Unity is a link in the great educational movement inaugurated by Jesus Christ; our objective is to discern the truth in Christianity and prove it. The truth that we teach is not new, neither do we claim special revelations or discovery of new religious principles. Our purpose is to help and teach (hu)mankind to use and prove the eternal Truth taught by the Master.

--Charles Fillmore
Co-founder of Unity

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What is Unity?

Unity is a spiritual movement based on the teachings of Jesus and the healing power of prayer that offers a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity.

Unity respects and honors all other religious and spiritual paths.

God

God is spirit, the loving source of all that is. God is divine energy, continually creating, expressing, and sustaining all creation.

God is the one power, all good, everywhere present, all wisdom. In God, we live and move and have our being.

In Unity, we also speak of God as:

Life, Light, Love
Principle, Law, Universal Mind

Nature of Humankind

We are each individual, eternal expressions of God. Our essential nature is divine and inherently good.

Our purpose is to express our divine potential as fully realized and demonstrated by Jesus and other master teachers.

The level of awareness of our divinity determines how fully we express God.

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 teacher of universal truths and as our Way Shower, Elder Brother, and Master Teacher.

Traditionally in Unity we use the term “Christ” to mean the divinity in humankind. Jesus was a perfect demonstration of the Christ in expression.

Invites children to experience a loving God

Unity provides a strong spiritual foundation for children’s lives.

Spiritual Action

In Unity, we feel a sacred responsibility, individually and collectively, to make a positive difference through active service in our communities and in our world.

Honoring Diversity Within the Unity Movement

We believe that all people are created with sacred worth. Therefore, we recognize the importance of serving all people within the Unity family in spiritually and emotionally caring ways. We strive for our ministries, publications, and programs to reach out to all who seek Unity support and spiritual growth. It is imperative that our ministries and outreaches be free of discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, age, creed, religion, national origin, ethnicity, physical disability, or sexual orientation. Our sincere desire is to ensure that all Unity organizations are nondiscriminatory and support diversity.

In our effort to reach out to all people as did our Way-Shower, Jesus Christ, we support the modification of our facilities to make them accessible to all people, regardless of physical challenges; the translation of our materials into Braille and other languages; and respect for the wondrous diversity, that we affirm this position.

Adopted by: Unity and The Association for Unity Churches
January 23, 1995

Joint Statement for Peace 2003
Unity School of Christianity and the Association of Unity Churches

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 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.

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Unity Practices:

• Unity has no missionaries. We rely upon our teachings being spread by our readers and followers and by the literature itself.
  
  

• "New centers and churches are normally started as study groups sponsored by an existing ministry or the expansion department of the Association of Unity Churches. Both the Association and Unity School of Christianity provide support materials and services to emerging ministries."
  
  

• Prayer: An act of becoming spiritually one with God. If one applies Ralph Waldo Emerson's concept of prayer: the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view, then prayer can be a constant personal activity. One can also use the "arms" of prayer by mentally embracing some other individual as the target of a prayer or the "wings" of prayer by directing one's prayer at all those who are receptive.
  
  

• Worship: Worship can be pursued at any time and location when one feels adoration and devotion for God. Ideally, it can be experienced continually through the day.
  
  

• Baptism: Within Christianity, some groups follow the tradition started by John the Baptist; they totally immerse the body in water. Others regard baptism as symbolic; they simply sprinkle drops of water on the person. In Unity one experiences a Spiritual Baptism which is a deeply personal event, a cleansing "prayer experience with Spirit, an ultimate union between an individual and God." The individual emerges purified, having experienced a spiritual conversion of great intensity.
  
  

• Communion: There is mystical meaning in the details and purpose of the rite of Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper. We recall the words of St. Paul "The Kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". Communion becomes a close encounter with God in prayer, in which one becomes aware of the impact that God is making in all areas of one's life.
  
  

• Sacred Texts: The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are the main religious text used by Unity. However, all writings of all world religions are respected. "Unity believes that there is good in every religion on earth" (Charles Fillmore).

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Unity Organizations:

Unity consists of a number of organizations that work individually and jointly to further the ministry of Unity:

• Association of Unity Churches
  • Core Values: "We affirm the following core values as embodied in the Unity teachings and way of life. We believe in:
    
    
    • Our common unity with all life and the "new commandment" of Jesus Christ:'That you love one another as I have loved you' (John 13:34).
      
      
    • Universal principles and spiritual values as revealed and demonstrated by Jesus Christ and the continuing revelations of the Christ Presence.
      
      
    • Practicing prayer and meditation as our primary means of becoming conscious of our oneness with God.
      
      

    We demonstrate these values through:
    
    

    • Caring, responsive, and spiritually nurturing relationships in our common unity with one another;
      
      
    • Communication from a level of spiritual integrity that is trustworthy,clear, open, and timely;
      
      
    • Standards of excellence which promote spiritual leadership that inspires us to live and teach a God-centered life;
      
      
    • Quality spiritual education that supports and nurtures children, youth,and adults."
      
