by Doc
Well, we're still trying to get settled in Michigan. I damaged a nerve (pruning trees) about a week after we moved (two years ago) and it is still not better. Pretty much put me out of commission for most of the first year here. I had to re-learn to do everything and dropped (and broke) several items because my sense of touch was all messed up. It also has made my healing work very difficult, but thankfully I am still able to heal people. Unfortunately, few seem interested in healing that is not medical or magic! I don't get it.
Since January 2008 (Happy Valley Massacre') I have had to devote most of my time to fighting Utah Government on the city, county and state levels in separate actions where they have violated our personal and organizational religious and civil rights. This has finally been resolved as the Utah Court of Appeals has refused to review our case with the state. So the last 3 years have been exhausting and sadly unproductive.
I resigned as CEO and head pastor of the Utah church May 1, 2010 because the govt. business required so much time. Our previous plans to open a 2nd church in Michigan had also been put on hold, but we were able eventually to save enough to make that move.
Unfortunately, the new Utah CEO was not able to meet the financial needs of keeping the ministry open and all that we had saved to get established in Michigan had to be sent back to Utah. The new Utah UBU Board had committed to reimburse that fund and make regular donations to get us started in Michigan, but they decided to renege on that offer and so we were left high and dry in a place where no-one seemed to remember us. I was very surprised as I had expected a large and immediate surge of local support here.
The other ministers who had committed to either stay and work in Utah or come with Kita and I to Michigan also crapped out on us, so it left just Kita and myself to get established here.
Then after about three months, the Utah Board decided to dissolve the Utah Ministry completely and donate all the church property to itself, reorganizing as a non-religious organization.
So what was a full service church that practiced tattooing and piercing as spiritual services, became a tattoo shop only. I feel that we were scammed, but I also recognized after 11 years of effort that there was not much support for our church in Utah except for tattoos and piercings, which was the least part of what we were about.
So the Mormons pretty much got their way and squashed another non-Mormon church - but only in Utah.
They had to do it by lying and violating our Constitutional Rights and using deception to refuse to hear our case, but this is what everyone in Utah knows as the "Utah Way".
We organized as an independent church here in Michigan but have not been able to get a building or do much promotional work as that is primarily my job and I've been even more disabled than before.
We tried having live church internet broadcasts, but that suffered from (mostly no experience or expertise) and I was incredibly boring without prepared remarks and no production assistance.
We do want to try this again though.
Our Board of Trustees has only 3 members so far and we have found that because of the Utah attacks on our religious exercise, some potential trustees here in Michigan are afraid to be involved in an administrative capacity. Rev. Kita, though a trustee has opted to take a more supportive than active role. So, basically we have been down - but not out.
We have been flooded, had our finances scammed away, been set back by physical injuries and taken up with answering the illegal actions of Utah government. I also had to take several months to go to Ohio to care for my dying mother and conduct her funeral services in three separate states. It has been a rocky beginning to be sure.
We have been enjoying the company of some of our children and grandchildren who live here and due to my mother's death had the unexpected opportunity to have all of our 6 children and 11 grandchildren here at the same time. It will probably never happen again.
While my health has not really improved, my relearning to function physically has been making some progress and it looks like I will be able to re-take an active position in the ministry here, probably beginning in October, 2011.
I will be writing, perhaps taking up the music portion of the ministry again - though I thought I would never be able to play guitar again, it seems that ability is gradually returning with retraining, and we will also be looking for a building for public meetings, healing and counseling services and trying again at live streaming internet meetings which will be on this website.
We have not quite figured out how to offer tattoo and piercing services and still have people recognize that we are a church and not a tattoo shop, although when we were previously in Michigan (before Utah) we had no trouble with the government recognizing us as a church in spite of us seeing tattoos as spiritual. So we will primarily be focusing on the other services of the ministry at least for the present.
While I am still living and breathing, I will be actively offering spiritual service and keeping my commitment to God (whatever God is) and myself to serve others and promote the genuine teachings of Jesus and other like-minded teachers of a higher path.
I am very anxious to be fully engaged again in this work and hope that my next church news report will be full of good and positive news and not as negative as this has seemed to be to me. You can see why it has taken me so long to get around to it.
I am anxious for the joy to return. I hope there will be many of you to share it with us.
It is overcoming obstacles that makes us strong and develops our spiritual understanding. It is true that the exercise of faith precedes the miracle and I am grateful that my life struggles have only strengthened my beliefs - now I am ready for the miracles to continue on a much larger scale.
Especially in these desperate times do people need to be aware of their personal value and the opportunities that await them as they put into practice the principles of respect for God's creation and creatures.
The foundation of my spiritual practice is found in the New Testament, Matthew 7:12, but this same teaching exists in all major religions and it does so because it is true. It is true for us all and is the only path that elevates us above our basic destructive animal instincts. This is the challenge for us all. The road may occasionally be painful and rocky, but the promised rewards for "trying it out" are real and available to anyone who will make the experiment. Truth never fails - only we can fail to cling to it. Hang in there and don't stop believing. Be a good neighbor.
