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August 2005 Beloved Friends, CHANGE IS GOOD! One of the greatest challenges that all of us face is the challenge of change. We truly are creatures of habit - physically, emotionally and spiritually. And yet for any person or any organization to grow and evolve, it must be open to new direction and guidance and inspiration. Helen Keller once wrote, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened to us.” We can look to the new open doors and view life as a great unfolding masterpiece - and we are the artists who create this work of art with God! Our church is undergoing change. We are focusing on fulfilling our mission and bringing alive our vision. We are asking for and inviting more involvement from our church leaders. This empowers a church and creates ownership for the members. It will also free me to do the work of the minister, to give more of my energy and time to the spiritual nourishment of our community. We have such incredible talent and leadership in our church. I invite each of you to share your special gift, because we are all leaders! Speak with a Board member or myself and share your ideas or your vision for programs, classes or group studies we might add to our present offerings. We will continue to grow as we serve each other and God in the way Jesus modeled so perfectly - as servant leaders. Another change coming in August concerns our Sunday worship service. We will be changing the order of the service, adding newer and more uplifting hymns, doing our best to respond to the suggestions we have received from you. The Sunday service is a time when we can worship, praise and be joyful about the living Presence of God in our life! We can celebrate God and the unique and awesome way God expresses through each of us! So invite a friend to come and experience our church. Call an old friend you haven’t seen in church for a while and invite them to come home! And always remember - GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME! MARK'S MUSINGS The Board of Trustees and Reverend Steve are in the process of empowering the leaders of our church to be more active and involved. This will allow Reverend Steve to focus more on the spiritual feeding of our church. Dilsia Guardiola has taken over administration of our Monthly Newsletter. Dianna Marion is helping Gayle McFadden to coordinate our Love in Action Teams. We have a new Suggestion Box in the Gathering Room for receiving input from the congregation. We invite everyone to prayerfully consider how the church might better serve you and the greater community we live in. Share your ideas in writing in our Suggestion Box, or speak directly with a Board member or Reverend Steve. You make a real difference in our church, and we would love to have your input! Finally, we are planning exciting changes to make our church the best it can be! If you haven’t visited for a while, come home and visit with dear friends. Make your reservation to attend our Tenth Anniversary Gala Celebration! Invite your friends! Always remember that each member of the board of Trustees is always ready to listen to your concerns and joys about our church! We are here to serve! Mark Groblewski BOARD TALK Exciting days are ahead for Unity Church of the Bay Area and we all are invited to participate in making the changes our congregants are asking for. Talk to a Board member or use the suggestion box located in the Gathering Room to express your ideas for bringing about positive change in any aspect of your church experience, from the order of service to the songs we sing. Our monthly tithe will be allocated in more specific ways beginning with the July tithe. In addition to supporting two ministerial students, including our own Janie Kelley, with $100 each, UCBA will designate 25% of the remaining monthly tithe to Unity School of Christianity and 25% to the Association of Unity Churches. Christ Unity Church of Sacramento, CA, will receive the remainder of the July tithe, a gesture of our appreciation for their loving adoption of Bob and Janie Neal while they are there. Now is the time to start planning--and saving--to join people of like mind on an Alaskan cruise on June 9-16, 2006. Next year’s Association of Unity Churches Convention will be a People’s Convention; thus, we all are invited to attend. In addition to airfare from Houston, the cost for the cruise will be from $1200-1500 per person, double-occupancy. Sounds like fun! If you feel led to take a more active role in the leadership of our church, we invite you to prayerfully consider becoming a nominee for the Board of Trustees election in October. Three positions will be available with the completion of terms for Gail McFadden and Rick Flynn. Due to uncertain future plans, Pauline Hitt plans to resign the last year of her term. THANK YOU! We hope you have been enjoying your summer vacations! We appreciate all who have been sending in your tithes and love offerings even when you are off traveling, remembering our church. We are here every week, spiritually feeding, supporting and helping everyone who comes to our services and classes. So, thank you to all who continue to generously contribute to our church! Enjoy your vacations! Also, remember to make your reservations for our Gala Celebration in September! DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN READ THE DAILY WORD ONLINE? You can read the Daily Word at our website. Or, you can go to www.dailyword.com. and find the Daily Word message for each day and searchable archives to locate thousands of articles and messages. You’ll find like-minded spiritual seekers waiting for you at the Daily Café. Also, you can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the Daily Word message. Discover why others are making this their spiritual resource (and e-source) for daily living. Unity Church of the Bay Area Click Here! to download your Gala Celebration Reservation Form ------------------- YOUTH ED One of our youth advised that she already has a couple of God boxes (same concept as a prayer box) at home. She then proceeded to tell us that she has written notes to God, and has received notes back from him. Hmmmmm! So we promptly talked about how God works through many channels - angels and people too! I’m continually amazed and learn so much from listening to our children and teens. God expresses through them in so many beautiful ways. If you feel a calling to be with our Youth Ed once a month, please give me a call at 281-339-2096 or the church office. We are truly blessed in our service to our children! Youthful Blessings, UNITY CHAPLAINS "I can tell you about my path,” said Mother Teresa, “but I’m only a little wire - God is the power.” Mother Teresa’s beautiful statement is the foundation of our Chaplain program at Unity Church of the Bay Area. Our program is based on knowing that God is our source and the supply of all that we need. We know that prayer changes us at depth, allowing God to express through us more freely. Prayer is the cornerstone of our church and Unity. Have you ever considered expanding your prayer consciousness and serving others in a very special and meaningful way? Our Unity Chaplains serve our congregation through prayer after services and in monthly wellness calls. Each is trained in listening, holding sacred space and praying affirmatively with others. They commit to a year of loving, prayerful service. Does this special way of serving God and our church family touch your heart? We are forming our Chaplain Team for next year. All those who are interested are invited to attend our monthly chaplain meeting on August 14, 2005 at 12:00 noon in the Light House. A second opportunity to find out more about our Chaplain Team will be on Sunday, August 21, 2005, at 12:00 noon in the Light House. If you have any questions, please call the office to schedule an appointment with Rev. Steve. UNITY TREASURES Little Things It's the little things we do and say BARB’S PINEAPPLE CHEESE BALL RECIPE 1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese softened Mix all ingredients together. Shape into ball, wrap in foil or saran wrap and refrigerate. Garnish with pineapple slices, cherries and parsley. Make this one day before. Serve with crackers.
