Unity of Walnut Creek

2023-01-22 January 22, 2022 – Co-Creating With Source Energy, Principles #3 and #5 Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores the transformative power of co-creation in this inspiring message from the Five Basics Series, illuminating how our thoughts and feelings serve as fuel for manifesting the lives we truly desire. Drawing from stories ranging from Yoda's wisdom to the biblical account of the hemorrhaging woman, Rev. Kristin reminds us that desire is only the starting point - it is faith-filled believing and openness to receiving that complete the co-creative process. She encourages us to move beyond states of longing and wanting into the felt experience of our already-realized dreams, inviting us to perceive the divine presence, believe in our power to co-create, and joyfully receive the good that flows to us.

2023-01-15 January 15, 2023 – I AM Divine, Principles #2 and #5 Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores Unity's second principle - "I am divine" - inviting listeners to discover the inherent goodness and divinity within themselves and all people. Drawing from a Hindu legend about hidden divinity, the Gnostic Gospels, and the teachings of Jesus, Rev. Kristin illuminates how we can awaken to our true nature by beholding the divine in all life, loving unconditionally, and serving others with open hearts. Weaving in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she reminds us that greatness is found not in fame but in simple, everyday acts of connection, kindness, and service that flow naturally from knowing our divine nature.

2023-01-08 January 8, 2023 – Divine Omnipresence, Principles #1 and #5 Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin opens the new year by inviting the community to revisit Unity's first principle - God Is - encouraging everyone to freshly examine their understanding of the divine as an all-pervading, self-existent presence from which all things spring forth. She explores how this infinite source is available to us in every moment, offering whatever we need - love, guidance, companionship, peace - when we actively engage with it through spiritual practice. Rev. Kristin offers practical ways to live this principle, including tithing and sacred service, as concrete actions that align us with divine energy and open the floodgates of blessing in our lives.

2023-01-01 January 1, 2023 – A Brilliant 2023 and White Stone Ceremony Rev. Kristin Powell

2022-12-31 January 1, 2023 – A Brilliant 2023 & White Stone Ceremony

2022-12-25 December 25, 2022 – Merry Christmas: Interview with Father Christmas Rev. Kristin Powell and Santa Claus Rev. Kristin brings the spirit of Christmas to life in this delightful and heartwarming interview with Santa Claus himself, who visits Unity of Walnut Creek to share the story of his origins as a boy named Nicholas in the forests of Finland. Through this creative and touching conversation, Rev. Kristin draws out profound spiritual truths - that one gift given with love is more than enough, that kindness extended even to those who are unkind transforms hearts, and that magic becomes real when we truly believe. Santa reminds us that his bag of presents is really a bag of hope, magic, and love, and that the spirit of Christmas lives in our willingness to be generous givers and ambassadors of kindness every single day.

2022-12-24 December 25, 2022 – Interview with Father Christmas

2022-12-18 December 18, 2022 – Joy Like a Fountain Rev. Bella Blackstock Rev. Bella Blackstock delivers a radiant message on joy as our natural state of being during the fourth week of Advent, drawing on the angels' announcement of "great joy" at Jesus' birth. She distinguishes between relative happiness - found in external things like a perfect sweater or relationship - and the eternal, divine joy that resides within each of us, inviting the congregation to reclaim their inner Christ through presence, authenticity, and childlike playfulness. Rev. Bella Blackstock encourages spiritual "toys" over "tools," leads the community in laugh therapy, and reminds us that no person or circumstance can ever steal the joy that is our birthright.

2022-12-11 December 11, 2022 – Love Like an Ocean Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin invites us to experience divine love as vast, deep, and rhythmic as the ocean itself - a love that washes over us, surrenders us, and flows through us without limit. Drawing on the story of Mary's radical surrender throughout Jesus' life, Rev. Kristin reminds us that love requires openness, vulnerability, and a willingness to let our hearts break open so the divine can be birthed through us. She encourages us to ask where we might be withholding love and to practice giving it freely, trusting that grief is simply the price we pay for a love worth choosing a million times over.

