The Third of Three Essays about other UU Churches

In the New England states, UU churches are typically a wood frame structure, maybe two hundred years old, located on or near the city square. In the Midwest, UU churches are often found in stone buildings designed and constructed for the Universalist denomination, including our own UUCUC example.

In the Midwest, three are different and each very much worth a visit.

The UU Congregation of Duluth, MN, is in a rectangular building on a steep, rocky slope high above the city. The ground floor/basement provides indoor parking for thirty cars and is promoted as being available for members who do not care to walk on the snow and ice. Those members OK with outdoor walking are encouraged to park outside. From either entrance, there is a long gentle indoor ramp that begins with cold concrete and then transitions to a landing with green plants and a water feature, and then further along transitions to warm wood paneling. The main floor is all fine wood, warm, inviting and comfortable with a wall of glass behind the pulpit. The transition from harsh and cold to warm and glowing is unique. Their minister is the Rev. Bruce Johnson who, 25 years ago, served UUCUC for a year between the departure of Rev. Will Saunders and the arrival of the Gehrmanns. He offers kind comments about his year in Urbana.

The First Unitarian Church of Memphis, TN, “The Church of the River,” may be the best use of a geographic location in the denomination. The building is on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. The R.E. rooms, fellowship hall and offices are on level ground beside the bluff, with the sanctuary steeply sloped down and overlooking the river with a wall of glass behind the pulpit, providing a dramatic view of the Mississippi River. However, two UU ministers including our Rev. W. Edward Harris commented to me that they did not like preaching there because at some point in the sermon they became aware of the eyes of the congregants following a river boat moving up or down stream, and suspecting that they, as the speaker, had lost the attention of the congregation.

The UU church in many architecture textbooks is Unity Temple UU of Oak Park, IL. I do recommend a visit, but I would not join if I had any mobility issues. The building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1900’s and is only two blocks from his home and studio. The sanctuary is a cube with pews on three levels of balconies on three sides of the cube, such that a large congregation can all be seated with each person less than 30 feet from the pulpit. My criticism is that every seat requires walking up or down one or more flights of stairs. Even their web site inviting folks to come on a weekday for a tour features a photo of a staircase. My son and daughter in law were members there some years ago and I visited many times. They are a large congregation of 600 members. In the coffee hour I never saw a member in a wheelchair, with a walker or even with a cane. Sorry, but Frank Lloyd Wright, while dramatic in design, did not provide for accessibility but he did provide for leaky roofs.