2. Congregation Histories : Kansas

Overland Park

Unitarian Fellowship of Johnson County

Peace and contentment are sometimes the children of controversy. In the winter of 1980–81, a divisive issue arose within the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Society, a congregation of some 120–130 persons in Overland Park, Kansas. The minister had previously resigned, effective September 1981. With his encouragement, a member of the congregation asked the Board of Directors to adopt a resolution requesting the minister to withdraw his resignation. The Board, being aware of a division of viewpoint on the matter, determined that the question was one for the congregation to decide. The minister opposed a congregational vote. A petition followed, and the congregation engaged in a verbal and literary knockdown—with the minister taking an active part in the contest. As “sometimes” happens with Unitarians, feelings ran high. When the dust settled and the minister was permitted to withdraw his resignation, most of the Board and a third of the congregation made their own withdrawal—and formed what is now the Unitarian Fellowship of Johnson County.

By the end of 1981, the Fellowship had become a corporation and adopted by-laws under the name, Unitarians of Johnson County. On November 21, 1982, it was formally affiliated with UUA, and 30 founding members signed the membership rolls.

By the end of 1981, the Fellowship has held its Sunday services in the evening—in rented quarters—initially in meeting rooms in a Prairie Village shopping center, then at the clubhouse at Greenbrier Apartments, and since 1982, in the facilities of a Unity Church in Overland Park. Two factors combined to keep the Sunday services in the evening: the availability of a suitable meeting place and a desire to avoid direct competition with the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Society which serves the same geographical area.

For five years, the Fellowship has conducted regular services from September through May. No minister has been employed, but clergymen of various faiths have been speakers, including ministers from other area Unitarian churches. Question-and-answer periods and group discussions are frequent, and members take turns with outside speakers in presenting programs. Attendance has held fairly steady, with 20-30 generally present.

A rudimentary RE program was carried on for about two years, but then discontinued.

The Fellowship has a lively social program. Most members—there are currently 45—participate in monthly Dinners for Eight at the homes of one another, and there are monthly congregational parties celebrating our fellowship. These include theater parties, potluck dinners, New Year’s Eve bashes, gourmet dinner parties, boating trips and commiseration events dedicated to the IRS in mid-April each year. Without doubt, we have put the emphasis on fun and fellowship—while not neglecting attention to ethical values and social concerns.

(Author not noted)