First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans

173 YEARS OF LIBERAL RELIGION
IN THE DEEP SOUTH

In the interest of accuracy, there are two dates by which we might trace our legacy: Our first existence as a gathered congregation, or when Rev. Clapp was excommunicated and the membership decided to follow him. For the purposes of this chronology, we will start at the beginning and let you choose.

1818 Rev. Sylvester Larned arrived in New Orleans as a missionary for the Connecticut Mission Society.

1819 THE STRANGER'S CHURCH: Our first church building at St. Charles & Gravier was a modest brick structure which became known as Dr. Clapp’s Church or the Stranger’s Church. It was built in 1819 and burned in 1851, a victim of the fire at the nearby St. Charles Hotel.

1821 Rev. Theodore Parson Clapp arrived in New Orleans as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. Always a pragmatist, Clapp asked that the church get their financial affairs in order before he accepted their call. Judah Touro, a wealthy Jewish philanthropist, and a state-sanctioned lottery came to the rescue. Clapp believed in free speech and the need to maintain an open forum for all ideas. Education was important to him. In 1824 he was appointed President of the struggling College of Orleans. He did not succeed in saving it, but managed to get himself fined $20 for presiding over a ball for "slaves and free people of color." Clapp was a strong supporter of the Medical College of New Orleans (now Tulane University). He gave the invocation at its opening session and allowed the church to be used for classes and for the first commencement exercises. He was also a trustee of the Touro Free Library.

1832 Rev. Clapp was excommunicated in December by the Presbyterian Synod for preaching the heresy of universal salvation.

1833 An overwhelming majority of members voted to retain Clapp as pastor despite his ex-communication. Ties with the Presbyterian Church were severed. Those members not supporting Rev. Clapp continued as the First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans (now located across the street from us).

1837 The Unitarian Society of Boston sent a representative to New Orleans to explore the possibility of establishing an official Unitarian Church in the city. Deciding that the time was not ripe, they instead asked Rev. Clapp for permission to list his church in the Association’s Directory.

REVERAND SLYVESTER LARNED (1796-1820), b. in Pittsfield, Mass.; studied at Andover and graduated from Princeton in 1816.He was ordained in New York and was quickly recognized as a gifted preacher. Declining many offers for settled positions he instead followed his missionary desire for the southern States, and came to New Orleans, pioneering the First Presbyterian Church. While ministering to the sick during an outbreak of Yellow Fever, he contracted that disease and died at the age of 24.

THE STRANGERS CHURCH
ST. CHARLES AVE.
& COMMON ST.

1851 Our first church building, The Strangers Church was destroyed by a huge fire that also destroyed the St. Charles Hotel. Judah P. Touro provided a temporary home and again assisted in the re-building, this time at Julia St. and St. Charles Ave. in downtown New Orleans.

CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH JULIA ST. & ST. CHARLES AVE.

REV. THEODORE CLAPP (1792-1866), born in Easthampton, MA; graduated from Yale then entered Andover (Calvinist) Theological Seminary near Boston. When Clapp died in Louisville in May 1866 he was quietly buried there, but his body was soon brought back to New Orleans, where many thousands attended a funeral service held for him in March 1867. His final burial was in New Orleans' Cypress Grove Cemetery.

1867 Rev. Thomas Eliot, of St. Louis, came as an interim minister to a congregation in financial chaos. He was successful in his ministry, but there followed a long series of temporary ministers, several of whom financially exploited the congregation.

1881 Rev. Charles Allen accepted a call to ministry in New Orleans. He was enchanted by the city and had a clear vision of the role of First Unitarian Church, as the congregation was now called, in the South. He vigorously campaigned for denominational support, which was eventually forthcoming.

1883 Rev. Allen met with Catholic and Jewish religious leaders to form a Conference of Charities, forerunner of the United Way, to consolidate and organize charitable giving in the city. Rev. Clapp’s body was returned to New Orleans for burial. The funeral was a major event in the city attended by hundreds of mourners and citizens and memorialized in the local newspaper.

