Robert H. Meneilly

The church was founded on February 13, 1949 with 282 charter members.[1][6] The Presbyterian Board of Missions, seeing the Prairie Village area as one of the fastest-growing regions in the country without a United Presbyterian denomination, invested a $100,000 to construct a parsonage and a church. The church would also be experimental in that it would be a community church for all denominations. Meneilly began going door-to-door, calling on prospective members, not knowing their religious backgrounds. As a result, Presbyterians were likely not in the majority in the initial charter of 282 members.[5][3] By 1954, membership had grown to 1,600.[5] The church grew to more than 7,000 members under Meneilly’s leadership and was the PC(USA)’s second-largest congregation during his tenure.[1]

Meneilly was an outspoken advocate for racial equality and fair housing.[7][8] During the height of the nation's civil rights movement in the mid-1960s, Meneilly delivered several sermons encouraging members of his suburban congregation to welcome their Black neighbors.[5] In a 2012 oral history, Meneilly reflected on the impact of his civil rights preaching. "It was very hard for some people," he recalled. "We lost one year probably 300 members."[1][4] Meneilly worked for civil rights in the 1960s, women’s rights in the 1970s, and LGBTQ rights in the 1980s and ’90s. [9]

In the early 1970s, Meneilly become a vocal critic of the Vietnam War.[1] In 1972, he served as an observer to the Vietnam Paris Peace talks as part of the Citizens Conference on Ending the War, a coalition of some 50 Protestant church leaders.[10][5] After that, he preached that the war was unjust and unwinnable — a position unpopular with many of those in his congregation. Over a two-year period, it caused nearly 500 members to leave the church, although a number of them later returned to the congregation.[5] In addition, Meneilly preached that churches were criminally silent for not opposing the Vietnam War.[10]

In 1993, Meneilly gave a sermon titled "The Dangers of Religion",[11][12] which denounced what he called the stealth campaigns of the religious right, was reprinted in condensed form in The New York Times [13] and other publications. [1] Following that sermon, Meneilly and five other area civic leaders formed the Mainstream Coalition,[14] which is dedicated to "creating a more representative and responsive government by empowering informed participation and meaningful action in the political process," according to the coalition’s website. [1][9]

In a report from Walter Cronkite which was previewed in a 1994 article in The Washington Post, the article features Meneilly as a voice against the Christian Right.[15]