Wings. FIRST UNITY CHURCH Serving the spiritual needs of the St. Louis community for over eighty-five years.

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1 Wings FIRST UNITY CHURCH Serving the spiritual needs of the St. Louis community for over eighty-five years. The Newsletter of First Unity Church Of Saint Louis February 2013 Inspiration Information Illumination Inside this issue: News and events Truth Thoughts Quotable Quotes Calendar Humor The Emerging Self By Ernest C. Wilson Love Holds the World Together By Mary-Alice and Richard Jafolla Minnie was starved for affection. Throughout the many years she and Homer had been married, he'd never shown her any outward signs that he loved her. One day Minnie couldn't stand it any longer and blurted out, Homer, why don't you ever tell me you love me? Homer replied without a smile: Minnie, when we were married, I told you I loved you. If I ever change my mind, I'll let you know. Homer may have thought that was good enough that love never needs to be shared. But he was wrong. Love is the greatest power in the world, but it requires continual circulation to stay strong and vital. It was designed to be expressed. If we open ourselves to love, we see that it certainly has to be the strongest attracting power in creation. It binds us all together in one great and marvelous union all part of the one God. God is love. This love pulls each of us toward our true Christ Selves, making us more and more aware of our divinity. In the long run, love is stronger than hatred and wars the personal battles as well as international ones. It is God's love expressing itself through various natural laws that holds the planets in their orbits and us in our forms as human beings. Love is everywhere. But sometimes we humans attach strings to our love we love only at certain times and we love only certain people. Maybe we feel we can love only the people who we feel love us or who are the same as we are. But this is not using our wonderful power of love in the correct way. The fact is that everyone is like us because we are all part of the one God. The God in you is the same God in every other person, no matter how it may seem. --Continued on page six

2 New Member Rev. Randy Schmelig Minister LICENSED UNITY TEACHERS Deb Fry Sharon Lindsey Jan Mourning Jo Warren BOARD OF TRUSTEES Tom Bullock, President Kit Whittington, Vice President Roy Vaisvil, Secretary Chuck Seger, Treasurer Carol Ellerman Jim Harr Marilyn Milonas Heather Rhodes Cathy Zehner PRAYER CHAPLAINS Tom Bullock Duane Cox Deb Fry Anne Hartupee Judie Henley Paul Henley Sharon Lindsey Vern Milonas Jan Mourning BOOKSTORE MANAGER Jane Vondruska OFFICE MANAGER Mary McKenzie MUSIC Anne Hartupee, Piano/Organ Dean Wiegert, Soloist YOUTH MINISTRY TEAM Denise Halbert Reggio, Director Glenda Gebhardt Cindy Gibbs WINGS NEWSLETTER Faye Schmelig, Editor OFFICE HOURS Monday Thursday, 9am 3pm Church phone: Prayer Line: Minister s home: Fax: g/ firstunitystl@att.net randyschmelig@att.net Silent Unity: Wings February, 2013 Page 2 On Sunday, January 20th, we welcomed new member, Elise Reid, into our church. Elise, we are happy to have you as a part of our spiritual family! A Valentine Pancake Brunch is planned for Sunday, February 10th, immediately following the service. The food is always good and the fellowship joyous. This would be a wonderful opportunity to bring a friend to church! The St. Louis Ukulele Group will be performing at our church on Thursday evening, February 7th. The concert will begin at 7 pm. Tickets will be $10 at the door. All proceeds will be returned to the church as a love offering from the group in gratitude for a place to practice during the year. This group is a lot of fun to hear. They also have several good soloists that will sing along with their music. This unique musical experience will be a lot of fun to hear! New Class Join us beginning Sunday, February 10, for a new class facilitated by Licensed Unity Teachers Deb Fry and Jan Mourning, devoted to Part II of Eric Butterworth s inspirational Unity classic, Discover the Power within You: a Guide to the Unexplored Depths Within. Eric Butterworth understands the divine within us all to be a hidden and untapped resource of limitless joy and abundance. In this class we will explore this depth potential and develop tools for releasing the power within, letting our light shine, and transforming our lives. For this interactive book study, we will meet from 9:15-10:15 a.m. Sundays in the adult classroom. Books are available in the bookstore. This class will be offered for credit. For the first class, we will discuss Chapter 6, The Amazing Be Attitudes, pp A class schedule will be available the first week of class. From the Bookstore We are happy to announce that, for your convenience, you can now use all major credit cards in our bookstore and even for donations. We would welcome more volunteers to help in the bookstore on Sundays as well as in our lending library. See Jane on Sundays or call the office if you would like to help. This month the Ladies Night Out Group will be meeting Monday evening, February 18 at Quincy Street Bistro, 6931 Gravois Ave. For more information call Mary Tumminello: Home: Cell: All are welcome! Feb, 12: Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani, March 12: A Secret Kept by Tatiana De Rosnay, April 9: Messengers by David Arnett, May 14: They Tore My Heart Out and Stomped That Sucker Flat by Lewis Grizzard Place: Bread Company, across from St. Anthony's Hospital from 2:00 to 4:00. If you see a book you would like to discuss, please join us for that meeting. There are no requirements to attend all the meetings. Contact: Carol or (cell) for questions. Feed My People In addition to food, the following items are always welcome: warm blankets or heaters for those who have no way to keep warm,-personal care items such as toilet paper, shampoo, soap, etc., -- items for the elderly such as Ensure and Depends, -- baby items such as diapers and wet wipes. February Affirmations Inner Peace: Peace permeates my being. I am calm and serene. Guidance: I act on divine guidance. Healing: The flow of Divine Life revitalizes me. Prosperity: As I appreciate my good, it expands. World Peace: I set an example of peace in our world.

