LYNNWOOD — Unity Church in Lynnwood has named a new spiritual director, Richard Held.
Held previously served as the church’s administrator and as the music director. He now is focusing on expanding youth and family ministries, and arts programs.
Held, 48, moved to Edmonds two years ago from another congregation in Kansas. The Lynnwood church draws more than 100 people for Sunday services, he said.
To keep up with the times, the church wants to increase offerings for parents and families, he said. Parishioners today are living with issues such as blended families and aging parents, and in a world where divorce is more common. They need spiritual guidance, Held said.
“We are putting in that programming first,” he said. “It’s a major first step for us.”
Held also wants the music and arts programming to appeal to a wider range of tastes, so long as it has spiritual value.
Church music can be “whatever that experience is that transcends the spoken word,” he said.
“We draw from a wide variety of world cultures and genres,” he said. “We are just as likely to have an African drumming ensemble or a Celtic string ensemble as we are to have a song done in English.”
The church plans a five-week fall Sunday service series called “Unity of Life.” The public is invited to the series, which starts Oct. 27. Sunday services start at 10 a.m.
The series will “discuss major world religions and the beauty of each and the threads of truth that we perceive to run throughout,” Held said.
The church also plans an annual fundraising event, a “Festival of Abundance” wine and appetizer auction, at 6 p.m. Oct. 26.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
Learn more
For more information, visit Unity Church in Lynnwood at 16727 Alderwood Mall Parkway, go to unityinlynnwood.org or call 425-741-7172.
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