Congregational Record

Congregational Profile

Congregation Life

Describe your Congregation and its culture

Your Congregation's mission

Describe and provide examples of how your Congregation lives its values

Link to your Safe Congregation policy

Worship service schedule

Personnel

Additional personnel notes

Congregation History

Provide your Congregation's founding history

Date founded

Describe important events in your Congregation's history

Ministerial History

Additional Ministerial History Notes (Additional details/stories to tell)

Describe any important Lay Leaders (who were lay leaders who covered when you had no minister)

Membership & Finances

Demographics

Accessibility

Is your Congregation's meeting space wheelchair accessible?

Wheelchair accessibility details

Does your Congregation provide assisted listening systems?

Assisted listening system details

Describe other ways your congregation has dealt with accessibility

Resources & Programs

List the resources and programs your Congregation used or participated in during the past year

Describe your religious educational programs

Describe your youth and campus ministry programs

Surrounding Community

Describe the character of the surrounding community, including population and demographics

Describe how your Congregation is known/perceived by the larger community

Describe your Congregation's religious, political, and social context from a historical and current perspective.

Congregational Profile

Legal Name of Church: Oak Ridge UU Alternate Name of Congregation:

501(c)(3) status? This Congregation does not have a 501(c)(3) status of its own

Primary Contact Method

Website: http://www.oruuc.org

Phone number: (865) 483-6761

Email address: office@oruuc.org

Congregation Life

Describe your Congregation and its culture:

Our Congregation is an active, multi-generational congregation ﬁercely devoted to our 1st Unitarian Universalist Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person. We are religiously and spiritually diverse with a foundational covenant to support each other’s journey and worth. We are a Welcoming Congregation and provide a place of worship for all. Found in the heart of Southern Appalachia, close to urban centers but within a small town and with its start as a Department of Energy facility, our culture draws from the rich traditions of a mix of southern and Appalachian life and world-wide transplants who all ﬁnd community at ORUUC.

ORUUC is a congregation of about 280. Founded in 1950, our charter members were young people who had moved to the area as a part of Oak Ridge’s founding during WWII. Their desire to provide their children with a liberal religious education was then, and remains now, a very important aspect of church participation, and our Youth Faith Formation program is vibrant and active. The congregation also places a high value on the arts, which is reflected in our numerous musical groups, crafts such as woodworking, our 70th anniversary quilt, and our art gallery.

In pre-pandemic times, Sunday mornings were bustling and we were beginning to wonder whether we had enough space for a steadily growing congregation. The pandemic, however, brought a halt to normal times and demanded that new concerns and practices arise. Once the church building closed down, we immediately pivoted to high-quality online services for worship as well as lifespan Faith Formation classes. We maintained an interactive hybrid worship experience as a priority in the stops and starts of reopening.

In these post-pandemic times, the congregation has maintained many steady Zoom attendees, some from our local community and some from afar. While this is a new normal, many congregants in surveys and cottage meetings expressed a desire to see our pews full again. We want to reach out beyond our walls to attract new faces, new families, and new young adults. We welcome those who are searching for a meaningful worship community, a safe harbor, community involvement, and a new home.

Your Congregation's mission:

Mission: Cultivating a community alive with justice and joy.

Covenant:

Rooted in love, we covenant

to gather in peace,

to face conﬂict with compassion,

to see strength in diversity,

to share laughter and tears,

to honor the profound in each of us.

With purpose and passion,

we care for one another

and grow together

rooted in love.

Describe and provide examples of how your Congregation lives its values:

Our core values are collaboration, creativity, diversity, respect, sustainability, and trust. Below are just some of the ways ORUUC lives those values:

Circles of Trust. Circles of Trust are small groups of 6-8 people who meet twice per month. Based on the work of Parker Palmer, Circles oﬀer participants the opportunity to share their reﬂections on the month's worship theme. There are currently about 10 Circles meeting regularly.

