Dream: It is time to wake up!

Dream: A clear strong male voice commands: "It is time to wake up and begin a grace filled ministry!"

At the time I was a member of the ministerial staff of Brother Taylor's Greater Grace Memorial Church of God in Christ in south central Los Angles (Watts). "Brother" had "hired" me to sing Negro Spirituals on his regular Sunday morning radio broadcast.

Creative Dreaming and Spiritual Awakening

Event: January 1976
Updated: September 13, 2012

In January 1976 I awoke from a dream where a clear male voice commanded "It is time to wake up and begin a grace-filled ministry!" I did not know what to make of it at first. The first person I shared it with was my new friend, Pastor "Brother" Taylor, pastor of the Greater Grace Memorial Church of God In Christ, located on Crenshaw Street in South-Central Los Angeles (Watts District). "Brother" had hired me to sing Negro Spirituals every Sunday for his weekly radio broadcast. He thought my dream was meant for him and his church. To that I agreed, but thought it went deeper than that.

It so happened that one of my friends was the director of UCLA Extension Division and wanted me to teach an adult education course of my own invention for the university's Center For Religious Experience East and West. I suggested the subject of dreams and he asked for a prospectus for the course.

Having recently joined the Bel Air Presbyterian Church (in addition to recently rejoining the Mormon Church and accepting Brother Taylor's offer to sing in his), I approached Bel Air's administration to help me design an acceptable course.  They agreed and introduced me to several church members who were professional psychologists and sociologists. We experimented with several small groups until I achieved enough confidence to present something to UCLA.

The course lasted for two academic quarters: Spring and Fall.

Below is a letter from the administrator who made the course possible:

(click on image to enlarge)

Letter from Dr. Robert Rees, Director of UCLA's Department of Humanities and Communications.