Unity Church, Austin, Texas

Sorry but most of the external links don't work anymore. What you see is what you get for now. At the time of writing this it is Nov. 22, 2022. I've lost my younger daughter Serena to an automobile accident in July of 2020. She's in some of the pictures on this site. I did love Austin, Texas and this church and the people but losing my younger daughter... that's a whole other kind of missing. Luckily I still have my older daughter. She's a treasure too.

Getting back to this site now:

I almost didn't make this web page. Churches and religion are something I don't usually discuss with other people. For one thing, I find most organized Christian religions appalling. To me it not run as Christ would have it run. Most so called "Christians" are the exact opposite of what I believe Christ wanted us to be.  So taking that into account and also because of my childhood indoctrination into the Catholic church (I am a recovering Catholic) I am hesitant to step inside a church. Yet this church in Austin, was different, this church was real, the people were more Christian than most I have known who call themselves Christians.

This is Linda, the minister at Unity Church, Austin, Texas.

My first Sunday after I moved to Austin I decided to explore the local Unity Church. Linda was there and a visiting minister who was yielding a guitar. Now, I was used to folk masses in the Catholic churches, in fact it was quite popular around the time I left the church in the late 60's. No one could have prepared me though for what I was in store for at this church. The song he strummed on his guitar and sang with such zest was the goofiest song I had ever heard in a church. It was about a squirrel that a little boy brought into church one day and all the trouble it caused. (I recently found that song on a collection of strange songs put out by Dr. Demento who is featured on this page I made.)

Imagine my surprise to be singing along and clapping along and stomping along with a fun song during a church service! That really doesn't describe this church though. Linda had the ability to combine a sharp sense of humor with piercing truth. She helped us gain insight into ourselves and did it in a way that kept us coming back for more every week.

I could go on and on about her and give you examples, but for the moment I will just go on past that part of why I loved the place. This picture shows you another aspect, its quiet beauty, its peaceful calm grounds. I always felt the beauty of nature, the feeling that God must be near, when I walked around.

That's my daughter, Serena, walking around. You can see the tree house they had for the kids. You can see one of the corners of the deck at the edge of the picture. The yard went on further than what you can see in this picture.

 The church was divided up with some of the people choosing to sit outside on the deck for the Sunday services. (With closed circuit television of the service for them to watch.) It seemed like the weather was usually perfect for it. At Easter, when the church would be overflowing, they set out a tent with another TV in it. Personally, I preferred to be inside where you could feel the spirituality bouncing off of everyone and the walls too. Here are two inside views of the church.  The one on the right is some of the last people leaving after services.

(Left) You can see the assistant minister, Sherri, talking to someone in the front of the church.

Sometimes when it was filled to the brim, people would sit on benches that lined the wall aimed sideways. It was frequently full. When I left they had a building fund for a larger church that was going to be built. I wonder what it looks like.

After church services, most of the people would gather around in various places and chit chat. There was coffee and tea set out to drink and cookies sometimes too.

 You can see that the people dressed however they wanted. Some people got all dressed up and some wore shorts and casual clothes. While I rarely wore a dress on a daily basis, on Sundays I would put one on. I just felt like looking more dressy.

You will see Serena again, sitting down drink some soda pop and her sister Anna posing for me (in the pink shirt). Several of my friends are in both of these pictures. We were waiting for some of the members of the church singles group to join us.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little visit to Austin, there are more pages I made below. Some pages are about places I lived, and some are about the people there.

Various pages about Austin, Texas

Pictures of Beautiful Austin, Texas, areas of the city.

Here you can see pictures of beautiful Austin, Texas.

Zilker park, in Austin, Texas.

Pictures of the park known in Austin for its rose garden and other beautiful flowers, as well as a place where year round activities can be found.

Pictures of Friendship Place Apartments.

Here you can see pictures of where I worked and lived in Austin.

Pictures of Unity Church in Austin

Here you can see pics of Unity Church, inside and outside and some of the people.

Pictures of My Friends in the Singles Group.

Here you can see pics of my friends in the Unity Church Singles group.

Anna in a Fashion Show in Austin.

Anna and other models in a non profit fashion show called "Fools for Fashion in Austin, Texas."

Pictures of Wildwood Apartments.

Pictures of Wildwood Apartments, where I lived and worked, some of the people and one of the pools.

(C) Copyright 2002 Maggie Rose. All Rights Reserved