2. Congregation Histories : North Dakota

Fargo

Fargo-Moorhead Unitarian Universalist Church

The Fargo-Moorhead Unitarian Universalist Church was one of the first churches organized in this community. In 1892, the first church and parish house was constructed. The initial congregation was made up of prominent citizens and the Jewish community who were not large enough to build their own temple. The minister for that congregation was William Ballou who held pacifist and socialist beliefs. This became a source of controversy during World War I when the congregation came under community criticism. This controversy drove members of the congregation away, and with the departure of the Jewish community (as they were now large enough to build a temple) the church disbanded. The minister and his wife remained in Fargo and purchased the church and parish house from the congregation, held concerts, and brought in speakers for the public to hear.

There was no Unitarian presence in the community from approximately 1922 to 1952 when a group of NDSU professors joined together as a Unitarian group and began meeting regularly in the NDSU YMCA. The 1957 tornado destroyed that structure and the Unitarians began meeting in the downtown YMCA. They met Saturday nights every other week and were a discussion-oriented group. On Sundays the children’s religious education would be held in various members’ homes around town. The membership was growing now, from 10 in 1955 to about 30, and the membership was feeling the need to establish a permanent presence.

Through the early sixties, the group met in the Moorhead Post Office, now the Plains Art Museum, and began the search for a permanent meeting place. During this time the services consisted of speakers and discussions, or music depending on the talents of the members. We would also receive visits from the Minneapolis churches on a regular basis.

The search for a facility ended when Charles and Linda Moses purchased a building (our present location) and offered to sell it to the congregation in 1966. With the income from the upstairs and lower level rental property, and dedicated management and repairs, the building “paid itself off” and the mortgage was burned in 1982.

Membership had increased steadily and the need for ministerial leadership was becoming apparent. We participated in the Prairie Star’s extension ministry program that brought Reverend David Phreaner to our church from January to June of 1982. David’s work helped the membership grow from 47 to 85 and with that growth came younger families with children.

Having seen the advantages of professional leadership, we worked with the Bismarck Fellowship and together entered into a three year shared extension ministry.

Reverend Lucy Hitchcock worked diligently and traveled many miles to develop the two congregations and nourish the sparks of liberal religion in Minot, ND and in Underwood and Crookston, MN.

Lucy has left our congregation to be an Extension Consultant with the UUA in Boston. We are actively involved in the search process and hopeful of settling a full time minister by September 1986.

Our current membership is about 100 and we have about 40 children and youth in our RE program. After settling a full-time minister, we will start a search for larger quarters to house our growing congregation.

(Author not noted)