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When we are living on purpose and living from our authentic self, the Universe conspires for our good in every way, shape and form. This Sunday we will unwrap that good by focusing on the Art of Being on Purpose.

Interfaith Social Action Opportunity @ Woods End Church

3^rd Friday, April 15^th, 3:00 pm - 6:00ish

Help distribute food to the hungry in our community. For more info, contact Eugene at geniejoe@earthlink.net or 286-4981

Sunday Service

April 17th, 9:30 am

Anne-Marie Lax

The Art of Being On Purpose

Sunday Service

April 24^th, 9:30 am

Fancy Ruff-Wagner

Naming Our Good

Music Ministry - Second Saturday Community CoffeeHouse

Saturday, May 14th, 6:00 - 9:30

Headliner: Merlettes

Opener: TBA

MC: Anne-Marie Lax

Sponsor: Community member Patricia Vansell

Join us for this great night of music and fun!

Come on down for coffee or tea, treats, and a wholesome family night in a listening room environment where new and seasoned performers can offer up their songs and stories to an attentive, all-ages audience. The House opens at 6 pm, music begins at 6:30.

FREE! Love Offerings will be accepted.

Be sure to check out our other CoffeeHouse Pages!

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Inspiration from Unity

Join Unity in April for 30 days of inspiration for living an abundant and meaningful life. Whether you are seeking "how-to" help on relationships, forgiveness, health issues, realizing your dreams, or other spiritual practices, these articles, quotes, podcasts, and videos provide insights with proven Unity principles.

Click the photo above to go the the site now.

More Inspiration from Unity

Voices in Unity: A Conversation with Dan Willis

Captain Dan Willis, 51, is a 26-year veteran of the La Mesa, California, Police Department, where he commands the patrol division, SWAT team, and traffic unit. He is also the author of Bulletproof Spirit: The First Responder's Essential Resource for Protecting and Healing Mind and Heart, which won the 2015 People of Distinction Humanitarian Award, and was a finalist in the Books for a Better Life Award. Here, Dan talks about his career, his book, and his beliefs. Married to a police dispatcher, Dan has two stepsons and lives in his hometown of San Diego.

Unity: Tell us about your book, Bulletproof Spirit.

Dan: It's a survival guide offering proactive wellness strategies to protect, heal, and nurture the spirit of all first responders and those who love them. First responders suffer immeasurably from the trauma and acute stress of the job, and this book provides them hope and a path toward healing.

Unity: You write that you always wanted to help people. Where did that come from?

Dan: Ever since I was a young boy, my mother would read stories to me at night before bed about people in history who devoted their lives to serving and helping others-Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, John Muir, George Washington Carver, Helen Keller, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and so many others. She would always tell me that having been blessed by God with a healthy mind, heart, and body I had a sacred responsibility to devote my life to serving and helping others. That's when I began thinking of becoming a police officer, which really solidified during my high school years ... I have always believed police officers serve and work, in a manner of speaking, for God in helping those in need.Another very significant influence for me growing up was a Unity minister, Andrew Carlson, and the Unity church I attended growing up in Escondido, California (north San Diego County). From early on one of my favorite Bible verses has been Matthew 25:34-46 relating what we do to others, we do to Christ. That verse has inspired me throughout my police career.

Unity: You write about having the realization that you no longer felt anything ... that you had lost your inner self ... that your own spirit was suffering. You admitted this to yourself, but did it take you a while to admit it to others? And is it acceptable in your profession to admit such a thing?

Dan: Yes, after about seven years on the job when I realized I no longer had any real feelings; I was indifferent and disengaged with others and with life, was truly a life-changing moment. I realized then if I didn't do something toward healing and restoring my spirit to the person I used to be, then I was never going to survive my police career ... It was years before I opened up and told others about my experience. It was a very personal journey in trying to discover ways to promote emotional survival. The book details all I've learned that has worked for me, or what I've seen work with others, to protect and nurture the spirit. It can be difficult for first responders to admit they are suffering or need help-but it is essential for their survival and quality of life. It is getting easier, but there is still a long way to go. Suicide is the No. 1 cause of death for police officers every year, with another 120,000 suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Twenty-two military veterans and one active-duty soldier commit suicide every day. Also, an estimated 15-20 percent of first responders have a serious addiction problem of some kind. Our first responders are suffering from the job, but the good news is there are effective treatments and emotional survival practices for healing and promoting wellness.

Unity: What happened when you started talking about helping first responders survive emotionally and heal their spirits?

Dan: The way I introduced the concept of proactive emotional survival training was to go to the police morning briefings and squad meetings and ask a question: "Raise your hand if the job has adversely affected you in some way-your health, your relationships, your outlook on life, or the quality of your life." Every single hand always immediately went up-from the officers who were still in training to the 25-year veterans. I followed that up with another question: "Since we all recognize the job has the inherent tendency to negatively affect us in many ways, what do we do about it? Nothing and hope for the best? Or let's work together to develop emotional survival strategies that will help us get through our career?" There was immediate buy-in from my colleagues wanting to see what could be done, because we have all seen far too many colleagues, as well as ourselves, suffer in many ways. Police work is the best job in the world. It should be life-sustaining, not life-depleting.

