January 15, 2026
Beloved Community,
I briefly entered what is called the “news” last night, and what I witnessed stayed with me. The images were striking, ICE agents outfitted in full military gear. For a moment, my mind associated the scene with a foreign war zone, a place where force is deployed against a tyrannical regime. And then the deeper awareness arrived: this is happening here, in the United States, my homeland. I found myself asking, not in accusation, but in sincere inquiry, what level of perceived threat calls forth this degree of force? And what is being stirred within the collective consciousness by such images?
As a minister serving beloved communities for over a decade, I have been in continual contemplation of my role. How do I teach spiritual principle in a way that is alive, embodied, and applicable to every area of life? How do I speak Truth in a manner that honors both eternal principles and the lived realities of the present moment? The longstanding caution has often been, “Don’t get political.”
What has become clear to me is this: no subject is “off the table” when it is approached through spiritual principle, love, and Truth. Unity has never been about avoidance. We are a teaching of conscious engagement, of responsibility, of awakening. If Truth is timeless and changeless, then it must be applicable everywhere, especially where there is tension, fear, or division.
I am convinced that this is the moment to be clear and courageous in living and teaching the Truths to which I have dedicated my life, and which Unity articulates through its Basic Principles. These principles are not abstract ideas; they are practical tools for transformation. To say that Unity is practical means that we practice the application of spiritual principle to everything. Nothing is excluded. Nothing is withheld from the altar of Truth.
I believe this is the pathway through the unrest, the violence, and the profound shifts we are witnessing in our nation and our world. Let us not look away. Let us not say, “We can’t talk about this.” Instead, let us bring all of it into the light of awareness, asking what within us, individually and collectively, is being called to rise.
When we speak of “home” or “homeland,” we are not pointing to geography. We are speaking of the home of the heart. It is the inner dwelling place where Love awakens wisdom, where consciousness remembers itself, and where we realize that we are co-creators of our experience and our world. In Unity, we are not waiting for a savior to arrive from outside ourselves. We are invited to rise as conscious participants, to be the healers, the peacemakers, the expressions of Love in form.
Recently, I invited each of you to offer the one Word you received, the name given to you by Spirit, by your Higher Self, by God Consciousness. This Word represents the quality you are dedicating your life to this year. As we gather these words and display them anonymously, I believe something sacred is revealed: a collective Love poem, a Unity Renaissance prayer made visible. In dedicating ourselves to these qualities, we participate consciously in creating anew, even as familiar structures fall away.
This month, we begin a shared journey with The Way of Mastery, beginning with The Way of the Heart. This teaching carries every Unity Principle within it and is offered in the voice of Jeshua ben Joseph, Jesus, who realized the Christ consciousness. It brings clarity to teachings that have often been distorted, politicized, or misunderstood, and returns them to their original purpose: awakening.
This path leads us home, to our divine identity, and empowers us to live as a practical, loving, and transformative presence in the world. We rise and claim our homeland here and now, beginning within, and extending outward as a beneficent influence in every sphere of life.
No matter what is unfolding in your personal life, no matter what issue holds your attention, the solution to every perceived problem is present within consciousness itself. We will explore this together, honestly, prayerfully, and courageously.
I Love You,
Reverend René