To my brothers and sisters in Christ, and my friends around the world, All Hail,

What a great privilege to write you on this anniversary. It has now been eight years since the official launch of this website in infancy form. The website has undergone three or four transformations evolving one from the other. Each day, in every way, God is pouring out his spiritual blessings.

My focus this year will be building the “real world” side of this ministry. I would now like to officially announce that in January 2008 Father Hurley Media Services LLC was legally formed. I am still in the process of completing the final elements, but the company is in order. At the April 2008 convention of the Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church, several products will go on sale. They will not be elaborate, but symbolic because it will be the first income produced by this ministry. To this point, I have funded FatherHurley.com out of pocket, with the help of three financial donations received several years ago.

Other major projects are in the wings; they will stay “secret” for now. Hopefully at the August convention at least one of them will be ready. Members and friends of the U.H.S.C. look for our table at the convention. Truly this is the Year of Boldness, that the spirit revealed some time ago. The next immediate order of business is to write a series of articles on the Year of Boldness. Once the major projects are ready for sale, the website will be transformed once again.

Stay tuned—same Hurley time, same Hurley station. Glory, peace, and power are in the hands of God. God dwells within us. Therefore, glory, peace, and power are in our hands. Praise God.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the last eight years. I really cannot believe it has been that long. The writer was right who said, “The days go by slowly, but the years go by quickly.” But the songwriter said, “It’s sweeter as the years go by.” I thank God for where the ministry stands today, on the brink of prosperity and true self-sufficiency. No matter how financially successful Father Hurley Media Services LLC becomes, the original vision of the Internet Ministry will NEVER be lost. Amen. Amen. Amen.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Reverend George Hubert Latimer-Knight
Written March 17, 2008

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The world Father Hurley and his contemporaries lived in was very different than ours, although we are still struggling with its legacy. The United States of America was partially founded, unfortunately, on racism and slavery. The Civil War, along with pressure from the Radical Republicans (the abolitionist party), forced President Abraham Lincoln’s hand to draft the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863. (Wormser: (a)) Though the war had to continue before the slaves began to be released, it marked the beginning of the end of the physical slavery; mental slavery, however, continues to this day. In 1875 the Civil Rights Act was passed to ensure “full and equal enjoyment”. (Wormser: (b)) In 1883 it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. (Wormser: (c)) Congress did not pass another Civil Rights bill until 1957. (Wormser: (c))These events, plus the continued racism, caused the former slaves to live in a horrible world of lynching, burning, and general unfairness. Imagine walking out your door and seeing your best friend dead, hanging in a tree, or maybe your cousin, or even your mother or father – this was a reality for African-Americans. Imagine having to bow your head low whenever a certain kind of person walked by – this was how Blacks had to respond to Whites. Imagine being told everyday that you are an animal, worthless, less than human, and not worthy to live – this was the reality of the former slaves.

Marcus Garvey, DuPont Bell, Noble Drew Ali, Wallace D. Fard, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Father Divine, Sweet Daddy Grace, Father Elias Dempsey Smith, and many other Black leaders emerged in the late 19^th and early 20^th century to respond to this worldview. They also took issue with the American Christian world’s apparent inability to reach out to the Black race and uplift them. It is no secret that some racist White ministers used their pulpits to preach discrimination and oppression.

A great deal of academic work has been done on all of the leaders just mentioned, however one of their most powerful, intelligent, and spiritual contemporaries is still largely unknown and ignored by scholars. This leader is Father George William Hurley….

Father Hurley was raised in the Protestant tradition. His mother, Tina Hurley, began raising him as a Methodist, but after a few years they became Baptist. At the age of seven he began to preach in the churches and challenge the ministers and was ordained at the age of 11. In 1897, at the age of 13, the Spirit of God revealed to him his great Commission. After high school he went to Tuskegee Institute and Phelps Bible Hall Training School to receive ministerial training. Dr. E. J. Penny was Phelps’ dean and Father Hurley’s ministerial instructor.

