Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Journey of Discovery – New-member Class Series Table of Contents
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Message from the Minister………………………………………...... 2 The Church is People………………………………………………… 4 The Seven Principles and Six Sources…………………………….. 5 UUSIC Mission and Vision Statements…………………………….. 7 UUSIC Right Relations Agreement…………………………………. 8 Welcoming Congregation……………………………………………. 10 Governance……………………………………………………………. 12 Frequently Asked Questions………………………………………… 13 Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith…………………. 15 Famous Unitarian Universalists…………………………………….. 19 Infidels and Unbelievers: UUSIC’s First 50 Years………………... 21 Brief History of UUSIC……………………………………………….. 23 UUSIC Historical Information Sources……………………………… 27
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Journey of Discovery
From our Minister:
I’m glad you’re considering membership in UUSIC. Choosing to join a church is a powerful act that reflects a desire to grow spiritually and to discover who you are meant to be.
As a member of this church, you will be encouraged to ask life’s most important questions and challenged to seek answers through worship, reflection, education, spiritual practices, relationships, and service.
You will be cherished for your unique gifts, talents, and wisdom and invited to celebrate these qualities in others. You will join fellow travelers who find joy in Unitarian Universalism as a lifelong journey rather than a destination.
You will be part of a living tradition that affirms diversity, freedom, and reason, a free faith that seeks to touch the human heart, change the lives of those who say ‘yes’ to its call, and transform the world with love. I look forward to welcoming you as a member.
--The Reverend Steven Protzman
To become a member:
Read the Journey of Discovery information folder
Affirm the Seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Support the mission and vision of the Society
Participate in new-member classes
Attend services and participate in the life of the church as you are able. Weekly worship cements the bonds of community and keeps our attention directed to our highest values while nurturing our spirits.
Contribute time and talent. Congregations work because their members find ways to give of themselves, whether through singing in the choir, educating children, sharing their passion for social justice, organizing, cooking, and greeting, to name a few. Finding ways to give back nurtures your soul and supports your own growth.
Sign the membership and Covenant of Right Relations books
Participate in the New-member Covenant Ceremony and the new-member reception
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Privileges and Benefits of Membership
Participate and vote on congregational issues such as approving annual budgets and resolutions, electing officers and other representatives, and calling ministers to serve. Responsible participation included imagining the needs of the entire congregation rather than focusing only on one’s own needs or desires. Consider how issues affect all members of the congregation as well as potential members and others in the world outside of the congregation.
o Voting members must be at least 14 years of age and have made a contribution of record to the annual operating budget
Participate in your choice of the many opportunities for involvement
Have complimentary child dedications, weddings, celebrations, and memorial services
Receive pastoral care and UNI-Care services
Further the mission and vision of the congregation and discover where your passions and gifts meet the needs of the world
Be part of a community that journeys together and assist you in discovering who you really are
When you are ready to become a member, contact:
Carol Throckmorton, Congregational Life Coordinator [email protected], or (319) 337-3443
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The Church is People
By Janet H. Bowering
A church is people. It is not a body of belief, a set of principles, or an impressive structure of stone, wood, and glass. A church has roots in the past no matter how recently the congregation was organized. A church represents a long procession of people willing to work with others toward shared goals, worship with others of similar belief, and hold in honor the wise and courageous people who have gone before them.
The people who constitute a church come with their needs as well as their gifts. To the extent that they can share their concerns and vulnerabilities and become sensitive to those of others, they will be part of a beloved community. A church consists of people who are not too sure they are right, who are willing to be somewhat uncomfortable in order to correct what they see as wrong. It is made up of people who order their priorities and choose their way with a generous spirit (and often considerable rhetoric).
In a church there are those who are practical about institutional needs as well as the needs of the human family. There are people who understand our interdependent web of existence, those who can share the poetry they find in the stars, and those who can circulate a petition to save the wetlands.
There are those who can speak out against nuclear madness and those who can remember that the roof needs mending. Churches need people who can help feed the hungry of the world and people who can help feed the hunger deep within the souls of those gathered.
A church is composed of people who continue in the long procession knowing that others will follow—others for whom they must make a better world, to whom they owe a heritage of carefully examined discoveries and challenging possibilities. A church is made up of people eager to be part of that procession yet fiercely aware of their individual identities within it and alert to the fragility of the relationship.
A church is a granite base and a silken web, a crystal ball and a cup of fire.
Janet H. Bowering: Minister emerita, Universalist, Unitarian Church of Haverhill, Massachusetts. Published on January 11, 2010, in www.uuworld.org
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
The Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism
We, the members of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:
1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
Unitarian Universalism draws from many sources:
Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life
Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love
Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life
Jewish and Christian teaching which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves
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Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit
Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
UUSIC Mission and Vision Statements
Our Mission Statement:
We are a diverse spiritual community that touches hearts, changes lives, and transforms the world.
