Unity Bay Area Houston History
In August 1995, Rev. Dr. Diane Plamondon, along with four like-minded individuals, established Unity Church of the Bay Area. Currently, our church is known as Unity Bay Area Houston. The fledgling church held services in several area hotels before renting its first church home on Anders Lane in Kemah. Church members lovingly adapted the building into a happy church home. On September 14, 2000, the Association of Unity Churches granted the church full church status. Shortly thereafter, in December 2000, Rev. Dr. Plamondon retired from full-time ministry. She remains our beloved Minister Emeritus.
One year later, Rev. Stephen Horn became the senior minister. During his tenure, the membership grew. He led popular weekly study groups on Unity principles. The congregants formed the first weekly mediation group as well as book discussion groups. Some of the original participants in the meditation group are still active in our current book study and meditation groups. On two occasions, Rev. Horn led a group of congregants to a week-long retreat to Unity Village, Missouri, the home of the Unity movement.
Under Rev. Horn's leadership, the seed was planted to purchase our own church property. Within two years, we raised enough money for the down payment on our current church home at 1911 Hwy. 3 in League City. The focus for the next several years was to remodel the building, a former restaurant and bar, into what is now our church sanctuary. We held our first service in the new sanctuary in 2006. After Rev. Horn’s departure, members of the church worked together to support each other and strengthen our strong bonds as a spiritually led community. During this time, a series of well-received guest ministers spoke every Sunday until Rev. LaVern Waters became our temporary minister in 2011. She provided steady leadership during her tenure and during our search for a permanent minister.
Our current senior minister, Rev. Kyra Baehr, arrived in May 2013. With her, she brought her trademark enthusiasm and energy which has electrified our community and has and continues to transform us. She has accomplished many things. First, she updated our music team when she hired the dynamic and talented Ellen Rogers to lead the music team. She has updated the sound system, lighting, as well as the sanctuary décor. The Fillmore Building which now stands looking out onto the lake provides much-needed classroom space for the youth of our church. Our Youth and Family Ministry has grown in direct response to fulfilling the need for classroom space.
The grounds on which the church is located has dramatically improved during these past fourteen years of stewardship. We are grateful to the talented leadership of Sara Thompson, and all volunteers who have dedicated themselves to this project. The first project planted, which included the youth of our church, was a community vegetable garden. Our second dream came to fruition when we created a meditation space which was surrounded by the butterfly garden, and our magnificent labyrinth. Our whole church family participated both financially and physically to this labor of love. The labyrinth, which is open to the community, serves as a focal point for drumming circles and other celebrations.
In addition to taking care of the physical needs of the church, Rev. Kyra also fosters relationships with the congregation through teaching a wide range of Unity classes, a Tuesday morning book study, and a Oneness Awakening course. Of course, this is in addition to her full range of services to our spiritual community. Her outreach for the Bay Area community at large was never so obvious as during the recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. During this difficult time, she created a communication center from which she fielded and organized offers for assistance from across the nation. She inspired and enrolled church members not only to assist each other, but also to reach out into the community at large.
Not only can one attend services on Sundays, but one may also find spiritual activities during most days of the week. For example, one can find, small group meetings, meditations, ESL classes, book studies, 12-step programs, energy and Qigong exercise, and workshops conducted by both our church members and experts from the larger spiritual community. In response to the special circumstances of the pandemic, most of these classes are being offered online.
We are a tax-exempt, non-profit organization licensed by the State of Texas. Our By-laws are in accordance with those recommended by the Association of Unity Churches. We rely on God as our Source and the generosity of our church members and friends who support our church with their time, treasures in the form of tithes, financial offerings, and talent. We are grateful for our prosperous and faith-filled!
We are grateful for our prosperous and faith-filled!