Our Vision. Our Mission ... July 2014

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1 ... If someone asks you What is Unity? Is that like Unitarian? what do you say? At our last Board meeting we were wishing we had a great oneminute elevator speech we could give in response. But how can we tell someone in one minute all that this positive path for spiritual living means to us? It may be the preacher in me, but my answers sometimes come across a bit like a three point sermon. Too much, Cheryl, too much! The personal approach is still the best. There are more complete statements on our Unity website locally at unityyakima.org or internationally at unity.org which people can read. But what does Unity mean to you or me personally? Here are a few key ideas that come to my mind. Universal Truths: In Unity I can honor my Christian roots as I also explore the universal truths in other spiritual traditions. Science Friendly: Science and spirituality dance together in Unity as we learn more about the multi-dimensional, quantum field in which we live. Personal Empowerment: In Unity, we discover we all have the power to shape our lives and experiences through the thoughts we give energy to and the words we say to ourselves and others. Wholeness and Connection: Unity is all about wholeness and connection. We find rest for our souls, acceptance of ourselves and others, and healing for body, mind, and spirit as we connect with the Infinite Oneness of All That Is (God by many names). Grounded in Love: In Unity, we believe that Love is at the center of all. God is Love and Absolute Goodness, present everywhere and in everything including human beings. Because of this, we look for the good in every person and situation. Unity is a positive path for spiritual living. Which of these resonate most with you? What would you say on a one-minute elevator ride? If you are still puzzled by some of these statements, or by others you ve heard or read at Unity, your questions are always welcome. Specifically, on August 17, I will seek to answer a few of your questions in the morning talk, Ask the Minister. Please get your questions to me (personally or anonymously) by Sunday, August 10. Then we ll have some fun during the service on the 17 th! This month I am celebrating nine years as your minister here at Unity Spiritual Life Center in Yakima. And I am still discovering new answers to the question, What does Unity mean to me? Thanks for letting me share this journey with you! July 2014 Our Vision Our Mission Peace, Cheryl

2 Community Outreach: Supplying dinner for 30 homeless teens This is truly Love in Action. On the third Wednesday of each month we supply dinner to Rod s House, a shelter for homeless teens. You can sign up to bring a main dish, a salad, rolls or a dessert for people. Community Outreach: Making Sandwiches for Homeless This is truly Love in Action. On the first Sunday of each month Unity rotates with three other churches in hosting Sandwiches for the Homeless. All are welcome to come help. It takes less than an hour to make sandwiches! Unity Spiritual Life Center Drop in anytime! This class meets every Wednesday from 10:45-noon. Beforehand, from 10:15-10:40am, there is quiet meditation with music in the sanctuary. Currently studying: The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche DRUMMING CIRCLE! On a break until September 2014 The ONENESS BLESSING is offered here at USLC! Now every Sunday morning downstairs in the prayer room from 9:45 to 10:15 am. Everyone is welcome to receive the blessing. 401 S. 8th Avenue -Yakima WA Dial-A-Blessing: Website: UnityYakima.org Minister@UnityYakimaMail.org Office: Chris@UnityYakimaMail.org Sunday Celebration - 10:30am Office hours - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Every Thursday from 5:30-6:30pm This group is for anyone who wants to improve their health. We will be using mind/ body affirmations like those found in the new book, All is Well, Heal Your Body with Medicine, Affirmations, and Intuition by Louise L. Hay and Mona Lisa Schulz, MD, PhD. Each session will include information on healthy eating by Maxine Burns. Come join us to give and get support to imagine yourself healthy! Minister..Rev. Cheryl Rohret Music Director...LeAnne Watrous Pianist..Sylvia Holtman Adm. Assistant.Chris Roybal Newsletter...Chris Roybal Board of Directors Patricia Flores Lynn Pahl Tish Powers Todd Hottell Brenda Porter Lisa Savage Youth Education Dawn Fulton Janet Hattrup UniTeens Andy Martin Serena Phillips Participants will be taken on guided meditations with shamanic drumming to connect with animal totems and spiritual guides. New teachings called "One Earth, One Heart" for the new earth and upcoming changes will be presented at all classes. Everyone is welcome! $15 per class Monday, July 28th Contact Unity Church to register or Franki Storlie at Visit Franki's website at 12-Step Support Groups that meet at Unity Alcoholics Anonymous The Early Birds Everyday - 6:30am Al-Anon Steps to Recovery Every Wednesday 5:30pm

