The Unity Center sits along Activity Road in San Diego's Mira Mesa neighborhood, just one mile west of Interstate 15 and a block north of Miramar Road. From a campus that includes a large sanctuary, an intimate chapel, classrooms, a cafe, and a peaceful outdoor patio with a peace pole and fountain, a progressive spiritual community gathers every Sunday at 10 am for a service that draws on the universal wisdom at the heart of all the world's religions. Theologically rooted in Unity, a worldwide New Thought movement founded in the late 1800s by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, the Center welcomes people of every race, religious background, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Its teaching offers a positive path for spiritual living for those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, and its message now reaches more than 12,000 members and friends worldwide.

Rev. Wendy Craig-Purcell and the Birth of the Center

Affectionately known as "The Rev" by her spiritual community, Reverend Wendy Craig-Purcell is the founder, CEO, and Spiritual Leader of The Unity Center. A graduate of the Unity School of Christianity, she was ordained as a Unity minister in 1980, making her the youngest person ever ordained in Unity at just 23 years old. Just a few years later, she founded The Unity Center with no money and without ever intending to become a minister, beginning with only a handful of people at the first gatherings. Decades later, her personal mission to "teach everyday spiritual wisdom for conscious living and global transformation" still shapes every part of the Center's work.

Reverend Wendy's reach extends well beyond San Diego. She is among the first members of the Association for Global New Thought (AGNT) and helped design and participated in all three AGNT-sponsored "Synthesis Dialogues," which brought leading thinkers together with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharmsala, India. Her work with AGNT also took her to Istanbul, Turkey, as part of the planning for the Abraham Path Initiative, and to Tokyo, Japan, to present at the Goi Peace Foundation's Symposium on "Igniting the Divine Spark." She received the Gandhi Non-Violence Award from the Tariq Khamisa Foundation in 1999, was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Preachers Hall of Fame at Morehouse College in 2000, and in 2014 was presented with the Light of God Expressing Award, a lifetime achievement honor for her work in the Unity movement. Inspired by the Dalai Lama's advice that a powerful way to make a difference is to "travel and make friends," she and her family have traveled throughout Europe, Africa, and Central and South America, and those global journeys continue to inform her teaching.

Sunday Mornings at 10 AM

The Unity Center's main Sunday gathering begins at 10 am Pacific Time and is broadcast live for those who prefer to worship from home. The service weaves together music, meditation, prayer, and a teaching by Reverend Wendy, with the topic rotating through a yearlong series of themed lessons. Past series have explored subjects as varied as prayer, happiness, forgiveness, abundance, the teachings of Rumi, the parables of Jesus, the work of Ken Wilber, integral spirituality, and the habits drawn from Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Each series can also be purchased afterward as a downloadable package, including the video of the lesson, the audio message, a guided meditation, and supporting readings and self-reflection questions.

Before and after the service, members and guests are invited to engage with the Healing Light Candle Corner. Three simple spiritual practices are offered: releasing what no longer serves by pouring water, lighting a candle to set an intention, and submitting a prayer request. The Center's cafe, equipped with two large TV screens and seating for forty, is open for gathering and conversation.

What Unity Believes and Teaches

The Unity Center's teaching is built on five core ideas. God is the source and creator of all, everywhere present as the force of love and wisdom that underlies all of existence. Human beings are spiritual beings created in God's image, divine at their core, and therefore inherently good. Prayer and meditation keep the individual aligned with God, the one great power in the universe. Life experiences are created through one's dominant ways of thinking and feeling, since thought is formative. And knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough; the Truth must be lived out in daily life. Though the Center's roots are in Christianity, its services and teachings draw heavily on the universal wisdom at the heart of all the world's religions, making it a welcoming place for those who have stepped away from traditional church but have not given up on spiritual growth.

Youth Village on Sunday Mornings

The Unity Center's children and youth program, called Youth Village, runs every Sunday at 10 am and now offers two age-appropriate learning spaces. One classroom is designed for children ages 4 to 10, and a separate classroom is set up for youth ages 11 to 18. Each group engages in play, lessons, meditation, and activities created for their developmental stage. Check-in begins at 9:45 am and ends at 10:10 am so classes can start on time, and classes conclude when the Sunday gathering ends, usually just after 11 am.

A registration form is required for first-time families, and after that families sign in electronically at the Youth Village kiosk. A volunteer greets each family at the entrance, marked by a large colorful sign above the door. Children under three may use the family room located near the sanctuary. The Youth Village teaching team includes Lee Stevens, Jennifer Purcell, Miriam Marquez, Will Oles, Jana Oles, Virginia Berger, Abigail Albert, Diana Biegner, Nicole Mack, and Liane Tse.

Life Groups: Doing Life Together

For those wanting to go deeper, Life Groups gather in hosts' homes, at the Center, or in community venues such as libraries or clubhouses, with a virtual group also available. Each group meets weekly for about six to seven weeks to study a recorded series of Reverend Wendy's talks on a particular topic, viewing video segments and then engaging in guided discussion. Each meeting typically runs about an hour and a half to two hours and includes an opening prayer and check-in, the video viewing, discussion, a closing prayer, and time for refreshments and socializing. Participants are encouraged to take an active role, with rotating responsibilities for leading discussion, providing refreshments, and praying in or out.

Beyond the weekly meetings, each Life Group also organizes a social activity, such as a shared dinner, a movie outing, or a hike, and completes a service project either in the wider community or at The Unity Center. Periodically, all of the Life Groups come together for a celebration event. Groups are limited by the number of hosts available, so early sign-up is encouraged. Virginia Berger coordinates the program and serves as the contact for anyone interested in hosting or joining.

