Judy Madonia

On any given day you will find Judy Madonia in our sanctuary quietly and lovingly tending to the “greener” members of our church family.  If it’s green and is inside our building (and many times outside), Judy has had a hand in keeping it alive and well!  Taking care of plants is a full time job and Judy we appreciate your green thumb as much as the plants do.

Linda McGrew

Linda McGrew is one of the first people to arrive every Sunday. She has volunteered for months taking care of all the little needs of our staff (and minister) as they prepare for the Sunday morning worship experience. From schlepping water to stuffing bulletins, from cleaning the seat backs to making copies, from lighting candles to arranging the stage Linda is the epitome of service! Sometimes she even makes sure the minister’s tie is on straight!  It is a joy to have Linda on this team as well as the other 5 or 6 ministries she serves on at UNA.  From the bottom of our hearts we are so grateful for you!

Michael Beck

Every Sunday when you walk into our bookstore you are met by the incredible smile and presence of Mike Beck! His warm demeanor and welcoming presence makes our bookstore a place of joy and warmth! Thank you Mike for your bright spirit, kind and gentle demeanor and endless hours of service! We appreciate you!

Bonny Martin

Bonny Martin is one of our dedicated office angels who holds down the proverbial “fort” every Tuesday morning. She is not only a bright spot for every visitor who crosses the threshold of UNA either in person or by phone, but she is a delightful energy that blesses our staff immeasurably. Bonny, thank you for your generosity of time and your consistent service to the day to day operations of our ministry. You are a blessing!

Diane Glynn

Diane Glynn retired a while a go and has never worked so hard in her life since. Diane has stepped into more areas of service in our community than we can list here. She has been organizing, planning, cleaning, assisting, setting up, tearing down, decorating and facilitating everywhere. Diane has offered her heart as a servant to the good of this community and we are all so very blessed by her hours of dedication and love. Thank you Diane!

Debbie Raduka

Debbie Raduka was recently labeled “little Buddha” because she brings a mindset of service that is only matched by her compassionate and peaceful demeanor. Debbie leads the garden team, did an amazing job organizing our Harvest Festival and is the first one to step up every time there is a need. Currently she has taken over some of the duties for our recommitment ceremony. Debbie, we thank you for always being there to serve and for bringing a heart of gold to every task.

Anne Ackerman

Anne Ackerman has been instrumental in keeping our facility clean and sparkling. She led the recent clean up day and can always be found working hard around our church to keep our home in tip top shape. Besides all this she has volunteered in many different areas at Unity North for many years. When you see Anne give her a big thank you and hug. Thanks for all you do Anne.

Ann Patterson

Ann Armstrong Patterson, her husband Dave and her entire team have put in, and continue to put in endless hours of service to our community through bringing the Buddhist Monks to Unity North Atlanta Church.  Ann and her team are so dedicated to UNA’s Interfaith efforts and we enthusiastically thank them for the loving energy and service they bring to our spiritual family.   This is just one of the many ways that Ann and her team serve at Unity North so we extend our gratitude and appreciation for who you are and how you show up in the world.

Kris Anderson and Barb Wilkie

Standing ovations for Kris Anderson and Barb Wilkie for all their work with our Outreach Ministry. They, along with the entire outreach team have taken the love of our community to thousands of lives outside our walls. We are so grateful for the endless hearts you have touched. You are both a blessing.

Marguerite Rooney

Marguerite Rooney is a super hero in the kitchen. She took both our kitchens under her wing and has made them shine! Marguerite, we are so grateful for your loving attention to detail and appreciate the grace and love you bring to every gift you offer our community! You are a blessing.

Michael Burke

You may have noticed the beautiful new podium which now graces Unity North’s platform.  Unity North would like to express its gratitude to Michael Burke, who didn’t just build it, but also infused it with so much love and so many layers of symbolism. Keep reading for Michael’s letter about his experience:

Michael’s Letter about Building the Podium

I was asked one Sunday by the Musical Director and the Minister at Unity North if I would design and build a new podium for their stage. I was honored and quite excited to have free and clear creative capacity on an item I thought deserved so much.