By the time he reached his early 20s, Reverend Hurley… was known, especially among southern Baptists, as a dynamic preacher and orator with a seeming special relationship with God. It was not just his ability to ‘woo’ the crowd that made him popular; it was his ability to expound on the teachings of Christ in such a way that even the more uneducated members, which were many times the majority, were able to comprehend the lessons of the Gospel.

In around 1918 or 1919 Reverend Hurley met Father Elias D. Smith, founder of the Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ, which was founded on January 20, 1904, popularly known as the Triumph Church (Triumph Church website). He was spiritually moved by Father Smith and his teachings and consequently joined. After several years, he reached the level of Elder and the presiding Prince of Michigan, but became dissatisfied with the teachings of the Triumph Church. He disagreed with the way they taught the Bible and how some of the ministers purposely lacked clarity in their explanations of the Gospel to the congregation, among other things. [This possibly could be due to the fact that the Triumph Church began moving away from its original teachings after Father Smith passed away in January 1920 while on a trip to Addis Ababa Abyssinia.] After this he briefly joined the International Spiritual Church, but again he was not completely content. So on September 23, 1923 he founded the Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Association (later changing ‘Association’ to ‘Church’).

References

Triumph Church website. “History of Triumph Church”, 19 Feb. 2004 <http://www.triumphchurch-jax2.org/history.html>.

Wormser, Richard.(a) “The Emancipation Proclamation (1863)”, 19 Feb. 2004 <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_emancipate.html>.

Wormser, Richard.(b) “Civil Rights Act (1875)”, 19 Feb. 2004 <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/ stories_events_civil.html>.

Wormser, Richard.(c) “Civil Rights Act of 1875 Declared Unconstitutional”, 19 Feb. 2004 <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_uncivil.html>.

Chris (www.youtube.com/InfamousChris1) asked the question, “What words define your world?”

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Father George W. Hurley Memorial 2007. A prophet does more than predict the future. A prophet is one with God, and loves all of God’s creation. Father Hurley, founder of the Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church, was/is a true loving Prophet. Amen.

Here on FatherHurley.com I post articles on a variety of issues. Some have questioned this practice, especially since the website is centered on Father Hurley, and not me, Rev. George Latimer-Knight.

As an ordained minister of the Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church, it is my duty “to preach the true Everlasting Gospel of Christ unto the world”, according to the minister’s license. None of us can really know, materially speaking, what Jesus or Father Hurley would say, if they were still on earth. What we can know are the everlasting principles of the Everlasting Gospel. Once we learn them, then we can apply them. We cannot be afraid to speak on today’s issues, whether social, political, educational, etc. To do so, would be to limit the Everlasting Gospel to Church business only.

The Everlasting Gospel has its name for a reason. The Gospel of Christ shall always be relevant. The reason people think the Gospel, the Bible, is old fashioned is because they have not studied to find its practical or pragmatic uses. In so far as the Biblical characters are people just like us, we must learn to relate to them, and learn from their lives.

The Everlasting Gospel, as presented by Father Hurley, is relevant for today. The best way I know to show this is to talk about current events in a spiritual manner. We can find the answers to society’s problems through spiritual means, that is prayer, fasting, meditation, scientific concentration, creative thinking, visualization, etc. Hallelujah!

All my writing and sermons may not line up exactly with the Everlasting Gospel. I write as I am impressed. Like Father Hurley wrote in The Ethiopian Context Bible, “Should I make an error, it is an error of the head and not of the heart”. However, we cannot let the possibility of failure hinder us. We are human, failure is bound to occur. I personally like to focus on the flip side of that equation: We are spirit (God) within, success is bound to occur.

If we never try to expound on the Everlasting Gospel, we will never make a mistake in our exposition. BUT if we never try to expound on the Everlasting Gospel, we will never see lives changed, bodies healed, homes restored, hearts lightened, confused minds regulated by the power of an Almighty God.

I am just not willing to hide my light under a bushel because of fear. Let Father Hurley speak today, THROUGH YOU. Amen. Amen. Amen.

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