History of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntsville, Texas
The Huntsville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship was established on the Sunday after Labor Day in September 1983. Stuart and Beth Williamson, who relocated to Huntsville that year, ran an ad in the Huntsville Item inviting anyone interested in the Unitarian denomination to a brunch and discussion meeting at a restaurant where the Tejas Café is now located. Stuart prepared a talk explaining who the Unitarians are and what they believe. Two other people, Kelley and Anne Sigler, came to the meeting. Like Stuart and Beth, Kelley and Anne had been Unitarians before coming to Huntsville, so Stuart did not make his presentation. Encouraged by the warmth of the conversation at the first meeting, the four founders decided to form a fellowship.
In the spring of 1986, the fellowship held its first formal election of officers at a picnic meeting on the shore of Lake Livingston. Elected were Dr. A. J. [Jack] Westbrook, president; Kelley and Anne Sigler, vice presidents; Beth Williamson, secretary; and Hal Coleman, treasurer. Marilyn Camarca became newsletter editor and Doris McGonagle was religious education chair.
By the summer of 1986, the congregation had the minimum twenty members necessary to affiliate with the Unitarian Universalist Association. By the time we applied for affiliation, we could report twenty-two members. We were incorporated on September 3, 1986, and received our certificate of affiliation in October of that year. That same year we began meeting in the Laura Chapel of Huntsville Memorial Hospital.
We have continued meeting at the Laura Chapel on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, except for the three summer months when we meet only on the 2nd Sunday. Through the years many guest speakers have presented programs at our Sunday morning services. We have invited individuals from the Huntsville area to speak on various topics, some religious in nature and some of just general interest. Perhaps exploring a variety of topics is our way of increasing our own "respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part," one of the principles of the Unitarian Universalists.
In June of 1997, Dr. Frank Schulman became our minister, speaking regularly on the 2nd Sunday of each month until his death in January 2006.
On July 9, 2006, the membership of the Huntsville Unitarian Fellowship met in a special meeting after the service for the purpose of considering the appointment of Rev. Tom Capo for the position of consulting minister. He was chosen by a unanimous vote. He began his duties in September 2006, and he continued preaching regularly once a month through August 10, 2008, when he accepted a call to be the full-time pastor of People's Unitarian Universalist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
After being given a plot of land at 144 East Mosely in Huntsville, the membership voted on April 8, 2009, to begin construction of a building on a pay-as-you-go basis. The first stage (dried-in) was completed by the end of July 2009.
On August 9, 2009, the membership met in a special meeting after the service to accept John Pepper's proposal to work part time as a ministerial intern for the Huntsville UU Fellowship for two years beginning in September 2009.