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Study Corner
Membership In Unity
Membership
Unity membership is unique. The most important requirement for membership in Unity is to know God and desire to understand, love, and follow His laws of being. Membership in Unity leaves the member wholly free to live his/her life according to the inspiration of the Spirit of Truth within him/her.Rather than being a system of worship. Unity is a way of life. Members are asked to do their best to live the Truth teachings on a daily basis. The objective of Unity affiliation is to help people live more effective, Spirit-centered lives. Unity is a present-tense approach to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Unity people unite in order that they might minister more effectively to each other and to others. By our commitment in the sharing of consciousness in membership, we become the channel by which others, too, are blessed in their lives. Each Unity ministry is an individual corporation, affiliated with the parent corporation, the Association of Unity Churches. Each ministry is an individual corporate entity: it is entirely self-governed. A Board of Trustees is elected from the membership at an annual membership meeting. The Board of Trustees conducts the business affairs of the ministry in cooperation with the minister, who is the spiritual and administrative leader of the ministry.
Support
A member of Unity is one who lives its Truth and its services and who supports that love and services as fully as possible. You will not be asked to pledge specific amounts for the support of your Unity ministry. However, emphasis is placed on the spiritual value of tithing.Basically, the only area where specific prices are placed is with the sale of literature and tapes. For the most part, all other services are offered on a free-will love offering basis. In specific instances, in some ministries, this may vary. As we accept membership in Unity, we have a definite part in our ministry through attendance, prayers, and involvement. We commit to a moral responsibility of spiritual and material support according to our own consciousness.
The Unity Teachings
The most exciting part of your affiliation with a Unity ministry is what happens to you as a part of your understanding of the Unity teachings. Unity is a religious philosophy designed to improve the quality of your life on a daily basis. An application of the Unity teachings on your part makes you a happier, healthier, and more productive person.Unity teaches that every person is a mystic: e.g., every person has direct access to God. We acknowledge that every person Is truly created in the image and likeness of God. This divine part of you is your own indwelling Spirit. This means that God is always with you, to guide, heal. and prosper you.
In Unity, a premium is put on prayer--a special kind of prayer. We practice a style of prayer known as denial and affirmation. This kind of prayer frees us from limitation by acknowledging the indwelling presence of God (which is also called the Christ within) as the only power and allowing divine qualities to flow through our minds, hearts, bodies, and affairs.
Jesus Christ plays an important role in the Unity life style. We recognize Jesus Christ as the ultimate Way-Shower to the truly spiritual life. Through His teachings and the example of His life, He has provided us with the insights necessary for an understanding of our own spiritual selves. Through this understanding, life is enhanced, enriched. and expanded.
As your affiliation with your Unity ministry lengthens, you learn an increasing number of important lessons concerning the truth about life-lessons which result in your living the creative, productive life you are created to live. This is the most exciting part of your affiliation with a Unity ministry.
Services Offered
A Unity ministry is a full-service, spiritual organization. It is a church, but it is more than a church. It is a school, but it is more than a school. It is a center of pastoral care, but it is more than that, also. It is all of these things put together, and more!As a church, it provides you opportunities to be a part of the worship experience. Sunday and midweek services provide lessons in living: times of deep, inspirational meditation; and participation through the ministry of music. Attending Unity is an uplifting, enduring experience.
Unity ministries also offer a variety of study programs. Class work is provided so that you have the opportunity to delve more deeply into the "mysteries" of life. Classes in Bible study and interpretation, basic Truth study, and self-discovery are available. Other kinds of class work are also offered, depending upon the needs of the members and the community. The provision for class work in Truth is one of the most important services offered by Unity. As a center of pastoral care, Unity offers the services traditionally offered through a church. Unity ministers conduct funerals, weddings, baptisms, christenings, and other special services. Hospital visitation is offered for those in need of this service. Perhaps the most unique pastoral service offered by Unity is its spiritual counseling program.
Counseling in Unity is truly "spiritual" counseling, in that it helps the individual find the power within himself/herself--the Christ. Unity counseling deals with taking remedial action at the root of a challenge, rather than trying to modify the effects of it. This is why Unity counseling is so effective. Every effort is made to understand the real nature of a challenge a person is meeting. Then specific prayer is prescribed for meeting and conquering the cause of the challenge.
The Fellowship of Unity
Through Unity, a person finds a way of life that at one time he/she may not have dreamed possible. There is a certain thrill that comes through being associated with people of like mind. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Affiliation with Unity provides you with this opportunity.At services, classes, and fellowship activities, you have the occasion to receive and share Truth ideas with your fellow Truth students, as well as your minister. These relationships enable you to stimulate your spiritual growth even further. Lasting and mutually beneficial friendships develop. New interests are cultivated. And life becomes all that God intended it to be.
Unity has been called the "Household of Faith." It truly is. "So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit."
As you become a more vital part of the "Household of Faith" through membership, you find a renewal and joy that makes you into a new being. "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth."
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
The above is from the pamphlet "Membership in Unity" published by the Association of Unity Churches.