A History of Unity in Birmingham
When the Unity movement first reached Birmingham in 1919, it was little more than a study group which met when they could at Birmingham City Hall. In May of 1928, with only 12 members, the Unity study group became an official charter location. Within a year, the Unity congregation grew to around 200 members.
Dr. Catherine Ponder, best selling author and founder of Unity Church Worldwide, an affiliate of Unity Church, obtained her Unity ordination and began her ministry in Birmingham, serving from 1958-1961. She wrote her first book, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity, while leading the Birmingham congregation.
The initial construction of the 2803 Highland Avenue location was completed in 1973. In the mid 1980s, additional construction was done on the site, creating the administrative offices and lobby.
In 1980, Rev. Jerry Bartholow took over the role as lead minister. A year later, he married Rev. Beverly, a classmate from seminary. Beverly transitioned in 1988. In 1989, Jerry married Jane Glass. Jane was the administrative assistant at Unity for more than 20 years, continuing to do so even after Jerry transitioned in 2011.
In January 2022, Rev. Jesse Eugene Herriott was named as the new Spiritual Leader for Unity of Birmingham.
Noteable people and events from Unity's past
Rev. Gerald "Jerry" Bartholow
& Jane Bartholow
As one of the longest serving ministers at Unity of Birmingham, serving from 1980-2011, Rev. Jerry Bartholow left an indelible impression on the Unity community. He graduated from seminary in 1980 and moved from Atlanta to Birmingham to take the lead minister role at Unity of B'ham. He oversaw the expansion of the 2803 Highland building to include more offices, a bookstore, and a full kitchen in the mid-1980s. He and his wife Jane married in 1989.
Every person who knew Jane described her as a truly kind and gentle person: a "living saint." She was the administrative assistant for Unity for more than 20 years.
Mr. Barry Hester has compiled a vast collection of Rev. Jerry's sermons on the Unity of Birmingham Classics YouTube Channel. Click the link below to view Rev. Jerry's past sermons.
Dr. Catherine Ponder
Catherine Thrower took over leadership of Unity of Birmingham in 1956 after Rev. Kathryn Jarvis stepped aside. She was licensed as a Unity minister in 1957, then ordained in 1958. She and her son lived upstairs in the old Unity building at 2803 Highland (later demolished in the early 1970s). She wrote her first book, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity, while serving Birmingham. She went on to become an international best seller and has written more than a dozen books.
In 1961, she married Dr. Kelly Ponder and moved to Austin, TX and established Unity of Austin.
She formed Unity Church Worldwide, with headquarters in Palm Desert, CA.
She has given seminars worldwide about prosperity and is still an active figure with Unity Church Worldwide.
Her son, Richard, remembers the time they lived in Birmingham as being some of the best times of his life and says he and his mother still feel a special connection with Birmingham. She recently celebrated her 95th birthday and still answers her mail personally.
The Unity Lights
The Unity Lights were the Unity house band under Rev. Jerry. Listen to a few of their past performances below.
The Ladies of Unity, 1983
The Ladies of Unity used to hold monthly meetings, fundraisers, and various other group events. Below is a copy of their directory and meeting schedule from 1983.
Click the images to get a larger view.
Coming Alive, 1987
In 1987, Olan Mills came to Unity and took family photos to use in the church directory. The directory begins with a brief history of Unity, talk of plans for the future, and a bio of Rev. Jerry & Rev. Beverly.
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60th Anniversary Celebration
In May, 1988, Unity of Birmingham celebrated its 60th Anniversary. To commemorate the event, a booklet was produced that included a welcome by Rev. Jerry Bartholow and recounted the history of Unity up to that point. Pictured below are images from that booklet. Click the images for a larger view of the pages.
Pointing the Way into the New Millenium
In 2000, a new directory was created for the Unity community. This spiral bound edition contains pieces of the history of Unity, several pages of candid photos, and photos of the active families.
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Soaring Together
Celebrating 80 years, 2008
This directory, issued in 2008 to commemorate 80 years of Unity in Birmingham, was hardcover and features another brief history and photos of the active families of the church.
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James Redfield
Author James Redfield was an active member of Unity of Birmingham when he began writing his first book, which he self-published in 1992, The Celestine Prophecy. It went on to become one of the most financially successful self published books of all time. It became a New York Time's #1 Best Seller after Warner Books bought the rights to it and sold it as a hardcover, and it stayed on the best seller list for over 3 years. In 2006, The Celestine Prophecy was adapted and made in to a film. Mr. Redfield has written at least 8 more books since then, and continues to publish articles online.
You can read a recent article Mr. Redfield wrote here.
All of us at Unity would like to thank Ms. Evelyn McDonald who provided us with the majority of the information presented here. Without her assistance and years of collecting and compiling information, we might have lost much of our history.
Walk with me, memory to memory, the shared path, the mutual view. Walk with me. The past lies in wait. It is not behind. It seems to be in front. How else could it trip me as I start to run.
~Jeanette Winterson
Tribute to Jerry Bartholow
There are many memorable moments I have in mind about Jerry, but that would take a book! Here’s one in particular:
In 1993 in the late fall I began a new job as broadcast producer with Tucker Wayne & Luckie advertising. The pressure was intense, and I needed a way to release that or I would leave the company. I had gotten to know Jerry over 5 years as the pastor at Unity of Birmingham, and I felt I should talk to him. He invited me to take a course in Alpha Theta Meditation in a night class at 7 pm. ATM, as it was known, was going to enhance and later change my life as a loving spiritual being. And at the moment ... was just what I needed most.
Jerry with his clear and measured voice began each session with several of us upstairs in the class as he counted to ten, 1...2...3...4...5... you get the idea! But, there was so much more to know behind the process of then entering the “laboratory of my mind,” as I recall him even now guiding those peacefully explored meditations. After all these years Jerry taught me a way to flow, by using what I already know. Knowing I can still put that into practice is a blessing and a journey filled with peace!
Thank you for letting me share that with Unity of Birmingham. My spiritual home away from home. I visited two years ago in 2018, and appreciated the Zoom meeting on Monday evening as well!
~ Barry Douglas Butler, 2020
Tribute to Jane Bartholow
For the years of dedication to Unity of Birmingham...
For being "the woman behind the 'successful man'"...
For the inspiration that you brought to our lives...
For the joy in which you supported the congregation who so cherished you...
For the unconditional love you gave to us....
We are grateful to you, Jane.
Love Always,
Your Unity Family
To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.
~Thomas Campbell
If you have more information about Unity's History in Birmingham that you think should be featured on this page, contact us at media@unitybham.org. We'd love to hear from you!