Unity Church
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Unity, also known officially as Unity School of Christianity and informally as Unity Church, is a school of thought founded upon holistic Christian principles. Informed by a wide range of spiritual, metaphysical and philosophical ideas, the principal essence of Unity's teachings is that God is the only power, and is all that is both seen and unseen.
Focusing on what it calls "positive, practical Christianity", the Bible is Unity's basic textbook. Its ministerial coursework and sermons extend beyond that to explore the common mystical core of the six great religions that have shaped major civilizations: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, to find within each of them "an inner or esoteric stream of teachings that is strikingly similar." [1]
The largest of a group of denominations that have been labeled for over 100 years as New Thought, Unity was founded by Charles Fillmore (1854-1948) and Myrtle Fillmore (1845-1931) in 1889 in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. It is headquartered in Unity Village, Missouri.
Unity is not associated with Unitarianism or Unitarian Universalism.
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[edit] Basic teachings
The five basic ideas that make up the Unity belief system are: [2]
- God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.
- We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.
- We create our life experiences through our way of thinking.
- There is power in affirmative prayer, which we believe increases our connection to God.
- Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them.
[edit] Overview of Unity
Unity espouses ‘practical Christianity’ in which its followers study ways to apply the teachings of Jesus to their daily lives. Through these teachings, Unity followers believe that God is a universal presence and divinity exists in all people.
Unity interprets the Bible and other major scriptures metaphysically. Unity students believe that the teachings of the Bible are allegorical lessons from which spiritual and metaphysical truths are obtained. For example, the twelve disciples each symbolize one of twelve spiritual powers that man possesses. Unity endorses the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and recommends against the New International Version as advancing a literal, Fundamentalist point of view, but does not expressly forbid its use.
Unity's approach to affirmative prayer remains consistent with the Biblical interpretations that are expressed in Charles Fillmore's book Teach Us to Pray:
"Paul said, "Pray without ceasing." Do not supplicate and beg God to give you what you need, but realize, affirm, and absolutely know that your supreme mind is functioning right now in God-Mind itself and that your thought substance and the spiritual substance of the Most High are amalgamated and blended into one perfect whole that is now being made manifest in the very thing you are asking for."[3]
As thinking is believed to affect our reality, positive thinking is another important tenet in Unity. "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:22-24) is interpreted to mean that what one believes is what one receives, and that if one holds a belief that is not what one wants, one is, in effect, praying for what one does not want.
Meditation also plays a significant role in New Thought. Followers of Unity rely on both prayer and meditation as vehicles for communicating with God and becoming spiritually centered.
Along with its churches and groups, Unity publishes a monthly magazine, Daily Word, the oldest continually published daily inspirational magazine in the United States. Unity has operated a prayer ministry called Silent Unity which has been in operation for more than 100 years. Silent Unity maintains a 24-hour-a-day prayer vigil, with staff available at all times to accept prayer requests by phone, fax, letter, e-mail or via the Unity website. Consistent with the core beliefs of Unity, the magazine and prayer ministry are available to people of all faiths; Unity considers itself to have both denominational aspects and non-denominational aspects, and believes that all people pray to the one God.
Unity also distinguishes itself from the more traditional churches in its basic approach to sacraments. Elaborate rites and symbols are absent from Unity churches. Communion, baptism and other rituals are relatively sparse with more emphasis placed on the spiritual over the symbolic (i.e. water in baptism). Unity sometimes uses rose petals or sacred oils for baptism, instead of water.
Fundamentalist critics of Unity, such as Probe Ministries, claim that Unity's belief in reincarnation makes it anti-Christian; however, there is no mention of reincarnation in the pamphlet "What Unity Teaches." The concept was endorsed by Fillmore, as well as by such Unity writers as Ernest C. Wilson and James Dillet Freeman (who argue that there is textual implication that Jesus was aware of, but did not discourage, belief in the concept), but it is not and has never been a basic teaching of Unity, and certainly not a "tenet" as Probe claims, as Unity does not subscribe to creeds.
[edit] Principal activities
The following are the current principal activities of Unity:
[edit] History
Unity’s beginnings date to its founding by the Fillmores, who were much focused on personal healing. Charles Fillmore, a real estate salesman, and his schoolteacher wife Myrtle were living in Kansas City, Missouri when she faced tuberculosis. Myrtle Fillmore studied spiritual healing in 1886. She attended lectures by Dr. E.B. Weeks, a student of Christian Science.
By 1888, her health improved as she began to pray with positive affirmation for her health - “I am a child of God, and therefore I do not inherit sickness.” Charles Fillmore was affected by Myrtle’s newfound philosophy when his leg, withered from a childhood ice skating accident, grew stronger. He joined his wife on a mission to spread a message of teaching practical Christianity. Charles, having previously studied world philosophies, began researching the connection between religion and science.
Their first endeavor was publishing Modern Thought magazine (currently published under the name Unity) in 1889. They created the Society of Silent Help in the following year. This group prayed for those who requested it. This is widely considered the birth of the ‘Unity movement.’ Charles officially adopted the name Unity in 1891, renaming their society the Society of Silent Unity.
Dr. Harriett Emilie Cady, a former homeopathist wrote Unity’s first and seminal text, Lessons in Truth in 1894. Her writing became a cornerstone of Unity’s teachings.[4]
Although the Fillmores never intended for their Unity to become a denomination, the Unity Society of Practical Christianity was organized in Kansas City in 1903. The church is now known simply as Unity.
