Mount Ecclesia

Our responsibility to aid thousands of weary hearts to bravely bear their burdens has often seemed beyond our strength; yet always have we found our powers renewed by looking within; and this time it seemed as if all Nature wanted to cheer us and was saying: "Take courage, remember the Work is not yours but God's; trust entirely in Him; He will point the way." So we clasped hands and took heart with new strength to carry on the beautiful work of which Mount Ecclesia is to be the center.

The day of the ceremony was an ideal California day; the sun shone in a cloudless sky. Wherever we looked from Mount Ecclesia, ocean, valleys, and mountains seemed to smile. Both the workers and visiting members were enraptured with the incomparable beauty of the Headquarters site. Those present were: Annie R. Atwood, of San Diego; Ruth E. Beach, of Portland, Ore.; Rachel M. Cunningham, Rudolf Miller, and John Adams, of Los Angeles; George Kramer, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Wm. M. Patterson, of Seattle, Wash.; Mrs. Heindel and myself.

At the appointed time I broke ground for the building. All helped to excavate for the cross, which was set by Wm. Patterson. Mrs. Heindel planted the rose, which was then watered by all present. May it grow, may it bloom, to adorn the nakedness of the cross and be an inspiration to purity of life that will cover all past sins, no matter how dark the life may have been.^[3]

The faces of the search lights appeared about twelve inches in diameter. The one facing south was the first to radiate light, next the one to the east, then the west, and lastly the one facing north. The light was pure white and radiated in such a way that at about fifty paces the rays from each fused with those to either side of it, so that beyond this point all space was flooded with a light of great brilliancy.

Then from out the place where the ground was broken, within the circle made by the search-lights a rich golden colored cloud formed. It grew rapidly and after passing and enclosing the search lights, it tinted every ray emanating therefrom. Then all that was brilliantly white became softened and mellowed, and the whole space became an entrancing vision. At this moment a rainbow over-arched the place, one end resting upon the ground to the east, the other upon the ground to the west. In another moment beneath the arched rainbow out from where the ground was broken and from whence the cloud of gold had come, came a cloud of blue, the Ray of the Father, the Healing Ray; it enveloped the earth and filled the firmament. Then all passed away. At this instant in our midst appeared the All-Seeing Eye. Then it vanished and our prayers ceased, our purpose having been accomplished.^[4]

The Rosicrucians do not seek temporal power. They seek to serve God by helping their suffering fellowmen. A place of training for the work is beautifully attained in Mount Ecclesia, and now THE ECCLESIA, the TEMPLE OF HEALING, is being built by the loving free-will offerings of friends who give not money alone but personal service and prayers. This method of building is a little new and somewhat slow in these days, as it is not permitted to call out to the world for funds or labor. Each offering must come as a result of the inner promptings of the HEART. Christ's stronghold.^[5]