Seattle Unity

"The word solstice, in latin, means 'sun set still.'  I believe that 'sun set still' is also a reminder for us to be Soul still."On this Fourth Sunday in Advent, Rev. Karen draws on one of her superpowers:  astrology.  As we prepare for the The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on this year's solstice, we can use the moment to examine what other major chang...

"Hope to me is that idea of transcending and reaching beyond our human experiences... to me hope is Spiritual Vision."In this First Sunday of Advent, Associate Minister Diane Robertson helps us to identify hope, to cultivate our ability to see it even when we don't feel it. How do we heal, as a nation, through a time some are calling The Great Divide? Worship Arts comes from Erin Mc...

"It may feel we end back at a place where we began. We learn something, and then we're called, with the same pattern, to learn it again at a deeper level."Rev. Karen uses this second Sunday in Advent to explore the idea of repeated lessons.  This is how we can come back over and over to Advent and Christmas, and still find more spiritual treasure. This service also features a blessi...

"The more clearly we see the reality of the world, the better equipped we are to deal with the world. We have some big issues that we need to face."Rev. Karen uses this third Sunday in Advent to explore both truth and Truth. While (big 't') Truth is eternal, small 't' truth is shifting, and often challenging to see clearly.  Whether it's rose-colored glasses, exa...

"So let me ask you, what is the inner work that you need to do? What is it in your own basement, in your own underground, that needs to be brought up, lifted up, brought into the light to be healed?"In this first service after the 2020 election, Rev. Karen Lindvig speaks to the metaphor of Foundational strength.   Even while the outcome is still disputed, and the way forward isn't y...

"You can find that you're so depleted that making a list of your blessings can feel like another thing on you TO-DO list. One must engage the heart... what do I love?"This morning Rev. Karen Lindvig turns our attention toward Gratitude as a grounding energy.  Without the centering force of gratitude for keeping our souls held together, we can feel like we're flying off into man...

"When I chose this theme [Seeds of Grace], I had no idea what this year was going to be like.... but when I look back over this year I realize that we *have* been planting Seeds of Grace, we just didn't know it, seeds that will sprout and grow in the coming years."This morning Rev. Karen Lindvig prepares us for a different kind of Thanksgiving, as well as a different kind of year-in...

"When an idea comes from that great galaxy of supreme ideas it goes forth in strength and harmony."Rev. Maggie Alderman joins us from New Braunfels, Texas, to talk about our most core Unity beliefs. Our principles are much easier to hold on to when things are going well. But how do we experience the Divine authentically in times of chaos? Worship Arts comes all the way from Hawaii, from...

"Each one of us has to stop and do our inner work...every single one of us has a step that we can take.. and what ever small steps you take can affect the whole."Rev. Karen Lindvig returns with our own Worship Arts team, for our first live-streamed service, auspiciously scheduled on All Saints Day, right before our national election, and exactly on the fall back Daylight Saving day.  In...

"I've come to be aware that grief slowly creeps into every part of us... it finds its way into the cells of our body... every aspect of our lives. So I've decided my only option is to make friends with grief."Guest speaker Rev. Meghan Brooks Smith gives a resonant and well-timed talk. Using stories from the Dalai Lama as well as her own deep personal revelations, she crafts a b...

"Dogs come when you call them. Cats take a message and say they'll get back to you later."Today is our annual Pet Blessing Day, and senior minister Rev. Karen Lindvig takes a lighthearted look at how animals enrich our lives and help us manifest our best, most authentic selves.  She notes the new ways our animals support us (or sometimes don't), during these quarantine times, a...

Rev. Karen re-visits the core spiritual tool of prayer, in its various forms, as a great way to navigate current challenges.  Examining the healing and affirmation works of Myrtle Fillmore, she encourages us to re-invigorate our prayer practice. Worship Arts include group recordings from Seattle Unity band, Erin McGaughan, Olivia Hamilton, Jesse Whitford, David Loy, as well as commmunity members T...

