Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit

A rally outside the church in 2012 advocating marriage equality in the state of New Jersey.

Beacon UU was founded by area residents who felt that Summit needed a liberal church, emphasizing ethics and love as the core of religion, and encouraging all members to search for their own religious truths.[6] Seventeen charter members of the church called Reverend Brown to be the first minister.[7][8][9]

The group met in rented locations until funds were allocated to construct a building at the current location on Springfield and Waldron Avenues. An existing house (later called "Community House") was moved up Waldron to make room for a new building facing Springfield Avenue. Architect and member Joy Wheeler Brown designed the building to reflect the style of Colonial New England meeting houses, and incorporated elements of St. Paul's Chapel in New York City and King's Chapel in Boston. Construction began in 1912 and the sanctuary was formally dedicated on October 21, 1913. Also in 1912, the church adopted the name All Souls' Church, Unitarian-Universalist, having members from both denominations.[7][10][11]

In 1914, the church called Frank C. Doan, a pacifist who voiced his opposition to war in April, 1917, when the United States joined in the "Great War." This was extremely unpopular in New Jersey, and given strong criticism from the state's newspapers, he offered his resignation to the Board of Trustees. They refused it.[7][12]

From 1933 to 1944, A. Powell Davies was the minister. A former Methodist, he had a profound influence on the church[12] and also on the Unitarian movement. In 1942, a convocation of Unitarian ministers was held in Summit to develop a Unitarian statement of faith.[7][12] Davies convinced the church, then unaffiliated and named the "Summit Community Church," that since it was accepting support from the American Unitarian Association, it should rejoin the Unitarian Association.[12]

In 1945, the church called Jacob Trapp, a theist and a poet. He was the minister until 1970.[13] He also took inspiration from St. Francis and wrote his own translation of the Tao Te Ching.[14] During Trapp's tenure, the church grew considerably, drawing many members from Bell Labs. Among these were Harold Black, inventor of the negative feedback amplifier, and James William Welsh.[15]

The years from 1970 to 1988 saw half a dozen ministers and interims, and reduction in the church membership, before David Bumbaugh served from 1988 to 1999, after which he became professor of ministry at Meadville/Lombard Theological School.[6] In 1995, the church called its first woman minister, Beverley Bumbaugh, David's wife.[6]

In the 1990s, the steeple became structurally unsound, and was removed.

Under the leadership of minister Vanessa Southern (2001–2014), Summit membership grew to 529 members in 2012.[16] In late 2011, the congregation voted to pursue the purchase of an adjacent property.

View from the entranceway of the Unitarian church following an early snowstorm in October 2011. Photo: looking across Waldron Avenue towards Springfield Avenue.

Beacon UU has an unusual leadership model, combining two ordained ministers with a lay executive director.[17] The staff also includes a Music Director, a Director of Religious Education, a Religious Education Coordinator, a Stewardship Director, a Membership and Youth Coordinator, and a sexton.[18]

Beacon UU holds two traditional Sunday morning services along with religious education classes for children during each service. On Sunday nights, the Youth Group holds a Worship Service.[19]

In 2007, the congregation began its involvement with The Irvington Initiative, a partnership between the congregation and the Chancellor Avenue School in Irvington, NJ. Beacon's Social Justice Committee provides tutoring, educational workshops, holiday gifts, and fund-raising events for the children in the largely African-American school.[16][20] Also in 2007, members of the congregation started the "Moving Toward Peace" initiative. The congregation voted to call for an end to the war in Iraq, began a weekly tradition of striking a gong for each service member killed that week in Iraq or Afghanistan, and prepared a wall of ribbons, one ribbon for each service member killed, to display in front of the building on Springfield Avenue.[16] In 2010, UCS was named a "Breakthrough Congregation" at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly and received the first Social Justice Congregation Award from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee "for its efforts to advance human rights work in collaboration with UUSC."[21]

Beacon UU is an active member of the Summit Interfaith Council, a coalition of 19 local religious groups that “seek the welfare of the city.” Rev. Emilie Boggis was president in 2014-2015 and the previous minister, Rev. Vanessa Southern, has also been president.[22]

Beacon UU has had a partner Unitarian church in Barot, Transylvania (Romania), since 1992. The partnership includes visits from Barot to Summit, and vice versa, and Beacon provides some financial support for the Barot church and scholarships for university students.[23]

The congregation has sponsored numerous talks on such subjects as racial justice, experiences of civil rights protesters in the 1960s,[24] readings of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,[25] "intentional integration,"[26] Darfur refugees,[27] healthier eating and diet,[28] shamanism,[29] meditation,[30] and other topics. Beacon UU cooperated with other churches on a project entitled Raise the Roof to build affordable housing for persons in Summit,[31] working alongside Habitat for Humanity.[32] It held an annual garage sale from 1977 to 2010.[33]

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