Unity: How long did it take for you to shift from the person who was disinterested and disengaged to who you are now?

Dan: Well, it's been an ongoing process that is still continuing. Once I realized how the job had so adversely affected me and once I decided to try my best to do something positive about it, it's been a continuous process of learning, adapting, healing, and growing. It began with learning to become more self-aware, more mindful of how the job was affecting me, as well as what could be done to breathe life back into my spirit and to proactively strive to process stress in a more positive and constructive way, overcome trauma, while continuing to find ways to serve with compassion. I've found it is serving with compassion that has so much inherent power to heal and restore us toward wellness.

Unity: How did you know you could write this book?

Dan: I have had several articles published previously, including one on emotional survival that was published in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Because of that article, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tom Hallman Jr. contacted me and asked me to contribute a chapter to his book, A Stranger's Gift: True Stories of Faith in Unexpected Places (Howard Books, April 2012). I have always loved to write, and knew if I wrote from my heart about something so meaningful and potentially useful, it would connect with readers.

Unity: Talk about the phrase "bulletproof spirit."

Dan: First responders wear a bulletproof vest to protect their body. Yet there is no training and nothing traditionally offered to bulletproof their spirit from the emotionally scarring "bullets" of the profession consisting of heartache, trauma, danger, violence, and suffering. Our spirit is the essence of our life; it is the foundation of our mental, emotional, and physical health and well-being. It is our spirit that provides the inspiration to serve others. Our spirit is what allows us to process stress, overcome trauma, and serve with compassion; it is our character, our beliefs, and the sum of our humanity. It is our spirit that is most vulnerable to suffering; and it is our most vital component needing to be protected, sustained, and nurtured to not only survive, but to thrive in wellness.

Unity: How has writing the book helped you? How do you hope it helps others?

Dan: In a way, Bulletproof Spirit has been very healing for me, because for the past two and a half years I have focused on working to be useful to others. I hope the information in the book will positively affect first responders and their families in a profound way. I put all of my heart and spirit in writing and now promoting the book. I truly hope and pray others will find healing and peace from its message, and prevent suffering within the heroes that protect us each and every day. I know it will save careers, marriages, the health and wellness of those who serve, and even lives.

Unity: Tell us more about your time in Unity.

Dan: I was raised within the Unity church in Escondido. Unity's message of prayer with positive thinking and action resonated with me as a child. It gave me a spiritual foundation that I have always been most grateful for. Faith has been the single greatest influence allowing me to survive a career as a police officer. It gives a deep spiritual meaning and purpose to my life.

Unity: Can you share one emotional survival strategy from your book?

Dan: I deeply believe that it is imperative for us to concentrate not on what we want from others, but what others need from us-then finding ways to fill those needs for others. Too often, especially when we are suffering inside, we focus far too much on ourselves and what we want others to do for us. However, this will inevitably leave us frustrated, disappointed, and depressed. Focusing on what others need from us and concentrating on fulfilling those needs is inherently very healing. This provides meaning in our lives. By fulfilling what my wife, sons, work, or members of the community need from me, I am working and living in a much more positive and constructive way, which tends to heal and bring peace.

Learn more about Dan Willis and his work at www.firstresponderwellness.com.

A Course in Miracles

Our Movie Screening of A Chorus in Miracles went very well. After the movie there was a discussion about starting A Course In Miracles Study Group. If you are interested in this, please email Fancy at admin@unityemtns.org. No details have been decided and we are going to use email to set a date and time that works for all.

This is still on the To-Do list. In the meantime, check out A Chorus in Miracles, The Musical Experience where you can get the text with music (paid item) or the Workbook with music (free item).

Thank You Shoppers!

Thanks to those of you who start your online shopping on the Impact Shopping/USCEM page. This month we received a payment of $38.25 at no extra cost to you. So far this year we've earned $70.56. Be sure you bookmark this page and always start your online shopping there so we can earn some passive income. Put it in your bookmark bar and click it before you go to Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart.com, and more! Just always click it and then put your store name in the search on the page. Thank you!

Community

ESSENTRICS

Essentrics is a unique program that rapidly changes the shape of your body through simultaneous stretching and strengthening exercises. This workout develops strong and flexible muscles with immediate changes to your posture. ESSENTRICS is even smarter than that - it goes beyond changing just the look of your body; it also cares about how you feel in your body. With a combination of dynamic and fluid movements, ESSENTRICS improves circulation, promotes rehabilitation, and unlocks tight muscles. If you want to feel energized, positive, and healthy, then ESSENTRICS is for you. Meets at the church M/W from 5:30 - 6:30. Contact Kimberly Woodring for more information (or call 575-749-0025).