Prayer Support and the Healing Practice of the Center

Prayer is at the heart of The Unity Center's ministry. Through the Prayer Ministry, anyone can call the office at 858-689-6500 or submit a prayer request online to enlist a team that "knows the Truth" for them and acknowledges God's presence in every aspect of life. Each week, prayer requests submitted to the Center are forwarded to Silent Unity at Unity Worldwide Headquarters, where they receive an additional thirty days of prayer support. The Center affirms that prayer changes lives by affirming the good desired, connecting people to a source of inspiration and wisdom, and providing a sense of hope and meaning.

Guided Meditations with Reverend Wendy

For those looking for a daily practice, Reverend Wendy has recorded a library of short guided meditations available as free audio downloads. "Peace of Mind" is a nineteen-minute practice designed to help the listener become still, centered, and calm. "Divine Guidance" is a twenty-minute meditation for quieting the mind and listening for the "still small voice within." "Forgiveness" is a twenty-minute practice that helps the listener relax the body, quiet the mind, and open the heart to forgiveness as a process rather than a single event. "Prosperity" is a nineteen-minute meditation for getting centered and opening to the creative spark and the flow of divine ideas during financially challenging times. Each recording can be downloaded and revisited at any time.

The Art Gallery

The Unity Center Art Gallery is dedicated to celebrating the transformative power of art and to creating an inclusive environment that fosters reflection, inspiration, and connection. Open to members, friends, and the broader community, the gallery rotates exhibits throughout the year. Past shows have included "Echoes of Courage: Art Inspired by the Black Experience," "Awakening: A Celebration of Light and Renewal," "God's Amazing Creations: Treasuring Earth's Gifts of Life," "The Art of Youth: Friendship," and features by the La Jolla Art Association and the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild. The Center also hosts traveling and global projects, such as Julie Weaverling's "Lift the Sky," a worldwide art piece inviting artists from around the world to answer the question, "what's your message to the world?" The gallery is free to visit during Center hours.

Partners Fair Trade Boutique

Operating inside the sanctuary, the Partners Fair Trade Boutique has grown into one of the largest fair trade stores in San Diego. The Center began partnering with Exotic World Gifts in 2007 to bring fair trade products to its members and the surrounding community. Today the boutique carries jewelry, home decor, fashion, candles, coffees, teas, chocolates, and other hand-crafted items made by under- and unemployed farmers and artisans around the world. Every purchase helps provide a sustainable income for the makers and helps fund the Center's "Travel With A Purpose" micro-finance projects around the world.

Stallion Oaks Ranch: A 243-Acre Sanctuary in the Mountains

About forty-five minutes east of downtown San Diego, in the small community of Descanso just outside the Cleveland National Forest, the Center operates Stallion Oaks Ranch, a 243-acre property that functions as both an event venue and a nature retreat. The Ranch features ancient oaks, creeks, a lake, swimming pool, horse corrals, hiking and riding trails, a labyrinth, and a thirty-language Peace Pole. The Barn, a historic and rustic meeting hall with a massive stone fireplace, seats up to 250 in theater style or 120 in banquet style. Sixteen-foot and thirty-foot yurts are available for meetings or small group activities, and nine yurts with bunk beds offer sleeping accommodations. A professional kitchen, bathhouse with showers, a two-bedroom cabin, a furnished glamping yurt, shaded tent sites, and full-hookup RV sites round out the lodging options. Individual and family stays are booked through Hipcamp, while group events, weddings, retreats, and workshops are arranged by calling the Center directly.

Ceremonies, Venue Rentals, and the Legacy Circle

The Center hosts weddings, commitment ceremonies, vow renewals, memorial services, and celebrations of life at both the main campus and Stallion Oaks Ranch. Couples and families work directly with the Center's ministry team to design ceremonies that are personal, tender, and uplifting, in keeping with Unity's positive, life-affirming approach.

Both the main campus and the Ranch are also available for outside rentals. The Mira Mesa campus offers a sanctuary that seats approximately 750 with comfortable movable seating, a built-in high-definition projector and screen, a high-quality sound booth, a grand piano, a permanent stage, and a twenty-foot water-wall feature. The chapel seats sixty and has a baby grand piano and a smaller water wall. Classrooms, offices, a conference room, an accessible kitchen, and a beautiful outdoor patio with seating areas and a fountain are also available. Onsite parking is described as easy. A full venue rental brochure is available for download from the Center.

For those wishing to extend their support beyond their lifetime, The Unity Center maintains the Legacy Circle, a planned-giving program that supports endowments for general operations, building and grounds, music, education, and youth programs. Planned gifts can be made through wills, charitable gift annuities, IRAs, or insurance policies and can be directed to a specific area of ministry or left unrestricted for future leadership to allocate.

National and International Work, Racial Equity, and Giving Back

Reverend Wendy and The Unity Center community were instrumental in the formation of the San Diego Department of Peace, which has since grown into Americans for the Department of Peace and now encompasses all of Southern California. Building on racial equity work that began in 2017, Reverend Wendy has been central to the founding of the AntiRacism Institute, launched in 2020, on whose Board she currently serves. She also helped create the Alhambra Foundation, which provides grants and scholarships.

The Center supports the San Diego Food Bank through a regular food drive, accepts non-perishable donations on Sundays and during weekday office hours, hosts an online food drive, and welcomes the Food Bank's Senior Food Distribution to its parking lot several times a year.

Online Resources, App, and Podcast

For those who cannot attend in person, Sunday services are livestreamed every week, and an extensive archive of recorded talks is available through the Center's YouTube channel and Sunday Series Packages. The Center's mobile app, available through the App Store, provides another way to stay connected with announcements, registrations, and giving. Reverend Wendy also hosts a podcast, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and a free daily email called "Just For Today" offers a simple practice for a more joyful day. Giving is accepted online, and prayer requests can be submitted at any time.