Many were the times I was touched by words and more that came from people using the podium that was there. I thought , Hmmm! , let’s just renovate this one… and give new spiritual integrity to this wonderful piece of Oak that had tried and.. Done.. for so long.

This was my revelation for this particular project…..I placed all the wood on sawhorses in the southwest corner of my driveway and set up my tools in the morning and afternoon sun 3 days in a row. I let all the material I was going to use absorb this incredible energy that it once new in a living state. I was going to make it grow again.

I feel I can hear the wood in a silent way…a knowing way…as well as instinctively feel when a piece is where it wants to be.

I decided to use a variety of woods to represent what Unity had meant to me….we were from many and of many and at Unity, I felt only One.

There is Brazilian Cherry, Chilean Aruaca, North American Birch, Baltic Birch, Canadian Poplar, Northwestern Poplar, South American Whitewood, Red Oak, White Oak, and a graceful touch of spiritually coiled Ironwork that represents the reaching for our Father Sky as well as grounding in our Mother Earth, for it spirals in both directions.

This connection to Source is achieved by the cylindrical feel of the 1/4 arch on each of the four sides as well.

Only three can be seen at any given angle.  One is always out of  “Our Vision” …just like Source. Together any three are the Trinity…and they combine to be the One who is always there but not seen with our eyes.

These form the column base which rises upward, then is broken perpindicular like a plane of existence that must be accessed, leaned upon and used to brace ourselves as we speak from this Podium and reach for the next Level.

Then we encounter the 12 degree angled top which sits in a way as to mirror the Holy Ratio…3/2….also known as the perfect fifth.  This is found throughout Nature, from Snail Shells to Pluot Seeds to our very own DNA…which mimics this ratio as a helix.

The angle of the podium top runs 3 for every 2 it drops… This 12 degree also adds up to 3…which is our ever faithful trinity again.

This podium also was fed with a constant bath of pure love from me as I was building it. Each piece I touched, held, talked to and blessed before I set it into its new home.  Grateful was each and every piece as well as each and every nail and screw and each and every drop of glue.

All play a divine part in the Power of the Podium.

Wood is actually….Stored Energy. It houses the sunlight that fed it…and when burned, this energy is released as Fire, Light, Heat, and Warmth.

Let whomever may speak from this new podium know that their words are buoyed and lifted by the power of the wood. We can figuratively set afire the energy within the wood with our literal thoughts about Spirit.. Faith.. Belief.. Grace and an eternal knowing that we are Love.

The podium returns and amplifies any Pure Message of Love that is spoken from it.

The only thing remaining from the original podium I took from the church is the inner core and the 4 braces that act as feet…..This is perfect.

It reflects that we are braced and supported by our past and our inner strength… but it is in the Now… in the New where we live.

Braces and supports HOLD US UP.  That can be good and not so good. To hold us up as in lift us and help us… yes,very nice… but to hold us up as in achieving less or limiting our movement… not so nice.

This is a critical message expressed by the beauty of the podium….The same thing , doing two different things.  It is up to us to determine how we shall percieve it… we are already whatever change we need to be.. it is our attitude and gratitude that determines what comes through.

This leads us to the center of the podium… Which is Hollow…Open Space… But Not Empty… for it is full of possibility and overflowing with blessings to be claimed.

It is allowed freedom to give and take through a small portal at the top and bottom of the stand….as the energies merge between speaker and podium…..a state of Balance is achieved. The Kundalini of the podium is at a place where it is giving the same amount it is receiving….and this feeds the speaker so they too can Flow in this Tantric space and speak truths that touch and comfort and mix with the outpouring of the podiums love to form the warmth of words that grace our ears so deep with Gods Love that we become in perfect balance from listening to such Holy sounds.

My creativity is in union with that which I create….

That is the Hand of God through the Soul of Man…

And so I built a New Podium, but cooler than that, the Podium built a New Part in me.

Michael M. Burke

6/11/2011