What better way to celebrate our 10-year Anniversary than to commit ourselves to BE AWAKE and BE THE CHANGE that will transform our world? In 2000, after over a decade of being an “outreach ministry” of Christ Unity in Sacramento (CUS), Unity of Monterey Bay (UMB) became an “independent, free-standing ministry” dedicated to inviting and supporting ALL people to know God’s love.

Prior to Rory and I being invited to serve as the Co-Ministers of UMB, there had been a series of ministers, provided by CUS, each who stayed approximately 2 years; in the decade preceding us, there had been five different ministers. When we accepted this community’s invitation to service, we all set an intention to become independent, which required that we step up in faith to become financially viable and spiritually sound. Rory and I made a commitment to “stay” and we all committed to building a spiritual community together.

“The rest,” as they say, “is history.” We have grown through joys and sorrows, adventures and challenges, expansions and contractions. We have said tearful good- byes to loved ones and happily welcomed new companions into this shared journey to the sacred. Most importantly, we have practiced together the spiritual life that reminds us of who we truly are and what we have come here to be.

In many ways, the spiritual journey can seem a very personal process. One of the greatest gifts, however, of our (Abrahamic, i.e., Judeo-Christian-Muslim) faith tradition is the commitment to community. Jesus regularly went away to center himself in God, but always returned to be with and serve his community. Our greatest spiritual growth comes from our challenges – which often take the form of other people. Whether in marriage, parenting, or community – we invite opportunities to love, support, forgive, accept, overcome differences and ultimate- ly, realize our Oneness with one another – which is why we “gather together.”

For our 10th Anniversary – I invite us all to re-commit ourselves to our spiritual journey and our spiritual community. Together, let us manifest UMB as a thriving spiritual community that invites and supports ALL people to know God’s love and to be the voice and heart through which heaven is made known on Earth. We have set a list of goals to call us forward (see Goals 2010 page 7) but let us always remember that co-creation occurs from the inside-out. As we embody the feelings and experiences that we desire – they cannot help but manifest – perhaps in even more profound ways than we could imagine.

Love and Blessings,
Rev. Vicky

New Opportunities Added!

Audio Ministry
Every Sunday we record the worship service on CD. This person would then be responsible for: obtaining that CD; editing it into two tracks, one containing the lesson and one containing the meditation; burning a CD with those tracks and getting it to Patty Waldin for copying and distribution; uploading the two files to the Internet; and coordinating with the Webmaster to get links to the audios posted. This job takes less than an hour per week. See Dan if you're interested; he'll provide training and support.

Children's Church
UMB has a commitment to create a safe and loving space for our children to learn about and experience God. We ask for volunteers to commit to one Sunday a quarter. Lesson plans and assistance are available. Be blessed by blessing our kids. Sign-up on Sunday or see Vicky or Robin if you're interested.

Web Workers
We are in the process of creating an entirely new look and feel for this site. When it's done there will be several places for members to help with writing new content, keeping things updated and handling correspondence. None of those positions requires any technical background at all. There will also be a need for one or two people who do have some basic Web design and development skills to help Dan maintain the site and add new features from time to time. See Dan if you're interested.

Facilitating Monthly Movie Showings
We are looking for someone to relieve Dan Shafer in this interesting and rewarding position. It entails identifying one movie each month, a quarter in advance, to be shown at our Thursday night gatherings. You would also be responsible for making sure someone is available to show the movie; that can be you or someone else you recruit to the cause. No need to be involved in the food; that's handled by others. See Vicky or Dan if you're interested.

Bookstore Clerks
Needed Sundays before and after service. Our Sacred Grounds Bookstore has a rich supply of resources for the spiritual journey. By volunteering once a month, you can see first-hand all the latest treasures. See Bookstore Manager Kay Sharp

PowerPoint
Our Sunday services are enhanced by our PowerPoint presentations but to keep them going we need to expand our team. You can either just run the program one Sunday a month (training is available and it is quite easy); or, if you would like to enhance your computer skills, you can learn to create the shows. If you are interested, contact Team Leader Becka Sheranian.