NOW WHAT? – You Answered Our Survey and Here’s How We’re Moving Forward | Rev. John Riley

Well, good morning, everybody. Today is a little bit different than our normal day. We have an annual Q&A service around this time. And so, at any point in time, what you can do to ask me a question that I will be happy to answer during our service is to go to our website unitypaloalto.org/question. Now, I advise you to do that in a separate browser. So, you don’t get disconnected from our online service today, or do it from a separate device. But at any point in time. Now, we’re going to take this a little bit different, differently than we have in the past because we just had a survey, we just had a community survey around really to gauge your feelings, your beliefs, your expectations, and what you think about us opening our spiritual center to in-person services. 

And so, the Board has collected those survey results, has taken a look at them. And what I wanted to do right up front is to let you know what we’ve decided as a board. I’ll go through the survey a little bit and then we’ll get into any questions that you have about that, or any spiritual questions that you might have. That’s really the gist of this is, if there’s something that we say here that you’d like an answer to or if it’s a little unclear or you’d like a metaphysical interpretation of the Bible, just let me know, fill out a question on our website. And that’ll come to me up here and we can answer that towards the end of the talk.

When Will Unity Palo Alto Reopen to In-Person Services?

First off, the biggest question on everybody’s mind, when will Unity Palo Alto open to in person services? So, after our discernment, what the Board has decided to do is to do a soft opening, if you will, on August 1st. So August 1st is the date for our soft opening. And it’s a time for us to just begin to open up. And what we discovered as a board, personally, as well as through the survey is that there are — we’re all kind of inching our way back into society. We’re all kinds of testing the waters, if you will. And that’s what I observe, and that’s what I feel, and that’s what we’re seeing from the survey results. So, let’s go to the first slide.

The soft opening in August, August 1st is — where am I? There I am, August 1. So, here’s our goals. As we soft open, our goals are masks. The first question is about masks. We’re following the state guidelines. Masks are strongly recommended for people who are vaccinated. And they’re required for people who are not vaccinated. And of course, that’s going to be on the honor system. And if you’re feeling ill, if you’re feeling sick, then please stay at home and watch us on the live stream. Because the live stream, of course, will still be up. 

I want to let you know that all staff musicians and the platform leaders will be wearing masks at all times except for when we are speaking or when we’re singing from the platform from the stage here. Likewise, we’re going to have special name tags.We’d like everybody to fill out a name tag, not because I can’t remember your name, but because there’s a dual purpose. Of course, as we meet new people, as new people come on the grounds, that’s important for us to be able to connect with them. But each name tag will have a different color, and a different symbol to indicate how you would like to be treated, whether you would like to — whether hugs are okay for you, whether you’d like to stick to elbows, or whether you’d like to say hello to everybody from a social distance. 

Now, one thing that’s really important that I want to stress here is that whatever your choice is, whether it’s to wear a mask, whether it’s to have a tag that says I’d like to stay socially distant, whatever your choice is, we want you to know that we will honor and respect that choice. It’s very interesting how we’ve discovered and experienced personally and experienced through other colleagues of mine how masks have become a point of politics, if you will. Masks have become the latest judgment about people. Somebody told me, they went to an event and they had a mask on and someone came up to him and said, “You know, you really should get the vaccination.” As if they believe that that person didn’t believe in vaccinations. Whether that was true or not, in fact, the person was vaccinated, but it was their choice. 

And likewise, people who aren’t wearing masks might go into a situation where others might be glaring at them, because they’re not comfortable with someone else not wearing a mask. So, the key here for us, if you’re coming to our spiritual center is to know that we honor and respect whatever your choice is. You know, down the road, when we get into the flu season, I don’t know, I may be wearing a mask throughout the rest of my life. And sometimes, I don’t know, I felt pretty good this year. Anyway, that’s a key point for us, is to make sure we honor and respect ourselves. 

Changes to the Sanctuary

Next slide, please. Now in the sanctuary, I want you to know that when you come in, we are going to make a little change, a few changes, the first three rows of the sanctuary will be blocked off, and I know it’s gonna burst someone’s heart. I know, they’re like five, three people, three or four people that like the front rows, but we are going to charge for the back row – No, that’s not true, we’re not going to charge for the back rows — but the first three rows will be blocked off, as well as the side section, the side wing next to the band. So, we’ll have the center and then the wing next to the courtyard will be open for you. And of course, you know, it’s up to you to determine and discern how it is that you want to sit with friends and family socially distanced. And, of course, make sure you have your nametag, and you communicate. And we honor each other’s choices in that.

