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May 2006 “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart…” Beloved Friends, May is here and I thought that we would focus on prosperity consciousness this month. Prosperity is something we all desire in our lives. The question is, “Why do we sometimes seem to struggle? Why haven’t we achieved the dreams and goals in life we have set?” Charles Fillmore, Unity*s co-founder, defined prosperity as “The consciousness of God as the abundant, everywhere present resource, unfailing, ready for all who open themselves to it through faith.” So, God is our Source, and a consciousness of God is our supply. So how can we bring this alive in our life? We begin with a daily practice of prayer and meditation. The more we pray and give thanks, the closer we will feel to God! There are simple spiritual laws we can use to increase our conscious connection * the Law of Acceptance, the Law of Attraction and the Law of Creative Thought. The Law of Acceptance is simple – what you have accepted in consciousness to be true is what is going to manifest for you. If you believe in yourself, if you believe in God and trust that God will help you to fill your every need, then the Law of Acceptance begins to move you forward positively on the road to success. If you hold negative thoughts about yourself and others, the Law of Acceptance is also true and you may create less than what you really want in life. The Law of Attraction says that what we hold onto in consciousness acts like a magnet and we attract to ourselves what we dwell upon in our thoughts, words, and actions. And then the Law of Creative Thought is activated – thoughts held in mind produce after their kind. If you want to see what you truly believe is possible for you – look at your life, without shame or blame. If you know where you are, you can then create a plan with God to get where you want to be! Our church is growing and flourishing. Our Building Fund now stands at a little over $165,000. To bring the vision of our own church home into manifestation, it will take a raising of our consciousness. I believe God plans for us to have our own church home at the perfect and opportune time. In Unity, you will never be pressured to make a financial donation. Giving is an attitude held in mind, a way of life in which we honor, celebrate and appreciate the Source of our spiritual nourishment. Spiritual law is clear. As we give cheerfully, even more is given to us. I invite you to consider the manner in which you give, not only at church, but in every area of your life. The blessing you give, freely and cheerfully, is always returned to you multiplied! One in Christ, MARK'S MUSINGS It’s May and Spring is in full bloom! School is getting ready to end for the summer! I just finished tilling the soil in my front bed and planting Dahlia bulbs. Ryan helped, and I appreciate his ability to help me with the physical tasks around the house. I really love to work in the garden. The process helps me quiet my mind. I tend to have a very active mind and gardening helps me to focus on the task at hand. Simultaneously, the results are generally quite satisfying. God is great and generous in the beauty of nature! While I’m preparing and then planting the soil, I also think of the metaphors involved for me metaphysically in the process of creation. The soil is my consciousness, and the plants or flowers are the desires I have at the present time. I truly understand that I am creating my own reality. In this case, I picked dahlias this year instead of the vinca of last year. I am free to choose whatever plant I want for my bed, and how much time I want to spend preparing the soil, as well as how much peat moss, humus, and fertilizer. There is nothing I need to do to create “dahlias.” God has given the potential for beautiful flowers to me, as He gives in so many other ways. All I need to do is to release my “resistance” to my good and do my part – weed the beds, till the soil and deal with my negative thoughts about planting. The good is always there in the flower, bulb, or plant. Reverend Steve says it often, “God is Good ~ All the Time!” All too often I create by default (unconsciously), and then complain about the results. To receive the bounty, all I need do consciously attune to the Kingdom within, and plant. Jesus promised, “Ask, and it shall be given…Knock, and the door shall be opened”. Personally, I’d like a few more clients, but I am noticing my own beliefs and resistance which is holding me back. I’ve asked God's help and enlisted others to assist me with removing these blocks. Collectively, as a church, we’d like our own church home as well as numerous desires held by each team. It could be helpful to look at the beliefs that are holding us back in our personal lives, as well as for Unity Church of the Bay Area. Let’s do our part to let our flowers (desires) bloom! Mark Groblewski BOARD TALK Part of our tithe goes to two ministerial students each month ($100 each). This month Larry Hooks and Janie Kelley are the recipients. The teams are doing well. The Youth Ed training workshop on April 1st was successful. Board members and teachers did the Learning Styles portion led by Amy Groblewski. An Agape Day is planned to do some work around the church. It will