Unity is sometimes labeled a “cult” by traditional Christian denominations who know nothing about us. (A congregant told me recently that when she told an acquaintance that she attends Unity Renaissance, the friend said with alarm: “Oh! I’ve heard they teach voodoo there!”) (!!)
In truth, Unity is not some “out there” theology, but a movement based on the core teachings of Jesus and how to apply them in our own lives. We seek to follow the example of our Master Teacher to more fully love God, love ourselves, and love our neighbor.
You can also find the roots of Unity teaching in the community in which Jesus is said to have grown up: the Essenes. This Sunday, I’ll be interviewing our wise and erudite congregant Connie Skidmore about this fascinating spiritual community, what they believed, how they shaped the life and ministry of Jesus, and what it all means for Unity today.
In the meantime, you might enjoy this passage about Jesus from a website on the Essenes:
The Master said that, when a group of people gather together freely around a divine idea and begin to work on themselves in the direction of this idea, then, if there are enough of them, they carry within themselves all of humanity and they can make it evolve. From their work emanates a communal spiritual strength, which is like a sun in the soul of the earth and of humanity. This sun, in turn, works throughout time to attract the divine idea and to bring it to life within the reality of the earth.
Sounds to me like a vision for creating “A spiritually awakened world, living in peace, love, and joy”!