      

  • Our Mission: Our mission as an Association is to serve, support, assist, and love one another.
    
    
  • Our Vision: We, as an Association practicing the principles taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ, serve one another all over the world with loving leadership, integrity, and excellence. Our vision is expressed through a consciousness of love, authenticity, open mindedness, cohesiveness, responsiveness, decisiveness, prayer, progressiveness, equality, professionalism and relevance. We are committed to living a God-centered life, continually developing and providing creative, spiritually sound, and socially responsible programs, materials, and training. We assist and support one another as we serve humanity in all its cultural diversity.
    
    
  • Our Goals: In order to achieve the shared vision as determined by ministers, licensed teachers, and staff, the following goals will guide our Association over the next three years. In deepening our relationship with God, ourselves, and one another, we, as members of our Association, commit to the following goals:
    
    
    • 1. To lovingly support one another through authentic sharing and by being sensitive and responsive to each other as individuals.
      
      
    • 2. To lovingly support our youth and families by developing a spiritually-based living curriculum relative to the needs of today
      
      
    • 3. To identify and implement ongoing professional education and training by providing up-to-date materials, resources and skills development.
      
      
    • 4. To continue creating an effective and professional organization that demonstrates quality management while serving our members.
      
      
    • 5. To enhance communications with each other in clear, direct, and effective ways.
      
      
    • 6. To expand and increase our tithing base that, combined with fiscal responsibility, supports desired services and products and an excellent home office facility.
      
      

  • Our Affirmation: I daily dedicate myself to demonstrate the unconditional love and faith of Jesus Christ.

   

• Unity School of Christianity
  • Mission Statement: Unity School of Christianity is a center of spiritual light for the people of the world. We are dedicated to letting this light shine so brightly that people become more aware of their spiritual nature and express it in their daily lives. We address physical, mental, and emotional needs through affirmative prayer and spiritual education. We serve those who seek inspiration and prayer support as well as those who use Unity teachings as their primary path of spiritual growth.
    
    
  • Approaches to Achieving Our Mission
    
    
    • 1. We strive to approach all our activities with awareness of spiritual principles and to provide a supportive, affirming environment that respects the uniqueness of individuals.
      
      
    • 2. All Unity School programs and services are developed in response to the spiritual needs of people and are evaluated in terms of how effectively and responsibly they meet those needs.
      
      
    • 3. Acknowledging the trust of those who support Unity School, we use the principles of good stewardship to provide programs and services at an outstanding level of content quality and at an appropriate level of production quality.
      
      
    • 4. Our programs, products and services are conceived, developed, produced, and promoted through a cooperative, interdepartmental effort, guided by our common purpose of responding to specific, researched needs.
      
      
    • 5. We are committed to promoting organizational effectiveness and efficiency through clear roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities, and through personnel selection based on competency.
      
      

  • People We Serve
    
    
    • I. Prayer and Inspiration Path: We serve people who seek inspiration and prayer support.
      
      
      • They seek prayer as a solution to human need
        
        
      • They want a positive message
        
        
      • They are comfortable with Unity teachings presented in the language of traditional Christianity
        
        
    • II. Primary Path: We serve people who use Unity teachings as their primary path of spiritual growth.
      
      
      • They see the application of Truth principles to human need
        
        
      • They are interested in studying Unity teachings at depth
        
        
      • They require / respond to new, evolving expressions of Unity teaching
        
        

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Thanks to David Durksen, minister at the Unity Church of Victoria in British Columbia, and the good folks at the Ontario Centre for Religious Tolerance for compiling this in-depth discussion of Unity's beliefs and practices from Unity resources, and to Wayne Manning at Christ Unity Church, Sacramento, California for his editing. [Unity of Tustin has also done some additional editing.]

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Sources for Additional Information:

• The Association of Unity Churches Home Office
  PO Box 610
  Lee's Summit,Missouri, 64063
  Phone 816-524-7414
  FAX 816-525-4020
  
  
• Unity School of Christianity
  1901 NW Blue Parkway
  Unity Village, Missouri, 64065-0001

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References:

• James Dillet Freeman "The Story of Unity" and "Answers to Your Questions About Unity", Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, MO.
  
  
• Marcus Bach, "The Unity Way", Unity School of Christianity, Lee's Summit, MO
  
  
• Section 2 of Charles Braden "Spirits in Rebellion", Southern Methodist University
  
  
• Hugh D'Andrade, "Charles Fillmore, Herald of a New Age", Harper and Row
  
  
• Thomas Witherspoon, "Myrtle Fillmore, Mother of Unity", Unity School of Christianity, Lee's Summit, MO
  
  
• C. Fillmore, (Unity co-founder), Jesus Christ Heals and Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, Unity School of Christianity, Lees Summit, MO
  
  
• William Fischer "Alternatives", Unity School of Christianity, Lee's Summit, MO. The descriptions of Unity's beliefs and practices were taken from this document.

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© 2008-03-09 Unity Spiritual Life Center