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June 2004 The Good News of Unity Church of the Bay Area “You are the light of the world...” Beloved Friends, I have become a great admirer of lighthouses in the past few years. I stop and look at them and wonder at their power and ability to guide vessels home. They remind me so beautifully of the light that lives within each of us, the light of the living God. Malcolm Muggeridge and a British television crew were making a documentary of Mother Teresa. They wanted to film her and her sisters at work at the Home for the Dying in Calcutta. The crew was sure that the light inside would be too dim to capture their work on film, but they decided to try anyway. To their surprise the footage was incredible, and seemed bathed in a warm, mysterious light. Muggeridge was absolutely convinced that the light came from the loving people within the home. He said, “This love is luminous, like the halos artists have seen and made visible round the head of saints. I find it not at all surprising that this luminosity should register on photographic film.” Yes, we each are lighthouses in our own way. The love of God within us is the greatest gift we can share. We each can carry the light of Truth and shine it into every experience of our life. Jesus went on to say, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” When we seek to love first, we give of the greatest gift we have been given. Mother Teresa once said, “I am a pencil in the hand of God.” As we begin this time of summer, I invite you to celebrate the blessings of your life. Remember the Truth of the power of God within you that is ever seeking to be shared, to shine forth as life, love and wisdom. Let your handwriting on the wall be the ever unfolding story of love shared, blessings claimed, and peace within. Let your light shine! In Christ Love, AMY’S ANGLE Think of a time when you attempted something new. I recently went through a class in Accelerated Learning. As a trainer, I love learning more about how adults learn. One of the teachings of the class is that the more fun people have, and the more they use their senses, the more they are able to access all parts of their brains (vs. just the word/linear focus of our western education tradition) and the more they learn. So we got to color ‘course maps’ with markers that smelled good and we could fool around with colored pipe cleaners and play dough (while the instructor talked!) It was fascinating to me that I could easily remember the order of the planets rotating around the sun after the instructor led us through a vivid story using all the names. (Okay, so no big deal to all of you working at NASA, but I didn’t remember before.) One of the main objectives was to become open to new things and learning, like we did as babies learning to walk. The instructor called it ‘learning by wobbling.’ My initial perspective was that learning this new thing was great, and will help me a lot in my job. But that was before my ‘Miz Perfectionist’ reared up. You know, the voice that says, ‘You should know how to do something new perfectly and instantly.’ And as I struggled with that last week, it seemed to pour out even more, revealing all the areas of my life where I just wasn’t living up to certain expectations. Fortunately, God, as always, was readily available to help. God spoke to me through a good friend and a good husband, with gentle reminders that it is okay to be human, that I am okay exactly where I am. So I’ve been out there wobbling with the best of them. It looks pretty good from this perspective! May you be blessed in your wobbling too! BOARD TALK by Barb Clemons The Board welcomed Marianne Nelson as the new Office Administrator replacing Linda Meeker. Marianne is quickly coming on board and should be a great asset for UCBA. The follow-up meeting for the Visioning process, The Next Step, was discussed. We will have a survey over the summer to determine interest and support in an early Sunday service and other issues that were discussed. Three new teams came out of the follow-up meeting: A Financial Team, an Outreach Team, and a Special Events Team. Check the calendar for meeting times for these teams. There will also be a Team Fall Festival on September 19th after the service to highlight the teams and their activities and to invite people to join. Rodger and Dianne Marion are coordinating it. The Mother's Day service was very wonderful. Patti, Rose and Rachel sang beautifully! On May 16th, New Member Sunday, we welcomed nine new members. Reverend Steve will be attending the Association of Unity Churches yearly conference in Minneapolis from June 14-20, 2004. Reverend Karen Tutor will be the guest speaker on Father's Day, June 20, 2004. The next Chaplain training session is scheduled for September 12, 2004. Our Ninth Anniversary Luncheon is scheduled for September 26, 2004. YOUTH ED Our Peace Chairs are in place and continue to provide a special place for us to have a few minutes of centering and