Rev. Tom Catlin, Senior Minister
Rev. Tom was born and raised in the Chicago area and attended the United Methodist church for most of his growing up years. He graduated from Denison University in Ohio. After living in California for awhile he went to six months of training in Europe and became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation in 1974. Later he got a two-year degree in heating and air conditioning from the College of Lake County, Illinois and began a career in energy conservation work, first for a private contractor and then for a non-profit agency called the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago.
Tom felt guided to start attending the Unity Church of Evanston, Illinois, and going to retreats and classes at Unity Village. After serving as board president of that church he went to ministerial school at Unity in 1988. He was ordained, and started serving at the Unity Church of Prescott in 1990. He will celebrate his 20th year in ministry at the Prescott church in 2010.
“Unity is a remarkable spiritual path that acknowledges the universal principles that underlie all religions. That was important for me since I found value in both Christian and Eastern spiritual traditions. For me, it has become a positive way of life that has blessed me enormously. Meditation has long been important to me, and Unity’s grounding in prayer and meditation are powerful means for transformation. My wife, Pam, and I love this spiritual community we have been so blessed to be a part of these years. Time flies when you get to do something you love, with people you love.”
__________________________________________________________
Rev. Charli Tupper, Associate Minister
Rev. Charli was born Anita Charlene Cassels on March 16, 1955. The 
greatest spiritual influence in her life were her maternal grandparents, especially her grandfather who was a Deacon in the Presbyterian Church. Although her family attended church on a regular basis, the churcheschanged often. She attended Presbyterian, Methodist, Covenant, and Baptist churches with her family. As a young teenager she attended non-denominational, charismatic churches on her own. These churches had a deep impact on her spiritual development and brought in a wider and deeper relationship with God.
At the age of seven, Charli had a thought that stayed in the back of her mind, and would resurface periodically. This thought was, “When I grow up, I want to be a minister.” There were several reasons why Charli did not pursue ministry; the largest being that in the denominations she was raised in, women were not allowed to be ministers. She recalls once going to a church with her fiance and the minister looked at him and said, “One day you, too, will be a minister,” and thought, “you have the wrong person.”
In 1972, she married Denis Tupper. They had two children, Dan and Julie, who are the joy of her life. Denis was raised Catholic, and so they decided to attend the Episcopal Church. Charli attended the Episcopal Church with Dan and Julie for over 16 years. She served as a Sunday School Teacher, was a member of the Vestry, participated in a Lay Ministry program, designed and organized a Seder Dinner every year, and even sang in the choir for awhile. One Sunday during the service she had an experience that changed her relationship with God forever. Although her experience of God was even deeper than ever, she felt she could no longer attend an organized church. This was somewhat disturbing since she loved being part of a spiritual community.
She found her way to a Course in Miracles group, and found some community there; however, it was not the same. When Charli moved to Prescott in 1998, she heard about the Unity Church a few different times, and agreed to try it. She was skeptical, and yet hopeful at the same time. She first stepped foot in the Unity Church of Prescott on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in 1998, and she knew she was in her right place.
Charli jumped in with both feet. Rev. Tom hired her as the Volunteer Coordinator in February of 2000 and her responsibilities continued to expand from there. One of her favorite positions was managing the Spiritual Resource Center for four years. She also began taking Unity Classes for credit with the Unity Institute. Many of those classes were provided at Unity of Prescott, but she also traveled to Walnut Creek, California, on two occasions, and Unity Village several times to complete the coursework necessary to become a Licensed Unity Teacher.
In the fall of 2004, Charli asked Rev. Tom and the Board of Trustees to support her application for Ministerial School through the Association’s Field Licensing Program; and when accepted to support her through the four-year program. Charli was accepted into the Ministerial Program in March of 2005, and was licensed as a Unity Minister in March of 2006, 2007, and 2008.
On March 21, 2009, her life-long dream was fulfilled when Rev. Tom Catlin ordained her here at Unity of Prescott.