When It's Time For A Change

A MESSAGE FROM REV. NICOLE

"When you're finished changing, you're finished." ~Benjamin Franklin

Most people have been raised to expect stability and certainty in life. It’s easy to believe that there will come time when everything gets good and stays that way. However, if we truly make ourselves receptive to the Divine plan for our lives, rather than steamrolling ahead with ego-based plans, we find that the path to our destiny is filled with necessary changes. Though we might try to resist, we ultimately come to embrace change as the ultimate catalyst for our spiritual growth and personal transformation. At this time, I have an opportunity to make a change that would allow me to move toward the fulfillment of my calling to establish a learning center for exceptional children with learning differences. As many of you know, I have spent the last two years building a similar program at a charter school in the Pasadena Unified School District. God has blessed it with a strong reputation that has quickly expanded enrollment. For more than a year, I searched for a location to house an independent learning center where I could also develop spiritual support programs for parents. Last month, I was offered an opportunity to house my vision at The Church of Truth in Pasadena, where I received my ministerial ordination. While I am extremely excited about the possibilities, I have had to face the realization that as a wife, mother of three young children, a minister and an educator, it is not humanly possible to give the best of myself in all of these roles. In an attempt to consolidate my professional and personal commitments, I recently made a difficult decision to resign from my role as Spiritual Leader at the Unity Burbank Center for Spiritual Awareness. The past three years at Unity Burbank have been an absolute blessing. I have enjoyed being a part of the stabilization and evolution of our ministry. You have been so supportive of my growth as a minister; for this I will be forever grateful. Because of you, I now embrace my life calling as a minister and spiritual teacher and look forward to serving the spiritual needs of the children and families that God has trusted to my care. Although my resignation ushers in a season of change for Unity Burbank, I feel certain that Spirit has a plan for this ministry that will take it even further than any of us can presently imagine.  As I depart from the center to build my learning program, please know that I have full confidence in the ability of our board of directors to identify a new spiritual leader for the church. Our team of speakers (Rev. Jenenne Macklin, David Brown and Jimmy Burns) remains committed to leading worship services each week. I trust that God will continue to deliver a blessed and inspired word through each of them. Since my new program, Innerlight Children’s Collaborative, will open for business in August, my last Sunday at Unity Burbank will be July 3, 2011. Please plan to worship with us that day. A farewell luncheon will be held in the fellowship hall immediately after service. I plan to personally address each one of our members and visitors that day to let you know the ways in which you have touched my life. Thank you for your support and vote of confidence over the past three years. I pray and affirm that God will continue to bless and expand this ministry in the coming years. Rev. Nicole