3 Risking Love To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. Love comes to those who still hope even though they ve been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they ve been betrayed, to those who still love even though they ve been hurt before. -Author unknown Beloved Lyrics At a women's retreat in Arizona, the leader discussed the subject of passing faith to the next generation. She divided the women into groups of five and asked each group to choose and then sing a cherished hymn. The women were surprised to hear an overwhelming favorite: the Sunday school standard "Jesus Loves Me." Most of us probably can sing the first and last verses of that beloved song. But do you know the other verses? Here are the lyrics: Jesus loves me! This I know, As he loved so long ago, Taking children on his knee, Saying, "Let them come to Me." (Refrain) Jesus loves me still today, Walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give Light and love to all who live. (Refrain) Blind Trust Lex Gillette, a blind long-jumper from North Carolina, participated in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Paralympics Games. Before an event, his guide shows him around the course. During competitions, the guide positions Gillette at the starting line, then goes to the sand pit, where he claps and calls steadily so the athlete can follow the sounds and run straight ahead. Gillette knows to jump when he hits his 16th step. Unable to see where he s going, nor the line from which to jump, nor where he ll land, Gillette entrusts himself fully to his guide. The result? Three consecutive silver medals and a world record set in We re all blind to what lies ahead in life, so our guide, the Holy Spirit, goes before us and beckons us forward in the way we should go. Entrusting ourselves to God, we can do great things. An Everyday God A missionary was telling a Native American about Christ, the Son of God, and how we gather every Sunday to worship our Creator. The man was curious why Christians worship together each week. Does this God come only on Sundays? he asked. How would you have answered? The Alphabet Prayer Many of us need to be more like the little girl whom the farmer found lost in his meadow. The farmer said to her, Do not cry; I ll take you home. The little child snuggled up to him, and with a smile, said, I knew you would; I was waiting for you. Waiting for me? said the man. What made you think I was coming? I was praying you would, she said. Praying? When I first heard you, you were saying A-B-C-D-E-F- G. What was that for? She looked up again and said, I m just a little girl. I was praying all the letters of the alphabet and letting God put them together the way he wanted to. He knows I was lost, and he knows how to put words together better than I do. Quotable Quotes There is no remedy for love but to love more. -Henry David Thoreau All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn t hurt. -Charles M. Schulz A joy that is shared is a joy made double. -John Ray Love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the humblest imaginable. -Mahatma Gandhi Our economy, peace and lives depend upon a healthy sustainable environment. If we are out of sync with creation, we are out of sync with the Creator. -Doug Bland He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare; and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you. -Andre Gide Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity we shall harness the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilhard de Chardin It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. -Emerson Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself. -Erasmus