Our Vision Statement:
We are a loving, inclusive and growing spiritual community. We celebrate life and a liberal tradition that leads social justice, heals the earth, and nurtures the lifelong journey of mind and spirit.
Mission Goals:
1. We provide intergenerational worship services to educate, inspire, celebrate, and nurture our Unitarian Universalist community.
2. We provide lifespan religious education to support the intellectual and spiritual growth of our children, members, friends and the wider community.
3. We practice shared ministry and build caring, supportive relationships within a diverse congregation.
4. We take action to create an environmentally sustainable culture, both within our congregation and in the wider community, through education and advocacy.
5. We work for social justice on behalf of those who are oppressed or in need, through education, direct service, financial support, and advocacy.
6. We provide facilities that meet the needs of our congregation and advance our principles and our mission.
7. We promote our principles and programs in the wider community and welcome those with whom our principles resonate.
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UUSIC Right Relations Agreement
Unitarian Universalism is a non-creedal faith. In the absence of doctrine or dogma, we are held together by covenant. Our agreement is to walk together toward the life we seek to lead.
Our Right Relations Agreement is a set of values, not a set of rules. It is a statement of how we choose to be in relationship with each other. As we practice these values, we make our congregation a safer place—a place where we can explore freely, where we can work together for justice and spiritual depth, where we can practice loving disagreement. Through this practice we model our Unitarian Universalist Principles for one another, our children, and the wider community.
The Agreement:
We, as members of the beloved community that is UUSIC, share in the expectation that each of us will:
Celebrate diversity as a source of energy, inspiration, and growth
Model the behaviors we all aspire to: Loving kindness, responsibility, gratitude, accountability, and forgiveness
Work to sustain a safe environment that encourages us to share our values and beliefs and nurtures our spiritual growth
Communicate with mutual respect in order to better understand one another, realizing that we may ultimately agree to disagree
Have the courage to discuss our values, beliefs, opinions, feelings, and reactions with those who do not share them, as well as with those who do
Take responsibility for personally addressing issues as we encounter them through dialog with the appropriate individual or group
Be accountable for our words and actions, realizing that no one of us is perfect. We seek as well as offer forgiveness and respond with compassion if our words have been unintentionally hurtful
Support collaboration by asking for and offering help, and express our gratitude to others for their efforts
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Engage in congregational decision-making, actively seeking and sharing information, and supporting the decisions made by the congregation
Understand that we are stewards of our community who must look to tomorrow as well as today, and recognize that our participation in the beloved community is essential if we want to survive and prosper.
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Welcoming Congregation
Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ History & Facts
Major Resolutions in Support of LGBTQ People
Unitarian Universalists have passed many resolutions and actions on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues. The first General Assembly resolution on this topic passed in 1970, urging the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to work to end discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals. (www.uua.org/lgbtq/history/27682.shtml).
In 1980, a General Assembly resolution urged the UUA to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in regards to employment, and assist in the settlement of lesbian, gay, and bisexual religious leaders.
In 1984, a General Assembly resolution affirmed the practice of conducting services of union for gay and lesbian couples. Another resolution in support of full marriage equality passed in 1996.
The first resolution to affirm transgender individuals and identity passed at General Assembly in 2007 and urged the expression of this affirmation through employment practices, educational efforts, congregational life, and public witness, as well as encouraging congregations to explore the differences between sexual orientation and transgender identity.
Over the last 4 decades, resolutions and actions on immediate witness have been passed at General Assembly regarding discrimination, AIDS, the military, sexual education in public schools, marriage equality, the employment non- discrimination act, and more.
Welcoming Congregations
Unitarian Universalism began teaching about gay issues to youth in 1971 in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) curriculum About Your Sexuality (now called Our Whole Lives (www.uua.org/re/owl/index.shtml)).
In 1989, a General Assembly resolution urged the UUA to implement the Welcoming Congregation program (www.uua.org/lgbtq/welcoming/program/index.shtml) (proposed by the Common Vision Planning Committee and approved by the UUA Board of Trustees), and the first edition of the curriculum was published in 1990.
First Parish of Brewster, MA, became the first recognized Welcoming Congregation in 1991. By 1996 there were 57 recognized Welcoming Congregations; in 2000 25% of all UU congregations were recognized as
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Welcoming Congregations.
As of May 2012, there are 697 UU Welcoming Congregations in the United States (64% of U.S. congregations), and all but 3 Canadian congregations are recognized as Welcoming (94%).
