The Birth of the Spanish Ministry at Unity of Houston
by Rev. Claudia Olmos, Director of the Spanish Ministry, Unity of Houston
I discovered the Unity movement in Atlanta, GA, in 2006, during a dark night of my soul, when I was going through a very strong situational depression. Discovering Unity’s philosophy made a profound difference, as it healed my relationship with God, contributing significantly to healing in all areas of my life and restoring my desire to live from a new place. I realized that, because of my Hispanic culture, I had been carrying many limiting beliefs that influenced the way I lived my life. So I committed myself to continuing to learn more about Unity and other New Thought teachings.
In 2008, I moved to Houston, TX, and the first thing I did was join Unity of Houston, as Unity had become my spiritual home and the place where I had decided my daughters, then ages 3 and 6, would grow up. However, I discovered that there was nothing in Spanish—not even a group.
A couple of years later, an invitation was opened to form a group of Latina women, and of course I said, “I want to be there.” I joined the group of women that would become “Latinas Unidas en la Luz” (celebrating 15 years this summer), and I eventually became its leader. Still, there was always a desire within me to have a Spanish-language ministry. I felt that my Latino community needed to know that there were ways to release limiting beliefs, improve our lives, and, above all, develop a more positive and loving relationship with God.
From time to time, I would ask my church liaison about opportunities, and the response was always that “there were no resources for it.” Meanwhile, the “Latinas Unidas en la Luz” group continued to grow, and so did I as a volunteer—first as an usher and later as a prayer chaplain.
A new chapter began for Unity Houston with the arrival of Rev. Michael Gott as senior minister. This brought restructuring, and I saw an opportunity to ask again… though I feared receiving the same answer. Still, a small inner voice told me, “You have to keep going. Ask for the Spanish ministry—do it for the Hispanic community, not for yourself.”
And so I did. I went to request a Spanish-language ministry, and the person who listened to me was Rev. Karen Tudor, who had just returned to Unity of Houston and was overseeing the Latina women’s group. She listened and asked to meet the group. When she did, she saw that these women were strong and that together we could build a Spanish ministry. Her response to me was, “This resonates with me. This is not yours or mine—it belongs to the Holy Spirit.”
I invited seven of these women to form a committee and plan how we would create the ministry. At first, I thought we would translate the English-speaking ministers, but we ultimately decided it would be better for us to give the talks ourselves, as we would connect more deeply with the community through culture and language. Also, the ministers already had their own responsibilities.
And so, starting from scratch—with recorded music and no resources other than the willingness of several people from the Hispanic community, and the support of Rev. Karen Tudor—after four months of planning, and with all my energy and enthusiasm, we held our first service on March 8, 2018.
I felt (and still feel) a deep passion to do everything within my power to contribute to this ministry. This led me to continue learning by taking Unity classes, as I wanted to be in integrity and offer more to the community. Little by little, this revealed itself as my call to ministry, and through this very ministry I was accepted into Unity’s program called the “Field Path” in 2021, received my license in 2022, and was ordained in 2023.
One quality that has remained constant in this ministry is perseverance. The COVID years were not an excuse to stop—we moved online, and today our services have grown to include live music, classes, groups, and retreats.
It is truly an honor for me to help and support other Hispanic ministers and growing Unity ministries.
