Spiritual Leader: Jill Loving, Licensed Unity Teacher Ofce: 209-723-3427 Cell: 209-489-7533 Email: unitymerced@yahoo.com Website: unity.

ty.org Facebook: unitymerced We are part of: Unity World Wide Ministries & Silent Unity

Loving Letter
for July and August 2012
Success and Prosperity are the themes for the next two months what a team! And what a range of meaning for each of us! What is success and prosperity for you? Answers on a post card please...and wouldn't that be an interesting exercise. For me 'spiritual success' is 'keeping your head when all around are loosing theirs' (Kipling approximately) and that is all about being spiritually grounded and secure in your Christ nature, Our spiritual way shower Jesus demonstrated his spiritual success by approaching his immanent and unjust death with calm serenity and I pray that we all have the opportunity to do that when our turn comes. What about spiritual prosperity? Well I guess that's the spiritual money in the bank that will enable us to do just that. Spiritual prosperity is knowing that there is an inexhaustible source that is always providing us with what we need. That is not necessarily what we want and part of spiritual success has to be being clear about that! Then we have to be good stewards of assets we are responsi-

ble for. It's an inexhaustible source not supply subtle difference. Finally we need to give as we receive by tithing. Yes the BIG frog as the 4T's course has it. Giving away a tenth of your time, treasure and talent. Tithing is the only promise in the bible and the only way to demonstrate this law is to do it because it dees rationality! Remember, you tithe to where you receive your spiritual good. So each week or month I recommend that you sit down and prayerfully consider where you have been blessed and tithe your treasure accordingly. Now we hope that much of your tithe will come Unity's way! But maybe a friend was particularly supportive with some counsel? Maybe you read an excellent and inspiring article in a magazine like Contact. (You have subscribed on line haven't you?) It is good spiritual practice to make this a regular consideration rather than just always tithing to the same place. Then you need to consider where you will give your time and your talent in the same way. There is a little country squished between India and China called Bhutan. They have developed a gross national happiness index to guide their public policies. What a novel idea, what should we as a government do to make our nation happier!! So do your own happiness index. What can you do that
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will make you happier? I suggest that giving and serving has to be high on your list to make you successful and prosperous. Peace love and blessings Jill Loving NEW EMAIL jag2pick@hushmail.com. Amend your address list and send me an email so I can save your address to my list as my old address book is gone!

TEACHING
Book of the Year: Discover the Power Within You by: Eric Butterworth Julys Book Club book of the month is: The Faith Club by: Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner Led by Karen Damme

A Course in Miracles
Tuesdays 7-9:00 p.m. with Randy and Mattie Lane - this is a long established class so please call 6286383 before joining these gifted spiritual souls T.E.D. a short thought provoking video followed by discussion. Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary led by Mark Osbourne from the Unitarian Group who use our building.

Board Chaplains Corner By: Dr. Judith Hartman WHAT DO YOU WANT? ... This is an important question. Do you want spiritual guidance, to be coached, get advice, or get feedback? Recently, I thought someone wanted spiritual guidance, but, as it tuned out, they wanted feedback and advice. It got me thinking about the difference. Feedback is information. It can take the form of thinking through what might happen if someone pursued a specic course of action, or it could be information about what already is as a basis for improvement. Advice is a recommendation given by someone you think is knowledgeable. Coaching takes feedback/advice to another level. Coaching leads you to action within a specic timeframes, based on goals, and a planned outcomes. Feedback is important. It can give you valuable information. But if you just talk about it, it may not be integrated into a course of action that changes the outcome. Feedback with coaching requires commitment. If someone doesn't do it, and you're their coach, you can call them to account for the promises they've made. If they did not do it, and you gave feedback or advice you could only say, "I told you so!" if matters got worse. This really hit home when someone asked me for help recently, and I sat down with X to help him think through what sounded like a conict of styles. I thought he wanted resolution. He was clearly upset by the lack of communica-

tion, and what he perceived as a power struggle with a co-worker. What happened? Nothing! He got information from me about what he could do. And I realized something I haven't thought about for years. How could anyone mistake talking as action? Talking about something is not the same as doing something about it! OK here it is. If your game is to just play the nice guy or gal, then you may wait and wait for the right moment to confront the situation. Or maybe your game is to get feedback in order to nd agreement that you're right! And you've forgotten in both cases that you're not trying to defeat the other person, you're aiming to defeat the problem. So what are you afraid of? You might be afraid that if you bring up your issues with another, they might have their own list for you! If you were truly committed to solve the problem, wouldn't you want to identify and resolve all of it? Both what you're aware of, and what someone else can bring to the table? What is required to do something about it? That is simple. Contact a Prayer Chaplain and work with that person to pray you through the event. Continue personal prayer for your ability to see right action in the outcome. Make a decision to take action only when it is very clear in your mind that the list of actions includes letting it go! Once you decide, and follow through, the results will tell you whether you are on or off course. It is important to pay close attention and self correct as you go. If you do not ever take action, you will not nd out what works or what does not work. But, you will not t be left in the dark. Your out Page 2 of 8

