All Hail to the Christ Within,

On last month we celebrated the 85th anniversary of Father Hurley’s founding of the Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church. I can hear the songwriter saying, “This is a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle; and it’s washed in the blood of the lamb.” In addition to the Church, however, Father Hurley founded additional organizations and auxiliaries that have faded from memory but will be resurrected in due time.  Three that I want to focus on are the U.H.S.A. Press, the Hagar’s Rescue and Orphan Home (later known as the Cassie Bell Hurley Rescue Home), and the Hagar’s Loan Association. In this article we will deal with the first organization

Father Hurley printed his own Sunday School and Meditation books, his own newsletters, and other little books. The U.H.S.A. Press was impressive and much of what he printed in his day rivals what we print today on 21st century PCs. It has been a dream of mine for years to bring the press back. I began printing the U.H.S.C. Michigan convocation programs in June 1998. Since then I printed programs for various anniversaries and special events with limited success. I admit that I never took the time to learn desktop publishing the way I should have. Nevertheless the spirit would not let me release my vision.

At the beginning of this year Father Hurley Media Services LLC was organized. It’s still in its infancy stages but slated to produce several books in 2009. I think the vision can even expand beyond print media. I have a number of Hagar services on video which I can still place on DVD. I was also impressed when I read about Alex and Stephen Kendrick’s successful movie entitled “Fireproof“. The brothers are also pastors and wrote the movie to reach out to churchgoing audiences who want more wholesome movies. The movie had a volunteer cast and a budget of just below $500,000. It has earned an estimated 13.6 million dollars.

Maybe I am ahead of myself but I believe the UHSC can achieve great heights. My peers are doing extraordinary things in the professional world. I hope, in the next few years, I can build this company up to a point where I can convince the youth we can go for gold. In ancient times, alchemists tried to make gold out of base metals. Many failed to see the true analogy. They failed to see that knowledge of God can turn oppressed and ordinary people (the base metals) into enlightened and empowered individuals (gold).

Father Hurley cannot be underestimated. He was beyond his time. I hope we can catch up to the vision.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Rev. George H. Latimer-Knight
Written October 20, 2008 at age 26