Music Program. We have a very robust music program, including a 22-member choir, a 6-member band. ORUUC has recently hired a music director, Alexandra Engle, who has a Bachelor of Music in Classical Vocal Performance from Belmont University in Nashville, and a Master of Music in Voice from UT Knoxville. We look forward to her leadership and direction. Our church sometimes provides a location for local musicians or touring vocal artists to share their talent. We also host our own Coffeehouses once or twice a year.

Ecumenical Storehouse. We coordinate volunteers from ORUUC to help run the Storehouse for one month every nine months, sharing responsibility with Chapel on the Hill. We pick up donations, screen clients in need, and help them choose furniture and household goods.

Caring Team. We provide caring support to the members & friends of ORUUC by providing meals, transportation, medical and/or child care, equipment, notes of encouragement & caring. We host annual parties.

All Church Retreat. Once per year, we host a weekend-long retreat at an area state park. About 50 people attend, building community with one another through activities such as hiking, a coﬀeehouse, and a bonﬁre.

Stone Soup Community Meal. We provide a home-cooked meal once a month for the food-insecure, cooking-challenged, and those in search of fellowship. In addition, at times we have distributed winter clothing and shoes, and arranged for free ﬂu shots. We also offer information on community resources and voter registration. We foster connections with the greater Oak Ridge Community.

PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). We are friends and families—straight allies—of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender. We meet monthly, rotating among 4 churches and the synagogue, 2-to 3 times a year at ORUUC. We advance equality and societal acceptance of LGBT people through support, education, & advocacy.

Mother Goose of Oak Ridge. Through traditional rhymes, circle games, musical activities and simple play in adult/child pairs, we promote language and early brain development and foster fun and positive relationships.

Rummage Sale. We plan and organize two massive rummage sales each year. We offer to our church community, and the community at large, wonderful items to buy at a wonderful price. We donate leftovers to other non-profit organizations. The Rummage Sale is a major fundraiser for our church and saves many items from going to the landfill.

Split the Plate. Each Sunday, half of the undesignated oﬀering is shared with an outside organization or a shared ministry whose mission we support. Nine organizations are chosen by congregational vote each June, and the remaining three months are either alternates from that vote or an organization addressing an emergency, such as the UUSC's efforts in Ukraine.

Art Display Team. We organize exhibits of regional ﬁne arts at ORUUC. We believe that, in addition to beautifying our building, art inspires, creates connections, & increases our church’s outreach to the wider community.

Link to your Safe Congregation policy:

https://www.oruuc.org/oruuc-safety-policies

Worship service schedule:

We have regular Sunday Worship at 10:00 am. There is no dress code as we are a come-as-you-are congregation. Child care is provided, and children are also welcome in the service and we have activities to engage children in the sanctuary. Our younger children are welcome to proceed to their classes after our Story for All Ages partway through the service. They walk down the center aisle through an arch made of congregants’ arms.

The ORUUC worship service is usually about an hour long. We begin by singing together. Our music is eclectic. The congregation usually hears a message/sermon after the Story for All Ages, which lasts about 10-20 minutes. The service also includes silent reﬂection, spoken prayer, a story, a monetary oﬀering, and singing our covenant, "Rooted in Love."

In the past, our Lead Minister, Rev. Jake Morrill, led worship about three Sundays per month; our Minister of Care, Rev. Tandy Scheﬄer, about once a month. At present, our interim minister, Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz, leads worship two to three Sundays a month and our very capable worship arts team plans Shared Pulpit sermons, guest speakers, etc., on remaining Sundays.

Following service, there are several faith formation classes for youth and adults. Youth faith formation includes Nursery, Preschool, Spirit Play, early elementary, middle, and high school, plus a multi-age create and connect room. Adults' faith formation oﬀerings include Reﬂections on the Sermon, Together in Spirit, Circles of Trust, and an adult OWL discussion led by trained OWL facilitators. We also have OWL for youth across the ages offered at various times throughout the year.