3 10:30 am In this month when we celebrate our nation s independence, let us affirm freedom for ourselves as well. We affirm freedom from old patterns of thought that take away our energy. We affirm freedom to begin again in any moment. We affirm freedom to enjoy life as in, have fun! And we affirm freedom to live in oneness with the One. Strike up the band and light some sparklers we are FREE! July 6 Love It AND Leave It Behind In The Game of Life, Florence Scovel Shinn tells us we have the power through our spoken words to change every failure into success. How? Not by fighting against what we don t want. That gives it power. Rather, we consciously bless what we ve been calling a mess and give it no more of our attention. As we learn to use this law of nonresistance, we are freed to move on toward our higher good. Yes! July 13 When Grace Trumps Karma Life is a game of boomerangs, Florence tells us. She s talking about the spiritual law of karma: that the thoughts and words we put out into the universe will return to us in kind. Yikes! The good news is that the more our thoughts and words focus on kindness and love, the more those come back to us. And when we forget? That s where the grace of forgiveness offers a mid-course correction to life s boomerangs. Whew! July 20 Creating Snowballs in July Small actions can bring big results. We discover this in Unity when we decide to make a small change in our thoughts by replacing a habitual, negative thought with a conscious, positive affirmation. Those seemingly small affirmations often become the first step in changing our attitudes, our actions, and our lives. Wouldn t it be fun if each of us took a positive action today and suddenly all our small actions together snowballed into greater good than we even intended? Snowballs in July? Why not! July 27 Tuning in to the Infinite Have you ever wanted to move forward in your life but didn t know which way to go? Florence tells us that this is a time to ask for Divine Guidance for a definite lead. It s time to get quiet and listen for the still small voice of God. Intuition is one way God speaks to us. We get an unexplainable hunch about something or synchronicity happens. Listen! Guidance is here for us. How will we respond? Coming in August! Ask the Minister Day! Have you wondered about something you ve heard at Unity? Would you like clarification on some phrase or idea? Get your questions to Cheryl by Sunday, August 10, and she will address as many as she can during her talk on August 17. Should be fun!

4 Office closed on Friday Hike at Ohanapecosh! Saturday, July 26th Hiking to Silver Falls and the Grove of the Patriarchs. 6 miles roundtrip We ll meet at Bi-Mart parking lot on 40th at 9:00am. Bring lunch, water, sun screen. NOTES from the LIBRARY This month we acquired children s books and I d like to tell you about a few of them. Yes, I had to read them all. (I couldn t help myself.) Ted Bear s Magic Swing, by Dianne Baker is a Unity Wee Wisdom book. It is about the value of quiet time, inspiration and cooperation. Quest for the Crystal Castle, by Dan Millman is a Peaceful Warrior Children s Book. Good Night God, by Holly Bea is a sweet bedtime story. But of the books we have, so far, my favorite is The Lovables in the Kingdom of Self-Esteem, by Diana Loomans. I love the colorful creative illustrations, the message and... the rhymes. Remember Dr. Seuss?

