history of unity spiritual center of panama city
Unity Spiritual Center of Panama City began as a study group in July 1975 under the coordination of Edna Robertson. Meetings were held in various places in Panama City.
Joanne Dator, Licensed Unity Teacher from Tallahassee, Fl. gave many talks and was hired to serve as interim leader.
A residence on Jenks Ave. was found to be used as both a Unity Center and housing for Mrs. Dator to relocate to the Panama City area.
On January 23, 1980, we incorporated under the name Christ Unity Church and purchased our first building at 513 Satsuma Ave., Panama City which was dedicated on September 7, 1980. The first Annual Meeting Minutes of June 1, 1980 list the center is under the leadership of the now Reverend Joanne Dator.
In 1987, Reverend JoAnn McClellan Dubrouillet accepted the position as minister of our growing spiritual community. In 1998, seven acres of beautiful wooded land was purchased on Lisenby Avenue and we moved into our newly built 8,000 square foot facility on Christmas Eve 2000.
In July 2003, Reverend Susan Leonard Thomas served as minister growing our outreach presence into the community.
In November 2007, Reverend Darby Neptune served as minister and led the congregation through the Unity Worldwide Ministries Transformational Experience Program strengthening the presence and leadership of multiple volunteer teams. We joined the branding program with the new name Unity of Panama City.
In October 2016, Reverend Joanne Burns became minister and led our the spiritual community into the next phase of growth in both consciousness and our community presence. Our spiritual community honors and embraces the diversity of people of all ages, ethnicity, sexual orientation. As did our Unity movement co-founders Charles & Myrtle Fillmore, we incorporate the similar practices and philosophies of many of the world religions. Rev Jo resigned from our community effective December 1, 2018.
A new chapter in our history began on October 10, 2018, when Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 Storm, came ashore in Bay County, centered around the Mexico Beach area. The storm significantly damaged the infrastructure, trees and buildings in and around Bay County. Our facility on Lisenby was significantly damaged. On December 16, 2018, the congregation voted to sell our building. On March 15, 2018, the sale of the building was finalized and we are no longer owner of the building. We began holding our Sunday morning service at Temple B'nai Israel on January 27, 2019. We have since moved our office space to the Temple and will begin holding weekly classes and other events at Temple B'nai Israel. This will be the home of our spiritual community for the foreseeable future.
Joanne Dator, Licensed Unity Teacher from Tallahassee, Fl. gave many talks and was hired to serve as interim leader.
A residence on Jenks Ave. was found to be used as both a Unity Center and housing for Mrs. Dator to relocate to the Panama City area.
On January 23, 1980, we incorporated under the name Christ Unity Church and purchased our first building at 513 Satsuma Ave., Panama City which was dedicated on September 7, 1980. The first Annual Meeting Minutes of June 1, 1980 list the center is under the leadership of the now Reverend Joanne Dator.
In 1987, Reverend JoAnn McClellan Dubrouillet accepted the position as minister of our growing spiritual community. In 1998, seven acres of beautiful wooded land was purchased on Lisenby Avenue and we moved into our newly built 8,000 square foot facility on Christmas Eve 2000.
In July 2003, Reverend Susan Leonard Thomas served as minister growing our outreach presence into the community.
In November 2007, Reverend Darby Neptune served as minister and led the congregation through the Unity Worldwide Ministries Transformational Experience Program strengthening the presence and leadership of multiple volunteer teams. We joined the branding program with the new name Unity of Panama City.
In October 2016, Reverend Joanne Burns became minister and led our the spiritual community into the next phase of growth in both consciousness and our community presence. Our spiritual community honors and embraces the diversity of people of all ages, ethnicity, sexual orientation. As did our Unity movement co-founders Charles & Myrtle Fillmore, we incorporate the similar practices and philosophies of many of the world religions. Rev Jo resigned from our community effective December 1, 2018.
A new chapter in our history began on October 10, 2018, when Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 Storm, came ashore in Bay County, centered around the Mexico Beach area. The storm significantly damaged the infrastructure, trees and buildings in and around Bay County. Our facility on Lisenby was significantly damaged. On December 16, 2018, the congregation voted to sell our building. On March 15, 2018, the sale of the building was finalized and we are no longer owner of the building. We began holding our Sunday morning service at Temple B'nai Israel on January 27, 2019. We have since moved our office space to the Temple and will begin holding weekly classes and other events at Temple B'nai Israel. This will be the home of our spiritual community for the foreseeable future.
|
Unity Spiritual Center
of Panama City PO Box 16046 Panama City, FL 32406 309 W 5th St. Panama City, FL 32401 850.769.7481 www.unityofpanamacity.org |
Unity Spiritual Center of Panama City is a member of Unity Worldwide Ministries