Our parent focus groups praise the dedication of our Faith Formation Staff and their efforts to help our children and youth grow. However, they also remarked that re-energizing the faith formation program once we have a settled minister is a vital concern. In their words, “We need fresh ideas, new endeavors, a minister who engages with/listens to our children and knows their names and to which family they belong, a return of a broad focus to youth summer camp, visits with other kinds of churches, and a sustained and lively dialog between the minister and the RE director and staff”. In their focus group, our high schoolers and post-high school youth expressed a special interest in forming a Young Adults Group. Our junior high and high school youth especially seek a safe place where queer (especially trans) people are truly welcomed by a congregation who not only “talks a good game”, but “has reached a true understanding of how to treat the people they say they are open to”.

Summer Sunday hours do not change, though we do not oﬀer Youth Faith Formation during summer months or when school is not in session. We do offer a week-long summer "Rainbow Camp" (activities camp) for school-age children from the wider community, including many children from as far away as Knoxville, with older students acting as counselors. Many youth also participate in MountainCON, a UU retreat about 3 1/2 hours east of Oak Ridge. Typically MountainCON happens once in Spring and once in Fall, with separate gatherings for early, middle, and high school youth.

Order of Service Information is found here: http://www.oruuc.org/sunday-worship

PersonneL

Name Position Paid Hours Year

per Week Started

Lisa Schwartz Interim Minister 40 2022

Susan Rosenbaum Nursery Coordinator 5 1998

Brandon White Treasurer Volunteer 2020

Christine Rehder Director of Youth Faith Formation 20 2018

Whitney Cole Director of Multigenerational Ministries 12 2018

Jason Fishel High School Coordinator 5 2020

Jason Fishel President/Chair Volunteer 2022

Kara Raymond President Elect Volunteer 2022

Jeannie Vertudazo-Cuevas Church Administrator 40 2020

Rachel Smith-Jones Communications/Infrastructure Coordinator 30. 2021

Alexandra Engle Music Director 15. 2023

Additional personnel notes:

Cleaning services, a bookkeeper, and a pianist are provided as contract services.

Susan Rosenbaum has been nursery coordinator for many, many years; the 2018 date only reflects the date of her updated contract.

Lay members of our Executive Team are Amanda Fishel and Donna Maloney.

A host of volunteers have long supported religious education through tiered faith formation classes and OWL classes.

Technical volunteers provide worship support both on premises and on-line.

Community outreach activities such as monthly free meals and shared ministry housing and household support to locals in need are also volunteer supported.

We have recently hired a talented Director of Music who works 15 hours a week. We hope to grow this position in hours and scope.

Congregation History

Provide your Congregation's founding history:

Oak Ridge was built to house the thousands of scientists, professional people, and industrial workers and their families from many diﬀerent sections of the United States brought together for the Manhattan Project during World War II. From the earliest days, some felt the need for a liberal religious community here. In 1948, the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church was formed to serve both Oak Ridge and Knoxville. Rev. Richard Henry directed services in Knoxville on Sunday mornings and in Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoons at the Chapel on the Hill, a church used by many diﬀerent religious groups in the early days. We were a congregation of young people concerned about the religious education of our children as well as creating a good life in our community.

In 1950, the Oak Ridge group was oﬃcially chartered as a church and Rev. Paul Bliss was installed as the ﬁrst full-time minister. We met in the City Recreation Hall and in nearby schools. The Religious Education Committee developed a curriculum for the 64 enrolled students and a building & site committee was established. Early church activism in the community led to the establishment of the Oak Ridge Mental Health Association and The Society for Recording for the Blind.

In 1954, Rev. Arthur Graham began a 21-year tenure as our minister. Under his guidance, “Mortar and Bricks in Fifty Six!” became the slogan for the drive to have a building of our own. Fundraisers included sponsoring a professional ballet performance, a production of The Mikado, and a crafts fair which later became an annual two-day event.