come will demonstrate the wisdom of your action. Frankly, I prefer human contact and the possibility of an unknown resolution to a little conict and the loneliness of being right! The need to be right ties you to a range of thinking that can keep you stuck, as if your ankle was tied to a stake in the ground. This limits not only what you think is possible; it limits the action you can take. How much leeway do your reasons give you? So here's the practice I recommend: Stop talking and start praying! Experience the freedom to think and act in new ways. Find a coach! Make the phone call or appointment, have the conversation, know what you want, make requests, and fulll promises. Listen, consider, and tell the truth. Take action. Then realize that you are not talking about it anymore, you're doing it! Fulllment is the reward of action. Take action now. Misery is in the story you tell. Action replaces it! Do not confuse stubbornness with strength. Listen, take action, and overcome obstacles. Be strong!

PRAYER
Our Prayer ministry continues to thrive on Tuesdays at noon.

email Prayer Requests to: unitymerced@yahoo.com

Every TUESDAY at 12 Noon Prayer Service in the Ofce Meditation Room. Please hold your Prayer Angels intention daily.

President's Message
Hello~ My Fellow Come-UnityAs I sit to reect on the summer offerings, its down right chilly! I am taking the time to continue to prepare my spirit for a good attitude in the face of the valley heat. For me anything under 102 degrees is a good day! First, if you read my contribution from our last newsletter, there is one correction that I would like to address. I referred to the Quingdom, which is a blend of queen and king, not the Queendom. It is referring to a time in the world when the Receptive nature of the Divine precedes the pro-Creative in the sacred yin/yang union. As the true masculine holds the door open for the true feminine, born of mutual respect and honor. As we co-create the dawning of conscious and Sacred culture, notice your inner yin and yang. I have a playful distinction of the Quingdom in my book, Simply Rich ~ A Cosmic Romance. Thanks! As we approach the 4th of July I am once again brought to my passion for the new verse for our national anthem. I am here to plant the seeds and cast them into the wind that we begin to sing a new song.

With no intention to dismiss and discount the previous rendition, it seems to me that we have come as far as we can by bombs bursting in air. Here is a verse by Steven Longfellow Fiske. He has named the Earth Anthem that uses the same melody from the traditional verse. (The melody for the national anthem is from an old English drinking song. Knowing this, it is the songs nature the be reincarnated.) So any chance you get, practice a new verse to an old song to manifest a new meaning. We can begin with our national anthem. Wishing us a blessed summer full of harmony, gratitude and conscious inter-dependence. Blessed Be to the Highest! Peace, Joy, Love! EARTH ANTHEM Oh say can we see By the one light in all Our Earth to embrace At the call of all nations Where our children can play In a world without war Where we stand hand in hand In the grace of creation Where the rivers run clean Through the forests of green Where the cities stand tall In the clear skies of freedom Oh say do our hearts sing For harmony and love forever On this planet of our birth Blessed with peace on Earth Lyrics by Steve Longfellow Fiske

The Nehemiah Team continues to meet on Saturday mornings when schedules permit. In the past month (June) we have run the new power line for the sound system and aided in the replacement of the duct work under the Sanctuary oor. The power line provides a dedicated circuit free of any outside distraction fed off of a 20 amp breaker that should never be interrupted by overload. The new duct work will allow both heating/air conditioning units to function at full capacity. Prior to this replacement work, we were down to 67% of available air ow. This should relieve some of the strain that had been placed on both units and will hopefully extend their life expectancy - they are both well over 20 years in age. A big thank-you to Jereme Anderson for all his help in painting the exterior trim of the Youth Ed building and for pressure washing the entire facility. Those are both jobs that we head out to do but always get dropped down on the list when other things come up. Things for the future - we still have touch-up painting to do in all three buildings. We would like to nd the time to organize the shed out back and perhaps haul a bunch of stuff off to the dump. Plant some more plants in our planter under the Unity sign - it looks rather bare. One of these years we need to make the ofce building a priority. The windows need to be replaced, as doboth doors, and the exterior needs a complete paint job. The porch ooring will need to be upgraded soon and should be done properly next time. That's it for now. Thank you - Mike

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This World: Perfect Just the Way it Is!

It has been suggested by certain high spiritual sources that this life is onewhere the greatest, most efcient advancement and change may take place. Thereason for this is the lag time between a certain decision (consciously orunconsciously made) and its consequences (good or bad) is very short. One'skarmic debts or surpluses are almost always immediately realized. For thisreason many advanced mystics declare that this world is perfect "just the way itis" with no need for it to change in any way for it is serving its purpose quitewell. To see and understand this means you now accept what is going on here and withthis understanding should come the ability to move beyond the seeming problemsand ugliness and injustice of this world and into a new way of being where one may now enjoythe perfection and beauty of earthlife. Now love, positivity, and selesshelpfulness is easy. For it is life helping life to progress-- to change. Negativity andall other forms of downgrading another no matter who it is or what it looks likeis now avoided at all costs. Change is what is happening here and it is why we are here. To notice a greatresistance to change in oneself or another means the very purpose of this life--to remain OPEN (and accepting) to change-is being denied. The only requirement for fullling the purposes of this life is to remain open

tochanges in all forms, within and without. All else is taken care of for us. Soit is by commitment to supporting all of life and also by surrenderingresistance to change that spiritual knowingness arises and all else that isneeded for this earthly journey is divinely provided for. Loving you just the way you are-- Jereme

Upcoming Events at Unity Village

July 1215 A Womans Time Out With Karen Drucker and Lori Sandstrom July 2127 The Grass Is Greener Right Here With David Ault July 2728 Masters of Change With Ian Lawton August 511 Next Generation SEE With faculty and friends of Unity Institute August 2425 The Power of Your Spirit With Sonia Choquette September 914 World Day of Prayer Retreat: Living the Life Divine With Rev. Mary Omwake and Devotion

The Youth Report

By: Sarah Anderson
It is so great to see the continuity of one theme and building upon it with each Sunday. Ida and I met at the monthly Youth Education Ministry meeting and came up with a tentative schedule for the rest of the year. I will update it as changes happen or new information is added. I am always open for improvement ideas for our Youth Ed program. We have made great progress in the last year. Thank you to all our volunteers! Month Teacher (2012) March Ida April* Sarah (& Jereme) May June July* Mattie Ida

Sarah (1st and 8th), Whitney (15, 22nd, 29th) August Mattie Septem- Ida ber* October Sarah Novem- Mattie ber Decem- Ida ber*
*On the 5th Sunday: Children may remain with congregation or go to youth room and be with Whitney

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Half Year Report 2012

What a joy it was to return to you after being away for the best part of two months and nd Unity of Merced vibrant and thriving! If you missed the July 1st service you missed a treat! All kinds of things happened while I was away, which is a very good sign that this spiritual community is not dependent upon it's spiritual leader but is truly self managing. CONGRATULATIONS The air ducts have been replaced so the cooling and heating system works as efciently as possible. The new sound system is installed and the bugs being tweaked out of it. The outside of the Youth Building is complete and looks wonderful. And you bought a new fridge for the Community Room at a bargain price! These last three items were not in the grand plan this year so this is how we have managed it. First the ducts, usually we put $1,200 a year into our CD that is being built up for the day the a/c heating units have to be replaced. They are 20 years old! So instead of saving it this year we spent it on the a/c heating system in advance. Second the sound system, Ed Benes and the musicians brought this proposal to us and it was too good an idea and price to miss. We hadn't used all the money budgeted for scholarships and we haven't as yet bought into the Unity Brand web site so for the moment we have used those monies to pay for the sound system. Third the fridge was such a bargain we'll just cover that! Income this half of year has been $42,979