General Fund Income $ 14,165.87 Building Fund (CDs & investments) $ 91,000.00 Several once-a-year expenses occur in June, which are budgeted out over the fiscal year. Unity Church of the Bay Area's tithe for June was $1,549.50 it was blessed and $100 each was sent to Janie Kellley and Ginny Roll, ministerial students at Unity School of Christianity. $591 was sent to Unity-Costa Rica, and $591 was sent to Unity of Brazoria. $167.50 was sent to Interfaith Caring Ministries as the tithe from our Building Fund summer project for school supplies for children. Your continued financial support allows our church to grow and flourish and carry the message of positive, practical Christianity in the Bay area. August 7, 2005 August 14, 2005 August 21, 2005 August 28, 2005
A NOTE FROM JANIE KELLEY: Hi Everyone, Please remember me in your prayers, as I feel them and they are very comforting to me! My new address is: Janie Kelley I would LOVE to hear from you! We have a wonderful Lending Library located in our Gathering Room. It was created a few years ago from donations of used books and tapes. Its purpose is to share the enriching and rewarding media we have available for loan and to provide the widest circulation possible among our congregation. If the library continues to grow, we will need to find space into which to expand! We have an honor system that we rely on the effectiveness of self-service, although at times we may have some items returned slowly or turn out missing entirely. I’m in the process of organizing the books and creating an informal catalogue system. For the most part, books are arranged alphabetically according to author; tapes - located on a separate shelve - are also alphabetical by author. We send out occasional reminders of items checked out that are not marked off the sheet. When you return an item, please place it in the plastic tub on top of the bookshelf and write in the date of return on the checkout sheet. Read-listen-enjoy!! Pauline Hitt LET DOWN YOUR NETS FOR A CATCH! Our tithe from this project is going to Interfaith Caring Ministries program to supply school supplies to the needy children in our area. We will be able to help over 70 children have the necessary supplies to begin school. Thank you! You are the best! ANSWERED PRAYERS! We were living in Tulsa at the time and the accident had occurred in Lincoln, Nebraska. Each phone call from Nebraska initially seemed to bring only negative news. The elbow was in very bad shape and would require a specialist. Even this would not guarantee complete recovery and full use of the arm. McDonald’s brought in a well-known expert on this type of injury to perform the surgery. The surgery was scheduled for a Thursday morning. X-rays taken Wednesday morning verified that the elbow was completely shattered. That Wednesday night our meditation group held Austin in the light and brought him into the circle with a request to God for healing. Thursday about lunchtime I got a call from Carla who was bursting with joy. Just prior to the 7:00am surgery, the specialist had requested additional X-rays. When the x-rays were ready for viewing the doctor was at a loss to explain them. In only 24 hours the elbow had drawn back together to such an extent that the surgery was no longer necessary. It’s been about a year since the accident and these days Austin is in baseball and diving and enjoys all the activities that seven-year-old boys love. “thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be they reward.” Isaiah 58:8
On Thursday August 25th at 1:00 pm the afternoon COURSE IN MIRACLES study group will sponsor the showing of Eckhart Tolle’s lecture on The Flowering of Consciousness. The best-selling author of The Power of Now and Stillness Speaks, writes, "You are shown how to free yourself from enslavement to the mind, enter into this enlightened state of consciousness, and sustain it in everyday life". Popcorn and soft drinks will be available with time for conversation and discussion following the film. Please plan to join us. Your newsletter contributions are welcome! Please submit them to the church office or e-mail them to info@unityofbayarea.org by the 15th of each month. We ask that articles not exceed 300 words, and ask that Answered Prayers articles be between 150-200 words if possible. Our goal is to share your articles in newsletters as soon as possible.
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