Members also worked long and hard for social justice in the community. A daycare center in the African-American community was set up by the Council of Church Women, with our own Alliance members an integral part of that program. Members also taught high school courses for African-Americans who could not attend the high school before its integration in 1955. Other members were part of a march to protest segregated businesses.

Our ﬁrst church building, dedicated in 1956, soon proved to be inadequate for our burgeoning church school of 200 children. Some classes were held in the back of the sanctuary while Dr. Graham preached on the other side of a screen. In 1962, additional classrooms were added and our ﬁrst paid Director of Religious Education was hired.

Our community actions continued to emphasize integration. Dr. Graham participated in the civil rights marches in Washington and Selma. The church organized an integrated day camp in the summers of 1963-1968 as a means of easing the integration of our schools.

In 1972 a ﬁre severely damaged the church building. During the remodeling, services and church school were held at the Civic Center with occasional journeys to the Arboretum to enjoy worship in a natural setting. In March 1974 we moved back into our remodeled and refurbished church building, which was more handsome than ever. Dr. Graham’s poem Phoenix reﬂected our emotions on this occasion.

Dr. Arthur Graham retired in 1975. The search committee’s survey of 234 members and 123 friends found that half were 40 to 60 years of age with church school registration totaling 75. In 1976, Rev. Howard Box accepted the call to become our minister. During his 15-year tenure, the changes in the city were reﬂected in our church. The population decreased; we grew older; more memorial services were held. Memorial gifts permitted the purchase of art for the church, much of it professional quality, created by members and friends.

In 1989, we celebrated our 40th birthday with many former members returning to honor our past and remember the good times. It was a time to look at ourselves as a church and our role in the Oak Ridge community.

All of our ministers have been active in the Oak Ridge Ministerial Association. Rev. Box served as its president and helped to establish an ecumenical Thanksgiving Service and the Ecumenical Storehouse to provide household items for needy families. Our building has been extensively used as a meeting place by other organizations, including some unpopular or unconventional ones. The church has had the Montessori School and the School of Music Arts as tenants during the week, and has been the preferred place for the Civic Music Associations’ coﬀee concerts and the League of Women Voters.

In 1991, when Rev. Howard Box retired, there were 188 members and 50 children in the church school. Again, the demographics of the city were comparable in our congregation. At that time, the survey indicated our members wanted to ﬁnd in their religion a foundation for ethical behavior, with more than half looking for spiritual development. Rev. Gregg Carter served as the interim minister as the search committee embarked on its mission to ﬁnd a new settled minister.

The search brought Rev. Priscilla Richter to our church in 1992. Attendance at the church services increased to the point of needing to hold two services. Rev. Richter brought to the church the newer expressions of spirituality, with more ritual in the morning worship service. She extended our denominational interest by her membership on the board of the Thomas Jeﬀerson District.

Because of the larger attendance as well as the aging of our 40 year old building, a Long Range Planning Committee was formed to consider the building of a new sanctuary and entry space. Surveys were taken, and member Jon Coddigton’s conceptual drawings were enthusiastically approved. Jon was a Professor of Architecture at the University of Tennessee. About 80% of the costs were raised, mostly by pledges.

Rev. Richter resigned in 1997, after some diﬃcult minster/staﬀ/congregational personnel problems. Following this, the Board and some of the congregation became more aware of the criteria needed for the employment of staﬀ members and became more experienced in the hiring process. At this time, Rev. Don Beaudreault began a two-year interim ministry. In 1999 the congregation called Rev. David Nash Williams to be our settled minister. Although eﬀective and popular with some in the congregation, sexual misconduct and breaches of professional guidelines resulted in the Board’s asking for his resignation.

Again, we faced diﬃcult personnel problems with privacy issues and rumors colliding. There was, in the opinion of many members, inadequate guidance from the UUA as to the options open to us while the situation was being investigated, and the congregation was deeply distressed as they struggled to reconcile their compassion for very human failings with the breach of professional boundaries of which many were previously unaware.

