Reverend J.R. Hyland (1933-2007)

[Guest guest]

Reverend Janet Regina Hyland

 

 

 

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Author, God's Covenant

with Animals

 

born:? November 30, 1933; 4:25 a.m.; New York, NY

 

died:? October 8th ?, 2007; Sarasota, FL

 

 

 

(Shortly before passing away in early October 2007, Regina agreed to have a

Hindu astrologer analyze her astrological chart.? Some of the biographical

information provided here comes from what was given to the astrologer.)

 

 

 

Regina was raised Irish Catholic and attended Catholic school as a youth, but

went over to the Protestants to become an evangelical minister, since the

Catholics don't ordain women.? She reverently referred to Jesus as

" my guru. " ? Regina had been vegetarian since the 1970s,

but found it odd that some religious vegetarians also consider mind-altering

substances like alcohol to be " unspiritual. " ? Regina admitted

that having been raised Irish Catholic, she was fond of alcohol, and believed

(like most Christians) that the Bible permits alcohol in moderation.?

 

 

 

She said she religiously read a copy of Bhagavad-gita as it is, which I

sent her years ago.? She obtained a copy of?Srila Prabhupada's book, The

Path of Perfection when living in Texas a few decades ago, and says that

while she was attracted to Srila Prabhupada's teachings on yoga and meditation,

she was put off by his (apparently) sexist comments about women.

 

 

 

Regina was the author of Sexism is a Sin:? A Biblical Basis for Female

Equality, and God's Covenant with Animals (which is available

through PETA).? She was involved with the plight of migrant farm workers,

women's rights, and animal rights.

 

 

 

When I visited Regina in Sarasota, FL, in August 2003, I gave her a set of japa

(prayer) beads, but couldn't show her how to properly use them in the bead bag,

since she was left-handed.? She was familiar with Western astrology, and

said she believed in reincarnation.

 

 

 

Regina said she was never close to her father, an idealistic journalist in New

York City, who cared for no one and did nothing for anyone except watch

TV.? He died in the early '70s.? Regina said she was close to her

stepmother Mildred, even though Mildred was self-centered and narcissistic;

Regina said she loved her dearly.? Mildred passed away in the early

'60s.? On the other hand, Regina's birth mother passed away in the late

'80s.

 

 

 

Regina and her half-sister Jean shared a common birth mother, but different

fathers.? Jean was born in 1943.? Regina and Jean had lived together

since 1970, and from 1985 to 2007 lived near to one another, but Regina said

they were never really close until 1995.? Regina's brother Don was born on

May 18, 1935, and died of meningitis in June 1943.

 

 

 

Regina was married on July 2, 1954 to Glen Edward.? Glen was struck by a

drunk driver on August 9, 1954.? He was in a coma for a year, and then in

a persistent vegetative state for seven years after that.? He eventually

died.? Regina became a widow at an early age, enjoying only a month of

marriage.

 

 

 

Regina herself had suffered numerous afflictions.? She faced an ovarian

tumor in 1957 and described herself as having been " on the ropes, "

i.e., in and out of hospitals from 1961-63.

 

 

 

Regina began seminary studies in biblical theology in 1955-58, but didn't

complete a Masters in Theology until the late '70s through early '80s.?

She studied with the Assembly of God Home Missions beginning in 1982, and was

ordained on November 24, 1984.

 

 

 

 

 

Shortly before she passed away, I spoke to Regina Hyland over the phone. Among

her last words to me were: " The Christian God cares (for animals). "

Regina cared deeply for animals and was in the forefront of social change:

religion and animal rights. Long before SERV (the Society for Ethical and

Religious Vegetarians) was started, she published Humane Religion, a

bi-monthly Christian vegetarian periodical.

 

 

 

Regina was the author (in 1988) of The Slaughter of Terrified Beasts,

which was revised and expanded in 2000 by Martin Rowe of Lantern Books as God's

Covenant with Animals.? PETA once described the book as a must-read

for anyone tired of hearing the Bible misused to justify animal cruelty. Regina

wrote the foreword to my own book, They Shall Not Hurt or Destroy, and

endorsed the book before it was published, calling it " a valuable

resource, " and " a must for every humane library. "

 

 

 

Regina was an ardent feminist and described herself as a " dyed-in-the-wool

Democrat. " ? When I first contacted Regina in 1996, she was convinced

the entire pro-life movement was a vast, right-wing conspiracy.? Since

then, I turned her on to Feminists For Life, Democrats For Life and Consistent

Life (a coalition of peace and justice groups on the religious Left that takes

a stand against war, abortion, poverty, the arms race, racism, capital

punishment, and euthanasia--the Dalai Lama has signed their Mission

Statement)...and before she passed away, she was hoping that as an alternative

to abortion, science would come up with a form of contraception that even the

Pope would approve of!

 

 

 

Frances Arnetta (founder of Christians Helping Animals and People) condemns

factory farming as " diabolical, " and endorses vegetarianism as

" God's Best for All Concerned, " but refuses to say one must be a

vegetarian in order to be a good Christian.

 

 

 

Regina, on the other hand, told me plainly about meat-eating: " It's a

sin. "

 

 

 

Regina was planning to attend the World Vegetarian Weekend festival in San

Francisco at the end of September, when she suddenly fell ill. I live in

Oakland, and was looking forward to seeing her and selling her books with her.

She was pleased when I told her that I not only distributed her pamphlets and

sold her books at World Vegetarian Weekend, but that I managed to sell a copy

of God's Covenant with Animals to a group of high school students who

had formed an animal rights club on campus. She had faith in the next

generation.

 

 

 

Regina died of pancreatic cancer in early October 2007.? (I think it may

have been October 8th, which was designated a Day of Fasting by the Network of

Spiritual Progressives in protest against the Iraq War.)? Her Hindu

astrological chart has Jupiter in the 12th house, indicating a fortunate next

birth.

 

 

 

She will be missed by everyone who knew her. I know I will miss her dearly.

 

 

 

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