Massage Services for Members:

Licensed massage therapist Kara Skeberdis is offering massage sessions at her studio in Cedar Crest. Hour and half hour sessions are $40/$25 for church members and friends, and $50/$30 for the general public. Please call Kara to schedule your session at 443-745-0406, or email her at shiatsu.Kara@gmail.com. Kara has over 25 years of experience and specializes in relaxation, deep tissue and acupressure techniques.

Interfaith Social Action Opportunity @ Woods End Church

3^rd Friday of each month 3:00 pm - 6:00ish

Help distribute food to the hungry in our community. For more info, contact Eugene (or call 286-4981).

Prayer


Please add the following people to your prayer/meditation practice: (updated weekly) USCEM Dawn H. (healing) Jeannette P. (healing) Brussels, Belgium Tyler (guidance) Lahore, Pakistan Charles & Family (comfort) Anne-Marie (perfect employment)	uPray uPray, a free prayer app from Silent Unity, is now available. uPray is available for Apple iOS 7.0 or later and Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) or later. With the app you can submit a prayer request to Silent Unity, listen to the month's meditation and the Prayer for Protection, and read affirmations across a broad list of topics.	"Silent Unity. How may we pray with you?" Do you have a prayer request? There are several ways to contact Silent Unity, the 24/7-prayer ministry: Call: 1-800-NOW-PRAY (669-7729) International: 01-816-969-2000 Write: Silent Unity, 1901 NW Blue Parkway, Unity Village, MO 64065-0001 Or use our online prayer request form.

Support Your Spiritual Center


Smith's Community Rewards Smith's Community Rewards makes fundraising for USCEM easy...simply by using your Smith's Rewards Card at any Smith's! There is no cost to enroll, and enrollment will not affect your fuel points or coupon discounts. You must have a registered Smith's Rewards Card to participate. If you do not, you can apply for one at Customer Service. If you don't know your number because you use your phone number at the register, you can call 800-576-4377 and select option 4. You must link your card to USCEM online. If you have an online account already, go to the website below, sign in, and click on your name to go to your account. Scroll down and edit the Community Rewards section. Enter our NPO number or our name and select us from list and click on "Enroll". If you don't have an online account, you must click "Register" in the upper right corner on the website. Sign up for a Smith's Rewards Account by entering your email address, creating a password. Enter your zip code in the "Your location", then by selecting your favorite store, and agreeing to the terms and conditions. A message to check your email inbox will appear, Check your email account, you must click on the link within the body of the email. Click on "Sign in" located in the upper right corner and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step. Click on your name to go to your Account. In Account Summary click on "Edit" Rewards Card and input your Smith's rewards card number. Confirm your information. Scroll down and edit the Community Rewards section. Enter our NPO number or our name and select us from list and click on "Enroll". Go to Smith's Community Rewards to Enroll or Register/Enroll Our NPO number: 24564	Let Your Online Shopping Support Us Whether you shop at Amazon, Walmart.com, Itunes, or many other online retailers, your purchases can help support USCEM. Always start on the USCEM Shopping Site. From there you go to your favorite retailer and a percentage of your purchases will be sent to us later - at no extra cost to you. The average amount paid to us is a little more than 5% of your purchases. Bookmark this URL and always start here. Then go shopping. http://impactshopping.com/USCEM/ So far we've earned $32.31 in 2016! We didn't earn anything in 2015 - although we earned $94 in 2014. It's probably because people weren't starting at the shopping page. Please do this - it costs you nothing extra and is an easy habit to adopt. Go to the USCEM Shopping Page	The Law of Giving and Receiving By Ernest Holmes Everything in Nature moves in circles. What goes out must come back. Unless the seed is sown it cannot bear fruit. There must be a planting time for every harvest. Who gives all receives all. Who refuses to give, limits the possibility of the greater good returning to him. Love and you will be loved. Extend joy and you will become more joyful. The ancient Talmud says, "God will doubly guide the already guided" and Jesus, the greatest of the great, said, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." (Luke 6:38) We do not give because God needs the gift but because the giving increases, broadens and deepens the life of the giver. Nor shall we give from the standpoint of duty. The universe refuses to bargain with us. It already has given us everything it has. But it also has provided that the gift of life can be received in its fullness only as it flows through us to the fullness of others. How wonderful is this exact balance which God and nature keep; how perfect is the law of God and how glorious the opportunity to join with the infinite Giver in the givingness of the self to the joy of life! Letter to Members & Friends Conscious Giving Guide Conscious Giving Commitment Card

Thanks for Reading!

Have a great week!

In love and gratitude,

Fancy Ruff-Wagner
Your Newsletter Editor

505-286-1203
admin@unityemtns.org

http://www.unityemtns.org

Unity - A Positive Path for Spiritual Living