From Our Spiritual Leader, Glennie Smith Dear Spiritual Family, Can you feel the excitement in the air? There is a plan a-foot and lots of brainstorming going on! You will see in the following newsletter pages that Unity of Rockford is alive and kicking. We have many activities and plans for the future! Our big screen debut: Earlier in the month, we experienced our first "National Internet Sunday Message" from Edwene Gaines (Unity of Phoenix), a dynamic speaker right in our living room! We now have the capability to stream Unity Speakers from all over the world as part of our Sunday service. We are so blessed to have this technology. Speaking of technology, our church computer crashed last week. No worries! During Sunday's service, we asked for a second collection and received enough money to pay for a new computer. Now, THAT'S abundance consciousness! Thank you all for your generous tithing. Through generosity and vision, we continue to meet our goals for 2012. Phase "One" of our "Back Pack Ministry" was a huge success. Thank you to Cindy Lawson and Agnes Pagan for their dedication & vision. Twenty back packs were stuffed with "Back to School" supplies for children at the women's shelter. Phase "Two" begins in September, where we will supply back packs for homeless youth. Agnes will provide more information as we approach September. Committee work abounds! We have many committees starting this month as we prepare for all the programming which starts in September. Youth Education, Board member search, you name it, we're doing it. Join us in our efforts. As a spiritual family, we have dreamed big, worked hard and now are enjoying the harvest of our collective efforts. As Goethe said: "What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it Only engage and then the mind grows heated; Begin and then the work will be completed." I am so excited to experience what we will manifest next! Namaste, Glennie Christ Church Unity of Rockford There is so much to tell you! Please check page two for information on the return of Youth Education, child care, Uniteens & potlucks; board member nominations; the quest for a new electric piano/organ/instrument; the ongoing search for volunteers--we love your help with everything! Marque su calendario - se le invita a una celebración de cumpleaños con Agnes! Domingo, 09 de septiembre 2012 contará con ponentes invitados (Shirley Paisley y Jill Dixon de Decatur), la música, una niña de cumpleaños cierta y un tema de Puerto Rico! Traiga amigos, aportan energía, prepárate para pasar un buen rato.* (*For those of you who are Spanish impaired Mark your calendar--you are invited to a Birthday Celebration with Agnes! Sunday, September 9, 2012 will feature guest speakers (Shirley Paceley from Decatur), music, a certain birthday girl and a Puerto Rican theme! Bring friends, bring energy, get ready to have some fun.) Speaking of Agnes, congratulations for being named MVP at work! Want more info on Edwene Gaines, our internet speaker? Check out Unity of Phoenix: "Recognized as a leading expert on prosperity, Edwene overcame poverty to live a lifestyle of wealth. Her empowering messages which include her bestselling book, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity speak to the true meaning of prosperity, and can help anyone achieve a life of abundance!" Here's the link to "Secret of Permanent Prosperity," the video sermon we enjoyed a few weeks ago: http://www.unityphx.org/worship/ messages06.html www.unityofrockford.com 4831 Manchester Drive, Rockford IL 61109 (815) 229-7100 info@unityofrockford.com
Thank you, Mary Kegel! We would like to thank Mary for her invaluable service over the years as the Youth Education Leader. She is stepping down from her youth education endeavors, but no worries-- Mary plans on volunteering in other capacities such as singing in the choir, providing hospitality and being a pulpit assistant. Thanks for all you've done for the Youth Program & for our church, Mary! Sunday School Volunteers Needed!! Needed: - Teachers/helpers for children ages 3 and over. Requirements: A loving, patient heart and a little bit of your time. We have easy to use teaching materials as well as many activity and craft supplies. When: Whenever your heart guides you; once, twice a month, or more if you like. What you will gain: Personal and spiritual growth. What the children will gain: Your warm, loving presence and spiritual guidance. If interested contact: Laura Edwards 815.979.7499 lauralynn2217@hotmail.com Book Bags & School Supplies Provided to the Rockford Rescue Mission Women s Crisis Center As reported by Cindy Lawson Youth