Who Is HUC?
A Brief History of the Hammond Unitarian Church
In early 1996 steps began being taken that would lead to the eventual forming
of the Hammond Unitarian Church. The spark to make this happen was
the perceived need for an alternative form of religious expression in the
Hammond community.
In July of 1998 a reception was held at the Wesley Center (adjacent to the
SLU campus) that is marked as one of the first true meetings of this evolving
group of Hammond UUs. Folks who visited were invited to share their
spiritual histories and get to know each other better. Two months later
David Ord (minister of the Northshore UU Church in Lacombe, LA) would deliver
the first official service. Soon afterwards ads began being placed
in the Hammond Daily Star to announce meetings to the public. In the
beginning there were: no hymnals, no order of service, no pianist!
In March of 1999 steps began being taken to: develop a set of goals, establish
values, adopt a mission statement; draft by-laws; designate leaders; create
a religious education program and conflict-resolution committee; establish
a financial base; get the word out; generate membership... and all the other
things needed to create a new religious congregation.
By May of the same year the addition of second Sunday meetings began being
held for fellowship, and to incorporate a developing Building Your Own Theology
program into the activities. The fourth Sunday meetings continued,
which carried with them a more formal tone, including guest speakers and
the addition of musical accompaniment.
Initially the name for the group was the Hammond Unitarian Universalist Society.
Contact was established with the entity that would become our parent organization...
the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).
By the year 2000 steps were taken to purchase hymnals, become pro-active
in designing services, create a web site, and hold lay led services on 2nd
Sundays beginning in March. A rotation of ministers for 4th Sunday
meetings was established. Pledges began being called for. And
childcare became a regular part of the program.
Planning workshops in spring and summer generated some key documents for
our growth, including our Mission, Vision, & Value statements.
In April of the same year a Vision Workshop Meeting was held. It was
agreed in discussion that there are two overarching themes to our vision
(Nurturing Ourselves & Reaching Out to the Community). A list of
core values & goals is established.
On August 13 the first official Board of Trustees would pass the first set
of Our Bylaws for HUUS. Hammond Unitarian Universalists are on the
move!
On November 12, 2000, Hammond Unitarian Universalist Society held its Dedication
Sunday ceremony service to mark the official date of its beginning.
The membership book is opened for the first time. Charter Members were
invited to sign the membership book.
Since Dedication Sunday this growing congregation has continued to grow &
evolve. A change in location for our congregational activities was
closely accompanied by a change in name to: Hammond Unitarian Church.
These moves were made to further establish our identity in the community.
Other landmarks in our congregational growth include:
- Regular annual Congregational Meetings (in November)
- Participation of the membership in HUC development events such as:
- Religious Education (RE) programs for adults & children
- Lay led presentations of Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) services
- A calling for Wishes, Hopes, & Dreams
- Periodic Focus Meetings to plan direction
- Participation in community growth activities such as:
- Upgrade Tangipahoa
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
- Henslow Sparrow Project
- Recognition of other religions & cultures with events such as the HUC Passover Seder and Meal
- Regular group outings such as the mid February Camellia Garden Stroll at the State of Louisiana, Hammond Research Station
We have a lot to be proud of in our accomplishments thus far. It has taken
people power to get us to this point and people power will always be required
to sustain our church.
Developing members of HUC have stated that: "Being involved in the building
of a church is a humbling, overwhelming, frustrating, exciting, and rewarding
process. It is a task much larger than any one person... it takes all
of us to do it. This is a wonderful place to meet interesting people
and build a sense of community."
We welcome you to join us in the rewards of this effort, and to find out
more about who we are and where we are going! Perhaps it will be you
who will make the next landmark addition to our history!
