Unity Church?

[Elenny]

I am wondering what the deep thinkers in this forum think about the Unity Church.

Is is just another church that will judge me for wearing a mini-skirt or a thong bikini at the beach, or is it an organization that's ahead of the pack?

I grew up in a wide array of religious mumbo-jumbo. We (as a family) were catholic until I was 10. That's when my parents divorced and within a few years they had both remarried, and had been pulled into other religions by their respective new spouses. My father became a born-again Christian (at least on weekends) and my mother became a Jehova's Witness.

I spent and still spend a lot of time with both of them, but unlike them, I lost my religious compass during my teenage years. Even though I attended many churches, some stuff just didn't click with me. I never felt completely at ease with religion.

Now at 26, I am still searching for the light. I'm intrigued my new-age thinking, but have not found a group or church that shares my opinions.

I am now wondering if the Unity Church is that place, but I have heard many different opinions about their belief system (albeit from people who have never attended a service there).

- My father calls it "the lesbian church".
- My brother says they will still take 10% of my check.
- My friend Lisa calls it the "Unity Sect"

So I guess I should go myself and find out what they are all about if I really want to know, but I guess I will start by asking on this forum.

Any intelligent thoughts on the Unity Church?

[The Cloud]

I have nothing against church in general, this one included. But you're not going to find your self in any church. If you're doing it for the social purpose of being around people that share your beliefs, then go for it. If you're doing it to define who you are, then you'll likely end up being one of those nutty obnoxious people that feel the need to push their beliefs onto others. This can happen with any belief system, whether its in religion or politics or economics. If you're looking for the light, look inside. You sound as if you've got this figured out, but I'm one of those nutty obnoxious people with an agenda to push So take what I say with a grain of salt.

[carenkh]

It's been a while since I attended a Unity Church. I'm now Unitarian Universalist, which is a perfect fit for me.

My experiences at Unity were varied. There was one church that... they were focused on the Law of Attraction, I guess, before that became so popular and well-known. For me, there was too much focus on material stuff.

The next Unity church I tried was VERY conservative Christian (it is a Christian denomination, but it seems some congregations are more open-minded than others). Not in terms of what people wore or anything, but saying if you didn't turn your life over to Christ, you were doomed. All said in a very upbeat way! LOL Like - God loves you if you're not Christian - but if you are, he loves you more! This particular church also made a big deal of the offering. I know if you're a member of a church, it's good to be responsible and help carry the load - but this seemed excessive. It was odd.

It can be a good fit for some people, but it depends on the minister, members, etc. Why don't you just try one in your area? See if it works for you.

[SonoranBob]

Originally Posted by Elenny

I am wondering what the deep thinkers in this forum think about the Unity Church.

Heh. No deep thinker here but I will jump in anyway ;-)

I, too, have given some thought to Unity as a potential place to socialize with like minded people. I admit that I haven't delved into all of them that are within range, but the web site of the closest one really turned me off. Your mileage may vary, etc. But here are my observations:

1) The general tone was extremely arrogant in a "we're all hyper intellectuals with big brains and we spit upon the less enlightened" sort of way.

2) The content of the messages being delivered and the general program of the church was highly politicized.

3) Related to (2) there was a fixation on militant crusading for the rights of gays and transsexuals and other forms of social justice, which is fine, but it made me expect to encounter a very contentious atmosphere with everyone falling over each other to prove their open-mindedness and sophistication. Not exactly conducive to thoughtful contemplation, at least not for me.

I tried a New Thought church once too and made the mistake of going the weekend before Halloween. The pastor was a woman dressed in a witch outfit complete with pointy hat and the "prelude" was Monster Mash. Later the service music reminded me more of a lounge than a church. If I want pop culture and entertainment I will go to a bar, not a church.

But I suppose that's just me, Mr. Old Fart With Traditional Sensibilities.

Lastly I dropped in on a Bruno Groenig Circle of Friends meeting once and found it frankly creepy. For those who don't know, Bruno Groenig was a man who performed highly public and dramatic healing miracles in post-war Germany. He died in the late 1950s and today his followers claim that he is an ascended master who helps facilitate those who need various forms of healing and other uses of "divine power". At these meetings they actually put a huge photograph of Bruno with his piercing eyes and grotesquely muscular neck on a sort of altar, as his photo is thought to convey healing virtue. They believe that Bruno will accept petitions and personally assist in healings. Mostly the meetings consist of a form of meditation / stillness and some testimonial stories of healings, but the whole thing has a cargo-cult flavor that was a turn-off for me.

My conclusion thus far is that even if you throw away tired old traditions and forms, anything that is recognizably a house of worship still seems to attract a preponderance of people more interested in "playing church" than anything else.

A discussion or reading group or social club without so much quasi-mystical structural overhead might be better than anything with the word "church" in it. If you search the Internet you can find informal study groups here and there, and my guess is that might be more worth a try. Maybe even start one of your own!

