May - June 2009 | Download PDF
A Special Blessing For Mothers
Greetings my Good Friends:
As I wrote this article, I found myself giving thanks for the blessings that come from our mothers who have given so much to us through their nurturing and devotional love. During this month of May, we want to honor the mother’s of our church community and those individuals who provided loving care to their grandchildren, to other family members or to those who needed a mother’s wisdom.
We celebrate this month with a deep appreciation of the spiritual gifts that flow through these caring souls who gave us our spiritual teachings during our years of growth and development. How many of us can remember who taught us to pray? I remember the countless nights that my mother had me kneeling by the bed teaching me to focus my attention on that centering presence within myself… “Now lay me down to sleep I prayed to the Lord my soul to keep”. Those words and others became a regular part of my bed time ritual.
As I look back, I have to thank my mother for the spiritual teachings she continued to give to me even up to the very moment of her next experience of life.
When you look back on your life, who was it that taught you or demonstrated to you the teaching of Jesus Christ? Was it your mother, your grandmother, or a spiritually gifted friend? This month we honor those special caring individuals.
On behalf of Unity of Lake Orion, we want to extend our appreciation to the women of our church and to honor the soulful quality that comes from their desire to serve as a working support. These women typify the loving spirit, in every capacity, in every area of our church. It is a pleasure to see their willingness to be present every Sunday, volunteering within the church, to be there to provide leadership for our children or supporting our Sunday lessons.
One of the major gifts they continue to demonstrate is the care they give to their loved ones, spouses, children, grandchildren, especially the love they express for the Christ Presence within themselves.
Myrtle Fillmore, who is known by many as the Mother of Unity, is the example of quality the women of Unity of Lake Orion demonstrate in their divine feminine energy, through their love for our church family. These words of Myrtles reflect their gift to us.
“We have the privilege of thinking good thoughts that are in line with the Law of Good, or thinking adverse, selfish destructive thoughts. So we must learn to bring forth beautiful, harmonious, prosperous destinies by using the formative power of our thinking wisely.”
It is my pleasure to say to every women and mother in our church and within our church community: HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.
Rev. Gregory C. Guice
Back to TopA Message From Your Board President
What a wonderful Easter experience, attending four of Gregory’s great services. I felt the Presence of God at each service and I know a lot of you did too. What a great way to end a season and start a new one, filled with hope for the future, knowing that we can crucify all of our old thoughts and habits that are not serving us anymore. We can also resurrect ourselves into a new way of living, know that the Divine Activity of God is working through us everyday.
Remember our Unity of Lake Orion Affirmation.
Each and every day, in every way, God is blessing and prospering Unity of Lake Orion and it’s Family.
Not only is God blessing and prospering us, but we believe it! We are also accepting this into our new way of thinking and living. I don’t know about you but I feel great.
We can continue to carry this thinking into Mother’s Day that is coming May 10th. We give thanks to all the Mothers that carried us through the years and helped us get where we are today. My Mother is still helping and teaching me. I’m 66 and she is 89—Thanks Ma— I Love You.
Then on Father’s Day, June 21 (first day of summer) we think of all the great Fathers that have taught us and helped us get to this wonderful season in our life. You certainly helped me a lot. Thanks Dad— I Love You, too.
What about all the kids and grandkids that are about to graduate? Congratulations to you all, for resurrecting yourselves into a new and exciting life filled with God and all the wonders that come from such a great experience.
Let’s all continue the spiritual path that we are on and remember to help our brother or sister when they may need assistance. We may need some help ourselves one day.
I hope to see you soon at one of the great Unity classes going on right now. It’s a good way to learn more about Unity and to help raise our consciousness in God. See you there! Have a great summer. Don Stickler
Treasurer's Report
Backward & Forward
The first quarter of 2009 has been challenging. Our line of credit was denied by the bank in February leaving us scrambling to make some necessary changes in expenses, including replacing the office copier and cutting our secretary’s office hours. Also, thanks to those of you who have been pitching in to clean the church every other week. Your tithe of time saves us $170 each month.
We also started planning as many revenueproducing activities as we could come up with. A very successful Used Book Sale was held and many thanks to Pat Fuelling, Sharon Kugel and Paul Ferman for the long hours put in to make this event a success. Over $580 was raised. Paul also organized a coffee house featuring Mike Sneed and the Lost Cuzzins, which raised about $220. Movie nights under the guidance of Sharon Nettleton averaged about $100 each. Our Prosperity Banks brought in $227.