When broken down by size, 95% of U.S. congregations with more than 150 members are recognized as Welcoming Congregations. 50% of U.S. congregations with 150 members or less are recognized as Welcoming. Read more (www.uua.org/lgbtq/welcoming/program/186432.shtml).
Marriage Equality
The first ceremony of union performed by a UU minister for a same gender couple was reportedly done in the late 1950s. It became more commonplace in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1984, a General Assembly resolution affirmed the practice of conducting services of union for gay and lesbian couples. Another resolution in support of full marriage equality passed in 1996.
In 2003 Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to legalize same gender marriage without the decision being overturned. (It is legal in all of Canada.) Seven of the 14 plaintiff couples that brought suit against the state of MA identified as UU. The first same gender couple to get a marriage license in MA, in May 2004, was a UU couple and it was issued by the UU city clerk.
In 2004 the UUA President’s Freedom to Marry Fund was launched.
In 2009 Standing on the Side of Love (www.standingonthesideoflove.com) was launched, a public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression. The campaign provides a platform for marriage equality efforts, among other causes.
The UUA has received more publicity on its work for equal marriage (www.uua.org/lgbtq/witness/marriage/index.shtml) than any other issue.
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Governance
“Congregational polity” is the Unitarian Universalist technical term for the way in which churches, fellowships and societies of this denomination are governed. In plain English, we govern ourselves. We select our own ministers, raise and spend our own money for salaries, building upkeep, supplies, and community outreach as established in budgets we set for ourselves. We exist without any need for such hierarchical figures or structures as bishops, archbishops, presbyteries, dioceses, stakes or synods. The UUSIC is one of over 1,000 self-governing UU congregations in North America.
Which is not to say that we have no structure at all. The Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City is a member of the national Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), which serves our own and other congregations in a wide variety of ways, including helping churches “match up” with ministers who meet and understand our interests and needs and providing consultants for fund-raising. A wealth of information on Unitarian Universalism can be found at the UUA website: www.uua.org. The UUA magazine, UU World, brings worldwide thought and concerns into UU homes every other month.
Our congregation is a member of the UUA MidAmerica regional organization, which is made up of twelve midwestern states. Members and delegates meet annually to share program ideas.
The UUSIC congregation elects its own leadership in the form of a board of directors, which is composed of a president, vice president, past president, secretary, and treasurer. Trustees guide the society’s finance, program, buildings and grounds, and administration. Board members serve three-year terms. Long-standing and ad hoc committees provide many opportunities for participation.
Congregational meetings are held twice per year, one in January to approve the annual budget and a second, in May to elect officers.
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Frequently asked questions about UUSIC
1. What Is the UUSIC?
The Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City has existed as a church in Iowa City since 1839. The Unitarians and Universalist churches joined nationally in 1961. Our staff includes: Reverend Steven Protzman, Jessica Zimmer-Saltzman (Director of Religious Education), Gloria Corbin (Music Director), Carol Throckmorton (Congregational Life Coordinator), and Emma Barnum (Office Administrator). They all can be reached at 337-3443.
2. What do Unitarian Universalists believe?
UU's believe we are personally responsible for own religious journeys and that we must act on our values for the good of our families, communities and our world. By respecting others, by valuing differences, by focusing on what can be accomplished to bring equality, peace and justice to the world, our lives have meaning and our influence will live on through what we have contributed to others.
3. What is the focus of the children's religious education classes?
The Religious Education (RE) program is geared to helping all children develop at their levels the ability to take on the responsibility of their own religious journeys and to act on the values they develop. By providing experiences and information about many religions and encouraging a questioning mindset, the RE program assists children of all ages to value themselves and celebrate other people.
4. What else can I get involved with in addition to attending services?
UUSIC strives to provide opportunities for people of the liberal faith who are seeking to grow within and ways to act upon their values. Activities range from adult programming (Welcome Home Wednesdays), social action projects (Social Justice Coordinating Committee), meal preparation for ill members (UNI-Care), gatherings to celebrate our commonality (Interweave), monthly small-group spiritual ministries (covenant groups), religious education teaching, hospitality team service for our congregation in conjunction with Sunday services, caring for our church property (Buildings and Grounds), and financial support (Stewardship Committee), to name a
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few. Our many options are listed in the Opportunities document and on our website, www.uusic.org.
8. What is celebrated here?
Celebrations include intergenerational holiday parties, child dedications, New- member Covenant Ceremonies, fundraising activities, support of our Romanian partner church, Volunteer Recognition, fall Ingathering Service, Memorial Day and Labor Day picnics, Christmas Eve candlelight services, Spring Flower Communion, Ceremony of Remembrance, and Youth Sunday.
