Mission

The mission of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron (UUCA) is to promote religious freedom and social justice, celebrate diversity, provide a caring community, and nurture lifelong spiritual development through our daily lives as individuals and as a congregation. We respect diverse sources of religious inspiration and endeavor to teach our children and ourselves to live with reverence for life and in harmony with all creation.

Our History

Akron's Unitarian Universalist Church takes pride in its rich heritage. Founding members valued independent thinking, education, and tolerance, much as current members do. Universalism was introduced to Akron in 1811 by an early settler, Major Miner Spicer, a native of Groton, Connecticut. Spicer's log cabin, built at what is now the intersection of Exchange and Spicer Streets, was the destination of many circuit-riding Universalist ministers.

In 1837 the first Universalist Society meeting was attended by six families - whose financial support helped build a new Universalist church in 1839. This structure, known to many as "the finest stone church in Ohio," was the site of several historic events, such as the 1843 General Convention of the Universalists of America. Abolitionist and former slave Sojourner Truth made her famous "Ain't I A Woman?" speech at the "stone church" during a controversial women's rights convention in 1851. Unfortunately, the Universalist Society eventually lost many of its strong financial supporters. In 1853 because of a severe budget crisis and a shrinking congregation, the church building was sold to the Baptist Society.

The slump in support proved to be only temporary, however, and in 1870 the Ohio Universalist Convention selected Akron as the site for a denominational college, due to strong financial commitment from Akron industrialist John R. Buchtel. Buchtel College renewed local interest in Universalism. The school's first president served as pastor of the re-established Universalist Society, and the school's chapel was used as the Society's sanctuary for the next seven years. This tradition continued as four more Buchtel College presidents were also ministers of the Universalist Church. The "golden era of Universalism" in Akron began in 1879, when a beautiful red brick Gothic church with a huge tower and magnificent stained-glass windows was built at the corner of Mill Street and South Broadway. John Buchtel, Joy Pendleton, and Ferdinand Schumacher, of Quaker Oats fame, were among the financiers of this impressive edifice.

Although the official alliance between the Universalist Church and Buchtel College ended in 1913, many campus leaders have played prominent roles in the Akron church. Buchtel College later became The University of Akron, now the third largest university in the state.

In 1958 the congregation of approximately 300 members was having difficulty maintaining an outdated facility. The 1879 building failed to meet city safety codes and was in need of more parking space. Thus, a decision was made to purchase six and a half acres in the "rural" village of Fairlawn for a modern church. In 1961, as the Unitarians and Universalists merged into one denomination nationally, the Akron congregation dedicated this new facility and selected The Reverend Gordon McKeeman as its minister. Approximately 145 dedicated members had pledged to build this structure - and paid off the mortgage in only nine years! In 1963 the local church selected its current name, The Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron (UUCA).

The 1970s brought innovations to the UUCA, including community Seder services, spring choir concerts, adult evening classes, and "classes by choice" in the church school. The 1980s brought even more changes. The Rev. McKeeman left Akron to become president of Starr King School for the Ministry in California, and The Rev. Mark H. Lange became the church's seventeenth minister in December of 1984, and Cossiette Conley was selected as the church's first Minister of Religious Education. At this point, the 25-year-old building had begun showing its age, and the Renaissance 25 capital fund drive helped provide financial support for major structural repairs. Recent work has focused on beautification of the church and its grounds, including addition of a Remembrance Garden on the front lawn.

Today our congregation remains dynamic and vibrant, responding to the needs of our members - and others in need - with compassion and caring. Our diverse "village" comprises a group of individual seekers, committed to the quest for truth - and to each other. A web of shared values and dreams binds us as a religious community - our "family" - and we welcome others who choose to make it theirs.