Sunday attendance has also been steadily increasing each week, which has added to our weekly income. Friendship Sunday brought in many new faces and additional needed income. Expect to see this event repeated on a quarterly basis. The Brian Piccolo series, Rev. Guice’s Spiritual Economics, and the regular weekly classes all contributed to getting us into the black.
We were also blessed with a pair of angels who made very generous donations to help us through this difficult time.
We finished the quarter ahead financially for the first time in many months. There were still a few bills that were unpaid as March came to a close, but with Easter and the extra services most were paid early in April. We now have a little breathing room. The Board continues to cut expenses. Currently we are looking into ways to cut insurance expense; so far we’ve cut the bill by $750 and will be meeting soon with our agent to adjust deductibles and make other coverage changes.
Your board believes that what is helping us the most is our prosperity attitude. We each are using the affirmation that was given out a few weeks back, several times daily. Please continue to join us in affirming:
“Each and every day, in every way,
God is blessing and prospering
Unity of Lake Orion and it’s family”.
Blessings,
Anna Ferman
Men of Unity
Saturday, June 6th - Breakfast
At our April meeting we set the date of June 6th at 10 AM for our Saturday morning Men of Unity breakfast. We are hoping that by having a Saturday morning activity, it can be attended by those who are unable to join us at our regular Thursday evening meeting. If you are interested in joining us for the breakfast celebration, please let me know. We value your presence in our church and would welcome you to all our future events.
The Men of Unity meet on a regular basis in the church sanctuary on the first Thursday of every month at 6:30 PM. We sit down together for supper at 6:30 and then begin our meeting with prayer and sharing of thoughts on interesting topics. If you cannot make it by 6:30, that’s okay. Just come in and join along.
Golf season is here and this is another opportunity to fellowship and have fun together. Signup sheets will be posted in the lobby for all of our events, so I hope that you will join us.
Jerry Crossman
Women of Spirit
Our May meeting is Friday, May 15— Diva’s and Desserts, Girl’s Night Out!
Friday, May 15, 2009 at 7:30 pm
(Doors open at 6:45 PM)
Join us for a musical cabaret coffeehouse featuring a bevy of talented women and luscious desserts! This event is a fundraiser for the Women of Spirit’s fall retreat. Ladies night out (men are welcome). Dress up or dress casual - ladies choice! Suggested love offering is $10.
Our June meeting is Saturday, June 20. Tammi Bemman will be taking us through a labyrinth walk and meditation. Check the website calendar shortly for more details.
For the month of May, WOS is sponsoring Qi Gong with Nancy Boch each Thursday at 4:00 PM. Love offering per class is $10.
Come join us for all the fun!
Sharon Nettleton
What You Need To Know Now...
Friday, May 29, 2009, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Francine Guice will explain and discuss the new governmental laws that have recently been implemented. Laws affecting:
- Mortgage
- Foreclosure help
- COBRA for the unemployed
- Small business relief
You will be able to ask questions and find many helpful ideas and strategies.
- Suggested Love Offering: $15
- Doors open at 6:45 pm
- Light Refreshments Available
Professor Francine S. Guice received her Juris Doctorate degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 1983. She joined the faculty of the Richard T. Doermer School of Business and Management Sciences in 2003. Professor Guice comes to academic life after an extensive and rewarding career in large corporations such as Dell Computer and Texaco Inc.
SCIENCE, HEALTH & SPIRITUALITY FESTIVAL
June 12th and 13th, 2009
Come and Bring Friends!!!!! Mark Your Calendar! You will not want to miss Unity of Lake Orion’s first Science, Health & Spirituality Festival.
This exciting weekend kicks off Friday night, June 12th, with guest speaker Dr. Stefan Brink from “The Health Oasis for Natural Research & Healing Arts.” Dr. Brink always draws a huge crowd when he speaks at Whole Foods Market. Be at Unity of Lake Orion at 7 pm to hear his inspiring message.
- Admission: Love Donation
The festival gets into full swing on Saturday the 13th under the big top! A large tent will house many of the vendors in the healing arts with hands on demonstrations, samples and other fun activities. Body workers will be available for mini massage treatments, cranial sacral work, reflexology, and spa treatments. The Reconnection Treatment will be available. You will surely find something new to sooth, refresh and reconnect you to your body and its health.
