Church of the Most High?

Well, it would appear that yet another church has magically popped up under the authority of Scott Bates and likely Matthew Pappas as well as it presents as being the focal church within their "Circle of Cannabis Churches". According to it's description: "The Church of the Most High's Ecclesiastical order is Know as the Order of Servants. We do not have priest or prophets who would intervene in your personal relationship with the Existential I Am. Servants Certify Members "Sincerity" in regard to Sacramental Cannabis. They Certify Cannabis as "Sacramental' if it meets the standards and practices guidelines, they perform the Embrace ceremony for new members, and for Churches who unify into the Circle of Cannabis Churches. Servants perform the rights rituals and ceremonies associated with Sacramental Cannabis, they teach the personal path of progressive spiritual consciousness and they teach a personal relationship with the Most High. Service is required of all members, but members of the Order of Servants have dedicated their lives to the Service of the Divine Purpose and the Sons and Daughters of the Most High God"

Immediately below you will find a post made by the newly formed church yesterday, June 19th, in which some of you might find to be an interesting read indeed:

"Cannabis Rites, Rituals, Ceremonies and Spiritual Discipline

The Rights, Rituals and Ceremonies practiced by the Church of the Most High are flexible, full of meaning and symbols of Spiritual Reality. They all include Sacramental Cannabis in one or more of various forms. Dietary Sacramental Cannabis consists of the fresh edible leaves and or flowers that can be eaten or drank in juice form. Preserved flowers and various concentrations thereof are smoked or vaporized, or alternately may be infused or suffused into tincture or Holy Anointing Oil. Sacramental foods are also made with Cannabis in them, heated or raw. Sacramental Rights, Rituals and Ceremonies are performed for the following reasons; For the general or specific healing of the body and any or all its systems, for the balancing and attunement of the mind, body and spirit synergy, for the offering of prayer or worship, for the communion of believers, for the service of the sons and daughters of the Most High, for the practice of meditation, for the contemplation of the nature of reality, to attune to inspiration and intuition, and to experience a growing personal relationship with and understanding of the Creator. Rights are daily, regular, scheduled observances of religious behavior that can be observed alone or in communion with others. They tend to be of a less formal, standardized and rigid nature than Rituals. Rituals are practiced regularly over a set period of time and for a specific goal.. Group worship of variable duration is an example of a ritual if it is a regular observance. A Rastaman “Nyabinghi Groundation” may take place over several days or weeks, while a prayer circle of believers may last one or two hours. Eating Raw Sacramental Cannabis or Oil over sixty days to heal the physical body of illness, disease or imbalance is a ritual. Rituals have structured formalized protocols, adherence to which imbues their performance with deepened spiritual significance and enhanced meaning. It is the exalted spiritual gravity and the elevation of meaning that the ritual accomplishes for the human personality that constitute its value in the pilgrimage of discovery . It is not the words spoken, the songs chanted, the prayers proffered , or any external element that imbues the Ritual with power, but it is the Faith dominated determination to accept the Spiritual Requirement of action. To grow and progress in the spiritual path to consciousness of the Divine Nature and Plan, people must pray, worship, serve and “Love one another as I have loved you”. Ceremonies are the grand performance Rights or Rituals to mark or commemorate occasions or milestones of Highest Spiritual significance. Sacramental Cannabis facilitates all of the aspects of personal growth, healing, spiritual progress and commemoration that characterize Ceremonial events. Rights, Rituals, and Ceremonies are designed to increase spiritual meaning, elevate importance, transcend the material and serve the needs of member. Sacramental Cannabis is the essential imperative in all cases. It is the emotional content of the person’s heart and spiritual context that drives communication with the Creator and the Spirit within. Pray in silence and in private, regularly, dedicating yourself to be mindful and receptive always to the guidance it must illicit. Sacramental Cannabis is a tremendous blessing toward improving the content, frequency, and efficacy of Prayer. Prayer, meditation, contemplation and worship are all qualitatively improved by quantity of practice and with the inclusion of Sacramental Cannabis Rights Rituals and Ceremonies. Sacramental Cannabis is the cornerstone of our faith, it is the stone that the builder refused. The foundational relationship of Sacramental Cannabis to the eternal quest for consciousness makes it an inseparable essential component of successful spiritual development.

It is our right to elect to practice our faith through worship, service and Sacramental rights that illuminate our spiritual path to truth, reality and overstanding. It is meet that in so doing we are due the full protection of the Constitution of the United States, as the highest law of the land, and that of our States Constitutions, and that of The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), and that of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Sacramental use of Cannabis is rationally consequent of the faith we hold; that the Most High Creator of all beings and things is self existent reality, whose ultimacy, supremacy and sovereignty is without qualification, has made us to know and love him, of our own choosing, as directed by our own conscience. To intercede into the most personal and protected choices of a member or Church, their must needs be compelling government interest under the “strict standard of proof”. CMH will not tolerate the violation of our faith or practice thereof by any city, or county, or state or federal agency, or official, under color of zoning code regulation, or requirement, or law of any stripe, that causes our practice of Sacramental Cannabis Rights to be impeded, abridged constrained, or limited. This is up to and including but not limited to; having Cannabis in all stages of cultivation and or preservation in whatever amounts are deemed appropriate by Servants of the Church of the Most High to meet the needs of members, cooperative Churches and people in need. That we will administer Sacraments to members, or to other Churches, or to members of other Churches who are part of the Circle of Cannabis Churches. CMH will administer Cannabis Sacraments as acts of service to render aid to the sick and hungry. We will protect and defend and guard jealously our human rights to commune with the Creator and choose the path of cosmic consciousness that the Spirit compels us to. These rights are part of God’s existential law cannot be abrogated by my men, because they are enmeshed in the very fabric of reality. Even the laws of men recognize the unquestioned individual sovereignty people hold over these personal decisions. CMH and asserts the truth that the United States of America is founded on the cornerstone of Religious tolerance and freedom, as affirmed by the Highest Law of the Land and by the Creator whose gift of personality and free will may not be violated by any lawful act of men."

Apparently this church formed on May 30th 2017 and claims to be Rastafarian in it's teachings and belief systems. "The Church of the Most High is a Sacramental Cannabis Church home of the ecclesiastical Order of Servants serving Sacramental Cannabis Churches and Members."

As of now, there is no official record or filing on a "Church of the Most High" with the state of california, but we will keep an eye on it in the hopes it's not another fake church popping up into the mix gearing toward profiting off the exploitation of cannabis, but here nor there we Will let you know as we do, until then please stay tuned for further updates about this and other news encompassing Oklevueha Native American Church