From a Single Class to a Full Montessori Campus
Unity of Delray Beach began in 1948 when Frances Jarrell started a Unity class in Delray Beach's old Civic Center with a single member. By 1950 the group had outgrown the room and moved into the "Upper Room" on Atlantic Avenue, where the first worship service was held on December 16, 1950. Three years later, Jarrell retired and, after an interim ministry under Lucy Stringer, Eva Rosencrans assumed leadership in 1955. Growth continued under her direction until, on January 5, 1964, she conducted the first service in a new church and school facility on land donated by local benefactor Warren Grimes. The address is 101 NW 22 Street, and the same campus has been the spiritual home of the congregation ever since.
That same year, 1964, Unity School opened as one of the first five Montessori preschools in the United States established at Unity church sites around the country. Today the school educates more than 300 students from preschool through eighth grade and is widely recognized as a model of Montessori education.
Sunday Morning at 10 AM
A single Sunday service is held at 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary. Children from age three through high school attend Sunday School during the service in classrooms and in the Fellowship Hall behind the Sanctuary; parents are asked to sign children in at the classrooms before service begins. For those who cannot attend in person, a recording of the service is posted to the church's YouTube channel the following Monday and can be watched on a phone, tablet, or computer.
Before service, between 9:00 and 9:45 AM, the Fellowship Hall hosts "Coffee with Martha," an ongoing book study and discussion facilitated by Licensed Unity Teacher Lynn VanDyke. The group works through Martha Creek's Presence and Potential: Experience Your Higher Self and Live in Wholeness, watching a chapter video and then unpacking the ideas together. Attendees receive a complimentary copy of the book, and a one-dollar love offering keeps the coffee brewing.
Weekday Prayer, Meditation, and Connection
Beyond Sunday, the Prayer Room is a steady hub of spiritual practice. On Tuesday mornings at 10:00 AM, Rev. Jeanmarie Eck leads a prayer service that is open to anyone wanting to give and receive blessings. On Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 PM, she leads a meditation that begins with thirty minutes of silence and continues with spiritual teaching, discussion, and prayer. Both are held on a love-offering basis.
On Thursday mornings at 7:00 AM, Charlene Wilkinson hosts the Prosperity Coffee, a phone-in gathering that uses a free dial-in number and passcode so members from anywhere can join the conversation about abundance and spiritual practice. The same number and passcode are used every week.
Rev. Jeanmarie Eck and Spiritual Direction
Rev. Jeanmarie Eck became the church's Senior Minister in November 2024 after a long search that followed the retirement of Greg Barrette in 2019. An ordained Unity minister, Licensed Unity Teacher in Adult Education, and spiritual director certified through Perkins School of Theology, she holds a Master of Divinity from Unity Institute & Seminary and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Mississippi. Her earlier ministry included nearly a decade at Unity of Houston, where she served as Associate Minister, then Lead Associate Minister and Director of Adult Education, leading Wednesday night services and mentoring ministerial candidates. She served on the Board of Trustees for Unity Worldwide Ministries from 2020 to 2024, including terms as First and Second Vice Chair.
Rev. Jeanmarie also offers one-on-one spiritual direction, meeting with a directee once a month for an hour either in person, by phone, or online. A six-month commitment is expected, and sessions are offered on a love-offering basis. Anyone interested can reach her at jeck@unityschool.com.
Unity School on the Same Campus
Unity School sits on the same 101 NW 22 Street campus as the church, sharing facilities and history. Founded in 1964 as a Montessori preschool, it has grown into a fully accredited program serving more than 300 children from preschool through eighth grade. The school is a sibling institution to the four other original Unity-affiliated Montessori schools that opened around the country the same year, and it is recognized internationally for the quality of its program.
Children, Youth, and the Girl Scout Troop
Children's programming is woven into Sunday morning. The Sunday School welcomes kids from age three through high school, with parents signing children in at the classrooms before service. Archived children's lessons are also posted to the church's YouTube channel so families can revisit them at home.
The campus is also home to Girl Scout Troop 20997, a multilevel troop of Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors drawn from Unity School. Rev. Jeanmarie Eck serves as the troop's leader.
