At 1228 E. Breckinridge St. #4 in Louisville, Unity of Louisville gathers at Highlands Community Ministries for an inclusive Unity spiritual life centered on prayer, learning, and service. This Louisville congregation is known for pairing practical New Thought teachings with family education, prayer support, food pantry work, and neighborhood partnerships, while making room for people from many religious backgrounds or none at all.
Sunday Worship at Highlands Community Ministries
Unity of Louisville's Sunday service runs from 11 a.m. to noon. It is held in person at Highlands Community Ministries and is also livestreamed through the church's Facebook account, allowing those who cannot attend in person to join the same gathering. The service is offered in English, and the congregation welcomes people wherever they are on their spiritual journey.
For those arriving by car, street parking is available in front of the building, with a parking lot behind it. The building's hours are Monday through Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church's main phone number is 502-583-5559, and full location and contact information is available through its contact details.
Unity's welcome emphasizes that no matter where someone is on the spiritual journey, they are embraced and accepted, and that each person's presence enriches the community. The congregation describes Sunday as a time for inspiration, connection, spiritual growth, and exploration rather than as an experience reserved for people who already understand every part of the teaching.
Prayer Chaplains After Sunday
After Sunday worship, Unity of Louisville's Prayer Chaplains stand in the front and back of the sanctuary to listen and pray with attendees. The church's Prayer Ministry prays with people each day, and the Sunday gathering creates a direct opportunity for prayer support immediately following the service.
A Unity Foundation for Spiritual Life
Unity of Louisville calls itself a Unity church and describes Unity as a spiritual movement and way of life within the New Thought tradition, rather than a traditional denomination. Its mission is Empowering People to Live a Spiritual Life. Its vision is a spiritually awake, compassion-centered community where all people are empowered to live with purpose, presence, and love. The church names mindfulness, inclusivity, prosperity, and integrity as its core values.
- God is the source and creator of all, the only enduring power, and is good and present everywhere.
- Human beings are spiritual beings created in God's image. The Spirit of God lives within each person, so all people are inherently good.
- People create their life experiences through their way of thinking.
- Affirmative prayer has power because it increases awareness of God.
- Knowledge of the spiritual principles is not enough; they must be lived.
Unity's teachings draw on the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus is honored as a fully awakened spiritual teacher who expressed the Divine nature, and that same Divine presence is understood to live within every person. The Bible is an important spiritual resource that is often used in teaching and study, with Unity approaching it metaphysically by looking beyond literal interpretations for principles applicable to daily life. Baptism represents an inner awakening and alignment with Spirit, while Communion is a conscious remembrance of oneness with God through prayer, meditation, and spiritual awareness. Sin, salvation, heaven, and hell are understood as states of consciousness rather than external judgments or places.
Unity says spiritual understanding grows through reflection, meditation, prayer, and conscious living. People are encouraged to explore these teachings in ways that resonate with their own experience and spiritual understanding rather than follow one prescribed method.
Affirmative Prayer and the Prayer Chaplain Program
At Unity of Louisville, affirmative prayer recognizes the reality of divine ideas and the power of human thought to bring those ideas into expression. Whether the prayer is for healing, guidance, love, or prosperity, the church's teaching holds that these possibilities are available as ideas with the potential to manifest in life. Affirmation, meditation, and conscious living accompany this prayer language throughout the church's learning and family ministries.
Training for Sacred Listening
The church's Prayer Chaplain Program trains volunteers in four responsibilities:
- Holding sacred space
- Listening with the ears of the heart
- Praying out loud
- Holding what has been said in strict confidence
No previous experience with prayer or praying with others is required, although participants must be active church members who have completed or are scheduled to complete Membership Class. The program creates space for people to reconnect with Spirit and affirm the good in each situation. Daily Word, an inspiration and prayer-support magazine published by Silent Unity, is another resource connected with the church's emphasis on daily affirmation.
Children and Teens Learning Through Truth Principles
The Youth & Family Ministry creates opportunities for children to be inspired, empowered, and have fun. Its stated vision is to foster unity of mind, body, and spirit through empowerment and imagination. Learning for each age group combines Unity's Truth Principles with stories, discussion, prayer, creative work, movement, and fellowship.
Unitykes & Unitots, Ages 3 to 7
For the youngest children, Unitykes & Unitots draw forth the truth within each child through affirmation, prayer, Bible stories, and contemporary stories. Puppetry, story boards, music, dance, and creative expression make the Truth Principles active parts of learning rather than abstract ideas.
Unikids, Ages 8 to 11
Unikids create an atmosphere in which children can understand the Truth Principles. Their learning combines Bible and contemporary stories with metaphysical interpretation, discussion, and creative expression through art, dance, drama, and song. The ministry's approach honors each child where they are while helping them explore spiritual ideas in varied forms.
Uniteens & Y.O.U., Ages 12 to 18
Uniteens and Y.O.U. provide teenagers with a place to expand their spiritual journey through spiritual nourishment, personal renewal, self-expression, emotional support, fellowship, friendship, and fun. Participation can include local, regional, and international retreats, service projects, and other activities.
The learning activities offered across the age groups include discussion, creative expression, prayer, meditation, affirmation wheels, movement, story time, and creative connection. The Youth & Family Ministry has also used its annual flower sale to raise money for youth events and for teens to attend regional and national gatherings.