It was a diﬃcult and emotionally charged period, in which other complaints toward the minister surfaced and some animosities between members of the congregation emerged as sides were chosen in the conﬂict. Recollection now of this event ﬁnds most in agreement that Rev. Williams resignation was necessary. The memory of this period and the lessons learned from it have informed and improved the culture of management in our congregation.

Rev. Diana Heath became the interim minister following this unfortunate period, providing a welcoming understanding of the congregation’s disappointment and anger. Rev. Heath guided the congregation through a period of healing and reconciliation, and we called our new settled minister, Rev. Jake Morrill, in 2003. It was also in 1997 that Tandy Scheﬄer became our new Director of Religious Education. Tandy would go on to become Rev. Tandy Scheﬄer and serve ORUUC as our Minister of Care and Connection.

This brings us up-to-date. We have been privileged to be served by Rev. Jake Morrill and Rev. Tandy Scheﬄer for two decades. They both retired from ministry in 2022, and ORUUC began its current ministerial search. In August of 2022 Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz became our interim minister who challenges and educates us as we search for our next settled minister.

Date founded: 1/1/1950

Describe important events in your Congregation's history:

In 1997, Tandy Scheﬄer became our new Director of Religious education; in 2014 Rev. Tandy Scheﬄer became our new Minister of Care and Connection. Tandy was a tireless leader and nurturer of the culture of care that permeates our congregation. In 2003, Rev. Jake Morrill was chosen as our settled minister. Our new (and, at that time, well-below-the-age-of-the-average-adult-member) minister and the congregation meshed well. We immediately called and thought of him as Jake. Both sides listened and learned. Good things happened.

As Jake began his tenure with us, our church building was located at Stoplight #11 less than a dozen miles from the location of our present church building. In 2004-2005 the old building became more ADA accessible. Brian Yount chaired the patio committee to redesign the patio by the oﬃce entrance with a new ramp and railing, a new fountain, and a plaque naming the charter members. In later years, a ramp that led to the chancel was added in the sanctuary. Members also helped the community with the “If I Had a Hammer Program” sparked by Kim and Brian Yount. Saturday mornings found adults and youths helping with home repair projects for local people. In 2005 we voted in the Split-the-Plate program, dividing each Sunday’s collection with a social service agency that the congregation voted to support. This has proven to be very successful, with an increase in the oﬀering and closer ties with the agencies we support.

A change in our governance model took place beginning in 2006. At that time, board members were asked to read and consider Policy Governance by John Carver, and after study and much hard work, an adapted version was adopted by the Board. About this same time, Tandy Scheﬄer, the Direction of Religious Education, returned after a three month sabbatical to complete her Religious Education Credential Masters Level; she was warmly welcomed back.

The years 2007-2010 were busy ones for the congregation. Jake was elected to the UUA Board as the Thomas Jeﬀerson District representative. When asked about how his goals had changed since his arrival in Oak Ridge he responded that in some ways they were the same – to help the church thrive in the radically diﬀerent context of the 21st century. Later, he added: how to provide clear guidance to the many who have no previous religious experience without being doctrinaire – and still being open and pluralist – is a wonderful challenge.

Since its beginning, ORUUC has embraced diversity and welcomed all. We became an oﬃcial Welcoming Congregation and proudly raised the Rainbow Flag in June 2009, telling the world we welcomed all persons. The congregation led by Linda Sullivan and Gina Grubb had done the preparatory work before the congregation voted their approval in a Congregational meeting. This was followed by several ORUUC members riding the bus to Washington, D.C. to join the “March for Equality” in 2010.

