Telephone Prayer Ministry has served millions of people of all faiths

Unity Village, MO – Oct. 2, 2007 – Unity announced today that this year marks the 100^th anniversary of its Telephone Prayer Ministry – a free, 24/7, year-round service that provides immediate and individualized prayer support to people throughout the world. 

Begun in 1907, when Unity worker Fayette Drake was assigned the job of answering a single phone line dedicated to prayer, the Telephone Prayer Ministry today employs more than 200 trained prayer associates who respond to more than 4,000 calls a day. It is thought to be one of the largest and oldest telephone prayer ministries in the world.

We offer this ministry to promote peace and healing, both spiritually and physically, to people on all spiritual paths,” said Unity President and CEO Charlotte Shelton. “It is a gift to be able to serve the world in this way.”

The Telephone Prayer Ministry is one part of Unity's larger prayer ministry known as Silent Unity, founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in Kansas City in 1890. The Fillmores originally prayed with people face-to-face or through letters. In 1907, the first dedicated phone line for prayer was installed.

Today Silent Unity provides prayer support via telephone (1-800-NOW-PRAY), postal mail and e-mail (www.silentunity.org). Each prayer request is met with a prompt and personalized prayer for no charge. Silent Unity is located at Unity Village, the world headquarters for Unity about 15 miles southeast of Kansas City, Mo.

Silent Unity has been a steady source of support to people seeking greater health, prosperity, harmonious relationships and peace of mind during calm as well as tumultuous times in history. Prayer associates have prayed with individuals through historical events including the Great Depression and both World Wars; world plagues and epidemics; hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and droughts; social changes and the rising divorce rate; and tragedies such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Silent Unity has also been a place to celebrate the positive. Prayer associates regularly offer prayers of blessing to those calling with news of weddings, births, graduations, promotions and personal breakthroughs.

 “It is an honor to share in both the celebrations and the tender times in people's lives,” says Lynne Brown, vice president of Silent Unity. “Our goal is to help them experience the peace of God, regardless of their situation.”

She said that last year, Silent Unity responded to roughly two million prayer requests, including 1.3 million calls to the Telephone Prayer Ministry, 500,000 letters and 200,000 e-mail requests.

In providing prayer support, Unity associates use what is called “affirmative prayer.”

“Rather than beseeching God to act, we believe that God is already present and active in our lives.  In prayer, we affirm that the individual's good is ready to be realized and expressed,” said Brown.

She said Silent Unity regularly receives calls and letters of gratitude from individuals who have been helped by the prayer they received. “The positive change we are supporting and inspiring in people's lives and around the world is truly sacred,” said Brown.

About Unity

Affirmative prayer has been the cornerstone of Unity for 118 years. A transdenominational organization founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in Kansas City in 1889, Unity is dedicated to helping people of all faiths apply positive spiritual principles in their daily lives.

Unity world headquarters at Unity Village is focused on prayer, publishing and education. Unity publishes Daily Word, a daily devotional printed each month in seven languages and circulated in more than 100 countries around the world (www.dailyword.com). Unity headquarters is also home to Unity Institute, which offers continuing education classes as well as degree and certificate programs for the education and training of Unity ministers.

Some 550 employees work at Unity Village. The 1,400-acre grounds also include nature trails, a golf course and swimming pool, a new bookstore and coffee shop and the Unity Village Hotel and Conference Center, which recently became only the fourth hotel in the U.S. to be awarded a silver LEED award for sustainable design.

Unity's former poet laureate, James Dillet Freeman, wrote the "Prayer for Protection" that was published for members of the armed forces during World War II and was taken to the moon during the first moon landing by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. in 1969. It reads:

“The light of God surrounds us,
The love of God enfolds us,
The power of God protects us,
The presence of God watches over us.
Wherever we are, God is.”

Millions of people of all faiths around the world have benefited from a now century-old service provided free-of-charge from the lush 1,400-acre campus on the outskirts of Kansas City, Mo. Individuals can pick up the phone, send a letter or an e-mail to Unity and find a ready “prayer associate” to offer an affirmative prayer of support in response. Unity continues to answer the call for roughly 2 million people each year. Attached is a detailed news release announcing this 100-year milestone, as well as an image of the Telephone Prayer Ministry at its founding, and of the campus today. Thank you for your consideration and please contact us if we can be of further service.

For Immediate Release: October 2, 2007