Great Teachers

In 1941 Mind Remakes Your World was commissioned by the International New Thought Alliance for the 93rd Congress of 2008, with the added sub-title of "New Thought Philosophy and Methods of Practice".

Dr. Blaine C. Mays (INTA President) wrote in the introduction:

"Each article in this book comes from the heart and soul passionately dedicated to teaching and living the Truth message of New Thought. Through each of these writer's lectures, sermons, and classes, as well as countless publications, each has contributed immeasurably to the spiritual awakening of members of the family of humanity. So helping to bring forth a little more of heaven on earth.

May you feel each writer's fervor as you read each article in the book of light, wisdom, and spiritual empowerment."

This book can be purchased through the Addington/INTA Archives - Mesa, Arizona U.S.A

Dr. Sue Sikking (1899-1992) was the founder and minister of Unity-by-the-Sea Church in Santa Monica, California. She established her church at 1245 4th St. in 1944, and served as its minister for the next four decades.
Dr. Sue was a pioneer in a profession that had predominately been held by men. In 1972 she told The Times that, "A lot of the work is helping people to face life - and women can do this well."  She proved this by raising 5 children with her husband Arthur, while working with a congregation of 5,000, travel lecturing across the U.S, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and Japan. She wrote a number of books and had a radio show, "A Letter to Adam."
Art and 3 of their 5 children all chose to work in the ministry following Dr. Sue's example. She became a minister at age 35 out of gratitude to God for her recovery after a nearly fatal automobile accident. Her sons Tom and Robert (Bob) and daughter Joy (Turowski) were wonderful teachers in their own right. We can reflect here on a wonderful anecdote about Dr. Sue and Bob. He served in the 101st Airborne during WWII and we believe he was a partial inspiration for Stephen Speilberg and Tom Hanks production Band of Brothers. Bob was awarded several prestigious medals.

Rev. P. Joanna Rogers shares this story about Dr. Sue:

Mama Sue (affectionately first called so by our children) knew that Bob’s dangerous missions included parachuting, she called Charles Fillmore to ask how she could pray for him. Charles replied DO NOT PRAY FOR HIM for you may in your anxiety prevent him from hearing God warning about a sniper in the next tree.
As you see he came safely through and went on to eventually became head of the Unity Movement in England, where we first met him, and head of the Unity Ministers Association.
It was when Dr. Sue came to England to give a seminar with Eric Butterworth, that we met her. She invited Frederick to go back to the States with her as her assistant while he took ministerial training. We eventually joined him, and lived with Dr. Sue for awhile in her house filled with Chinese antiques including a full setting of Canton Rose china. One day she invited Masahauru Taniguchi (1893-1985 founder of Seicho-No-Le the largest New Thought organization in the world) the head of the movement in Japan over and wanted me to serve the tea with that china. In trepidation at handling something that should be in a museum, I made a bargain with her that I would do as she requested if she would wash the china afterwards. We both kept our bargain and enjoyed the experience.
Out of this meeting came an invitation for her to speak in Japan, on arrival she was a little taken aback when she found that she had to be at the temple by 5 o’clock in the morning. On arrival she found over 5,000 eagerly awaiting her and actually having to stand in order to get so many into the building.
Our desire is that many of you have such anecdotes about some of our founders that will help those coming along, who are not even familiar with their names, to not be left with just a name or a faded book. They can realize that the struggles and challenges they are faced with have already been walked through by our founders, with their faith in the Divine Order of their God given assignment.

Dr. Carmelita Trowbridge
July 16, 1898 - March 1, 1992

"Dr. Trowbridge, or “Carmelita” as she was affectionately known to her students ... was surely her mother`s child:  high-spirited, an original thinker, with a quality of perpetual youth and a zest for new ideas. Taught to think for herself, it was only natural that she became somewhat of a maverick, someone whom the dictionary defines as an independently minded person who does not conform to the dictates of any particular group. It may have been this independent spirit that led her to drop her inherited religion of the Roman Catholic church."

More information on Dr. Trowbridge can be found on Michael Terranova's site www.emmacurtishopkins.com.

Dr. Sarah Estelle Akens was born December 2, 1909 in Armington, Illinois. Sarah was the 7th of 12 children born to John M. and Kiturah Leaser. According to a chronology found at the Spiritual Living Archives & Library Foundation she loved school, but did not graduate or attend college. But later in life she was able to earn not one, but two Doctorate of Divinities. She married and moved from Illinois to California in 1931 where her son was born 2 years later. After a divorce she moved with her son to Alhambra where she eventually found Dr. Carmelita Trowbridge. This was the beginning of her wonderful career.

Some of Dr. Sarah Akens work is shared here by Rev. P. Joanna Rogers:

I first met Dr. Sarah when she came to Tucson whilst we were looking for a new Minister. She conducted classes for Practitioners of which I was a member. Her time as a student of Carmelita Trowbridge firmly grounded her in the absolute teachings of Emma Curtis Hopkins as well as a student of Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science, who also received teaching from Emma. This she followed her whole life in the Ministry. Like Leila Simpson, as related in our item on the Cincinnati Temple, she came to relay upon God for her good and the good of the churches she led.
One of her precepts was that each of her practitioners had to be able to go out and teach, this led to my wonderful years as a leader in Green Valley, a retirement community 25 miles south of Tucson. Eventually on to an independent ministry based on the teachings of Emma Curtis Hopkins.
In later years, after she retired as the permanent leader of a congregation, she was chosen to take interim position, specifically to heal a congregation who were between minister and bring them to a point of moving forward in acceptance of a permanent leader.
I valued her continuing friendship as she kept track of our efforts to teach Emma, and I know how pleased she would have been at the results due to her influence that have borne fruit in our publishing so much of Emma’s true teachings.

As a side note the beautiful fellowship hall Dr Sarah had built joining the Sanctuary and the Sunday school in the Tucson church held its first reception - for my daughter’s wedding.