History Page  Previous  Next

After Stevens, came a succession of brief ministries. The first of these, Rev. John A. Dunn, had a brief but memorable one-year pastorate in 1964 and '65. Rev. Dunn was a former Catholic Priest whose growing doubts caused him to abandon his old faith and enter Mead Lombard, the Unitarian Universalist theological seminary in Chicago. There he earned a reputation as a scholar and a skilled preacher. Upon graduation the Congregational Universalist Church was his first ministry. After the murder of UU minister James Reeb during a voting rights campaign in Selma, Alabama, Rev. Dunn was one of more than 200 UU ministers to answer the call to march in protest with Dr. Martin Luther King. Over half of the denominations active ministry also responded to that call, which became the legendary high point of the new denomination's early years.

In October of 1965 the Congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary without a settled minister. Membership had dwindled to fewer than 100, but that included many adult children of older members who had moved away or no longer attended church. It was a decidedly graying congregation. Despite the celebration, for which the popular Rev. Stevens returned from New York to preach, the church was in serious trouble.

Neither the Rev. Charles C. Callahan, who served from March 1966 to August 1970, nor the Rev. Michael D. Smith, who occupied the pulpit from August of 1971 through September of 1974, was able to stem the decline of the congregation. By the end of Rev. Smith's ministry only a handful of the faithful, mostly elderly, regularly attended services. The church's expenses were often only met out of the pockets of church officers, particularly members of the Mather family.

With Smith's departure, it became apparent that something dramatic would have to happen or the Congregation was doomed. Younger members were convinced there was a place for a forthrightly liberal church in McHenry County. They felt that the growing artistic community in Woodstock would be a natural source of support. Helen Wright and other church members were leaders of the movement to preserve the Opera House and to make it a lively center for the arts. Painters, sculptors and visual artists were moving to Woodstock. A local folk music scene flourished.

At the same time, ecology awareness was growing in McHenry County. Local fights against landfills, gravel pits, and a proposed regional airport were heightening awareness and changing an old fashion conservation ethic into an ecology movement. This would lead to the founding of the Defenders and many of its early leaders either came from the congregation or joined it. Like wise there was a need for a home for dissenters from the county's conservative majority. Former war protestors, civil rights advocates, and activists of all stripes needed a spiritual home to ground them in their efforts.

Despite some misgivings, the church's lay leadership took a bold step with the hope of attracting a new generation. They went out and hired a woman. The Rev. Barbara Wuensch was a pioneer in the Unitarian Universalist clergy. Although both denominations had been among the first to ordain women in the 19th Century, the Unitarians had strongly discouraged women clergy to the point that less than 2% were women. With the rising of the women's movement in the 1960's demands for greater equity were unavoidable. Barbara Wuensch was among the first of a new crop of women to enter seminary and was among the first to get a perminant settlement as a parish minister. This congregation ordained her in 1975.

The new minister was young, energetic, enthusiastic and the perfect spark for a revival of the Congregation. Under her leadership the Congregational Universalist church was soon once again a lively place where young families joined the old established members. She became the Rev. Barbara Merritt after her marriage. Particular attention was paid to reviving the religious education program, which was soon filled with children and care was lavished on music. An articulate and gifted preacher, Rev. Merritt's sermons were noted for their exceptional intellectual depth and their literary quality. She often used poets such as T.S. Eliot and e.e. cummings as the text for her talks. Like her predecessors, Rev. Merritt was very active in the community and gained considerable local notoriety for her patient advocacy for improved health services to the elderly as the leader of the county's Taskforce on Aging.

Several congregational traditions began under Rev. Merritt's leadership. The Barn Service, held for many years at Helen Wright's barn, became an annual culminating celebration to the church year. The Tree of Life was adopted as a congregational symbol and was used in lieu of either a Christian Cross or the Unitarian Universalist flaming chalice. Chalice Lighting was introduced as an opening for religious services.

Rev. Merritt's most long lasting contribution to the congregation, however, was in spearheading a reform of church stewardship. When she arrived there was no system of pledging. The congregation subsisted on Sunday morning collection plate offerings and on the timely bequests of elderly members. There was only a minimal annual budget. Regular shortfalls were made up by personal contributions of a hand full of church officers and elders. Rev. Merritt introduced an orderly budget system and instituted an annual pledge drive. Within a few years the church had for the first time in years achieved some financial stability.

In the early eighties the church's lively music program and members interested in theater came together to launch Paradise People, an annual musical review. The shows proved wildly popular. The first shows were benefits for the Church, later other community charities benefited as well. After a few years of being presented in the church, the show outgrew the building and was put on in the Woodstock Opera House. It evolved into a separate community project which finally split from the church, but church members including music director Kathy Bruhnke and master of ceremonies Larry Dille, continued with the show during its ten year run. They revived the concept in 1999, returning it to the church and a new annual musical review, Dille's Follies, was born.

History Page  Previous  Next