The
Messenger
October-November 2011, Vol. 27, Issue 6
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PASTOR'S MESSAGE: I WILL PRAY FOR YOU | PRESIDENT'S CORNER | SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICE
I Will Pray For You...
Rev. Jim Fuller
When you say
“I will pray for you,”
what exactly are you
planning to do?
Are you intending
to
ask God or Jesus
for a favor on
someone’s behalf?
Please consider the following, if you pray to God to remove an illness or a problem from someone you are implying that God has the power to do that but been choosing not to, so perhaps “He” needs a nudge. Some people pray to a saint, asking the saint to nudge God. Others participate in elaborate and sometimes beautiful prayers or ceremonies designed to summon help for others. I question whether God, the Infinite Creative and Loving Intelligence of the Universe, is any more moved by our prayers – elaborate or simple – than the sun is moved by the passing of a cloud. That said; I do believe that prayer works. Prayer for ourselves and prayers for others has been scientifically proven to speed healing and improve health. I personally know people who have been healed by prayer alone. I know others who have successfully used prayer to enhance the outcome of medical treatments. Clearly prayer can be effective and powerful.
Unity teaches that prayer works because it helps us shift our thinking from the level of problems or symptoms to the level of wholeness and oneness, to the level of eternal Spirit. When someone turns their attention “toward God”, even toward a God in the sky, they are expressing trust in something greater than the problem at hand. When people ask saints for help, they are acknowledging the availability of “spiritual support” in whatever form their mind might imagine. But the support doesn’t come from the sky or the image; it comes from the presence of God that is as Jesus said, “at hand.” Prayer at its core is simply a process for turning our attention away from the problem and toward the solution, which is always God at hand. Once that inner shift has occurred we find our prayers answered quickly and completely, and often in ways that are much better than what we might have imagined.
Because of our tendency to place “God” up in the sky, Unity encourages the use of Denials and Affirmations. These are refocusing prayers designed to help redirect our un-prayerful thinking. Denials re-mind us: that no-thing or condition has power over us; and that the appearance of symptoms or problematic situations is just that, an appearance. Affirmations re-mind us: that love and goodness is present with us always; and that the power and the life of God is alive in our minds and our bodies. To the extent that we begin to realize the truth of these ideas for ourselves, we become more effective “prayers” for others.
When praying for others we might begin by praying for ourselves, by raising our awareness beyond the level of appearances and toward Ultimate Truth (another name for God.) Become still and know that God is with you in your moment of prayer. Know that God is the very life force moving through the body you are inhabiting. Know that God, as infinite intelligence and truth, is alive in you. With practice you may begin to sense an alive and expansive consciousness in you. Your ability to know truth and feel connected does not need to be perfect for your prayers to be effective, but turning your attention in this direction is important.
Once you have made your inner shift, bring the person you are praying for to mind. Begin to re-mind yourself that this person is also alive with infinite intelligence and life; that he or she is filled with wisdom and power at all times. Re-mind yourself that any appearances to the contrary are temporary appearances that have no power over the person. Know that it is the will of All Creation for this person to experience his or her wholeness, happiness, contentment and joy. Remember that all these things are already present in the person and around them. If you can, feel the peace that comes from knowing this about the person you pray for. You may want to close your prayer by thanking the Mind of God, present in you, for helping you see the person correctly. This is a prayer of great power. This is a prayer of saying yes to the holy creation of God that this person is. And since all minds are connected the person you are holding in prayer has received support for their healing through your prayer.
Some people like to incorporate visual images in their prayers. They may imagine the person they pray for, or themselves, looking happy or strong, perhaps smiling or looking contented. Other people may imagine the person surrounded in light, as if the light of God was shining brightly through and around them. I have used the image of the person comfortably nestled in a soft pink cloud; an image reminds me of safely and peacefully resting in God. With difficult people I have placed myself beside the person in the cloud, sharing the peace. Images that help us connect with feelings of wellbeing work in much the same way as affirmations, helping the prayer shift our minds away from appearances or problems and toward the remembrance of wholeness and peace. Pray for one another but pray by remembering the person’s wholeness, after all that’s the way God sees them… and you.
May your mind be filled with thoughts, images and feelings of wholeness, wellness and peace; and may those thoughts flow freely from you to bless the world we share. Amen.
president's corner: First Peace
By Heather Diddel
On the beautifully clear, sunshine-washed morning of September 11, 2011, I arrived at Unity for the early service at exactly 8:46. That was the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City ten years earlier. I had been listening to the NPR broadcast of the memorial service in the City, and as I opened the car door, the first sound I heard was the lone wail of a fire engine siren. And I was suddenly filled with emotion. I thought of the firemen and other people who lead lives in service of others, both at that very moment and 10 years earlier. And every day in between. Even though the price can be their lives, as it was for many on 9/11.
In that moment, I was overcome with gratitude for those who give of themselves in that way, and felt a deep, passionate yearning for PEACE.
Throughout the entire planet. Everywhere. Now. Starting with this breath. These next words. These next thoughts. Small step by small step, we can walk the path of peace. With passion, fierce commitment, and an open heart.
I share with you the inspiring words of an 18th century Oglala Sioux spiritual leader, Black Elk. I read them often.They help me remember a simple truth to guide me on my path: Peace must start within each one of us first. And as we live our inner peace, that peace will move out into the world:
“The First Peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the Universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, and that this center is everywhere, and it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and others are but reflections of this.
