Our Minister

Rev. B.J.'s Office Hours
By phone or appointment

Home: (785) 823-9149
Cell: (785) 577-2819
Email: revbjbanks@gmail.com

Please reach out to me anytime.

Rev. Banks is available for spiritual counseling, personal prayer work, home and hospital visitation, and for sharing special services such as memorial or celebration of life services, weddings and christenings. She offers weekly spiritual study classes available to our members and the general public.

You, dear friends, are invited to join us.

Rev. B.J. Banks

Rev. BJ has served as pastor for Unity Spiritual Center of Manhattan, sometimes also called Unity Church of Manhattan, since May 2016.
Rev. B. J. was ordained as Unity minister in1986. She first served as minister of Unity church of Salina from 1984-1992, initially as student minister, and subsequently as full-time pastor. She originally hails from the east – Newark, NJ, but has been calling Salina, KS her home since 1985.

History:
In May of 1992, Rev. Banks began full time employment at Hospira, Inc., a pharmaceutical production company in McPherson, KS until her retirement in 2013. While at Hospira, she worked as a first line supervisor in the Production Department.

B. J. received an undergraduate degree in business and accounting from Essex Country College in her home town of Newark, NJ and attended Rutgers University prior to entry into ministerial school.

B. J. worked jointly for the US Government and the American Cancer Society from 1972 until 1982 as a histology technician, in the field of Lung Cancer research at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Orange, NJ.

Personal:
B. J. grew up with mom and dad, an older brother, an identical twin sister and two younger sisters in Newark, NJ. Born to a vocally talented mother, she and her sisters learned to sing harmony from an early age, and loved to supply the background “do wops” for their Mom when singing at home. B. J. still loves to sing, especially in groups. She currently serves as the president of the Salina Chorale, a 65 member ensemble in Salina, KS.
BJ loves writing and recording inspirational music and songs in her home studio. BJ is also passionate about photography. She specializes in macrophotography, the art of magnifying and photographing tiny things, or aspects of things which are difficult for the eye to observe or see without magnification, because, she says, “it presents a whole world most people never really see when they just look casually at life.”

This same sense of observation of intricacies carries into her love of study in the teachings of Unity and the metaphysical/spiritual aspects of the Christian Bible and of the various religions of the world. B. J. has a great respect and has found great value in the study of the holy books and the teachings of many of the world’s religions.

Most importantly, BJ enjoys sharing the spiritual ideas and tools available in the Unity teachings and the teachings of many faiths that help us to live our best lives. She loves giving classes and workshops on a variety of spiritual and life topics and combines stories and humor to inspire listeners to discover what it means to be spiritual beings who are expressions of God, which is Divine Love.

BJ delights in the “Ah-ha” moments - when insight and revelation combine in heart and mind and we realize that God, as love, as peace, as joy and as every true fulfillment we seek, dwells within us, and always moves us towards our highest good, when we allow it to.

In Sunday Talks and classes, Rev. Banks shares the message that we are loved eternally and without condition by God, not a being apart or outside of ourselves, but a living presence which expresses as us and through us as Spirit/Soul, Divine Love - our true Self in the world. It is the nature of Divine Love to declare that we are always enough and worthy to be loved- no matter what.

B.J. says, “I am delighted and honored to be invited to serve the members and friends of Unity Spiritual Center of Manhattan and hold this as a sacred trust. I am excited to be working with all of you to as we come together to work, play and grow spiritually here at USCM. Blessings of Light, Love, Joy and an Abundant Life are sent to all. God bless you.”