Universal Foundation for Better Living | |
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Abbreviation | UFBL |
Classification | New Thought Christianity |
Scripture | Bible (interpreted metaphysically) |
Theology | New Thought |
Founder | Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon |
President | Reverend Dr. Sheila McKeithen |
Past President | Reverend Dr. Mary Tumpkin |
Associations | International New Thought Alliance |
Language | English |
Headquarters | Miami Gardens, Florida, United States |
Territory | United States, Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad, The Bahamas, Guyana |
Origin | June 1974 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Separated from | Unity Church |
Member Ministries | 17 |
Seminaries | Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary |
Publications | Daily Inspiration for Better Living |
Official website | https://ufbl.org/ |
Slogan | "It Works If You Work It" |
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The Universal Foundation for Better Living, or UFBL, is a New Thought denomination that was founded in 1974 by Johnnie Colemon in Chicago, Illinois. Colemon founded the foundation as an association for African American New Thought ministers after breaking away from the Unity Church for "blatant racism". [1] Rev. Colemon is often referred to as "the First Lady of New Thought". [2]
After founding the first predominantly African American Unity Church in 1954, Colemon broke away in 1974. Named the Universal Foundation for Better Living, the foundation had 22,000 members in the late 1980s, with a 32-acre facility in the Chicago-area. [3] The foundation adheres closely to the principles taught by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. [4]
In 2009, the denomination had more than 30 churches across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, with a majority of African American members. Colemon appointed Mary A. Tumpkin as President of the foundation in 1995, where she served until she died in November 2013. [5] In 2015, Rev. Sheila R. McKeithen became the foundation's third President.
The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology.
Unity is a spiritual organization founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889. It grew out of Transcendentalism and became part of the New Thought movement. Unity may be best known for its Daily Word devotional publication begun in 1924. Originally based in Christianity with emphasis on the Bible, Unity has said it is a "Christian movement that emphasizes affirmative prayer and education as a path to spirituality," and says about itself, "We honor all spiritual practices and the diversity of paths leading to enlightenment."
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 as the Northern Baptist Convention, and named the American Baptist Convention from 1950 to 1972. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814.
The Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is a Christian ecumenical American seminary located in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of several seminaries historically affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Chicago, originally established in 1855 under the direction of the abolitionist Stephen Peet and the Congregational Church by charter of the Illinois legislature.
The New Thought movement is a new religious movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from a variety of origins, such as Ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Chinese, Taoist, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures and their related belief systems, primarily regarding the interaction among thought, belief, consciousness in the human mind, and the effects of these within and beyond the human mind. Though no direct line of transmission is traceable, many adherents to New Thought in the 19th and 20th centuries claimed to be direct descendants of those systems.
Daniel Alexander Payne was an American bishop, educator, college administrator and author. A major shaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), Payne stressed education and preparation of ministers and introduced more order in the church, becoming its sixth bishop and serving for more than four decades (1852–1893) as well as becoming one of the founders of Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1856. In 1863, the AME Church bought the college and chose Payne to lead it; he became the first African-American president of a college in the United States and served in that position until 1877.
Jeremiah Alvesta Wright Jr. is a pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he led for 36 years, during which its membership grew to over 8,000 parishioners. Following retirement, his beliefs and preaching were scrutinized when segments of his sermons about terrorist attacks on the United States and government dishonesty were publicized in connection with the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama.
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John A. Mackay was a Presbyterian theologian, missionary, and educator. He was a strong advocate of the Ecumenical Movement and World Christianity.
Liberty Universalist Church and Feasterville Academy Historic District is a national historic district located near Winnsboro, Fairfield County, South Carolina. The property encompasses four buildings constructed between 1831 and 1845. They are the Liberty Universalist Church and three buildings associated with the Academy: a boarding house, a kitchen, and a school building. The buildings were constructed by the Feaster family.
The history of New Thought started in the 1830s, with roots in the United States and England. As a spiritual movement with roots in metaphysical beliefs, New Thought has helped guide a variety of social changes throughout the 19th, 20th, and into the 21st centuries. Psychologist and philosopher William James labelled New Thought "the religion of healthy-mindedness" in his study on religion and science, The Varieties of Religious Experience.
Global Religious Science Ministries, or GRSM, is an organization representing the Religious Science denomination in the New Thought movement. Centers and churches in the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Africa, Europe, India, Australia, and the Philippines are represented by the organization. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
The Christian Reformed Church in South Africa is a Christian denomination in South Africa. The moderator is Rev. R du Toit, the Vice Moderator is Rev. Johnnie Tromp.
Johnnie Colemon was an influential minister and teacher in the New Thought movement. She is often referred to as the “First Lady of New Thought”. Colemon founded several large organizations within the African-American New Thought movement, including Christ Universal Temple (CUT) and the Universal Foundation for Better Living (UFBL). The Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary is named in her honor.
Jeffery Tribble is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and a professor of ministry with research interests in Practical Theology, Congregational Studies and Leadership, Ethnography, Evangelism and Church Planting, Black Church Studies, and Urban Church Ministry. Academics and professionals in these fields consider him a renowned thought leader. Tribble's experience in pastoral ministry allows for his work to bridge the gap between academic research and practical church leadership.
Barbara Lewis King was the first bishop of the International New Thought Christian Movement of Churches. She was also the founder of Hillside International Chapel and Truth Center.
African Americans in Israel number at least 25,000, comprise several separate groups, including the groups of African American Jews who have immigrated from the United States to Israel making aliyah, non-Jewish African Americans who have immigrated to Israel for personal or business reasons, pro-athletes who formerly played in the major leagues in the United States before playing in Israel on local basketball and other sports teams, as well as foreign students studying in Israeli universities, businessmen, merchants, and guest workers, along with Israeli citizens of African American ancestry. African Americans have served in the Israel Defence Force, and have largely been accepted and into Israeli society, and have represented Israel in numerous international forums such as the Olympic Games, and the Eurovision Song Contest. African American-Israelis have had a major cultural impact in Israel, particular in the arts and culture, music and sports. In addition, there as a large community of Black Hebrew Israelites numbering at least 5,000 people, who originally immigrated to Israel from Chicago in the 1960s, and live mostly in the southern Israeli town of Dimona.