Our Unity Southwest Region conference for 2022 is a Family Reunion! Welcome Home, back to our long-time host hotel, the Embassy Suites in La Quinta, CA.
We’ll start on Monday evening with a gathering in the lounge, celebrating seeing each other with complimentary appetizers and drinks,
and then we’ll move into our ballroom for the opening ceremony. That’s where we’ll set the intention for our experience, with music from Posi Award nominee Gary Lynn Floyd.
On Tuesday morning, we’ll start with a complimentary breakfast in the lobby followed by music and meditation and then the Unity Worldwide Ministries report and Focused Leadership Workshop by UWM’s Executive Director, our own Rev. Shad Groverland.
We’ll break for lunch and some more music from Gary Lynn Floyd before completing our workshop with Rev. Shad. And after a break, we’ll have the first of our retreat segments – a Taize service led by Gary Lynn Floyd and Rev. Jonathan Zenz.
Taizé (pronounced: tay-zay) is a prayerful form of music known for its simple, yet rich and meditative character. Taizé music often takes the structure of an ostinato (a simple melody that repeats over and over) and is meant to serve as a kind of musical centering prayer.
University of Notre Dame
In the evening, we’ll have our gathering in the lounge and then move into our ballroom for the Alhambra Innovation Awards and Celebration.
We’ll celebrate with a dance party in honor of our Founding President Ken Harrison, with DJ Rev. Ken Fendrick spinning tunes from across the decades to honor our shared family history.
On Wednesday morning, we start with a healthy hearty complimentary breakfast once again and into music and meditation before our Region Business Meeting.
After we conclude our business, we will honor those who have made their transition since our last conference with an interactive memorial service, as we embody our knowing that they continue to journey with us.
The Unity World Headquarters report comes later that morning, with a presentation by Rev. Linda Martella Whitsett. Then, as part of the retreat experience, you will have a long break for lunch and free time.
In the afternoon, we’ll gather for music by Gary Lynn Floyd and then the Keeper of the Flame for Unity Worldwide Ministries, Rev. Diane Scribner, will lead us on the first part of her retreat offering. We know she will minister to the souls of our leaders with her embodied practice of “haven-ing”. Haven on Earth: Let it Rise.
In the evening after a break, we’ll gather at the lounge before entering the ballroom for our banquet, board installation ceremony and the presentation of the Family History of the Southwest Region.
And then we get to enjoy a concert from Gary Lynn Floyd.
Thursday morning is that last morsel of retreat experience with our breakfast, music and meditation followed by part two of Haven on Earth: Give it Space, with Rev. Diane Scribner. And then our closing ceremony will send us all off full of love.
Unity Southwest Region 