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

Transcription

1 Wings FIRST UNITY CHURCH Serving the spiritual needs of the St. Louis community for over ninety years. The Newsletter of First Unity Church Of Saint Louis November 2013 Inspiration Information Illumination Inside this issue: News and events Truth Thoughts Quotable Quotes Calendar Humor The Emerging Self By Ernest C. Wilson This Is Unity Unity is, for hundreds of thousands of people, a way of life that gives free expression to the pure, spiritual sentiments of the soul. The Unity teaching has had broad appeal to people of all faiths for more than a century. The Unity movement is often confused with the Unitarian Church, but no organizational ties exist between Unity and any other religious body. We who have come into Unity from many religious backgrounds believe you can be happy in Unity if you are looking for a teaching that: 1. Offers an approach that is scientifically sound, psychologically healthy, intellectually challenging, and spiritually satisfying. 2. Asks you to accept and use the teachings which appear to you to be true, and to withhold judgment on the rest. 3. Gives you freedom to grow spiritually at your own pace and to evolve your own working philosophy of ideas and beliefs. 4. Has no creedal requirements; never asks you to profess something you do not believe. 5. Has little concern for dogma, ritual, ecclesiastical garb, and other trappings of religiosity. 6. Never attempts to dictate; has faith in your divine guidance in matters of thinking, dress, diet, and other aspects of living. 7. Does not impose any financial burden on its adherents; is supported by freewill offerings, and looks upon tithing and other forms of giving as the joyous response of a generous, Spirit-filled soul. 8. Has been described as "commonsense religion" and as "practical Christianity." 9. Sees religion as an open-ended search for Truth rather than as a closed system. 10. Insists upon worship as serving God by uplifting and glorifying God's spirit in man in positive, joyous ways. -- Continued on page Five

2 Rev. Randy Schmelig Minister LICENSED UNITY TEACHERS Deb Fry Sharon Lindsey Jan Mourning Jo Warren BOARD OF TRUSTEES Tom Bullock, President Carol Ellerman, Vice President Roy Vaisvil, Secretary Chuck Seger, Treasurer Denise Halbert-Raggio Paul Henley Marilyn Milonas Heather Rhodes Wilson 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 Mon. Wed., 9am 3pm Church phone: Minister s home: Fax: firstunity@firstunitychurchstlouis. org Silent Unity: Wings November, 2013 Page 2 Our First Unity Prayer Chaplains for 2014 will join Prayer Chaplains from the Greater St. Louis Area and beyond for the annual Prayer Chaplain Fall Retreat on November The retreat is held at The Marianist Center in Eureka, Mo. Following the guidelines from Love & Light Ministries, the training includes Holding Spiritual Space, Listening with Love, The Power of Affirmative Prayer, Confidentiality, Human Conditions, and The Prayer Chaplain Experience. Serving as a Prayer Chaplain is transformative soul work as it deepens the Prayer Chaplain's spiritual path through prayer and service. Our First Unity Prayer chaplains are honored to serve the entire congregation. We have a new address. We are now with Charter and will have Wi Fi and other advantages that we didn t have before. firstunity@firstunitychurchstlouis.org Fall Yard Clean-up On Saturday, Nov. 16th we will get together at 10:00 a. m. to beautify our church for the holiday season. There are shrubs to trim, leaves to rake, and dead trees to be removed, so bring your trimmers, saws, and rakes. Member, Jim Petrovic, is bringing his wood chipper. As always, we appreciate your generous help. Nov. 12: Cross Roads by Paul Young Dec. 10: Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult Place: Bread Company, across from St. Anthony's Hospital from 2:00 to 4:00. Contact: Carol or (cell) for questions. This month the Ladies Night Out Group will be meeting Monday, Nov. 18th at Longhorn Restaurant on Lindbergh and Watson in front of Toys R Us. For more information call Mary Tumminello: Home: Cell: Wednesday November 27 7:00 p.m. This year Church of Peace, 3701 Bayless Ave. will be hosting the All-Unity Thanksgiving Service. Come join area Unity ministers and friends as we joyously praise God and give thanks for our bountiful blessings through music and inspirational messages. On Saturday, Nov. 30th we will be decorating our church home for Christmas. Please join us at 10:00 to make sure our church is all decked out in its Christmas best, and stay for pizza afterwards. Feed My People has been challenged all year to have enough food on hand for the many people who depend on them to survive. Because of your efforts, they have not run out of canned foods, but they have been down to a one-day supply a few times. Please keep them in your prayers and continue to bring in what you can. Thanks! Daylight-Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 3. Remember to turn back your clocks. November Affirmations Inner Peace: I embody peace. Guidance: I am guided by my inner light. Healing: The life of God infuses my body. Prosperity: I open my mind to plenty and receive with gratitude. World Peace: I emanate peace to all the world.

