Church History

Rev. David Hicks MacPherson
Our first minister
1952-1962

The Silver Spring/Takoma Park Universalist Fellowship was founded in 1952 as the first suburban extension of the Universalist National Memorial Church in downtown Washington, D.C. Led by a dedicated group of thirteen adults and eight children, our constitution was adopted in October and our first minister, David MacPherson, was called to lead us in that same month. Our church was launched with subsidies from the Universalist Church of America and the National Memorial Church.

The Silver Spring/Takoma Park Universalist Fellowship was founded in 1952 as the first suburban extension of the Universalist National Memorial Church in downtown Washington, D.C. Led by a dedicated group of thirteen adults and eight children, our constitution was adopted in October and our first minister, David McPherson, was called to lead us in that same month. Our church was launched with subsidies from the Universalist Church of America and the National Memorial Church.

By November, our first committee chair, Max Miller, had located a parcel of land on New Hampshire Avenue and was off to Boston to urge the Universalist hierarchy to assist us in obtaining the $14,000 needed for its purchase. Ever persuasive, Max succeeded in his quest, and we purchased the land upon which our church is now located, at the time improved only by a three-horse stable. In December, the fellowship moved to the Hillandale Elementary School, a short distance from the new property.

The next year was a busy one! David McPherson and church members went door-to-door, mailed flyers and telephoned vigorously throughout the neighborhood to increase membership. January 1953 saw the birth of our newsletter. Renovations to the stable began that spring, and our first choir was formed. A service was held by candlelight in the stable in June, 1954. It would be almost another three years before the loft was ready to accommodate an office for our minister.

Following our dream, the Fellowship’s first building committee was formed in the spring of 1955. A local architect was hired, and plans for our “real” church were approved. Unfortunately, the bids received from contractors convinced us that we were not yet financially prepared to make our dream a reality.

Undaunted, our small but rapidly growing family of seventy members formally incorporated in January 1956 as the Universalist Church of Silver Spring. The building committee was revived in 1957, worked diligently for two years but, again, concluded that the scope of our dream still exceeded our ability to support it. Accordingly, revised building plans were developed in 1960, and a fund drive was begun that would reap over $30,000 in the first year! 1960 was to be our watershed year. We ended the year with over 120 members, money in the bank, and a new name, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring. As far as we can tell, we were the first Universalist church to acknowledge our historic merger with Unitarianism that year by renaming our church.

The year 1962 brought with it first joy and then sadness. October marked the groundbreaking for our long-awaited church as well as the departure of our first minister, David McPherson. His ten years with us were good ones and his spiritual guidance and leadership laid the foundation for what we have become.

Rev. Fred Cappuccino
Minister
1963-1967

Fred Cappucino was called by the congregation after David's departure and guided us well and thoughtfully through the next four and a half years. We were not quite so fortunate with the building of our new church. Structural imperfections were discovered that necessitated calling a halt to construction and marked the beginning of a drawn-out lawsuit with the contractor that delayed resumption of construction until June 1964. Over two hundred adults and children finally celebrated our first service in the new sanctuary in December of that year!

Despite a $60,000 mortgage on our new sanctuary, it became obvious in early 1965 that more room was needed for administration and religious education. The decision to build another building was greatly advanced by the offer of $13,000 in the form of a lease-loan by the Silver Spring Nursery School, which wanted to utilize the space during weekdays. Groundbreaking was in October 1965, and the building was in use by the next spring. The mortgage on it was $30,000. By 1990, both mortgages were retired.

Rev. Howard Oliver
Minister
1967-196

Fred Cappucino left us and the ministry in 1967 to follow his dream of establishing a home for disadvantaged children in Canada. His departure was precipitated by a powerful minority within the church who opposed his views on a number of issues. He was succeeded by Howard Oliver who served successfully with us for two years before leaving for a pulpit in Berkeley, California.

Rev. Robert Lewis
Minister
1969-1973

Robert Lewis, then assistant minister at River Road Unitarian Church, was called as Howard's successor in 1967. An eloquent man with strong beliefs, he ministered to us during a period of cultural and generational divisions within the country that, predictably, impacted on the life of our church as well. While we grappled with the myriad of social issues that were swirling about us, we experienced a loss of membership that, while common to most churches during the period, was particularly threatening to our church, which was both small and in debt. Consequently, in 1973 we reluctantly faced the reality that we could no longer afford the services of a full-time minister.

