Days Inn
644 W. Diversey (Clark & Diversey)
Special price valet parking $10/4 hrs.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

To be announced.

Unity in Lincoln Park Chicago is an Illinois and federally registered not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization.  All donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

by Rev. Sandy Diamond

Unity in Lincoln Park~Chicago (although then it was Unity Church of Peace) historically has been directed by an all male board of trustees.  However, when Kay Hopkins came along she changed all of that.

I remember sitting in the board meeting when the board members were selecting officers and the outgoing board president said:  “Okay. Who would like to be the president?”  And recently elected Kay who was looking down at her paper and notes…raised her head and said:  “I would.  I would like to be the President.”  I’ll never forget the joy that ran through me (as the senior minister) at that moment in time!  I thought: “Oh! Thank You God!  Thank You so much! A woman board President!”

Kay and I went on to develop a deep soul level love and commitment to each other and for Unity in Lincoln Park.  When our lease was lost (the building was being converted to luxury condos, all the real estate rage of the time) she and I went looking for our new space to hold Sunday service.  On a shoestring budget…we went looking.  Where did God want us to land?  Where was our next affordable spot?  I recall with fondness the warm Chicago day that Erv (her significant other) drove us all around the Lincoln Park neighborhood searching.   We called ourselves Fric and Frac looking for real estate.  We had a whole lot of fun….filled with laughter, prayers and the joy of the Lord.

We found a place…a very nice place….the meeting room at the Days Inn on Diversey in Chicago.  Often people think…oh a Days Inn…not much to that.  Wrong.  The Days Inn we are in is a boutique style hotel in the heart of the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.  Very, very nice.  With doormen, valet parking, lovely surroundings.  We were in heaven.  Besides, we no longer had to clean the space or even empty the trash ourselves.  We were happy women…happy women working for God, now with doormen and valets.

Kay would bring cakes, cupcakes, pies and everything in between for us to have on Sunday mornings.  We relished in her ability to cook and bake and her willingness to do that for us.   When Jesus said to “feed the people” Kay took it to heart and really did feed the people.  How fortunate we were to have her with us on Sunday mornings and throughout the week.  Her loving wisdom and gentle spirit was a blessing to us all.  And Kay had a way…a very motherly discernment and wisdom.  She dispensed good solid life advice, along with her baked treats.

Things change. Kay’s spirit called her to move on and retire to Wisconsin.  We loved her completely and the spiritual wisdom that she dispensed to us all, with her cupcakes, her smiling face and perhaps most of all the light that shone so clearly from her heart and soul.

We miss her always, but we do keep in touch.  I spoke to her recently during Mother’s Day week and she and Erv are doing well and are happy in Wisconsin where the trees and nature (not to mention family members) nourish them every day and each starlit evening.

If it hadn’t been for Kay Hopkins?  Unity in Lincoln Park~Chicago would not be here…and many of us would have missed out terribly on her light and spirit.

Thank you Kay…from all of us, for those blessed Sundays with you!

While you may be in Wisconsin now you will ever and always be in the heart and DNA of Unity in Lincoln Park and we will always be grateful for you and the light that you shared.

With love always,

Rev. Sandy

by Stephen Dynako

This is the first of a semi-regular feature titled, “If it Wasn’t For…,” expressing appreciation to those who have made a positive, loving impact on the growth and evolution of Unity in Lincoln Park.

I have been involved with Unity in Lincoln Park since 2002, and throughout this time, I have been deeply moved by and very grateful to those who have, on occasion, offered up substantial financial gifts to support the work of this ministry.

In particular, the faith of Raymond Quinton, who made his transition in May of 2008, has been demonstrated through his giving to Unity in Lincoln Park. Raymond had been a member of what was then Unity Church of Peace, probably since 1999 or sometime thereabouts.

Around 2004, Raymond felt led to make a substantial tithe, and his gift turned out to be of key importance to Unity Church of Peace, as it allowed the church to eliminate its debt and provide a healthy reserve. Measured in dollars, the gift was impressive; however, the impact it had was much deeper than purely financial.

When I came to Unity, it was a new concept to me a Unity church is financially supported by its consciousness. That is, the tithes of its members and any gifts that come from outside the congregation are the channels of a Unity church’s prosperity. Put bluntly, there is no expectation that a Unity church will receive financial support from a central corporate body.

Raymond’s gift helped me to have a deeper appreciation for the love people had towards our church – and the faith people demonstrated to ensure our continued evolution as a spiritual community. Raymond’s gift caused me to think about and practice greater discipline in my own tithing, and I pray that others are similarly inspired by his example. We don’t always know the benefits to others or to the future of an organization when we give freely. However, I rest assured that Raymond’s gift, his generosity, and his faith continue to live on at Unity in Lincoln Park.

as featured in the March 2010 issue of Meta Monthly

For spirituality to be truly effective in our lives we need to acknowledge its presence in our everyday lives, not just in a vacuum of Sunday services.  And, for Sunday services to be most effective they should not exist in a vacuum of spirituality, but they should be in a place where, although the primary focus is spiritual, we are able to acknowledge and celebrate our everyday lives.  In a fantasy setting such a mixture of secular and sacred can produce appealing and sometimes hilarious results. Take for example the film Sister Act, in which Whoopi Goldberg plays the role of a nightclub singer who is put under witness protection in disguise as a nun, and given the name Sister Mary Clarence.  In short, Sister Mary Clarence is given the task of whipping the convent choir into shape.  In doing this she succeeds in producing a brilliant choir of nuns who mix popular melodies and rhythms with secular and spiritual lyrics.  The result is a sound so familiar and pleasing to the neighborhood residents that soon the usually empty church is filled to near capacity.  Sister Mary Clarence provided a setting that people could relate to and enjoy while acknowledging their spiritual sides.