4 The Emerging Self By Ernest C. Wilson Spiritual Healing "It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish "-Matt. 18: 14. "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" -Rom.12:2. "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? -I Cor. 3: 16. "The power of the Lord was with him to heal" -Luke 5: 17. "Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases" -Psalms 103:3. "Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily"-isa. 58:8. "Spiritual healing." Is there really any other kind? "God healed him. I bound up his wounds," is the testimony of a physician. There is only one healing power in all the world, and that is a power to create new cells and eliminate old ones, a power that is possessed by the innate intelligence or creative forces in living organisms, however evoked. It is the same power, whether it is invoked by a physician or a metaphysician, an affirmation or medication. The healing power is no respecter of persons. It is the same regardless of race or religion. It is the same for Jew or Gentile, pagan or Christian. It is the same in ancient and in modern man. Often its nature is misunderstood. The patient of the witch doctor may believe that it is the pagan ritual, the beating of the tom-toms, or the nauseous concoctions that he is required to imbibe that benefit him. The modern physician relates the healing power to his medications, the metaphysician to his prayers. To a certain degree all are right. For it is probably in these agencies only secondarily, and sometimes not at all, but surely and certainly in the patient's response to these very diverse methods that healing is attained. And though faith is a great factor in human response, some of these methods are effective where no active faith in the afflicted person is discernible. They are effective, apparently, in the degree that they act as a stimulus to the innate restorative powers within the patient's organism. Disease is not, strictly speaking, a thing in itself. It is the absence of something. Health is a natural state. Its apparent absence, or an interference with it, we call disease. But disease is like darkness. Darkness is not a thing in itself; it is the relative absence of light. Light is positive; it is a thing in itself. When you bring in light, what becomes of the darkness; where does it go? Nowhere. What becomes of it? It is nonexistent. Light, on the other hand, is real. We measure the space between the stars and galaxies in terms of "light-years," the distance over which light can travel in a year's time, which is approximately 6,000,000,000,000 miles. We do not measure things in terms of darkness. The Innate No method of healing can create new cells within the body of a living organism. Only the creative forces in the body can do this. The organism tends to maintain itself if it is not interfered with. The creative forces are self-sufficient. They need no help. They just need "no interference," or the removal of obstructions that impede their natural action. To clear the way for the innate, creative forces, then, is the true purpose of healing agencies. Masaharu Taniguchi, in his book "You Can Heal Yourself," describes what he believes takes place in these words: "We are inclined to think of medicine as something distinct from mental therapy, but actually there is no therapy outside of mental therapy. Regardless of whether the disease is internal or external, therapy takes place through the creation of new cells by the inner intelligence. Matter does not have the intelligence and power to transform itself into cells. Thus mind is the only effective therapist. A small amount of observation will make this point clear to us. Physicians can do no more than provide the best possible condition for the operation of the therapeutic power dwelling in man." This, however, is not to denigrate the skill and training of the dedicated practitioner of medicine or of any other agency that can serve as a channel of recovery. But "the point which students of mental therapy often overlook is that all disease arises through the action of mind in the same way that its cures take place through mental activity." The law of healing is a demonstrable principle, as effective today as it was two thousand years ago in the time of Jesus, or in the centuries that reach back to man's initial dawning consciousness; and it manifests for each individual according to his consciousness. Life is an eternally acting, eternally manifesting principle. Life gives to every man opportunities to experience the regenerating and restorative powers innate within him. He uses the life principle according to his consciousness, inviting either health or sickness. Thoughts, feelings, attitudes, actions that are constructive or destructive in nature all invite parallel or corresponding states in the body.

