Church #1: Unity Church of Richmond

You must be the change you want to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

I think this quote sums up the sermon from Unity of Richmond during the 9am meditative service this past Sunday. The lesson was clear: Embrace change within yourself to allow change to manifest itself within other people. Do this because we are One and we are all a part of God. So basically, if we want others to be more kind to us: Our responsibility is to exemplify kindness. Love one another. Apply the Golden Rule. A very time appropriate sermon to start off the New Year where everyone has a resolution to change something.

Unity of Richmond is located in the fan next to the Carillon at 800 Blanton Ave. It is a humble church with what seemed like a small, devoted congregation. I counted a total of 28 people during the 9am meditative service. Another 11am sermon followed which was referred to in the bulletin as the "Traditional Service." However, I'm not so sure there is much, if anything, Traditional about this crowd.

They are an eclectic mix of people to say the least. If you are looking for a church that houses all white, slightly older families with 2.5 children that live in the West End of Richmond and show up at 10:45am on the dot, men wearing ties and women wearing pantyhose and past the knee skirts....look elsewhere. Here, at Unity, we are lesbians, young adults, seniors, white people, Asian people, people who wear sweatpants and flip-flops with socks to church and people who wear their Sunday best... oversized hat and all.

I did notice that there were no children at the congregation, but I'm sure they are encouraged to attend. Everyone is. This is not a church that casts stones based on religious orientation, sexual orientation, race etc. This church is a friend to ALL. It even says so in the cover of their musical books that sit in the backside of the pews. They pride themselves on being friends to EVERYONE. Accepting of ALL. If it is their goal to practice what they preach, and be the change they want to see: These people want to be accepted.

Interesting enough, I had mentioned to a number of my friends that I attended Unity on Sunday morning. The response I received was all the same. "The Unity religion is a little out there, they accept all religions, I think that's kinda weird."

I find this fascinating "Weird" is the word used to describe a group of people that think there is One God and everyone has their own path to experiencing Him. It's not weird to think that there is only Jesus Christ and that EVERYONE else is wrong. It's not weird for Catholics to believe in the sacrament. Or Seventh day Adventist to believe you HAVE to go to church on Saturday or you're not the chosen people. I think in a world where we live for labels, this should come as no surprise that a group of people who are accepting of EVERYONE is labeled as "weird."

We spend our lives working so hard to obtain those labels. We are housewives, we are attorneys, we are black, old, fat, educated and middle-class. We are SOMETHING, otherwise we must be NOTHING. And it's "weird" to think that none of this really matters to God. It's not only weird, it's down right frightening! Because then we have to ask ourselves, what the heck are we doing this all for? I think what the people of Unity of Richmond would tell someone with this inner dialogue is that this need to be something is your EGO talking....and it might be time to CHANGE what we tell ourselves. Like the affirmation we read allowed yesterday in church, "our thoughts are our prayers." So it's time to look at what we are telling ourselves about who we are because if God is love, then this love is not conditional based on our meaningless man-made labels we impose on ourselves and everyone else.

As I sat in the middle pew sipping my morning coffee, I silently applauded the unique perspective that the Unity church offered me. I thought bravo for holding a service that allows for 15 minutes of silent meditation. For 15 minutes of my week I was able to sit in total silence, with nothing but me and 27 other weirdos experiencing the love of God and the peace that lies DEEP within myself. No laundry to do, no websites to sell, no blog to write. After our meditation, we were blessed with the opportunity to listen to one of the most talented soloist sing Michael Jackson's "we are the world." Her voice was nothing short of angelic. Everyone in the church was bopping their heads. I had a sneaky suspicion that like me, most everyone wanted to stand up and really break it down to China town but they managed to somehow refrain. It was hard not to get up and dance. She brought an energy into this room that was almost indescribable. This girl could sing! You could feel our spirits being lifted. Love radiated off of each person as she belted out the lyrics. There was no denying it, God was present in this room of believers.

After the service, I had several people come and introduce themselves to me, one being the Reverend himself: Richard Bunch. Every person I encountered was warm, kind, and sincerely grateful for my visit. I even received a small gift as a newcomer. A coffee mug resembling a potting plant that read, "Grow in Spirit." For a brief moment I felt sadness that I wasn't going to be able to attend Unity of Richmond again next Sunday, but somewhere in my heart I was quickly reassured that God would reveal himself to me every time I searched for Him.

I would highly recommend checking out Unity of Richmond if you're looking for a community of non-judgmental, progressive Christians who appreciate the wisdom that comes along with accepting and becoming truly understanding of other faiths. This group encourages people to love one another as their God loves them - unconditionally, wholeheartedly, and just as they are.