Education at Rockford Unity Julie Thompson, Laura Edwards, Kate Warren and Michelle Bowers have lovingly agreed to lead our church's youth education program. Glennie says, "Thank you for your dedication to the youth program--our children are our future and you are leading our youth to higher consciousness." Uniteens is held every second Sunday and is lead by Kate Warren. Sunday school leadership is on a rotating basis, with a call to the church's membership for additional teachers! It's not too late to join the fun. If you are interested in learning more about being a volunteer youth education leader, please contact Laura Edwards. The schedule for September 2012 is: 9/2 Julie 9/9 Laura (Kate Uniteens) 9/16 Michelle 9/23 Laura 9/30 TBA Approximately $400 worth of school supplies were delivered to the Women s Crisis Center on August 6 th. The supplies were very much appreciated by the staff and moms. I actually heard one of the kids say Book Bags! I need a Book Bag! A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who contributed. Special thanks to Agnes for the shopping spree with all the monetary donations. Below is a list of supplies that were donated it should blow you away - I know it did me! 20 book bags 30 scissors 38 boxes of Crayons 32 rulers 138 pens 54 boxes of pencils 22 boxes of colored pencils 24 boxes of erasers 20 pencil boxes 20 pencil sharpeners 52 folders 22 binders 35 notebooks 30 packages of paper 24 glue sticks 20 toothbrushes 20 dental floss pkgs. 40 small toothpastes Uniteens has resumed! Teens: Join us the 2nd Sunday of the month!
Abundance Divine Love through me, blesses and multiplies all that I am, all that I have, all that I give, and all that I receive. Thank you to all of our generous contributors. We all make a difference! July Income: $4067.11 July Expenses: $4098.32 Net: (31.21) Tithes for July 2012: $3919.00. As always, the full fiscal report is displayed at the church on the foyer/ entryway bulletin board. Members are always welcomed to view the report, ask questions, make suggestions. Prosperity and abundance to all! Upcoming Guest Speakers: Sunday, August 19, 2012-- Marge Orchard Sunday, August 26, 2012-- Donna Addison DON'T FORGET: POTLUCKS ARE BACK! Now that Fall has arrived, it's time to resume our monthly potlucks. Bring a dish to pass and a hearty appetite every second Sunday of the month, as this church knows how to put on a spread! Don't have a dish to pass? Join us, anyways--we love to share. Music to Our Ears We are sad to report.our organ is showing signs of aging. (Now THAT'S a funny sentence!) Whatever you call it (electric piano, organ, digital keyboard, clavinova), we need a new one! If you've ever noticed, Ron keeps a potted plant on top of the clavinova so it won't vibrate when he plays it. That humming, buzzing noise we sometimes hear when Ron is Infamous stop-thevibration potted plant entertaining us with a beautiful solo? Yup, that's the vibration the plant is supposed to be quieting. In addition, several of the keys have stopped sounding. It's time to go shopping! An "Electric Piano committee" (we couldn't come up with a better name) has been formed and includes Ron Lawson, Marlene Flohr and Bill Edmundson. The committee is charged with the mission of looking for a new instrument and selling the old equipment. The Women of Unity are excited to provide financial backing for this project. They will meet with the Piano committee in early September to discuss the committee's finding and to secure new equipment. Board Nominations It's that time of year again when we seek prospective Board members. The Nominating Committee (at this point Marlene Flohr, Sharon Glawe and Glennie Smith) are busy calling church members to determine if they are interested in serving on the Board of Directors for the next three years. Both Steve Hoskinson and Bill Edmundson have served two consecutive years and will thus retire from their positions in October 2012. T If you are interested in being on the Board or if you would like to nominate someone for the Board, please contact the Nominating Committee as soon as possible--time is short! If you need more information about serving on the Board or would like to read the bylaws to learn more about the duties and responsibilities of the Board, please ask any current Board member and they will assist you. Thank you, Steve and Bill! Glennie writes, "We want to thank Steve and Bill for their hard work and dedication over the past six years. They have served our church family with integrity as true leaders. We bless you both and extend our heartfelt gratitude for your many years of service."
