A Brief History of the
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lakeland
By Joyce Bode
October 2011
Established in November 27, 1955 with 35 charter members as the Lake Region Unitarian Fellowship, Inc., the first meetings were held in homes and then in the Danforth Chapel at Florida Southern College. I was member No. 41 and joined in 1956.
The Fellowship became affiliated with the American Unitarian Associationon February 8, 1956, before the Unitarian and Universalists joined together.
The first Church School Superintendent was appointed during the 1958-59 season, and she typically presided over 8-9 students (Lees,Bode, and Denham children).
In January 1960, the 51 members settled on our present location, which had been the Dora Cox Phillips private school from 1955-1959.The $6,700 cost was oversubscribed through a loan from the UUA and members pledges. Members built the patio benches using donated lumber. A fund-raising pancake breakfast was prepared and served by the Lees family for the benches.
I succeeded Mrs. Cleo Thomas (our Tommie Award is named for her) as Executive Secretary in February 1961. In early 1961 an expansion plan was proposed. The auditorium was to be increased by 20 feet and a platform added on the south end. The entrance would be moved to the north and three new classrooms were built. The whole thing would cost about $6,000... all of which had to be raised, since the total assets of the fellowship at that time was "forty nine cents".
When the original lot was purchased, it was "L" shaped because there was a small cottage near the present patio location. In1966, the cottage was purchased and was used for part-time ministers and administration for many years thereafter. The price was$3,200. Presently the land is appraised at $32,333 and the buildings are appraised at $265,435. There is no mortgage on the property.
Richard Norsworthy of Clearwater became the first minister to be retained by the fellowship. He agreed to serve one Sunday a month, and his ministry lasted from January l971 through May 1972. When he left, there were 48 giving units. He was succeeded in October by David Scheyer of Ft. Lauderdale who held the part-time position until November 1976. Carl Westman served as part-time minister from September 1977 until November 1986.
On November 20, 1988 the dedication service for our new Sanctuary was held. John DeWolf-Hurt, the Co-District Executive gave the keynote address: "Church, Chalice and Challenge". The other highlight was the symbolic giving of keys from Ken McAllister, the overseer of the construction and a member of the “Over-the-Hillgang”, to the LRUUF President, Bob Baum.
Under what was for us a new experience, called the Extension Ministry, the fellowship's new spiritual leader became the Rev. Emily Morse Palmer in October 1989. A new sound system was installed and a choir soon began. After Rev. Palmer left, in 1991 the Rev. Todd Taylor helped us through some difficult times by serving as Consulting Minister for four months. We called the Rev.Clarke Dewey Wells in 1992 and he was installed in 1993 after serving out previous commitments.
The1994-95 fiscal year was the first year in which we paid our Religious Education director. The Rev. Dr. Tucker became our settled minister on a half-time basis, and later on a full-time basis. His first Sunday in the pulpit as "our" minister was December 4, 1995. The big event of 1996 was the formal installation of Dr. Tucker as minister in a simple but splendid ceremony on March 17th. He retired in 2008.
We officially changed our name to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lakeland in April 2007.
The Rev. Dr. E. Bonnie Devlin became our Consulting Minister in 2009-10 and served two Sundays a month for two years. Rev. Dr. Marni Harmony served our congregation in 2011 as our Consulting Minister, and now Rev. Susanne Nazian is our Consulting Minister.