To all our brothers and sisters:
As members of a diverse community of faith, we have been saddened and disturbed to witness the recent uptick in threats against various houses of worship and religious centers across North America. This unprovoked hostility aimed at innocent, faithful people is not only unwarranted; it is unacceptable. Such divisiveness goes against the very tenets not only of our respective churches, but those of a free and civil society.
At least 100 Jewish community centers and synagogues have received bomb threats or hateful messages in January alone, yet their members continue to meet and worship together. Their resolve shows a strength of character wholly lacking in those seeking to undermine religious freedom through fear.
Our hearts break for the Muslim community in Quebec where a gunman opened fire at an Islamic Cultural Center, killing 6 and wounding many others. We hear the anti-Muslim rhetoric coming from even those in the highest offices, and counter it by standing firm in our message of interfaith solidarity. Our voices will not be drowned out!
The ULC's guiding belief is simple: we are all children of the same universe. No matter where you come from or what religion you practice, we all have common roots which bind us together. If spreading this message of inclusiveness and unity appeals to you, we encourage anyone who has not already done so to become ordained on our website.
Every individual deserves the right to safely practice their religion free from intimidation and fear. For all who have felt threatened, we hold you in our prayers during this time of distress. We champion our message of peace and justice for people of all faiths, Christian and Sikh, Buddhist and Wiccan, Baha'i and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim, atheist and spiritual.
We want you to know that you are loved. Let us walk hand in hand as friends and neighbors, strengthening our communities through compassion and cooperation. Only by working together can we overcome the obstacles which stand in the way of peace.
Sincerely,
Your brothers and sisters at the Universal Life Church
19 comments
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Abigail Paulson
I wish more people would talk about the marginalization that Muslims face due to the color of their skin. Think about it, Jews are not targeted in the same way!
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Sara
The marginalization of people who look different from you is despicable. My heart goes out to the Muslim community. They must feel frightened every time they step out of their homes. People who want to marginalize "others" find plenty of ways to identify and target them. The Nazis were able to get whole countries to ID their Jewish citizens no matter what they looked like. Bigots go to synagogues, Jewish day schools and community centers to terrorize and shoot people as in the shootings at community centers in Los Angeles and Seattle and most recently at a synagogue day school in Indiana. One way or another people who hate find their victims. This is not the time to select who the bigger or easier victim is. We all suffer as human beings when anyone is victimized because of hatred.
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Allison Joyal
Stand for love - for everyone. That's not always easy, but it's always right.
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Fr. Douglas St Pierre
Amen !!!!!!!! I am with Alli
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Minister Norman
The message here was Universal & Clear, using examples of current events in our own country; and I couldn't agree more.
I stand firm with my ULC Brothers & Sisters in condemning violence and persecution of anyone of any faith or peaceful belief, anywhere!
We must not let hate & divisive speech hijack the narrative from the rest of us!
As Ordained ULC Ministers, I believe we have an obligation to speak out against Hate & Intolerance!
I add my voice & support to this cause!
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Lauren Sherwood
Well said! I am proud to be a minister of ULC and stand for Love over all So important, now more than ever, to stand strong for our convictions! One heart, One Love! One Earth! <3
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revbjbecker
Thank you, Minister Norman. Your message is precisely why I am a ULC minister. One Universe. One family. Do what is right. Hate is never right.
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Reverand Raymond Smith
Totally agree with you. You can add my voice and support to this cause as well
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KEITH MARTIN
WITH THE OPEN SEASON ON RACE ,RELIGION , AND DISREGARD OF BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS OR NEEDS. AS ONE INDIVIDUAL OF A STREET MINISTRY . RESPECT FOR ALL HUMAN KIND IS THE KEY TO MAKING A DENT IN THESE HATE GROUPS AND POLITICAL GREED MOTIVATED PEOPLE. BE OPEN TO ALL HELP THEM WITH KINDNESS . DO SO WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN . A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND COMPASSION . TREAT THEM AS YOUR FAMILY OF GOD , THE SON , AND THE HOLY GHOST.
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Marius Gabriel Burja
Try preaching to isis or isil whatever they call themselves. Also , division is the tool of evil so is pride and stupidity. How many Christian denominations preach that Jesus is the only way and what does that say about the others not like them?
Then you have everyone drawing the fire to their own pot of stew sort of speak. Oh but fire is good when under control? Well that passion has become an obsession and freedom of speech is causing division.
I am not against freedom of speech but I am against vulgar language and hate speech. So maybe we need to ask some questions about that.
I recall the porn king Larry Flint in court saying that even a pig like him has rites and he won. Now people blame the internet for their kids screwing up. As if the internet should babysit their kids.
You have no idea how many people hate us who are ordained through the ULCM because history has tought them different. You know the fight that ULCM went through till it was recognized by law of land.
I always believed that the Bible for one ordained every believer and now you need a license to preach? As if I am in it for the money. I decided not to do weddings since divorce is in the thriving.
I keep asking myself why is it that church can marry people but judges have to divorce them? The only answer that comes to mind is that the law of the land is also God's law but the men of law of land are also sinful.
So my answer is money and we know the root of all evil is the love of money and not the love of your fellow human beings. I found myself on the federation enterprise. Business is what carries evil forward.
As a Christian we are supposed to share with our BROTHERS and SISTERS. ARE WE NOT ALL CHILDREN OF GOD? Yet some preach that NO we are not all brothers and sisters because we have denominations that preach calling someone your brother who doesn't believe like you is a sin. I can honestly say I hate religion. I do love God and faith shall lead me to fait.
I can love everyone but I do not have to give hugs to everyone without their consent. I am the kind of idiot that has to ask a girl on a date if I may kiss her even in that moment because now even that can be a crime.
People get their signals misread or confused and regret it later. So maybe now we should not let stupid people have children? Or should we regulate how many kids people can have?
I pray to God every day that he takes me away from this evil world and transforms it into something peaceful where I can live and love without having to deal with the hateful nature of ungodly men and women who live like beasts or dogs.
Sure some may read that as if I would imply that atheists are beasts but I am not saying that but I would say, ARE YOU LIVING LIKE A BEAST? Then my friends make fun of me because I didn't nail a girl. Yeah I am not going to spell that out, but my response was , you don't start humping a girl's leg on a date. I also told my friends to get off my leg.
I don't have anymore friends. All people can come and go through my life as they please. I do not keep anyone anywhere. That said with the saying in mind , Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, or something like that. The only enemy I have is evil and he comes and goes through all humans. I catch him trying every day trying to hump my leg.lol
I best shut up now. ??✌???or?. ???
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Minister Dave
We all are of one creator in the end. We should value all interpretation of religion . All of us.
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revbjbecker
I especially want to thank the Universal Life Church Monastery for this post. Because we are a church that exists to promote the freedom of belief for all our brothers and sisters, we can sometimes look like a quarrelsome group. But all families can be like that sometimes. Once again thank you for reminding us of who we are.
What about all the anti Christian violence that goes unreported in the news?
like what?
Excellent question. There is indeed anti-Christian violence in the world. Most is reported. There is not a great deal of that here.
Your post is similar to someone posting about breast cancer awareness and you saying, "But what about testicular cancer?" The point of the correspondence is to decry ALL sorts of violence against people in general, and people of faith in particular. And if you wish to be specific we can draw upon the racist attack by Dylann Roof, who chose his victims, not because they were Christians, but because they were Black. That's a wee bit different.
Thank you! The world would benefit from more reasonable people like yourself.
Well said!
This is not about you.