Month: November 2022

I first visited San Diego almost forty years ago and since have spent more time there, second only to the Tulsa area, than any other place primarily because it is the home of my first-born child.  My most recent visit added a third experience with religion that I associate with San Diego.  This is my final of three posts describing those three experiences and it is about my encounter with Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community. 

Let’s kick it off with the last of the three phenomena, unrelated to my topic, that I call the San Diego trifecta, namely Slomo, here he is:

Dr. John S. Kitchin, M.D., a retired San Diego neurologist trained in psychiatry.

and this photo taken in January, 2020 with him and my Linda :

My third experience with the Religions of San Diego began in June, 2021 when I read this article in the New Yorker.

The article begins with the personal stories of three women, living in Dublin, Ireland, Rochester, New York and Portland, Oregan, telling how they felt called to be priests, but couldn’t do so. It then discusses the Church’s position on ordination only of male priests and dissent from several in the Catholic community about that. Then it describes the ordination of seven women in the Danube River in 2002 by two Bishops not in good standing, followed by more in 2005 at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, the idea being that no diocese has authority in the middle of a river boundary. In 2006 Jane Via was ordained in the Bodensee River between Germany and Austria with others who are now part of the Roman Catholic Women Priests movement.

The world-wide movement is named Roman Catholic Women Priests and here is their website: Roman Catholic Womenpriests-USA:

https://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Roman-Catholic-WomenpriestsGOGO.mp4

Jane Via founded the Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community which is featured at the end of the 15 minute video from RCWP site at 12:30. She has a PhD in theology and was a staff attorney with the District Attorney’s office in San Diego. On Sunday, October 16, 2022, we attended the mass at Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community in the evening at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church.  We were welcomed and, unlike other Catholic masses I have attended, invited to receive communion.

Here is an interview from December, 2009 with Jane Via hosted by the Osher program at University of California San Diego: 

She addresses three challenges she faced in establishing the MMACC. First her experience with breast cancer; second her excommunication by the Church; and third growing an inclusive and relevant community. Let’s listen at 8:45 to her description of the excommunication.

9. Min addresses excommunicated 

20. End of argument on her. Then to removing man who ordained her

23. Then on to describe mmacc. Liturgy etc. 

30. Describes experience at mmacc. 

37 questions start

Here is a video about seven women priests in New Jersey:

I first visited San Diego almost forty years ago and since have spent more time there, second only to the Tulsa area, than any other place primarily because it is the home of my first-born child.  My most recent visit added a third experience with religion that I associate with San Diego.  This is my second of three posts describing those three experiences and it is about my encounters with three yogis. 

Let’s kick it off with another of the three phenomena, unrelated to my topic, that I call the San Diego trifecta, namely a Grunion Run:

When my San Diego son finished his fourth year of eligibility at BYU he was recruited to play professionally for the United States Olympic team in preparation for the 1996 Olympics to be held in Atlanta.  At that time the team trained in San Diego and we enjoyed visiting him there and often stayed at a motel, Surf and Sand, between Pacific Beach and Mission Blvd.  It was on one of those visits that Linda and I strolled down to the beach for a moonlight walk and encountered lots of people and lots of grunion, a surprise to us.

Of course, we attended the Olympics in Atlanta to cheer on the men’s volleyball team and see our son.  We broke up our stay by enjoying the hospitality of three different hosts, the last being a college roommate of mine.  We left his house with two books he recommended:  one which I read on training for a marathon by Jeff Galloway and the other which Linda read, The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.   Here is a video about his life and work:

From reading the autobiography she became aware that a community of followers had established a Self Realization Fellowship Temple in San Diego.  After our son married and they chose San Diego as their residence in 2000 we visited the Temple on occasion and attended services there.

Here are the images at the front of the Temple’s hall for services, being the yogi’s spiritual lineage.

The teachings of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India are founded upon the original Christianity of Jesus Christ and the original Yoga of Bhagavan Krishna (a diety?). The spiritual lineage of SRF/YSS consists of these two great avatars and a line of exalted masters of contemporary times: Mahavatar Babaji (not human? 1865-1931), Lahiri Mahasaya (1828-95), Swami Sri Yukteswar (1855-1936), and Paramahansa Yogananda (last in the line of SRF/YSS Gurus).

Each of these Great Ones played a role in Self-Realization Fellow­ship’s mission of bringing to the modern world the spiritual science of Kriya Yoga.

The passing of a guru’s spiritual mantle to a disciple designated to carry on the lineage to which that guru belongs is termed guru-parampara. Thus, Paramahansa Yogananda’s direct lineage of gurus is Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Swami Sri Yukteswar.

Later our daughter-in-law made us aware of the gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Encinitas, CA that are part of the Self Realization Temple there.  We have visited those gardens a few times.

Another yogi encounter I’ve had in San Diego was introduction to the Jyoti-Bihanga vegetarian restaurant by our daughter-in-law.  It is operated by students of spiritual master Sri Chinmoy.

A favorite of mine that I have brought to College Hill potluck lunches is Neat Loaf. Here is the recipe, though I prefer to substitute rice and flour to deconstruct the Special K ingredient and seasonings in place of the onion soup mix. https://eatdrinkbetter.com/articles/neatloaf-a-tasty-vegetarian-vegan-gluten-free-fake-meatloaf/

Here is his website: http://Sri Chinmoy – United States Sri Chinmoy Centre

Even our most recent trip generated a fresh yogi encounter at Seaport Village in San Diego by the harbor was a man balancing rocks.  I sought him out because I find the practice pretty cool but wasn’t prepared for what followed.

What more is there to say; yogis abound.