As we open up, we’re not going to have any hospitality provided. So just be aware of that, just know that afterwards that you’ll be needing to get your coffee somewhere else, and that’s okay. At least for a while we’ll open and at the beginning, when we open, the bookstore and the office will be closed. So, we are still just finishing up a couple of touchups in those two rooms. And hopefully it’ll be done fairly quickly after that and open at some point, but that’s how we’re going to move into this experience. 

Now, I know that we’re so used to — those who have been here before — so used to the lobster buffet that is Unity Palo Alto, so used to all of the hugs, the openness, the welcomeness. And there may be times as we move into this where it’s not the lobster buffet, but it feels more like iceberg lettuce.

And to remember that, that’s just going to be a temporary experience. Of course, it’s the lens through which we’re looking. So, if our expectations are for something grand, and beautiful like we experienced three years ago, or 10 years ago, or 30 years ago, it might be a little bit different. And just to be open and receptive to that. There are times when we might have some criticism, some thoughts about what should or shouldn’t be done. And of course, we want to hear your thoughts and the comment cards will be available in the back of the room. And I encourage you to put your name on there so that we can reach out to you personally if need be. But again, our goal here is to create a safe, welcoming and warm place for us as we begin to reopen into this experience. 

Now our plan is to have a grand opening, a grand celebration sometime probably mid to late October. So, stay tuned for that. And I believe that as we move forward, assuming our health conditions in the world continue to improve as they are, that we will get there. And it will be an exciting, a great time to invite friends and family. So just have that to look forward to as we move forward. 

Spiritual Community

Now I want to talk about the survey because many people have asked about that. So, I’m gonna jump into those slides real quick. First off, the most important thing, we had 89 individuals who responded to the survey, thank you so much. I know I had probably half a dozen people call me and let me know that they didn’t quite make it on time, and that’s okay. There’ll be more opportunities for you to talk to us about that. And so, on our next slide, it really talks about the idea of spiritual community. This open-ended question was so powerful, because the answer to this is, as you can see, 90% of the people who surveyed, who answered it, believe that a spiritual community of some sort is very important or extremely important. It’s important for us to get together to have that spiritual experience. 

And the next question talks about what they’re really missing, or what’s really important to us and that’s the idea of feeling connected, of feeling community, of having that experience. And so, 57% of us really have that idea that this spiritual community, and when we are together, creates that sense of connection and we have that shared spiritual experience. And even the next item, like-minded people, is that we’re coming together with people that really resonate with us. 

The third question talks about, really what we’ve been experiencing this last year and a quarter or so and what people are really dealing with, and it’s really not that surprising to me, it looks like around probably 53% are dealing with loneliness or disconnection or a drop in their feeling or expression of hope and faith and trust, which is all based around fear. And even our belief in God, our belief in good might be challenged. And so those are the things that people are really, really struggling with today. And so, we will work on those topics. And of course, this is important for us to understand how that impacts you, helping you feel great, helping you feel good and relaxed and peaceful, helping you feel happy and joyful and content, helping you develop and cultivate those feelings that are within you.

Unity Palo Alto – Welcoming, Accepting, Inclusive, Non-Dogmatic

So, the fifth question was, what attracted you to Unity Palo Alto? And I think that, for me, the most important, the two most important things up there are the fact that people see us and experience us as being inclusive and welcoming and accepting. And people experience us as being non-dogmatic. And so, the third of our people really looked at this and said, this is what’s important to me. This is what attracted me to Unity Palo Alto, in the first place.

Of course, what did you miss about attending our services in person? It’s not surprising to me based on the other questions, it’s that idea of community, of connection, of socializing with like-minded people. And close to 71% really responded to that. And singing is the next thing in the music as the next component. Of course, we have amazing musicians and an amazing program here so I’m so grateful for that. 

