Hi Friends —
This study guide is the first fruits of The Fillmore Wings Study Program, a TruthUnity project that is dusting off and republishing what was Unity's foundational study program in Metaphysics for nearly 70 years. Charles Fillmore wrote the first lesson and preached from all 18 lessons for the remainder of his life. It is the program that Eric Butterworth, Johnnie Colemon, Catherine Ponder and Ed Rabel were required to study before entering into Unity’s ministry training.
These lessons propelled Unity’s tremendous growth from 1909 until the mid-1970s when the concept of “distance learning” by correspondence fell out of fashion. The principles are timeless, the teaching is pristine, and the presentation is clear and direct.
The 18 lessons in the Correspondence School program best represent what Charles Fillmore considered authentic Unity teaching. Also, it is precisely the material Charles Fillmore demanded his students learn if they wanted to become Unity ministers. We need to start with these lessons if we are to discuss what authentic Fillmore teaching represents.
Our goal is to allow Charles and Myrtle Fillmore to speak for themselves. Too many people, are, as one notable Fillmore scholar has said, "fictionalizing the Fillmores" to appropriate the Unity name while marginalizing the Fillmore teaching. Charles Fillmore wrote many books and gave many talks. It's easy to read into the books and articles whatever you want.
When pressed as to his foundational views, Charles Fillmore developed the 1910 Correspondence School Lessons for people who really wanted to learn and he wrote The 1924 Unity Statement of Faith for people who really wanted to understand. These two documents, plus one more, are the authentic foundational documents of the Fillmore Faith.
The third foundational document is The Covenant of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, entered into on December 7, 1892. We regard that date to be the true beginning of the movement begun by the Fillmores. And we release this course guide for Lesson 1 of Series 1 of Correspondence School program on December 7, 2024, on the 132nd anniversary of their movement.
Our covenant with you is to offer this lesson and its materials free of charge and as accessible as possible. To learn more, go to https://www.truthunity.net/wings/series-1-lesson-1. There, you can read the lesson and you can download PDF files of the material formatted in three print versions: 8.5x11" in large font for people with vision challenges, 5.5x8.5" for printing two pages per letter sized paper, and a PDF for printing booklets.
My colleague is Cora Alexander, LUT. I serve as the editor and publisher. Cora serves as the Licensed Teacher in support of study groups and education. You may reach Cora at cora@fillmorewings.org. Cora and I are looking for a collaborator who can provide audio versions of the materials we are developing.
We are also looking for a few churches to begin a study group in January. We hope to learn from you what works, to adjust our materials as needed, and to disseminate your success with other ministries. If you are looking for a way to build your own faith density or the faith density of your church, then print the materials and consider starting a group study. You're welcome to join us on Tuesdays at 11:30 New York time to get a taste of how the conversation can flow. See the TruthUnity Events page for details.
We are not intending to provide certifications or credentialing. But we will provide education and continue to develop training based on the foundational documents of the Fillmores. Our goal is for you to work through the 18 lessons that Charles Fillmore developed for his students and to practice the spiritual teaching his movement taught for nearly 70 years. We want you to have Fillmore Wings.
Mark Hicks and Cora Alexander,
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Cora Alexander, LUT. Education and ministry support.
Rev. Mark Hicks. Editor and publisher.
