Ongoing Classes
Contact the church to learn more about the classes.
Scholarships Offered: Unity Church of Vermont lovingly supports all on their spiritual journey and does not intend to have the cost of any event, class, or workshop keep people from participating. It is also important that the work of the ministry continue and flourish and it does so through the free-will contributions of its members and those who attend services, classes and events. If you are in need of a scholarship, please make your request to Rev. Lane. If you would like to contribute to a scholarship fund, please note this on your love offering.
Membership - Unity Basics Class
If you desire to make a formal commitment to Unity of Vermont, sign up for the Membership - Unity Basics class on Sunday, February 21 from Noon to 3:00 p.m. We will study Unity history, its principles, Unity’s use of the bible, and what it can mean to you to be a voting member of Unity of Vermont. Bring a sack lunch to Sunday’s class. Those who complete this class and choose to join as voting members will be welcomed at a special dedication ceremony during the service on Sunday, February 28. Free will love offerings accepted for Unity.
Enlightened Leaders Program
The Enlightened Leaders Program has begun but it’s not too late to join. We will be showing a recorded Webcast of the first segment and discussing how we can use these ideas at Unity of Vermont on January 7th at Rev. Lane’s house from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. If you want to come, call or email Rev. Lane at 802-876-7696 or lane2love@yahoo.com.
Gather Round Communication Circles
Gather Round Communication Circles for Clarity & Connection with Yourself and Others, a 10-week series led by Sally Dames of South Burlington. We’ll revisit real life situations where both expressing and listening are refocused on universal human needs. You’ll acquire a new understanding of missed empathetic opportunities for connection and discover previously unseen possibilities for resolution. And we’ll have fun doing it!
Sally has spent the last 15 years in the communications field. Recently inspired by the work of many peace leaders who use the circle for connection, Sally is now combining her career interests with her new found love of Nonviolent Communication, developed by Marshall Rosenberg. She and many others have found that once you experience how these subtle differences in communication can contribute to your life, you will never want to go back to old ways of conversing. However, as with many things, although the concepts are simple, the application is often difficult in the heat of the moment. Practicing with others in a comfortable, casual environment is the key to making it second nature.
The first two circles will cover the basics of NVC, and the remaining eight circles we’ll practice the NVC techniques and awareness. If you have previous NVC experience you may drop in to any of the remaining 8 practice circles. The session will include presentation, discussion, role-plays and exercises. The question most explored will be “what is alive inside of me, and how can I communicate with others for mutual understanding and connection?”
Session starts January 14 and runs through March 18 Thursday evenings 6:30 - 8 pm. $100 for the ten-week session OR $10 a circle.
Introduction to Kabbalah, Its Consciousness and Its Tools
Taught by Alex Nimick Using Yehuda Berg’s new book, The Power to Change Everything, we will cover the most current teachings on consciousness and transformation as well as ancient tools offered through the work of the Kabbalah Centre International. The goal of the 9 week class is to provide, through interaction, an on-going manual for daily life to stimulate personal and even global change. Weekly materials will be provided. The final session, just before Passover (AKA Pesach) will be a wrap up and celebration. A few books will be available to purchase at the first class. “The more you want to change the world, the more you have to change yourself.” Yehuda Berg. On Thursdays beginning Jan. 28 to Mar. 25, from 7 - 8:30 pm. Tuition is $10/ class. Scholarships and partial attendance will be considered.
The Science of Happiness: The New Psychology
A class taught by Rev. Giita Clark Over the last 20 years there has been a revolution within the field of psychology where research has turned its lens to study the science of positive emotions, happiness and optimism. We now have laboratory and field tested evidence that even habitual pessimists can learn how to change their “explanatory style” of interpreting life events and create greater creativity, inspiration and success in all facets of their lives through simple practices, and a new understanding of their own thinking and emotional responses. Our own Giita Clark has been using these principles, and techniques in working with troubled teenagers and found that they work. Now she is bringing these tools to us in a twelve-week class. This winter, instead of hibernating or taking anti-depressants, why not discover for yourself how to use the latest discoveries and technologies developed by the leading psychologist in the field of “positive psychology”? Classes are 7:00 to 8:30 pm Tuesday nights, beginning January 12, through March 30th. Tuition is $120 for the 12-weeks, materials provided. Minimum enrollment is 8 people.
The Practice of Prayer
Every Sunday I remind us all that prayer and meditation are the cornerstones of the Unity movement. Unity as a movement began as a prayer circle in the Fillmore’s home after Myrtle Fillmore the co-founder of Unity, healed herself of tuberculosis through prayer. She spoke to the cells, organs and tissues of her body and asked their forgiveness for the angry, negative thoughts she had bathed them in for so many years. She stopped blaming her body for her life and began thanking it. She thanked the very cells of her body temple for lovingly supporting her throughout the years. And through this daily practice she was healed and went on to teach others this powerful practice.
