| Beverly Unitarian Church | |
|---|---|
 The Givins Castle in 2007. | |
 | |
| 41°42′25″N87°40′17″W / 41.706812°N 87.671336°W | |
| Location | 10244 South Longwood Drive Beverly, Chicago, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Unitarian Universalism |
| Membership | 70 adults, 10 children |
| Website | Beverly Unitarian Church |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1878 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | David Schwartz |
Beverly Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist ("UU") church in Chicago, Illinois. [1]
The church formed in 1951 by the merger of two congregations: the Beverly Unitarian Fellowship, which had begun in 1941, and the People's Liberal Church founded in 1878. [2] People's Liberal Church was known by a variety of names over the years: In 1878 it was called the Unitarian Universalist Christian Union Society of Englewood, or simply the Christian Union Society; in 1880 on moving to a new building, it was named First Universalist Church of Englewood; in 1889 it moved to a larger building and was called Stewart Avenue Universalist Church. [3]
Beverly Unitarian Church purchased the Givins Irish Castle building for $14,000 and has used it since 1942. [4]
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America Christian denominations with Unitarian and Universalist doctrines, respectively. However, modern Unitarian Universalists see themselves as a separate religion with its own beliefs and affinities. They define themselves as non-creedal, and draw wisdom from various religions and philosophies, including humanism, pantheism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Islam, and Earth-centered spirituality. Thus, the UUA is a syncretistic religious group with liberal leanings.
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious movement characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. Unitarian Universalists do not have an official, unified corpus of sacred texts but rather draw inspiration and guidance from the six sources: personal experience, prophetic utterances, world religions, Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist teachings, and spiritual teachings. Unitarian Universalist congregations include many atheists, agnostics, deists, and theists; there are churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world.
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The Rev. William G. Sinkford is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served as the seventh president of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), from 2001 to 2009. His installation as UUA president made him the first African American to lead that organization, or any traditionally white religious denomination in the United States.
Unitarian Universalism, as practiced by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), is a non-Creedal and Liberal theological tradition and an LGBTQ affirming denomination.
Donald Szantho Harrington was an American politician and religious leader.
Christian universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of universal reconciliation – the view that all human beings will ultimately be saved and restored to a right relationship with God. "Christian universalism" and "the belief or hope in the universal reconciliation through Christ" can be understood as synonyms. Opponents of this school, who hold that eternal damnation is the ultimate fate of some or most people, are sometimes called "infernalists."
Peter Morales is an American former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Morales was the UUA's first Latino president. In the early 2000s, he was the senior minister of the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Jefferson County, Colorado, a rapidly growing Unitarian Universalist congregation in the northwestern Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area. He also worked for the UUA from 2002 to 2004. In 2008, he announced his candidacy for president, and in 2009 he was elected. As the result of a controversy regarding the UUA's hiring practices and charges of institutional racism, Morales resigned as president in 2017, three months before the end of the term.
All Souls Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world.
Pacific Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist congregation located in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. It is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, within the Pacific Southwest District. PUC was recognized as one of four "Breakthrough Congregations" in 2008, reflected in a $75,000 donation to Community Church UU of New Orleans. Membership as of 2019 is around 180 with weekly attendance averaging over 90 adults and children.
First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles is an independent congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Since its founding in 1877 the church has been a leader in social justice activism for the Unitarian Universalist faith, and for the city of Los Angeles. Its embrace of progressive causes and sometimes radical politics have earned it a reputation as both a place of controversy and a beacon of justice. Its affiliated organization, Urban Partners Los Angeles, provides numerous programs in the neighborhood around the church.
Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit is a Unitarian Universalist ("UU") congregation in Summit, New Jersey, formally organized in 1908 as The Unitarian Church in Summit. It is active in social justice initiatives and received the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Social Justice Award in 2010. It has also been recognized as an outstanding UU congregation by various UU groups. In 2016, Robin Tanner became the Minister of Worship and Outreach.
The First Unitarian Church of Chicago is a Unitarian Universalist ("UU") church in Chicago, Illinois. Unitarians do not have a common creed and include people with a wide variety of personal beliefs, and include atheists, agnostics, deists, monotheists, pantheists, polytheists, pagans, as well as other belief systems.
Susan Frederick-Gray is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served as the ninth president of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 2017 to 2023. She was the first woman to be elected to the office.
Florence E. Kollock was an American Universalist minister and lecturer. She organized and served as pastor of the Stewart Avenue Universalist Church, Chicago, 1878–92. She subsequently served as pastor of the Universalist Church, Pasadena, California, 1892–95, where, with a membership of nearly 500, it was the largest congregation in the world under the charge of a woman. From 1904 till September 1910, she was the pastor of St. Paul's Universalist Church, Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts. Kollock served as President of the Woman's Centenary Association,, 1902–3. She lectured extensively in the U.S. and abroad on sociological and philanthropic problems. She was prominent in all reformatory and educational work, including the temperance movement and women's suffrage.
Sofía Betancourt is an American minister and professor who is the tenth president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The UUA president is the CEO and religious leader of Unitarian Universalism. Betancourt is the first woman of color and openly queer person to be elected to the office.
The Givins Beverly Castle is located in Beverly, Chicago, Illinois. It was built from 1886 to 1887 under the direction of Robert C. Givins, a successful real estate developer. It is a three-story structure with three crenelated towers. Givins lived in the castle from 1887 to 1894. From 1895 to 1897, the castle housed the Chicago Female College. Beverly Unitarian Church purchased the building for US$14,000 and has used it since 1942. It is the only building in the city described as a "castle."