Expenditure this half of the year has been $43,837. Now that doesnt mean weve over spent! We had $5,000 carry forward for development work as well so we are in the black. This year we budgeted $7,500 a month for 'running' expenses, and afrmed $8000 or more a month so we have a balance to earmark for development in the following year. We have spend our allocated 'development money' and more this year so we look forward to a marked increase in income to enable us to achieve our plans for next year. We are a truly amazing community as our average attendance this half year is 41.42 including the children. We look forward to our regular attendance being in the 50s. What can you do to help us achieve that? And what might be on the horizon for you all? Spiritual Development Coming up this fall as well as all Small Group Ministries that serve us so well and our usual outstanding Sunday Services we have:World Day of Prayer Sound Song and Silence Service Thursday September 13th 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Day Retreat in Yosemite Park Saturday September 1st or 15th Unity of Merced Birthday Concert Service Sunday October 29th We have a scholarship fund to cover tuition for Spiritual Enlightenment and Education. Karen is taking advantage of this in Portland this summer and there is S.E.E. in the West July 30th to August 3rd. Details in church or get a brochure from SEEunitywc2012@aol.com, register at http://see.unitycenter.net or talk to me on Sunday. We prefer
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that you to pay your costs up front and we will reimburse you when you get your accreditation, but if that is difcult for you we can be exible. A weeks tuition is about $400. There are also plans afoot in our region for Unity Centers to offer one SEE class over a weekend. A weekend of tuition would probably be $100 to $125. Both options are much more economical than going to the village. Material Development It's quite a list! (not prioritized) The trees and yard between sanctuary and ofce need attention. The fruiting tree on the car park makes a dreadful mess and we are considering removing and replacing it with a less messy shade tree. Was this tree a donation does anyone know? Any ideas as to type of tree to replace it? The tall pine tree causes no end of problems on the roof so really needs to come out and also be replaced. Perhaps it's trunk could be a totem? However it may be protected. Other trees need to be pruned professionally to keep them healthy and the buildings safe. I am still seeing a labyrinth in this space rather than soggy grass! The community room needs new ooring. Carpet doesn't seem to stand up to the wear and tear but a hard wood oor will make it very noisy unless we combine it with new drapes for the windows and maybe decorative tapestry for the walls. This would deaden the sound but will cost. Youth Education needs new industrial strength carpet, right through the building. The ofce needs new double paned windows and doors, insulation and exterior paint. The ramp needs work on it again.

Half Year Report 2012 (cont.)

The sanctuary needs interior painting, the exterior needs power washing and will need another coat of paint one day. But when you think of what we have achieved with our premises over the past 7 or 8 years that's quite a list too! 2004 Painted ofce kitchen & community room ourselves 2005 Repaired the extensive dry rot in the community room 2006 Replaced the roof on the sanctuary. Replaced bathroom in sanctuary. External lights. 2007 Replaced roof on Youth Building. Replaced sewer line from sanctuary bathroom to main sewer back of car park. 2008 New A/C and ducting for ofce, enclosed Ofce and Youth Building land and created the back garden. Planted all around the sanctuary. 2009 Rebuilt ramp to ofce. Replaced siding on Youth Education building. Built soak-a-way trench on North side of same to prevent rot returning. External lights. 2010 Repaired/replaced and painted sanctuary windows. Replaced door to community room. Projector and screen for the sanctuary. 2011 Replaced window youth building, secured underneath of sanctuary, and new signs. 2012 Painted trim Youth building, installed sound system and replaced ducts under sanctuary. And I'll bet I've forgotten some things but Mike and Lamech will remind me! So we know we can do it and have a vibrant community with wonderful Sunday Services, a range of small group ministries and develop our own human resources further.

SERVICE
Hospitality Ministry meets 12 noon 1st Sunday of the month. Next event Sunday, Sept. 9th for Grandparents Day. Have a great summer! Lead: Susan Benes Call: 209-777-7771 Email: smbpaints@aol.com. 2012 Birthday Cake Ministry: A very big THANK YOU to everyone that signed-up to provide the monthly birthday cake. The first Sunday of every month is Birthday Sunday. Bookstore Ministry: View our inventory at: http://www.librarything.com/home/ UnityMerced The group meets (as needed) 12 noon 2nd Sunday of the month. Lead: Mattie Lane Email: mattielane@sbcglobal.net Youth of Unity Teachers meet 12 noon 4th Sunday of the month. Lead: Sarah Anderson Email: sarahanderson1122@gmail.com Newsletter Deadline for the September / October 2012 issue is Sunday, August 26th, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. PDT Lead: Janet Hay Overbey Email: jhoverbey@clearwire.net Nehemiah Ministry meets most Saturdays. Their Honey-Do-List is at the back of the sanctuary. Please add any repairs you notice that need attention. Lead: Mike Fragulia Email: fragulia@sbcglobal.net Sunday Service Support Ministry greeting, sound, scribe, and offertory collection. Another sound ministry person would be
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welcome as would another platform person. Lead: Lamech Howard Out Reach 2012 FIL Merceds next meal will be Tuesday, July 31st. Betty P, Connie, Ida, Karen and Twila are the committee that provides this meal each quarter. Sharing our Premises Currently AA and RCA meetings plus the Unitarians share our building. Please see our Weekly Calendar for scheduled meetings and office hours.

