New and Updated Histories : Kansas
Topeka
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Topeka, Kansas (UUFT)
An update of the original UUFT history published in Part 2
The Unitarian movement in the United States in the 1850’s embraced the struggle over the attempted expansion of slavery into the newly created Kansas territory. The movement’s publication, The Christian Register, supported the New England Immigrant Aid Society in its effort to populate Kansas with opponents of the expansion of slavery. Unfortunately, internal disputes limited the capability of the Unitarian Church, established in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1856, to play a major role in that community during the Bleeding Kansas era. The Lawrence church survived, but was eventually dissolved in 1944. A church was established in Topeka in 1885 but dissolved in the 1930’s. A church formed in Wichita in 1887, and a fellowship emerged in Topeka in the early 1950s and became fully recognized in 1961. Fellowships formed in Manhattan in 1957, in Lawrence in 1958, and in Hays, briefly, in 1962.
The first Unitarian church of Topeka was formed in the 1880’s by a group of liberal-minded individuals, many of whom had been Unitarian in the New England communities where they originated. A church was constructed in downtown Topeka west of the State Capitol. The American Unitarian Association (AUA) sent an Englishman, Dr. Enoch Powell, to serve as their first minister. According to Mrs. Lewis Keeshan, the first recorder of Topeka’s Unitarian history, “From the beginning, this church was a leader in the religious, cultural, intellectual, and civil life of Topeka. It numbered among its members many of the most prominent and brilliant men and women of the city; and its ministers were men of amity and strength.”
From 1914 to 1921, the church, without a minister, was held together by a strong Women’s Alliance. Rev. Clifton Merrit Gray, a New Englander by birth, arrived in 1921 to guide the congregation. Membership increased significantly as members of the community responded to Gray’s charming personality and skill in presenting scholarly sermons. He formed the “Sunday Evening Forum,” a program recognized throughout Topeka for presenting topics of the day for critical discussion and debate. The Forum drew capacity audiences. In 1932, a debate between Clarence Darrow and Donald Muir on capital punishment was part of the Forum.
Rev. Gray passed away in 1932 and was followed by Rev. Maynard Van Dyke, who had to resign because of ill health in 1938. Like all organizations in the 1930s, the Topeka Unitarian church confronted serious financial difficulties. A liberal group from Central Park Christian Church withdrew from that church in 1937. The Unitarians felt that two liberal groups should not compete for members, so a union was formed between the dissidents from the Central Park Christian Church and the Unitarians, with the Unitarians furnishing the church building and the other dissidents providing the minister. The merged group identified themselves as the Topeka Community Church with Mr. C. G. McCallister as minister.
The new congregation struggled with financial challenges which led to McCallister’s resignation and a merger with the First Congregational Church in 1940. The Unitarian label ended with the fusion of the Topeka Community Church although there was an affiliation of the Community Church with the Western Conference of the AUA.
Following the merger in 1940, the Unitarian church building, which was owned by the AUA, was sold to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints. They occupied it until the property was sold to the State of Kansas to make way for the construction of the Docking State Office Building. The Unitarian Women’s Alliance continued to meet separately, with speakers being independently provided from Chicago by the AUA. Apparently some Unitarians did not feel at home with the new arrangement. Horace Wilkie and Marco Morrow, an assistant publisher at Capper Publications, took steps to keep the faith alive outside the First Congregational Church.
Based on AUA extension section files, a group formed in 1950 as a fellowship, and, although formally constituted in 1952, it was not particularly successful. The correspondence reflects the AUA’s general dismay with the group’s lack of growth and with proposals from the group to disband. Fellowship members met in various locations in Topeka. A new group was reconstituted in 1957 but it was not until 1961 that the present fellowship was organized and recognized by the AUA. This group created a property search committee led by member John Webber who arranged the purchase of a ranch-style home in southwest Topeka. The two-bedroom house, acquired in 1968, allowed for the conversion of the garage into the main meeting room and bed rooms into classrooms. A parking lot was added.
During the 1960s and 1970s membership came primarily from Washburn University and the Menninger Clinic’s faculty and staff. A humanist theology dominated programming. During the 1970s, social justice issues became important with focus initially on recognition and support of gay rights causing some brief internal resistance. Other social justice issues included opposition to nuclear power (i.e., Wolf Creek power plant in Burlington, Kansas), endorsement of the Equal Rights Amendment, decriminalization of victimless crimes, separation of church and state, abortion rights, and abolition of the death penalty.
