Unity of Walnut Creek

2023-11-12 November 12, 2023 – Hope: The Renewable Resource Rev. Kristin Powell

2023-11-05 November 5, 2023 – Faith’s Evolution Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the dynamic evolution of faith - both personal and collective - as part of the Becoming Wise series inspired by Krista Tippett's work. Drawing on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, her own journey with a beloved dog named Chaos, and the inspiring example of intentional communities, Rev. Kristin illustrates how faith is not static certainty but a living, breathing courage to embrace mystery, cross boundaries, and remain curious about one another. She reminds us that as we say yes to our own spiritual evolution, we contribute powerfully to humanity's unfolding, worshiping together in spirit and truth across all traditions and differences.

2023-10-29 Becoming Wise, Part 4: Wholehearted Love Rev. Kristin explores love as the most challenging yet supreme calling of our spiritual lives, drawing from Krista Tippett's "Becoming Wise" series and the vision of the beloved community. She invites us to move beyond loving only when it is easy and instead embrace wholeheartedness - loving without exception, even those who perpetrate harm - recognizing that hurting people have lost sight of their divine nature and need our love most. Rev. Kristin reminds us that spiritual practice fortifies us to stay open and sensitive in a world that tries to desensitize, and that our wholehearted love serves as the "critical yeast" needed to co-create heaven on earth together.

2023-10-22 October 22, 2023 – Joy and Grace in the Body Rev. Johanna van Gelder Johanna Van Gelder explores the sacred wisdom of the body through the powerful story of Matthew Sanford, a paralyzed yoga practitioner who discovered that our bodies store what our minds cannot process, and she invites us to reconnect with our physical selves as divine expressions. Drawing on teachings from mindfulness meditation, trauma research, and her own experience with illness, Johanna Van Gelder reminds us that bringing awareness, breath, and compassion to our bodies allows energy to flow freely and healing to unfold. She emphasizes that inhabiting our bodies with love not only restores our personal wholeness but ripples outward, deepening our compassion and connection to the world around us.

2023-10-15 October 15, 2023 – Words, Poetic and Prophetic Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the sacred power of words as part of the Becoming Wise series, drawing from Krista Tippett's work to illuminate how our language shapes reality, heals wounds, and co-creates the world we long to inhabit. She invites us to discover words that "shimmer" - words spoken from the heart that stop people in their tracks and reverberate with truth and beauty. Acknowledging the heartbreak of global conflict, Rev. Kristin calls each person to embrace their inner poet and prophet, using the power of their word to honor the sacredness of all life and meet one another in Rumi's field beyond wrongdoing and rightdoing - a field of love.

2023-10-08 October 8, 2023 – Listen and Walls Tumble Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin opens this inspiring message with a vivid personal story of visiting divided Berlin in 1986, using the contrast between East and West as a powerful metaphor for the walls we build - both collectively and individually - through ideology, fear, and limitation. She introduces Krista Tippett's book "Becoming Wise" as a guide for the community's fall study series, emphasizing that listening is the essential pathway to wisdom and the key ingredient within all peace work and productive conversation. Rev. Kristin invites us to recognize that we are living in a new "axial age" of spiritual awakening, encouraging generous listening as a practice that releases our spiritual genius and helps turn the world toward greater connection, compassion, and oneness.

2023-10-01 October 1, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Love Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the transformative power of love through a remarkable true story of a father and son separated by fear and reunited through prayer at the Wailing Wall, illustrating how we can touch with love what we have previously touched with fear. She guides us to recognize that love is both a personal portal and an expansive divine force - that through our passionate commitment to the well-being of others, we access a universal love where all spiritual powers become available to us. As the final teaching in the 12 Powers series, Rev. Kristin reminds us that love is the bridge that overcomes every obstacle, heals every relationship, and carries us through any challenge life presents.

2023-09-24 September 24, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Wisdom Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin guides the community through an experiential exploration of wisdom as one of the 12 Powers, located in the solar plexus and represented by the color yellow. Through storytelling, humor, and an interactive body-awareness exercise, Rev. Kristin invites listeners to discover how their bodies communicate yes and no - revealing the "second brain" of gut intuition that connects us to divine guidance. Drawing on the Sufi tale of Nasruddin, the story of King Solomon, and her own memorable life lessons, Rev. Kristin reminds us that true wisdom arises when we slow down, trust our inner knowing, and act from that grounded, spirit-led place rather than from fear or impulse.

2023-09-17 September 17, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Order Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the spiritual power of Order as part of the 12 Powers series, revealing how our very navels serve as reminders of our divine connection to source and our agreement to be born into this life. She weaves together chaos theory, sacred geometry, and personal stories to illustrate that beneath life's apparent messiness lies a divinely intelligent pattern moving all things toward ideal behavior. Rev. Kristin encourages us to remember that we chose to be here, that our contributions matter - even small butterfly-wing prayers can transform the world - and that ultimately, all is well within this beautifully orchestrated universe.

