Recently, I linked to an article about the new group, Secular Connexion Seculaire that was formed in May by a Waterloo, ON and Victoria, BC Humanist.
I criticized them for dividing resources from the numerous existing groups.
While, now you can add the Humanist Ministries of Canada based out of Ottawa, Ontario. HMC’s founder seems to be a “Dr. Steffan Carden,” and their sole internet presence so far consists of a Facebook Fan Page with less than a dozen fans.
I “liked” their page and asked how they differed from Humanist Canada or the other freethought organizations out there. I got the following response:
HMC: “Dear Ian Bushfield, HUMANIST MINISTRIES is the SECULAR HUMANIST CHURCH IN CANADA that operates like a church including pastoral charity services to its members. It presently has 3 ordained Officiants. Located in Ottawa, Canada.”
HMC: “We are Church, A Religion DO NOT promote your Business with US!” [emphasis theirs]
Anyone who’s spent too much time on the internet immediately knows something is up when random capitalization starts showing up, so some digging around the internet turned up a little information on Carden. A few websites will mention Carden’s holistic medical practice, but the best summary comes from this description of his Zohar Study & Research Institute:
Dr.Carden has a background as a Registered Nurse in Europe (R.N.) His Ph.D. dissertation in phisiology [sic] explains how environmental exposure affects the musculo-skeletal energy patterns on the human body. Carden also obtained a doctorate in naturopathic medicine (N.D.) in the city of Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka and is a Fellow of the Collège des Naturopathes du Québec. He is also a medical doctor in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
So our good “doctor” is a naturopath who thinks bones give some energy to the body?
Perhaps someone in Ottawa can get some more information about this group.