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                        The following letter from Jean de Galzain gives us the sad news of Vilma del Castillo’s passing,

 Dear Friends,

            Yesterday at 2.52 am, Los Angeles time, our Beloved Friend Vilma del Castillo (63) departed on her journey to the Higher Worlds. We are very happy for her that she now walks in the light and has no more suffering.  Our prayers go to her and those she left behind, relatives, children and friends.  There will be a memorial service at the Los Angeles Center at 1240 Rosemont Ave (off of W Sunset Blvd) in Los Angeles on Sunday September 6, 2009 at 11.00 am.
            Another service is planned at Mount Ecclesia in Oceanside on the following Sunday, September 13, for her Friends living down south who cannot make it to L.A. on September 6.
            Thank you, Vilma, for a job well done, and so long till we meet again … in the Light.  

Let us send our prayers and may we all continue to live selflessly in the light of love for His name’s sake.

Jean de Galzain

            Vilma, a devoted member who gave us doves for our centennial and food in our cafeteria; a persistent, devoted volunteer who always served wherever she was needed.  For many of us Vilma was a new friend, and the acquaintance much too brief.  A few days ago she spoke confidently to one of her new friends, however, and said, “I will be back.”  It is a pleasure to remember those last words and the typical confidence in her voice as she spoke them because, God willing, there will come that day and that “new” friend.

            On August 15, Shirley Sharpe, a long-time employee of The Rosicrucian Fellowship at Mount Ecclesia said her last goodbyes before joining the choir of angels.  Shirley worked in many capacities at Mount Ecclesia.  She was in charge of the Healing Department for…more than a decade (?), but most notably she directed Mount Ecclesia’s choir and choreographed many performances in the Little Theater, enriching the lives of those who worked and visited at the RF headquarters.  

            During the post-911 unsettling times, Shirley held what some called Shirley’s soirees — weekly musical celebrations of praise, thanksgiving, and prayerful, musical petitions for peace.  Only Shirley could incorporate her self-proclaimed sassiness, her not-too-humble dignity, and her persistent earnestness with a mostly-hidden sense of humor.  Quietly, she was the soul who signed the tiny initial at the bottom of the healing letters.  It was she who conducted the prayer services every morning in the little chapel of the Healing Department, she who provided direction for the production of Amahl And The Night Visitors.   In the afternoons and evenings she played the organ in the Pro-Ecclesia and in the Temple.   Mount Ecclesia is much too quiet without her now, but heaven’s music all the richer.

            A service was held in the Chapel at Mount Ecclesia in her memory on Sunday August 23 2009 at 1.30 pm.

Click on Image to hear: Piano version of Dvorak’s Largo (Going Home)

Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony - Largo

Going home, going home,
I’m just going home.
Quiet-like, slip away-
I’ll be going home.
It’s not far, just close by;
Jesus is the Door;
Work all done, laid aside,
Fear and grief no more.
Friends are there, waiting now.
He is waiting, too.
See His smile! See His hand!
He will lead me through.

Morning Star lights the way;
Restless dream all done;
Shadows gone, break of day,
Life has just begun.
Every tear wiped away,
Pain and sickness gone;
Wide awake there with Him!
Peace goes on and on!
Going home, going home,
I’ll be going home.
See the Light! See the Sun!
I’m just going home.