UNITY OF BELLEVUE TIMELINE HISTORY FROM 1959 TO THE PRESENT Created by Carolyn Darlington Under the sponsorship of Unity of Seattle, a Unity Study Group was formed in Bellevue in 1959. Unity of Seattle s Associate Minister, Rev. Philip Pierson, led the mid-week class and the Sunday services. The first minister, straight out of Ministerial Training, was Rev. Dan Perin, along with his wife Loretta. Moving to Bellevue in January of 1960, Rev. Perin began the corporate development of the church, meeting in the Chapel of Flowers, a wedding and funeral chapel. The second move was to a former bank building on Main Street in old Bellevue. This was the church home for two years. During this timeframe, congregants Rudy & Ruth Rasmussen indicated they owned three pieces of property in Lake Hills. The property was just short of three acres. They offered the property to the church for $14,000. Quoting Rev. Perin, We had no money, but could not pass up the opportunity. A property fund was started with a $75.00 donation. Rev. Dan Perin s tenure at Unity of Bellevue was from January 31, 1960 thru August 1, 1964. Rev. James Serada was hired on August 1, 1964, and left on November 1, 1965. The Rev. Kay Arndt was hired on November 1, 1965 and remained as Senior Minister until June 1, 1982. Rev. Arndt hired Rev. Lila Proby as her Associate Minister on March 1, 1977 and Rev. Proby stayed until July 1, 1980. After the Church purchased the property in 1962, it was not until 1967 that construction on the present church building began. This was made possible when twenty-two families pledged $2,500 each to obtain a bank loan. Two years later, on June 8, 1969, the first service was conducted in the new sanctuary with Rev. Kay Arndt serving as minister. Rev. Arndt felt the church was a teaching church, with many Unity classes taught, and few social events. Rev. Arndt started a weekly Women s Book Group, which still meets weekly to this day. One social event was decorating the sanctuary and Christmas tree for the holidays. There was also a quite popular Singles Group, with rules that specified that at the monthly meetings, there was to be a topic of discussion or a speaker. In the early 80 s, Rev. Arndt was diagnosed with cancer. She remained the Senior Minister until she could no longer appear on the platform. During the time that Rev. Arndt was ill, Rev. Max Lafser was hired to be the interim minister. After Rev. Arndt made her transition in June of 1982 the Board of Unity of Bellevue on November 11, 1982 hired Rev. Max Lafser as Senior Minister and his wife Victoria became the office manager and Licensed Teacher. Those who remember Rev. Max Lafser from 1982-1985 knew that he was a creative Sunday speaker, full of humor and basic Unity teachings. The church enjoyed many social events, including fun and rewarding auctions. There were many Unity-based classes and experiential
classes. During the time that the Lasfers were at Unity of Bellevue, Victoria became an ordained Unity Minister in 1984. The ceremony was held at Unity of Bellevue, with a reception following. It was a very special event for Unity of Bellevue. During Rev. Lafser s time with Unity of Bellevue, he served on the Board of the Association of Unity Churches (AUC), now called Unity Worldwide Ministries. During this time Rev. Lafser was elected President of the Association and did some traveling. For many reasons, the Board decided an associate minister would be helpful, and Rev. Richard Everts was hired September 1, 1984. Another reason for an Associate Minister was the church was growing, finally expanding to three services on Sunday. As Associate Minister, Rev. Everts brought wonderful energy to the church. He organized a program to train volunteers called The Lay Ministry Program. This was a program with a class of twelve, which lasted for nine months. Each person in the program had to learn and practice most volunteer positions in the church. After the group was confirmed as Lay Ministers, they were asked to have a project for the next year. It was in this timeframe that a Study Group sponsored by Unity of Bellevue was started in March of 1991 by Lay Minister Carolyn Darlington. This group met in North Bend, WA in the home of Doris Vinnedge. The group eventually became affiliated with the AUC Expansion Department. The study group was supported by local area ministers and future Licensed Teachers. Sadly, due to lack of growth, the North Bend Study Group disbanded in May of 1994. NOTE: Over the years, especially in the late 80 s and 90 s, five members of the congregation went on to Ministerial School and worked in churches before retiring. Rev. Michael Moran is minister emeritus at Spiritual Life Center in Sacramento, CA. Sadly, Rev. Faith Moran has made her transition. Rev. Art Holt, ordained in 1991, is retired in Florida and Rev. Marilyn Muehlbach is retired in Coeur d Alene, ID. Rev. Alvena Hiatt was ordained in 1998. She is also now retired. Revs. Max & Victoria Lafser were invited by AUC to become ministers at Unity on the Plaza in Kansas City, MO, and departed Unity of Bellevue in July of 1985. Rev. Dick Everts then became the Senior Minister for Unity of Bellevue. The Lay Ministry Program continued after Rev. Evert left in November of 1986, with one class with Rev. Michael Murphy and three classes with Rev. Linda Spencer. Rev. V. Michael Murphy was welcomed as Senior Minister in November, 1986. Rev. Murphy had a very high prosperity consciousness and made sure that the building was maintained properly, including a new furnace. As the church had good attendance, Dan Perin was hired in 1987 to serve Unity of Bellevue as Administrator. After Rev. Murphy resigned In January of 1988, Rev. Perin served as temporary Senior Minister until Rev. Thora Hess arrived. Rev. Perin also stayed for a short time after Rev. Linda Spencer was hired. During this time of great change, Unity of Bellevue was fortunate to have Rev. Thora Hess and her husband Rev. Weaver Hess as interim ministers from February through September 1988. Unity of Bellevue benefited from their experiences and creation of order for the church to move forward. 2