Eleven years later, the Fillmores started two separate components to organize their functions. Unity School of Christianity handled publishing and teaching. The Unity Society of Practical Christianity took over church responsibilities. The Unity headquarters in downtown Kansas City gradually expanded into a church, publishing company and popular vegetarian restaurant.
Sensing the need for more land, Charles Fillmore purchased 58 acres (235,000 m²) of land in Jackson County, Missouri. In 1919, Fillmore developed Unity Farm for Unity’s eventual new center.
Unity Church debuted ‘Daily Word’ magazine in 1924 under the name ‘Unity Daily Word’ with Frank Whitney as its first editor. This magazine printed daily inspirational messages in each monthly issue.
While their movement grew, the Fillmores saw their teachings being used in unauthorized ways. To prevent further compromise of their message, they created the Unity Annual Conference. This organization of Unity ministers and spiritual leaders were responsible for guiding the Unity message and supervising the churches. In keeping with this edict the Fillmores withdrew from International New Thought Alliance in (1922) on the grounds some of New Thought organizations and denominations who belonged to the INTA , did not accept the primacy of Jesus as Master Teacher. [5]
Myrtle Fillmore died in 1931 and Charles Fillmore retired as minister of the Unity Church in 1933. Charles continued his work in travels and lectures.
In 1947, Unity School moved to its new headquarters at its Unity Farm site between Lee's Summit, Missouri and Kansas City Missouri. Beginning as a locally renowned produce farm, the site expanded and incorporated as Unity Village, Missouri in 1953. Today, the campus is 1400 acres (5.7 km²) and is open to the public.[6]
Although Charles Fillmore died in 1948, his son Lowell assumed leadership of Unity and continued his parents’ work. Over the years, Unity School of Christianity hosted spiritual retreats, organized continuing education programs and expanded Unity’s message to other countries. In 1966, the Association of Unity Churches was formed to support Unity ministers and churches.
Celebrities affiliated with Unity include Betty White, Eleanor Powell, Wally Amos, Licensed Unity Teacher Ruth Warrick, Barbara Billingsley, Matt Hoverman, Patricia Neal,[7] Holmes Osborne,[8] Esther Williams.
Today, Unity School’s mission continues at the Unity Institute at Unity Village. The Association of Unity Churches, located in Lee's Summit, Missouri, oversees the denominational aspects of over 900 member churches. Youth of Unity's conferences and rallies gather together teenagers of the movement from all over the world.
There are over 900 churches and study groups. Unity claims to have over two million followers in 15 countries.
[edit] Unity symbol: Wings
The Unity wings symbol, the winged globe, appears in many Unity publications. It has been re-created in many variations, from older pen and ink drawings, to wood carvings, stained glass, and modernized drawings. Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, explained the symbolism of the winged globe this way:
It is an ancient Egyptian symbol, but it is found in various forms in the religions of other races. It represents the relation existing between Spirit, soul, and body. Soul gives wings to body. Spirit is the enveloping principle, like the atmosphere in which both soul and body exist, and from which they draw their original inspiration.
The winged globe is also a symbol of the earth and its soul. The earth has soul, as have its products of every description. All exist in the ether, the anima mundi, the divine mother. When people of the earth lift up their thoughts to God, and the Animus Dei or directive Spirit, then the planet takes wings into a higher radiation of universal life.
As man develops spiritual consciousness, he attains the realization of the soul as the wings of the body. Back of the Soul is Spirit, which quickens and energizes the soul; that is, gives the soul wings. Artists paint their angels with wings representing in this way their freedom from physical fetters. But the soul does not have wings like a bird. The life activity of the soul is quickened by Spirit until it rises above the thought of matter and floats free in the ether of the fourth dimension, which Jesus called the kingdom of the heavens.
~ Charles Fillmore, from the Unity publication "Good Business," April 1956.
[edit] The "Complaint-Free" movement
One movement growing out of Unity is the "Complaint-Free" movement. The idea was first conceived in the book The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity by Edwene Gaines and put forth into action by Christ Church Unity of Kansas City, MO. The basic idea is to go 21 days without complaining to encourage shifting one's outlook onto the positive. This movement began with a front page article that ran in the Kansas City Star and was then published in newspapers around the nation, including: Desert News, Salt Lake City (UT), Houston Chronicle (TX), Bradenton Herald (FL), Hartford Courant (CT), The Vindicator (Youngstown, OH), News Sentinel (Ft Wayne, IN), Marysville Appeal-Democrat (CA), Ventura County Star (CA), and the Belleville News-Democrat (IL). Participants in the "Complaint-Free" movement wear purple bracelets that say "spirit," and shift them from one wrist to the other when and if they catch themselves complaining. Reverend Will Bowen, the leading proponent of the "Complaint-Free" Movement, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007. Over 5.5 million purple bracelets have been distributed to people that were so-inspired by this idea.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ UnityOnline.org. Unity Church. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions. Unity Church. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
- ^ Teach Us to Pray. Charles Fillmore. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ quotation by Unity minister Ernest C. Wilson on the cover of The Complete Works of H. Emilie Cady (which also includes How I Used Truth and God a Present Help) as published by Unity House.
- ^ Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought By Charles Samual Braden
- ^ http://www.unityonline.org/discover_unityvillage.htm Access 10/21/2006
- ^ Raven, Barbara C. Badge of Courage. Unity Church of New York, 2002.
- ^ mentioned attending on the cast commentary on the Donnie Darko DVD
[edit] External links
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