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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Unity Church

I've decided that the first church I'm being called to attend is Unity of Richmond (www.unityrichmond.org). Interesting enough, I know NOTHING about the inter-denominational churches that make up the Unity religion. Can I even call it a denomination if it's inter-denominational? I guess I can, it's only if it was non-denomination that it would reject such a name, right? And I guess Unity is not a religion but a subset of one.

So far in my limited amount of research, I am already fascinated that Unity encompasses 3 of my 8 suggestions by Craigslist readers. And it's something I've never heard of before! I realize I am no religious guru, but if any church was going to dominate the suggestion list, I guess I would assume it'd be Catholicism or Baptist even. But 3 Unity's? Who knew? Now I'm just beyond excited to see what I've been missing!

I did sneak a peak at all 3 websites and they are certainly related and definitely a community of people with similar values and a shared mission. They do all reference Jesus Christ, but if I'm interpreting this correctly, they appear to have Buddhist undertones. My guess is that they are the type of church that doesn't like to have labels. That's just what I gather from reading online since they all describe themselves as "non-judgemental" and "accepting of all faiths". However, they are clearly a friend of Jesus which puts them in the Christian category at the very least.

Here are the 5 basic missions of the Unity church as stated on the Unity of BonAir website: (http://www.unitybonair.org)

    1. There is only One Presence and One Power active in the universe and in our lives, God the Omnipotent Good.
    2. The Christ Spirit is within every person. “Christ in you the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:2)
    3. Daily prayer and meditation connect us to God’s loving presence.
    4. Through the power of thought, in God’s guiding light, we can transform our lives.
    5. Understanding these principles is not enough – we must take them into action.

So far, it sounds good to me! I think it's very fitting as my first church since it is accepting of all religions (which is kinda the point of this project) so I think I will see a diverse group of people with a similar mindset as my own.....which I'd describe as: 3 parts Jesus, one part New Age non-judgmental spiritual experience with a pinch of traditional.

I'll certainly be reading up on them this week before my first visit on Sunday.

If you'd like to learn more about the inter-denominational church that defines themselves as "a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and the power of prayer." then check them out at www.unity.org

It's a New Day

So, I had this crazy idea for my new years resolution: Attend a different church every week and blog about it for an entire year. Just writing those words creates a not-so-subtle doubt within me that I could possibly undertake such a huge commitment. Nonetheless, here I am. Filled with both excitement and anxiety. Here's how I see this unfolding...

I have already posted an ad on Craigslist soliciting ideas for different churches to attend. As of today, I have 8 churches in the queue. It doesn't matter what the denomination. They don't have to be Christian churches. Just holy houses of God that teach some sort of lesson related to our Creator.

My job is to simply attend these churches, temples, synagogues etc. on a weekly basis, write about the experience, and put the lesson learned into practice each week. For example: If this Sunday I attend St. Micheal's church in the West End of Richmond (www.saint-mikes.org) and the sermon is about FAITH, I will test my faith during the week and write about how it affected my life. I might also write about the church itself, the people, the sermon, the practices and rituals.

Really, I'm leaving this project up to God. He can be as flexible as He wants when deciding how it takes shape. I have full FAITH that however it works out, it will be His will. Who knows, I might start this project and bail the first week. I wouldn't put it past me. I have grand ideas that go nowhere often. However, this one feels different. At the risk of sounding TOTALLY cliched...this project feels.... Purposeful.

My sincere hope is that I will learn invaluable lessons, attend some amazing churches, stick to my first new years resolution EVER, exercise my writing muscle and learn a ton about different religions.

Here are the first 8 houses of God that I will attend. Probably not in this order. Right now, I'm thinking my first will be Unity of Richmond (www.unityrichmond.org) I'm just so curious about this one!

1. First Baptist - Monument and Blvd
2. Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - Pump Road
3. Unity of Richmond
4. Unity Baptist Church
5. St. Michaels
6. St. Mary's
7. Ekoji Temple
8. Unity of BonAir