3 Thoughts for Veteran s Day Abraham Lincoln gave his second Inaugural Address on March 4, 1865, as the Civil War was raging. He said, Fondly do we hope fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Lincoln s next paragraph is especially appropriate for Veterans Day: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations. When President Lincoln finished his classic oration, he reportedly kissed the Bible and left the platform. He was assassinated the next month. The Hundred Dollar Word During his lifetime, English poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling achieved both fame and fortune. One day a newspaper reporter approached him and said, Mr. Kipling, somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to more than $100 a word. The reporter pulled out a $100 bill out of his pocket, gave it to Kipling and said, Here, now give me one of your hundred-dollar words. Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, Thanks! Thanksgiving in Other Lands We tend to think of Thanksgiving as a holiday unique to the United States. But America s neighbors to the north and south celebrated it even earlier than the Pilgrims famed meal in Canada s first Thanksgiving feast, held by English explorer Martin Frobisher, occurred in Newfoundland in The country s Thanksgiving observance is now on the second Monday in October, with holiday fixings that are similar to those enjoyed by Americans. In Mexico in 1598, a large group of explorers, soldiers and Franciscans traveled on sand dunes in what s now the American Southwest. They were running low on water, so when they reached the Rio Grande, they expressed gratitude to God by feasting on fish, duck and geese. No official date is set for Thanksgiving celebrations in Mexico. People of all nationalities have been giving thanks to God for as long as we ve been on the earth. Leave some White Space In publication layouts, white space is an important design element. Instead of being a wasted area, it actually provides visual relief for readers. A similar concept applies to a family calendar. How much white space do you leave in each little square? With a fast-paced, no-whitespace life, relationships suffer. But when you allow your schedule to slow down, leaving openings for adventure, spontaneity and down-time, family members can grow closer to one another. Is your Light Growing Dim? Albert Schweitzer, the gifted physician, scientist, musician and missionary, said that at times our own light seems to go out. Sometimes we feel rather dim or washed out. Know the experience? Schweitzer suggested that our light can be rekindled by another person whose light is still strong and whose presence can increase the power of our own light. Our light can be increased as we live in relationship with the light of the world. In John 8:12, Jesus says: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness (NRSV). In Jesus light, we find that the light in our own life is increased. St. Paul told how Christ s light should affect us: In the Lord you are light. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8, NRSV). Quotable Quotes As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. -John F. Kennedy Faith walks simply, childlike, between the darkness of human life and the hope of what is to come. -Catherine de Hueck Doherty If the only prayer you said in your entire life was thank you, that would suffice. -Meister Eckhardt Let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song. -Konrad von Gesner No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave. -Calvin Coolidge We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. -Thornton Wilder Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live. -Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear

4 The Emerging Self By Ernest C. Wilson The Real and the Temporal So we must learn to distinguish between that which is transient and that which is enduring. Evil is transient. Only good endures. Also in this reconciliation of opposites, we learn to distinguish between what people are and what they do. We may love them for the first, deplore them for the second; but we can learn to deplore only the sin, yet love the sinner. We can discern with the mind and heart what is denied by the senses: that back of even men's worst mistakes, his foulest crimes, there was the effort to bring about what seemed to the erring one a form of good either to himself or others, the elimination of some threat to life or love or trust. And if what he does offends you, take comfort in the thought that to recognize a shortcoming indicates that at least in vision and aspiration you have reached past it. Give thanks, and go on. A good sense of direction predicts attainment of a goal. Follow the gleam of light that flashes across the firmament of consciousness. Why, having found a sense of direction, having perceived the light, is not attainment more rapid? Although we are eternally sons of God and heaven, we have submitted ourselves to the discipline of experience, learning by trial and error, which are characteristic of this plane of manifestation. In a time-space world such as this, cause and effect are seldom simultaneous. Though conceivably in spirit results are instantaneous, to consciousness they are progressive. We experience things sequentially, seriatim. Thus, the bread of life, like the bread from the oven, is not to be bolted down in one gulp, but a morsel at a time, imbibed and digested. Not many persons are able to grasp the contents of a weighty book by sleeping with it under their pillow (as a few rare souls are reputed to do), or to absorb its contents by holding the printed volume between clasped hands. We may begin by reading it word by word, like a child. We progress to reading it line by line, page by page. As long as we are in this plane of life then, reality is experienced relatively. We see as in a glass, darkly, though with dawning light. And if at times the problems we have invited, the challenges we face, the concern we feel for those we love, or for humanity generally, or the state of the world, seem too much for us, there is one law above laws that we can invoke. It is the law of love, otherwise referred to as the law of grace; for grace means the gift of God. 1t is not something we have earned or can earn. It is God's free gift. Jesus alluded to it when He said that love is the fulfilling of the law. This saying may be one of the least understood of all the things He said, yet one of the most profound. Without Bondage Sometimes people think He meant that if you are loving you are not "under law." True, you will not be under bondage to the law, but the law will still exist, and you will bear some relationship to it: a deeper and a higher relationship. It means obedience not only to the letter of the law but to its spirit. It means becoming so immersed in the sense of God's love for you, that you in turn become more loving toward everyone and every condition that characterizes your world. When you are ill or otherwise afflicted, there is obviously a cause for the condition. Things do not just happen: they result. "Putting men into uniform does not make uniform men." We are alike in general, we are different in particular. Superficially our reactions may be similar. Beneath generalities there are infinite variations. "What have I done that this should have come upon me?" is an instinctive acknowledgment of a relation between ourselves and our circumstances. Whatever helps us in meeting the challenges of life is to that degree good, but there are occasions when any of what we think of as normal channels, meaning mundane ones, do not answer our need. Invoke the law that is above laws, the law of grace. You can do so by letting go all sense of bitterness, resentment, or injustice. Is there someone whom you wish to bless? Mentally enfold him in the love of God. Mentally see him as you conceive that he is in the sight of God. You are not trying to change anything. You are only clarifying your sight, to see him as God sees him. Has someone misunderstood you? Ask God to help you to communicate your good feelings. Have you misunderstood someone else? Do you have a sense of hurt feelings? No one can hurt you unless hurt was intended, and then only if you accept the hurt. Love casts out hurt feelings, dissolves them as shadows are dissolved before the light of the sun. "Tune in: turn on!" Points of Light The great Galilean said, "I am the light of the world." "You are the light of the world." "Let your light shine." In Him is the light of life, and in Him is no darkness at all. This is no mere metaphor. It is factual. It is truth. The chemical scientist, Dr. Donald Hatch Andrews, attempts to make this clear by inviting us to imagine ourself in the inner structure of an atom. It is composed of electrons whose number, arrangement, and rate of vibration give the atom its characteristic structure. "Since these electrons are moving very much like planets, you may ask whether there is anything corresponding to a sun at the center of the atom to hold these planetary electrons in their orbits... at the center you see a tiny whirling point of light." Charles Fillmore had passed into a higher dimension before Dr. Andrews, with the precision of his chemistry-trained mind, wrote these words. But some forty years ago a student, sitting with a number of others in a meditation period lead by Mr. Fillmore, was puzzled by the fact

