Ministry & Leadership
Spiritual Leaders |
|
Rev. Gregory Guice |
Minister > read biography... |
Rev. Helen Fischer |
Adjunct Minister |
Board of Directors |
|
Don Stickler |
President |
Tammi Bemman |
Vice President |
Anna Ferman |
Treasurer |
Brenda Ondejko |
Secretary |
Cheryl Herrmann |
Director |
Neal Porter |
Director |
Fred Smith |
Director |
| Other Leaders | |
| Cheryl Herrmann | Youth Program Director |
| Paul Ferman | Bookstore Coordinator |
| Sarah Sue Salter | Hospitality Coordinator |
| Dan Bemman | Media Coordinator |
| Pat Fuelling | Greeter/Usher Coordinator |
| Paul Ferman | Newsletter Editor |
Church Founders |
|
Pat & Wes Fuelling |
Founders |
Rev. Gregory Guice
Rev. Guice became a Unity Minister in 2000. He previously served as Senior Minister at Unity Christ Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, before returning to his hometown of Detroit. Before coming to Unity Church of Lake Orion in February 2008, Reverend Guice served Detroit Unity Temple as co-minister for over two years. He also serves on the board at Unity Institute and various committees at Unity Village. Gregory is married to Francine Guice.
Reverend Guice received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Sociology at Kentucky State University. His next educational experience was at Marygrove College in Detroit where his curriculum was in Early Childhood Studies. Finally, Reverend Guice received as Master of Arts Degree in Clinical Psychology at the Center for Humanistic Studies in Detroit in 1986.
As he stepped into the work world, Reverend Guice performed as a counselor and teacher for three years at the Gesu School in Detroit, moving next to Wayne State University, also in Detroit, from 1990 through 1993, where he worked as a family support specialist/family counselor. Remaining in the Detroit area, Reverend Guice worked for the Board of Education as an attendance agent in tuition and immigration.
Feeling the call to the ministry, Reverend Guice filled many positions at the Detroit Unity Temple, starting as a spiritual counselor, church coordinator for Men of Unity, and the community youth director for their “On the Wings of Eagles” program. He handled all of these jobs simultaneously, from 1996 through 1999. Then, in January 1997, he became the youth lay minister at the Temple, moving up to assistant to the minister in June of 1998. At this same time he was taking the required courses to become a Unity Minister and was ordained at the Unity School for Religious Studies in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in 2000. Unity Christ Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was happy to offer him a position as Senior Minister in July of 2000, which he accepted.
Back to TopHistory of Unity Church of Lake Orion
Unity Church of Lake Orion was founded by Pat & Wes Fuelling in 1997. The following is Mr. Fuelling's account of how the church was formed.
In early 1996, after traveling some 35 miles to the Church of Today in Warren, MI every Sunday for many years, my wife Pat and I felt that that there might be an oopportunity to start a church in the Northern Oakland County area. Since we lived in Lake Orion, MI, we decided to concentrate on the Orion-Oxford area to find potential church-goers. I sent out a questionnaire to about 50 people in the Orion-Oxford are who we knew were either known Unity Church members, or who we deemed were "Unity-minded" from our social contacts. The questionnaire asked if they would support a Unity Church in the Orion-Oxford area. Of the 50 recipients, approximately 95% indicated by return mail that they would be interested in attending such a church.
We also asked if any of them would be willing to serve on a steering committee, to start such a church. Seven people said they would, and they became the Steering Committee and eventual first Board of Directors of the church. I was elected President and Pat was also elected to the Board. We began meeting at my home on a weekly basis in January 1997 to plan the church and look for a minister.
We began tithing to our new church at our first board meeting, and also, looking for a minister. Unity Village in Missouri told us that we woukld have to operate as a study group for at least a year before they would send a minister to us. At the same time, one of the Unity ministers at the Church of Today (Rev. Linda Dominik) became available, and we offered her the postion. She accepted and began attending our board meetings in early Summer of 1997.
One of our board members investigated the possibility of using the Orion-Oxford Seventh Day Adventists Church on Sundays, because that group held their worship services on Saturdays. We worked out a financial arrangement and, on the first Sunday in September 1997, we held our first church service, duly established legally as Unity-North. About 150 people attended that first service, many of which stayed to become members of our church.
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