One Spirit United Interfaith fellowship, An Ecumenical Chruch---Home Page

Welcome

Our hope is that many will find a home here---a safe place to finally rest. Rest from what,
you might ask? ....from judgment, from guilt, from fear, from nagging doubts....from the
hypocrisy, shame, and even the mind-controlling, brain-washing tactics that so many of us
have been subjected to via traditional organized religion.

We do not tell you what to believe, but encourage you to seek your own truth. We do not
judge you on a scale of Good-Evil, or point out your "sins", because guess what?..... We all
have our own "sins" to deal with!

We are here to nurture minds and spirits, neglecting neither the spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical aspects of the whole
person..... Because one of our over-riding principles is the belief that that the key to life is balance: balance between the spiritual
and the material worlds; between conviction and open-mindedness; between compassion and personal responsibility; between
justice and tolerance; between faith and scientific study; between doing and simply "being". Nothing can exist without its polar
opposite. It is the acceptance and balance of the two that brings peace.

We are a "believing" Church, which means we believe in the existence of God, although each of us may have a slightly (or
significantly) different definition of God. We do not believe that everyone has to share the same definition of God, call It by the
same name, or even believe as we do in the existence of God to achieve eternal life. (since we believe that eternal life simply is.)

We do not believe that God prefers or chooses any one person or group of people over another, or that any person is more
qualified to teach matters of spirituality than another. We believe that by definition, every human being is a spiritual person.
Furthermore, anyone engaged in acts of service to others, is by definition, a minister. There are many different kinds of service
to others---think about it----you are probably a minister and didn't even know it. Some may not realize it, some may choose not
to focus on it, and still others may not believe it, or choose to separate themselves from their spirit-nature. We are all here to
learn from one another. We all share common knowledge.... Someone else may have access to a piece of wisdom that you
haven't accessed yet. Be open to it, but accept it only if it makes sense to you---your mind, and your spirit.

We do not require that anyone give up the practice or beliefs of their current faith (or lack thereof) for membership into our
community, except where those practices or beliefs infringe upon the rights of any other human being to practice and express
their beliefs as they alone see fit. . Whether you call yourself a Deist, Pantheist, Atheist, Agnostic, Universist, Unitarian, etc., or
if you are a questioning practicer of one of the "major" world religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism,
etc., we encourage you to practice your faith as you believe and understand it. Only when any member or guest of this
community attempts to infringe upon the rights of the others here to carry out their own spiritual search unhindered and
unharrassed, will that person become unwelcome. This site and Church were created for those seeking alternatives to the more
rigid and judgmental aspects of the world's major religions. If anyone has come here with the intent to criticize, harrass, or
convert any of our members or guests, please leave and start your own church or website. This site is intended as a safe haven
of exploration, sharing, and support for free-thinking people around the world.

Rev. Natalie's Current Pet Ponderance:

What makes us believe more in words written thousands of years ago, and the stories contained therein, than what we see or hear
today, or what feels right in our gut, or makes sense to our rational mind, or even what comes to US in a dream or vision? Because
someone told us to? Because a whole bunch of people have been telling us it's so since we were old enough to walk? Because
we've been made to be afraid of the consequences of not believing it? (so we pretend to, even if we really don't?) Is it possible that
all the people who told us what we had to believe were also just afraid, or simply regurgitating the products of their own
brainwashing? Do we really want to believe in a "Heavenly Father" that would send "His" own children to burn in flames for not
believing in every word from an ancient book of a man-made (and therefore, imperfect) religion, even if he in fact had "dictated"
the writing of that book? Does this sound like a loving God? And if God just simply isn't that loving, then what would we want with
"Him" anyway? If this is what we believe of Our "Heavenly Father", then why do we expect more from our human parents? Any
human father that would be that unyielding, unforgiving, and unloving toward his children would surely be feared, not loved (and
quite probably disowned, jailed, or reported to Child Protective Services). Do we really believe that God gave us such amazingly
complex and competent minds, and this thing called free will, only so we could abandon their use entirely and follow our written
"instructions" unquestioningly? (Okay, I'm pretty sure that last sentence was slightly plagiaristic, for I know I read most of it in the
form of a quote somewhere---I just can't remember where!)