Fellow Unity member Karen Russell will be there representing Whole Foods Market. Find out about the many benefits of chiropractic work, learn about air purification products, get insights into your future, join a drum circle, have a Kirlin Photo done to see your aura, check out homemade soaps and jewelry and so much more …
Also, watch for raffles of services donated by our Vendors/Body Workers. We will all want to win a prize that day! Plan to come and see some wonderful holistic-minded professionals from our local area.
Lectures will be available for a love donation with details to be posted soon on the Unity website. We are looking forward to a very special day and to introducing many people to Unity Church of Lake Orion.
Volunteers Needed!
To make this a great success, we will need volunteers to help with parking, setup, cleanup, our bookstore and the Unity information table. We will also need many members there with smiling, friendly faces welcoming the patrons to Unity of Lake Orion. A sign up sheet will be available soon, so please set that day aside and join us to make this day a huge success!
If you have any questions or comments, please contact:
Nikki Jarrett , Linda La Croix or Karen Russell
Sunday Lessons
May 3
Rev. Gregory Guice
The First Agreement:
Be Impeccable With Your Word
May 10
Rev. Gregory Guice
The Second Agreement:
Don’t Take Anything Personally
May 17
Rev. Gregory Guice
The Third Agreement:
Don’t Make Assumptions
May 24
Rev. Gregory Guice
The Fourth Agreement:
Always Do Your Best
May 31
Rev. Gregory Guice
The Invocation
June 7
Rev. Gregory Guice
From Analog to Digital
June 14
Rev. Gregory Guice
Overcoming the Storms in Our Lives
June 21
Rev. Gregory Guice
In My Father’s Name
June 28
Friendship Sunday
Rev. Gregory Guice
STOP, LOOK and LISTEN
Please join us and bring your
friends and family for
fellowship and a potluck.
Gregory Guice 2008 Michiganian of the Year
Congratulations Rev. Guice for your appointment as Community Activist 2008 by The Detroit News:
“Every year for three decades the Detroit News has honored individuals whose contributions to the state and public welfare go far beyond the ordinary—the Michiganian’s of the Year. These are citizens with uncommon grit, persistence and the courage to dream huge dreams. They enrich our lives and stake out worthy examples the rest of us can only try to emulate.”
We are so proud of you Rev. Guice!
Unity Bookstore
Did You Know...?
…that the Bookstore is now featuring handpainted greeting cards by Sharyn Davis, a well-known local artist who is a long-time member of Unity of Lake Orion?
…that the Lending Library has been relocated from the sound room to the hallway across from the kitchen? This is a free self-serve library that contains a wonderful variety of books on Unity, spirituality, self-help, etc. Just sign the books out and return them at your leisure.
…that your Bookstore now has, due to Rick Kugel’s generosity, a collection of Edgar Cayce books for sale? Thank you, Rick.
…that the Bookstore now has three titles by Louise Hay, who is a famed authority on spiritual healing, one of which is a children’s book?
… that your Bookstore is the new location for a large collection of spiritual audio and visual tapes that, until recently, have been tucked away in the sound room? These include tapes by Jack and Karen Boland, Wayne Dyer, and many other renowned spiritual speakers and authors. Many of these are tapes of services from the Church of Today (Renaissance Unity). These are free! Please help yourself and share with others.
… that the Bookstore has many new titles that have come in during the last few weeks? This means that if you have not visited the bookstore recently, that you may be missing-out on some great books. Some of these were purchases and others were donations. Thanks to all who have donated new books.
Paul Ferman
Book Store Coordinator
Valued Volunteer - May
Susan Berg (May Volunteer) Susan is an active volunteer who pours her heart and soul into everything she does. From consistent office support for Sherri to spearheading major productions like Josh White, Jr. and organizing Diva’s and Desserts, Susan gives selflessly of her time and talents. Thank you Susan!
Valued Volunteer - June
Smile….you’re on Marjorie’s camera! Marjorie Sweeney donates her love and talent for photography coupled with her warm heart and bright smile to capture the special moments at Unity of Lake Orion. She graciously provides her stunning pictures to the church for all to enjoy. Thank you Marjorie!