History Page  Previous 

In 1990 the church was in bad shape. It was without a minister, demoralized from internal strife, and in serious financial difficulty due to a significant loss in membership. In addition the church sanctuary was literally falling apart. There were gaping holes in the ceiling, damaged and cracked plaster and a dim lighting system. Maintenance on the sanctuary had been deferred for years while the congregation put most of its resources into ministerial salaries. Lay leadership stepped up, as they had during other periods between ministers, to provide often high quality worship experience, but new ministerial leadership was needed.p> The Church Council determined that the congregation in its current financial condition could not afford the services of a full time minister. A search through UU channels was not successful. But the leadership found in McHenry County a former Presbyterian minister who had undergone a crisis of faith. He had left the ministry to work first on Federal anti-poverty programs and later as a consultant to agencies providing health care to the poor. He had recently served the small Methodist congregation in his hometown of Alden and was known in the county as an activist on human rights issues. The Rev. Dan Larsen was offered the part time pulpit of the church and he accepted, even though he declared himself a spiritual "mugwamp" who was no longer sure just what he believed beyond a service to humanity ethic. As a condition of his employment, he promised to pursue ministerial fellowship with the UUA.

Rev. Larsen hit the ground running, from the beginning working many more hours than his part time status would suggest. He challenged the congregation to get its house in order by initiating a major capital campaign to renovate the sanctuary. With the proceeds of that campaign and by morgatging the parsonage, the sanctuary was completely remodeled. The only snag was over the selection of the color scheme for the paint. Several schemes were offered, but the congregation was deeply divided over the color. That simple decision threatened the newfound unity of the congregation. The day was saved when the production company of the film GROUND HOG DAY asked to use the church for a wedding scene. They would pay for the paint, but demanded to select the colors. Not only did it save the church $5000, but it also rescued it from internal strife.

Over the next few years Rev. Larsen would oversee other physical improvements to the church. The kitchen was remodeled, an access ramp for the disabled was added to the rear of the building, the window frames in the social room were replaced, the roof re-shingled, water damage to the Dean Street entrance repaired, the Church School space in the basement remodeled and refurbished, and the main corner entrance way restored and refurbished.

From the beginning Rev. Larsen's keen interest in social justice issues fueled the congregation's already strong commitment in the area. When the Gulf War broke out the Peace and Justice Committee led the county's only protest at a demonstration on Woodstock Square. The act was especially courageous in light of broad public support for the war and the generally conservative profile of the county.

Rev. Larsen was deeply committed to assisting the county's growing Spanish speaking population. He was a leader in the Hispanic Coalition which advocated on behalf of the largely disenfranchised population. Out of that group he helped form the Inter-Faith Peace and Justice Committee of McHenry County, later renamed the Inter-Faith Council for Social Justice, to bring together the social justice ministries of local churches. Over the years that group would undertake a wide variety of projects including raising funds for the victims of the Rwandan civil war to education programs on issues like health care and the North American Free Trace Act. Most of the organization's work, however, was in the area of human rights. Led by Rev. Larsen and other members of the congregation, the organization began the annual Peace and Justice Festival on Woodstock Square as an alternative event to a local rally by the Ku Klux Klan. The festival continued on as Diversity Day. The Inter-Faith Council also lobbied for the creation of local governmental Human Relations Commissions, supported English as a second language program in local schools, fought restrictive housing policies, and awarded college scholarships for minority students. After responding to a series of local hate crimes, the Council instituted the Stamp Out Hate program.

Rev. Larsen also streamlined the charitable responses of local churches by founding the Woodstock Area Community Ministry. WACM, composed of local congregations, sponsored the Direct Assistance program to plug holes in local social service agency programs and began a program for revolving loans for housing security deposits and small business start ups for the poor. Later WACM also assumed administrative responsibility of Woodstock PADS services. Larsen also founded the McHenry County Action Corp. which originally hoped to provide low income housing, but later developed a program to provide donated automobiles to the needy.