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith
By Mark W. Harris
Unitarians and Universalists have always been heretics. We are heretics because we want to choose our faith, not because we desire to be rebellious. “Heresy” in Greek means “choice.” During the first three centuries of the Christian church, believers could choose from a variety of tenets about Jesus. Among these was a belief that Jesus was an entity sent by God on a divine mission. Thus the word “Unitarian” developed, meaning the oneness of God. Another religious choice in the first three centuries of the Common Era (CE) was universal salvation. This was the belief that no person would be condemned by God to eternal damnation in a fiery pit. Thus a “Universalist” believed that all people will be saved. Christianity lost its element of choice in 325 CE when the Nicene Creed established the Trinity as dogma. For centuries thereafter, people who professed Unitarian or Universalist beliefs were persecuted.
This was true until the sixteenth century when the Protestant Reformation took hold in the remote mountains of Transylvania in eastern Europe. Here the first edict of religious toleration in history was declared in 1568 during the reign of the first and only Unitarian king, John Sigismund. Sigismund’s court preacher, Frances David, had successively converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism to Calvinism and finally to Unitarianism because he could find no biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity. Arguing that people should be allowed to choose among these faiths, he said, “We need not think alike to love alike.”
Unitarian congregations were established for the first time in history in the sixteenth- century Transylvania. These churches continue to preach the Unitarian message in present-day Romania. Like their heretic forebears from ancient times, these liberals could not see how the deification of a human being or the simple recitation of creeds could help them to live better lives. They said that we must follow Jesus, not worship him.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Unitarianism appeared briefly in scattered locations. A Unitarian community in Rakow, Poland, flourished for a time, and a book called On the Errors of the Trinity by a Spaniard, Michael Servetus, was circulated throughout Europe. But persecution frequently followed these believers. The Polish Unitarians were completely suppressed, and Michael Servetus was burned at the stake. 15
Even where the harassment was not so extreme, people still opposed the idea of choice in matters of religious faith. In 1791, scientist and Unitarian minister Joseph Priestley had his laboratory burned and was hounded out of England. He fled to America where he established American Unitarian churches in the Philadelphia area.
Despite these European connections, Unitarianism as we know it in North America is not a foreign import. In fact, the origins of our faith began with some of the most historic congregations in Puritan New England where each town was required to establish a congregationally independent church that followed Calvinist doctrines. Initially these congregational churches offered no religious choice for their parishioners, but over time the strict doctrines of original sin and predestination began to mellow.
By the mid-1700s a group of evangelicals were calling for the revival of Puritan orthodoxy. They asserted their belief in humanity’s eternal bondage to sin. People who opposed the revival, believing in free human will and the loving benevolence of God, eventually became Unitarian. During the first four decades of the nineteenth century, hundreds of these original congregational churches fought over ideas about sin and salvation, and especially over the doctrine of the Trinity. Most of the churches split over these issues. In 1819, Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing delivered a sermon called “Unitarian Christianity” and helped to give the Unitarians a strong platform. Six years later the American Unitarian Association was organized in Boston, MA.
Universalism developed in America in at least three distinct geographical locations. The earliest preachers of the gospel of universal salvation appeared in what were later the Middle Atlantic and Southern states. By 1781, Elhanan Winchester had organized a Philadelphia congregation of Universal Baptists. Among its members was Benjamin Rush, the famous physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
At about the same time, in the rural, interior sections of New England, a small number of itinerant preachers, among then Caleb Rich, began to disbelieve the strict Calvinist doctrines of eternal punishment. They discovered from their biblical studies the new revelation of God’s loving redemption of all. John Murray, an English preacher who immigrated in 1770, helped lead the first Universalist church in Gloucester, MA, in the battle to separate church and state.
From its beginnings, Universalism challenged its members to reach out and embrace people whom society often marginalized. The Gloucester church included a freed slave among its charter members, and the Universalists became the first denomination to ordain women to the ministry, beginning in 1863 with Olympia Brown.
Universalism was a more evangelical faith than Unitarianism. After officially organizing in 1793, the Universalists spread their faith across the eastern United States and Canada. Hosea Ballou became the denomination’s greatest leader during
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
the nineteenth century, and he and his followers, including Nathaniel Stacy, led the way in spreading their faith.
Other preachers followed the advice of Universalist publisher Horace Greeley and went West. One such person was Thomas Starr King, who is credited with defining the difference between Unitarians and Universalists: “Universalists believe that God is too good to damn people, and the Unitarians believe that people are too good to be damned by God.” The Universalists believed in a God who embraced everyone, and this eventually became central to their belief that lasting truth is found in all religions, and that dignity and worth is innate to all people regardless of sex, color, race, or class.
