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Uniondale, New York 11553

(516) 776-6120

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About me

My name is Finn Mauritzen. I am 55 years old and live with my family in Uniondale, New York. I am an ordanied Minister in the Church of Spiritual Humanism.

How I Arrived at Where I am Now
For some time I've been observing the world fall apart around me. Daily, the news is filled with reports of unspeakable atrocities. I only need to take a short ride here on Long Island to observe vast gaps in wealth distribution. Some people have nothing while a few miles away, others don't know what to do with all their stuff. Shootings and robberies are almost daily occurrences within walking distance from here.

I might have been able to ignore all that if it wasn't because some of those things began to affect me personally. Gradually, things began to be more difficult. It felt like everywhere you turned, you were met with suspicion. And when not, you constantly had to watch out for people who were out to get you in some way.

For a long time, I was busy raising a family and didn't pay too much attention. Perhaps it would get better all by itself. Then suddenly, I had the opportunity to do something different when my job became part-time. I still had family obligations and a lot of energy went into meeting them.

Another part of me kept pulling at my sleeve. I had to do something about this broken world. Could this be my chance? Could I do both? How about becoming a career politician? Politicians seemed to be doing something. Then some smear literature about a local politician landed in my mailbox the day before the election. The election of a Fire Commissioner became nasty with accusations flying back and forth. Nope, that world was too dirty for me.

Even though I didn't consider myself a Christian, I still attended church with my family on a regular basis. I saw pastors come and go. Most were very warm and genuinely friendly people. Others were friendly on the outside and manipulative on the inside. Bickering and accusations kept leaking out from behind the scenes. That world didn't seem too attractive either.

Could it be the wrong religion? I checked out an Ethical Humanist Society. People were involved in all kinds of noble causes, but seemed to be uninterested in anything but their own. The self-centeredness and the conflicts were even worse, if possible.

Now what to do? I was beginning to feel isolated. There seemed to be very few people with whom I would want to be friends. I didn't feel comfortable talking to the rest about what I was struggling with. It felt like dumping my problems on others and I didn't want to do that.

So, here I am. I'm looking for people who are like me and who want to join me in fixing the world. That would mean telling people how they should live their lives, wouldn't it? Yes, it would, so we're not going to do that. We will start by carving out a small corner of the world where we can live in peace with ourselves, among ourselves and with the world around us.

Saint Francis of Assisi is often cited as having said, "Go preach the gospel, if necessary, use words." Sounds like my kind of approach.

My vision
In their book "Starting a House Church," Larry Kreider and Floyd McClung say that you should never build something in a spirit of pride, anger or rebellion. They make a very good point, I think. Instead of fighting evil, I am committed to work for world peace by building connection, understanding and appreciation.

My mission
I have recently come to the conclusion that you can not change other people unless they let you. You can only change yourself. When you change, the relationships you have will change. When the relationships change the people around you will change.

I think there are three steps we can take towards world peace: (1) Work on the relationships we have with one another. (2) Work on eliminating greed and violence from our lives. (3) Be good role models.

Working on relationships
Steven Stosny is a family relationship expert who has taught me most of what I know about relationships; not just family relationships, but relationships in general. I think it begins with our families. This is the reason why Freedom Church is a network of family-based churches. Not until we have order in our own house can we go out in the world and help others. Marshall Rosenberg has written an excellent book we can use in our daily lives. We often think that violence is always physical, but the fact is that most violence is verbal and happens every day all around us. Freedom Church is where we work on our relationships.

Eliminate greed
Most of us have heard of Utopia written by Sir Thomas More in the 16th century. In his fictional society, money is eliminated beause it leads to greed and theft. In Freedom Cloisters I seek to join with others who are equally commited to eliminate greed from their lives. Fredom Cloister is a network of intentional communities where we seek to become self-sufficient by our own labor and our relationships with others.

Duplication
Once we have order in our own houses and have eliminated greed from our lives, it is time to go out in the world and teach others, not to make them adopt our lifestyle, but to find their own path. We do this by providing chaplaincy where needed and by participating in the democratic process. Freedom Nation is where we do this.

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