Unity churches around the globe are sending prayers, financial aid, medical supplies, food, clothing and more to the island of Haiti. As part of the en masse mobilization of world governments, international relief agencies, churches, nonprofit organizations and everyday citizens, combined relief efforts are slowly but surely providing much needed glimmers of hope to people who have been devastated by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010.

Flying Doctors of America
At Atlanta Unity Church, one congregant's response to the call for help draws upon 20 years of experience in providing aid to countries in need.

Within days after the earthquake struck, Dr. Allan Gathercoal led a team of doctors from Flying Doctors of America (Flying Doctors) to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Once there, they set up a trauma clinic and worked alongside doctors from Belgium and Cuba. Hundreds of lives were saved. Teams from Flying Doctors continue working around the clock to bring much needed care to people that have been impacted by this devastating natural disaster.  

Flying Doctors serves the poorest of the poor throughout the world, including Mexico, South and Central America, the Caribbean, India, Africa, Southeast Asia and China. Founded by Gathercoal in 1990, Flying Doctors operates under the “Mother Teresa Principle,” bringing together physicians, dentists, nurses, chiropractors, other health professionals and nonmedical support volunteers to serve people who would never otherwise receive professional medical care. To date, the organization has flown more than 200 missions and has provided care to more than 200,000 people.

Rev. John Strickland, senior minister at Atlanta Unity Church, admires Gathercoal's passion and desire to help those in desperate need. “He's all about service and loves to get on the ground, where the action is,” says Strickland. “He wants to get in there and do things where they are needed.”

Gathercoal first came to Atlanta Unity Church about two years ago. He was delighted to find that Unity was open and accepting of the universal truths in all religions, but was also glad that Rev. Strickland had not “thrown out Jesus and the Bible with the bathwater,” Strickland recalls. “Before Allan started Flying Doctors, he was a charismatic minister who specialized in church renewal. Flying Doctors is founded on the teachings of Christ that call us to be agents of love, care and healing. It is not so much an organization as it is a life belief system in action.”   

Over the years, Gathercoal evolved spiritually as he grew beyond dogma and doctrine and became more inclusive in his theology and ministry. In 2006 he wrote Shifting Sands: A Theology of Religious Pluralism, and graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary with a doctorate in divinity.

Combining his newfound love for Unity with his passion for medical missions, Gathercoal approached Strickland about a mission to Peru. “He said, ‘You've got all of it here. The facility is good. You've got great music—a great message, but the one thing you don't have is missions. I can help you in this area.' And I said okay,” remembers Strickland.

Together the duo reviewed a book about church-related missions but found the approach to be contrary to Unity beliefs. A component of traditional mission work is to convert those being served to a particular religious doctrine. However, “[Unity is] not about converting,” Strickland explains.

Instead, every morning on the Unity mission to Peru in 2008, congregants gathered together in prayer and meditation, and spent time discussing Unity principles before going out into the community.

“After our daily devotional, we would just go and love the people, and do good work, without any thought of return,” Strickland explains. “We did bring Unity literature in Spanish, and I spoke at a rotary meeting. I told them about Unity with translation help from a congregant who grew up in Peru. But our role was really just to bless the people— bring them food, gifts, furniture, dishes, pots and pans; clean their bathrooms; paint and those kinds of things. When we were out in the community, we mainly talked about the love that we bring and the caring (we have to offer) one another.”

Strickland says congregants are already asking about an Atlanta Unity mission trip for 2010.

“When we were in Peru and the children asked, ‘When you are coming back?' it broke our hearts,” says Strickland. “I think it broke our hearts open, and allowed something that we held onto. None of us had ever been on a mission (trip) before. What that did for us and for that community of people—wow!”

Continued Outreach in Haiti
As the weeks and months go on, more and more people are looking for ways to help Haiti address the long-term needs of the country. The opportunities are endless.

“We need people like Dr. Gathercoal who love the [Unity] philosophy and have some skills that [lay people] don't have,” says Strickland. “If you think about prosperity—giving of your time, talent and treasure … that's spiritual social action.”

According to Gathercoal, there are no limitations to helping others. “In my travels across the globe I have found, throughout humanity, a spiritual consciousness that finds its expression in acts of love, compassion and sacrifice.”
 

To watch a video about the Flying Doctors mission in Haiti, click here.

For more information about Flying Doctors of America and their upcoming 2010 missions, click here. 

To learn more about Atlanta Unity Church, click here.