5 that during meditation he felt much larger physically than his dimensions justified. He asked the teacher if there was some explanation for this other than imagination. The teacher's answer was that at the center of every cell and atom of the body there is a point of light. In the normal waking state, most of us do not activate this light energy. It is as if we are only partly "turned on," only partly awake, functioning at a fraction of our potential. In profound meditation the soul nature is stimulated, we "come alive." It is, he claimed, quite literally turning on more of the light that lights the life of every man coming into the world. Turn inward then, in that direction which cannot be defined by the limitations of the physical senses. When we say "inward" we do not mean to the interior of the body, though as you think of the light that Jesus spoke of, you may have a sense of warmth just below the heart in what is called the solar plexus (solar, of the sun; plexus, network or center) or sun center. Your thoughts and feelings evoke this bodily response, but do not become distracted by this fact. Do not resist it. Do not exaggerate its importance. Simply accept it, and dwell on the thought of light, light which is the light of your life, the light of the world, and silently affirm, "From the center of light within me, I radiate love and healing to all the world. The light within me is one with the light of God, the light of Christ, the light of every man everywhere. It is a light of universal love and understanding, mighty to dispel the clouds of darkness that seem so real to human sense, mighty to bring peace, brotherhood and harmony into manifestation. This concludes The Emerging Self by Ernest C. Wilson This Is Unity Continued from Page One 11. Offers more than a once-aweek religion; gives you positive ideas to think on and apply seven days a week. 12. Feels it has no exclusive right to or "corner" on truth. 13. Emphasizes the spiritual unity of all churches, faiths, men, and Truth. 14. Welcomes in dignity and love, people of all races, colors, religions, social backgrounds, and economic levels. 15. Is dedicated to loving service to individuals, society, and the world at large. 16. Proclaims the divinity of Jesus, but goes further and assures you that you, like Jesus, are a child of God and therefore divine in nature. 17. Declares that as a child of God, you inherit His goodness, His spiritual qualities, His spiritual and material abundance. 18. Stresses your dominion, as a child of God, over every challenge. 19. Seeks to relate religion to daily needs, affirming that for every need there is God's perfect answer. 20. Believes no negative condition of mind, body, or affairs is incurable. 21. Teaches and demonstrates that healing comes through believing prayer, but accepts all forms of healing as divine. 22. Believes the body of man to be the holy "temple" of God, created to express the harmony, life, and perfection of Spirit. 23. Believes the Spirit, soul or consciousness, and body of man to be a whole unit, a trinity acting in unity. 24. Invites questioning minds to seek valid reasons for faith, but recognizes that intellectual perception is fulfilled in deep conviction that leads to action. 25. Explains the mind as your connecting link with God or Divine Mind, and shows how the action of your mind affects your body and circumstances. 26. Emphasizes and explains the effective power of every thought, feeling, word, and act upon your life. 27. Teaches you a way of prayer that works, showing you how to pray affirmatively rather than in supplication. 28. Sees prayer not as a technique for changing God, but rather as a technique that expands and transforms your mind, and thus changes you. 29. Assures you that you can commune with God directly without intercessor or intermediary. 30. Worships the Christ, God's Spirit in man, rather than Jesus, the man. 31. Acknowledges Jesus as Savior, Teacher, Way-Shower, and Elder Brother. 32. Explains the Bible and relates its lessons to your life and experience in a modern, down-toearth way. 33. Interprets much of the Bible spiritually or metaphysically, since literal "letter of the law" interpretation reveals only part of the truth. 34. Accepts the Bible as its basic textbook of truth, and believes the Scriptures represent the testimonies of men who perceived much truth. (However, Unity be1ieves Truth is never final and that it is still being revealed.