Twelve-Step Recovery in the Fellowship Hall
The Fellowship Hall opens its doors to the wider recovery community four nights a week. On Mondays at 6:30 PM the LGBTQ ACOA meeting gathers, on Tuesdays at 7:00 PM Al-Anon meets, on Thursdays at 7:00 PM the LGBTQ AA group convenes, and on Saturdays at 5:30 PM another AA group meets. These are open community meetings, not church-led programs, but they reflect the congregation's long commitment to hosting recovery work in Delray Beach.
The Bookstore, the Gardens, and Dial-a-Prayer
The Unity Bookstore, open before and after Sunday services, stocks a broad selection of spiritual books including classic Unity titles, contemporary teachings, and children's inspirational selections. Featured authors on the shelves include H. Emilie Cady, Myrtle Fillmore, Charles and Cora Fillmore, Eric Butterworth, Mary Kupferle, James Dillet Freeman, Catherine Ponder, and Florence Scovel Shinn.
Behind the Sanctuary, meditation gardens with fountains offer a quiet setting for prayerful walks or a few minutes of reflection on a bench. Prayer request forms are available at the back of the Sanctuary and in the Prayer Room, and requests are held in prayer by the local prayer team and forwarded to Silent Unity. For those who prefer the phone, Dial-a-Prayer is staffed 24 hours a day at 561-900-2559, and Silent Unity's prayer line can be reached at 1-816-969-2000.
Blessing of the Animals and Other Annual Traditions
Each fall the congregation gathers for the Blessing of the Animals, a long-standing tradition now in its twenty-seventh year. Held in the gazebo with Rev. Jeanmarie Eck, the celebration welcomes household pets from Delray Beach and beyond. Photos of pets who have passed or who cannot attend are accepted for a Tribute Table, and blessings are also offered for wild, farm, and other animals.
The Fellowship Hall hosts a monthly potluck brunch on the first Sunday after service, where members and newcomers share food and conversation. Books and resources from the church's adult education programming are introduced on Sundays at the Bookstore.
Weddings, Celebrations of Life, and Christenings
Members and non-members alike can hold weddings, celebrations of life, and christenings in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Hall. Sanctuary weddings are offered at a flat rate for services of two hours or less, with a separate tier for longer services, and Celebration of Life and Christening rates are also published. There is an additional fee for an officiant, for musicians, and for a sound system operator. Anyone interested in reserving a date should call the church office at 561-276-5796.
What Unity Teaches
Unity of Delray Beach describes itself as a positive, practical approach to spiritual growth with no fixed creed. The community looks to Jesus Christ as a "Way-Shower" and uses the Bible as a basic text, applying its teaching stories to everyday life rather than reading them literally. Unity welcomes all people and honors all spiritual paths.
The church teaches that there is one Presence and Power in the universe, a spiritual energy called God, and that human beings are spiritual beings sharing the experience of being human. God is understood as present within each person as the Christ within, and Jesus is recognized as a perfect demonstration of what that inner divinity can express in healing, abundance, love, and peace. Spiritual growth, in Unity's framing, is the purpose of life.
Giving, Legacy Gifts, and Capital Campaign 2026
Online giving is available through a secure donation page that accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover, and checks can be mailed to the church office. Beyond annual giving, the church accepts bequests, IRA and pension plan gifts, life insurance beneficiary designations, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts. A Capital Campaign 2026 is currently underway to support future needs of the campus and ministry.
Music and the Arts
D. Shawn Berry serves as Music Director. A co-founder and artistic director of the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches, Berry brings decades of choral and conducting experience to Sunday worship. He previously served as pianist for the United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches for twenty-five years before joining the Unity staff.
A Connected New Thought Movement
Unity of Delray Beach sits within a wider network of New Thought and Unity organizations. The church's related links include Daily Word, the Silent Unity prayer ministry, Unity World Headquarters, Unity School, the International New Thought Alliance, and the Affiliated New Thought Network. Visitors looking for crisis support are pointed to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.