The second peace is that which is made by two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations.
But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace which as I have often said, is within the souls of the people.”
May we each be inspired to walk the path of peace, each in our own way, small step by small step!
spotlight on service: Dottie Frament
by John Daubney
Dottie’s journey is a testament to the inspirational power of our willingness to serve others in doing what we love to do. Just as Dottie was impassioned by those she saw joyfully giving service, others in the congregation will most likely be lit by the “sparks” Dottie throws off as she freely gives of herself at Unity. Passionate service is contagious!!
“When I think about my journey with service at Unity, I am reminded of the words attributed to Mother Teresa in a Scott Kalechstein song: “In this life we can’t do great things, only small things with great love.”
I should back up and say that serving with great love is a radical shift from the way I provided service before coming to Unity. Both my husband (Paul) and I were very involved over the years in service to our previous church community. With a strongly developed sense of duty and responsibility, we were both heavily involved in Sunday liturgy, served on the parish council, taught youth religious education, etc. By the time we came to Unity in 2005, however, we felt spiritually dry and in need of a respite from responsibility. I was also working full time as a home care Occupational Therapist at this time, and was well on my way to caregiver burnout. We were tired and thirsty travelers looking for fresh water to revive ourselves!
So, for our first 1- 2 years here, we just drank from Unity’s well without giving back. I came to church to enjoy the inspiring music, be among welcoming people, drink in the inspiration from Rev. Jim’s sermons, and partake in thecoffee and hospitality after church. After being “takers” for more than a year, we began to notice that we could stop being defensive about having to join the church or take on a job. There was no one pressuring us, only people nurturing and reviving us.
About that time, a miracle happened. I had known Phyllis Pulver from Friends in Harmony, but I would never consider singing in front of a group. That is until Phyllis extended an invitation to anyone in the congregation who loved to sing, to sing with Unity’s Fourth Sunday Singers. Since one of my passions is singing from my heart, I sheepishly volunteered. Soon, I was arranging my calendar to always be in town on 3rd and 4th Sundays, so that I could practice and sing on 4th Sundays. This, my first service at Unity, was a heart opening, joyful experience for which I will always be grateful.
Following this same inspiration, to volunteer with what I so enjoy, I offered to help out in the meditation garden. Paul and I still thank Donna Britton and Norma Seaward for inspiring us to join them in doing what we love to do. We enjoy the fun and fellowship when gardening as much as we enjoy the beauty and sacredness of nature when we work alone.
From these small beginning activities, it was then easy to volunteer to help out with Hospitality after Sunday service and then also to be on the Unity Church Cares Committee (UCCC) (Have you everyknown two more joyful people than Heather Diddel and Diane Teutschman, the women who head up these services?) Both the Hospitality and the UCC committees are about doing small things with great love. I enjoy meeting new people, so I found it easy and fun to make coffee and set up snacks to facilitate this experience for others. UCCC is another opportunity, to offer our love and compassion by simply sending a card or flowers to someone who maybe experiencing difficult times.
However, when I was asked the 3rd time to run for the Board of Trustees, I was besieged with fears. Although clear that I wanted to give back to Unity for all the goodness I was receiving, I now perceived this service offer as being a BIG service commitment. But, I also recalled the number of times that Heather Diddel had told me that it was a joy to serve on the Board; that she had grown spiritually by working with our Board members who aimed to apply Unity principles in their daily life. Could I trust this might come to be true for me as well?
Well, my skepticism receded in a flash while in prayer, when it came to me to just trust that Spirit would use me in a way I could not yet imagine and in a way that would serve me and our church. Since being on the Board, I have experienced, in sometimes dramatic ways, the release of limiting beliefs that has brought forth my unused/unknown talents in service to others.
You’ll see the power of Spirit, if, when it comes my time to give the Treasurer’s report to the congregation, I can embody the enthusiasm and love of my predecessor, DennisRyan … as I confidently sport a green accountant’s visor.”
The
mission of Unity Church in Albany is to
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, at Easter his death and resurrection. In the months between we reflect on his life and teachings. Assuming that Jesus hasn’t just been “sitting at the right hand of God” since that first Easter what might he be up to today? The more curious among us may even wonder; what had he been doing prior to that birth? In the Gospel of John Jesus is quoted as saying, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) What might that imply? 
We are about to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth who is remembered throughout history as Jesus the Christ. The birth of Jesus may be understood on two levels. At the human level we may recall the birth of a child (a “son of man”) who would rise from obscurity to become one of the greatest teachers and healers this world has known. On the spiritual level we may understand his birth as the re-birth of awakened consciousness into a world lost in dreams of physical bodies, separated identities, and conflicting agendas. 
Just as the child you once were 
Unity came into my life about 30 years ago. It came at a time when I was lost and felt desperate. My marriage of 35 years had suddenly ended. Our children, by then, were independent, happily well established, and building their own lives and families. But, I was lost. So I immersed myself in my professional counseling career but with a heavy heart. With some desperation I attended New Age workshops at Omega Institute and elsewhere to lift my spirits. Out of the many contacts I made, one friend suggested Unity as a spiritual haven. At that time Unity of Albany consisted of a small group meeting in a private home (the home of Peggy White) on the corner of Manning Blvd. and Western Ave. Among those attending was Audrey Madison who attends Unity to this day. The fellowship and spiritual principles made me feel right at home. It became a larger family for me, and has continued to be a stable presence ever since.