FOREWORD
The Household of Faith was first published in 1951.
This is the first printing.
The publication of this book, The Household of Faith, which tells the story of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore and of Unity, has been a project dear to me. Those of you who have been helped by my father and mother may have some understanding of how much they meant to me. I lived with them. I felt their love and was inspired by their faith. My reading this book has been like a visit with them. It brings back many memories.
With the passing of Charles Fillmore in 1948, it was my privilege to become president of Unity School of Christianity. When I think of what a vast organization Unity is and of how much responsibility is mine, I sometimes have misgivings about my ability to do the job. And then, I recall the time in 1907 when my father asked me to take over the duties of office manager. Although I felt unqualified, my father insisted. "Have faith. You can do it," he said. "If something comes up, I will help you." So today when misgivings arise, I know that our heavenly Father is here as He has always been, and He is saying, "Have faith. You can do it. If something comes up, I will help you."
The spirit of faith, of willingness to trust in God and to follow His leading expressed by all my co-workers has been chiefly responsible for the great growth of Unity.
When I went to work as Unity's office boy in 1899, the office force consisted of two persons besides myself. The office was a small room in a rented house in Kansas City, Mo.
What changes have come to Unity! Where there were three office workers, today there are hundreds. Where there were a few thousand subscribers, today there are more than a million. Where perhaps a hundred letters came to Unity each week, today there are more than thirty thousand.
Where perhaps a few hundred persons looked to Silent Unity for help through prayer, today there are many more than half a million. What is more, Unity has entered fields of service that were not even thought of in 1899. There are radio programs. There are centers. There are new magazines. There is a vast variety of books and other literature, much of it published in foreign languages. Streams of Unity literature pour out free of charge to hospitals and prisons, to the blind and other needy individuals throughout the world.
Yet there is one way in which Unity has not changed. This book about my father and mother has made me realize this once again: whether located in a small rented house or in many buildings spreading out over twelve hundred acres, Unity has always been a household of faith — faith in God as the source of every good, faith in our Father as the one presence and one power in all the world.
Lowell Fillmore
Lee's Summit, Mo.
June, 1951.
