The International Church of Cannabis In Denver Colorado Where Pot Smoking Congregants Are 'Elevationists' • Now The End Begins

The International Church of Cannabis In Denver Colorado Where Pot Smoking Congregants Are ‘Elevationists’

“Being an elevationist [the term they’ve coined for the theology of the
new church] means being an explorer,” Lee begins. “Our spiritual
journey is one of self-discovery, not one of dogma. We believe there is
no one-path solution to life’s big questions. This is simply a
supportive place for each one of us to find a pathway to our own
spirituality, whatever that may be.” Think of it like the pick ’n’ mix
of belief. There is no doctrine, no creed, no scripture or book. Simply
choose bits of whatever world religions work for you, or make something
up yourself, mix it all together, and see if it tastes good.

by Geoffrey Grider August 13, 2017

As
congregations dwindle, a new religion is lighting up Denver,
Colorado. Aaron Millar joins the ‘elevationists’ of the International
Church of Cannabis who worship the weed

“Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in
the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your
brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8,9 (KJV)

EDITOR’S NOTE:
As the present spiritual darkness intensifies over not just America but
the world as a whole, we are seeing stranger and stranger phenomena.
The Bible tells us that in the time of Jacob’s trouble, the One World
Religion will include all manner of deviant behaviour in their “worship”
services. Not only will there be drug and alcohol use, but open
prostitution and cannibalism as well. Being a pothead has become big
business in 2017, and it is also become a religion. They don’t call it
pot smoking, now they are partaking in the “holy sacrament of cannabis”.
A partnership will Hillsong can’t be too far away. And painting their
“sanctuary” in bright, rainbow colors didn’t happen by accident.

It started, naturally, with a group of friends smoking a joint.
Steve Berke, a graduate of Yale University, was temporarily living in
an old church in Denver, Colorado. His estate agent parents had bought
the 113-year-old building with the plan to turn it into flats. He and
Lee Molloy, as well as a few friends, had just moved from Miami to
capitalise on Colorado’s lucrative marijuana market. But then, in the
words of Lee: “We started having these stupid, fantastical
conversations. What if we kept it as a church?” So Steve convinced his
parents to give him the building and, nine months later, on 20 April
2016 – 4/20, as it’s known in the United States, the unofficial
pothead’s holiday (because it’s 4.20pm somewhere, right?) – the
International Church of Cannabis opened its doors with its own chapel,
theology and video game arcade.

The International Church of Cannabis in Denver:

From the outside all appears normal:
red-brick towers, blocky turrets, a classic city church in an otherwise
leafy suburb of Denver. But there are giveaways. The three front doors
and arched window facade have been spray-painted with silver galaxies
and bright, happy-face planets. The work of legendary painter and graphic artist Kenny Scharf,
who has exhibited in the Whitney and New York’s Museum of Modern Art,
it looks more like the backdrop for an illegal 90s rave than your
typical parish church. But it’s indicative of the coup that Elevation
Ministries, the non-profit company that Steve and Lee co-founded to set
up the Church of Cannabis, has managed to pull off.

“That mural
would probably buy you next door’s house,” Lee says, letting me in. But
they got it for the price of an air ticket for Scharf, a few days’
skiing and the loan of a jacket. People love fantastical ideas.

The
original plan was to open it to the general public, but because
Colorado’s current pot law only allows smoking in private clubs, it is,
for now at least, a members-only affair. To date they have more than
1,400 on their list. They open the doors from Thursday to Sunday for
smoke-free public viewing, with private cannabis services held on Friday
nights. It seems to be growing.

Every single surface has been painted
in vibrant patterns of red, blue and green, geometric prisms with
mythological creatures, stars and eyes hidden within. At the back wall,
two dream-like Dali-esque giants sit cross-legged as if lost in
meditation. “It feels like a hallucination,” someone says beside me,
eyes careening upwards. It’s like being swallowed by a Pink Floyd album
cover. Perhaps most impressive of all is that it was created
spontaneously without a sketch or a plan. This was another freebie: they
flew Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel over and bought him a bunch of
paints, then he started work in one corner and painted whatever he
dreamed up until he finished. It took him just six days – he rested on
the seventh.

HELP US REACH OUR GOAL OF BUILDING A BIBLE TEACHING RECORDING STUDIO!

As the service begins
we are encouraged to get to know each other: people spark up joints and
pass them around. Long wisps of smoke float to the ceiling and cover
the congregation in a flowery shroud; splutterings of coughs and
giggles, the sharp intake of breath on all sides. There are about 30 of
us in all, a mixed bag of misfits ranging from a self-proclaimed pothead
granny, whose eyes appear to move independently of each other, to a
couple of Harold & Kumar wannabes taking selfies at the altar. And
then there’s Lee: a former Bible quiz champion, raised in a strict
evangelical Christian home, he has the credentials of a preacher if not
the look: bushy hipster beard and long messy hair, dark bags under his
eyes and the whiff of old smoke on his shirt. It feels more like the
start of an AA meeting than a spiritual encounter. But then he starts to
speak.

“Being an elevationist [the term they’ve
coined for the theology of the new church] means being an explorer,” Lee
begins. “Our spiritual journey is one of self-discovery, not one of
dogma. We believe there is no one-path solution to life’s big questions.
This is simply a supportive place for each one of us to find a pathway
to our own spirituality, whatever that may be.” Think of it like the
pick ’n’ mix of belief. There is no doctrine, no creed, no scripture or
book. Simply choose bits of whatever world religions work for you, or
make something up yourself, mix it all together, and see if it tastes
good. “There are as many pathways to being an elevationist as there are
elevationists,” Lee says. Spirituality shouldn’t be a prescription; it
should be an adventure. It’s about seeking, not being told what to find.

It’s an idea that will strike a chord with many people.
Church attendance in the UK is on the decline. Last year only 1.4% of
the population attended Sunday Anglican services – the lowest level ever
recorded. There is a significant demographic of people who simply can’t
relate to organised religion or outright oppose it on principle. Being
able to explore your own path, within a supportive space, could help
fill that widening spiritual deficit.

But here’s where they may lose you.
That journey of self-discovery, says Lee, is enhanced by ritual
cannabis use. “We have been programmed to behave and think in certain
ways,” he says. “Cannabis helps elevationists tear down those false
realities.” source





The International Church of Cannabis In Denver Colorado Where Pot Smoking Congregants Are 'Elevationists' • Now The End Begins