What Is Unity of Phoenix?

The Unity of Phoenix Church is an inter-denominational church based on the practical teachings of Jesus Christ. Located at 1500 East Greenway Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85022 On the West side of 16th Street between Bell Road and Greenway Parkway. They have 3 services on Sunday. 8:15, 9:45, and 11:15.

What's It's Like At The Unity of Phoenix Church.

I attended the Nov. 11, 2007 service that starts at 11:15am and ends around 12:15. I arrived a few minutes late while the guest singer, Rusty Farracane was performing. The auditorium was packed. It seats about 750 people and it was hard to find a seat anywhere. However at the back of the sanctuary there were seats lined up along the back wall. Most were taken. However there was one seat available right by the door.

It was interesting to observe the people sitting on either side of me. I've been to this church many times in the past and I've never seen this happen. Since my plan was to do a review of the service, I took out my pen and notepad as soon as I sat down. To my surprise, both people on either side scurried to find something to write on. One girl actually got up to borrow a pen. Every time I wrote something down while Rev Maraj was speaking, they wrote something down too. Try it at your church sometime and see what happens.

Unity Minister Speaks On Gratefulness.

Rev Maraj, the 'lead' minister, is truly one of the most talented speakers you'll ever listen to. It's not a surprise that the service was packed with 700+- people. Today was the 3rd week in a 4 week series on different aspects of gratitude.

The focus of today's sermon was about how every interaction with others can raise us up to a higher level of spirituality. Other people can see the best (and worst) in us, so that we can see a more complete picture of ourselves. Rev Maraj spoke of this as grateFULLness. This stuck with me because by being grateful to others we see a greater fullness or broader image of ourselves.

Three Aspects of Being Grateful.

Rev Maraj listed 3 aspects of being grateful to others. One is to be grateful for the people who are closest to us, - the people who support us. It's easy to take these people for granted because we see them so often but these are the people we really need to appreciate and honor the most.

Secondly we need to be grateful for the people who 'challenge' us. These are the people we find it difficult to get along with. These people are more likely to show us aspects about ourselves that we can't see. We need to thank them (at least internally) for giving us the opportunities to improve in our love, patience, spirituality, and boundaries.

Thirdly we need to be grateful for the success of others. The more we share in the success of others, the more likely we are to create success in our lives.

Unity of Phoenix Church Principles In Action. A Personal Experience.

One of the things that makes Rev Maraj so easy to listen to is that he's 'real'. You can relate to what he says and how he feels. He doesn't pretend to be something he's not. And he comes across as having an objective perspective of himself. And he's willing to share his weaknesses as well as strengths with everyone.

In regards to being grateful for the success of others, Rev Maraj shared this personal experience. He's wanted to find the right woman to settle down with for several years. He admitted that in the past, although he was happy when he saw other people in love and getting married, he was also sad at the same time.

To attract love in his life he decided to share fully in the happiness of other people who had found love. Their experiences made him more aware that he would soon find his life partner as well. Shortly after making the decision to be grateful for the success of others, he met his current wife at defensive driving school in Nov 2006.

You know I don't usually take notes at church, but I might start doing that. For one it helped me remember and reflect on what was said and secondly it would be interesting to see if it's contagious. Will the people sitting next to me start taking notes as well? Perhaps I should bring extra paper and pencils. : -)

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