History of Unity Church of the Valley
Unity Church of Green Valley was established in 1986 with a core group of 30 people.* By 1991 it increased to 50, under the leadership of a Spiritual leader. They met in a rented office space and continued to do so [until early 2006.]... Upon attaining a membership of 50, they qualified for a minister with the purpose of establishing themselves as a sanctioned church with The Association of Unity Church, our world headquarters in Lee's Summit, MO. This church has had two ministers before they retained me. I have brought them to the point where we are now ready to build our own facility [that facility has been built, and we are now awaiting our Certificate of Occupancy - CBP].
As we are a mostly retirement community, in 2001, the membership decided to move to an adjoining town, which was (and is) in a major growth spurt with more families. They felt that was the best way to make this church grow and survive. We purchased 4.25 acres of vacant land in Sahuarita, AZ, located 3 miles from our ... office space [the former Unity Center on La Cañada Drive], with the purpose of building our own church.
The property was purchased for $138,000. At this time property values in Sahuarita have increased considerably. The cost of an acre of land is selling for $70,000. We feel fortunate to have purchased the land when we did....{to be able to}....grow within a growing community. [Our building is now completed, and we have moved into our new Church. - CBP].
Population statistics for the Town of Sahuarita are as follows: 1,629 in 1990, 3,242 in 2000, and 7,425 in 2003. The mid-2004 population is estimated by the Pima Association of Governments at 10,000 -- up from the 2000 census figure of 3,242, and with some 10,000 more residential units already approved, the population could grow by another 20,000 or more in the next decade.**
As you can see, we are on the precipice of a growing community. we envision the same for our new church location.
Yours in Faith,
Rev. Maurice E. Guerette [2005].
* Included among the Founding Members are the late Dr. Dorothy I. Seaberg, our Music / Choir Director, Barbara Hinton, and several others currently active in our Church.
** A projection by Dave Perkins, a consultant to the Pima Association of Governments, expects the population in Pima County south of Valencia Road between Interstate 19 and the Santa Rita Mountains is expected to jump to 250,000 by the year 2030. Later on, the population is projected to grow to 650,000 [source: The Sahuarita Sun, June 14, 2006.] Population west of I-19 is also expected to skyrocket during the next 25 years.
Our Church Building
Our Church Building was officially dedicated in a ceremony on January 14, 2007. Rev. Joann Landreth from the Association of Unity Church officiated. We celebrated our first year in our Church Building on Sunday June 3, 2007.
Thanks to the financial support by Carolyn Cook and the hard physical work by Howard Cook, we now have a well constructed Gazebo behind our church, dedicated to the late Rev. Nancy Cook. Our little bridge to the Gazebo will be known as "Cook Bridge."
We have constructed a Memorial Garden behind our Church, next to our Gazebo. The ashes of our beloved late Dorothy Seaberg will be interred in this garden. More details will follow on this page. We dedicated this Memorial Garden on Sunday June 17. 2007.
The Church has purchased a newer upright piano, which has replaced the one that we had since we moved into our new building. It is a 20-year-old Chickering console vertical piano and is distinctly superior to its predecessor. .
Jack and Dei Kruse donated lovely new double doors for our church entrance. They are maple color with glass windows at the top, and have made our new church very inviting. Be sure to thank the Kruse's for this generous gift.