Exit Sister Mary Clarence, and enter Rev. Sandy Diamond and the music program at Unity of Lincoln Park.  Rev. Sandy has a love of good music and insists on blending a top notch music program into her services.  In the nearly three years I have been attending Rev. Sandy’s services it has become abundantly clear that she is one down to earth minister.  Her weekly messages and the music she encourages add an everyday-life aspect to our spiritual celebration.  Rev. Sandy has been very successful at tapping into artists from the Chicago area musical theater community and attracting some phenomenal talents to Unity in Lincoln Park.

Rev. Sandy has been known to refer to Unity in Lincoln Park as possibly the smallest of all Unity Churches.  Nevertheless she has employed two powerhouse talents – Michael Mahler as music director and Dara Cameron as soloist.  Both Michael and Dara appear regularly on stage in musical theater productions.  The theater aspect of their backgrounds is apparent in the subtlest of ways.  When performing as a soloist Dara looks out at the congregation frequently with a broad smile on her face.  She does this in such a way as to sometimes give each person the impression she is singing directly to them.  While Michael is accompanying Dara he allows himself to fade into the background and give Dara the floor.  When they sing duets whether Michael is accompanying from the keyboard, or standing with his guitar, they share the floor giving recognition to each other and the congregation.  Not any easy feat, but they make it look effortless.  When it’s time for the congregation to sing Michael and Dara blend in as members of the congregation.

In choosing the songs they will perform each week Michael and Dara pay close attention to the message topics printed for upcoming services as well as to current events.  They cleverly choose from an immense library of folk, pop, rock, blues and musical theater providing enjoyable (and sometimes toe tapping) performances with lyrics tied to the message of the day or sometimes to a current life event.  During the course of January 2010 they worked in Bruce Springsteen’s My City of Ruins in remembrance of those affected by the massive earthquake in Haiti.  Springsteen wrote this song about Asbury Park, New Jersey, a resort town near where he grew up.  He went there a great deal when he was young, and watched it deteriorate from neglect as he grew older.  The song took on new meaning after the September 11^th terrorist attacks, and Springsteen used it as a message to New York City about rising from the ruins.  Michael and Dara gave a stunning performance of this song in which they wrung out every ounce of passion its lyrics had to offer.

After hearing Michael and Dara sing duets over the course of several Sundays during their early days with Unity in Lincoln Park, I mentioned that I would love to hear them sing Mockingbird a la James Taylor and Carly Simon.  They told me that they sometimes jam to that song when they’re in the car.  Time passed and that encounter faded from my memory.

This past November Rev. Sandy set gratitude as the primary theme for her Sunday messages.  Lo and behold on one of these Sundays Michael and Dara launched into a rousing rendition of Mockingbird.  I couldn’t figure out how this fit into the theme, but I was too thrilled to care.  The entire congregation was caught up in the energy of their performance.  They rocked the house.  After the service I learned this fit in with the theme because it was their way of showing gratitude for my appreciation of their talents.

ULP (as we affectionately refer to Unity in Lincoln Park) may be one of the smallest Unity Churches around, but we have achieved as much success as the fictitious church in Sister Act in blending every day life with our spiritual celebrations.  All of this has been accomplished through the vision of Rev. Sandy and our music team of Michael and Dara.  With ULP we can tend to our spiritual needs in a communal setting without checking the rest of our lives at the door…and hear some truly great talents who may at times soothe our spirits and at times rock our souls.

Rev. Sandy says, “We welcome Steve Dynako home to Unity in Lincoln Park where he was an early member and served as a prayer chaplain and board member.  Steve is a published author, a trained hospital Chaplain and a wonderful committed soul to the Unity movement.” Rev. Sandy, ordained in 1999 and originally from Chicago, was recently named Chair of our Future Trends Team for the Association of Unity Churches International, and is Vice Chair of the Association’s Convention Ministry Team.  She says,  “I love serving our Unity Movement at this global level along with serving Unity in Lincoln Park on a more local level.”

Rev. Sandy, Steve, and the Board of Trustees of Unity in Lincoln Park are also participants in the Enlightened Leadership Program, a worldwide growth and development program sponsored by the Association of Unity Churches International.

Happy New Year and Blessings to everyone, as We Begin Again in 2010 at Unity in Lincoln Park – Chicago.  Join us on Sundays for some interesting spiritual pursuits and a spectacular music program.