Online Services

82% have attended our online Sunday Service. Those who didn’t, well, don’t like online Sunday services, don’t feel connected. It’s just not the same experience, or it conflicted with another activity or different commitments, and too tired, too zoomed out and all kinds of reasons why we decide not to and that’s totally fine.

And then if you did, the next question is, if you did attend, how many did you attend? And 44% of us attended and watched most of our services to all of our services. And so that really raises our heart to know that we did the best that we could and we’re doing a good job.

So, if you did, what can be improved or what did you like the most? The message was important to many people, the convenience and accessibility. And I think, probably, in this entire survey, the most important set of data that I got out of this is that y’all like to watch service in your PJs, and not dress up. You like to wear your lazy pants, your comfy pants. So, I know I’m gonna get grief for this, but someday we’ll have a pajama day. How’s that sound?

If you did watch the service, what could be improved? The technical issues, no doubt. And that’s the wonderful thing about the technical issues. And I’m not sure what songs or music meant. Perhaps it meant that the music wasn’t coming through as it does during live or maybe you don’t like the songs? Not sure what that meant. But we’ll dig into that as well.

Which Sunday Service did you like the most? Well, the Easter Services, they were very special. My personal favorite was a year ago, Palm Sunday preparation for Easter where we did a little cooking show in my dining room. That was a lot of fun for me. But the Wholeness series, that’s one that we were just finishing up. And that makes sense. I’m glad that these are really resonating with you.

When and How to Reopen

Now, the big questions are, when to open and how to open. So, when the local government guidelines and restrictions are lifted, which one of the following would you prefer? A hybrid, both online and in person, resuming in person at the church immediately, continuing meeting online for a few more weeks or not sure. The good news is by August 1st, we’re going to accommodate all of you because it will have been a few weeks into it. And if you’re not sure, you have lots of options.

How are you willing to attend our in-person services? Well, willing to return at the first opportunity 43%, return at the first opportunity but with some concerns and precautions, that’s 66%. That’s two thirds of our population. That’s good news. And others will wait several weeks before they attend or may just continue to go on online. And we honor and support that as well.

What attendance level would you be most comfortable with for you? About half full, about three quarters full, or filled to capacity? The good news is, if you squish in, we could probably get about 300 people in our sanctuary. And our expectations based on what other people, what other ministries have experienced, are probably more in the half to three quarters at the max, probably more like half full, if that. I think we’ll be able to accommodate that as well pretty easily without anything else. 

And what precautions if anything will you take when you return? 35% say they wear a mask, 29% say they will avoid shaking hands, 25% say no precautions are needed and 24% will avoid any physical contact. So, the importance here is to remember that those name tags with that understanding showing what it is that you prefer is really important for us and for us to really honor that. We will have plenty of hand sanitizer here. You’re welcome to bring your own. And if you forget your mask, we might have a few lying around as well.

So, of the people who completed the survey, 96% are fully vaccinated and 4% are not. And this is our standard demographic but it’s interesting to know that 90% of our population — oh, sorry — this is 68% of our population have been here for more than five years. And what I’m excited about is that 8% that are new to Unity Palo Alto, in ‘20 and ‘21. That’s what a great experience that we are attracting and even during this experience of the pandemic, people are discovering Unity Palo Alto. And right now, probably 90% of our population is over 50. And one of the sweet spots that we’re going to be looking at is a 30- to 49-year-old population as we move forward in terms of our market development.

So that’s it, I guess that’s the last slide. So back to me. 

Reopening Date

So that was just a quick overview of the survey, as well as our decision on how we move forward. And I want to let you know, the Board of Trustees, we met and spent a good 45 minutes discussing the survey, discussing our own experiences, and then taking it into a time of discernment to decide how do we want to move forward. So August 1st, will be the first day that we’re open live here in the sanctuary. We will continue to have live streaming through the rest of our experience, I believe, at least while I’m here at Unity Palo Alto. And probably mid-October, late October is when we’ll have that grand opening, that big celebration of hey, we’re back. Because I think by then we will have a greater understanding of how the world is progressing with our health. 

