The Heart of Many Ways, a Home for all faiths and spiritual paths in a historic church on Mountain Street, provides a center for diverse groups to gather to enrich and uplift the spirit. Like many similar venues across the country, HOMW closed down during the past few years because of the pandemic. During that time several new affiliates (program presenters) joined the spiritual cooperative, and the calendar is now once again quite full of regular events, as well as occasional special celebrations, Melissa Clare, president of HOMW, said.
“Our mission is to provide a place for spiritual groups to gather, to demonstrate the unity behind all religious ideals and to care for our beautiful historic building,” Clare said. “Our intention is to find ways to open our hearts to love, nourish our souls with beauty and harmonize with our neighbors, no matter their race or creed, in friendship and mutual respect.
“We invite people to explore the programs offered here, most open to everyone on a donation basis. Whether you are already on a path or searching for spiritual connection, we hope that you will find your spiritual family here. If you are looking for a place to start a new group, we invite you to contact us to explore possibilities.”
February 3 will be the seventh anniversary of the building’s ownership being transferred from the Christian Science Church to HOMW. In addition to providing a space for groups to hold educational, musical and spiritual events, members of HOMW are dedicated to preserving the historic building. They are currently raising donations to repair the stained-glass windows in the sanctuary, and are applying for a grant from the Arkansas Historical Preservation Program that would provide two-thirds of the funding for window repairs. A one-third local match required.
Clare said they have raised $4,000 of the $6,000 needed for the matching grant and have $2,000 to go. They received a grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program in 2020 for replacing the roof.
“It was extremely important for that to get done and repair extensive water damage,” Clare said. “We are forever grateful to all the people who helped with that. I want people to know we are doing the best we can to preserve the building in the right way, but we have limited resources.”
The building has two levels with the sanctuary upstairs and a gathering room downstairs.
Tuesdays between noon and 1 p.m. free music programs are offered in the sanctuary. Some of the musicians who have performed include Don Matt and Scott Thompson, Joshua Irwin, Tim Hillwood, Rebecca Hazlitt, Jim Dudley and David Geneson. Marsha Havens plays the organ on third Tuesdays, and Bahadur Singh Khalsa plays the Sikh gong.
Doug and Maya Powell, Fred Mayer and Rebekah Clark will do a Valentine’s Day program, Tuesday, Feb. 14 from noon to 1:30 p.m. That is also World Sound Healing Day. The sacred sound musicians are coming together to bring a special hour of love and peace meditation combining the violin, harmonium, Tibetan and crystal bowls, and a multitude of other instruments to set the tone.
While Covid-19 is on the decline, some people are still being cautious. “People are always welcome to wear masks,” Clare said. “It is not a bad idea. We have the flu, colds and all sorts of things going around. Every other pew in the sanctuary is cordoned off to allow social distancing and the center has a commercial grade air purifier that takes care of viruses and mold.”
Some of the newer groups include:
- Bahadur Singh Khalsa brings Kundalini Yoga from the Sikh tradition every other Sunday afternoon.
- Heather McLoud is a lay leader in the Jewish tradition, offering a Shabbat service twice a month on Friday evenings.
- Seth Barker brings inspiration from his studies of ayurvedic medicine and other disciplines from the East.
- Melissa Sunshine follows seasonal celebrations from the wiccan tradition indigenous to Europe, and Becky Newhart has started a focus on the wisdom of the Native peoples of North America.
Earlier groups that are still active include Melissa Clare bringing an exploration of the Sufi Path on Thursday evenings, Amrit Knaus with the I Am Presence Circle holds a monthly group currently focused on the early teachings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and the Metaphysical Society of Arkansas maintains an ongoing Monday night gathering discussion of a wide variety of topics.
On the second and fourth Sunday afternoons, a Universal Peace Service combines the wisdom of traditions from around the world with music and candle lighting.
Ongoing regular programs are free, and everyone is welcome. Donations are received with gratitude. The Heart of Many Ways is a 501-(C)3 nonprofit corporation.
An ongoing calendar of events is posted on the website, heartofmanyways.com/, where you signup to receive a monthly newsletter via email. Donations can be made on the website, through Paypal via the website or by automatic bank transfer. For more information, send an email to heartofmanyways@gmail.com.
Information about times and dates for programs is also available on the organization’s Facebook page.