1893 Rev. Walter C. Pierce assumed the pulpit. He persuaded the church leaders to relocate in the uptown area, a newly developed part of the city experiencing a residential boom.

DR. S.A. ELLIOT

1902 A new church home, our 4th church building was erected on the corner of Jefferson and Danneel Streets. Dr. S. A. Elliot, president of the American Unitarian Association, preached at the dedication service.

REV. HENRY
WILDER FOOTE
was minister
at this time.

1911 REV. GEOFRGE KENT, an English Unitarian, began his ministry. His message appealed to the young families moving into the uptown area. Rev. Kent served until 1920, when he retired. However, he returned to the pulpit in 1929 following a series of three young, inexperienced ministers, and led the congregation until 1934.

1934 REV. CHARLES GIRELIUS, a Christian Unitarian, accepted our call to ministry. During his tenure in New Orleans, he took up the cause of school teachers who protested the imposition of a loyalty oath during the witch hunt for Communists which occurred during the Great Depression.

1945 REV. ALFRED HOBART assumed the pulpit and reached out to several new families with young children.

1940 REV. THADDEUS CLARK led First Church during World War II.

1950 REV. ALBERT D'ORLANDO was called to First Church. Under his leadership, the church grew significantly and assumed a leadership role on issues related to civil rights and the Vietnam War.

Early in Rev. D’Orlando’s ministry, the congregation undertook the daring action of a weekly radio program to reach unknown Unitarians in the community. This program continued for seven years and contributed very significantly to the church’s growth. It became necessary to rent Sunday School rooms from the nearby Jewish Community Center. Our ties with the Jewish community have been strong since the time of Rev. Clapp.

For more information about Rev. D'Orlando, his sermons, and The Annual Albert D'Orlando Lecture On Social Justice click here.

1958 Our fourth church building was located on the same Jefferson Ave. and Daneel St. corner site in the suburbs as our third building had been. That building had served us since 1893, and was demolished when it was decided it was unsafe to hold services in it any longer.

Local architect, Albert Ledner, member and President of our congregation, designed the new building in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright with open expanses of glass, brick and stained wood.

1960s-1970s First Church was one of the few places in the city where racially mixed groups could meet. As a result of our involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, both the church and the parsonage were fire bombed in the early 1960s. The church also played an active role in the anti-war movement. Part of Rev. D’Orlando’s ministry was the establishment of other UU churches in the Gulf South, such as our churches in Baton Rouge and a second in New Orleans.

1981 REV. MICHAEL MCGEE was called to First Church, following Rev. D’Orlando’s retirement. Under his leadership First Church welcomed the gay community into active membership.

1988 REV. SUZANNE MEYER was called to ministry at First Church. Under her leadership, membership continued to grow. First Church joined with several other churches and synagogues to found All Congregations Together, a community organizing group designed to pressure politicians and government officials to respond to community needs.

1994 First Church moved to a much larger space, a few blocks away, which enabled us to accommodate our growth and continue our mission as an urban church. Our current building covers a city block.

1997 Rev. Meyer accepted the call to All Souls Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we began the exciting process of seeking a new minister to guide us through the next phase of our growth.

2001 REV. GUY LAMOTHE became full time minister of First Church after serving First Church as a part-time interim minister. Rev. Guy brought to us a deep awareness of our dependence and interactions with our environment.

2003 REV. KRISTA TAVES came to us as an interim minister after the departure of Rev. LaMothe.

2005 REV. MARTA I. VALENTIN was called by our congregation as our new minister. We welcomed Rev. Marta with open arms.

2005, AUGUST 29th, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, but it was the breaking of the levees that caused the most damage to the city of New Orleans. First Church was flooded. As you can see it was above the middle of our door in this part of the building. The building has been gutted and we are in the process of planning for our future.