Where We Worship
Many faiths celebrated at Windward church
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
• Name of church: Windward Unity Church.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
• Our denomination and affiliation: Nondenominational; affiliated with the Unity School of Christianity, Lee's Summit, Kansas City, Mo. Although many people confuse the church with the Unification, Unitarian and similar-sounding churches, Windward Unity Church has no affiliation with them, said its pastor, the Rev. Richard Levy.
In his sermon last weekend, the Rev. Richard Levy of Windward Unity Church paid tribute to the thousands of victims who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
• Where we are: The congregation gathers for services at its host church, Windward United Church of Christ, at 38 Kane'ohe Bay Drive in Kailua.
• Our numbers: Average weekly service attendance of 115 members.
• Our pastor: Richard Levy.
• What we believe: The church's printed mission statement: "Windward Unity celebrates everyone's divine nature and everyday miracles. By living Unity principles, our 'ohana inspires, serves and heals with love, compassion, prayer, music and joy."
The church is very inclusive, Levy said of its membership as well as teachings. Although he said he devotes most of his focus during services to a Bible Scripture or quote, "I am in no way limited by that," he said. "So I can bring in the Quran, the teachings of Buddha, the teachings of Krishna consciousness or any other types of understanding."
• Our history: Windward Unity Church was established by the Rev. Phil Smedstad, a Unity minister; the first service was held on Aug. 8, 1982, at Maunawili Elementary School.
The congregation continued to meet at Maunawili until moving to Windward United Church of Christ in 1999.
• What we're excited about: "We are in the process of trying to find another place to worship," said Levy, who expects to do so by November. The church has one service every Sunday at 8 a.m., but Levy hopes to add an 11 a.m. service after moving.
"We found that our early service time has been difficult for some people and we feel it has not allowed us to grow as much as we could if we had a later service time (too)," Levy said.
In addition, members will take part in a seven-week program, beginning Oct. 7, in which they will read and study a book about Toltec teachings called "The Four Agreements," by Don Miguel Ruiz. .
• What's special about us: "The one thing that makes us stand out is that we have people in our congregation who come from all different kinds of backgrounds," including Christians, Buddhists, Catholics and Jews, Levy said.
Windward Unity Church is also a place where people can go deeper into their own selves "because we believe God's presence and energy is within every one of us," he said.
• Contact: E-mail: winunity@pixi.com or call 254-6448.
If you would like to recommend a church, temple or faith organization for a Where We Worship profile, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 535-8174 or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.