Growing out of this inclusive theology was a lasting impetus in both denominations to create a more just society. Both Unitarians and Universalists became active participants in many social justice movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Unitarian preacher Theodore Parker was a prominent abolitionist, defending fugitive slaves and offering support to American abolitionist John Brown.
Other reformers included Universalists such as Charles Spear who called for prison reform, and Clara Barton who went from Civil War “angel of the battlefield” to become the founder of the American Red Cross. Unitarians such as Dorothea Dix fought to “break the chains” of people incarcerated in mental hospitals, and Samuel Gridley Howe started schools for the blind. For the last two centuries, Unitarians and Universalists have been at the forefront of movements working to free people from whatever bonds may oppress them.
Two thousand years ago liberals were persecuted for seeking the freedom to make religious choices, but such freedom has become central to both Unitarianism and Universalism. As early as the 1830s, both groups were studying and promulgating texts from world religions other than Christianity. By the beginning of the twentieth century, humanists within both traditions advocated that people could be religious without believing in God. No one person, no one religion, can embrace all religious truths.
By the middle of the twentieth century it became clear that Unitarians and Universalists could have a stronger liberal religious voice if they merged their efforts, and they did so in 1961, forming the Unitarian Universalist Association. Many Unitarian Universalists (UUs) became active in the civil rights movement. James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister, was murdered in Selma, Alabama, after he 17
and twenty percent of the denomination’s ministers responded to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s call to march for justice.
Today we are determined to continue to work for greater racial and cultural diversity. In 1977, a women and religion resolution was passed by the Association, and since then the denomination has responded to the feminist challenge to change sexist structures and language, especially with the publication of an inclusive hymnal. The denomination has affirmed the rights of bisexuals, gays, lesbians, and transgendered persons, including ordaining and settling gay and lesbian clergy in our congregations, and in 1996, affirmed same-sex marriage.
All these efforts reflect a modern understanding of universal salvation. Unitarian Universalism welcomes all to an expanding circle of understanding and choice in religious faith.
Our history has carried us from liberal Christian views about Jesus and human nature to a rich pluralism that includes theist and atheist, agnostic and humanist, pagan, Christian, Jew, and Buddhist. As our history continues to evolve and unfold, we invite you to join us by choosing our free faith. http://www.uua.org/publications/pamphlets/introductions/151249.shtml
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Famous Unitarian Universalists
William Ellery Channing Preacher of the sermon "Unitarian Christianity" which laid out the (1780-1842) principles of early American Unitarianism John Murray Brought Universalism from England to the U.S.; helped end the practice of (1741-1815) taxes paid to the established church Olympia Brown First woman ordained by the Universalists (1863); fought for voting rights (1835-1926) for women King John Sigismund King of Transylvania who issued the first Edict of Religious Toleration (1540-1571) William F. Schulz Former UUA President (1985-1993) and former director of Amnesty International (1994-2006)
Lewis McGee First African American minister of a Unitarian congregation, the Free (1893-1979) Religious Fellowship in Chicago Joseph Priestley Founder of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia and discoverer of (1733-1804) oxygen Margaret Fuller 19th-century Transcendentalist writer, educator, feminist (1810-1850) Sophia Lyon Fahs Religious educator whose curricula and inspiration profoundly shaped (1876-1978) mid- 20th-century Unitarianism Norbert Capek Brought Unitarianism to his native Bohemia (now Czech Republic); died a (1870-1942) Nazi prisoner; introduced the Flower Service now commonly celebrated as Flower Communion
Lydia Maria Child Wrote both fiction and non-fiction to promote abolition, women's rights, and (1802-1880) Indian rights Ralph Waldo Emerson Transcendentalist minister who left a Unitarian pulpit over the issue of (1803-1882) communion; known for lectures and essays including "Self-Reliance" Tim Berners-Lee Inventor of the World Wide Web (www) (proposed in 1989) Frances Ellen Harper Free black poet and abolitionist Watkins (1825-1911) Joseph Tuckerman Founder of the Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches, serving poor (1778-1840) people in Boston; "father of American social work" Clara Barton Nurse who organized the American Red Cross (1821-1912) 19
William Howard Taft Republican U.S. president, Supreme Court justice, and President of (1857-1930) General Conference of Unitarian and other Christian Churches Thomas Starr King 19th-century Universalist minister who served both Unitarian and (1824-1864) Universalist churches and kept California from leaving the Union during the Civil War; famously credited with saying, "The one [Universalist] thinks
God is too good to damn them forever, the other [Unitarian] thinks they are too good to be damned forever." Dorothea Dix Teacher and reformer of jails and prisons; advocate for people with mental (1802-1887) illness James Reeb Unitarian minister killed during the fight for civil rights at Selma, Alabama (1927-1965)
FIND OUT MORE Several websites offer information about noted UU historical personalities. One of the most comprehensive is the Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography (at www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub) developed by the Unitarian Universalist Historical Society. You might also want to explore Famous UUs (at www.famousuus.com/). The Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society (at www.uuwhs.org/items.php) has many documents online. The online Harvard Square Library (at www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/) provides rich UU historical resources, including dozens of biographies of notable American Unitarians (at www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/?subject=AU) and Universalists (at www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/universalists/) and a "This Day in Unitarian Universalist History" (at www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/365_this_day/) home page feature. The UUA website provides a summary of Unitarian Universalist history (at www.uua.org/visitors/ourhistory/index.shtml).
