Universal Life Church
Visionary Newsletter
Summer is here! Hopefully you have all had a chance to get out and enjoy some beautiful sunshine. At the Universal Life Church Visionary Newsletter, we have enjoyed the "rays of light" our ministers have sent us for our Facebook campaign to raise awareness for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Thanks to your 1,300 shares, we made a $1,000 donation this month to this important cause!
This organization does great work to eliminate domestic violence, empower battered women and children, promote and unify direct service programs, and alert and educate the public about domestic violence. Thank you all for your help spreading the word; this donation was made in your name. As ministers, we should be helping our fellow man - we encourage you to get involved and donate directly to great organizations like NCADV.
We are proud of everyone who took a moment to help support this cause - for information on more charities and how you can get involved, we invite you to join us on our blog, Twitter, and Facebook pages.
With your help, our online church can help change the world through acts of charity - one online ordination at a time.
As North Carolina voted to ban same-sex unions, a couple pastors made headlines by spouting some appalling words regarding sexual minorities. One recommended building a Holocaust-style prison for gays and lesbians and keep them there until they died out since "they can't reproduce." Another encouraged his congregation to beat up gay children.
The Universal Life Church Monastery vehemently opposes these calls to violence. We recognize that everyone has the right to form their own opinions on same-sex unions. However, there is such a thing as going too far.
It is very difficult for us to imagine that someone who has become a minister and professes to be a man of God, a divine being commonly associated with love and caring, could preach such hatred. We think the only "abomination" here is the use of these leadership positions to call - not for compassion and understanding - but for violent acts against our fellow man. Check out the article on our blog, and let us hear your opinions.
An infinitely better use of your time as a minister than preaching hate would be to offer your services to current and former inmates and their families. We receive mail from people in prisons asking to learn more about the church and wanting to devote their time to learning and fostering their spirits.
Working in a prison ministry is an excellent way to use your free online ordination to counsel and guide those who are in extreme spiritual need. If prison ministry work sounds appealing to you, but you are not yet a ULC minister, we encourage you to get ordained through our online ministry.
Becoming a prison minister sometimes requires a Dr. of Divinity certificate, and we encourage you to be ready to provide counsel, guidance, and companionship to inmates if this sounds like something you want to do. You can read our article on our sister website for more details.
We all know that water is a vital part of our lives, and life in general. A scientist in Japan is shedding light on some very intriguing properties of it. His research shows that it actually responds to our words and emotions! What other amazing aspects does this molecule have and what does this say about baptism and the notion of holy water? Be part of the discussion on our blog.
The Vatican has had some ire for some American nuns lately. They are concerned that the nuns are too focused on feeding the hungry and caring for the sick and the poor. Apparently this is radical feminism. According to the heads of the church, they really ought to spend their time on political issues, by fighting against same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
The ULC was shocked to learn that the leadership of the Catholic Church - men that are supposed to be among the most divine on this planet - appear to have less spiritual maturity than ministers who received their online ordinations through ministries like ours. Read the blog to find out how the nuns plan to fight back.
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June 2012
