It's unorthodox, but it's a religious experience designed to be a self-help show to inspire people on a range of real life issues.
Infinite Works Metaphysical Apostolic Fellowship is a new kind of church that many people may not agree with, but it tackles issues everyone can relate to. The church advocates a deeply personal spiritual experience focusing on the psychology of religion. It's not about the traditional route to heaven, but one more interested in a deeper understanding of the self.
According to Infinite Works Metaphysical Apostolic Fellowship President Betty Cleare, they will be looking at the soul, specifically to answer questions people struggle with, like who they are and what their destiny is. She said the self-help strategy of the church is targeted toward a proactive recognition of self and destiny.
"There is a physical world, but behind everything, there is a spiritual world as well," said Cleare who has a doctorate in metaphysics and teaches her members about the psychological aspect of religion. "We focus on everything to do with the soul."
Infinite Works teaches its congregation the value of exploring the soul through astrological and biblical avenues in order to achieve greater consciousness of self and destiny in life. Cleare said they examine the four elements of astrology as in sun signs, which she said tells people about themselves.
"In essence, we relate the astrological side of ourselves in relation to our spirituality. It helps us to understand ourselves and our surroundings," said Cleare. Members of the congregation are encouraged to use the astrological signs attributed to their birth date to engage in finding themselves and knowing their characteristics. Cleare said knowing characteristics and who you are will help individuals in dealing with life struggles.
The more spiritual than religious service does not stray too far away from the understood religious gathering. Cleare said the Bible is used as their guide to find and know themselves.
Infinite Works which meets on Saturday and Sunday mornings takes a different approach to the worship experience. They start services off with affirmations or chantings taken from Bible verses to encourage and create a positive consciousness, and dispel negative energy.
The service experience takes a particularly interesting turn through participation in a practice called inner healing where a prayer is said for a particular event that has impacted a person negatively. Cleare said that most persons go through a manner of things that affect them in negative ways. She used as an example, a common scenario of an alcoholic taking on the traits of alcoholic parents or living in a household with that experience and how the consciousness takes on those traits. Inner healing she said deals with that kind of healing to get through experiences like that towards more positive behavior.
While Infinite Works has an unorthodox approach to the religious experience where they really step out of the box is their dedication to practicality. The church's mission is to bring people into Christ's consciousness in a practical way which Cleare said is the ability to bring Bible teachings and stories to life within people's individual context.
Cleare said her fellowship strives to make the teachings of the church relevant to the lives of the congregation.
"As we don't live in Biblical times, we have to apply those teachings to the context of our individual lives right here and now to achieve true spirituality and destiny," she said.
Infinite Works is located on Soldier Road, opposite the entrance to Nassau Village.
Cleare has also taken her message to the airwaves with the broadcast of Infinite Works television program on Cable 12 on the second and fourth Sunday of the month from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
"The show is designed so that people can get answers for their personal life and also encouragement. Based on the content of the message, they can get some inspiration to move on," said Cleare. "People are often stuck in a position mentally and they have no answer and this show should be able to help them get the answers to solve their individual problems," she said.
During the show Cleare interviews various politicians and religious leaders to not only provide a self-help program for people struggling with personal issues, but to cast a wider net towards tackling larger issues within the community.

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