2022-12-04 December 4, 2022 – Peace Like a River Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin invites us into the sacred metaphor of the river during this second week of Advent, exploring how peace comes when we dare to let go of limiting beliefs, old patterns, and the need to control outcomes. Drawing from the story of a small creature who releases its grip on the river bottom in Richard Bach's "Illusions," as well as the courageous example of Mary saying yes to her divine appointment, Rev. Kristin reminds us that we are not meant to cling to stagnant ways of being but to flow with the current of Spirit. She encourages us to trust that when we release our grip, we will be lifted, guided, and carried by the surprise of our own divine unfolding.

2022-12-03 December 4, 2022 – Peace Like A River

2022-12-01 November 27, 2022 – Faith Like A Mountain

2022-11-27 November 27, 2022 – Faith Like a Mountain Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin opens the first week of Advent by exploring faith as both a mountain to behold and a force powerful enough to move mountains, drawing on Jesus' teaching about mustard-seed faith and her own experience leading a group to summit a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado. She shares inspiring stories of people who overcame addiction, fear, and seemingly insurmountable challenges by activating their faith through spiritual practice, community support, and releasing limiting beliefs. Rev. Kristin encourages listeners to dream big this Advent season, reminding us that as we practice faith and weed out thoughts of limitation, we make space for grace to transform our lives.

2022-11-23 November 20, 2022 – How To Make Peace

2022-11-20 November 20, 2022 – How to Make Peace Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin shares a powerful reflection on peacemaking inspired by her transformative experience at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, where she witnessed a sacred land acknowledgment ceremony and reconciliation process between the Institute and the Esalen tribal people. Drawing from Jesus's teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, she explores how we can settle conflicts quickly, look for the good in others, and practice daily reconciliation - highlighting Gary Simmons' 21-day practice of reviewing each day and reaching out to mend relationships. Rev. Kristin invites her community to consider what collective steps toward peace and unity they might take together, reminding us that when we stand centered in spirit, we have everything we need to become peacemakers in our world.

2022-11-13 Fall Series, Part 6: "Healing Defensiveness"

2022-11-12 November 13, 2022 – Healing Defensiveness

2022-11-06 November 6, 2022 – Healing Competition Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin explores how competition in relationships stems from lack consciousness and creates disconnection, offering divine purpose as the healing path forward. Drawing from the story of a young horsewoman who prayed not to win but for her horse to do its best, and the Unity men's bocce team who won by embodying joy rather than rivalry, Rev. Kristin illustrates how shifting from competition to shared purpose transforms outcomes. She reminds us that our primary purpose is to express the divine - to be the way of God rather than in the way of God - and when we ground ourselves in this truth, collaboration replaces rivalry and everyone wins.

2022-10-30 October 30, 2022 – Healing Misperception Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin uses the beloved fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood - brought to life through a playful skit on Halloween Sunday - to explore how misperceptions fuel conflict and how we can cultivate clearer spiritual seeing. Drawing from a lesser-known version of the story where Red Riding Hood trusts her intuition and creates space to respond wisely, Rev. Kristin guides the community through practical steps for expanding perception - including suspending our current viewpoint, getting curious about what we are making situations mean, and activating the innate power of imagination through the third eye center. This fourth installment of the Eye of the Storm series invites us to embrace childlike wonder and openness as tools for healing misunderstanding and responding to life's challenges from a higher, broader place of spiritual knowing.

2022-10-23 October 23, 2022 – Healing Separation Rev. Kristin Powell Rev. Kristin delivers a powerful exploration of separation consciousness - the deeply ingrained illusion that we are disconnected from Spirit, from each other, and from ourselves - and offers a path back to wholeness through communion with the divine. Drawing from Myrtle Fillmore's teachings and Gary Simmons' "The Eye of the Storm," Rev. Kristin reminds us that we are beings made of stardust who have simply forgotten our true nature, and that by returning to center through prayer, meditation, and presence, we can heal this fabricated reality of separation. She invites us to recognize our role as co-creators who can change the trajectory of humanity by remembering our oneness and mirroring divinity to one another and to future generations.

Unity of Walnut Creek - Messages