Unity designated 2012 as the year to Discover the Power Within You, linking with the powerful book of the same name by Rev. Eric Butterworth. Each month focuses on a different topic, correlating with the 12 most requested prayer s received by Silent Unity. How to Reverse Financial Adversity (Part I) by Eric Butterworth http://www.unity.org/resources/articles/how-reverse-financial-adversity-part-1 It is sometimes said of a person that one is "into the market." Usually, this indicates that the person has an investment portfolio of stocks and bonds. In a very real sense, we are all "into the market," for unless we are living as a hermit in a cave, we require goods and services in order to live and a source of income to make it possible, which is very much affected by the fluctuation of the economy People may be talking about supply-side economics; perhaps what is needed is Truth-side economics. Psalms 1:1-3 has a great prosperity lesson for contemporary times: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." The Psalmist clearly states that if you refuse to agree with the gossip of negative people (the council of the wicked) and keep yourself in tune with the divine law of prosperity, then you can be certain that substance will flow as easily to you as substance flows to the tree planted by the river of water. A very important realization! The great discovery of the new insight in Truth is that consciousness is the key to all things that happen to us, certainly the key to personal prosperity. The starting point in changing your life from financial reverses to an experience of abundance is the realization that you can change your life by altering your thoughts. You begin by taking responsibility for your own life. As long as you are hung up on paranoid thoughts such as "It is what they are doing," "It is what is happening in Washington," "Office politics!" and "The IRS is harassing me" then you cannot find help of any kind through Truth In every attempt in life, there must be the possibility of success and failure. We must have the stability and the perspective to deal with both success and failure in spiritual poise. You see, to become too elated with success and too crushed by defeat is indicative of an imbalance. In every setback, we should be buoyed up with the realization that nothing is ever a complete loss. There is always some gain, some growth. And in every success, we should be humbled with the realization that without the action of forces greater than ourselves, we could not have succeeded. Life is fundamentally a matter of growing, a growth experience. Missing the mark is one of the ways in which we learn to hit the target. Failure is a vital part of achieving success. We have erroneously thought of success as "getting there," while actually success is "earning the right to be there." And earning means learning. Setbacks, even failures, may be an important part of that learning. This may include a stock that didn't perform as expected, a brief fling in a business that failed, or even an occasional experience of unemployment. They are all ways in which we earn the right to achieve the prosperity and success that we all dream about. Any education that prepares people only for success and not for coping with the frustration of things going wrong is sadly deficient. It simply succeeds in inhibiting a large number of people from attempting ventures where failure is a possibility, which severely cripples this creativity and imagination Ready to read Part 2? Go to http://www.unity.org/resources/articles/how-reverse-financial-adversitypart-2 to read "the rest of the story!
