Of Churches and Labradoodles

 

 

The question, ‘Is Unity part of the church?’ presupposes that it might not be.  This made me think twice as I heard it.  On the surface, the answer to this question seems ridiculous.  Of course it’s a part of…wait, THE church?  What is THE church?  Do you mean church with a small c or a capital C?  Do you mean the historic church or the evolving church as we see it today?  It’s complicated to say the least. 

In his work Handbook of Theological Terms, Van A. Harvey says that the word church “is used to translate the word Greed word Ekklesia, employed in the New Testament to designate the community of those who have accepted the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, participated in the symbolic rite of death and resurrection (Baptism), received the gift of the Holy Spirit (the new life), and gathered together for common worship and an the celebration of the Eucharist.”  Well, it seems that taken on the surface Unity certainly doesn’t fill that criteria very well. But let’s take this apart.

From the beginning Unity has accepted the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, albeit from a metaphysical perspective.  To this day members of Unity look to the teachings of Jesus as the basis for how to live in the world.  It is, however, important to note that even the Fillmores, especially Charles, drew from more than just the Biblical teachings and we do not exclude teachings from other religions as heretical but rather seek to see the commonality in all of them.

The next point is a little trickier.  Does Unity participate in the symbolic rite of death and resurrection which Harvey calls Baptism?  Not so sure.  Unity does not practice Baptismal Rites as a prerequisite to full membership, but again, there is a metaphysical perspective on this.  Unity teaches that baptism is the dying to the belief of error thought and being reborn into our fullest expression of Christ Consciousness.  This is not something that happens in one sitting (or dunking), but is a continuous process of small perhaps even daily, baptisms of releasing of error thought which then results in a new life.

Finally, does Unity gather together to celebrate the Eucharist?  The word “Eucharist” is derived from the Greek meaning, “to give thanks”, (per Harvey).  Again, Unity doesn’t practice the Sacrament of the Eucharist like the Catholic church does but going back to the Greek meaning, gratitude as meaning giving thanks, is one of the underpinnings of the entire Unity Movement.  Unity prayer includes gratitude, the services usually include an element of gratitude, and Unity does practice communion as a community in Christ consciousness.

So, is Unity part of the Church?  It seems that Unity may be closer to what the original church (small c intended) started out as.  Which was a group of people who recognized the power of the teachings of one man (mostly) who understood the power that the implementation of those teachings could have on a person’s life and who recognized the power of gratitude as an opening to a more expansive, fulfilling experience of life.  Then there was an evolution of those concepts through the orientation toward the worship of the man (after all, the whole resurrection story is pretty cool), instead of the ideas he taught, the need for organization and man’s seeming inherent need for power.  Is this what will happen to Unity as it grows?   

Yes, I believe Unity is part of the church, in the same way that labradoodles are part of the species of animal known as dog.  They don’t shed, they’re hypo allergenic and are great with kids something a lot of people need.  They serve man well, now.   That doesn’t make them not dogs (although some people will argue that point.)  As a church, Unity is a hybrid with new (hmmm, maybe old) characteristics.   Its characteristics serve many people very well, right here right now.  There will always be the purebreds with a stately pedigree, but often it’s what works for the present time that truly serves man.