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Posted by Rev. William Southard, D.D
March 14, 2015 -
941 views
To the global congregation:
Dearest brothers and sisters of faith, I understand and respect that within our Church we may apply for and receive the title "Doctor of Divinity" but I have always felt some peer review would strengthen my resolve.
I write to you, to share a brief message of my inspiration and path to becoming ordained. I also wish to share my mission and my message. You are my peers and my colleagues. I submit to you my writing, if you feel moved by the Universal Divine to support my goals and feel that it would further help my ministry, tell me if you feel the title befits one of my understanding.
When I was fourteen I had a genuine spiritual experience. I felt called but not by the Christian God that I was raised with, but by something I feel is more aptly called the Universal Divine. I began to feel the beginnings of my religious awakening then. I didn't want to spend all of my youth studying seminary so I put it to the back burner. I pursued instead my other passions, writing and technology.
Last summer, still reeling from several close losses of dear family members I felt that call again. I decided to see what options existed for religious education. While researching a friend of mine posted a message to Facebook (A web application I generally dislike) discussing his ordainment through ULCM. I went to the website. I didn't sign up initially, but waited and prayed. On the 20th day of July, 2014 I became ordained. I felt such a rush of pure faith, which I have come to acknowledge as an energy generated by our desire to provide spiritual advice.
In my mission, I feel that I am not a judge of souls, I cannot condemn souls or actions. In my mission I am but a spiritual advisor. I seek to consult people based on their spiritual needs. I feel that the spiritual world intertwines with ours and by acting in deference to the energy it produces (faith) then we can all live lives of religious freedom and goodwill. Coincidentally the tenets of our faith.
My goal is to write books that share this mission and provide them free of charge to the world at large. I do not seek fame, or glory, nor riches. For in serving the world spiritually I will earn my karmatic reward. My faith is truly a blend of all faiths, free of stigma and studied on the individual level. My understanding becomes my dogma, my intellect my doctrine.
I await your thoughts, brothers and sisters! Do I have your blessing to seek the title Doctor? Or shall I commit another ten years to study? As always, I appreciate your unique insights and will consider each and every one of them.
In true faith,
Rev. William Southard
