Times…You’re Place To Be
St. Cloud Times Article
October 23,2011
UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA.
Origin: According to the Rev. Barbara Winter Martin, Unity Spiritual Center began 15 years ago as a book study. Gradually growing and evolving since then, the Center recently moved from its former location near Lake George on Ninth Avenue in St. Cloud to 931 Fifth Ave. N in Sartell.
Mission:“We are an inclusive community of positive-minded people learning and supporting each other in living healthy, prosperous and meaningful lives, ” Winter Martin said.
Unofficially, she added, the folks at Unity Spiritual Center are “culturally Christian and spiritually unlimited … positive, practical and progressive.” They follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, Winter Martin said, though they are also open to other teachers, other worlds of thought and contemporary ideas.
“We like wisdom wherever it comes from. Our intention, really, is to honor people wherever they are in their spiritual paths,” she said, adding that the group’s aim is to “be a place for people to gather and explore truth.”
Members: Winter Martin said about 120 people are involved with Unity Spiritual Center, and on any given Sunday about 60 adults and a handful of children come to services.
They conduct Wednesday evening services and make Sunday school available, which includes a “rich curriculum” and “positive, esteem-building programs,” according to Winter Martin.
Affiliations: The group is connected with Unity Worldwide Ministries. That organization is based in Unity Village, Mo., and claims about 700 congregations in the U.S., and six in Minneapolis, Winter Martin said.
Function: Unity Spiritual Center serves the area community in two main ways, according to Winter Martin. First, she said, “ the center assists everyone who attends a service in knowing themselves well and finding their purpose. We know that as they grow in their understanding of their divinity, that helps them in all their actions: work, family, community.”
Another function is the education the center provides, Winter Martin said, by hosting guest speakers and offering a diverse slate of classes that “will feed the different community members.”
Recent Accomplishments: Having just moved into its new 14,00-square-foot building, Winter Martin said the Center has been working to create a new slate of classes for the community. They recently hosted a barn dance- complete with fiddle orchestra – and continued work with the faith-based community and action group ISAIAH.
Winter Martin also said she loved sponsoring a booth at the second annual Pridefest in St. Cloud, and “energetic” event that provided people, especially disparaged youths, with a place to go.
“I love the people who aren’t necessarily GLBT that attend and just want to be inclusive,” she said.