Our values
A world that works for everyone.
No exceptions, and no exclusions. A moment that says it better than we can:
What Unity is
Established in 1919 as a branch of the New Thought movement, Unity San Francisco is a progressive spiritual community, helping people of rich perspectives explore daily practices to live well.
Our founders, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, drew on the teachings that run through all the world’s great religions rather than picking one and defending it. They chose to not issue a statement of beliefs at all, because they wanted to stay in constant exploration.
The ideas they found common across traditions (everything is connected and Divine, thoughts are powerful, and one has radical agency) became the Five Principles. No central text, no required rituals, no list of behaviors to earn worthiness.
Our mission
We pray, celebrate, serve, and connect to inspire and transform ourselves and our world.
What we believe
01
There is only one Presence and one Power active as the Universe and in my life.
02
We are Divinity in expression, and inherently good.
03
We create with our thoughts and beliefs.
04
Through prayer and meditation, we align our heart-mind with the Divine.
05
Through thoughts, words, and actions, we live in the Truth we know.
Inclusion
All are celebrated here: every identity, every orientation, every path. That’s not an add-on to our theology; it is our theology.
Our story
Late 1800s
Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, both living with long-term illness, hear a lecture by E.B. Weeks. Myrtle leaves with one thought: “I am a child of God, and therefore I do not inherit sickness.” She recovers and credits prayer.
1889
Charles leaves his business to publish Modern Thought.
1890
The Fillmores start a prayer group that becomes Silent Unity, still running today.
1891
The first issue of Unity magazine.
1892
They write their Dedication and Covenant, pledging everything to the Spirit of Truth.
1905
Charles and Myrtle are among the first ordained Unity ministers.
1919
Cecilia Cardwell founds the Unity Center of Practical Christianity, our first spiritual home at 165 Post Street. Progressive spirituality takes root in San Francisco.
1920–1959
The wandering decades. For forty years the community thrives while moving between nine rented locations across the city, proof that a spiritual home is its people, not its building.
1931
Unity begins formally training ministers; today around 600 spiritual centers and study groups worldwide.
1960
We buy our first building, at 965 9th Street. In this era Dr. Maya Angelou begins her journey as a Truth Student with us, later saying Unity is where she finally realized, “God loves me.”
1994
Under Rev. Paul Tenaglia, we buy and renovate a Victorian storefront at 2222 Bush Street in Lower Pacific Heights, a new chapter of growth and visibility.
2019
Welcome to Hayes Valley. We buy our current home at 240 Page Street and begin transforming the historic building into a modern center for spiritual living.