At the end of the 1970s, some members expressed a desire for growth in the fellowship. With support from the UUA the fellowship engaged the services of a weekend minister, Rev. Alexander “Scotty” Meek, who traveled to Topeka from Minnesota in the fall of 1979 and the spring of 1980. Following this experience, the fellowship secured through Prairie Star District the services of extension minister, David Phraener. Although a dynamic presence in the pulpit, Rev. Phraener’s presence created controversy.
The fellowship again sought to expand membership, religious education programs, facilities, and professional ministerial services in the 1980’s. With the push for growth, controversies arose which led to contested elections for the first time over competing visions for the fellowship focused on support for or opposition to growth. In 1982 the membership voted for a building addition. The expansion was accomplished with fundraising and low-interest loans from Prairie Star District, and the UUA’s Veetch Fund. Ground was broken in spring, 1985, and by fall the fellowship’s current sanctuary and new restrooms were available.
Part-time minister, Ms. Leslie Anbarari, a local liberal Presbyterian minister, was hired in 1985, and worked with the congregation for two years. Part-time ministerial services were all the fellowship could afford at the time, and no UU minister was willing to relocate for a part-time position. Member Toby Scanland’s death from AIDS in 1985 was a significant event in the life of the fellowship. Many members provided support during his failing health. He left a sizable donation to the fellowship which assisted in reducing the burden of the building debt. The sanctuary in the new addition was named Toby Scanland Hall.
In 1990–1991, the UUFT engaged Rev. Judith Walker Riggs as weekend minister for one service per month for a year. Her presence kept alive the growing desire for a minister. A long-range planning process was initiated, identifying hiring of a minister as a major priority of the fellowship. A three-quarter time extension minister, Rev. David Grimm was hired in 1994. He devoted one-quarter time to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Manhattan. In 1997, Rev. Grimm was hired on a permanent basis.
The 1990s were a period of modest expansion. Yoga classes became a staple of fellowship life, small group ministry was initiated, and religious education for all ages flourished. The fellowship paid off its mortgage on the 1985 addition. Lisa Schwartz, a member who attended seminary in Kansas City, was ordained by UUFT in 1998. In 1999, a house adjacent to the fellowship’s building was purchased and transformed into the Youth House, alleviating some of the crowding that occurred with the growth in the youth religious education program.
With the turn of the century, the fellowship sought to improve its physical facilities. A new parking area was constructed in 2001, the exterior of the building and the interior of Toby Scanland Hall were painted, a landscape project was completed, and new playground equipment was constructed. Rev. Grimm resigned in 2002 to pursue a career in research and writing while continuing his ministerial duties with the Manhattan fellowship. A search process for a new minister was initiated and Rev. Lynn Brodie was selected as interim minister to serve for one year while the fellowship searched for its new minister. Lynn provided the fellowship with its first full-time religious professional. After a year of her dynamic interim ministry, the fellowship voted overwhelmingly to call a full-time settled minister, Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz.
The children’s religious education program continued to grow and fellowship members decided to completely renovate the small house next door into a Religious Education Annex. Through the generous donations of members’ and friends’ time and talent, in 2004 the RE Annex became a reality with three classrooms. Thanks to a Chalice Lighters Grant from Prairie Star District in 2005, the fellowship made another long-term dream a reality by calling Dr. Judith Sasser to be our half-time Director of Lifespan Religious Education. The childrens’ program continued to grow and develop with Dr. Sasser’s long experience in education and her deep commitment to Unitarian Universalism.
A member’s 2006 challenge grant of $10,000 to the fellowship, promised to give that amount, free and untrammeled, if members and friends increased their pledges to a total of $100,000. As a result, the stewardship drive came in over goal and the fellowship’s 2007 budget was at an all time high, allowing for expanded services, including the hiring of a one-quarter time administrative assistant. Sunday attendance continues to increase, filling the Toby Scanland Memorial Fellowship Hall nearly to capacity on most Sundays. The fellowship is currently planning for two services in the fall of 2007.