UUF History, 1990s

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship initiated outreach to the student community during the 1990s.  Minister Jack Donovan and members Chris Andrew and Kim Popejoy met with students in the Reitz Union.  In 1997, Chris Andrew, Alice Primack, and other UUF members prepared a proposal for the UUA Giving to Grow Grant, which was established to promote campus ministry.  When UUF members learned that the Tallahassee UU congregation also was interested in this grant, Chris Andrew met with their representatives to prepare a joint proposal, which was funded and supported campus ministry groups at UF and FSU.  Amy Jo Smith was the first coordinator at UUF, and Krystal Hunsaker was the first president of the UF student group, which originally rented a small room at the Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ Student Center across from campus.  Later the group held weekly meetings in a space provided without charge at the Friends Meeting House.

Since about 1992, faculty and students have held weekly lunch meetings at the Reitz Union.  From the early meetings, the concept of the Florida Free Speech Forum was born and tested in a pilot semester of monthly programs facilitated by Art Newman, Jay Whitehead, Alice Primack, Grace Wagner, George Phillips, and Chris Andrew.  From this beginning, UUs and non UUs forged ahead and designed the Forum as it is today.  After 12 years of programming, the Florida Free Speech Forum includes live monthly forums for about 160 members aired later on public radio to about 3,000 listeners.  After the death of UUF member Buddy Davis, who was a distinguished Journalism professor and Pulitzer Prize winning editorial writer, the Buddy Davis Memorial Persuasive Writing Competition was initiated for high school students.  Today many UUF members are active members of the Forum.

In this decade the UUF became an official Welcoming Congregation for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons.  Inspired by a talk by the Rev. Scott Alexander in the fall of 1990, a study group was formed early in 1991 to explore The Welcoming Congregation curriculum.  A sub committee of the Social Concerns Committee began to meet in the fall.  Original members were Amy Jo Smith, Joe Huber, Robert Brill, Glenn Harris, Margo Chase, and Stan Ericksen.  By June the membership had grown to 22.  The WC committee placed monthly statements in the Millhopper and promoted other educational efforts in the congregation.  In January1992, with the approval of the Social Concerns Committee, the WC Committee publicly urged the Alachua County Commission to pass a Human Rights Ordinance.  In July 1992 the congregation voted 33/32 to not accept a lesbian intern at UUF.  People were very upset on both sides of the issue.  The congregation held a healing seminar attended by 90 members.  Following a national gay rights march on Washington, DC, UUF held a Sunday service at which several UF members came out to the congregation.  Shortly afterward the UUF Board passed a welcoming resolution followed by a congregational meeting at which UUF declared itself a Welcoming Congregation.  This was made official by the UUA in October l993.

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship began its fourth decade with a vision of a new home.  On Sunday there was a parade after the service to a picnic on the new property on NW 34^th Street.  A capital campaign had raised $200,000 to buy the land.  The congregation knew where it was going, but not quite how to get there.  The accepted UU answer to this problem was committees—and lots of them.

While the congregation deliberated, it knocked out walls to make more room in the old building.  It purchased a modular building to house part of the growing Religious Education program and to function as office.  Music Director Ruth Lewis started both an adult Chalice Choir and a children’s Rainbow Chorus in 1990.  The music program continued to grow and evolve until it was recognized as one of the best programs in the district.  It is on a par with programs of much larger congregations. 

The key to building a new building and relocating was selling the congregation’s old building, but prior efforts had not been successful.  In 1994, David Henderson, Paul Bird, and a few other members developed a proactive plan to find a buyer.  They were successful. After a long rezoning process, the congregation sold its facilities on NW 43^rd Street for $500,000.  Meantime, the congregation’s Long-Range Planning Committee had helped the congregation articulate its mission and build a five-year plan to reach its objectives.  Norma Zabel led a task force to identify the building needs at the new site.  Richard Hill, an architect from Valdosta, Georgia, designed the congregation’s new four-building campus.  After the congregation engaged a UUA consultant to help lay out the process, Paul Bird made the lead gift and chaired a successful capital campaign to raise over $300,000 for the construction costs.

With the leadership of Chris Andrew and David Etherington, the congregation obtained a bank loan for the balance of the cost.  The UUA made the loan possible by guaranteeing a portion of the debt.  Amid many references to “wandering in the wilderness,” the congregation held services in the Covenant Presbyterian Church while the new facilities were being built.  Then President David Etherington continually reminded anxious members that “Change is good!”  And on April 20, 1997, seven years after that parade to the new property, the congregation met in its new building for the first time.  In October of that year, the Rev. John Buehrens, president of the UUA, was the guest speaker at the dedication ceremony.

In the 1990s, the congregation lost some of the strongest voices of its founding members, who kept the congregation’s history fresh.  Retired history professor Glenn Hoffman, three times president of the congregation and president of the Florida District, died in 1992.  Morris Storer relocated to California and later died there.  Glenn closed his written history of the congregation with these words:  “We cannot rehearse all of the other names, but we can be mindful of our debt to them.  Perhaps those who come after us will include us in the recognition and thank us, too.”

10/31/2006