Men's Fellowship, Women's Service, and Lifelong Learning
A Place for Men to Be Honest
The Men's Group meets on Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. and offers a safe place to share truth, learn from other men, and serve. Its fellowship includes support, hope, encouragement, insight, wisdom, acceptance, spiritual growth, and humor, without fixing or judgment. Men of all ages are welcome, and joining instructions are available for Zoom.
Women's Service
The Women's Group combines support and service in the community. Its most visible work is the food pantry created and sustained for Jefferson County Public School students at Englehart and Wheatley, where children may go hungry at home during weekends and evenings. The group also gathers backpacks and school supplies for children at Englehart Elementary, the elementary school closest to the church.
Classes and Gathering Groups
Church Center organizes the congregation's events, classes, and gathering groups. Recorded talks can also be found through the church's YouTube channel. The class collection covers Bible interpretation of Acts through Revelation, Lessons in Truth, Metaphysics 3, Hebrew Scriptures, The Christ, the Creative Process, prayer workshops, and an introduction to Spiral Dynamics. A Sunday morning group has also used Eric Butterworth's Life Is for Loving as a shared book study.
Two Food Pantry Efforts Serve Nearby Families
Unity of Louisville supports the food pantry operated by Highlands Community Ministries. Donations are accepted Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1228 E. Breckinridge St. The pantry's greatest stated need is shelf-stable protein, including canned chicken and tuna, soup or chili with meat, and canned pasta sauce with meat. It also needs cereal, oatmeal, rice, pasta, canned fruits and vegetables, granola bars, jelly, cooking oil, flour, sugar, coffee, and tea. Pop-top cans and smaller packages are especially useful for neighbors without regular kitchen access or who rely on public transportation.
Through a partnership with Fleur's Dream, Unity also stores food for children in community schools and keeps a donation bin in the Social Hall near the College Street entrance. That pantry can receive items on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Deliveries are made weekly to Englehart and Wheatley elementary schools. Requested items include nonperishable and microwave-friendly food, feminine hygiene products, deodorant, baby food, and school uniforms. The partnership has focused on children whose families face homelessness or economic hardship, including the large share of Engelhart students identified by the church as living without stable housing.
Warmth, Kindness, and Civic Partnership
Unity's Hug a Bunny tradition invites donations of stuffed bunnies and other stuffed animals. During the spring observance, congregation members place the animals in the pews, pass them around, and fill them with love. Volunteers then deliver them on Palm Sunday to nursing homes, hospital cancer wards, and other places. The project turns a simple act of donation into a visible expression of care for people in the community.
The Men's Group also participates in Project Warm, volunteering to help Louisville-area residents have warm homes. Its Saturday gathering includes a check-in period from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Unity's Men's Group and EarthCare Ministry join other organizations for Operation Brightside neighborhood cleanups, while the congregation also takes part in Smoketown neighborhood activities and sponsors Kentucky Homefront, a radio show featuring acoustic folk, traditional, blues, country, and bluegrass musicians and storytellers.
Unity's partnerships also bring attention to foster and adoption needs through Jefferson County Foster & Adoption. The church makes space available for meetings, workshops, and rehearsal space for organizations without buildings. Collaborating organizations have included Roots & Wings, a theatre arts group; the University of Louisville LGBT community; and The Flow, a local group that teaches one another hooping, juggling, skating, and other forms of movement.
A Deliberately Welcoming Community
Diversity and inclusion are described as ongoing commitments at Unity of Louisville. The church says it seeks language, behaviors, and policies that promote equality while empowering people to worship freely and express their spirituality in the manner that serves them best. Its stated welcome extends across race, age, size, national origin, citizenship, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, family structure, economic status, education, political views, abilities, perceived disabilities, and other perceived differences or similarities. Each person's spiritual journey is treated as unique, with those differences seen as enriching the whole community.
Unity also describes itself as interfaith-friendly, serving people from many religious backgrounds and those who do not identify with a religion. It honors wisdom from many spiritual traditions and presents Unity as a resource for inspiration, education, and prayer. The church welcomes spiritual seekers, question-askers, deep thinkers, and open hearts without requiring a single creed or one prescribed way of practice.
Ministerial Team and Shared Stewardship
Senior Minister Bobby Kyser brings professional experience in insurance and hospitality together with seminary training and a creative approach to ministry. His work uses positive psychology, metaphysics, and teachings from Unity co-founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. Gerry Boylan serves as Minister Associate. Judy Palsmeier directs music, Chelsea Coe coordinates YOU & Uniteen, Kimberly Bencker serves as Education & Outreach Coordinator, and Cyn-d Dalgarn supports home and hospital chaplain visits.
The Board of Trustees combines the normal procedures required for a legal organization with Unity's spiritual principles in its decisions. Town Hall meetings and listening circles create intentional spaces for people to share personal stories, feelings, and perspectives without interruption, debate, or judgment. Those gatherings are intended to strengthen community trust, support shared discernment, and foster deeper empathy.
Together, these ministries make Unity of Louisville a church where Sunday worship, spiritual study, intergenerational learning, prayer, fellowship, and service are closely connected. At 1228 E. Breckinridge St. #4, the Louisville congregation remains centered on its mission to empower people to live a spiritual life.