R500 for a family or R400 for a couple
Hadida; R500 for 3, R400 for 2
Dorm; R125 per person
Camping; R100 per tent
If a person would like to have a single room (it would be one of the doubles or twins) then the price is R250 per night.
As we discussed, if you could send this info to all the participants. Also if they do end up booking individually please tell them to say that they are part of your conference. We will be asking for a 50% deposit on all bookings.

After the initial weekend in September, a Nama Diksha retreat (residential) (ashram style) will be held on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October 2012. This is an opportunity for those who
want to commit to this path and to the guru-sisya relationship. Students will receive a spiritual name during a sacred ceremony.


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This step is optional and not a pre-requisite for attending the rest of the initiations.



This event will take place at Blue Butterfly and the fee for the two days of initiations and meditations and ceremony will only be R1000. This will be the first group event of the initiates of the Temple and we will set up the altars and the temple together. We will all contribute and prepare all meals and other activities!

Please let me know whether you intend attending as I do not assume anything.

Please note if you have any financial difficulty with paying any of the trainings, please discuss with me. Not everyone has the same financial means and I do not want that to be an obstacle to your participation.


The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey
Know that you are the Hero and Hera of your own journey.

Uncover your own myth; discover who you are, where you are going and who you are travelling with.
What is your story? By bringing the unconscious into the conscious, by gaining insight and understanding into your story,
an ordinary life becomes a sacred life.

Join me, as your Vision Keeper, in this workshop over two mornings in Durbanville, Cape Town. Wednesdays 8 and 15 August 2012. You will create your own cards and learn how to work with this amazing process on your own and how to continue creating cards for different aspects of your journey and your self. To learn more about SoulCollage visit www.soulcollage.com. I am a registered SoulCollage facilitator.

Space is limited. Book early. Only R650 for entire workshop, set of notes and all supplies.



The Mother of Good Counsel



Blessings, Hettienne Bhakty Ma

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The first newsletter of The Temple of Mary, Our Lady of the Dove, was sent out this week. 


The newsletter is available on-line and there is a direct link on the right hand side of this blog.


If you would like to subscribe, please send me a request to [email protected].


If you are interested in upcoming events,
retreats,
Sacred Feminine Conference and Festivals.
Temple of Mary training,
SoulCollage® workshops,


and so on ………


please visit the new website


www.shekinahdove.org