Everett Unity Center for Positive Living has been a steady presence on the north end of downtown Everett for more than a century, having grown from a prayer circle above a Hewett Avenue drugstore in the 1920s into a thriving New Thought community that today gathers in a white colonial-style chapel at the corner of Colby Avenue and 33rd Street. Members and visitors come together each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for an hour of music, meditation, and a featured spiritual teacher, with the service also livestreamed to those at home. The church is part of the wider Unity family - the same New Thought movement founded in Kansas City in 1889 by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore - and is supported locally through Unity NW Region and Unity Worldwide Ministries.
A White Chapel at Colby and 33rd
The Everett Unity building was not originally built for Unity. The colonial-style structure was a Christian Science church for many years before Everett Unity purchased it in the fall of 1999. Inside, the main-floor sanctuary holds about 200 people on its curved oak pews from 1910, lit by chandeliers and muted stained-glass windows that bring warm natural light into the room. A pipe organ was added during World War II, and a grand piano acquired from the Seattle Opera House anchors the music program today. The basement-level social hall is casual and wheelchair accessible, with its own food service area, upright piano, and restrooms.
The building sits a few blocks south of downtown Everett, near the crest of the hill. Free two-hour street parking is usually available nearby. An elevator lift installed in 2016 carries visitors between the street, the sanctuary, and the social hall, and a renovated front staircase welcomes those climbing up from Colby Avenue. Outside on the north side of the building, a quiet outdoor space invites reflection between services.
From a Drugstore to a Fire and a Fresh Start
Unity's roots in Everett reach back to the 1920s, when small study groups met above a drugstore on Hewett Avenue and ministers from Seattle Unity travelled north to teach the burgeoning community. The congregation was officially incorporated in the state of Washington on March 4, 1957, under the leadership of Rev. George Emerson Stone. In 1964 the church adopted the name Harmony Hill Unity Church, and a year later relocated to a wooded hillside near what is now the intersection of the Boeing Freeway and I-5, where members walked meditation paths through the trees. 501(c)(3) status came in 1968.
When the interstate was built alongside the property in 1969, the church eventually moved again, and in 1980 took over a worn, bird-roofed former sanctuary at Pacific and Lombard in downtown Everett. Rev. Robert Eagan arrived in 1982 and soon led the purchase and restoration of the Lombard building, which later earned recognition from the Everett Historical Society. In 1988 the congregation adopted its present name, Unity Center for Positive Living.
On the evening of February 11, 1999, a fire destroyed the Lombard building. In the days that followed, the FBI and ATF arrived to investigate, and the four local television networks covered the story. About half the congregation drifted away. Services moved temporarily to the Historic Everett Theater on Colby Avenue, where members transformed a stage used for vaudeville, touring presidents, and Helen Keller into a place of worship each Sunday. By the fall of 1999 the nearby Christian Science building came up for sale, and Everett Unity used its insurance settlement to buy it. The first service in the new sanctuary was held on the last Sunday of January 2000, an event of so much grace that those present pledged to expand what they called that feeling of bathing in love.
Rev. Eagan retired in 2012 after thirty years of service, and a succession of ministers and guest speakers followed. Kevin Hart, a popular guest speaker, became Spiritual Leader in 2017 while pursuing ordination through Unity Worldwide Ministries, and helped move the church onto Facebook during the pandemic. When he stepped down in 2021, the church settled into a comfortable rhythm of monthly speakers including Doug Benecke and Rev. Joanna Gabriel, supported by guest teachers and congregation regulars.
Sunday Mornings at 10:00
The Sunday Service is the heart of the week. It runs from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary and is also livestreamed, with a Zoom social hour afterwards. Each week a different voice brings the lesson, often a minister or spiritual director from a sister community, an interfaith minister, or a gifted lay teacher from within the Everett congregation itself. The music that frames the talk ranges from traditional and New Thought classics to contemporary pop and original compositions.