Well, we're still trying to get settled in Michigan. I damaged a nerve (pruning trees) about a week after we moved (two years ago) and it is still not better. Pretty much put me out of commission for most of the first year here. I had to re-learn to do everything and dropped (and broke) several items because my sense of touch was all messed up. It also has made my healing work very difficult, but thankfully I am still able to heal people. Unfortunately, few seem interested in healing that is not medical or magic! I don't get it.
Since January 2008 (Happy Valley Massacre') I have had to devote most of my time to fighting Utah Government on the city, county and state levels in separate actions where they have violated our personal and organizational religious and civil rights. This has finally been resolved as the Utah Court of Appeals has refused to review our case with the state. So the last 3 years have been exhausting and sadly unproductive.
I resigned as CEO and head pastor of the Utah church May 1, 2010 because the govt. business required so much time. Our previous plans to open a 2nd church in Michigan had also been put on hold, but we were able eventually to save enough to make that move.
Unfortunately, the new Utah CEO was not able to meet the financial needs of keeping the ministry open and all that we had saved to get established in Michigan had to be sent back to Utah. The new Utah UBU Board had committed to reimburse that fund and make regular donations to get us started in Michigan, but they decided to renege on that offer and so we were left high and dry in a place where no-one seemed to remember us. I was very surprised as I had expected a large and immediate surge of local support here.
The other ministers who had committed to either stay and work in Utah or come with Kita and I to Michigan also crapped out on us, so it left just Kita and myself to get established here.
Then after about three months, the Utah Board decided to dissolve the Utah Ministry completely and donate all the church property to itself, reorganizing as a non-religious organization.
So what was a full service church that practiced tattooing and piercing as spiritual services, became a tattoo shop only. I feel that we were scammed, but I also recognized after 11 years of effort that there was not much support for our church in Utah except for tattoos and piercings, which was the least part of what we were about.
So the Mormons pretty much got their way and squashed another non-Mormon church - but only in Utah.
They had to do it by lying and violating our Constitutional Rights and using deception to refuse to hear our case, but this is what everyone in Utah knows as the "Utah Way".
We organized as an independent church here in Michigan but have not been able to get a building or do much promotional work as that is primarily my job and I've been even more disabled than before.
We tried having live church internet broadcasts, but that suffered from (mostly no experience or expertise) and I was incredibly boring without prepared remarks and no production assistance.
We do want to try this again though.
Our Board of Trustees has only 3 members so far and we have found that because of the Utah attacks on our religious exercise, some potential trustees here in Michigan are afraid to be involved in an administrative capacity. Rev. Kita, though a trustee has opted to take a more supportive than active role. So, basically we have been down - but not out.
We have been flooded, had our finances scammed away, been set back by physical injuries and taken up with answering the illegal actions of Utah government. I also had to take several months to go to Ohio to care for my dying mother and conduct her funeral services in three separate states. It has been a rocky beginning to be sure.
We have been enjoying the company of some of our children and grandchildren who live here and due to my mother's death had the unexpected opportunity to have all of our 6 children and 11 grandchildren here at the same time. It will probably never happen again.
While my health has not really improved, my relearning to function physically has been making some progress and it looks like I will be able to re-take an active position in the ministry here, probably beginning in October, 2011.
I will be writing, perhaps taking up the music portion of the ministry again - though I thought I would never be able to play guitar again, it seems that ability is gradually returning with retraining, and we will also be looking for a building for public meetings, healing and counseling services and trying again at live streaming internet meetings which will be on this website.
We have not quite figured out how to offer tattoo and piercing services and still have people recognize that we are a church and not a tattoo shop, although when we were previously in Michigan (before Utah) we had no trouble with the government recognizing us as a church in spite of us seeing tattoos as spiritual. So we will primarily be focusing on the other services of the ministry at least for the present.
While I am still living and breathing, I will be actively offering spiritual service and keeping my commitment to God (whatever God is) and myself to serve others and promote the genuine teachings of Jesus and other like-minded teachers of a higher path.
I am very anxious to be fully engaged again in this work and hope that my next church news report will be full of good and positive news and not as negative as this has seemed to be to me. You can see why it has taken me so long to get around to it.
I am anxious for the joy to return. I hope there will be many of you to share it with us.
It is overcoming obstacles that makes us strong and develops our spiritual understanding. It is true that the exercise of faith precedes the miracle and I am grateful that my life struggles have only strengthened my beliefs - now I am ready for the miracles to continue on a much larger scale.
Especially in these desperate times do people need to be aware of their personal value and the opportunities that await them as they put into practice the principles of respect for God's creation and creatures.
The foundation of my spiritual practice is found in the New Testament, Matthew 7:12, but this same teaching exists in all major religions and it does so because it is true. It is true for us all and is the only path that elevates us above our basic destructive animal instincts. This is the challenge for us all. The road may occasionally be painful and rocky, but the promised rewards for "trying it out" are real and available to anyone who will make the experiment. Truth never fails - only we can fail to cling to it. Hang in there and don't stop believing. Be a good neighbor.