Eric Butterworth
This certificate recognizes Eric Butterworth's successful completion of the Unity School of Christianity's Correspondence School Department courses.
Seminary, Ordination, and Ministry
Eric Butterworth was raised in Unity. His mother, May, was ordained as a Unity minister in 1941, only a few years ahead of her son. Both Eric and his sister Margaret were involved with Youth of Unity (YOU) and attended annual conferences. In 1940, Eric was elected to the board of directors for YOU. He attended ministerial school at Unity Village, Missouri, from 1938 to 1941. After his service in the Army during World War II, he returned to ministerial school from 1946 to 1947. He was ordained as a Unity minister in 1948.
Prior to ordination in 1948, Butterworth served Unity Society of Practical Christianity in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1946–1947 and the Unity Center of Rockford, Illinois, in 1947. In 1949 he moved to Pittsburgh but left in 1950 to establish his ministry at Detroit Unity Temple. It was here that Butterworth’s gift was recognized. With his wife Catherine, Eric created the largest Unity center at the time with more than 2,000 people attending each Sunday.
After 10 years in Detroit they moved to begin Butterworth’s ministry in New York City, which spanned the next four decades. Here Butterworth reached thousands of people at Sunday services and with his weekly radio programs."
Eric Butterworth Unity School of Christianity Completion Certificate, December 12, 1946