During the years 1974 through 1978 we were able to stabilize our membership. We relied heavily on lay leadership of many Sunday services that many found invigorating. Not only did we survive but many improvements were made to our existing facilities during this period. By 1978, however, it was evident that the congregation, again financially stable, was not growing and that the leaders of the church were facing possible burnout. Clearly, professional leadership and spiritual guidance were again needed.

Rev. Alice Blair Wesley
Minister
1978-1981

With the assistance of Joan Goodwin of the UUA, we participated in a program of self-analysis and goal setting called “Sharing in Growth.” This event put us back on track. With the help of the Unitarian Universalist Association Extension Office, we were able to call Alice Wesley to be our extension minister. When Alice joined us, we were a tightly bonded but somewhat inward looking congregation. Her proactive approach resulted in a new openness that allowed the church to begin to grow. Membership rose twenty percent during her tenure. It was also during the three years of her ministry that our members were instrumental in creating the UU Mid-Atlantic Community (UUMAC), an annual summer conference for all ages co-sponsored by the Metropolitan New York and Joseph Priestley Districts. To this day, our church remains the most heavily represented congregation at UUMAC.

Rev. Paul Johnson
Minister
1981-1991

Secure in our newfound identity, and again with the help of the UUA Extension Office, in 1981 we called Paul Johnson to be our minister. Paul first served us on a three-quarter-time basis, devoting the other quarter of his time to the Accotink, Virginia fellowship. This was a short-lived arrangement, and Paul quickly became our full-time minister. If David McPherson's decade of service can be seen as the childhood of UUCSS, and the intervening years as our predictable yet necessary adolescence, Paul's ten years of commitment and ministry clearly brought us into adulthood.

During Paul’s tenure, membership doubled, programs proliferated, music filled the air, and the community deepened. We are proud of the ways we were strengthened by conflicts during these years, especially those that arose around the Central American Sanctuary Movement and the Persian Gulf War. By 1985, we were literally “bursting at the seams” and embarked on a plan to build a new sanctuary building. By 1987, our religious education program had grown to the point that we decided to call a full-time Director of Religious Education. In 1989, we decided to initiate a two-service format to accommodate our growing congregation. Then, after several years of study with an architect, in October 1991, we voted to move ahead and break ground for our new sanctuary in May 1992.

Unfortunately, shortly after we had committed ourselves to this building program, Paul Johnson received a call to a new pulpit that he simply could not refuse. We immediately started a search for an interim minister and a settled minister.

Rev. Andrea Greenwood
Interim Minister
1991-1992

Rev. Andrea Greenwood, a minister in transition, served as our interim minister during the 1991-92 church year. Groundbreaking for our new sanctuary/classroom building was a significant event of that year.

The building program took more than two years and ended with severe conflicts between the church and the builder. We finally took possession of our new building in June 1994.

Rev. Fern Stanley
Interim Minister
1992-1993

Rev. Fern Stanley was our second interim minister, in 1992-93. Fern’s year was marked with the celebration of our 40th anniversary, and near completion of the new sanctuary building.

Rev. James Marshall Bank
Minister
1993-1999

Our search for a settled minister resulted in a call by the congregation to Rev. James Marshall Bank. Jim’s service to us opened new paths of understanding between us and the gay community. Many appreciated his scholarly bent and gift of poetry. He brought a lot of energy and knowledge to our church community.

Through a combination of unfortunate circumstances, our membership began to decline and our pledge income declined. We struggled to maintain both a full time minister and DRE but we were unable to do so. Other indications arose that ultimately resulted in Jim resigning his ministry with us.

Rev. Kerry Mueller
Interim Minister
1999-2000

We again initiated a search for a new settled minister and a new interim minister. Rev. Kerry Mueller came to minister to us for one year, 1999-2000, following nine months of doing it on our own again as we did in the middle 70s. Kerry brought great new energy and insights to our congregation. She served us very well.

Rev. Elizabeth A. Lerner
Minister
2000-present

Our search for a settled minister resulted in the virtually unanimous call from our congregation to Rev. Elizabeth Lerner, who joined us in August 2000. Liz, as she wishes to be addressed, is not only a seasoned minister but comes with new vitality and scholarship. We are enjoying a new condition in our sanctuary—it is beginning to be crowded.

We feel fully at home now and are going about the business of keeping up our buildings and grounds. We are blessed in both these efforts by the very generous contributions of time and energy of many people especially Rick Lohmeyer, our Property Committee Char and Daisy Grubbs, our Landscaping Committee Chair.

We hope that you will come and visit us and partake of our beautiful buildings, grounds and community.