Monday, October 10, 2016

Nehemiah had the right idea

   My last blog entry was about trying to understand Nehemiah in the bible and what the "Nehemiah Retreat" at Unity Village in Lee's Summit, Mo. would mean to me.
 
   Well.  Nehemiah was able to accomplish all of his desired work on the walls and gates of Jerusalem in 52 days.  I am certain he had more than 27 workers as we did which allowed him to accomplish his monumental task

   Our 27 workers gathered from far and wide in the U.S. were up to the tasks that had been laid out by the facilities department of Unity Village.  That department which worked right beside all of us, had prepared a vigorous set of tasks, tasks that they themselves did not have the man power nor time to complete.

   Our workers did an enormous amount of work in 4.5 days and were able at the same time to consume as much food as the Village Inn could whip up.  Known specifically for their healthy menu and 5 star deserts, the Nehemiah crew did themselves proud finishing just about every form of processed sugar possible.  Good for short burst of temporary energy, not so good for long term health.

   Tasks consisted of but were not limited to; emptying a complete wing of a building and deep cleaning all those facilities, deep cleaning of several past student residences, aiding installation of a irrigation system on the golf course, moving a complete archived collection and any other task that popped up in the first 4 days.

   Unity Village is a unique facility which was created and built in the early 1900's.  Many far thinking practises were utilized; such as the first pre fabrication of walls.  Lowell Filmore one of the main architects of the Village was a student of European architecture and brought the very best of those skills to the Village during design and construction.

   The camaraderie and friendships that were forged in a short time were amazing.  Young or old, all seemed to want to build relationships and did.  The organization known to us all as "The Light that Shines for You" or Silent Unity was a tremendous part of this process.

   Silent Unity is a real time, FREE, 24/7, live, human facilitated prayer ministry.  This prayer ministry has been in prayer non-stop since 1893.  Through 2 world wars, the Korean Conflict, and numerous catastrophic events in the world which includes "911" they have manned; pencil/paper, teletype, telephone, facsimile, and even the Internet.  In addition to the main Silent Unity room in Unity Village there are 13 additional rooms around the world to support other languages, people and nations.

    For me, the director of Silent Unity Joy Cherry and Unity Minister Michael Perrie set this retreat apart from other Nehemiah Retreats I have attended.  Their daily and impromptu meetings of prayer or meditation during the week were much appreciated and enjoyed.  The tour of the Silent Unity training facility and explanation of "how it works" was an eye opener for most attending.  Nehemiah members were also encouraged and allowed to visit in 1/2 hour intervals in the Silent Unity Prayer Vigil room nearly any time they wished or signed up for.  These times in the Prayer Vigil room a place many think of as "special and holy ground" led many to come to conclusions or decisions they had been wrestling with.  Special times.

   So, would I do Nehemiah again? Oh yeah.  Would I recommend this retreat to my friends and other congregants at my Unity Church?  Oh yeah.  Would I recommend this retreat to anyone even though they may not attend Unity?  Oh yeah.  Stay tuned for the announcements in spring and fall of 2017 for sign up of a Nehemiah Retreat at Unity Village.

Love and light.
richard






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