Terry Cole-Whittaker (December 3, 1939 – October 22, 2024) was a

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a new religious movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy ...

author, United Church of Religious Science Minister, and the founder of Terry Cole-Whittaker Ministries and Adventures in Enlightenment.

History

Cole-Whittaker became familiar with what she called the "Principals of Prosperity" through the actions of a teacher in high school. She would go on to enter the Mrs. America Pageant, in 1968 becoming Mrs. California and winning third place in the national competition. She later joined the

Los Angeles Civic Light Opera The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera (LACLO) was an American theatre/opera company in Los Angeles, California. Founded under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner" in 1938 by impresario Edwin Lester, the organization presented fifty season ...

and became an opera singer. She also started a company, Success Plus, where she was an inspirational speaker. She earned a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

degree in 1973, was ordained as a Minister of the United Church of Religious Science in 1975 and became the Pastor of a fifty-member congregation of that church in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

in 1977. The church drew as many as 5,000 people for

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

, and eventually expanded to include a grammar school, a ministry school, and five teaching centers. She began a television program in 1979, which, at the time, was syndicated to fifteen television stations in the country. Stressing “You can have it all — now!"Victor Bondi, ed. ''American Decades: 1980-1989'' (Detroit: Gale Research, 1996), 392. In 1982, Cole-Whittaker left the United Church of Religious Science and founded Terry Cole-Whittaker Ministries. She drew over 4,000 people to her weekly services and provided them with newsletters and instructional videos. Her celebrity parishioners included

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod ( ; born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's ''The Love ...

Linda Gray Linda Ann Gray (born September 12, 1940) is an American actress, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the CBS television drama series ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'' (1978� ...

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...

, and

Eydie Gormé Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who achieved notable success in pop, Latin, and jazz genres. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on a ...

.“Abrupt Exit: The Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker, Woman evangelist's goodbye”, ''Time Magazine'' (Monday, Apr. 22, 1985). Despite raising $6 million in 1984, her ministry raked in a debt of around $900,000 in 1985,Jenifer Waren, �
Terry Cole-Whittaker Says Goodby to Her Congregation
��, ''Los Angeles Times'' (Apr. 8, 1985). prompting her to cease production of the Emmy award winning television show and leave her congregation during Easter.Armando Acuna, �

��, ''Los Angeles Times'' (Feb. 28, 1986). By October, she had created a new Foundation, Adventures in Enlightenment, which organized tours to meet with her one-on-one in exotic locations, e.g.,

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...

, the Himalayas. The Foundation later purchased land in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

to build a retreat center and start an organic farm. She later started an

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to teach Westerners traditional Indian religion.

Published works

* ''What You Think of Me is None of My Business (1979)'' * ''How to Have More in a Have Not World (1983) New York Times Best seller'' * ''The Inner Path from Where you are to Where you Want to be (1986)'' * ''Dare to Be Great (2001)'' * ''Creating Your Destiny – A Remarkable Guide to Making Decisions that Give You Happiness and Prosperity'' * ''Every Saint Has a Past, Every Sinner a Future: Seven Steps to the Spiritual and Material Riches'' * ''Love and Power in a World Without Limits, Women’s Guide to the Goddess Within'' * ''Live Your Bliss (2009)''

References

External links

ISBNdb search of author's works

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole-Whitaker, Terry 1939 births 2024 deaths Mrs. America (contest) delegates New Thought writers Writers from San Diego Clergy from San Diego Religious Science clergy

History

Published works

References

Further reading

External links