Unity Newsletter 05/3/2022

Happy Mother’s Day!  This Sunday our very own Donna Benjamin will be delivering a talk titled, Mothering Mother Earth… Magnificently!

This talk will focus on our beloved Planet on this Mother’s Day 2022! Donna will share ideas on how we can mother ourselves, the land, the trees, the sentient beings and still prosper and create a planet that will be livable and vibrant for generations to come. And, Unity principles, fun, and creativity are Donna’s middle names, so those elements will be front and center in her talk.  It’s time to make our world even more beautiful. You in?

In “The Nest” (our children’s area), Rev. Jane will be leading our kids in honoring Mother Earth in creative ways and making presents that honor the mothers in their lives.

Special Visit with author, Gregg Levoy!

On Sunday May 15th we are absolutely thrilled to have the amazing Gregg Levoy with us!  He will be our featured Sunday speaker and will provide an in-depth workshop right after service.

Gregg Levoy will be talking about Callings—”whether they are relationships in the arenas of work, relationship, lifestyle, or service. They may be calls to do something (become self-employed, go back to school, leave or start a relationship, move to the country, change careers, have a child) or calls to be something (more creative, less judgmental, more loving, less fearful). They may be calls toward something or away from something: calls to change something, review our commitment to it, or come back to it in an entirely new way; calls toward whatever we’ve dared and double-dared ourselves to do for as long as we can remember.” from Callings by Gregg Levoy

Learn more about Gregg here

Here is info on his workshop:  Callings: In Search of an Authentic Life, with Gregg Levoy

May 15, 12:30-3:30 pm

This is a 3-hour workshop at Unity of Central Oregon

Cost: $30

Callings are urgings from spirit that tell us what it will take to make our lives literally “come true,” pointing us toward awakenings, course-corrections, and powerful authenticity. They could involve a career change or creative leap, taking on a new role or letting go of an old one, or launching a new venture.

While honoring callings’ essential mystery, we’ll explore what they ask of us, how we tell the true call from the false, how we handle our resistance to it, what happens when we say no, and what happens when we say yes?

Movie Night – The Year Earth Changed

May 12th, 6:30 to 8:00pm

Join us in person for a viewing of the amazing documentary, The Year Earth Changed, narrated by David Attenborough, with a discussion to follow. This timely documentary special takes a look at nature’s extraordinary response to a year of global lockdown. This love letter to planet Earth will take you from hearing birdsong in deserted cities for the first time in decades to witnessing whales communicating in ways never before seen. Find out how changes in human behavior—reducing cruise ship traffic, closing beaches a few days a year, and identifying more harmonious ways for humans and wildlife to co-exist—can have a profound impact on nature and give us hope for the future. Let’s make a difference in consciousness. Please bring a young person. Invite a friend. Show up and care!

And for the Bigger Kids!

The Women’s Walking Group meets Wednesday mornings at 10am.  See the calendar for more details and RSVP Suzanne by email or 805-729-2916.

This is a chance to get out there and get some sunshine, friendship, and good conversation.

The Men’s Group meets the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 6pm, at Unity.

This is a spiritual discussion and service group of men who are seeking connection and friendship of like-minded individuals. All are welcome.

And for Aspiring Songbirds

Would you like to be part of our singing team? Our amazing music director, Dave Finch, is holding open singing practices each Wednesday at 7pm at Unity. You don’t have to be a great singer, just a great person who wants to add your passion to our Unity services.

Our EarthCare ACT Ministry – Social and Environmental ACTION!

We get a Green Star Award!

Unity Community of Central Oregon is one of four congregations that will be honored by Unity Worldwide with the annual Green Star award!  We were selected based on the following actions we took last year:

• Hired a part-time Spiritual Leader position to lead our environmental and social justice ministry and had an awesome volunteer step up as Community Engager.
• Rescued fish with the Deschutes River Conservancy
• Helped restore native forest with the Deschutes Land Trust
• Provided volunteer and financial support to organizations that aid youth and teens.
• Assisted in numerous food and clothing drive collections.
• Implemented Season of the Earth, April – June.
• Launched our demonstration garden that shows a number of low water consumption irrigation approaches and organic growing techniques.

Wanna talk Trash?!  Join the Landfill Tour!

May 19th, 10am to 12pm

The Deschutes County Knott Landfill is a spectacle, and it’s filling up fast.  Join us for a tour of the landfill and recycling center.  There, we’ll learn about how landfills work and what can and can’t be recycled and why?  We’ll also learn about some of the options for managing regional waste going into the future.

We know this may sound yucky, but it’s actually a not-too-dirty, fascinating learning opportunity and a chance to hang with some of your Unity buddies and meet folks from the Environmental Center.

Please RSVP by email to Cylvia Hayes.  The tour guides require a head count and you’ll need directions on where to park!

Unity Worldwide Peoples’ Convention

June 13th – 17th.

If you have never attended the annual Unity Worldwide Convention you are missing out!  If you have attended you know you won’t want to miss this one.  (Registration deadline is May 15!) This year’s convention will be a hybrid in-person/ livestreamed event.  Rev. Jane will be attending virtually and Cylvia Hayes will be attending in person.  As part of the Unity Worldwide EarthCare team, Cylvia will be delivering a workshop on Sacred Eco-Nomics.  There will also be a very cool Council of All Beings session that will be livestreamed.

The full convention schedule can be found here:  https://www.unityworldwideministries.org/unity-convention-home

If I forget

By Donna Benjamin

If I forget

What I am here for

The flowers will remind me soon enough

Their softness

Sensuality

Fragrance

Will bring me back to purpose

And gratitude

If I forget

What I am made of

I will look to the garden and know

That I am made of earth and sky and water

No second-guessing this fact

It grounds me

If I forget

To remember you

I will feel the breeze

And embrace the perfection

Of how much more beautiful

A garden is

When filled with diverse species

If I forget

The ladybugs will remind me

That although

Tiny in comparison to this universe and its galaxies

I am mighty in the work that I do

To bring peace and kindness to the earthen plane

If I forget

I will sniff the aroma of my favorites

And be brought back to

Going to the nursery with my father

To bring home the first plant I planted

The magnificent purple clusters of lilac perfection

If I forget

I will buzz like a busy bee

Pollinating the atmosphere with loving vibrations

That permeate the ethers

So that all feel cared for

And loved

If I forget

I will go back to the memory of the Japanese Cherry tree

In my childhood backyard

That my father and I took such delight in when it blossomed

Though only for a short while

The vision lingers

If I forget

I will remember

To kiss the ground

For this grand opportunity

To be here at this time

At this moment

Though shaken and stirred

And agitated

The garden knows and so do I

Embrace the dirt in all its glory

For that is how the flowers grow

Member Appreciation 🙏🏽

This week we want to give a shout out to Greg Warnick, our “King of Kirtan”!  Greg has a passion for spirit-filled music and what it can do for healing and relaxing us.  He has been regularly gracing us with his musical talent and heart, as well as bringing great guest musicians to our services.  Thanks Greg!  We are so glad you are part of our community.