Questions are Welcome

So, what I’d like to do now is kind of shift to the spiritual aspect of things. And my talk title, okay, “Now what?” That really resonated with me when we were talking about the survey. There are times when we might have a question in mind, times where there might be something that’s bubbling up within us about what Unity thinks spiritually, or about how we can apply a practice, or what philosophies we might believe in and we might teach. So, what I’d like you to do is, if you have a question, let’s just take a moment to breathe into this present moment.

And just search and just discern, is there a question that you have that you’ve been wanting to ask me that I’d be happy to answer in the next 10 minutes or so? And if you do, you can ask me that question by going to unitypaloalto.org/question. 

Now, what I want you to know is that if I don’t get to your question today, or if you have a question that pops up later, you’re certainly welcome to enter a question for me. Because what I do with these questions is, I typically take them, answer as many as I can today, and then use them for talks as we go on through the rest of the month. So, there are opportunities if you do have questions, feel free to ask them now or later on in the service.

Unity Palo Alto, a Spiritual Community

So, I’m going to go to my email. And I’m going to refresh my page and start with some questions. So, the first question says, “Thank you, John and the Board and the singers and musicians and platform assistance for keeping us going. And most for meditation and the speaker series people, and the get together people, and the book study people who have worked to keep us going. Thank you, everyone, for continuing to come here at Unity Palo Alto during this year.” I should have kept that one for the end. 

Yes, thank you. For Unity Palo Alto isn’t the building. Unity Palo Alto isn’t the minister. It’s the spiritual community. It’s all of us together. And we are here in this wonderful building. And we are here on these ethernets, we’re here online, we’re here for you. And we’re here for each other. So, thank you, everyone who has participated in this last year, who has supported us financially, and who has really supported us as we moved forward.

What is Truth Principle?

Another question. “What do you mean by “truth principle”? Many religions believe that they have the only true and right answer. How is Unity different?” That’s a great question because in Unity, we talk about ourselves as being Truth students. And what we mean by Truth, with a capital T, is the idea of spiritual principle, is the idea of God, is the idea that God is unchanging. It’s the law of Spirit, the laws of consciousness. Now we don’t know the allness of the truth. We only know what we can understand through our intellect, we can only know what we can understand through our heart. We only know that through the interpretation of our lens and our filters.

So, when we call ourselves truth students, we don’t mean “Hey, we’ve got the all-knowing here. Y’all are wrong, but we got it going on here”. I think we do got it going on but we don’t say that we know the allness of it. We’re here to study it. And most importantly, we’re here to apply it in our lives, so that we can prove it to ourselves, so that we can see how it works for us, see what our experience is. So, it’s only through that application of spiritual principles that we can really know what’s true for us. 

And as we grow, that truth will shift, because our lens will shift, because we’ll have a deeper experience of it. So, truth principles are the unchanging laws of consciousness. And it’s like the unchanging laws of science, the law of gravity, as best we understand it. The law of quantum physics as best we understand it. And there’s a lot that we can still learn about quantum physics. And if I ask a physicist, 80% of the people who talk about quantum physics don’t know anything about quantum physics, according to the physicists in our community, which is probably true, because as we learn and grow, we are discovering a greater expression and experience of the truth. Every other thing, the lowercase truth is all based on our belief system. It’s all based on our perception, and it’s all fallible. It’s all based on what we experience at the time. And it can change, but we’re calling it truth.

So, for me, that’s the big difference between Unity and another denomination perhaps is that we have a set of beliefs and we understand them the best we understand them, but we’re here to learn and to grow and to expand our experience and knowledge of the Truth that doesn’t change, that unchanging Truth. So, I hope that’s helpful.

The Application of Values and Principles

“Please talk about the shift that seems to have taken place in Unity Worldwide recently. Unity was mostly apolitical, now it seems to be speaking up for social justice. How do you see our values and principles coming into play here? How do they transcend dualism? How do they allow us to take a stand without taking sides?” 

Okay, an easy one for us. Well, let’s take a deep breath in this. First off, I don’t have the full context of what Unity Worldwide is doing. Unity Worldwide Ministries or Unity World Headquarters are two separate organizations that we are in connection with and partner with. I do know that Unity Worldwide Ministries recently released a resolution on diversity, equity and inclusivity.

