Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith & Rickie Byars Beckwith 2015 Spiritual Leadership Award

On Tuesday, May 19th the Humanity's Team Spiritual Leadership Award was presented to Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith and Rickie Byars Beckwith in a ceremony at the beautiful Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, Colorado. Many joined us in person and many others from around the world joined by Livestream. This was the first time this award was bestowed on a couple.

The following are excerpts from Humanity's Team's Worldwide Director and Co-founder Steve Farrell’s speech during the ceremony:

"In the mainstream, our worldview sees a fractured and flawed humanity. We compete for resources. Often we see the Earth as a refrigerator and we share only minimally with others. Most people report they feel concern for others who are challenged, but there is not a sense of direct connection so it stops here. In the absence of direct connection and elevated priority our social activism is very limited. Our mainstream beliefs about Deity don't help either. God is seen as distant and judging. In this worldview, we are lesser children of a lesser God…

“Some may not be familiar with the history of the Humanity's Team Spiritual Leadership Award, so I thought I'd briefly tell you about it. Shortly after our founding, in 2005, we decided we could help accelerate spiritual change in the world by acknowledging and celebrating those leaders who are spiritually impacting the world in an exceptional way.

"There have been enormous breakthroughs in technology, medicine and in almost every field of endeavor but, as we know, in the religious mainstream we've been stuck in an illusion of separation from the Divine and each other that has caused all manner of dysfunction…"

"Fortunately, a growing number of powerful world leaders have dedicated their lives to shining the light on spiritual truth. We are with a powerful couple today who are dedicating their lives to this and who are leading the way. Just last month, days before Easter Sunday, Rev. Michael was invited to go on The Today Show, a program with millions of viewers, to talk about "being spiritual but not religious." It was an incredible opportunity to educate viewers and this was only one moment in the busy lives of the Beckwiths. Year-round Rev. Michael and Rickie use their time and celebrity to educate people and to invite people into acts of humanitarian and environmental service. Of course, this is why we are gathered here this evening: to honor, acknowledge and celebrate Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith and Rickie Byars Beckwith. Each is deserving of our 2015 Spiritual Leadership Award and together, they are like no other.

"Rev. Michael & Rickie embody the purpose the Humanity's Team Spiritual Leadership Award: to highlight and acknowledge the individual (in this case couple) who create life-changing spiritual impact on the world—in how we view ourselves, God, life and one another. And, in doing so, remind humanity of Who We Really Are: We Are All One; interrelated, interconnected and interdependent.

"In Humanity's Team we observe Rev. Michael & Rickie are having enormous impact. On the world stage they are making a huge difference. They don't just speak their important messages, they embody them! Many are opening to new understands about God and about life. Not since Martin Luther King, Jr., has there been a minister, or a couple, so widely admired and focused on non-violence, involved in creating a new paradigm for living and out front, teaching unconditional love."