Matthew Long’s spiritual journey has been long, with experiences with Eastern and Western religious movements including yoga, Taoism, Buddhism, mind dynamics, and metaphysics, as well as Christianity.
His path has led him to Independence Township, where he founded a Peace Unity Church this past June.
Long joined Peace Unity in the early 1980’s, while he and his wife Kathy Long were living in Alaska. When going to college in Oregon, Kathy would take to Peace Unity services his grandmother, who had been a member since World War I.
When his grandmother visited them in Alaska, she and Kathy talked Matthew into coming along. By that time, he was not a particularly religious person, but he went along anyway.
‘I enjoyed the talk the pastor gave ? I kept coming back,? Matthew Long said. ‘After a few years, I started teaching a Bible class. It became my life.?
He attended classes at the Association of Unity Churches headquarters in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and became a minister in 1988. He was pastor of a church in Oregon for 15 years, and ministered in Lake Orion, Mich., for three years before coming to Independence Township to serve as pastor. While establishing the church, the congregation is meeting at Sashabaw Presbyterian Church, 5300 Maybee Road.
Long lives in Brandon Township with his wife, who is also a minister and a teacher at Upland Hills School, and their sons Elijah, 12, and Isaac, 8.
He is reaching out to his neighbors in Clarkston with his church’s message of spiritual peace. The faith, described as a Bible-based, practical Christianity, accepts that many faiths lead to the same God, like spokes on a bicycle wheel converge in the center, he said.
‘We offer a unique blend of spiritual practices,? he said. ‘There is great wisdom in all these religious paths.?
Through the Peace Unity church, he wants to bring awareness of peace into the community, establish a center for prayer, peace studies, and healing, and help people learn a holistic, spiritual approach to life.
‘Peace Unity centers around ideas of peace and prosperity,? he said.
Long enjoys gardening, which fits in with his faith’s belief in stewardship of the environment as a way of honoring all God’s creation.
‘It’s incredible, when you farm, out of nothing comes an abundant harvest,? he said.
The produce goes to his family and to the community, for those in need.
‘I always plant extra,? he said.
The church meets at Sashabaw Presbyterian at 9 a.m. Sundays for worship service and Children’s Church. For more information, call 248-891-4365.