From collection Person List
Considered a legend in the Unity movement, Eric Butterworth served as a Unity minister for over 55 years and authored 14 books and hundreds of essays. As a leader in New Thought, he conducted his Spiritual Therapy Workshops for over 35 years, and his radio program, Eric Butterworth Speaks, was broadcast for almost 40 years. Butterworth was a gifted theologian, philosopher, scholar, and educator whose life was dedicated to helping people discover the power within. Butterworth also played a vital role in the organization of the Association of Unity Churches, and served Unity centers in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and New York City.
Throughout his life, his teaching focused on the divinity of all people, and his desire was that everyone would know their oneness with God. His powerful, positive message inspired hundreds of thousands of people from various religious backgrounds. Oprah Winfrey praised Discover the Power Within You and said it was her favorite book in her personal library. Dr. Maya Angelou called Butterworth her “teacher." Butterworth dedicated his life to helping people to help themselves.
He was born Wilfred Eric Butterworth on September 12, 1916, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Wilfred and May Butterworth. The couple emigrated to Southern California in 1923. From 1933 through 1938, Butterworth attended Compton Junior College and Fresno State University and pursued graduate studies in music at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Beginning in 1938, Butterworth attended the Unity School of Christianity in Unity Village, Missouri, and worked at Silent Unity and as an assistant minister at the Unity Society of Practical Christianity.
In 1941, Butterworth was drafted into the United States Army and became a lieutenant in the medical corps, where he also served as chaplain. In 1943, while serving at Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas, Butterworth was naturalized as a United States citizen. When Butterworth was discharged from the military, he returned to Unity Village. He participated in the Silent Unity Training Program and worked for the Silent Unity Prayer Ministry. He was ordained as a Unity minister in 1948. (Both Butterworth’s mother and sister were also ordained Unity ministers.)
For a brief period, Butterworth served the Unity Center of Rockford, Illinois, and the Unity Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From 1949 to 1961, Butterworth served as senior minister for Unity in Detroit, Michigan. Under Butterworth’s guidance, this ministry evolved into the largest Unity Center in the nation at that time. Butterworth also oversaw the construction of a 1500-seat, multimillion-dollar Unity Temple, the largest Unity church building of its time. It was Butterworth’s popularity as a speaker and lecturer that grew the congregation. It was also in Detroit where Butterworth began his popular radio program Eric Butterworth Speaks.
From 1961 to 2003, Butterworth served the Unity Center of New York City, New York. As his popularity grew, he lectured at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. Butterworth’s congregation grew to 2,000, due in part to his popular radio broadcasts and his book sales. Eric Butterworth Speaks, a 15-minute radio program, was broadcast seven days a week for 38 years without a break. He began his daily broadcasts with the words, “You can change your life by altering your thoughts.”
Eric Butterworth died peacefully on Thursday, April 17, 2003. The Eric Butterworth Foundation was founded in 2004, to ensure the ongoing availability of Eric Butterworth’s writings and recordings and to create a permanent archive of his works.
