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History

Founded in the late 1800s by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, Unity is part of a uniquely American spiritual movement sometimes called “New Thought,” combining a new understanding on the teachings of Jesus with universal spiritual principles—especially as expressed in the Transcendentalist writings of Emerson and Thoreau, among others. What eventually became the Unity Institute, headquartered at Unity Village near Kansas City, Missouri, had its early beginnings in a magazine called Modern Thought, published by Charles Fillmore.   In subsequent years, millions of people have been introduced to Unity through its periodicals The Daily Word and Unity Magazine. Others have come to know Unity and receive prayer help through Silent Unity, which has maintained a round-the-clock continuous energy of prayer for more than 100 years.

In The Story of Unity, author James Dillet Freeman writes, “Where the churches had put the emphasis on controversial doctrinal points that had caused division in the Christian world, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore were to put the emphasis on the things that are practical, the things that apply to everyday living. They were not to found a new religion, but were to work in the framework of existing religions and appeal to church members without causing them to divorce themselves from their church. They were to propound a teaching that people of all faiths could study and apply to their lives.”

History of Unity in Chicago

1976

In the beginning (well, actually, it was 1976) a band of intrepid Truth students sought to cast off the oppressive, guilt-laden religions of their youth and create a joyful spiritual community in the high-energy City of Chicago. Rev. Scott Sherman provided initial leadership on behalf of the Association of Unity Churches, and Rev. Polly Dozier, our first minister under an Association charter, set an engaging and energetic tone that was to be a defining characteristic of the new church through the next quarter-century.

1979

Three years had passed when the newly ordained Mike Matoin, a warm, huggable little bear of a man, returned to Chicago to take the helm of the small congregation, joined a year later by his ministerial classmate and new wife, Sara. Mike's humor and light-hearted approach to spiritual issues, combined with Sara's honest and insightful talks, soon had the Unity congregation outgrowing its rented space in the Ambassador West Hotel.

Stepping out in faith, Unity in Chicago purchased a building on Cleveland Avenue in the city's beautiful Old Town area. In less than ten years, however, continuing growth necessitated the search for another location. The discovery this time was a unique building on Chicago's far North Side. Built in the 1920s, the building had been the posh Chicago Town and Tennis Club, and later an Elks Lodge, before being abandoned in the 1980s. It required enormous work, love and patience to transform the long-neglected Tudor mansion into a place where newcomers and long-time congregants alike could feel and share a tangible energy of "light, love and laughter." Dedicated in August, 1989, the "Home on Thome," with its three acres of beautiful gardens, continues to serve Unity in Chicago today, with room and plans for expansion in the near future.

1995

The growing spiritual community was stunned when Rev. Mike died suddenly in March, 1995, and Rev. Sara resigned two years later.

1998

A fractious, still-grieving congregation struggled for a year before it was finally led to welcome back one of its own as its new minister. Ed Townley, a Unity in Chicago congregant and board member in the 1980s, had been Senior Minister in Beaverton, Oregon since his ordination in 1991. Returning to Chicago after a nine-year absence, he took a deep breath and began the formidable job of bringing a congregation together for healing - and for new possibilities.