BRANDING
Keep in touch via facebook. WE are postponing setting up the website until funds have picked up a bit. BOARD NEWS Remember we have established a Scholarship Fund to pay tuition costs for members who further their Unity Education through attending SEE Portland (end July) or SEE at the Village or online. It now stands at $3,000. Apply to the Board in writing for a scholarship. H.Q and Association News Dont forget we belong to an international organization. Keep in touch with all they do, and offer for your personal growth, through the web site www.unity.org, subscribe to Unity magazine and The Path the regular email newsletter

STAFFING NEWS
Our ofce manager Janine Adcock is now in the ofce Monday 9-11 a.m. Tuesday 11 a.m. 4 p.m. Wed 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. Thursday 11 a.m. 4 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. 1 p.m. Ofce will be closed July 19th, 20th, and 23rd.

July 2012 Sunday Service Line-up 10:30 AM July 1st Speaker-Joy Widmark Music-Kate&Roddy Jackson Platform-Rich Gipson Sound-Mike/Jereme Flowers-Dee Dee Lead Usher-Lamech Howard BookstoreUniTots-Whitney UniKids-Sarah Anderson UniteensHospitality-Lamech & Janine July 8th Speaker-Jill Loving Music-Allan Spencer Special Music-Cheryl Locket Platform-Dan Aleman Sound-Mike/Jereme Flowers-Charlotte Mak Lead Usher-Lamech BookstoreUniTots-Whitney UniKids-Sarah August 2012 Sunday Service Line-up 10:30 AM August 5th Speaker-Karen Damme Music-Kate&Roddy Jackson Platform-Ida Fragulia Sound-Mike/Jereme Flowers-Dee Dee Lead Usher-Lamech Howard Bookstore UniTots-Whitney UniKids-Mattie Lane Uniteens Hospitality-Lamech & Janine August 12th Speaker-Jill Loving Accompanist-Allan Spencer Special Music-Cheryl Locket Platform-Dan Aleman Sound-Mike/Jereme Flowers-Charlotte Mak

UniteensHospitality-Lamech & Janine July 15th Speaker-Randy Lane Accompanist- John Albano Special Music-Lorraine Walsh Platform-Ida Fragulia Sound-Mike/Jereme Flowers-Twila Stout Lead Usher-Lamech BookstoreUniTots-Whitney UniKids-Whitney UniteensHospitality-Frank & Janie July 22nd Speaker-Allan Spencer Music-Ed Benes Platform-Mike Fragulia

Sound-Mike/Jereme FlowersLead Usher-Lamech BookstoreUniTots-Whitney UniKids-Whitney UniteensHospitality-Lamech & Teresa G. July 29th Service-Kate&Roddy Jackson Platform-Mike Fragulia Sound-Mike/Jereme FlowersLead Usher-Lamech BookstoreUniTots-Whitney UniKids-Whitney UniteensHospitality-All Hands!

Lead Usher-Lamech Howard Bookstore UniTots-Whitney UniKids-Mattie Lane Uniteens Hospitality-Lamech & Janine August 19th Speaker-Randy Lane Accompanist-John Albano Special Music-Lorraine Walsh Platform-Rich Gipson Sound-Mike/Jereme Flowers-Twila Stout Lead Usher-Lamech Howard Bookstore UniTots-Whitney
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UniKids-Mattie Lane Uniteens Hospitality-Frank & Janie August 26 Speaker-Sharianada Adamz tbc Music-Ed Benes Platform-Mike Fragulia Sound-Mike/Jereme Flowers Lead Usher-Lamech Howard Bookstore UniTots-Whitney UniKids-Mattie Lane Uniteens Hospitality-Lamech & Teresa G.

305 W. 26th Street Merced, CA 95340

July / August 2012

Sunday 10:30 AM Worship Service ---------------4:00 PM U.U. every 2nd & 4th Sunday Monday 7-8:00 AM AA Meeting ---------------9-11:00 AM Ofce Open ---------------6:30-8 PM RCA Meeting Tuesday 7-8:00 AM AA Meeting ---------------11:00 AM to 4:00 PM Ofce Open ---------------12:00 Noon Prayer Service ---------------7-9:00 PM A Course in Miracles w/ Mattie and Randy Lane

Weekly Calendar & Meetings Schedule

Wednesday 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Ofce Open ---------------BellyFusion 6-7:00 PM Dance Fitness 7-8:00 PM Dance Choreography ---------------also 6-7:30 PM AA Meeting (Children Welcome) Thursday 7-8:00 AM AA Meeting ---------------11:00 AM to 4:00 PM Ofce Open ---------------7:00 PM T.E.D. w/ Mark Osbourne (sanctuary) Friday 7-8:00 AM AA Meeting ---------------10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Ofce Open Saturday 8-9:00 AM AA Meeting