Partner Church

"Don't be afraid, just have faith"
Unity Church has a partner church, the Unitarian church in Homorodszentpeter, Transylvania, Romania (Saint Peter in the Homorod River valley). This is the only church in a rural village of about 200 people. The phrase "Don't be afraid, just have faith" was suggested as a motto for our partnership by Rev. Kinga-Reka Szekely, minister at Homorodszentpeter, in a sermon preached to the congregation of Homorodszentpeter and a group of Unity Church pilgrims in August, 2001. For more information about this team, please email [email protected].

2026 Pilgrimage to Transylvania

Information Session: Sunday, January 18 | 12:30 p.m. | Robbins Parlor and Zoom
Join fellow Unity Church members on a summer pilgrimage, led by Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Oscar Sinclair to the Unitarian homeland of Transylvania. Pilgrims will gather in Budapest, Hungary, on July 31, 2026, and travel to historic sites in Hungary and Romania where the Unitarian faith was debated and defined in the Reformation Age. Pilgrims will spend six days living with families in the Unitarian village of Homoródszentpéter, with whom Unity has had a partner church relationship for three decades. The small village of about two hundred inhabitants offers an intimate immersion into Unitarian culture in the Hungarian-speaking province of Transylvania, Romania. The pilgrimage ends on August 13 in Sibiu, Romania, from where pilgrims can make airline connections to complete their journey.

The Partner Church Team will hold an information session on Sunday, January 18, after the 11:15 a.m. service, in Robbins Parlor and on Zoom. The session will cover the details of travel and cost. Attend the session and learn about the opportunities for spiritual growth on pilgrimage, within, among, and beyond. We encourage families and young adults to consider joining us for this special opportunity.

Pilgrims will be asked to make a down payment in March with final payments due in May. There is some scholarship aid available for prospective pilgrims to help with costs.

Send questions or notes of interest to [email protected].

Székely Gate Dedication

On September 6, 2025, the congregation of Unity Church dedicated the Székely Gate gifted to us by our partner church in Homoródszentpéter in Transylvania, Romania. Check out the program and watch the video by Will Hommeyer with reflections about our 35-year partnership and the significance of the gate by former pilgrims, the Minnesota Hungarians and the ministers of both congregations, Rev. Kinga-Réka Székely and Rev. Dr. Oscar Sinclair. Contact [email protected] if you would like to learn more about our partnership and/or the next pilgrimage to Transylvania planned for the summer of 2026.

Partner Church Team members, together with Unity's Art Team and the Archives Team, have laid out an engaging display in Robbins Parlor of our partnership history including many images, videos and a timeline. Please stop by to take a look!

Transylvania featured in National Geographic

Check out the July 2025 National Geographic article about Transylvania. Our friends are quoted!

Pilgrimage Reflections from Cairns

Many of the Unity Church members who have made the pilgrimage to Transylvania have shared reflections, art, and photography in Cairns: The Unity Church Journal of the Arts. The following documents are taken from Cairns Vol. 10 and 11.

2024 Pilgrimage