Attendees are welcome to participate in any way that feels comfortable - sitting quietly, singing along, or simply listening. After the service, coffee and conversation spill into the social hall. There is no dress code; members come in everything from jeans to Sunday best.
Featured Spiritual Teachers
Everett Unity draws its Sunday teachers from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The current rotation includes Rev. Joanna Gabriel, a New Thought minister who has served Unity congregations throughout the Northwest for nearly thirty years and lives on Whidbey Island; Doug Benecke, a musician, songwriter, and addictions counselor who shares talks and original songs with their band; and Katie Evans, a long-time student of the Fillmores and Ernest Holmes whose talks are known for their humor and accessibility. Other featured teachers include Rev. Patric Creelman, a staff minister from CSL Seattle; Rev. Dr. Kathianne Lewis, a senior minister with the Center for Spiritual Living; James Kress, DD, a former evangelical pastor now framing spirituality as inclusive Christ-consciousness; Rev. Kate Kilroy, a United Methodist clergyperson focused on community engagement; Rev. Annie Lonardelli, an interfaith minister and Evergreen State College graduate; and Rev. Don Beaty, a New Thought minister and business coach recently ordained and serving CSL Seattle.
Sherry Schultz brings a background as a hospice chaplain and ten years of mothering in China. Niobe Weaver leads sound healing and voice work. Additional teachers bring training in Religious Science, interfaith ministry, and traditions from Sufism to Buddhism.
Music, Meditation, and the Arts
Music is woven through everything at the church. The Music Director, Terri Anson, plays piano and flute, and is joined most weeks by vocalists and guitarists Savannah Woods and Ireland Woods. Doug Benecke shares the stage with his wife Sallie Spirit and bass player Richard Choquette. Steve Mason, Josh Utech, Rick Wilson, and other guest musicians round out the roster. The music program ranges across traditional hymns, New Thought standards, contemporary pop, and original compositions, with a podcast archive stretching back to 2017 for those who want to listen again.
Meditation is treated as a daily practice as much as a Sunday one. Guided recordings led by Hart, and dated over several years, walk listeners through chakra journeys, energy alignment, gratitude, and breath work. A weekly Mindfulness Meditation class meets Wednesdays from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the social hall, taught by Lonnie Dalrymple, who also offers a periodic four-week Mindful Meditation training.
For those drawn to movement and sound, Cara VanDyke teaches Chair Yoga on the second Friday of each month and Gentle Yoga on the fourth Friday, both at 6:30 p.m. in the social hall, with a suggested donation of $10 to $20 per session. A Drum and Flute Circle gathers on the third Saturday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Children, Uniteens, and Y.O.U.
Children are part of Sunday morning, not apart from it. From 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., trained and background-screened teachers lead age-appropriate lessons in the Children's Room for potty-trained toddlers through fifth grade. The children's program teaches the same spiritual lessons as the adult service, drawn from the Fillmores' writings, the Five Principles, and the 12 Powers.
Older youth meet in the social hall at 10:00 a.m. Uniteens gathers middle-schoolers aged eleven to fourteen on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, while Youth of Unity - known as Y.O.U. - is the international Unity youth organization for high schoolers in grades nine through twelve, meeting the same second and fourth Sundays. Both groups are led by an experienced youth director and help young people explore their inner spiritual life through service, discussion, and community projects.
Book Studies and Classes
Adults looking to dig deeper gather on Tuesdays. The Spiritual Book Study Group meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the social hall. Recent titles have included Sacred Laughter of the Sufis by Imam Jamal Rahman and Spiritual Economics by Eric Butterworth. A Course in Miracles is read on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. online and on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. in person and online; newcomers are welcome with no prior knowledge of the text required.
Periodically, Cindi Pedersen, the Executive Director, leads a five-week class on the Five Principles for those who want to explore Unity's core ideas in depth. The class includes the book by Rev. Ellen Debenport, worksheets, and group discussion. The broader Unity NW Region also hosts classes and events throughout the year that Everett members are welcome to join.