5 The individual who is "strong in the Lord" (or law) of his being will not succumb to the attacks of adverse microorganisms as will the person whose innate energies and resources are weakened by fear, hatred, jealousy, and other destructive factors in his experience. Where the Trouble Lies When a person seeks help from a human authority he is likely to say, "I am in trouble." It would be more nearly true if he were to say, "Trouble is in me." His will is to be well, and his willingness to accept the responsibility that he shares in recovery, are paramount factors in restored well-being. In this era of modern science most practitioners of whatever background and training recognize the psychosomatic factor. Even centuries ago Shakespeare voiced this principle when he had Petruchio saying, "'Tis the mind that makes the body rich." One of the greatest discoveries of modern times and the least heralded or acclaimed--is the mental law of cause and effect. So universal is its action seen to be, that where there is an apparent exception we are inclined to question it. When we see someone experiencing ill health or some other misfortune, we are inclined to take it for granted that he has, either consciously or unconsciously placed himself in an undesirable relationship to the laws of his own wellbeing. As Emerson put it, "Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed." We would like to think that we are exceptions to this law. We are tempted to try a shortcut, or an easier way out than acceptance of the obvious conclusion that in some manner we are not conforming to procedures that produce results we desire. We would like to shift the responsibility. Perhaps a physician can give us a pill or potion, a metaphysician can prescribe a mantram or affirmation that will do what is required. Anything but to change our ways! Yet changing our ways may not be as drastic or as difficult as we anticipate; and beyond the required selfdiscipline it may soon even be pleasant, and will be eventually, beyond doubt. The conscious direction of the mind toward healing of the body would seem to be the most direct and natural healing agency, and one whose results become more and more powerful as regular times of meditation and prayer establish a conviction of the true nature of healing, and a confidence in the innate creative forces within us all. For improvement is not attained by wishful thinking, or by will power, but by one's convictions. When he is convinced that healing is possible, that he deserves to be well, and that all the forces of his own being as well as the will (plan) of God are "for him" to be well, he removes road blocks in consciousness and clears the way. Many physicians have taken note of the remedial power of meditation and prayer in evoking the latent forces of healing. "True prayer," writes Dr. Alexis Carrel, "represents a mystic state when the consciousness is absorbed in God. This state is not of an intellectual nature. Also it remains inaccessible as incomprehensible to the philosophers and to the learned. Just as with the sense of beauty and of love, it demands no book knowledge. The simple are conscious of God as naturally as of the warmth of the sun, or the perfume of a flower." And of the healing power of prayer, "It is only in the cases where all therapeutics are inapplicable or have failed, that the results of prayer can be surely proved... Prayer has sometimes, so to speak, an explosive effect. Patients have been cured almost instantaneously of affections such as lupus of the face, cancer, kidney troubles, ulcers, tuberculosis of the lungs, of the bones or peritoneum. The phenomenon is produced nearly always in the same way. Great pain, then the feeling of being cured. In a few seconds, at most a few hours, the symptoms disappear and the anatomic lesions mend. The miracle is characterized by extreme acceleration of the normal processes of healing. " The quiet miracles of prayer take many forms: releasing the pressure of mental and emotional tensions in some form of confessional, by confiding repressed thoughts and feelings to a doctor, friend, or counselor, or by "writing a letter to God"; silent communion with nature; physical exercise; some creative hobby such as woodcarving, clay modeling, handicrafts (Dr. John Rathbone Oliver, in his book "Fear," tells of the redemptive value of such occupations for businessmen, harassed by vocational pressures); and finally service to others considered less fortunate than ourselves. In all of these forms of therapy the individual "loses himself" or "is transported" into another world, fulfilling the concept that to be all wrapped up in ourselves is loss, to lose ourselves in some constructive emprise that "takes us out of ourselves" is gain, which might be considered a rough paraphrase of Matthew 10:39: "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find

6 it." The Inner Splendor Let Your Light Shine... From Page One There is a second element in common to these quiet miracles of prayer. They are all based on giving, on releasing, on letting go, on radiating something of the inner splendor that Browning acclaimed, in creative and constructive ways. And giving is a kind of invitation to life. What happens when we pray? "Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" James declared. Our conviction of the effectiveness of prayer is based empirically upon the observed alleviation of conditions for which prayers are made, but basically upon the premise that health and wellbeing is the natural expression of the creative forces in us all; that when we clear our thought and feeling we open the way for the natural order to appear; that since the nature of the power that heals is mental, the most direct appeal to that nature is mental; that the effects of prayer are in proportion to the conviction with which they are made: that though on the plane of the conscious phase of mind we appear to be all separate, on the superconscious level we are one, like the spokes of a wheel which on the rim are apart, but converge at the hub; and that it is apparently on the subconscious plane that the therapy of prayer is most effective. When we pray for others, then, we are not seeking to bombard them with our personal will. Instead, we seek to "clear the way," yielding the energy of our loving thought and feeling as channels of blessing. The inquiring mind of man, in cases of answered prayer, as