And I’d like to read that for you now. “Unity Worldwide Ministries” — which is an association of Unity churches, of Unity centers, of Unity ministers, of licensed teachers, it’s an association that we all belong to. – “Unity Worldwide Ministry stands for anti-racism, i.e. we are opposed to racial hatred, racial violence, bias, systemic racism, and the oppression of people of color. We stand for diversity, equity, and inclusivity for people who are marginalized because of color. No individual group should be made to live in fear or excluded from society. Recent events in the United States and the world remind us that violent repression, prejudices, injustices and inequalities towards people of color are embedded in societies, from social structures to institutions to cultures. Unity chooses to be more aware and to take a positive action in dismantling systemic racism and the social structures that support injustice and prejudice, and we raise our awareness throughout our membership churches and centers.”

So that’s a beautiful statement. And it’s a beautiful start. And I think that as Worldwide Ministries continue to grow, I believe they will add a similar statement for the LGBTQ+ community. I believe they will add a similar statement for other communities that are marginalized as well. So, it’s an ongoing, what I understand of it, is that it’s an ongoing and growing thing, just like spiritual truth. 

Now, at Unity Palo Alto, we’re doing something similar here. We’ve got a diversity, equity and inclusivity group that’s starting to form. And so, we’re starting to create our own set of beliefs around that, our own set of statements around that, too, and I’m very excited about that.

Social Justice and Politics

Well, the question was, “Unity was mostly apolitical and now speaking up for social justice”. To me, social justice and politics aren’t the same thing. Sometimes they’re intertwined. Sometimes they’re intermeshed. And politics is also very different from partisanism. So, if you look at the root word of politics, it’s about the people, and how do we move forward as a society as a people. Partisanism, which I think is what they’re getting towards, is this idea that you know, I’m right, and you’re wrong, just like we talked about earlier, in terms of our spiritual belief systems. 

Unity has a spiritual belief system, but you’re not required to agree with it. That’s why dogma, “no dogma”, was on that list. Yes, we have a set of beliefs, but you’re not required to agree with it. What we say is, try these beliefs on. And as you try them on, you might find that they are true for you. You might find that your life becomes more joyful, you become more prosperous, that you become more in alignment with Spirit, you might experience a greater sense of spirit in your life, if you try these principles, because we’ve tried them and they work for us. And I think they work for all people, regardless of what your belief system is. If you look at the core of the spiritual principles, I believe they would work for all people. 

And that goes to the next question about how do we transcend dualism? Well, Unity is a philosophy based on oneness, that there’s only one presence and one power active in our lives and all the universe. There’s not a dualistic nature, where there’s God, and there’s the devil. There’s just God, God is the allness of life, love and wisdom. God is the sum and substance of all that is. God is the source of all that is. And we’re all one with that. And the only time we experience things other than that, is when we as human beings forget that, forget that we’re one, when we forget that we’re spiritually whole, when we forget that we have that spark of divinity that’s within us, that Christ consciousness.

So, when we go back to that, we realize there isn’t a dual system. And when we bring and draw forth that spiritual wholeness within you, then you can be with somebody and have different opinions. It’s okay to have an opinion. It’s okay for my friends and family to have a different opinion than mine. It’s when I become dogmatic and say, “No, this is the only way. You have to believe this”, that’s when we start butting heads. But when I can live into that truth and say, “This is my belief system, and here’s how I show up in it. And I honor and respect your positions. And I honor and respect you as a spiritual being. I may not agree with you.”

So, if we’re talking about how we stand up for what we believe in, I believe our spiritual principles are the foundation for doing that to create greater change in the world. I believe that when you show up living your principles, and allowing people to have a dialogue without shaming someone else — because that’s really what it comes down to. “It’s my way or the highway. My idea is right, the big T and your idea is wrong”. The reality is both of our truths are seen through our lens.

So, if we can set that word truth aside and find the place where we can meet and common ground, find a place where we can then honor each other or at least play my role in it, of honoring the other person, then I have a better chance of creating something that is uplifting and that lifts our society up.

So, “Do they allow us to take a stand without taking sides?” Well, I guess you have to decide what your definition of that is. I think you can take a side; I think you can stand in your truth. And I think you can do it in a loving and kind way and honor someone else for standing in what they believe is true as well.

