Meet Rev. Vicky Elder

Vicky has served as Minister of Unity of Monterey Bay (UMB)  since she was ordained in 1998 by Unity Worldwide Ministries (UWM), after completing the Ministerial Education Program. She and her late husband, Rory, established UMB as a free-standing, independent church in 2000; it had previously been an “out-reach church” of Christ Unity Church in Sacramento for more than a decade. In addition to ministry – Vicky’s passion is her family. She has two sons, Travis & Kyle, a daughter & son-in-law, Brianna & Salvador Leavitt-Alcantara, and two grandsons, Mateo and Joaquin.

Prior to ministerial school, Vicky and Rory, along with Rev./Dr. Harold and Dr. Jeanne Johnson, founded the Life Enrichment Center, a community-outreach psycho-spiritual counseling center affiliated with Christ Unity Church of Sacramento. Vicky also served as a Program Manager for the State of California Attorney General’s Crime and Violence Prevention Center. In addition to her seminary certificate, she has a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from the University of San Francisco; and a Master’s Degree in Urban Policy & Administration from San Francisco State University.

Vicky currently serves as the Co-President of the West Central Region of Unity Churches, the Secretary of the Independent Alliance of Ministers in Unity (IAMU); the Chair of the UWM Ethics Review System Advocate Team, and as an active member of the UWM Licensing & Ordination Team.

2012 Affirmation:

Embracing the hopeful and wholesome reality of the sacred mystery of life, I am content and at peace; I accept myself as I am, and life exactly as it is and is not; AND, in the same breath, I connect passionately with my life’s sacred mission to EVOLVE and TRANSFORM – both myself and the world – with clarity, focus, ease and grace.

Adventures in Prayer – Prayer 101

This is the first of a three-part series on Prayer, based on the book,  Adventures in Prayer – Praying Your Way to a God You Can Trust by Unity Minister, Sharon Connors (available through Amazon…access thru our website…).  I also recommend her new book, Adventures in Prayer – the Magic of Discovery (which is written for kids 9-12).

Prayer is the foundation of our Unity movement…

 “Prayer is the opening of communication between the mind of man and the mind of God.”  Charles Fillmore, Atom Smashing Power of Mind

In short, it is the means through which we discover our direct connection with God – awaken our innate divine nature/potential – practice aligning our personal consciousness with Divine-Mind – and actively expand our consciousness so that we can become instruments of the Divine.

There is an old saying – “There are no atheists in foxholes.” When humans find ourselves in danger or serious distress, something primal within us reaches out to that which is greater than our individual expression and experience.

So – why do people pray???  — Because “It works!”   And as a spiritual practice, it:

      “Provides connection to the Divine.”

      “Offers, hope, peace, guidance.”

      “Gets our minds right.”     

If fact, research is demonstrating that – prayer measurably changes/affects the brains of those who practice it regularly…producing POSITIVE physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual results.

Most of us can attest to the fact that prayer can shift/transform worry and desperation into hope and comfort – “piercing through difficult emotions and painful truths (small “t” = “appearances”) to establish a HOPE that “all things are possible.”

This HOPE shifts our attention from the problem to possible solutions… and takes us across a threshold beyond our intellectual powers; out of a limited way of seeing and experiencing things and into an unbounded way of perceiving…

As we seek “God’s Will/Guidance” – our intuitive capacity is awakened and the unlimited realm of Spirit opens to us…enabling us to hear divine guidance where before we heard only the static of our own thoughts and fears…

And expanding time, options, and possibilities… primarily because we let go of our need to “control and know” – and become willing to take one step at a time forward – through which a whole new realm of possibilities unfold…  

AN IMPORTANT NOTE – understanding that God’s Will for us is NOT some pre-conceived, pre-determined, set-in-stone “Righteous” response – BUT – a path to OUR highest good, forged through our willingness to risk/trust/grow through the circumstances before us…

With our willingness to follow Divine Guidance comes the courage, strength, faith and capacities to take action…  Prayer always leads us beyond our comfort zone and into unknown waters – whether it’s to new levels of courage or forgiveness or love…

äBut the RESULT is ultimately the experience of a peace that surpasses our human (intellectual) understanding…  (i.e., our intellect had us in a “panic” whereas prayer brings us to “peace” while facing the same outer circumstances…but with a shift in our inner perspective = a “Miracle”)…

One of my most successful prayer practice experiences has been what I now call our HOME adventure – once we accepted the call to serve Unity of Monterey Bay.

The whole story is one of prayerful practice – as we affirmed, from Missouri, that God had called us to äMonterey and would thus provide us with a home (we decided we were willing to set up our tent trailer at Veteran’s Park if need be…)

Our first home in Las Palmas – was found by a church member and we bought it sight-unseen from Missouri.

When we wanted to move to Monterey the next year but couldn’t find anything we could afford, the Roosevelt house was offered to us on a lease-option.

After Ro died and I needed to sell Roosevelt, the perfect transition opportunity was offered to me to rent Jesse Delehai’s house.

When the Roosevelt sale fell through, I was guided to move back and negotiate a loan modification with the bank – it proved to be an important healing time for me and our sons.

