Mission Possible

The Unity movement was founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in the late nineteenth century. The actual year is dependent upon the marker one uses to signify the formal beginning of the movement. It is generally agreed that Unity was founded between 1889, when Charles committed himself full-time to publishing the periodical, Modern Thought, and 1892 when Charles and Myrtle penned their Dedication and Covenant pledging themselves to the work of what was then the Society of Silent Unity. They never intended to start a church and discouraged others from doing so. They even held their meetings on Sunday afternoon, so that those who wanted to participate could first attend their respective church services in the morning. However, as study groups formed and serious Truth students emerged, many of them wanted more organized gatherings and began to form centers of study in the early 1900’s.

The Fillmores eventually accepted this as a natural evolution of the movement, and began supporting the development of these study groups and “Truth Centers” that were springing up in many areas. It is reported however, that by 1910 Charles felt exasperated because many of the centers were not remaining true to the Unity teachings. In an effort to help provide some guidance for these centers, Charles wrote and published a booklet entitled Methods and Ideals for Conducting Centers and Study Groups.

The following is an excerpt from that publication,

The Center’s Mission

The commands of Jesus Christ, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel,” “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons,” should be the ideals governing every center and study class throughout the world. To carry on a ministry of this kind, every worker should have a thorough realization of Truth. The individual who conducts the work should ever strive for a greater realization of the knowledge and the power of God working in and through him. Unless he has clear realization of this fact it will not be easy for him to impart it to another. Furthermore, to operate a center successfully according to the Unity ideals, one should have a sincere desire to serve. The highest service is to help another to obtain a clearer realization that the working power of God is in every person.

I find it fascinating that our cofounder, Charles Fillmore, clearly stated in 1924 what he believed to be the mission of Unity centers and churches. Paraphrasing the last sentence above, he stated that our mission as Unity is to help people realize the power of God within them. This tracks beautifully with the current Unity Worldwide Ministries mission statement, which is,

Advancing the movement of spiritual awakening and transformation through Unity, a positive path for spiritual living.

I am pleased that we have not strayed from Mr. Fillmore’s original intent. Our mission is clear. We are still focused on helping people awaken to and transform their lives through spiritual awakening.

In his book, The Emerging Church, minister and author Rev. Bruce Sanguin, says,

“A mission statement describes the purpose of the congregation…it is a broad statement of purpose, a public declaration of why we exist as a congregation in the first place. If followed, it will inspire us to create a new life and co-create a new world – one that is aligned with God’s intentions for life on this planet…It will be succinct, memorable, positively stated and comprehensive.”

A mission statement is intended to help us clarify who we are and what we are about. It also assist us with defining the focus of our classes, programs and services. Our objective is for all that we do to help us fulfill our stated mission.

I have some hesitancy to share this, but I am not pleased with the mission statement that we created last fall. It is -

We inspire spiritual growth in a safe and loving environment, accepting all, serving others and awakening Oneness.

It is not succinct or memorable, in my estimation. Further, only the first phrase defines why we exist. The rest of it outlines how we intend to fulfill our mission. Because of my dissatisfaction with our mission statement, I have consulted with Rev. Toni Boehm, our South Central Region Ministry Consultant, and Ministry Skills Coordinator at Unity Worldwide Ministries for her feedback. I have also talked with Mendhi Audlin who is currently facilitating a ministry training to support churches in implementing mission-based ministry. Both Toni and Mendhi suggested that our mission statement have only one verb and only speak to what we intend to do, rather than how we will do it.

I have discussed this with our Council, and have recommended that we amend our mission statement. It is my recommendation to you, the members of Unity Church of Denver, and to our Council that we amend our mission statement so that it more closely aligns with Unity Worldwide Ministries’ mission. Also, that we make it more succinct so that it is easier for all of us to remember. I suggest that we adopt the following mission statement –

We inspire spiritual awakening and personal transformation.

I hope you will agree with me that this statement clearly defines why we are here and what we are about. Further, I certainly do not want to discount the work of those who came together to draft our current mission statement. It is important to me that we honor the intentions that were presented during that weekend. Therefore, I have created the follow purpose statement inclusive of those values. I realize that there are many perspectives on the differences between vision, mission and purpose statements, but for our purposes, a purpose statement is a way of stating how we propose to embody our mission statement.

We fulfill our mission by creating and sustaining an environment in which individuals are encouraged to explore and share their personal beliefs, needs and concerns; where we consciously choose to behold the Christ nature in all; and where we actively serve our members, guests, and the greater local and global communities through services, classes, workshops and programs that meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs and that inspire awakening to unity in God and oneness with all life.

You will be hearing a great deal more about our mission-focused ministry in the coming months. We will also be concentrating on our Core Values - Integrity, Inspiring, Inclusive, Love and Oneness - and exploring together how embracing and living from our values helps us realize our mission. Earlier this year, a team of volunteers worked to further define and discern rationales for our values and outlined action steps that we, as an organization and as individuals may take to express them. These steps are suggested ways that we can more fully live in alignment with who we say we are as a spiritual community. This information has not previously been disseminated to our community. You may click here to view or download and print that document. I will be including more about them in my upcoming Sunday messages, as well. 

Your Council and I are currently working with the information gathered at our May 17 town hall meeting to establish clearly defined intentions and create an action plan that will help us to achieve them, all in support of fulfilling our mission. The input you provided and your support are essential to our success.

The staff and I have chosen Mission Possible as the theme for our 2015-2016 curriculum year. We believe, and we trust that you join us in knowing, that it is fully possible for us to live our mission as we strive to implement our action plan and commit to our purpose.

I am excited by the direction we are moving and by the energy that is building within our community. Embracing a mission-based ministry model will provide us with a guiding light we need to illumine our path as we grow. I look forward to seeing what unfolds as we come together to create a thriving spiritual community that works to co-create a world that works for all.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to join us on Sunday at 10:00 as we discover together our “Mission Possible” and how we can live it.

Please provide feedback in the “Comments” section below. I deeply care about what you have to share. You may also choose to send me a private message at David@UnityDenver.org.