About Us
Unity of Milwaukee
Unity Center in Milwaukee is dedicated to teaching spiritual truth; awakening individuals to the indwelling Christ – I AM; and putting into practice Universal Laws of Love, Peace, Prosperity, and Healing.
To expand global awareness with our LOVING GOD
More than 125 years of Unity in Milwaukee
For more than 125 years, people in Milwaukee have gathered together to explore spiritual truth, find community, and support one another on the journey of life.
The earliest known record of our congregation appears in the September 6, 1896 edition of the Chicago Chronicle. At that time, we were known as Unity Church of Christianity. Rev. Helen Stuart Richings was our minister, and the congregation numbered approximately 75 people.
Over the years, the congregation grew and changed, but the desire to create a loving spiritual community remained at the heart of who we were.
By 1958, the congregation had grown to approximately 150 people, including about 40 children in Sunday School. That year, five-year-old Russell Gnant - who would eventually become our Board President - began attending Sunday School.
The church was then located at the corner of North Avenue and Prospect Avenue in Milwaukee, in a former funeral home. Members came from throughout the Milwaukee area, including many from the western suburbs. Before the construction of I-94, the journey to church could take as long as an hour.
In 1960, a group of parishioners established Unity West at 4750 N. Mayfair Road in Wauwatosa. The new congregation flourished, eventually growing to approximately 200 people. For more than 40 years, Milwaukee was home to two thriving Unity communities. Unity West closed its doors in 2013 as its congregation gradually declined.
Meanwhile, in 1973, Unity Church of Christianity moved to 73rd Street in Wauwatosa and became Unity Church in Milwaukee.
For more than five decades, 73rd Street was our spiritual home.
It was more than a building. It was a place where people came to worship, learn, celebrate, grieve, make friends, raise families, discover their spiritual paths, and experience the transforming power of community. Generation after generation added their own stories to the life of our congregation.
In the spring of 2026, after more than 50 years at 73rd Street, we sold our building.
And once again, we find ourselves at the beginning of a new chapter.
We carry with us the prayers, wisdom, friendships, laughter, lessons, and memories of all those who came before us. We carry the spirit of the people who gathered in Milwaukee in 1896, the children who filled Sunday School in 1958, the families who built Unity West, and the countless people who made 73rd Street their spiritual home.
The building changes. The community continues.
Today, we look toward the future with faith, hope, and excitement as we seek our next spiritual home and imagine what Unity Church in Milwaukee can become for generations to come.
Our story is not ending.
Help Us Continue the Story
Our history is still being discovered.
If you have photographs, documents, newsletters, newspaper clippings, or personal stories from earlier years of Unity Church in Milwaukee, we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you remember a minister, a special event, a beloved tradition, or simply a story about what this community meant to you or your family.
Every memory helps us better understand the journey that brought us to where we are today.
If you have something to share, please contact us. We’d love to add your piece of the story to our history.