The Alhambra Foundation
Our History
A rendering of The Unity Church of Alhambra campus,
1923 : The Unity Church in Alhambra, CA, became a beacon of Love, Light, and Service to Unity people, the Unity movement, and the community.
Like many of Southern California’s Unity Churches, it was Unity leader and author, Rev. Ernest Wilson, and his large 8,000-member congregation in downtown Los Angeles, in the 1940s and 50s, which help expand Unity churches in the area.
1953: The Alhambra congregation, with the help of friends like Rev. Ernest Wilson, purchased and built the church at 25 North 2nd Street, just off of Main St. in Alhambra. It thrived for decades.
Through 1970: The Unity Church of Alhambra served as the staging area for the annual bus trip to the Youth of Unity Conference.
Delegates to the Y.O.U. Conference at Unity Village (now called IYOU) would arrive at the church from around Southern California, and be sent off on a blessed journey for the three-day trip.
Our founders were proud to have served as the starting point for many teens on their spiritual adventure of a lifetime.
1970 - 2003: Over the 30 years that followed, the community around the physical church was changing. Despite continued efforts, the church was unable to attract a long-term minister.
The church had the necessary funds to hire a new minister (thanks to income from rentals), they sent a representative several times to Unity Village’s ministerial school to recruit upcoming graduates, and interviewed nine perspective candidates over a four-year period. But it became clear that serving in Alhambra was not as desirable as other ministry opportunities.
2003: The Board of Directors worked with a church consultant and reviewed their options. Hire a non-Unity minister? An unlicensed Spiritual Leader? Combine with a nearby Unity congregation? Close the doors and walk away?
The Board also consulted with leaders within the Southwest Unity Region, and the church’s attorney.
2004: At the 2004 annual meeting on Sunday, February 1st, all 20 of the active members voted to transform from a Sunday morning ministry to the Unity Church of Alhambra Foundation – a perpetual trust fund that will continually help spread the Unity message in the Southwest Unity Region.
Ken Harrison
Our Foundation's Founding President
IN MEMORIAM (October 11, 1955 - July 21, 2022)
It was Ken's idea to start a foundation with the funds from the sale of the Unity Church of Alhambra property in 2004. The Board of the church loved the idea of continuing to support the churches and youth in the Southwest region. So with Debbie Tausch, Vickie Thompson, and Karen Tang, they created the first Foundation Board.
Ken worked with the Board not only to create the foundation, but he promoted it passionately, speaking at area churches. He was known as "Mr. Unity" for his knowledge of the region's history, and his animated radio-voice storytelling.
As a third-generation Unity person who grew up in the youth program and then served as the region's Youth Ministry director for many years, he had a fond connection with the Alhambra church from years of embarking for Unity Village for the annual conference (now known as "IYOU".)
We were honored to throw him a retirement party at our SW Region Conference in 2019. You can see and hear Ken's retirement speech here.
Ken made his transition on July 21, 2022.
We are honored to keep his legacy alive here at the Alhambra Foundation.
Ken,
We love you.
We bless you.
We sincerely appreciate you.
And we behold the Christ in you!
See more at We Bless Ken Harrison and find photos and other videos from the party here.