After a long search process, with four prospective candidates for Senior Minister, the decision was made to hire the Rev. Linda Spencer. Rev. Spencer began her tenure at Unity of Bellevue on September 1, 1988. Rev. Spencer brought a lot of energy to the ministry. She continued with the Lay Ministry Program, leading three more groups into Lay Ministry and service to the church. There were also many social and fund-raising events, attendance stayed high, many classes were scheduled it was a very thriving, exciting time in the life of Unity of Bellevue. There were many different classes being taught by both Rev. Spencer and Mary Lee Douglas, a Licensed Unity Teacher. Mary Lee was ordained in the field in 1990 and became the Associate Minister from July 1988 through September 1992. Rev. Spencer then invited the Rev. Joanne Stanley to become Associate Minister. Rev. Stanley participated in the Lay Ministry classes and also taught many experiential classes. Rev. Stanley served from November 1989 through July 1991. In August of 1992, The Rev. Alden Studebaker was hired as Associate Minister. After serving as Senior Minister for almost ten years, Rev. Linda Spencer felt it was time for a change, and resigned from the church in July of 1998. A Search Committee was formed to hire a new minister. The Rev. Nat Carter was hired and began at Unity of Bellevue in October of 1998. He was known for being a very good teacher and his classes were well attended. He was willing to search out different books to use to introduce new ideas to his classes. Nat s tenure lasted until October of 2000. In February of 2002, Rev. Max Lafser returned to Unity of Bellevue as the Senior Minister. There had been many changes in the time that Rev. Lafser served from 1982 to 1985. It was a different congregation and staff, the church had been remodeled, and Max was no longer married to Victoria Lafser. The present Mrs. Lafser (Rama Vernon) was not involved in the church. Rev. Lafser did bring his great love for storytelling and teaching Unity Principles to the congregation. But sadly Rev. Lafser experienced many health challenges. His resignation was accepted in June of 2005. Patty M. Becker (non-unity) fulfilled the role of Senior Minister from July 2005 thru March 2006. During this time, Ms. Becker was in charge of the Prayer Chaplain Program at the church and conducted the Sunday Services. In March of 2006, the Board of Directors hired the Rev. John McLean. Rev. McLean ran a very lean ministry with attendance holding at a smaller level. Teaching was a high priority for Rev. McLean; he was a strong teacher with high level, deep discussions. He visited congregants in the hospital, but the children s ministry greatly diminished. During Rev. McLean s early days, Patty M. Becker was released from the ministry. Rev. McLean served until May of 2010. Rev. Nancy Worth was hired in October of 2010. Her husband, Rev. Bill Worth, a retired Unity Minister joined her in the ministry (Bill occasionally speaks, leads meditations on Sunday, and he helped get the Small Group Ministry started in 2011). One of the first items that Rev. Nancy Worth 3
addressed was the restoration of the Youth Education Program. Another great idea was hiring an Event Coordinator. The Event Coordinator plans social events, Christmas decorating, musical concerts, the annual volunteer recognition dinner, and other events. She has recruited a list of volunteers that she can call upon to serve in different ways. There are different groups that meet, the oldest being the long-standing Men s Group, meeting monthly. There is a weekly women s book study group, and a very popular Couples Group. Recently a Women s Group was formed, meeting monthly. Rev. Nancy Worth and Rev. Bill Worth both are wonderful teachers and there are Unity classes scheduled throughout the year. There is a Fall Study Program, using materials that follow the Sunday Lessons. Some groups meet at church and groups also meet in private homes for study and fellowship. This is a very popular Fall program. There are guest musicians and guest speakers who present afternoon workshops, which are highly attended. The music at Unity of Bellevue continues to be wonderful. There has been some change in music leadership personnel. The 3-piece band remains, along with a song leader and the choir. A fund raising concert and silent auction event with Geoffrey Castle and Band was a big pre-holiday event. Unity Church of Bellevue is a wonderful place to learn Unity Principles, meet like-minded people, enjoy the many activities and be of service. And has been doing so for 55 years! 4
Listing of Ministers Serving at Unity of Bellevue Dan Perin Sr. Minister 1/31/1960 8/1/1964 James Serada Sr. Minister 8/1/1964 11/1/1965 Kay Arndt Sr. Minister 11/1/1965 6/1/1982 Lila Proby Associate 3/1/1977 7/1/1980 Max Lafser Sr. Minister 11/1/1982 7/1/1985 Victoria Lafser See Timeline 11/1/1982 7/1/1985 Richard Everts Associate/ Sr. 9/1/1984 11/1/1986 V. Michael Murphy Sr. Minister 11/1/1986 1/1/1988 Dan Perin Administrator 9/1/1987 3/1/1991 Thora Hess Interim 2/1/1988 9/1/1988 Weaver Hess Interim 2/1/1988 9/1/1988 Mary Lee Douglas Associate 7/1/1988 9/1/1992 Linda Spencer Sr. Minister 9/1/1988 7/1/1998 Joanne Stanley Associate 11/1/1989 7/1/1991 Alden Studebaker Associate 8/1/1992 5/1/1994 Nat Carter Sr. Minister 10/1/1998 10/1/2000 Max Lafser (2 nd time) Sr. Minister 2/1/2002 6/2005 Patty Becker (non-unity) Sr. Minister 7/2005 3/2006 John McLean Sr. Minister 3/2006 5/20/2010 Nancy Worth Sr. Minister 10/25/2010 5