The Rev. Gary Fearn stands in the sanctuary of his Universalist Life Church, 109 W. Fourth St.

Congregation thrives on eclectic view
By MARVIN READ
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
To say that the Rev. Gary Fearn's church is not mainstream is an understatement.

Fearn's congregation, the Universalist Life Church, is about as far out of the religion mainstream as can be - not that that's a bad thing, of course.

The congregation describes itself as a metaphysical church, meaning that there are philosophical, belief, intellectual and scientific elements involved.

Specific doctrine and dogma are not much a part of the nondenominational congregation, led by Fearn, 42, a Pueblo native.

"We look at all religious and other traditions to try to reconnect to the divine, the spirit, to God," he said, "and we begin with a premise that we are co-creators with the spirit, with the divine.

"We appreciate Christian teaching - and we have several people in our membership who identify themselves as Christians - but we consider Buddhist, Hindu and other teachings, as well.

"There is truth as a reality, but we remain unconvinced that any one preacher, congregation or religious system has all of it or exclusive rights to it."

The congregation has been in place since last July, and about a month ago relocated from a belly-dancing studio to a storefront operation at 109 W. Fourth St.

Fearn is happy with the locale, saying, "The last thing we need to do is build another church building."

Belly dancing, however, is still at least tangentially connected to the Universalist Life Church, insofar as teaching that art is one of the items offered as a part of the several church-sponsored well-being services offered at the site, also including naturopathy, reflexology, hot-stone massage, gem therapy, pedicures, iridology, reiki, acupressure, pastoral counseling, aromatherapy, homeopathy, body wraps, manicures and life coaching. Pastorally, the church provides the usual weddings and funerals, but also has rites to accompany divorce, bless unions that other churches shy away from and various ceremonials connected to neo-pagan Wiccan worship.

Fearn said there are a few Wiccan worshippers in attendance at Sunday services, as well as agnostics and members of mainstream Christian churches.

"There are a couple of Catholics who are able to go to early Mass at their parishes and then make it in time for our 45-minute, 11 a.m. services," he said, smiling.

The church has a simple set of operating principles:

"Our goal, a fuller life for everyone; our objective, eternal progression; our slogan, to live and help live."

Fearn - married and father of two - was raised in the rigorous Southern Baptist Convention, but clearly has set that denomination aside.

He has been involved in other jobs and ministries since 1991. He has been a police officer and police chaplain, owned a chain of religious-goods stores based in Las Vegas, marketed painting and maintenance services in Denver, managed a Southeastern Colorado branch of Jackson-Hewitt tax services and is an examiner for Colorado's Real Estate Board. Additionally, he lists on his resume some 26,000 hours of hands-on pastoral duties.

Fearn earned his non-academic doctorate in divinity from the Universal Life Church in 1988, and was interim pastor of a Pueblo Universal Life Church congregation from late 1995 to early 1998.

The pastor said there's an average attendance of 20 to 30 at Sunday services, and that "we're growing, maybe five or six people a month." He said the church really doesn't yet have a budget, but runs on about $1,000 a month.

"We're big on fellowship, as well as worship," Fearn said of the congregation, which he said is about evenly divided between singles and families and with an average age of 30 to 35.

The church is loosely affiliated with the sometimes-controversial, 47-year-old, Modesto, Calif.-based Universal Life Church.

Fearn and his congregants begin with a premise that all things and people are part of one main source and should thus be respected, even in their independence and interdependence on other beings and things.

Metaphysics, the local church notes in a brochure, "is the way to interpret and understand life on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual planes."

Additionally, the brochure notes, "Metaphysics understands the Law of Attraction and how it effects and affects our lives." The law, at the risk of oversimplification, may be enunciated as "you get what you think about; your thoughts determine your destiny."

Fearn said the church never focuses on political issues, and the congregation seems about evenly divided between liberal and conservative thought.

"We're focused on spirituality, not political division," he said, adding that the church makes no moral judgments about interpersonal lifestyles and relationships.

"That's pretty much up to the individual's responsibility to figure out," he said. "It's our aim to reconnect people to the creator, whatever that means to the individual."

All of which indeed places the church well out of the mainstream - not that that's a bad thing, of course.

The church maintains a Web site: www.universalistlifechurch.org and Fearn may be contacted at 671-5866.