The following
is a history of this
church from the
beginning through the
move to Unity In The
Pines in 1986. This
was written by Rev.
Joyce Dix and has been
typed exactly as
written. It is
interesting,
informative and, at
times,
amusing:
Preparations:
A meditation group
which met l981-1982
was approached by
Rev. Brown to
consider founding a
church in West Palm
Beach. Sunday May 15,
1983 the name of
Chapel on the Hill of
Love and Light was
given to the future
church.
Officers and
a Board of Directors
were formed and the
site was chosen:
705 Fern St., West Palm
Beach.
Charter:
Application for the
charter was sent to
the National
Secretary, Connie
Phillips, May 16,
1983.
Constitution:
Rev. M Carroll Owen
volunteered to
spearhead our first
constitution efforts.
The group began its
work Monday, May 23,
1983.
Renovations:
Since we were
renovating a house
into a church we were
fortunate having been
given enough carpet
for the entire living
room/porch area for
this purpose. Rev Tim
Zook, our first
president was in
charge of all of
this.
Progress:
Meanwhile meetings
were held each
Wednesday the rest of
the year for all of
those interested in
forming this chapel.
November 1, 1983
further work on the
constitution and
by-laws continued at
the home of Rev. M.
Carol Owen. The first
copy of the
constitution and
by-laws was completed
and I picked it up on
Sunday, November
6,1983.
Post Office
Box: We secured P. O.
Box 1184 in West Palm
Beach on Friday,
January 6,
1984.
First
Business Meeting at
Fern St.: Sunday,
January 22, 1984 we
met with Rev. F. Reed
Brown who helped us
pick the perfect day
for our first public
service. (February 5,
1984)
Preparations:
By Tuesday, January
24 we had secured
Metz Hall from Unity
for our Sunday
evening services from
Rev. Larry Kendrick
of Unity. Wednesday,
January 25, 1984 it
was decided that the
name, Chapel on the
Hill of Love and
Light was a bit too
much, so the shorter
name, Lake Worth
Metaphysical Chapel
was made
official.
The Podium:
We had found out that
the podium used by
the Dania Hollywood
Church had been built
by the Rev. James De
Biasio. That proved
to be the incentive
for several of us to
go to Dania and
borrow it for the
first service.
(Actually, we did
want to keep it, but
we had no luck in
persuading them to
"give" it to
us!)
Advertising:
Advertising had to be
started, so Monday,
January 30, 1984 we
placed adds around
the city in various
places and started
publicity in the Palm
Beach
Newspaper.
The First
Bulletins: By
Tuesday, January 31,
1984 we had picked up
materials for our
first Sunday
bulletins. My
co-pastor, Rev. Jane
Burton and I began a
massive endeavor at
her home west of town
in 'printing' the
bulletins. The
bulletins consisted
of 4 loose papers
that ended up being
various shapes as we
were not familiar
with the typewriter
on which we did the
stencils, or the
mimeograph on which
we tried to print
them. So, e next day
we had to purchase a
paper cutter to make
all pages even. This
was February 3 and we
were down to the
wire! Those pages
ended up being
stapled together by
one corner! What a
disaster, but that
was
it.
Flowers: We
decided we needed to
have flowers for our
service. Fortunately
we found Alice's
Florist who would
donate them for our
service the next day,
February 5th. I
picked then up and
did a lot of praying
that they wouldn't
die before we could
use them in the
service.
Opening Day.
February 5. 1984:
What a grand day it
was! No glitches -
just beautiful and a
packed House! Rev.
Brown ordained and
installed both Rev.
Jane Burton and
myself as co-pastors
of the Lake Worth
Metaphysical
Chapel
We have an
office: April 28,
1984 we officially
had an office of our
own - complete with a
temporary red phone!
(borrowed) This was
at 705 Fern St., West
Palm Beach. June 3,
1984 we officially
had our own
phone.
The
Newsletter is born:
Our very first
newsletter was
printed Monday, June
11, 1984 and sent to
279
people.
Rev. Burton
resigns - her last
sermon: Sunday, June
24 was the day of
Rev. Burton's last
sermon. It wasn't
until January 20,
1985 when she
resigned as Co Pastor
and member of the
Board of Directors. I
was only then
officially a single
Pastor.
Rev. Glenda
Ward: June 1985 Rev.
Glenda Ward was
invested as Associate
Pastor, a position
she held for 2 1/2
years before moving
to Washington
State.
Our Podium:
Our lucky day was
September 28, 1985
when we found a new
podium in a yard
sale. We have been
using it in our
classroom ever
since.
Unity Moves -
And So Do We: Unity
decided to sell its
facilities causing us
to scour high and low
looking for a place
to call our own.
Fortunately Rev.
Larry Kendrick
Unity's Pastor
invited us to
continue our
relationship with
his church, so Monday, May
26, 1986 move we did!
Pianos, organs, chairs, and
it seemed like a thousand
other things all moved to
6073 Summit
Blvd.
We are today,
as this is written
beginning this
February our 14
year.
Compiled this
day 2/23/97
Rev. Joyce A.
Dix
