Fountain Street Church

Coming early in Wishart's career at FSC, the Furniture Workers Strike began as an effort to organize the furniture-making factories once so common to Grand Rapids. When the union's demands for a nine-hour day, pay by the hour and a 10 percent raise of the average wage were denied, Wishart and others intervened to try to prevent a strike with a commission whose report supported management. The workers went on strike for 17 weeks, ultimately failing in their efforts.

While supportive of Labor in principle, Wishart did not approve of union tactics. However, his social secretary (social worker) Viva Flaherty was publicly supportive of the workers, making the strike issue one that divided sympathies in the church as well as the community. Ms Flaherty had begun her career at FSC working with John Randall and chided Wishart for lacking the zeal she found in his predecessor.

In May 1917, the American neo-Gothic building which housed Fountain Street Church burned to the ground. No cause was ever determined. The massive neo-Romanesque structure which now stands in its place was completed in 1924 following seven years of work and planning on behalf of Wishart and the church (during which time worshipping took place at Powers Theater). Designed to serve as a public auditorium as well as a house of worship, the new building had a seating capacity of over 1500. The large bell tower became part of the city's official World War I Memorial, with tower room dedicated to the memory of those slain in the war which remains part of the church to this day.

In 1928, three years after his notable defense of John Scopes, Clarence Darrow came to FSC to debate Wishart on the subject of whether a "belief in a general purpose of the universe is rational and justified." Other notables had appeared before at the church, but this particular debate, conducted in the still-new auditorium, marked the beginning of FSC's inviting national and world figures to Grand Rapids to share their opinions and otherwise bring the world to West Michigan. A partial list and description of those who have appeared follows below.

Wishart died in 1933 while still serving, leaving a church building with a substantial mortgage to pay off at the outset of the Great Depression. His successor, Milton McGorrill, thus endured a difficult ministry, though he was the first FSC preacher to begin broadcasting his sermons. He left after 10 years to pursue a more prosperous career on the East Coast, ultimately serving both Baptist and Unitarian churches in New England.

Following his departure, Fountain Street Baptist Church found itself at its lowest ebb since 1869, with the mortgage taking up nearly half of the annual budget and the Great Depression making each year more challenging than the last. Attendance was barely above 100, and it was clear that a different and daring direction had to be pursued in order for Fountain Street Church to survive.

The search committee again consulted the University of Chicago Divinity School, taking the university's recommendation to consider a young minister in Kenilworth Illinois named Duncan Littlefair.

Arriving in 1944 at the age of 32, Littlefair preached in a manner unprecedented in a town heretofore saturated by a strictly conservative religious culture. His personal manner was also remarkable, as he was known to drive a convertible, wear a beret and smoke cigarettes in public. A scandal to some, a radical to others, Littlefair nevertheless saw the church grow from less than 200 in attendance to over 1000 regular weekly worshippers shortly after he arrived. At its height under Littlefair's ministry, FSC reckoned over 2000 members.

Littlefair's tenure redefined the church, jettisoning the Baptist name and association, rewriting its bylaws and restructuring its governance and management. The traditional Sunday School was remodeled on the then-new theory of character development and so was called 'Character School'. Youth programming at its height involved over 200 high schoolers who brought rock 'n roll bands to the church along with notable speakers, just as their own parents had. Many major bands of the era performed there under "Fountain Club" sponsorship, including The Mothers of Invention, The Moody Blues, and Alice Cooper.

It wasn't until 1960 that FSC formally separated from the American Baptists and dropped its Baptist name (although it remains on the building's cornerstone). Littlefair himself had by then changed his clergy affiliation to the UUA, but despite his suggestions that FSC might or even should join the denomination, he ultimately preferred that the church remain independent and non-denominational.

Littefair's high-water mark came when friend and member Philip Buchen brought him to Washington, D.C. to give advice on whether President Gerald Ford should pardon President Richard Nixon. Though himself a social liberal, Littlefair defended the action publicly, despite strong feelings in the church that doing so was wrong. One lasting effect was the impact of his friend Joseph Campbell. Returning several times over the years, his theories echoed those of Littefair and deeply affected many members' own spiritual life.

Littefair retired in 1980. In 1982, the church selected David O. Rankin of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta to serve it, which he did for 16 years until his retirement. During that time, Rankin penned "Ten Things Commonly Believed Among Us", which continues to be widely used by the Unitarian Universalist Association as well as Fountain Street Church. Rankin was also a regular contributor to American Rabbi magazine and well known in Unitarian circles, serving major churches in San Francisco and Indianapolis prior to coming to Grand Rapids.

Duncan Littlefair, meanwhile, remained active in the congregation, helping to choose Rankin's successor, Brent Smith, who, during his brief tenure, adapted FSC to the Internet age and rebuilt the church's organ. Differences over leadership and finances led to Smith's departure less than two years after his arrival.

Littlefair died in January 2004, at the age of 91. The following fall, Fountain Street Church selected Weldon Frederick Wooden to serve as their Senior Minister. Wooden, too, was a graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School, making Rankin the only Senior Minister not to have studied under their auspices. He also continued the tradition of senior clergy who are from or connected to Unitarian Universalism, serving 11 years at the UU Congregational Society in Brooklyn New York, following service in Texas and Massachusetts.

Wooden, in fact, shares characteristics of his predecessors. Like Wishart, he had served on the East Coast before coming to FSC. Like McGorrill, he arrived at a time of economic uncertainty in the area. Like Littlefair, he had never before served a large church. Like Rankin, he was more a writer and thinker than an organizer. Like Smith, he knew that 21st-century churches needed to adapt to advancements in technology and media.

In August 2010, the church was defaced with piles of feces at the entrances along with conservative Christian literature. The incident was not reported to the police. The church's "Peace Pole" in support of diversity had also been knocked down several times and now is anchored in concrete.[1]

The church commemorated its 150th year in 2019 and was registered as a historic site.

In August 2020, the congregation elected the first woman and first nonwhite senior minister, Rev. Mariela Perez-Simons.

In 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned the case which had held abortion was a constitutional right, Roe v. Wade, the church repeated its supports for abortion rights and repeated its support through a support service and encouraging people to argue for abortion rights.[2][3]

In February 2023, the congregation elected its first queer senior minister, Rev. Christopher Roe.