Heaven and Hell

I think this is the last question — oh, and it’s probably our last question. I’ll do a refresh here in a second – “How does Unity define heaven and hell? And how to apply heaven-thinking thoughts to our daily lives?” And then there’s a second part of the question, I’ll answer that one first.

Jesus defined the kingdom of God in a very specific place. Jesus said, the kingdom of God is within you. Therefore, heaven and hell is an experience that you have within you. Heaven and hell is an experience that you have, when you are not– when you’re either aligned with that kingdom of God within you, or you’re not.

So, there are states of consciousness. Our state of consciousness is when we are aligned with Spirit, when we’re aligned with this idea of divine love, with this idea of compassion and kindness. When we align our thoughts and our words and our actions with that, then we experience and we express more from that state of consciousness. Likewise, when we think ourselves separate from it, when we allow our anger and our frustration to guide us and to drive us, then we are living our own hell in consciousness.

So, there are states of consciousness. And how can you live more fully? Well, that’s what we’re all about here at Unity Palo Alto, is living into that consciousness, that God consciousness that’s within each one of us, that idea that God moves and lives and has its being in, through and as you because you are a spiritual being made in the spiritual image and likeness of God. And when we align ourselves with that, and align ourselves with principles of good, principles of compassion and love, and harmony, and when we practice the spiritual practices that we give each other every day, make it a part of our life, then we’re really living in that state. We experience the world from a completely different viewpoint. We see the world differently, and we are in the world and being that presence in the world. It’s our responsibility to be that presence in the world. 

The rest of the question says, “I recently had a discussion with my nephew, who is in a Christian group, and I forgot the metaphysical interpretation of heaven. Now, he thinks everyone must go through a certain step of officially declaring Jesus as their Savior in order to go to heaven when Jesus comes again. How do I convince my nephew that this is not true, that heaven is now and at the present state of mind?” That goes back to the last question that we had. You don’t try to convince them. The more we try to convince somebody that we’re right and they’re wrong, the more we are shaming them for being wrong, even when they’re saying the same thing back to us. Can we live in our principles in that state, and be okay with wherever they’re at?

Unity is a set of teachings that originally were based on the teachings attributed to Jesus. Taking those teachings and practically applying them, applying them practically to life, putting them into practice in our lives, not just talking about it, not just having a phrase at the end of the day, but really putting into practice. And when you put these spiritual principles into practice, you will experience something, you will experience a shift.

Now, one of Unity’s practices, because we’re welcoming and inclusive, is not dogmatic, is not proselytizing, is not saying that you must believe as I believe. This is what I know to be true based on my experience of applying truth and you have your own experience. And I don’t discount that personally. You know, their experience, those other experiences, are valid if they’re coming through that lens of this is what’s real, and so it fulfills them.

And I believe that if you took the principles that we practiced, that even your nephew could apply them and say, yeah, I get it. And that you may still have this belief. And there’s nothing wrong with that belief, as long as you don’t make it wrong. 

So, this is a really important topic for us because it spans everything. You know, it goes beyond spirituality. It goes beyond our spiritual principles. It goes beyond social justice. It goes beyond our political system. It’s the kind of coffee that we drink. It’s everything that we do in life where we’re judging ourselves against someone else. Judge not, lest ye be judged. And instead, just live the principles. And by living the principles, we are expressing that goodness, we are shining a light. We are shining the way for those who have an ear to hear, which means those who are receptive and open.

So, as we move forward, let us remember that we are one spiritual community, the entire planet. And here at Unity Palo Alto, we practice this idea of oneness, where we know our spiritual wholeness, and we strive to express it in everyday life. We don’t always get it right. That’s where our self-forgiveness comes into play. We see others who don’t always get it right. And that’s where our forgiveness for others comes into play, our letting go, our returning to our own sense of self. Returning to that inner consciousness that’s within us.

Connected

I’d like to conclude our service with a poem that my mom sent me. For those of you who know, Joyce Riley is a Unity poet. I grew up with Unity with her. And her poem is “Connected!” with an exclamation point.

Connected! 

In precious mindful moments, I see the perfect power, 

Which fills me the indwelling spirit, 

Which stills me through the gentle stillness. 

I am embraced by the healing power of grace. 

I am composed, I am connected 

And ready to receive the good expected.