6 35. Accepts and respects statements of truth from all sources, secular and religious. 36. Believes that God is good and that God is all. "In him we live, and move, and have our being." 37. Describes God as Spirit, Creator, Source, Sustainer, Divine Mind, Life, Light, Love, Energy, Principle, Divine Law, Omnipresence, Omnipotence, Omniscience, our Father. 38. Affirms God's will to be good for every man: joy, life, plenty. 39. Denies the existence of any power or presence opposed to God. There is no personal "Devil" or place called "Hell." Unity sees that there are evil appearances and suffering in the world, but ascribes these to man's ignorance and erroneous use of God's laws of life. 40. Speaks of sin in its original meaning of "missing the mark." Sin is not permanent or resistant to good. Man does not have to sin (make errors or mistakes) in order to grow, but errors can contribute to growth if he learns from them and releases himself from bondage to them. 41. Speaks of repentance as a change of heart and mind and of living. 42. Believes the Spirit of Jesus Christ to be alive and active in the world, pouring out His abundant life to all who will receive; this is His "second coming." 43. Describes salvation not as a brutal human sacrifice (or vicarious atonement) but as the expanding understanding of one's innate divinity and perfectibility through living the life demonstrated by Jesus. 44. Is not concerned with a "future life" but with teaching people how to live fully in the present, seeing the good in all things. 45. Views the present moment as part of "eternal life." You are, this moment, as close to eternal life as you can ever be. 46. Sees Jesus' resurrection as illustrating man's deathless, eternal unity with God-life. 47. Perceives in Jesus' triumph over death, His clear command for all men to accept the eternal quality of life, the goodness of life, and in so doing raise their body temples above "death" or the separation of the soul from its body. 48. Describes heaven or "the kingdom of the heavens" as a state of living in which there is harmonious mental and spiritual expansion, rather than as a place where a chosen few souls may dwell in a static eternity. 49. Has maintained for more than seventy years a continuous prayer ministry known as Silent Unity, which stands ready twenty-four hours a day to answer (without charge) prayer requests directed to its Lee's Summit headquarters by mail, telephone, and internet. 50. Carries on a teaching ministry throughout the world, through the medium of books, magazines, and other printed material, and through the spoken word of radio and television. 51. Offers to those who desire such affiliation the dedicated services of ordained Unity ministers in many centers or churches in the United States and abroad. --This is an adaptation of a pamphlet written by Bernard Dozier, a Unity minister who, in 1996, after tenure of seventeen years as minister and ecumenical leader, retired from First Unity Church, Memphis, TN. Proof Frances Marley Bell In every fragrant flower, In every patterned leaf, Is shown a love and power Vast beyond belief. In every living creature, The sunset s brilliant hue, The myriad snowflake patterns, Each drop of silver dew; In each revolving planet, The galaxies, the tides, Exists a truth triumphant God s love and wisdom guides. In all His vast creation, In objects great and small, God clearly demonstrates to us He knows and loves us all.

7 November2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir 3 Sunday Service Youth Ed AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA -7:00 PM 7 Ukulele Practice 7:00-9:00 PM 8 9 Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir Daylight Saving Time Turn Back Clocks 10 Sunday Service Youth Ed The Book Club 2:00-4:00 Cross Roads by Paul Young 13 AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA -7:00 PM Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir Fall YardClean-up 10AM 17 Sunday Service Youth Ed 18 Ladies Night Out Longhorn Steak House Lindbergh and Watson 5:30 PM AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA -7:00 PM 21 Ukulele Practice 7:00-9:00 PM Choir Rehearsal 9:00 AM Bell Choir 24 Sunday Service Youth Ed AA Men s Group 10:00 AM CA -7:00 PM All Unity Thanksgiving Worship 7PM No Choir Rehearsal No Bell Choir Rehearsal Church Christmas Decorating 10AM

8 Wings THE NOVEMBER, 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 Years of Learning I ve learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sing "Silent Night." - Age 6 I've learned that you can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. -Age 7 I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back. -Age 9 I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up. -Age 13 I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up. -Age 14 I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me. -Age 15 I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.-age 24 I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures. -Age 26 I've learned that wherever I go, the world s worst drivers have followed me there. -Age 29 I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it. -Age 39 I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it. -Age 41 I've learned that you can make someone's day by simply sending them a little card. - Age 44 I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his need to cast blame on others. -Age 46 I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies. -Age 47 I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours. -Age 49