I Must Do My Part

Rev. Johnny Frederick, a member of Unity of Albany since 1996, is now living the life of his dreams in Paris, France. He is a past President of our Board of Trustees and is currently a member of our Abundance and Prosperity Team.

Rev Johnny is author of two books: Prosperity Now! A 12-Week Journey to the Life of Your Dreams and Paris Histories and Mysteries: How the City of Lights Changed the World, and a newly released EP of original songs, Paris Cowboy.

Rev Johnny wrote the article below as an opportunity to deepen and broaden our community’s prosperity consciousness as we consider how to be ongoing stewards of our spiritual home. When considering our recent approval of using designated funds to finance the much-needed work of our recent major construction projects, Johnny was moved to share his heart and insights.

We invite you to prayerfully consider his perspective as we fully engage as a community in “Divine Love flowing through us,” not only in financing the reconstruction, but in our continued growth in prosperity, abundance, and faith. We affirm an expanding capacity to demonstrate God’s infinite bounty flowing in us, through us and as us.

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I MUST DO MY PART

Unity Church in Albany is….

How do you complete that sentence?

In Unity we learn we co-create our reality with God, our Source eager to supply our every need.

But I must do my part.

A basic Unity Truth is, Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind.

Our minds, powerful generators, manifest whatever we believe and hold in mind, individually and especially collectively.

A Course in Miracles, Lesson 16 says, “I have no neutral thoughts.”

There is no more self-contradictory
concept than that of “idle thoughts.”
What gives rise to the perception of a
whole world can hardly be called idle.
— (ACIM, W-16.2:1-2)

I am ultimately responsible for the state of my life, community, and world. Present circumstances are the result of thoughts producing all we see and experience.

A friend visiting Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts asked one of the Pilgrims (who believe it’s 1624), “Is that building your church?”

“No!” replied the Pilgrim, shocked. “That is where we worship. We [pointing to the people] are the church.”

We are the church. The building is where we gather our collective consciousness to pray, meditate, holding “thoughts in mind.”

So, Unity Church… the people. How do you finish the sentence?

I use a number of superlatives…. Prosperous always top of the list.

Unity people are:

 

In Heaven, these are Truths despite contrary appearances. On earth, they are only as true as my belief.

So, my part is to hold to Truth, no matter what appearances seem to show. No matter the bottom-line, I affirm:
We are prosperous! Affirmative words, yes. But affirmative action is vital!

As the body without the spirit is dead, faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

Paris streets run haphazardly. Two streets might seem parallel, but a 3º shift at the corner sends you into a whole new neighborhood. Similarly, small shifts in consciousness yield amazingly new outcomes!

For example, here’s a shift in thinking about finances:

…. and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all the others.
For they contributed out of their surplus,
but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” …
— Luke 21:2-4

The moral: the gift’s size is not as important as the size of my consciousness! Two mites? Yes, but infinite trust in God.

I never tithe out of my wealth, but always out of my poverty. Tithing from abundance, it does not matter how large the gift if it doesn’t demonstrate reliance on God. Tithing out of our poverty demonstrates Faith in action. Faith that answers the call:

…Bring tithes to the storehouse
and put me to the test and see
if I will not open the windows of heaven
Pouring out a blessing so great
you won’t have enough room to take it in!
Try it!
— Malachi 3:10 (NLT)

So, Unity Church in Albany is?

I decide – by my words, by my actions.

For me, our church is infinitely prosperous.
That’s True – if I do my part.