May 30, 2021
Dear Seattle Unity Friend in the Future:
I arrived at Seattle Unity (then Unity Church of Truth) in December, 1990 with my former husband and co-minister, Stephen Towles with two babies in tow. My daughter was 6 weeks old and my son was under two years. The ministry was experiencing a downturn at the time and we began rebuilding the community. As of this writing, I have been with SU for 30 years.
I have watched children grow up and get married. I have witnessed the suffering and deaths of those stricken with AIDS and other illnesses. I have celebrated weddings and christenings and marked the seasons with special rituals including the White Stone Ceremony, the Burning Bowl and Maundy Thursday Communion service. Couples met and married at SU.
We mourned together after 9-11 and saw the importance of honoring all religions. We placed altars to all the world’s religions around the sanctuary and created tapestries that were also dedicated to them. Following in the footsteps of Myrtle Fillmore, I formed a prayer chaplain ministry that has set the foundation for a healthy community. Through classes and study groups we have sought to live Unity principles. Many groups formed that deepened spiritual understanding such the Course In Miracles and Umoja, our African American study group.
As we looked to the future, we wondered how we could best serve the community. We have always been a commuter church with people coming from as far as Tacoma and as close as Queen Anne. As Seattle continued to grow, traffic and parking became difficult. We knew we had to change with the times. When SU was built it was the only New Thought Church in the area. That is no longer the case. Today there are Unity Churches, CSL, Interfaith ministries, and Yoga and Buddhist centers all over Seattle. We decided to “right-size” and envisioned the building project. Our goal was to remain in the heart of Seattle and be close to Denny Park.
With a group of dedicated volunteers, board and staff we hired the right people at the right time to make this dream come true. As you read this, my hope is that we have manifested our vision which is: “We are an accessible and inclusive spiritual sanctuary for all ages and stages of life. We offer spiritual practices and a community that honors diversity and encourages self-empowerment. We co-create a world that works for all.”
In deep appreciation,
Rev. Karen Lindvig, Senior Minister