--Bob

[NightSpirit]

Churches within denominations vary as much as denominations within the whole Christian faith. The Unity Church local to me has seminars on law of attraction principles but like the other opinions I have never been there. They also have seminars on astrology and that's not interesting to me. I like the Unity booklets, the Daily Word.

To visit and see for yourself doesn't cost anything, see how it feels to you. I think it's good that you are seeking a church that agrees with what you think rather than adopt the doctrine of the church, whatever it is, if it doesn't fit with your spirit. The way a person is dressed shouldn't matter to a church but the dress code or lack of a dress code shouldn't be very near the top of reasons to choose a particular church.

There is a movement in informal home meetings that seems to be more like how the New Testament churches were started and may work for you, more like a place to go to discuss Christian beliefs, kind of like a forum in person. If you are susceptible to deferring your judgment to others, any church or pastor can come between you and God as an idol. Jesus said our traditions can make the word of God of none effect.

Now, please don't feel judged by this, because I don't care if you go naked on the beach and I am sure you look cute in a mini-skirt. I would ask you to consider why that it is okay with you to wear a thong in public. If it feels right to you, ok. But if you are wearing that just to be in fashion, because all the others are doing the same or to attract the attention of guys or because your are an adult and it's America and you can, to me, those would seem to be reasons from outside influences and instead of from an internal decision to display your body. Because a church would say modesty (and that doesn't mean you're ashamed of your body) is a virtue doesn't mean they are judging you. When the spirit of encouraging girls to be modest becomes a law, then that's religion.

Again, I'm not trying to be judgmental, just trying to share my experiences from when I was your age and now feeling kind of regretful of some of the things I did and went along with, that even felt right to me at the time, taking my cues from society or friends. I don't know how many times I did something so I wouldn't be seen as goody two shoes or a prude or different, maybe like you would be if you choose to wear a more modest swimsuit.

I know, if you got it flaunt it, but the question for each of us to answer for ourselves is why? From pride or to put yourself in comparison with other girls? Everyone wants to be seen as sexy and desirable, I understand that. But self respect, independence and confidence in your inner beauty can also be attractive.

[LoA Life]

I visited a Unity Church in California in 2006. It was a good experience. The sermon that specific day was simply a review of a book by Eckhart Tolle.
A couple of things jumped at me from that one visit:

1. It was a huge church building with a very small congregation, perhaps less than 50 people.

2. A very large percentage were women. I could propably count the men with the fingers from one hand.

3. I could also perhaps count the people under 50 with the fingers from one hand, and a lot of the ladies seemed really really older. I'm thinking well into their 70's and maybe even 80's.

The Reverend was a very happy woman, and everyone was really nice, so it was a neat experience, but I could not relate because there was no one else from my age group. But I'm sure it's not the same at every Unity Church, maybe now more than ever with the commercial popularity of The Secret and the Law of Attraction.

Good luck in finding a house of worship you feel comfortable in.

NightSpirit: I don't think Eleny will be attending your church anytime soon. I think it's that type of judgemental attitude about the thong that she and most of us are trying to get away from.

[carenkh]

Originally Posted by LoA Life

NightSpirit: I don't think Eleny will be attending your church anytime soon. I think it's that type of judgemental attitude about the thong that she and most of us are trying to get away from.

I didn't find any judgment in NightSpirit's post... well, besides calling a piece of clothing immodest. What judgment? It seemed to me like NightSpirit was asking Elenny to look at her motivations.

[NightSpirit]

Originally Posted by LoA Life

NightSpirit: I don't think Eleny will be attending your church anytime soon. I think it's that type of judgemental attitude about the thong that she and most of us are trying to get away from.

Sorry if it seemed that way. People wear whatever they want, whatever people would wear to the mall, I guess, to the church I go to, shorts and tank tops mixed in with suits and dresses. The pastor has more important things to talk about than clothes and although it's a huge church, he wears only jeans. I wouldn't have brought it up except it was in the post and to try to explain why churches sometimes do encourage women to consciously be aware of and choose their own fashions.

I don't even notice people's clothes, although I think most men are looking for what is uncovered instead of at the fashion. Men cover themselves up but then want to see women uncovered. Like I said, I'm older now and there is a reason older people wince when they look at their old pictures. For my generation, it was hot pants, even to work, a practice that would be frowned on today and they weren't worn for comfort. Show what you want to show; just be aware of why.

[jfrancis]

It can be a real struggle to find a church that is open and accepting, yet still somewhat traditional, especially for those of us who were raised Catholic. Liturgy is one of those things that most "new" churches toss right out as too "churchy" but it still resonates very deeply for some of us. I have gone to a local Unity church a few times, and it just doesn't feel like church to me. That being said, they seem like an interesting, charismatic, and well intentioned group of people. It depends on what you are looking for. It also sounds like from the other posts that you won't know until you try! So if you go, go with an open mind. Lurk in the back corner, or sing your heart out (you can't do that in a book group) If you aren't sure, you don't have to go back. Or you can try again in a month or a year. Let us know how it goes.