take place early in May. The Board discussed the April 23rd General Meeting to inform the members of the findings of the Dream Team. A summary will be handed out at the meeting. On May 21st Rev. Chris Chenoweth will speak at both services and will offer his "The Process of Advanced Prosperity" Workshop in the afternoon. There will be a potluck luncheon in between. UCBA will be hosting a special Leadership and Board Training weekend with Barbara O’Hearne July 14-15, 2006. Our Board and all key leaders and interested persons are invited to attend. Rev. Steve has invited other small churches in the area to attend. WOMEN’S LUNCHEON The women of UCBA are invited to lunch with the women of Unity Circle of Light, The Woodlands, on Saturday, May 20th at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be at Romano’s Macaroni Grill in the Woodlands located on the outer drive at the Woodlands Mall. For directions and a look at their menu, visit www.macaronigrill.com. After lunch, look forward to a stroll along Market Street and a ride on the River Boat ride if you choose! Please RSVP by Saturday, May 13th, 2006 to 281-681-8883. For carpooling information for ladies from our church, contact Gayle McFadden at 832-647-2818. Unity Church of the Bay Area 2006 Saturday Workshop Series Unity Church of the Bay Area welcomes Reverend Christopher Chenoweth on Sunday, May 21, 2006! Reverend Chenoweth will be our guest speaker at our 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. services and present his incredible workshop,"The Process" of Advanced Prosperity after a potluck luncheon. {Workshop is scheduled from 12:30 - 4:00 p.m. ~ Offered on a Love Offering Basis} Proven Spiritual Techniques…by Christopher Ian Chenoweth, 2001 Voice of Unity Award Winner, founder of the #1 internet prayer ministry, www.positivechristianity.org, former senior minister at Unity World Headquarters, with excerpts from prosperity greats such as Charles Fillmore, Catherine Ponder, Stretton Smith, Georgiana Tree West and Edwene Gaines. Biblical based proven techniques that teach you how to work with God to create lasting demonstrations and manifestation of prosperity. Permanent Changes…this is an advanced course, not for short-term temporary help. Advanced Prosperity Process is a total lifestyle change for permanent mastery of plenty, wealth and even opulence. Proving God in your life…God WILL provide for your every need. God is willing, if you are willing to accept AND DO YOUR PART. A thirty day process…to reinvent your thinking – TEN daily work-at-home handouts to insure change! A 3½ hour jump start seminar begins the process! IF YOU ARE TIRED OF ROLLER COASTER LIVING and your life is good one day and bad the next, this course is for you! Are you ready to live life on the high road of God plenty? This seminar is inspirational, as it is powerful and challenging. It is condensed and packed with solid, useful advice and insights. Many have had revelations during the seminar that have resulted in immediate prosperity demonstrations. Every idea shared in this seminar is practical. Instructions are hands-on directive aids, take home reminders, and worksheets, all combined for your personal life change. Don’t miss this opportunity – bring family and friends. Topics discussed: How to MOVE UP from the middle class ~ How to live at a higher level of life than you were socially conditioned for ~ Eliminating blocks to personal prosperity ~Receiving expected and unexpected good ~ Career and job advancement ~ Income increase ~Seeing opportunity ~ God's creativity – fresh ideas ~ Living beyond just paying your bills ~ Receiving payment for what is owed you ~ Sale of property ~ Seed tithing to God THE HARVEST! TREASURER’S REPORT MARCH 3/1/06 –3/31/06 General Fund Income $ 16,257.09 Expenses − 15,544.70 Net General Fund Income $ 712.39 Building Fund Income + 1,461.38 Total Income $ 2,173.77 Building Fund (CDs & Investments) $ 165,000.00 Unity Church of the Bay Area's tithe for March was $1,729.00 It was blessed and $100 each was sent to Janie Kelley and Sandra Vanik, ministerial students at Unity School of Christianity. The tithe was split as follows: $382.25 each was sent to the Association of Unity Churches and Unity School of Christianity. In support of the work in their churches, $382.25 each was sent to Unity of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Unity in Rockport, Texas. Your continued financial support allows our church to grow and flourish and carry the message of positive, practical Christianity in the Bay area. All tithe checks for the month are written and sent in the first week of the following month. Thank you, and thank you God! NEW CLASS FORMING! Join Reverend Steve as we explore some of the commonly held metaphysical principles and concepts inherent in our Unity system of thought. Unity is practical Christianity. Discover practical tools and applications of the fundamental teachings and principles learned in Metaphysics I. Metaphysics I recommended before Metaphysics II. Learn to apply the principles and concepts first presented in Metaphysics I. Even if you have not taken Metaphysics I, this course will deepen your understanding and connection with God! Metaphysics II Book available in the Bookstore. OUR FIRST HEALING SERVICE! The Healing Service will