The Mystery of History - Happy 40th Anniversary to Unity Center of Peace
Can we celebrate our Center history by acknowledging our sometimes awkward survival story and at the same time bear witness to our magnificent growth and achievements? The answer
How could a fragmented band of “religious outcasts,” some 40 years ago, help create the transformation (or reformation) that is our current spiritual creation ? Good question…. Creating spiritual community from scratch is no mean feat. If we had a “soul witness” to a 40-year saga of creating the manifested spiritual community, it would record both highs and lows, punctuated by struggles and degrees of pain as well as undeniable spiritual achievement.
Some history reads like fiction; this is one of them. If truth-be-told (and please let’s do so), the 40 year history of the Unity Center of Peace is a tru-story that bears a legacy to many versions of participant memory. It’s not a seamless account of manifest destiny revealed by a band of God’s “favored people.” The UCP story contains angst and pain and a few wounds to account-for, amid deserved gratitude for numerous forebearers whose tenacity enabled spiritual flowers to bloom.
This is a pre and post regale of a spiritual community’s emergence. Legions of pilgrims have sung, danced and prayed under this banner, each bringing themselves to the table for a spell, short or long. “We are one” we chanted before closing with the refrain: “and so it is !” What is the glue that binds this saga of a book about inner peace, service and gratitude? How does a fledging group of souls join together to create community when their common thread is one of disparity and religious confusion ?
Ecumenical is not an easy space to occupy we discovered in our early years. Its gifts are earned through experience and loving bonds that align over time. It is no secret that stepping out boldly into New Thought territory requires skilled leadership and committed perseverance by volunteers who commit to the creation to another way to align with spirit and one another.
Our history bears the scars of debt and difficulty with maintaining financial solvency. Plain said: UCP was often on the brink of monetary meanness during formulative years. Persons of great depth and integrity were attracted to the missions that drew our communal attention. During times of despair, lay leaders kept-the-faith that we were creating a vessel that would survive and thrive. Our spirited assets always seemed to outweigh our human deficits (noted with hindsight.)
With an attempted aura of objectivity, it should be noted that in the beginning of our life and times, there was little semblance of Unity philosophy to draw upon. There were few charismatic/visionary leaders to show-the-way (or options). Early on, a weekly service was held in various rented spaces…
Our “funky church” was fun and easy. A dollar or change in the collection plate justified enjoying some refreshing non-religious music, plus a random Sunday talk that had a “new-age flavor,” yet not knowingly grounded in any apparent theology. Needless to say, this atmosphere and attitude was not likely to attract conventional licensed Unity ministers, unless they were interested in the Foreign Service, so-to-speak. Unity headquarters in St Louis, Missouri was a distant mirage…. (Some Unity-like material could be gleaned from Unity Magazine, for those inclined….). Board members often left before their terms expired. Church records were practically non-existent. Volunteering for human service meant taking a shift at the IFC homeless shelter in Chapel Hill (There were frequent vacancies in the sign-up process). Members often came-and-went, as if this was a tenet of the casual protocol in practice. Visitors were welcomed to test their fortitude and imagination.
One memorable chapter in our history is the Mark Malachi story. Mark, a noted musician and exotic dancer, who frequented the UCP stage, applied to become our minister during a prolonged vacancy. The Board of Trustees (of which Gaines was a reluctant Chair) politely turned down his candidacy, noting that he had not completed the requirements for a New Thought ministerial mantel. When no other candidates applied, the Board reversed their denial and invited bar mitzvah-ed Mark to serve as our spiritual leader. Not only did he complete his ministerial requirements, he blossomed as a gifted speaker as well as a musician of renown. Under the leadership “of one of our own,” the small congregation thrived, and a new chapter of relative prosperity followed. (Mark’s medical issues suspended his ministerial career; he has continued to be an active member and inspiration.)
To provide a balance in this candid picture, folks loved the freedom (oft voiced) that they experienced at this developing Unity Center. Clearly, spiritual needs were being served here. In all likelihood, the developmental stages that an organization often requires to survive and thrive were being experienced during our first years of maturation.
History is not just about the past, it contains the present.