Unity Center of Cedar Rapids was started by Goldie Cook Richardson on September 4, 1924 at a residence in Southeast Cedar Rapids. It was a bold step to leave a secure business world and become dependent on love offerings. She was entering a realm of strangers and a future that was completely unknown. Her motivation was that she felt a definite call from Spirit within her to embark upon this venture. Six persons attended the first meeting. From such a humble beginning, the movement soon flourished. By 1935, larger quarters were obtained and satellite churches were established in Waterloo, Clinton, Independence, Muscatine, and Moline, IL. During these depression-laden 1930's, Goldie teamed up with Mabel Swanson and went about proclaiming a message of hope and prosperity. 

In 1940 Mabel succeeded Goldie as minister upon Goldie's death. At this time, most of all of the connections with the satellite churches were discontinued, but a new outreach medium was launched by starting the Sunday radio broadcasts on WMT-AM, one of Cedar Rapids' and Iowa's strongest radio stations. These broadcasts have continued until this day and represent one of the oldest continuous programs in WMT's history of radio broadcasting. The Unity radio broadcasts are broadcast at 7:15 a.m. each Sunday. 

Upon Mabel's death in 1977, John Cuddeback became the third minister of Unity of Cedar Rapids. Under his leadership a group of dedicated, resourceful, and divinely-inspired members set the course for Unity of Cedar Rapids modern-day presence: revitalized church and a new building. The building was completed two years after his untimely death in 1981 under the leadership of Richard and Lola Andrews. 

The Andrews served as co-ministers until 1985, when Richard moved to become pastor at Unity in Las Vegas. Lola continued to serve as minister until 1994, when she left to minister in Shreveport, LA. To the Andrews' credit, Unity of CR are charter members of the Cedar Rapids Inter Faith Council. They established and supported Safe Place increased involvement of children within the church: children's lessons during Sunday School, classes for K-high school every Sunday, and first vacation Bible school. 

From 1994 until spring 2000, Geoffrey and Ann Marie Davis became co-ministers, bringing with them an enthusiasm that brought heightened inspiration into Unity. They created an environment of love and acceptance allowing individuals to heal and to break free from doubts, fears, and limitations. During their tenure a presence in the community continued, the membership grew, and the TV broadcast of Sunday services began on public access television, channel 18 at 9 p.m. . In spring 2000 Geoffrey and Ann Marie accepted a position as co-ministers in Sedona, Arizona. 

In July 2000 Thelma J. Hembroff joined our church as temporary interim minister.  She comes to us with 25 years of experience as a Unity minister and has been given the mission to connect Unity CR with its roots in Unity Village and to assist the congregation in examining its mission.  In light of her positive reception by the board and congregation Rev. Thelma was hired as a full-time permanent minister in the spring of 2001 and was officially installed on August 12, 2001.  We also helped her celebrate her 25th anniversary of being an ordained Unity minister.

Outreach

The same zeal and inspirational spreading of the Unity way of life, as begun with our founder, has continued until this day. The annual Circulation Day demonstrates our teachings on prosperity by keeping a continuous flow in our lives, as we bring useful items to the church that we no longer need to be given away to other members and to the general public. During the 80's a group of Unity members working outside the church founded and nurtured to maturity Safe Place in Cedar Rapids, a haven for recovering substance abusers. Today, Safe Place is an independent establishment supported by the local United Way and other organizations and it still enjoys donations and support from Unity members. Unity also supports the Association of Unity Churches and the Unity School of Christianity. 

About three times a year, Unity members bring food items to the church to replenish the local food banks. Always conscious of the need to inform and enlighten, Unity has brought to Cedar Rapids many well-known speakers such as Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, and Marcus Bach. 

The congregation and community

Our congregation of 200 is a loving, joyful one with a board of trustees that truly understands harmonious relationships. The average weekly attendance is about 135.  Absolutely fantastic is how you will find our music programs!

Our music director is a paid staff position. The talent pool with our congregation and community includes accomplished artists in classical, jazz, blues, gospel, and rock.

Additional paid positions are one full-time office assistant (job-shared) and an accountant. The volunteer structure within our Unity family is solid as a rock and continues to grow.

Cedar Rapids (population 150,000) is located in northeast Iowa; easily accessible to Chicago, Kansas City/Unity Village and Minneapolis. We've been labeled a "best kept secret." Our community is prosperous and innovative; known to be a safe place for families and individuals. Additionally, you'll be pleased to find a progressive metaphysical community. There are six colleges including the University of Iowa and the 
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, which is a world-renowned research/teaching medical facility.  Among Cedar Rapids' best assets are: a nationally ranked educational system, a symphony of national distinction, two community theaters, a new ice arena, abundant music and art talent, a beautiful art museum, galleries, and more.

Conclusion 

We are proud of our history and the legacy that has been left to us by all those who have gone before. We see the way spirit has worked thorough us all to heighten our spiritual awareness and bring about healing, prosperity, and harmonious relationships. We are grateful for the many people who have come in contact with Unity over the years and have been set free by the knowledge of their own divine power from within. The best testimonial that can be given for our existence is the exclamation, "I am so glad that I found you!" A phrase that we have heard often.