Unity Stories
Finding a Spiritual Home
I am a 50 year old male. I have attended Unity Churches since 1972. Unity is an ideal home for gay/lesbian individuals or couples. I have always been "out" to the congregation with no repercussions or snide remarks. Unity is a long-established (over 100 years) Christian organization which has no dogma, no rules, no discrimination of any kind. Unity teaches each person to find an individual, personal relationship with God. I highly recommend it to all gay and lesbian people. Why fight with Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodists when you can worship as you please in a Unity church?
Timothy
Exactly Where You Need to Be
I have been am a member of the Unity Church for 9 years. I am out, my church family is VERY supportive, and the Association that the local church belongs too is supportive. Every
Unity minister I've met has been supportive. I have never had a problem with what Unity thinks about gays. We have a way of explaining behavior -- everyone is in the right and perfect place to learn the lessons that they have come learn -- in essence wherever you are is exactly where you need to be. If you're gay then that must be where you need to be to learn the most valuable lessons for this lifetime. Doesn't mean it's right or wrong -- just means that it is. Unity blesses Holy Unions, baptizes babies born or adopted into gay families and makes you feel welcome. I know it's my home and coming from a Catholic/Methodist background I'm glad I finally got to where God really is loving and good.
Tina
Neither Male nor Female...
I am a 45 year old male and have known I am gay since about age 10. I was raised Presbyterian, and knew by the time I was about 18 that I could no longer consider myself a member of that denomination because of its homophobia. Eventually, I found myself at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Hartford, CT. It was great to be with other gay men and lesbians worshiping God. However, the tenets of MCC did not exactly fit with my spirituality, and although I continued to attend services for their social aspects, I also searched for something that would really speak to me.
In the mid 80s, I was visiting a friend who had moved to California. His roommate had a small booklet called "Daily Word", and when I picked it up and began to read it, I found that the view of God expressed in its pages resonated within my heart. When I returned home, I subscribed to "Daily Word" and also to the denomination's "Unity Magazine." I was delighted to read a question and answer column in one issue that addressed being gay. Several years later, I finally left MCC and have been attending Unity Church of Hartford ever since. The minister includes sexual orientation in his sermons about acceptance and
discrimination, and that helps me to know that I am in the right place. I have actually come out to only a few people in the congregation, and have received positive responses. I think most of the others have an idea that I am gay, and it does not seem to matter to them.
Basically, Unity believes that "there is only one presence and one power active in the universe and in my life, God, the good, omnipotent" and that God dwells within and expresses through each of us. Prayer and meditation are important aspects of our spiritual practice. We are all spiritual beings, living a human existence at the present. In the
spiritual realm, we are neither male nor female, so sexuality need not be an issue.
Thank you for the invitation to share! For more information on Unity, you can go to www.unityworldhq.org
Rob
Our Religion
My partner and I joined Unity Church in Palm Springs CA. I was an excommunicated ex-Mormon missionary and he was a Catholic. We both had partners who died from AIDS. We never thought we would ever find anyone to share our lives with. But God along with our lost loves brought us together! I had convinced myself that I was an atheist and David was filled with guilt from his religious beliefs.
We decided to marry and went out to find a Church that would except us and a minister to perform the ceremony for us. We were very blessed to have found our church and our minister, Dr. Ann Martin. Our Church is not a gay church but has a larger than average gay membership. We love our church and go every Sunday and are active in the church. I have been the assistant minister twice already and love the love and spirituality that was missing in my life for so many years.
David and I pray with EVERY meal. We are known for it even when we go out to dinner. We always hold hands and have never been given any grief from doing so. We feel that the couple that prays together stays together
Michael and David
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