Heirloom #31
by Will Frank
The Unitarian Church of Norfolk weathered the financial crisis of the 1930s and disruption of continuity by change of ministers (Harry Lutz left in 1934), and survived. The congregation in time grew in spiritual awareness and witness, and in numbers. The eventual solid footing of the church might not have been possible, or even attempted, without the support of the counsel and funds of the American Unitarian Association.
One might see the story of the church from its first founding in 1912, through its refounding in 1930, and up to today in terms of four major periods.
1. 1912-1917. The First Unitarian Church of Norfolk struggled to survive when the AUA pulled its popular and energetic minister away to found another church. Then the congregation could not find a way to develop an outreach mission when its new minister heeded a call to serve the soldiers going off to fight in the First World War. Without a sense of mission, community, or stewardship, the church folded.
2. 1930-1950s. The recovenanted Unitarian Church of Norfolk, well supported by the AUA, became a more stable congregation with a greater degree of stewardship and freedom of religious thought as the bonding elements. It was, however, an in-grown congregation with a dependent mentality, little sense of mission, no growth, and periodic conflicts with its ministers if they did not fit the accepted socially conservative mold of congregational leaders.
3. 1950s-1980s. With turbulent times over struggles for civil rights, tension over the Vietnam War, and Gaya and Lesbians finding in the church a spiritual home, the church changed its character and its membership more closely to witness for the values professed. Unity with a focus on social witness developed strong bonds within a growing congregation. Social change did, however, bring controversy into the church, which weathered the tension and came out stronger for it. The stronger church threw off the old sense of weakness and dependency and grew more self-reliant.
4. 1980s-Present. The congregation developed a greater sense of community and stewardship, although a sense of mission became somewhat dissipated. Some in the congregation nurture a strong sense of mission and social service, but mission in any specific sense has not galvanized the congregation as a whole as in the previous period. Rather, the values of acceptance and diversity remain the strongest elements bonding the congregation, which continues self-confident.
I, as one person reviewing our history, see three interrelated characteristics making a successful church. They may be summarized as Community, Mission, and Stewardship. If all three are strong, the church thrives and grows. If all are weak, the church fails. In between, the church survives with varying degrees of success. Plus and minus signs indicate my evaluation of the success of the church in terms of these three characteristics.
Period Community Mission Stewardship Summary
1912-1917 — — + — Failure and collapse
1930-1950s + + + + + Bare Survival
1950s-1980s + + + + + + + + Mission and growth
1980s-Present + + + + + + + + Community and growth
This brings to a conclusion the special series of 31 Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Heirlooms. We would be interested in your reactions to the series and your thoughts about further ways we can explore and learn from the history of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk.