Unity
Rev. Steve Carty-Cordry
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Unity |
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Unity offers practical spiritual teachings that empower abundant, meaningful living. It is a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and the power of prayer. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual's right to choose their spiritual path.
Unity was founded in 1889 in Kansas City, Missouri, by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. After Mrs. Fillmore's remarkable healing using prayer and affirmations, many friends became interested in how she accomplished this healing. Unity grew from small prayer circles in living rooms to a worldwide movement. Today there are approximately 1,000 Unity centers world-wide.
Unity’s world headquarters at Unity Village, Missouri, just outside Kansas City, is the hub of our world-wide ministries: prayer, publishing, and education. Silent Unity, which began in the Fillmore’s home, receives over 4 million requests for prayer support each year. Unity is the publisher of the well-known daily devotional booklet, The Daily Word, which is read by people of all denominations. Unity also publishes the monthly Unity Magazine, which features articles from the great spiritual leaders of our times. Unity Village, a beautiful complex of Mediterranean style buildings set in a 700 acre nature preserve, also houses Unity Institute, a theological seminary, and SpiritQuest, Unity’s retreat ministry.
What we believe:
Unity’s philosophical roots can be traced to many spiritual traditions, including Christian Science, Transcendentalism and Spiritualism, and as far back as the ancient Greek philosophers, Plato and Socrates. Unity fits squarely into what Aldous Huxley termed “The Perennial Philosophy”, a perspective found in many times and many places for at least 25 centuries. God: God is Spirit, the loving source of all that is. God is the one power, all good, everywhere present, all wisdom. God is divine energy, continually creating, expressing and sustaining all creation. In God, we live and move and have our being. In Unity, some other ways we speak of God are Life, Light, Love, Substance, Principle, Law and Universal Mind. Jesus: We believe that Jesus fully expressed his divine potential and sought to show humankind how to express ours as well. We see Jesus as a master teacher of universal truths and as our Way Shower. In Unity, we use the term Christ to mean the divinity in humankind. Jesus is one great example of the Christ in expression. The Nature of Humankind: We are each individual, eternal expressions of God. Our essential nature is divine and therefore inherently good. Our purpose is to express our divine potential as realized and demonstrated by Jesus and other master teachers. The more we awaken to our divine nature, the more fully God expresses in and through our lives. The Bible: Unity founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore studied the Bible as history and allegory and interpreted it as a metaphysical representation of humankind's evolutionary journey toward spiritual awakening. In addition, Unity recognizes that the Bible is a complex collection of writings compiled over many centuries. We honor the writings as reflecting the understanding and inspiration of the writers at the time they were written. The Bible, as well as many other spiritual texts, continues to be a valuable spiritual resource for us. Our Teachings: Unity teaches that each person is a unique expression of God created with sacred worth. Living from that awareness transforms our lives and the world. Unity emphasizes the creative power of thought in our life experience. We refer to this as the Law of Mind Action. When we take personal responsibility to choose life-affirming thoughts, words and actions, we experience a more fulfilling and abundant life. Unity emphasizes the importance of applying spiritual principles in our daily lives. Unity teachings continue to evolve as we identify, embrace and apply spiritual insights and the spiritual implications of new discoveries. Prayer and Meditation: Affirmative prayer is the highest form of creative thought. It includes the release of counterproductive, negative thoughts, as well as holding in mind statements of spiritual truth. Through meditation, we experience the presence of God. Prayer and meditation heighten our awareness and thereby transform our lives. The Light of God surrounds me. Spiritual Action: In Unity, we feel a sacred responsibility, individually and collectively, to make a positive difference through personal example and active service in our churches, our communities and our world. World Peace: Unity stands for peace in the presence of conflict; for love in the presence of hatred; for forgiveness in the presence of injury. Unity honors the many names for God, the many paths to God, the many ways to worship God; for there is only one power and presence of God and that God loves each one of us equally. It is therefore the position of the Association of Unity Churches International and Unity to urge all nations, their leaders and their people to turn to God by whatever the name for guidance during these challenging times and pursue peace, not war, for this is what honors the God of all our faith traditions. Unity stands for peace in our lifetime. For more information on Unity: www.unity.org For more information on Unity on Cape Cod: www.yeahgod.org
This Unity prayer, the Prayer for Protection, was taken by astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin on the first manned moon landing in 1969:
The Love of God enfolds me.
The Power of God protects me.
The Presence of God watches over me.
The Mind of God guides me.
The Life of God flows through me.
The Laws of God direct me.
The Power of God abides within me.
The Joy of God uplifts me.
The Strength of God renews me.
The Beauty of God inspires me.
Wherever I am, God is!