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Minister's Message

Barry Vennard

Namaste Dear Friends,

Unity of Omaha, a spiritual community, is a good description of us, isn’t it? Our new, full legal name is, Unity Church, (doing business as) Unity of Omaha. That name was adopted by a strong membership vote at the meeting on Sunday, August 29th; it was not without a discussion that allowed many voices to be heard. And, in that discussion we heard how important it is that we not forget that are and will remain a church for many and we will continue our work to create the most powerful Sunday services we can. Our legal name will likely always remain “Unity Church.” As we have in the past, we may change our “doing business as” name if and when it helps makes our ministry more effective. Our new “doing business as” name, Unity of Omaha is part of the new identity being presented to the world via Unity Worldwide Ministries, the new name of our formerly Association of Unity Churches, International.

Underlying it all, we are “Unity” and that’s important. We are the Unity movement in Omaha, Nebraska. We are conduits of the life transforming Unity teachings and the Unity way of life. As Unity of Omaha, we will continue to offer practical, spiritual teachings that empower abundant and meaningful living.

Actually, the name change doesn’t change much for most of us. Unity still tells us that our first job is to awaken to our own divine nature as living, evolving expressions of the one creative power and presence in the Universe, God the good. Second, is to demonstrate the power of Unity spirituality in own lives during good times and difficult times. Third, is for each us to find our right niche in the expanding the transformative work of our spiritual community. As one of our chaplains stated in the recent chaplain training program (I paraphrase); “Giving it away by praying with someone else gives me more than I can ever describe. All I need to do when I am having difficulties in my life is to pray with some else for their needs and I find immediate release and peace.”

As we go forward with our renovation and as we continue to attract more and more people to our movement we will need to actively and intentionally seek ways to help them find a stronger connection with God every day and we will need to make sure that they can find meaningful roles in fulfilling our ministry’s purpose and vision. Together, we can keep our focus on our expanding future, a future in which we help more and more people realize their spiritual purpose and potential. By doing that we open ourselves to ever greater experiences of the blessings that are our divine inheritance and that we claim by being part of Unity of Omaha.

In Unity

Barry Vennerd

Click here to learn about Mission Centric, Integral Ministry and Holacracy at Unity Church of Omaha.

2010 Annual Minister's Report