Along with members of the church's Peace and Justice Committee, Rev. Larsen became known as a strong public advocate on a wide range of issues including reproductive choice, health services to the poor, gun control, ethics in government, and recognition of Gay rights. The church's high profile on these issues helped attract more like-minded members who admired its courage and sought its community.

Meanwhile Rev. Larsen pursued fellowship with the UUA. After completing studies at Meadville-Lombard Seminary, he was accepted for preliminary fellowship. The congregation ordained him as a Unitarian Universalist minister in November of 1995. Two years later he received his final fellowship at the Service of the Living Tradition at the UUA General Assembly in Phoenix.

The congregation was also seeking new ways to meet the spiritual, social and intellectual needs of its members. Two women's programs, Cakes for the Queen of Heaven and Call Her Name helped introduce more earth centered spirituality to the worship mix on Sunday mornings. A men's group was formed and held a series of retreats. The Friday Night Salon Series of European style discussions explored a wide variety of social, scientific, political, economic, literary, and philosophic issues. Rev. Larsen's Building Your Own Religion courses became a popular introduction to the church's liberal religious philosophy. These and other programs attracted new members and helped other integrate into the congregation.

The congregation's church school program was also thriving and expanding. Carol Alfus introduced a two-year coming of age program for junior high students. Alfus's tenure was followed by a controversial two-year term by an aspiring ministry student, Lindsey Halpern-Givens. Although she enjoyed some successes, most notably test piloting the new UUA sex and life style education curriculum, Our Whole Lives, personality clashes with Rev. Larsen led to her resignation. A few members, including some who had been very active, believed she had been ill-used and resigned from the church. The controversy did not, however become a major split and most of the Church rallied behind Larsen and new RE Director Sue McCowin. Under McCowin's leadership the Church School program has experienced rapid growth as more young families have joined the Church.

The congregation was rebounding strongly under Rev. Larsen's leadership. The building was abuzz with activities almost every night. Membership was approaching double that of the nadir year of 1990 as the congregation neared the millenium. It was time to bring Rev. Larsen, who had long worked many more hours than he was paid for, up to full time status. Strong pledge drives and careful planing by the Church Council succeed in bringing him on full time for the 1999-2000 church year.

At the same time Larry Dille led a congregation wide effort to develop a mission statement for the church. Using small group discussions and other techniques virtually every member participated in the project and energized the whole congregation. The Mission Statement was adopted unanimously in May of 2000.

Coincidentally the church's self examination process raised the issue of continued dual affiliation with the UCC and the UUA. Although members identifying themselves as Unitarian Universalists had long been a substantial majority of the congregation, previous attempts to address the issue of inequitable denominational support had failed out of respect for the congregations traditions and the feelings of the remaining Congregationalists. But now less than a dozen of more than 175 members identified themselves with the UCC, yet nearly half of the congregation's denominational contributions went to that body. The UUA, its Central Mid-West District or the Chicago Area Council were providing virtually all services to the congregation. Rev. Larsen initiated careful discussions on the affiliation issue. All points of view were heard and respected. It was discovered that the Congregationalists did not have deep ties to the UCC but wanted assurances that their traditions would continue to be respected, that Christianity remain a part of the worship mix, and that the name of the Congregation remain the same. Those conditions were easily met and at the May 2000 Congregational meeting members voted unanimously to end affiliation with the United Church of Christ and to become an unequivocally Unitarian Universlist congregation.

Today the church is thriving. Membership continues to grow. New opportunities for service and learning are continually being developed. The Congregation is in the midst of a Welcoming Congregation program which is reaching out to the Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender communities and seeking new ways to serve and include the county's growing Hispanic population. Despite challenges created when the 2001 pledge drive failed to boost revenues enough to meet the demands of a growing church, church leadership continues to plan for the future. New fundraising sources will have to be identified and some expansion of the Church's facilities in the near future is inevitable.

The Congregation marches toward the 100th anniversary of its church building and 140th anniversary as a church confident in an exciting future.

History Page  Previous