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
Infidels and Unbelievers Our First 50 Years: Universalism in Iowa City
As was true of many frontier settlements, Iowa City in 1838 was home to Methodist circuit riders and Universalist ministers--and Universalism was viewed by many as dangerously radical.
In 1841, a temporary territorial state house was built in Iowa City, and permission was given to various religious organizations to hold meetings there. As a result, the state house soon became the site of two highly popular forms of frontier entertainment: political speechifying and religious debate.
Several pastors, among them Universalist minister A.R. Gardiner, asked that their congregations be permitted to meet in the state house. Gardiner’s request, however, led several “orthodox” ministers to protest, and when a judge approved Gardiner’s request, those ministers announced “they would not endanger their chance for salvation by meeting in a room that had sheltered ‘infidels and unbelievers.’”
When the territorial legislature passed a law granting land to churches so long as they met a deadline for placing a church building on their plot, Universalists were quick to respond. They claimed a choice quarter-block at the corner of Iowa Avenue and Dubuque Street, and borrowed $90 to purchase a small frame structure to meet the requirement for a church building.
Again, other local ministers mounted an aggressive attack to prevent the Universalists from acquiring land. They “sued Br. Gardiner – served upon him several writs…carried the matter into court – subjected him to great expense…” These lawsuits weren’t successful, and soon the Universalists were ensconced in their new home.
But the spirited opposition of other denominations continued. At one point, Presbyterian minister W. W. Woods announced that on the following Sunday he would “bury Universalism.” When he couldn’t find a meeting hall in which to speak, he was “kindly invited to [speak at] the Universalist church by Reverend Gardiner, who added, in a polite footnote, ‘Inasmuch as we have to be buried, we prefer to be buried upon our own ground.’”
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Rev. Woods spoke in the morning, Rev. Gardiner in the afternoon--with the result that many in the audience decided to join the Universalist congregation, among them Rev. Libby, pastor of the Free Methodists.
When Rev. Gardiner left Iowa City in 1846, his place was taken by Rev. I. M. Westfall, “…a first class controversialist, which gave him great power when debating differences of doctrine with ministers of other denominations.” Once again, this lively debate kept the attention of the community.
Upon Rev. Westfall’s departure, the congregation was served by a variety of ministers until the arrival, in 1869, of that champion of women’s rights, Rev. Augusta Chapin--the first woman minister to be called to the pulpit by an Iowa City congregation.
Shortly after her arrival, a fire destroyed Rev. Chapin’s church. For several years the congregation met in a variety of buildings. Rev. Chapin brought in speakers like Susan B. Anthony and Mary Livermore, who drew such a crowd that the building (a former Lutheran church) was “crowded… to the roof, and even the window ledges and nearby trees were occupied.”
During Rev. Chapin’s 5-year ministry, the congregation was highly visible in the community, known not only for its Sunday services and evening lectures, but also for its annual fairs, New England dinners (at 25¢ a plate), and summer Sunday Basket- Meetings held at farms near town. It was decided to build a new church, across the street from Old Capitol. Shortly before it was completed, Rev. Chapin departed from Iowa City.
Described as “an elegant structure, of the Byzantine order of architecture,” the new building was dedicated in 1873. But much of the life of the congregation had revolved around its minister, and within a few years of Chapin’s departure, membership had become too small to support both the debt incurred with the new building and the cost of a minister. The doors of the church were closed, though the commitment to Universalism continued, and Ruth Irish Preston wrote:
For the good of the community, and especially for the good of those hundreds of young men and women, students of the University, in whose hands would rest the future welfare of our state, should the door of the Liberal Church be kept open.
