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UPSOT: Lightshow music
That is the soundtrack of a colourful and meditative Beyond light show experience at the international church of Cannabis in the US state of Denver, Colorado.
The unusual sight with the word 'Cannabis' plastered over a church entrance continues to draw like-minded local and global followers.
This one-of-a-kind church professes a new approach to spirituality centred around marijuana as a sacrament.
The building, a red-brick 1904 church which was originally Lutheran, is decorated with large colourful murals in the interior sanctuary by the Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel, where services take place.
The controversial church battled a series of legal challenges when it first opened in April 2017.
Since then, the church built a community based around the sacrament of consuming cannabis, rather than the reading of a holy book or any other formal doctrine - as the followers would say.
Steve Berke is the co-founder of International Church of Cannabis.
"We wanted to create a community where dogma wasn't the common denominator in binding the community together, and instead it was cannabis and people who use cannabis in their spiritual journey. So we named it Elevationism."
Located in a residential neighbourhood, the church hosts weekly services.
Members are given the opportunity to partake their sacrament and mingle with an invited guest speaker.
The services however are only open for members of the church, who call themselves “Elevationists.”
This comes as Colorado has a ban in place on the public consumption of marijuana.
Mr Berke says they don't sell weed at the church.
"We are the first church that allows its congregation to bring its own cannabis into the church and consume in this sanctuary. We don't provide you weed. We don't sell you weed. We don't make any money off of it. All of our services are completely free."
Regulars, who travel from across the city to attend weekly services say the church provides a space for contemplation as well as a much-needed sense of community.
"We realised that people have been using cannabis in their spiritual journeys for so long, yet didn't have a place or a home where they could pray, where they could be spiritual, where they could feel safe consuming their sacrament without the fear of getting put in handcuffs. So it was important for us to create a safe place for people who use cannabis as a religious sacrament, as a path to enlightenment, as a journey in becoming a better person."
The church offers a daily immersive experience called “Beyond”.
To date, over 100-thousand people have attended the show.
This experience is a combination of a laser light show, music and guided meditation that introduces newcomers to the Elevationist worldview.
The consumption of marijuana, however, is not allowed during the show.
Families with children are able to be a part of the immersive experience.
Priced at $39 dollars, the fee helps pay for the church's bills and upkeep.
A nostalgia lounge area is also featured in the church.
It comes with old Americana, arcade games, decorative bongs and cannabis-themed art objects.
Cannabis weddings and regular church functions make up the type of events the church will host.
"Like other churches, we hold services, we hold community nights, we have volunteer programs, we feed the homeless, we volunteer at animal shelters, we clean up the neighborhood. We do all the things that other churches do, except we don't preach one singular dogma. We don't pretend to know the answers to life's great questions."
Be Be is a member of the cannabis church.
"I want to say: I've been smoking pot for 55 years. I'm 70 years now, and I enjoy… the reason why I enjoy it so much is it makes me happy. And I like the fact that we have a place like this to come to and to worship together. And it really helps to promote the one thing that will bring peace to this world, which is the belief in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men."
For Vaughn WIlson, he sees cannabis as a way to reconnect with the divine nature in all things.
"The discussion about the purpose in life and the soul and stuff... I don't know anywhere else you can really have that open of a discussion. Like other churches, I go to Catholic churches and Christian churches, it feels like a corporate conference, it feels like a lecture a lot of the time. But this is much more like connected and personal."
Another member, Danielle Kekoa, says she feels at home in the church.
"For me personally, to be able to be in a spot where you can elevate your mind, elevate your consciousness and collectively be together with people who are like-minded and who aren't going to judge you for your choice of partaking in any kind of sacrament really, as long as you're got the good vibes and, you know, and so I just love it. I felt right at home."
While it may be unique, the church continues to grow with tourists drawn to the city's marijuana subculture.
