I believe that would be "Divine Service"
hamid

--- In cheraglibrary@yahoogroups.com, Ken McCullough <kmccullough101@...> wrote:
>
> Hello friends,
>
> Rev. Nano Boye and Rev. Tajali Tolan are doing a Universal Worship service
here in Madison tomorrow for the National Women's Music Festival and are going
to have a candle for Sikhism.� They asked what phrase should�used
after�the Sikh scripture has been read, i.e.
> "We offer to the omniscient god our reverence, our homage and our gratitude
for the Divine _______?"�
> I don't normally use Sikhism in the service so I don't know what is
recommended.��Can anyone help out on this?
>
> Peace and Blessings, Rev. Basir Ken McCullough in Madison, WI
> �Ken McCullough
> 6201 Devon CT
> Madison, WI 53711
> (608) 277-0340
> FAX: (608) 277-0150
> kmccullough101@...
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: cecil touchon <touchon@...>
> To: cheraglibrary@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 11:57:18 AM
> Subject: [cheraglibrary] Issues related to the Church and the Church related
to the Issues
>
>
>
>
>
> If we say yes, there is a Church of All then it is distinguished by certain
attitudes and practices. There is a base upon which the church stands and from
that base we should be able to extrapolate a position on literally any issue of
the day. The basis of the church is as follows...
> ------------ ---------
> 1. The Universal Worship is based upon the Sufi Message brought to the western
world in 1910 by Hazrat Inayat Khan.
>
> 2. The Sufi Message is the same Light of Wisdom which the Divine Spirit of
Guidance has thrown upon the world at all times of need through all the teachers
of humanity known and unknown to the world.
>
>
> a. It is embodied in the following Sufi thoughts:
>
> i. There is one god, the Eternal, the Only Being; none exist save He.
> ii.There is one Master, the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads
his followers towards is Light.
> iii.There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature, the only,
scripture which can enlighten the reader.
> iv.There is one Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction,
towards the ideal, which fulfills the life's purpose of every soul.
> v. There is one Law, the Law of reciprocity, which can be observed by a
selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice.
> vi. There is one Brotherhood, the human brotherhood, which unites the children
of earth indiscriminately in the Fatherhood of God.
> vii.There is one Moral, the love which springs forth from self-denial and
blooms in deeds of beneficence,
> viii.There is one object of praise, the beauty which uplifts the heart of its
worshiper through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.
> ix. There is one Truth, the true knowledge of our being, within and without,
which is the essence of all wisdom.
> x. There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which
raises the mortal to immortality, in which resides all perfection.
>
> b. Its purposes:
>
> i. To realize and spread the knowledge of unity, the religion of love and
wisdom, so that the variety of faiths and beliefs may of themselves cease to
exist, the human heart may overflow with love, and all hatred caused by
distinction and differences may be rooted out.
> ii. To discover the light and power latent in man, the secret of all religion,
the power of mysticism, and the essence of philosophy, without interfering with
customs or belief.
> iii. To help to bring the world's two opposite poles, east and west, closer
together by the interchange of thoughts and ideals, that the Universal
Brotherhood may form of itself, and man may meet man beyond the narrow national
and racial boundaries.
>
> 3. Basic beliefs of Universal Worship.
>
>
> a. The existence of One God, the God of all.
> b. All teachers of humanity who have guided humanity towards the Ideal have
been an embodiment of the Divine Spirit of Guidance.
> c. Humanity needs to be brought to that consciousness of Unity which is the
central theme of all religions.
>
> 4. Basic principles of Universal Worship:
>
>
> a. To have regard for all teachers of humanity.
> b. To feel respect for all the religious scriptures.
> c. To give earnest response to the Sufi Message.
> d. To grant faithful allegiance to the Seraj-un-Munir.
> e. Not to criticize any existing religion.
> f. Not to antagonize those holding an opposite opinion.
> g. Not to influence others to leave any faith or belief for Universal Worship.
> ------------ --------- -
>
> If we look at the above and then apply it to torture and what constitutes
torture and under what conditions we would support torture or not support it,
what do you suppose would be our commonly held position?
>
> From there it would then be pretty clear what might be our commonly held idea
on many other issues. I think as cherags, it is part of our job to consider
these things and articulate an opinion especially since the cherags are the
mouthpiece of the church and the church is a public community. As such it is our
place, in fact, our duty to address these issues. That's my opinion.
>
> Now, unless we talk among ourselves about these things, how are we to develop
a well rounded view except from what we might hear on TV or read in the paper? I
mean, if we do not carry on such dialog among ourselves, how would we expect to
carry on conversations with leaders from other faith communities? I see no
reason why we wouldn't have our own talking points on these subjects that we
develop through conversations among ourselves.
>
> I am not suggesting that we would come up with something that we expect
everyone in our community to 'tow the line' on but I think intelligent and
searching discussion can only help each of us to be conscious of the issues
before us as a community - thus making our community stronger and clearer.
>
> The Church of All or Universal Worship if you want to call it that, is not
like the esoteric school where you study in silence and go about your business.
We are not cloistered monks. Our purpose is to create public communities
composed of people from all backgrounds. That means there will be a diversity of
opinions and we are cherags will be expected to hold some position or offer some
wisdom on these things.
>
> In many things the church (based on the above) will tend to be very
conservative and in other things, liberal and progressive.
>
> Hamid
>