The solution was an unusual agreement: “Provided that the American Unitarian Association will put an able and educated missionary into this place and keep him here for five years,” the Iowa City Universalists would provide a church to house his ministry. This foreshadowed the 1961 merger of Unitarians and Universalists, and was an early catalyst for our commitment to “Deeds, not creeds.”
--Sue Eberly, Historical Records Committee
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
A Brief History of UUSIC
Our Beginnings
1838 Traveling Universalist preachers met with settlers in Iowa City cabins. Later, meetings were held in territorial government headquarters. 1841 The Iowa City Universalist congregation was organized on November 6 at the Edward Foster home. Mrs. Rosella Towner Andrews was the first member to sign the book.
Our Homes
1841 The congregation purchased an existing wooden building for $90.00. 1843 Rev. A.E. Gardiner, our first minister, traveled to the East, spending $290.93¼ to collect $1,402.33 for a new building from eastern Universalists, including Horace Greeley and P.T. Barnum. On the front gable of the new church at the southeast corner of Dubuque Street and Iowa Avenue were the words, “HE THAT IS OUR GOD IS THE GOD OF SALVATION.” 1868 The church building was destroyed by fire. Thereafter, the congregation met first in a former bowling alley at the corner of Burlington and Dubuque and later in “the old Lutheran church” at the corner of Dubuque and Market. 1873 Members of First Universalist Parish dedicated their new building at the northeast corner of Clinton Street and Iowa Avenue. 1896 After a second fire damaged the church building, it was sold to the Iowa Association of Unitarians and Other Independent Churches. Later the University of Iowa bought this building and used it to house the School of Music until it was torn down to make way for Phillips Hall. 1908 Our church at 10 South Gilbert Street in Iowa City was built based on a design taken from a 1902 book published by the American Unitarian Association. The Felgemaker organ, a gift from Andrew Carnegie, was added to our sanctuary. Rev. Robert Loring used the $3,000 left after construction to build a parsonage south of the church building. 1963 Worthley House, the classroom/office building, designed by member/architect Dick Jordison, was built on the site of the former parsonage and was dedicated in a service that included former ministers Rev. Evans Worthley and Rev. Al Henriksen for whom the building and library respectively were named.
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Religious Education
1908 Sunday school classes were held in the Lower Hall (renamed Channing Hall c.1970). 1909 Everyman was the first of many youth plays to be performed on the stage of our new building, with an admission cost of 35¢-50¢. 1951 After a new parsonage on Woodlawn Avenue was purchased, some RE classes were held in the former parsonage next door to the church. 1960s Faye Strayer became our first paid Director of Religious Education, earning $50/ month. 1972 Dee Norton and Jane Latourette began producing/directing a 14-year string of teen plays. 2000 Our congregation began offering the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program for teens. 2003 Lois Cole, our DRE, became our first Director of Lifespan Religious Education, and we began offering two sessions of adult classes each year via Welcome Home Wednesdays.
Our Unitarian and Universalist Denominations – and Beyond
1841-1877 Seven Universalist ministers served our congregation in the early years. Among these was Rev. Augusta Chapin, the first of our four women ministers and the first woman minister in Iowa City. 1878 The struggling All Souls Universalist Church provided the building, while the American Unitarian Association provided the minister, Rev. Oscar Clute, thus making us a UU congregation nearly 80 years before the national merger of Unitarians and Universalists. 1881 The First Unitarian Society of Iowa City was formed from the existing congregation, and as part of that society, the church was renamed the First Unitarian Church of Iowa City. 1959 Our congregation voted to support the merger of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church in America. 1965 Our name was changed from First Unitarian Society to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City. 1960s Member Charles Davidson helped to establish the regional Prairie States Unitarian Association and the subsequent Prairie Star District and served on the first UUA board. 1980s Rev. Fritz Hudson became the first of our ministers to participate with other denominations in the Ecumenical Consultation (now Consultation of Religious Communities).
Beyond Our Walls
1870 Rev. Augusta Chapin, a strong support of women’s rights, proposed that the General Convention of Universalists use gender-neutral wording for their new fellowship rules – a proposal they adopted.