"It is no longer a theory; it is what is. And perhaps we can use this Equinox energy to accept where we are and surrender to a higher power."With the fires, the hurricanes, and virus, Rev. Karen acknowledges our current upheavals.  She looks at some lessons offered by 12 step processes, and incorporates nature imagery, and the wisdom of Viktor Frankel, as well as a variation on a lovingk...

"What is your spiritual practice, that disengages you from the Ego and the Pain Body, where you can have that space? Is it mindful meditation, is it yoga, is it tai chi, is it walking in nature?"Senior Minister Rev. Karen Lindvig returns to explore the image of an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other.  She incorporates the concepts of the Ego and the Pain Body, as discussed b...

"We take our stuff, we throw it on our back, and then we walk into the next situation, we take down our stuff and we plunk it right into our new situation.  We bring our stuff from the past... and put it right down into our future."Associate minister Diane Robertson welcomes her ministerial school classmate, guest speaker Thomas deSchutter.  Thomas comes to us from Nanaimo, British Colum...

"Are we looking through the glass, and looking for the horizon... or are we focusing on the spots on the window?"Guest speaker Don Barton joins us from Christ Church Unity in Orlando, Florida, bringing his Florida flavor, along with some lovely underscoring from the CCU staff pianist. Don looks at the Unity principle of Oneness, and how we can continue to see manifestations of oneness al...

"So Abraham then, represents this call that we get, that says, hey, there's more to this world than eating, drinking, and sleeping.  There's more to this world than what I am currently experiencing."Senior Minister Rev. Karen Lindvig explores that something more, which we access through our spiritual practices. When we forget our practice we get stuck in one reality, one perspe...

"I'm wondering if it's that we've stepped out of clock time.  Not totally, not a hundred percent, but in many ways we have stepped out of clock time."Senior Minister Rev. Karen Lindvig examines how the concept of time has changed due to the virus.  She weaves in historical contexts like The Spanish Flu, as well as contemporary understanding of everyday time, waiting time,...

"In the garden of our lives, we might ask, what IS it that we actually planted? Did we plant good things?"Seattle Unity welcomes first time guest speaker Rev. Judith Laxer . Judith is the founding priestess of Gaia's Temple, an inclusive, earth-based ministry in Seattle, about to celebrate 20 years of service next month. She also enjoys a successful private practice as a psychic, sp...

"When we hope, we have energy... we have vitality, we have courage, and we're able to keep moving forward. What we are experiencing right now is finite disappointment, but there's always infinite hope. "Rev. Karen Lindvig faces our current covid weariness head on, and uses Unity principles to find the glimmers of hope that we can tune into, even now.  She also pulls examples fr...

"I think that there is an awakening that is happening right now, and it is a furthering of the cosmic plan for equality and for justice. "Senior Minister Rev. Karen Lindvig goes deeper into how our spiritual tools are called for right now, in transforming societal structures.  How do we build structures that are more authentic and just?   How do we catch the divine vision, and then find...

"Awareness is the key to being the light, and being able to stare down the darkness. "Faith Ireland has been a member of this community for more than 50 years, and this Sunday she brings her wisdom to the fore.  She uses some key points from transcendentalists as well as contemporary New Thought writers, to help us navigate rough times. Faith is also teaching a class in August based on t...

"We've read our spiritual books, we've done our meditation, we've done our spiritual practices, we've gone on our retreats. We've been spiritual aspirants... and now, we need the tools that we have built over all of these years, whether you're fifteen or eighty-five, this is the moment that you have, that we have been waiting for. "Senior Minister Rev. Karen...

"This was a time period when many lesbian mothers across the U.S. lost their rights to care for their children, strictly because they were lesbian."To mark Pride Sunday this year, former Seattle Unity Board chair Dr. Desi Bailey describes her advocacy work over the decades.  The scope and commitment of her work is inspiring, profound, and continues today.  Thank you Desi, and to all our...

"And so how do we reconcile, sometimes, these ideals that we have in light of what we see as not living up to those ideals?"This year's Fourth of July brings a mixed bag of emotions, and Associate Minister Diane Robertson wrestles with the central questions around our sense of national identity. Diving deep into the meaning of patriotism and its shadow, nationalism, she finds many p...