Charles Fillmore described prayer as “the opening up in our soul of an innate spiritual umbilical cord that connects us with the Holy Mother, from whom we can receive a perpetual flow of life.” So prayer is not about changing God, it is about changing our awareness of and our relationship to our Source and the power of this Source to bring forth what appears to be lacking in our lives. Prayer attunes us to the Oneness that we are part of and helps to lessen the grip of fear that imprisons us in lack and limitation. Through prayer we can enhance our spiritual vision, giving us a deeper understanding of ourselves, opening new possibilities to handling life’s challenging situations and relationships. Come and we’ll practice together: Sunday, March 28, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Open Heart Meditation
Mondays beginning March 8, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. This is a new experience offered by Jaclyn Berkowitz, who came to our Holistic Healing Fair and inspired the people who experienced her healing prayer work. She has now has joined us and offers this meditation from the Padmacahaya Foundation. She says the Open Heart Meditation “provides a most joyful experience of feeling our hearts, our most precious asset. In doing so we allow for our Divine Connection to be cleansed and opened and can have profound senses of relaxation, peace, and joy. This is a feeling experience, whereby simply relaxing, smiling sweetly to our heart, and following our feeling, allows for the Love to cleanse us from negativities from the inside out. Come experience the beauty and joy awaiting us all in our hearts.” CDs for the Meditation can be purchased for $3. Love offerings gratefully accepted.
Sivananda Classical Yoga at Unity
We will offer a 5-week Sivananda classical yoga class at Unity starting on Friday, April 9 to Friday, May 14 (no class on April 30). It is a yoga for the body, mind and spirit, taught by Hédi Mizouni, a Sivananda Yoga graduate. The one and half hour class will include Pranayama (science of breath), all the Asanas (yoga postures), Savasana (proper relaxation) and Dhyana (meditation). Tuition is kept reasonable at $50.00 for the five weeks and there is a minimum enrollment of 8 people. Time of the class will be decided by consensus: 5:00 pm., 5:30 pm. or 6:00 pm. Please indicate your choice when you enroll. To register e-mail Rev. Lane at lane2love@yahoo.com or Hedi Mizouni at hedimizouni@hotmail.com or phone the Church at 288-9265. Join us, recharge and revitalize. Prepare for the epoch of enlightenment that many mystics are predicting.
Sailing Into Abundance
a 5-week prosperity course beginning Thursday, April 8 - May 6, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Let’s face it-prosperity is an issue that people have been wrestling with for a long, long time now. That makes sense - prosperity is important and it affects our experience of life. It touches us in so many ways. Let’s discover what prosperity is and what it is not.
We will see what Unity has to say about it, along with some of the best-known authors within the Unity movement. During the five weeks we will work with the words of Edwene Gaines and Eric Butterworth; Charles Fillmore and Catherine Ponder. We will certainly use The Bible, as well as the works from other religious traditions. They all have quite a bit to teach us.
But, of course, this is Unity, so we already know that the greatest teaching that can possibly take place is from ourselves. We are always our own best teachers. All a class can really do is help you discover what you already know. Each person here knows quite a bit so let’s learn from each other, too.
So buckle up your yellow slicker, grab your sea legs, your compass and shout tally-ho! Let’s get going! Tuition $50 for the 5-week course or $10 per session.We will offer a 5-week Sivananda classical yoga class at Unity starting on Friday, April 9 to Friday, May 14 (no class on April 30). It is a yoga for the body, mind and spirit, taught by Hédi Mizouni, a Sivananda Yoga graduate. The one and half hour class will include Pranayama (science of breath), all the Asanas (yoga postures), Savasana (proper relaxation) and Dhyana (meditation). Tuition is kept reasonable at $50.00 for the five weeks and there is a minimum enrollment of 8 people. Time of the class will be decided by consensus: 5:00 pm., 5:30 pm. or 6:00 pm. Please indicate your choice when you enroll. To register e-mail Rev. Lane at lane2love@yahoo.com or Hedi Mizouni at hedimizouni@hotmail.com or phone the Church at 288-9265. Join us, recharge and revitalize. Prepare for the epoch of enlightenment that many mystics are predicting.
Special Events
The Season for Nonviolence January 30th - April 4th This is a 64-day campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. It is inspired by the lives and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The dates mark the anniversaries of their assignations.
For us to continue their work to create a more compassionate and loving world, we first need to become more loving and compassionate ourselves. We need a new vision of a society governed by love, where compassion is the high standard. What can we do? How can we, as spiritual activists, help to improve this world? We can imagine peace, vision peace. We can feel peace all around us. We can envision people of all nations freely moving between countries, speaking with respect and honoring all differences. We can see and feel the joy of celebrating our diversity. We feel safe and secure. We know that we are all brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers, daughters and sons of one another. We are a family. And all is truly well. God is good.
New Member Dedication - Sunday, February 28. Please plan on attending this special ceremony during the 10:30 a.m. service where we honor those who have chosen to join the church as voting members. We celebrate their dedication and commitment to this ministry.
Friday Night Coffee House 2010 - Come join the groupies from last years’ events for a splendid evening of fun, live music and good cheer with friends as we celebrate the fourth Coffee House at Unity of Vermont. Live music, musicians and singers will entertain us in a transformed sanctuary. We have invited the musicians we enjoyed last year to join us again as we raise the roof in joy and celebration. We envision jazz, blues, folk, rock, soul, and country western. We have scheduled it for Friday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door and includes refreshments. Contact Rev. Lane 876-7696 or lane2love@yahoo.com for more info and/or to volunteer at the event.
Stone Soup Sunday - March 14. Have you heard the story of how the hungry stranger far away from home and in a foreign land made soup from stones? It is a lovely children’s story of sharing and building community and we will reenact it at Unity with your help. Please bring a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker - that person who has noticed your delightful smile and cheerful attitude and wondered how does he do it? We all want to share our community with our friends so you can do your part and invite someone new to church for this special event. Please bring veggies for the soup or bread and we’ll share after church.