2023-09-14 September 10, 2023 – Celebrating 75 Years: A Campus of Consciousness

2023-09-10 September 10, 2023 – Celebrating 75 Years: A Campus of Consciousness Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin leads a heartfelt celebration of Unity of Walnut Creek's 75th anniversary, weaving together the community's rich history - from its humble beginnings as a study group in Alamo in 1948 to the vibrant, thriving spiritual home it is today. Through stories of founding minister Rev. Marie Giles, the transformative leadership of Rev. Carol Ruth Knox, and video messages from beloved former ministers, Rev. Kristin honors the roots that ground this community while casting a joyful vision for its future. She reminds us that this sacred space exists to rekindle faith, nurture purpose, and embody radical inclusivity, all anchored in the profound truth that "there's only one of us here."

2023-09-03 September 3, 2023 – Consciousness Is Us Ron Salazar, L.U.T. Ron Salazar delivers a heartfelt and deeply personal message about the consciousness of oneness - not as something outside of us, but as the very essence of who we are. Drawing from his 30-year spiritual journey through AA and into Unity, he shares how understanding that "our will be done" replaced "thy will be done" as he discovered the power within rather than seeking it externally. Through vulnerable stories of health challenges and workplace struggles, Ron illustrates how staying conscious of our true nature gives us the strength, creativity, and love to navigate life's hardest moments while remaining authentically ourselves.

2023-08-27 August 27, 2023 – Prosperity and Healing Through Release Rev. Kristin Powell

2023-08-20 August 20, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Life Dr. Will Tuttle Will Tuttle shares his remarkable journey from walking across America with his brother in search of cosmic consciousness to becoming a Zen Buddhist monk in Korea, earning his PhD at Berkeley, and eventually dedicating his life to serving Unity churches across all 50 states with his wife Madeline. Drawing on Charles Fillmore's 12th power of generative life, Will explores how we must channel our life energy toward wisdom rather than allowing it to be diminished by craving and low-level striving. He celebrates Unity's inclusive honoring of all wisdom traditions and its empowering teaching that each person can connect directly with their own inner guidance system to discover the bubbling spring of joy that is our true nature.

2023-08-18 August 20, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Life

2023-08-13 August 13, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Power Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the spiritual power of finding and using our true voice as part of the 12 Powers series, drawing a rich parallel between Dorothy's journey in the Wizard of Oz and our own quest to overcome fear and step into spiritual authority. She distinguishes between worldly domination and divine dominion - a God-sized responsibility for all life rooted in love rather than control. Rev. Kristin reminds us that our words are living identities with creative power, and that when we ground ourselves in truth and speak from the sacred space between heart and mouth, we become co-creators of a more loving world.

2023-08-10 August 6, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Zeal

2023-08-06 August 6, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Zeal Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the spiritual power of zeal - that inward fire of the soul that propels us forward with purpose and enthusiasm. Drawing from Charles Fillmore's famous declaration at age 94 that he "fairly sizzled with zeal," she reveals how enthusiasm literally means "filled with God" and invites listeners to reconnect with what lights them up and brings them alive. Rev. Kristin also offers a thoughtful exploration of how zeal can either unite or divide, encouraging us to direct our passion toward what we are for rather than what we are against, seeking common ground even with those whose visions differ from our own.

2023-07-30 July 30, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Will Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the spiritual power of will as part of Unity of Walnut Creek's 12 Powers summer series, illuminating the spectrum between willfulness and willingness. She explains how will serves as the executive faculty of the mind - our power to choose, commit, and follow through - while emphasizing that our deepest will aligns with divine will when we attune to our heart's true desires rather than surface-level impulses. Drawing from Charles Fillmore's teachings, scripture, and even the Barbie movie, Rev. Kristin shows how will works alongside understanding and imagination to help us become the light-filled creators we are meant to be.

2023-07-23 July 23, 2023 – Prospering and Healing Through Understanding Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the spiritual power of understanding as part of the 12 Powers series, illuminating how true understanding encompasses both comprehension and compassion - moving beyond intellectual knowing into an embodied, full-being experience of truth. Through compelling stories and the examples of the disciples Mary of Bethany and Thomas, she invites us to cultivate curiosity as a spiritual practice, to listen deeply, and to digest truth into every cell of our being. Rev. Kristin reminds us that understanding flourishes when we remain teachable, open-hearted, and willing to release old assumptions that separate us from our divine connection.

Unity of Walnut Creek - Messages