United Church of YHWH

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The United Church of YHWH is an Christian identity church started in Talladega, Alabama in January of 2007. Contrary to mainstream press articles put out, they have never observed the use of neo-Nazi symbols as has been stated. These statements were due to the fact that some of the men who started the church had previous ties to white supremacists.

The United Church of YHWH (more commonly referred to by the initials of its name, UCOY) is a world-wide Church, but organised from, and mostly based in, the USA, predominantly in the three states of Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana, but do also have a presence in other areas such as Illinois, North Carolina, and Michigan. It has overseas branches in both Germany (led by the Rev Peter Josef) and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (both led by the Rev Frederick Forkrist). There are many other members world-wide, but they are not organised into established local Churches. The central administration of UCOY takes place in Alabama, from PO Box 824, Talladega, Alabama 35161.

Some of the leading members of UCOY, including its main figure, Pastor Jonathan Williams, were previously involved with the Aryan Nations, an extreme and militant Christian Identity Church with strong links to both the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi movement, but others have had no involvement in political organisations. UCOY has, in fact, found itself being attacked by some groups on the far-right in America as it refuses to co-operate with them, and encourages its members to keep away from them. UCOY believes that Christians who associate with non-Christian groups end up being polluted, and advocates a policy of separation from all non-Christian Identity organisations and individuals, so far as is possible.

UCOY also strictly follows the original Biblical holidays, feast days and so on, believing these to be a part of God's laws to men. They also strictly follow Biblical food laws, and use the name YHWH (pronounced yah-weh) in prayer. They also organise a Prayer Wall, through their on-line forum, in which members pledge to prayer for an hour at a specific time, in order to ensure that prayer is maintained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by the Church.

UCOY holds a gathering of its members each year, during the Feast of Tabernacles, as a private gathering where UCOY members and supporters can 'fellowship' (gather, talk and eat) without the intervention of people who are not Christian Identity believers. These gatherings have, so far, always taken place in the states of Alabama or Georgia, where UCOY is strongest.

Of the many Christian Identity Churches in existence, most of which are based in the USA, UCOY is one of the larger, better organised, more international, more devoted purely to prayer and the study of scripture, and one of the least involved with far-right political organisations. As of yet, UCOY owns no land or property, and runs no courses for ordination, these being organised by a separate Christian Identity organisation, Kingdom Identity Ministries.