Robert Earl Burton and The Fellowship of Friends: April 1986

Introduction

Robert Earl Burton founded The Fellowship of Friends in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1970. Burton modeled his own group after that of Alex Horn, loosely borrowing from the Fourth Way teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. In recent years, the Fellowship has cast its net more broadly, embracing any spiritual tradition that includes (or can be interpreted to include) the notion of "presence."

The Fellowship of Friends exhibits the hallmarks of a "doomsday religious cult," wherein Burton exercises absolute authority, and demands loyalty and obedience. He warns that his is the only path to consciousness and eternal life. Invoking his gift of prophecy, he has over the years prepared his flock for great calamities (e.g. a depression in 1984, the fall of California in 1998, nuclear holocaust in 2006, and most recently the October 2018 "Fall of California Redux.")

According to Burton, Armageddon still looms in our future and when it finally arrives, non-believers shall perish while, through the direct intervention and guidance from 44 angels (recently expanded to 81 angels, including himself and his divine father, Leonardo da Vinci), Burton and his followers shall be spared, founding a new and more perfect civilization. Read more about the blog.

Presented in a reverse chronology, the Fellowship's history may be navigated via the "Blog Archive" located in the sidebar below.

Wednesday, April 30, 1986

April 1986 Notes

Robert Earl Burton's Fellowship of Friends cult Renaissance Winery under construction

Having served its purpose, the winery Thermaldome was dismantled and sold. Photo circa December 1985.

[ed. - During the 1980s, the "Fellowship Forum" was a monthly or bi-monthly publication for Fellowship members. It featured discussions on relevant "spiritual" topics, book reviews, wine reviews, and classified ads. It was at various times edited by Linda Levin (aka Kaplan, Tulisso, Rockwood), Girard Haven, and Barbara Haven.]

As reported in the "Fellowship Forum":

The Thermaldome, which has house the Renaissance winery crush and fermentation production area since 1978 is listed for sale.

Old World Bricks, Inc., a private business owned and operated by members of the Fellowship, is looking for hard-working men to fill positions at its brickyard near Renaissance. Production is to start in May.

(Wage: $6.50/hour.Must be U.S. citizens or hold "green cards")