Why I Want to Be a Unity Minister
“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth, As it is in Heaven.”
by Beverly Rockliffe, third-year UUMS student
I am from Guyana, South America. I became a Unity student over forty years ago. While serving as the district midwife in a small village, I encountered people from various socio-economic backgrounds. Those experiences brought me face-to-face with people seeking counsel, and I used those opportunities to share Unity’s teachings to help them rise above their circumstances. Following a gentle nudge from the Spirit within, I started a prayer group in my home with four people. Through word of mouth, the group grew to 16 and then 27 within a week, eventually evolving into the “Heaven Is Here Unity Center.” Several years later, the group established its mission to improve the quality of life for underprivileged youth by providing spiritual training, secular education, and jobs. I had been studying to become a Unity minister for over 25 years, beginning in England where I completed Unity’s Continuing Education Program (CEP). I knew my ultimate assignment was to become an ordained Unity minister. Until recently, I questioned why it took me so long to achieve that goal. Now, I realize that I needed to wait until Unity Urban Ministerial School (UUMS) was accessible for me to get the training I needed. From the first classes I took through UUMS, I knew I was in the right place at the right time. Classes like Planning and Strategies for Urban Ministry, including Father Gregory Boyle’s book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, have helped me prepare for my next mission–to create a Unity Urban Ministry in my country. I am exceedingly grateful to Rev. Dr. Ruth M. Mosley, founder of UUMS, for her vision to prepare students for anointing ” to bring good news to the poor, to comfort the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to those who are in prison.”
The motto of our Unity Urban Ministry in Guyana is:
Through our thoughts, words, and actions, we will live in the Kingdom of God right here on Earth, As it is in Heaven.”