focusing on our connection with Spirit whenever a student (or teacher!) feels the need. The elementary age class worked on a very special project during the month of May. We emphasized how important it is to have dreams and goals to hold in our hearts and minds. Each student decorated a pillowcase for themselves and a pillowcase for a child in Central America. The recipient child is getting a bed through SOFTLY International. In most cases, it's the very first bed that they can call their own. The pillowcases help us to reach out to others and to demonstrate that each of us can make a difference in our world. We are using the Unity curriculum entitled Learning About Myself through the Old Testament for the elementary class and continuing What a Wonderful World for the pre-schoolers. Our teens are planning a special project for the summer months that involves Bible stories and their interpretation. More details to follow as their plans evolve! Do you feel a heart tug to be a part of this growing group, but question if you are qualified? Many of us have found that by stepping out in faith to volunteer one Sunday a month, we are awakening to our own Truth and greatly enhancing our spiritual path. We have excellent Unity curriculum that provides a class outline. We promise that you will work with an experienced teacher. Team teaching is already in place for the teens. It is extremely effective and has had such a positive effect that it is our goal for all of our classes. Please contact me if you have any interest in helping in our Youth Education program. If you want to invest in a better tomorrow, help our youth grow and flourish today! Youthful Blessings, Unity's co-founder, Charles Fillmore, decided that if God was Mind and everywhere present, that he should be able to sit down, go "straight to headquarters" and make conscious contact with that Mind. So he did just that and hours later, noted that he had experienced a deep and abiding peace. Meditation is one of the simplest and most direct ways that we can practice opening ourselves to the Universe. It implies an act of trust and adventure in opening ourselves "from the inside out" to an experience of the Divine. This workshop is designed to introduce beginners to the tools of meditation practice and gives ideas for setting up a regular practice. For those skilled in meditation, this workshop will introduce techniques from Buddhism, Hinduism and Christian mysticism with opportunities to try them out in a group setting to enrich one's practice. Reverend Tudor is an ordained Unity minister who has served in the Houston area since 1994 and is now speaking, teaching and counseling in the greater Houston area and beyond. Karen is the chaplain for Hospice Preferred Choice, located in the Heights. She is a powerful speaker who engages her audiences with her sense of fun, authenticity and heart. UNITY TREASURES The Heart's Garden The heart is a garden TREASURER’S REPORT Weekly Goal - $3655 April - 4/01/04 to 4/30/04 Total Income - $13,000.09 Expenses and Tithe - $13,609.87 Net Income - $(751.78) Unity Church of the Bay Area's tithe for the month of April was $1495.54. It was sent to the Association of Unity Churches. CIRCLE OF HEARTS The month of April brought Sara Thompson to our Circle of Hearts meeting to show us how to make personal journals lined with beautiful marbleized paper. Everyone loved the journals, and wanted to learn how to make the paper! Each sheet was a rainbow of colors, each one unique and special - just like the ladies making the journals. Sara offered to teach us how to make the paper at another time. We had “girls” in age from 14 to 60 - and all enjoyed talking and creating at the same time. I am already using my journal and it gives me a warm feeling of pride and accomplishment to know that I made something with both function and beauty. Thanks, Sara, for a great evening! Janie Neill’s Go Goddess game will be “going” right after this newsletter goes to print. Our next Circle of Hearts meeting will be June 17th, with our very own Dr. Jane Noojin speaking about diet and nutrition. She will discuss what’s good for us and what isn't, and will talk about how food can affect our sense of well-being and energy. This is a subject of importance for us all. Plan to attend! Our July meeting is “in the works.” On August 12th, Circle of Hearts will host a special evening with Ms. Freddie Weber. This evening will be for everyone, even the fellas! This will be a “Musical Comedy Concert” by Ms. Weber about “Being Here NOW!” It’s going to be funny, entertaining and “real!” Ms. Weber has appeared on Broadway, has studied with Marianne Williamson, Louise Hay and Eckhart Tolle. This evening will be on a love offering basis. Mark your calendars now; you won’t want to miss this one. SUNDAYS IN JUNE June 6th - The Grace of Receiving - Reverend Horn Please submit them to the church office or e-mail them to: unityofbayarea@aol.com by the 15th of each month. |
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