Rasta's speak out against Sugarleaf
There have been many people wondering when if at all we would hear what true Rasta's have to say about Sugarleaf "Rasta" Church and as is said, good things come to those who patiently wait, and so, without further adue, here is among the comments thus far made about Sugarleaf "Church" : "this is beyond disrespectful" A person posted "It is a shame you are hiding behind someone else's religion to sell cannabis."
"Fiyah and shame for hiding behind Rastafari to sell ganja."
According to the government, the Imperial Ethopian World Federation Incorporated, there is but one voice that is to be the representation of Rasta faith in the continental United States, which is to be heard from "The Church of Haile Selassie I" For those confused, The Church of Halie Selassie I is the only official Rasta church blessed to operate in the United States. Immediately below you will find the official charter confirming such for your convenience:
It should be known and understood that any legitimate Rasta church will have such a charter, likely framed and prominently displayed for their members to see and give thanks,if they don't, then there's obvious room to question whether or not the church is in fact validly operating as a Rasta Church. If you have any question or concern about a Rasta Church, you're Highly encouraged to reach out to them and seek confirmation from them directly.
The gentleman you will wish to speak with is Wendim. Who is Wendim you might ask? Well, we're glad you did as Wendim is self-described as a "Levite in training at The Church of Haile Selassie Inc."
Wendim gives the following link for any with any question about the authentically practicing Rasta church which we highly encourage all interested to please take a few moments and check it out, especially if you're going to claim and represent to be a Rasta such as Sugarleaf and too, the Church of the Most High, The Holy Order of Servants or any other of these up and popping "Rasta" based churches true Rasta's seem unaware of springing up out west. : www.himchurch.org
Wendim additionally gives the following phone numbers for any who wish to contact him:
(404) 781-1787 and (513) 348-4110
The Church of Haile Selassie I is the Official Rastafarian "Church" of and within the United States of America.
The Church of Haile Selassie I lists there physical address as being: 470 A Gates Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11216 and according to long time neighboring residents the church has been operating there since 2001 without any notable incident. Actually, the church has been operating in New York since 1983 without any incident warranting law enforcement attention.
Wendim MigdalEl has this message to relay: "Eddy Lepp Rasta is NOT Christian, I can tell you that I'm a Rastafarian and we already have a Legal Church have to us by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie 1st out GOD"
"We reject the Euro-Centric dogma they only highlight what they want."
The long story short of it is that The Imperial Ethiopian World Federation has NO RECORD of any Sugarleaf Rastafarian Church, nor do they have any record of either Charles "Eddy" Lepp nor Heidi Grossman Lepp as ever being official members of their church, or Linda Senti either for that matter. Interesting indeed beings Charles Lepp has insisted that he was not only a Rastafarian, but too, a spiritual leader of the Rasta since the mid-1990's. Lepp claims that he and deceased wife Linda Senti had officially established "Eddy's Medicinal Gardens and Multi-Denominational" RASTA "Church" back in the 1990's and have even gone so far as to state that they have "revived" Senti's church into Sugarleaf!
For those paying even half-assed attention to the bile spewing from the Lepp's mouth's in regards to their churches validity know that there has yet to be seen any form of truth as to the establishment of Sugarleaf "Church." At one point the Lepp's claim to be reviving it from the 90's and in the next breath state they established it in 2014 though admit they didn't even know one another back then. According to the state of California there has Yet to be any Sugarleaf Church licensed or recorded with the state once-so-ever, nor do they have record of any church ever being registered or recorded to either Lepp nor Linda Senti! The only account California has in regards to Sugarleaf is a production company licensed to Heidi Grossman that EXPIRED more than one year ago and remains unlicensed for business in the state of California.
"Eddy couldn't prove himself a minister back in 2004 because he wasn't, nor could he prove to the court he was which is why he was ultimately convicted and sentenced to prison, so why suddenly now people are willing to gamble their futures on his religious credentials is mind-boggling and will be proven to be a big mistake when it comes to the courtroom." Officially the Lepp's have zero credentials honoring them as any sort of church or spiritual leader, and as asked for almost 2 decades now - if they have any, now would be a good time to present them.