Recovery and Support Groups
The building is also a home for recovery and caregivers. Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) meets every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the social hall, moving into the sanctuary on the third Wednesday of each month. Recovery Dharma, a Buddhist-inspired approach to addiction, gathers Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the social hall. On the first Thursday of each month from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., an Alzheimer's Caregivers Support Group offers space for those walking that long road with a loved one.
All of these meetings are open. No registration, prior attendance, or specific belief is required. A free-will love offering supports the use of the building.
The Five Principles and the 12 Powers
Unity describes itself as a worldwide, positive, practical Christian approach to life that emphasizes the divinity within every person. The Five Principles for Spiritual Living, as the church presents them, are these: there is only one Presence and one Power active in the universe and in one's life, and that Presence is God the Good; every person is inherently good because the spirit of God lives within; thoughts have creative power to shape experience; affirmative prayer and meditation align the heart and mind with divine wisdom; and the truth one knows must be lived in thought, word, and action. Unity teaches that salvation is the expanding awareness of one's innate divinity, that prayer is a way of transforming the mind rather than changing God, and that the divinity of Jesus demonstrates the Christ within every person.
The 12 Powers are described as twelve aspects of each person's divine nature - faculties such as faith, strength, will, wisdom, love, and order. Each month the church highlights one of the powers with a corresponding affirmation, color, and spiritual focus. September's featured power is Order, with the affirmation My life is balanced and in order, and all is well.
Unity is nondenominational and welcomes people of every race, color, religion, lifestyle, sexual orientation, social background, and economic level. The church has an active LGBTQ spiritual life and connects members to Unity's LGBTQ Spiritual Resource Center.
Yoga, Drums, and Family Fun Nights
Beyond classes and recovery groups, the social hall hosts a steady rhythm of community gatherings. First Friday Family Fun Night, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., welcomes friends and families for cards, board games, music, and conversation; members bring a snack or a game to share. Deep Topics meets on the fourth Friday of each month from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. for frank conversation about the deeper questions of life. The Drum and Flute Circle gathers on the third Saturday evening each month, and the Men's Fellowship Group meets on the first Saturday at 9:00 a.m. for prayer, breakfast, and discussion, facilitated by Skeet Gaul and open to non-members. A monthly Zoom board meeting on the third Monday at 3:30 p.m. welcomes any member who wants to listen in.
Hosting Weddings, Concerts, and Community Events
The chapel is open to the wider community for special events. The sanctuary, with its stained glass, chandeliers, and grand piano, seats up to 200 people for weddings, receptions, memorials, concerts, graduations, corporate meetings, seminars, and retreats. The social hall downstairs, which holds 40 people seated for a meal or 80 standing, is ideal for community meetings, receptions, and crafting gatherings. Both spaces are wheelchair accessible by elevator, with free neighborhood parking, Wi-Fi, microphones, and a sound board. Outside catering and alcohol are permitted, and the church works with each group on flexible pricing. A current newsletter and archive of past issues keep the wider membership informed about what's coming up.
Membership, Giving, and the Ten Percent Forward
Those who want to make Everett Unity their spiritual home can apply for membership and renew each year. Giving is offered in person during Sunday service or online through PayPal, Givelify, or a monthly recurring donation. The church also accepts checks by mail and helps members explore tax-advantaged giving through charitable remainder trusts, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, donor-advised funds, and gifts of appreciated assets. Each year the church gives forward ten percent of its donations to organizations and individuals in the local community and beyond.
The prayer life of the church extends well beyond its walls. Each weekday at 9:00 a.m. Pacific, the Unity prayer ministry known as Silent Unity broadcasts a six-minute livestream from Unity World Headquarters, and Everett Unity members join in. A Daily Word devotional magazine and Unity's worldwide prayer vigil provide additional rhythms for those who want to weave prayer into their week. For anyone curious about Unity but not ready to walk in the door, the Sunday service can be watched or joined from anywhere through the livestream and Facebook page.