Daily traditional prayer services have been held at Unity Village for employees since the 1920s. In 2008 a new kind of service was created—one that incorporates a variety of meditation and prayer elements.
Jenny Hahn and Rachel Simpson brought the idea of an alternative prayer service to Unity President and CEO Charlotte Shelton. Hahn remembers: “Charlotte said, ‘Okay then, come up with it.'” So that's what the two did with the help of a few others.
We tend to think a grand spiritual quest is necessary to discover God and our inner divinity. But there is no need to go anywhere or do anything to find God. In the midst of all experience, whether we label it spiritual or human, is Silence. Silence is the Ground of All Being. The modern-day Christian mystic Father Thomas Keating says, "The language of God is Silence. Everything else is a poor translation."
On New Year’s Eve 1914 a large crowd gathered to dedicate a new Unity administration building in Kansas City, Missouri. Bundled in heavy winter coats, the people stood in the dark street before two giant limestone columns. Myrtle and Charles Fillmore, founders of Unity School of Christianity, watched as handwritten blessings from around the world were added to the cornerstone. At midnight the crowd saw electric lights illumine the dark structure as the ring of chimes ended the silence.
Charles Fillmore addressed how a foundation must begin with a great idea. The analogy of a structure was appropriate as his speech described how Unity’s Christianity was built on the “right concept of God as Spirit.”
When he was 94 years old, Charles Fillmore wrote the following affirmation: “I fairly sizzle with zeal and enthusiasm and spring forth with a mighty faith to do the things that ought to be done by me.” How wonderful to affirm such energy and vibrancy!
Affirmative prayer is a useful tool for focusing our thoughts on the truth that we are spiritual beings, filled with vibrant energy and renewing life. We, too, can use this tool in our daily lives. When we pray affirmatively about a health challenge, we are recognizing the life of God within.
How do you define a miracle? Is it something tangible such as winning the lottery, surviving a plane crash, or finding the perfect mate? Or are miracles more metaphysical and spiritual in nature—for example, the law of attraction or the ability to create one's own life experience?
A survey in 2010 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans believe in miracles.
Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepherd has been in ministry since 1976 and is best known to Unity audiences as the author of the popular column That's a Good Question, which has run for 15 consecutive years in Unity Magazine®. This feature originally appeared on his personal blog, “Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepherd's Theo Blog.” The views expressed here are solely of Rev. Dr. Shepherd and were not written to represent, nor construed to represent, the official opinion of the Worldwide Unity Movement.