in countless other subjects that command his attention, is not content to know what happened. He wants to know how. Such a man is a certain Unity minister. Twice a week for many years in stated services he has led a congregation in prayers for healing, guidance, prosperity. Frequently reports of healing were made. What, he often asked himself, really happened in such prayers? Finally the thought occurred to him: "Instead of asking myself about this, why don't I ask God, just as I ask Him for help in so many other ways?" Then, as he was leading the congregation in audible statements of prayer, he silently asked God "Is this simply mental soothing syrup? Is anything beyond the consoling and relaxing thought of the moment actually accomplished?" (But let it be said that consoling and relaxing thought are in themselves therapeutic.) As with deepening earnestness he continued praying, he says, "it was as if little lights appeared above the heads of the worshipers. I understood this was the out-picturing of spiritual energy or realization generated by the devotion of the persons praying. As the prayers continued, these lights seemed to swirl and rise and come together above our heads, like a rush of visible wind and disappear in a kind of cloud. I interpreted this as meaning that our part was simply to pray, and that the creative forces of Being would direct the energy thus generated to whomever and whatever persons and conditions needed it most." If we intend to live the way God designed us to, we have to start loving everyone. To love less than this is are you ready? not to love God. Our attention has to stay focused on the Christ nature of each person and not on outer appearances. We're not all cut from the same cookie cutter, so there will always be superficial differences. But we are all from the same batch of dough. When we let the warmth of our love flow out from us in a complete circle, we touch everyone with it, and the entire world especially our own immediate world becomes a better place. We meet all people Christ-to- Christ, and our love automatically falls across their paths. To love in God's way is to let it flow freely, not withholding it from anyone. This is the ideal and, as with most of these universal principles, we may not be there yet. But when we realize that everyone wants to love and be loved and that everything people do is their way of crying out for that love, we begin to feel our own love moving their direction. No kidding, it obviously takes a lot of practice to love everybody, but this is the way God loves us, and it's the way we're supposed to operate too. And here's a super bonus: When you're loving, people can't help noticing your radiance and will love you in return. Love is a mighty magnet. Whatever we love, we attract into our lives. If we love God, we will attract blessings. Eventually each of us will realize that he or she is part of everyone else, and our love will touch everyone, because we are all one. --From The Simple Truth: Making Sense of God, Life & Other Stuff. Authors of many books, Mary- Alice and Richard Jafolla are former directors of Silent Unity, the prayer ministry of Unity, serving people of all faiths with 24/7 prayer support.

7 February Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Adult Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir Rehearsal 3 Sunday Service Youth Ed AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA 7:00 pm 7 Ukulele Sentimental Journey Performing 7:00 PM 8 9 Adult Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir Rehearsal 10 Sunday Service Youth Ed Discover Class 9:15-10: The Book Club 2:00-4:00 PM Very Valentine By Adriana Trigiani 13 AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA 7:00 pm Adult Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir Rehearsal Pancake Breakfast (following Service) 17 Sunday Service Youth Ed Discover Class 9:15-10:15 18 Ladies Night Out Qunicy Street Bistro 6931 Gravois Road AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA 7:00 pm 21 Ukulele Practice 7:00 9:00 PM Adult Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir Rehearsal 24 Sunday Service Youth Ed Discover Class 9:15-10: AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA 7:00 pm 28

8 Wings THE FEBRUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER OF FIRST UNITY CHURCH OF ST. LOUIS First Unity Church 4753 Butler Hill Road St. Louis, MO Phone: (314) Fax: (314) Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID St. Louis MO Permit 909 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, check this box and mark return to sender, or call the church office. The light side - A little holy humor Love is Blind? Phil, a smart and handsome young man, dressed in the latest fashion, walked into this local pub. He noticed a woman gazing at him without blinking her big eyes. Phil felt flattered so he walked up to the woman and said in his deepest voice, 'I'll do anything you wish, beautiful lady, for just $10, but on one condition.' The woman appeared to be trapped in the moment and asked as if in a trance, 'What's your condition?' Phil answered, 'Tell me your wish in just three words.' There was a long pause, the woman opened her purse, counted out the money and handed it to the man along with her address. She then looked deeply into his eyes and whispered, 'Clean my house.' Valentine s Day Gift Jim asked his friend, Tony, whether he had bought his wife anything for Valentine's Day. 'Yes,' came the answer from Tony who was a bit of a chauvinist, 'I've bought her a belt and a bag.' 'That was very kind of you,' Jim added, 'I hope she appreciated the thought.' Tony smiled as he replied, 'So do I, and hopefully the vacuum cleaner will work better now.' Valentine Dreams One morning Emma woke up with a start. Her husband Jim asked what was the matter. She told him, "I just had a dream that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's Day. What do you think it means?" "You'll know tonight," Jim said. That evening, Jim came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, Emma opened it - only to find a book entitled "The meaning of dreams". Say It with Flower Jeremy visited a florist's shop which showed a large sign that read, 'Say It with Flowers.' 'Wrap up one rose, please' Jeremy demanded of the florist's assistant. 'Only one?' she enquired frowning. 'Ah yes just the one', Jeremy replied. 'I'm a man of very few words.'