The membership of One Spirit Center for Conscious Living in Simi Valley voted last week to change its name to Center for Spiritual Living.

The new name is part of a national movement by the church to clarify the organization's identity and mission.

Religious Science International (RSI) chartered the local church in 1985. For its first 17 years, it was known as the Simi Valley Church of Religious Science.

"There was a lot of confusion with our former name. The term 'religious science' is confusing to people," said James Lockard, spiritual leader of the center. "People mistook it for Scientology, which it is not."

Dennis Merritt Jones, the church's founder, changed the name to One Spirit Center for Conscious Living in 2003 to avoid such confusion. Other Religious Science churches around the country did the same.

"Many individual centers changed to unique names," Lockard said. "So if you were looking for a church with our teaching, you couldn't necessarily find it under a unified name."

One year ago, the International Centers for Spiritual Living (formally RSI) began a branding process to unite the centers under one name.

"We brought in a branding consultant who did market research," Lockard said. "This gave us a better idea on how to present ourselves in a clear and consistent way."

The 150-memeber congregation voted last week to make the name change official at the local church.

"We honor all paths to God. The idea is to help people find their own personal sense of spirituality," Lockard said. "Everyone is welcome."

The Center for Spiritual Living has ongoing classes on spiritual living, psychological principles, and sacred literature and practices. A youth program, men's and women's groups, and many community outreach activities are offered.

The center is at 1756 Erringer Road. Sunday services are at 10 a.m. After Jan. 4, services will be at 9 and 10:30 a.m.