Unity Church of Central Massachusetts is led by Reverend Barbara Jean ("BJ") Stannard.

Minister’s Report for the UCCM Annual Report Meeting Submitted by Rev. B.J. Stannard

     Last year the annual meeting for our church was held on Sunday, February 8, 2009. On the afternoon of the same day, our beloved Bonita Delgado passed away after a yearlong valiant battle with cancer. In the thirteen-year history of the church, Bonita had been a member for ten of those years. She served on the Board of Trustees for seven years and she was the first Board President. Bonita loved this church and her love welcomed many new people into the spiritual community. I have heard from countless people that it was because of Bonita that they continued to come to this church. Bonita’s passing over to the other side was an immeasurable loss for us all. As the minister of this church, I miss Bonita’s physical presence every day but I continue to feel the support of her spiritual presence.  Often as I make decisions concerning UCCM, I am guided by my memory of Bonita’s great love, optimism and generosity. I feel confident that she would be proud of UCCM as we gather together on this day to celebrate our church accomplishments of 2009 and as we look forward to our future together in 2010.

     Indeed, there is much to celebrate at UCCM. We have continued to stand strong in our numbers with 55 members, 20 friends and 10 children actively involved in the church. This past year we have welcomed into the leadership of our church a new Youth Education Director- June House; a new Music Director- Claudia Acerra; and a new Office Manager- Patricia Sarty. This past December, Twenty- two members and friends of UCCM entered into a year long enlightened leadership training program. We have expanded our spiritual activities to include a monthly UCCM Choir, a monthly Kirtan group, a weekly silent meditation group and a weekly prayer circle. Our education program consisted of two book studies (The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra & A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle), 4 classes (The Quest, Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity in both English and Spanish & Come Apart For Awhile) and the 4T Prosperity Program. Sunday sermons included a six-week series on “The Third Jesus”, an eight-week series on “World Religions” and a four-week series on “The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity”. We have had several guest speakers, spiritual workshops and social outings that added greatly to the richness and variety of our church. And finally, I had the great pleasure of officiating at the weddings of Randy and Shannon Gomez; and Ronald and Sabrina Bleakney as well as baptizing Aedan Mitchell and Anastasia Hocurscak.

     One of the biggest highlights for me of this past year, included co-teaching with Arlene Dorischild, the class entitled, “The Quest”. Approximately sixteen individuals took this yearlong journey into the exploration and application of the Unity Truth Principles. It was a wonderful adventure that we shared together every Sunday evening for thirteen months. And as I predicted at the very first class in January, several current leaders of UCCM have emerged from this life transforming process. Another highlight for me has been UCCM’s sponsorship of a brand new Unity Church in Providence R.I. Just last week I had my first official monthly meeting with the Spiritual Leader, Cherie Fisher and the church is already rapidly growing in both numbers and consciousness. One more highlight for me was the summer sermon series on World Religions. It was both exciting and inspiring to compare and contrast the major theologies of the world with the beliefs and teachings of Unity.

     As I enter into this New Year of 2010 I feel very satisfied with the progress of the church. Many activities are being offered at the church, which do not require the minister’s participation. This is a true indication of a church’s growth and maturity. There are people singing in the choir, gathering together for devotional chanting, meditating in the silence, and studying the Unity principles without me there. And soon even more people will be dancing in Zumba classes, studying to become Unity Chaplains and earning credits in required Unity SEE classes without me there as well. Isn’t that wonderful! We have truly become a church with a thriving spiritual community consisting of extraordinary individuals offering their spiritual gifts to one another. I am richly blessed to be this church’s minister and I give thanks every day to God for UCCM and for each one of you.

God Bless You.