March 31, 2006

Beloved Community challenged again

State says religious school had falsely advertised its status, but Twyman says its just a ‘witch hunt’

By Robert Plain
Ashland Daily Tidings

The Beloved Community, an Ashland-based nondenominational religious institution, has again raised the concern of the Oregon Student Assistance Program for offering degrees without state approval.

The commission, which oversees academic accreditation in Oregon, has accused the Beloved Community of “misleading the public by claiming accreditation for your programs.”

“It has come to our attention that, despite our correspondence with your staff in August and October of 2004, that you have continued to offer academic credit and degrees without state approval,” wrote Alan Contreras, administrator of the state agency, in a letter to the Beloved Community. He accused the Ashland group of a similar offense in 2004.

“In so doing you have been committing a Class B Misdemeanor potentially leading to criminal prosecution and also civil action as an unlawful trade practice,” he said.

According to its Web site, the Beloved Community is a “spiritual and educational church organization that strives to align itself with the teachings of inner peace at the center of every religion and sacred scripture.”

The Beloved Community offers varied programs and services — from learning to channel anger in constructive ways to developing the ability to bend a spoon with one’s own mental power. The program in question by the state is its seminary program, which Contreras said is not licensed to offer degrees from Oregon.

“Under Oregon law you can’t offer a degree in or from the state of Oregon without state accreditation,” Contreras said. In his letter, he said, “The legal definition for an academic program in Oregon is that the accreditation is conferred by an accreditor recognized by the U.S Department of Education.”

James Twyman, who founded the Beloved Community, said Contreras is wrong in his opinion that the Beloved Community has flouted state law. In fact, both Twyman and his lawyer, Roy Lambert, said they feel that Contreras is on a witch hunt to disgrace the Beloved Community.

“Mr. Contreras seems to have it in for the Beloved Community,” Lambert said. When Twyman was asked why he thought Contreras was targeting his organization, he said, “I wish I knew the answer to that.”

Twyman said the seminary division of the Beloved Community is actually located in Hawaii, and has been for several years. “Alan Contreras is misrepresenting where we are from,” he said.

But Contreras said Twyman’s organization just started operating out of Hawaii after his warning letter and, to his knowledge, he said, they don’t have approval to do so there yet either.

“What they have done is they are now issuing degrees from Hawaii,” Contreras said. “The fact that they went to Hawaii says to me he probably doesn’t have much of a program.”

Jeff Brunton of the Hawaii Consumer Division said the Beloved Community may be legally allowed to offer religious-only degrees from his state.

“If they are offering only religious degrees they can operate largely unfettered in Hawaii,” he said, noting that Hawaii’s laws are far more lax than in the other 50 states. He said he does not know for certain if they are legally allowed to do because he has just recently been apprised of the Beloved Community’s existence in Hawaii.

Contreras said the Beloved Community has “always had the option of applying for a religious exemption” in Oregon, as well, which he said they have not done.

Twyman’s attorney said, in a letter to Contreras dated March 24, that his client “has been preparing to apply to your office for recognition of its exemption” under Oregon law.

The Beloved Community’s seminary program is accredited by “Accrediting Commission International” of Beebe, Ark. Brunton said this agency has not been approved to accredidate academic degrees by the U.S. Department of Education.

Twyman said some 20 students have graduated from his spiritual peacemaking seminary in its four years of existence.

“It is time for trained ‘spiritual peacemakers’ to emerge to shift the very foundation of the world's consciousness,” according to an explanation of the seminary on the Beloved Community Web site. “Creating peace in the world requires people who are committed to the foundation of inner peace, for peace is a choice each one of us makes long before it is perceived by countries and governments.”

Twyman said graduates can start their own churches or ministries. According to an employee of the Beloved Community the three-month on-line course costs $2,500 and a one-month intensive version that begins on May 1 costs $3,715.

Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 226 or bplain@dailytidings.com.