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
1896-1900 Rev. Eleanor Gordon, a member of “the Iowa Sisterhood,” was deeply involved in the campaign for women’s rights. 1905 Rev. Duren J.H. Ward assembled and preserved an extensive collection of photographs and other materials related to the Meskwaki people, which are now archived at the State Historical Society in Iowa City. 1918 During the flu epidemic, the women of our congregation provided hundreds of meals for health workers. 1922-1929 Rev. Arthur Weatherly, devoted to social concerns, raised the social consciousness of our congregation. Later he received an award from the denomination as “outstanding minister in the field of social justice.” The UUA Holmes-Weatherly Award, named in his honor, is given to an individual or organization “whose life-long commitment to faith-based social justice is reflected in societal transformation.” 1933 Rev. Evans Worthley served as chair of the County Re-Employment Committee during the Great Depression. 1940s Rev. Worthley and the Baptist minister were successful in achieving racial integration of Iowa City’s restaurants. 1949 Our congregation ranked 6th in the nation among similar groups for the amount of clothing collected and sent in overseas aid. 1950s Rev. Al Henriksen worked successfully to racially integrate Iowa City’s barber shops. 1960s Rev. Bill Weir helped found Iowa City’s Community Mental Health Center and participated with other UU ministers in the Selma Freedom March. 1970s Rev. Tom Mikelson served on the boards of the Crisis Center, UAY, and the ICLU and as president of the local NAACP. 1978..The Social Action Committee was formed. 1985 After a congregational vote, our church became a Nuclear Free Zone. 1986 Our congregation began its involvement with the Free Lunch Program. 1993 UUSIC began participating in the Partner Church Program, supporting the Parochia Unitariana church in Janosfalva, Romania. 1997 Our congregation voted unanimously to become a Welcoming Congregation. 2006 The Social Justice Coordinating Committee began a program for donating all of our Sunday morning cash contributions to designated local social service agencies. 2007 UUSIC youth and adults made the first in a series of multi-generational service trips to areas in need of assistance, serving twice in New Orleans, as
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well as in Mexico and Guatemala, and lobbying in Washington for the Employment Non-discrimination Act. 2009 In support of same-sex marriage, our congregation began hosting weddings for riders of “the Love Bus,” which brought same-sex couples from St. Louis to Iowa City to be married. 2011 Rev. Steven Protzman spoke out publicly in support of Occupy Iowa City. 2012 Our congregation instituted its first Day of Service, with multiple members working on building a ramp for a handicapped person, preparing lasagna for a Free Lunch meal, and knitting preemie hats for UIHC newborns. The first Evans Worthley Social Justice Award was presented to the Wahls- Reger family for their work in support of civil rights for same-sex couples.
Compiled by Marilyn Jennewein, 2012 Reformatted 1/10/14
Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City 2355 Oakdale Road (Admin Office) Coralville, IA 52241 (319) 337-3443 - www.uusic.org
UUSIC Historical Information Sources
UUSIC historical publications available in print:
Eberly, Susan, ed., From Within These Walls: Celebrating 100 Years at 10 South Gilbert, 2008 Glick, Mary Bell, ed., Celebrating 150 Years: Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City, 1841-1991 Glick, Mary Bell, Furnishings and Friends: 75 Years – 1908 to 1983 Jacobsen, Jim, Universalism and Unitarianism in Iowa City, Compiled from Various Sources, July 1979
Information available on our UUSIC Website:
“Unitarians and Universalists in Iowa City” --A one-page version of our congregation’s history written by Gordon Strayer. http://www.uusic.org/AboutUs/History/UUsInIC.htm From Within These Walls -- A collection of topical historical articles and information published in print in celebration of the centennial of our building at 10 S. Gilbert. http://www.uusic.org/AboutUs/History/FWTW/FromWithinTheseWalls.htm UUSIC Historical Records Committee. http://www.uusic.org/ProgramsAndGroups/ProgramsGroupsCommittees.htm#hist orical UUSIC historical collection at the State Historical Society of Iowa in Iowa City A listing from the State Historical Society, located across Iowa Avenue from our church, which holds several boxes of our historical documents and artifacts, including four scrapbooks created by Bertha Shambaugh from c.1880 to the early 1930s. http://www.uusic.org/AboutUs/History/FWTW/UUSICRecords.htm
Local history information available on the MidAmerican Region and Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) websites:
Bring, O Past, Your Honor: Historical Essays and Congregational Histories concerning Universalism and Unitarianism in the Upper Midwest.
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o “Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City” provides a brief history of our congregation. http://www.psduua.org/heritage/bring/part2/2_ia_iowa_city.html o “Women Ministers in the Prairie Star District” includes information about our minister, Eleanor Gordon, one of the "Iowa Sisterhood" ministers http://www.psduua.org/heritage/bring/part1/1b_hepokoski.html “The Iowa Sisterhood” http://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/river/workshop9/workshopplan/stories/1785 92.shtm
For further information:
MidAmerican Region History and Heritage Committee https://www.midamericauua.org/about-us/history-and-heritage
The Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society http://www.uuhs.org/ Unitarian Universalist Origins: Our Historic Faith, by Mark W. Harris http://www.uua.org/publications/pamphlets/introductions/151249.