I stand for peace in the presence of conflict.

I stand for love in the presence of hatred and fear.

I stand for forgiveness in the presence of injury.

I know there is only one power and presence – God.

I respect the many ways to worship God.

I honor the many names for God and the many paths to God.

I believe God loves all of us equally.

I turn to God for guidance in these challenging times.

I urge all nations to pursue peace; this honors all faith traditions.

As I pursue peace, I honor the God of all faith traditions.

I stand for peace in my lifetime.

Is 2012 the end…

of the world?

or the end of the old paradigm of competitive individualism and inevitable conflict?

Do you believe 2012 will be a year of increasing accusations and further pulling apart – politically, socially, economically and internationally?  Is there another way to look at it all?

According to Lynn McTaggert, author of The Bond, “Nature’s basic drive is not competition, as classic evolutionary theory maintains, but wholeness…The essential impulse of all life is a will to connect rather than a drive to compete.”  She describes this will to connect as the glue that holds us, the world, in fact the universe, together.  She calls it the bond.

Over the next four weeks, as a part of the Season of Peace, Rev. Victoria will share ideas from The Bond in her Sunday talks and conduct classes on Tuesday evenings (beginning Feb 7, 7pm) and Wednesday afternoons (beginning Feb 8, 1pm) based on the book’s concepts. The class is being offered on a donation basis.

Regarding The Bond, Marianne Williamson has said.”There is something on every page of this book to make you jump for joy!”  Lynne Twist says,”The Bond brilliantly reveals the essence of who we are…Read this book. It will open your heart and change your life.”

The Bond can be purchased at The UNITY Center after Sunday services and during office hours (10-3, Mon – Wed).  Email theunitycenter@worldhealing.org to register.

Check out this video to learn more about the book, The Bond.

The UNITY Center presents:

Messages of Peace

An interfaith celebration of peace.

April 1st, 2012

4PM to 6PM

Enjoy many spiritual traditions and cultures in song, word and prayer.

African, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Religious Society of Friends, Sikh, Sufi.

Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door

Are you a people pleaser? Are you so nice that you can’t say no? Do you find yourself often in conflict with others? In this 2 hour workshop by Teresa Willman, learn how to express your true feelings without fear of conflict – gain peace of mind. Cost for workshop: $10 per person.

“Compassionate Communication” is based on the work of Marshall Rosenburg, and his book, entitled “Nonviolent Communication”. The purpose of this work is to create human connections that empower compassionate giving and receiving. This approach to communication emphasizes compassion as the motivation for action rather than fear, guilt, shame, blame, coercion, threat or justification for punishment. It is about getting what you want for reasons you will not regret later. It is NOT about getting people to do what we want. It is about creating a quality of connection that gets everyone’s needs met through compassionate giving. This workshop therefore offers practical, concrete skills for manifesting those connections and relating to ourselves and others.

 Honored with Season for Peace

(West Linn, OR – January 18, 2012) The UNITY Center of West Linn, in conjunction with numerous other spiritual communities worldwide, will mark the memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi (January 30) and Martin Luther King, Jr (April 4) with a 64-day initiative called the Season For Peace.

Launched in 1998 (and each year since) at the United Nations, the international commemoration, also referred to as A Season for Nonviolence, has been honored in over 900 communities in 67 countries during the past 15 years.

“The purpose of the Season”, says Rev. Victoria Etchemendy of The UNITY Center, “is to create an awareness of nonviolent principles and practices as a powerful way to heal, transform and empower our lives, our communities, and the world.”

The UNITY Center will kick off the Season on Sunday, January 29,  followed by several events during the months of February and March centered on the themes of peace and nonviolence. These will include a movie about Project Happiness, a workshop on compassionate communication by Teresa Willman, and a 4-week, Tuesday evening class based on the book, The Bond by Lynn McTaggert.  McTaggert contends that it is wholeness rather than competition and separateness that is the true driving force in the world.

The UNITY Center will end the Season with a Day of Peace – an interfaith celebration of song, word and prayer – on Sunday, April 1.

For information about the Season for Peace and the classes and events offered at The UNITY Center call 503-697-9765.

2/7/12, 5:30PM – Ongoing – Yoga with Naomi Elmore

Stretch your body and calm your mind with our own Naomi Elmore, an experienced Yoga teacher. Bring your mat, strap, blanket and water to the UNITY Center. Suggested donation $10.

Naomi Elmore has been a life-long practitioner on the Classical Ashtanga yoga path. She became a certified yoga instructor through yoga alliance in 1997 through her extensive training at Mt. Madonna Institute in Watsonville, Ca. Naomi has taught Seniors yoga as an employee of Maryswoods for four and half years. She has taught yoga for various community education centers and yoga studios.  Naomi is also a licensed massage therapist and she is currently a student at Marylhurst University with the aim to receive a Masters in Divinity.

Naomi’s approach to yoga is gentle and nurturing. She advocates everyone to begin from right where they are.

Email theunitycenter@worldhealing.org to register.

Holiday Gospel Concert

The first event in our new sanctuary was a huge success!  It was a “Soul-Filled Gospel Concert” with LaRhonda Steele and the Group. The sanctuary was packed and the concert blew us all away!

Deep Green Movie

The first movie screening in the new sanctuary was shown on an enormous screen.  As a continuation of our sustainability efforts, we invited the maker of Deep Green, Matt Briggs, to introduce his movie, which centered around solutions for climate change.

25 Cent Toys for Girls and Boys

We collected toys this past Christmas season to provide local West Linn families a bright Christmas.  We set up a store in our basement with toys for kids of all ages from baby to 18.  The brand new toys and gifts were sold to the families for 25 cents each.

The results? We served 20 families with a total of 80 kids!

Food From the Heart: Holiday Feast!

The homeless men at Transitions Project experienced a holiday feast fit for kings!  There were 3 hams, 4 cheesecakes, meat & cheeses, pickles, deviled eggs, desserts galore, and much more!  They also each received a gfit baggy that the YOUers prepared which included a pair of warm socks and candies.

Won’t you join UNITY and contribute in your way to world peace? Stay tuned for more information around what we will have in store for you this season, including music from a myriad of religious practices, and a study series on Oneness.

For more information, check out the Association for Global New Thought’s site.

Generally, the way it works is that each person is presented with a white tile upon entering the church and a pencil or pen. During the course of the service, a meditation is done that helps the person connect with their divine essence, Higher Self, Divine Mind–whatever we call God. We are invited to ask for guidance on what our word or words will be for the year that will represent our highest intention or it may be a name that we hear for this new spiritual identity. That name is then written upon the white tile.

We keep the white tile as a reminder of our intention.

The idea of the White Stone ceremony comes from Revelation 2:17: “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers (who overcomes) I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

The ceremony will provide an ideal time to let go things that no longer work in your life. We will encourage you to write on (special) paper, things, ideas and situations that you no longer wish to have power in your life-things you wish to release in the coming year. Then, you will be invited to symbolically cast your list to the eternal flame in the “burning bowl” and begin anew.

We will also write a letter to ourselves for those things we wish to manifest in our lives during the coming year. The church will mail it to us in a year.