Mrs. Lepp did attain a blessing entrusting her into a position as a spiritual leader for Oklevueha Native American Church in Feb. 2017 but it was quickly revoked when it was discovered that the Lepp's were soliciting the selling of church blessings illegally to the tune of $10,000 to $35,000.00 a pop and not reporting any of the actions or activities to ONAC. "Thankfully it was reversable and ONAC was able to sever ties with Sugarleaf before they began self-destructing" say ONAC members.
"Although there is a very big Separation between His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I and Yahoshua Ben Yoseph HaMashiach(Joshua The Christ) yes we can identify ourselves with True Christianity(which means followers of The Kings of David's bloodline) but we also are older than Christianity, and also we have been following the Christ Movement before Joshua The Christ. Today Rastafarian can identify themselves with the Christ Struggle 2000 years ago when Joshua The Christ walk the Earth as God and Man( inseparable) meaning his divinity was not separated from his humanity....... we identify with that struggle because in the times of Joshua the Christ he was fighting a Liberation struggle to liberate his people from Roman occupation in Palestine, his mission was to restore the Throne of King David and Palestine as the hereditary son of King David. Him being anointed, this anointment gives him the title of King, or Christ or Messiah in the Hebrew language..... but prior to Joshua the Christ birth the first son of King Solomon, Menelik I had already received the anointment rights and blessings and took the Christ struggle to Ethiopia where he ruled and reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia..... Anyway because Joshua The Christ is A King from the bloodline of King David we can examine the fundamentals of his struggle which is identical to our struggle of Today, which is liberation of Ethiopia and restoration of the monarchy of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie 1st in Ethiopia....We at The Church of Haile Selassie I are identified as Haile Selassie-Ites (Isaiah 43:1&7)."
The following link is offered for those interested in hearing from Abuna Ammanuel Foxe, whom is the International President for The Imperial Ethiopian World Federation Inc. and the Official Liaison for the Rastafarian community Worldwide authorized by H.H. Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie Haile Selassie I The Crown Council of Ethiopia. Foxe is Commander of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia, as Senator in Jamaica Parliament It is approximately a 35 minute video about the Ethiopian constitution and the effects it has on the Rastafarians community world wide.
So, what does it take to become a Rasta minister? This is a good question, especially with Sugarleaf slithering around claiming to be Rasta. First off, it would help to have a basic concept of their belief system and cultural history.
Next, years are spent practicing as well as apprenticing the traditions and ceremonial customs of the Ethiopian, Jamaican and African peoples, aka "The Black Hoop."
Then a formal adoption into the Rasta faith system is attained by the member by the church, as you can see in the certificate provided.
From here, we feel it's best to let You the viewer inquire as to their procedures for declaring a church a true and sincere Rasta Church, but this is the first certification needed to get to that point and we are certain that Charles "Eddy" Lepp, Heidi Grossman Lepp, nor Scott Bates or any of there self proclaimed "Rasta Churches" have attained ANY of these accomplishments from the Imperial Ethopian World Federation Inc, meaning that they are Not Legitimate Rastafarian churches and are illegally operating!
Although the state and federal investigation continues against the Lepp's and Sugarleaf, surely in time we will see some justice prevail in the disintegration of Sugarleaf Rasta Church once and for all within the state of California's judicial system which won't be at a moment too soon as the victim toll continues raising at their hand by the day.
We do know that Sugarleaf claims to have "made" over 250 of their "Churches" throughout the state of California and too, that they have spread beyond even the golden state into at least Nevada thus far.
On this note, we thank you once again for your continued interest and support in all things encompassing Oklevueha Native American Church (ONAC) and we highly encourage you to stay tuned for future updates, and we leave you with a quote from Brandon Kania who said it best: "What is the shame is that the world associates cannabis with a rejection of god."
