Since joining the Unity Church in Arvada, I have been curious as to the history and administration of the domination. I knew of Unity Village in Lees Summit, south of Kansas City, because David and I had driven passed it several times on our way to and from Canton, Ohio. So it became one of our destinations on this trip.
After we left Litchfield, Ill, we drove here via Hannibal, Mo. We were there with the Ramblin Recs, our RV club from Denver. We had 10 units there, so 20 people, and stayed in a campground about 15 miles from Hannibal, at Landing, Mo. It was close to the shores of Mark Twain Lake, and during the summer must be a lively place. There was a water park there, and lots and lots of RV parks where many were permanent rigs, installed for summer use, as if they were a vacation cabin. About half our campground were permanents, but the property was well maintained and very nice. It was out in the country, and not very busy anywhere, so we had good access to restaurants, etc. We spent one whole day in Hannibal at the Mark Twain festival, taking a river sightseeing cruise, and visiting all the street vendors on Main Street. We didn’t go to Sam Clemens home, or any of the museums, out of laziness mainly. I walked all day, used my cane just in case, but was no worse for the wear. The venders for the most part were pretty unique, local artists and craftsmen, local churches and non profits out to make a few bucks. It was hot that day, and tiring. The river trip was a nice respite. We had dinner at an old restaurants together, and were glad to be home. Sunday we went on a dinner cruise on the same river boat, and had a delicious dinner, a 3/4 moon rise, a cool night, and a peaceful cruise looking at the lights and bridges. It was their last dinner cruise of the season, so not very well attended. Our group was half the customers, so we enjoyed being able to talk in the quiet atmosphere.
We stayed over Monday to rest then drove on Tue. to Unity Village. Our camping spot here is out in the woods east of the main part of the village. Unity Village is an incorporated town with a zip code, but no post office. After we found the place, I discovered to enter “Unity Village” into the GPS and up it came. The address was useless, as we had to enter by the hotel in order to check in. They have hotel and motel space for probably 800 or more, and could feed up to 1000 once a day. The buffet restaurants here is beautiful and serves very good food. Most of the compound is on a 4 day work week, and we met some volunteers here performing various jobs. The publishing house is out-sourced, but the Silent Unity Prayer service is 7/24 accessible by phone or email. They receive bunches of mail, and we were told go a long way to supporting the operation by donations they receive. The school of ministry is here also, but they also train ministers by independent study and email. It would be a great place for a conference such as AGNT or Mile Hi retreats. In fact, Lyn Twist of IONS was supposed to be here this week, but cancelled for some reason. Probably lack of registration sufficient to make it work. I was sorry to miss her.
The fountains here have recently been restored, and the rose gardens surrounding them are MAGNIFICENT. moved me to tears. Some of the components of the place need attention, but for the most part upkeep and maintenance is pretty good. It is a peaceful place peopled by gentle souls .
No comments:
Post a Comment