5 Book Study Vote! Cast Your Vote! It s time to start thinking about the Fall Small Groups Book Study. Have you read a book or heard of one that you think would be great for our book study? Fill out the form and send it or drop it off. There are also forms available at the information desk in the bookstore. All suggestions must be in by Monday, July 21, and then we will all vote after service on Sunday, August 10th. You must be present to vote Book Study Vote Your Name Phone # Book Title Author Theme/Subject Why do you think this would make a good book study? Here at Unity Spiritual Life Center we believe trusting God IS the key to prosperity and abundance. It s been one full year since we stepped out in faith and took out a loan to give our building the TLC it needed! We asked folks for a 6-month commitment of $25 to help us pay back the loan. We were blessed from everyone who committed during our first year - thank you! We even have a couple of loan payments in reserve. We are now soliciting folks to commit to the next year in 6 month increments, July 2014 December 2014 and/or January 2015 July If you are interested in committing to an extra $25 a month, over and above your usual giving, please fill out the small yellow form and put it in the offering plate, give to Rev. Cheryl or to Chris. Loan Payment Commitment I m ready to give per month, starting July 6, 2014 (over and above my usual tithe) with the option of renewing in January I m willing to give per month, starting January 4, 2015 (over and above my usual tithe) with the option of renewing in July I m open to give in the future and offer my prayer support now. Anything received over the payment amount will be paid towards the principle balance. Signed Printed Name Date

6 Financial Report June s Operational Income: $13581 Expenses: $13140 Our spiritual community thrives because of you! To all of you who mail in their checks before leaving on vacation, thank you for realizing that every tithe counts. Together we make a difference in our community and in the world! We are affirming that the gap of $1657 between what we received and what we needed to pay is closing now. Thank you, God! BBQ & 50/50 Raffle were a huge success bringing in $509! Thank your for support! We gratefully share what we receive! Unity believes in the spiritual practice of tithing. As we share our income with others, we also generously receive. In June, we tithed 10% of our total income to: Unity Worldwide Ministries, Unity NW Region, Yakima Food Bank, Neighborhood Health s 107 House. You can now donate and/or tithe right from our website! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Did you know that if you register your Safeway Club card through the escrip program that Safeway will donate a percent of every purchase you make in their stores to Unity? Each month Safeway Stores generously donate to schools, churches and other nonprofits through escrip. Call Chris to sign up. THANK YOU ESCRIP AND SAFEWAY!! Reminder: Don t forget to save a little bit of water from various places you visit this summer for our Town Hall Meeting! Join us and find out what s going on. Sunday, July 27th at 11:45 Blending of the Waters ceremony at the end of summer.

7 Hello, I wanted to start by thanking everyone who made contributions to our Youth Program BBQ & 50/50 Raffle! Our final total for the BBQ was $210 and $299 for the raffle with half ($149.50) going to the raffle winner, Lynn Pahl! This enables us to send desirous youth and their parents/guardians to the Unity Multigenerational Camp this summer, and fund other youth activities. We are going to continue to work to raise money with a fundraising Pie & Cookie Auction on July 20st after the 10:30 service. We are also happy to accept direct donations, please just write Unity Youth Activities on your check. This will be the second year that we our sponsoring our Youth so that they could attend a Unity Camp. It is exciting and we appreciate your support. Upcoming Lessons for this month are as follows: Date Uniteens Lesson Kid s Lesson 7/6/13 Unity Basics for Life Why Pray? The Power of the Spoken Word 7/13/13 Unity Basics for Life How Unity Prays I AM 7/20/31 Crystal Dawn - Labyrinth Lesson Cookie Decorating 7/27/13 Unity Basics for Life How Prayer Works Release & Affirmation. Pulling the weeds, planting flowers in My Life Kind regards, Dawn Fulton Fun at the Youth BBQ Fundraiser! Come join us for a Pie & Cookie Auction! Sunday, July 20th After service the Youth Ministry fundraising continues! This fundraiser was a huge success last year because of our wonderful bakers! Don t miss it!

8 401 S. 8th Avenue - Yakima WA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED July 2014 If you do not want to receive this newsletter, please mark the box and return to your letter carrier We re on the Web: Sent with love and blessings to: UNITY s Annual Church POTLUCK Mark your calendar! Join us Sunday, August 3rd at 12:00pm! Michael Wilding is hosting at his house again this year MIERAS RD ~East on Nob Hill, which turns into HWY 24, left on Birchfield, right on Mieres Road - Michaels house is on the right side (about 3 miles). Hamburger/Veggie burgers w/buns provided bring salad, chips, fruit or dessert to share. BYO chairs and beverages. Yards games if you have them.