My Ministry through the Universal Life Church Monastery
At the beginning of 2023, I made it my mission to dedicate myself and my life to a deepening spirituality. In these difficult times in the world, we need the light of love, peace and harmony more than ever. By finding our own spiritual center, we are more able to take our place in serving humanity.
Although I was ordained as a minister through the Universal Life Church Monastery in 2006, I finally began to take this mission more seriously. In January of this year, I added a section on spirituality to my website, and have been endeavoring to provide as much information as possible on spiritual topics throughout this year.
The Mission of the Universal Life Church Monastery is:
The Universal Life Church was founded on the basic belief that we are all children of the same universe and, derived from that basic belief, has established two core tenets by which it expects its ministers to conduct themselves:
Do only that which is right.
Every individual is free to practice their religion in the manner of their choosing, as mandated by the First Amendment, so long as that expression does not impinge upon the rights or freedoms of others and is in accordance with the government’s laws.
We have made it our mission to actualize these tenets in the world by empowering millions of ministers to speak their own truth to power, whether they come to us from a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Shinto, Agnostic, Atheist, Pagan, Wiccan, Druid, or any other spiritual tradition.
Unlike other large international churches, we do not require our ministers or congregants to show deference to any central leadership or hierarchy, and we believe in equality among all members.
We work tirelessly to ensure that anyone can get ordained online at the ULC Monastery and we seek to fulfill the spiritual needs of as many different groups as we can by offering plenty of information, a wide variety of services, and networking opportunities. The communication and fellowship of our scattered millions of ministers, we believe, is just as valid a form of worship as the weekly services held in some of the world’s more segregated and elitist religious institutions.
The ministry of the Universal Life Church Monastery spreads across the world, providing guidance, support and prayers for people from all walks of life. In addition to providing spiritual guidance, the UCLM recommends getting involved in activities that can help others and the planet.
We are also worried about humanity’s long term impact on the plane. Issues such as climate change and population growth trouble us greatly. We must work together to address critical challenges such as mass migration, starvation, and global pandemics. A worldwide United Nations Planetary Defense System should also be considered to protect the Earth against threats such as asteroids and comets.
By taking action with regard to social justice issues, the UCLM can be an inspiration to us in our daily lives. Social Justice has always been important to me personally, and this alignment of my own values with UCLM allows me to incorporate a message of social change intertwined with social change in an effort to make the world a better place.
We can all make a difference in the world each day, if only on a small scale. But the more we come together, and unite as one people with the common good of humanity in our hearts, the more of an impact we can make.
Many of us come to the spiritual journey because we have delved into personal healing. This can happen when you have mental health issues, and are looking for healing.
As you begin to heal yourself, then you want to grow. This leads you into personal development.
At a certain point, you start to ask deeper questions about your purpose, and the meaning of life. This leads you to spirituality.
As your spirituality develops, you come to realize that Compassion is the Ultimate Goal of Spirituality.
The highest good that any of us can do is to spread compassion to others throughout the world. There are many ways to do this, including practicing kindness to others, volunteering our time, getting involved in awareness campaigns, donating to charity, and more.
I truly do believe that Compassion is the Highest Value we Can Aspire to. Love and compassion are deeply held Buddhist tenets, that are echoed throughout all world faiths.
As we deepen our connection with the divine on a personal level, we come to the realization that everyone is a piece of the universal consciousness. We all contain the same Prana (life force) within us. The same divine light lives within each of our hearts, and as such, we should treat all living beings with compassion.
The Universal Life Church Monastery believes that everyone is valuable and should be treated with respect. All faiths are supposed to lead us to the same realizations of the divine, and toward the practices of universal love.
Religion is meant to make us better, more moral, people.
Though in many instances in our modern culture, religion can be a cause of grief and strife, spiritual principles are something that can still enrich our lives. Different religions developed in different parts of the world at different times, but all are attempting to explain the same basic understandings of the universe.
When we look for commonalities among faiths, instead of differences, we can create the type of faith community that values everyone, instead of pitting people against each other. We need to look towards the future of spirituality, by creating a more inclusive faith community.
Through my writing and coaching, this is the approach that I take to spirituality. We need to use spiritual teachings to uplift and bring people together. We need to create harmony instead of inspiring division and strife.
If the way religion has been historically practiced and interpreted isn't serving the world community any longer, we need to rethink our ideas about religion and spirituality, so that we can create a new vision of faith that can bring the world together so that we can combat world issues such as climate change.
Our faith should always make us better people. If it isn't, we need to ask ourselves if the way we are practicing our religion is true to its original intent: to uplift and inspire a greater love.