continue to meet the first Thursday of every month. We come together to agree that through the transforming power of the indwelling Christ, we affirm healing, peace, guidance, prosperity and joy for ourselves and others. Through group participation we will join our minds and hearts and words in acknowledging the Christ presence within us and in all people and situations. We will send forth loving prayers, visualizing good coming forth in every situation. Facilitated by: Dorothy Meyer, M. Div., L.U.T., Hospice Chaplain. HEARING THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN The Thursday 1:00 p.m. ACIM is hosting a discussion with authors DavidPaul and Candace Doyle on their book, The Journey That Never Was, on Thursday, May 11, 20006. They will speak about and will show you what it means to hear God’s voice and help you to overcome barriers to hearing this Voice within you. For more information on DavidPaul and Candace’s work, visit www.rightmindedness.com. A love offering will be taken for this exciting opportunity to open the mind to new possibilities of hearing the voice of Spirit within. UNITY TREASURES Mother’s Day Let us do today as she would have us do! What would your mother choose, and what would mine These too perhaps, but oh, much better far MOTHER’S DAY BREAKFAST CASSEROLE 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup Directions: Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Top with crumbs, and drizzle with melted butter or margarine. Bake for another 15 minutes. SUNDAYS IN MAY! May 7, 2006 May 14, 2006 May 21, 2006 KID’S DAILY WORD God is my Source I saw a flower that looked sad and wilted because its stem was broken. The flower had lost its source of nourishment. The broken stem had cut it off from its source of life. When we feel sad and defeated, it is because we have lost contact with our Source which is God. All life, and joy and love come from God. When we are feeling a lack of joy or love it is because we have forgotten our connection to God. All I have to do to restore my connection to my God is to be willing to be connected. God is my Source, and He is always with me. YOUTH EDUCATION Have you ever had something that keeps appearing every few weeks that really speaks to your heart and resonates within your being? There is a poem that was originally published in the Daily Word in May 1975. I have come across this several times in the last few weeks and want to share it with you as it beautifully states how I want to always perceive our children. Child of Light Now I invite you to read this again, remembering that YOU are a Child of Light as God's beloved. We often want so many things for our children, and forget to claim and realize the same blessings for ourselves! Our Youth Education ministry is blooming like all the springtime flowers. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and if you wish to join our team and take that next step in your spiritual growth, please contact me at 281-339-2096 or leave a message at the church office. Youthful Blessings! EGO HONEY LEARNS TO EXPERIENCE PAIN We all experience pain in our lives – both physical and emotional. So I thought I would share what I have learned about healing my pain. Learning to experience the pain without wallowing in it can be tricky. It is so easy to feel sorry for myself and begin the whole drama of being a victim. This is not healing, yet to heal I must experience the pain fully. I must face it before I can replace it. Pain usually increases when we resist it and decreases when we surrender to it. The image of leaning into the pain really helps me. First I must stop, take a deep breath and relax into the pain. Breathe into it with the long easy breaths. I become aware of where it is located in my body. I allow it to be, forgive it, bless it, look at it with compassion and release it as though I was letting a bird fly from my hand. I think of the image of walking in the rain. If I resist the rain and contract away from it, I will feel miserable. But if I allow the experience of the rain falling on me, it is not miserable. It is neutral. It might even be pleasurable. I choose how I experience it. When I allow the pain, I am walking with God. When I resist the pain I am walking with the ego. My mantra is allow, allow, allow. Allowing is the same as relaxing into the experience – just letting the experience wash through me like water flowing through my being. Tears can be a cleansing way of releasing the pain, but even tears must remain neutral. When I am crying inconsolably, it would seem I am experiencing my pain; however, this is probably not entirely true. I am probably fighting the pain more than experiencing it. I am probably judging the pain as bad. If I judge it as bad, I will begin to resist it. When I resist it, I make it stronger. When I really just allow the pain, it will begin to dissolve and dissipate. As it begins to dissipate, I experience a small opening of spacious peace. When I focus on that space of peace, it will fill with the grace of God. This peace is my basic nature. It’s who I am. This is God. This is healing. DID YOU KNOW? 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. Our goal is to share your articles in newsletters as soon as possible.
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