When the loan modification was not in the cards (after three years of trying) my current “home” was donated to the church, which allowed me to release Roosevelt.

Within two weeks of listing it for a short-sale, an offer was made…and in the process I learned there was over $100,000 of termite repair work required (I was glad the loan modification DIDN’T go through); the bank accepted a significantly lower offer – and it closed escrow January 27!

As I reflected on this adventure last week, after hearing it had closed – what became apparent was that each opportunity was “OFFERED” (none were produced from my personal efforting).

Once we set the intention that God would provide a HOME…and TRUSTED in that… it happened over and over again. The ride wasn’t always smooth… but it was always secure… Solutions came – from “out of the blue” i.e., from the limitless realm of Spirit” (that was unimaginable to my human mind)…

What is (and was) KEY to this kind of prayerful practice is a FOUNDATION of BELIEFS…our core Principles… creating a space to pray from… Accepting…

1) Only One Presence and One Power – God the Good (i.e., trusting that God is Good ALL the time… knowing IT IS ALL GOD…)… Nothing will short-circuit a prayer practice faster than holding an image of a God we don’t like or can’t trust!

If you still have remnants of a God that punishes, or that demands loyalty oaths, or that plays favorites, or requires sacrifices – it will be difficult to develop an intimate, trusting relationship.

SO – ENVISION A GOD THAT IS PERFECT – unconditional love, limitlessness, presence (available), principle (consistent) & personal (compassionate), ALL good ALL the time.

A NOTE ON DUALITY: Our language cannot adequately address Oneness. While it is important to remember and practice the Truth that God is not “out there” separate from us…yet in this human adventure, most of us experience being IN RELATIONSHIP with God even as we ARE God in expression…so knowing this, chose whatever language makes you FEEL connected…

2) We are made in “the image and likeness” of God – thus are also inherently Good – and not only possess the capacity to BECOME expressions of the infinite Divine, but that is our ultimate nature. And, like God, we have the capacity to CO-CREATE through our thoughts – which brings us to Principle 3 –

3) As Creative beings – that which we think about we bring about. Thought is not only creative it is causative.

This creative/causative capacity functions with or without our awareness… Negative thoughts & feelings (anger, resentment, jealousy, greed) demonstrate as negative/toxic experiences; while Positive thoughts & feelings (love, gratitude, acceptance, compassion) demonstrate as positive, healing, transformative experiences.

A Prayer-Practice (intentional and conscious) helps us discipline/focus our thoughts to align with Divine Mind

As Charles Fillmore says, “Prayer makes one master in the realm of creative ideas.” (which we will focus more on next week).

4) Affirmation & Denials – and other Practical Applications of Truth – are tools we can use to better focus/align our minds with Divine Mind… which again, we will expand upon next week… and finally…

5) Prayer & Meditation provide direct ACCESS to God…aligning us with the infinite resources of Spirit… expanding our consciousness beyond our human intellect and sense-awareness to step into our full-divine-nature.

Ultimately – rather than seeking “results from God” through prayer, we will become “expressions of the Divine” which will be the subject of week 3 of our series.

Grounded in these 5 basic principles – our prayer practice becomes powerful and effective…

So HOW do we pray? Rev. Connors offers these suggestions:

1) Be sure you are praying to a God you love and trust… if not – change your image of God so you can.

2) In addition to speaking…LISTEN – It is good to talk, to give thanks, to ask for guidance, but we must remember that Silence is an essential part of prayer…

3) Pray honestly – be mad, sad, hurt, whatever is authentically there. Allow it all out – trusting God’s compassion and understanding. Dig deep – releasing it all – until you reach a place of emptiness and silence. Finally cleansed, you will be able to hear God…

“The Spirit of God graciously meets us where we are, healing what needs to be healed and revealing what needs to be revealed.”

4) Pray with the understanding that thoughts are things… they have life, substance and intelligence; they occupy space in our consciousness and in our bodies and will develop and grow to be fruitful and multiply… Our attention is fertilizer…that which we  focus on will expand…positive and negative

5) Believe in a God that is big enough to handle everything in our lives…

There is nothing we can’t bring to prayer… nothing too mundane; too selfish; too trivial; or too difficult. (CIM – “there is no order of difficulty in miracles”) We can bring our doubts and questions – even our lack of faith.

With a sincere, open heart and mind…and a desire for understanding… we can discover a God thru which ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!  And finally -

6) Be willing to release all problem(s) to God…

Be willing to let go of control, trusting God will reveal a way through what seems like “no way.” Even in fear – take the first step… Each step will grow your confidence.

It is in releasing the problem from our mind and heart into the mind and heart of God that we find peace… and peace always precedes healing…

Above all – HOW we pray is not nearly as important as that we DO pray. Anytime, anyplace, anyway can work. Reaching out to a power greater than ourselves begins the journey.

And remember, the effects of prayer are cumulative… the more we pray the easier it – and life becomes… So let’s close with this affirmation…

With God at my side – I take life in stride – and my day is blessed with good…

 Namaste…  Rev. Vicky