CHRIST CHURCH UNITY OF ROCKFORD Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting--July 1, 2012 PLEASE NOTE: THERE WAS NOT A QUOREM AT THE JULY 2012 BOARD MEETING; THUS, AUGUST'S BOARD MINUTES WILL REFLECT FURTHER DISCUSSION, ACTION & APPROVAL IN REGARDS TO JULY'S BOARD MEETING. Thanks! Call to Order & Roll Call at 11:30 a.m. by President Jerry Glawe. Present: Steve, Jerry, Craig, Bill. Absent: Donna Addison, Kathy Kelly. Guests: Jackie DeVries, Craig Laurent Opening Prayer Glennie Secretary's Report Craig Pearson. Minutes of June meeting read by Craig. Move to accept by Steve, 2nd by Bill, Unanimous Treasurer's Report. No Treasurer s report as Kathy was absent Christ Church Unity Board of Directors Steve Hoskinson cbs270@verizon.net 815-885-9974 Service Years: 2006-2009; 2009-2012 Jerry Glawe.jerico7711@aol.com 815-885-1048 Service Years: 2008-2011; 2011-2014 Kathy Kelley.Kelleydvd@aol.com 815-874-6345 Service Years: 2008-2011; 2011-2014 Craig Pearson.pearson7618@comcast.net 815-988-6088 Service Years: 2007-2010; 2010-2013 Donna "Addi" Addison addiwp@gmail.com 815-636-0761 Service Years: 2010-2013 Bill Edmundson.bill@wazooo.com 815-397-9618 Service Years: 2006-2009; 2009-2012 Spiritual Leader's Report Glennie Smith. Jerry Glawe will be the speaker on July 15 th and Marge Orchard will be the guest speaker on July 29th Committee Reports Building and Grounds: The City of Rockford says they have scheduled the ditch repair project to be completed in August 2012 Larry s Library: None. Sound Room: Bill said he will have the wire run from the computer in Glennie s office to the projector so we can begin streaming videos to the projector Women Of Unity The garage sale earned approximately $1600. A big thank you to everyone that made this a success New Business Glennie started a discussion on her possible decision to step down as Spiritual Leader when her contract expires in September 2013. The growing demands of both Glennie and Jackie s parents are making it very stressful. She wanted to give the board plenty of time to consider our options as we go forward. Craig asked if there was anything we could do to help alleviate the situation from the church s position, like use the projection system at least twice a month for videos with guest speakers from around the country. Glennie thought that would help very much in the time consuming task of preparing each Sunday s talk. Craig made a motion to use video guest speakers twice a month, 2 nd Steve, Unanimous. Old Business: The new printer has been installed in the office downstairs and is a big improvement. Motion to adjourn by Craig, 2nd by Glennie. Adjourned at 12:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Craig Pearson-- Secretary
Sunday, August 19, 2012 Speaker: Marge Orchard Pulpit Assistant: David Kelley Greeters: Kate Warren & Laura Edwards Special Music: Daniel Nahmod Hymn: #221 Weave (hymnal) Sound: Bill Edmundson Debbi Johnson & Ro Giacomazzo Sunday, August 26, 2012 9:25am Unity Singers meet Speaker: Donna Addi Addison Pulpit Assistant: Ebony Smith Greeters: Mary Kegel & Special Music: Unity Singers Hymn: #221 It s A Special Day (hymnal) Sound: Bill Edmundson Sunday, September 2, 2012 Speaker: Glennie Smith Pulpit Assistant: Agnes Pagan Greeters: Alex Pollock & Beth Lowry Special Music: Ron Lawson Hymn: #356 I ve Got Peace Like A River (hymnal) Sound: Bill Edmundson Youth Education: Julie Sunday, September 9, 2012 9:25am Choir Rehearsal UNITEENS TODAY! Potlluck after Service AGNES BIRTHDAY!! 11:30am Board Meeting Speaker: Shirley Paceley Pulpit Assistant: Glennie Smith Greeters: Dennis Hines & Debbi Johnson Special Music: Jill Dixson Hymn: #359 We Make Our Own World Youth Education: Laura Sound: To Be Announced! Sunday, September 16, 2012 Speaker: Marge Orchard Pulpit Assistant: Jerry Glawe Greeters: Cindy Lawson & Special Music: Ruth Ann Lillstrom? Hymn: #358 I Love Unity (hymnal) Sound: To be Announced! Sharon Glawe Youth Education: Michelle Sunday, September 23, 2012 9:25am Choir Rehearsal Speaker: Glennie Smith Pulpit Assistant: Craig Pearson Greeters: Special Music: Unity Singers Hymn: #306 Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (hymnal) Sound: Bill Edmundson Youth Education: Laura All scheduling information provided above is tentative at best! Don't panic if you signed up for something and your name isn't listed--we can't keep up with you or Jackie! If you'd like to volunteer for an "opening," please do so by signing up on the lower level or find Jackie. Thanks.