Within the congregation, small groups that were aligned with diﬀering spiritual orientations developed. The EMBERS, an earth-centered group, celebrates solstices and nature, as a whole, as the source of universal consciousness and energy. Their Winter Solstice program is a cherished, peaceful addition to the Christmas holiday season. Together We Care and ORUUC Christian Fellowship speak to those who ﬁnd meaning in Christian teachings and ritual. Humanists/Atheists meet and ﬁnd deeper insights while embracing the tenets of the Unitarian Universalist Church. In the past, we have held a Passover Seder dinner that has been well attended, as a way to carry the Jewish heritage forward with transitional stories and food for many in the congregation.

A major initiative began in September 2010 after careful planning and approval by the congregation. The “Stone Soup” ministry, advertised as “A FREE COMMUNITY MEAL” provides a healthy meal in a welcoming atmosphere to the hungry, lonely, homeless, and others who want to come. This eﬀort is led by a team of committed volunteers.

It was also in this period that tragedy struck the nearby Tennessee Valley UU Church on July 27, 2008 when a gunman entered the church and opened ﬁre. At that point, safety became a major concern of the ORUUC congregation. Following an Anderson County Sheriﬀ’s Department seminar on church security in April 2001, the Safety Task Force was formed a short time later in April. Led by Betsy and Martin Bauer, one or two trained members of the congregation are on duty at all church functions.

As 2010 approached, the building was beginning to show its age and funds were needed for its refurbishment. Fortunately, in 2009, Elizabeth Peelle had encouraged the church to pay oﬀ its mortgage, and we did so! Brian Yount and Rob Gunter led the campaign which included wonderful fund-raising barbeques on the new patio. The campaign was successful and in 2010 we lit up a dark January night with a splendid mortgage burning party. This freed up the budget to address concerns about the building.

The Rev. Tandy Scheﬄer left us brieﬂy for her ministerial internship in Richmond, Virginia, and was welcomed back in 2014 as our new Minister of Care and Connection. Tandy was formally ordained on September 21, 2014, in the next to last Sunday the congregation would spend in its old location. It was a ﬁtting conclusion to our years in the original building.

Meanwhile, after careful thought and discussion with church leaders, Jake joined the U.S. Army Reserves as a Chaplain. Jake was commissioned as Captain at a church service in June 2013. Captain Morrill left on sabbatical January 14, 2014 through mid-May for study, followed by Army Chaplain School at Fort Jackson until mid-August 2014. Rev. Carol Bodeau assisted us with the Faith Formation program and in other capacities at that time. To further broaden his horizons, Jake completed his MS at East Tennessee State University in Marriage and Family Therapy in December 2014.

Before Nancy Starr stepped down as Director of Music in May 2011, a search committee had been appointed and the word went forth. Under Nancy’s direction the choir had grown in size and musicality and would be a great group with which to work.

The choice for our new Director of Music was Wendel Werner, a pianist with classical training and experience directing choirs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was best known for his blues, jazz, gospel, and pop composition and concerts at local clubs and other venues. His eclectic style, weaving motifs from traditional black church music into the service and repertoire, and access to the music school talent at the University of Tennessee resulted in well-attended and stimulating programs.

However, ORUUC’s resilience was again demonstrated on account of this appointment. Members of the choir and band took up the baton when Werner was released from his post in October 2014 for violating UUA policies and failing to maintain boundaries with members of the congregation. It was a diﬃcult time: he was a popular leader and the issue coincided with the move into the new church building. A Music & Worship Team that included Nancy Mathias, David Dunkirk, Anne Scott, and Gina Grubb stepped into the gap and coordinated several special programs to mark our move. In January 2015, Ashton Lay became Interim Music Director and in July 2015, David Ensley joined the ORUUC Staﬀ as Director of Music.

In 2011 while ORUUC was ﬁguring out how to raise funds for repair and renewal of the old church building, rumors were circulating in Oak Ridge about a major new development adjacent to ORUUC which could greatly impact the church. The small, neat houses in the adjacent residential area were being bought up by an unknown entity…what would become of us?

In May 2012 the Board of Trustees answered with a report to the congregation made in late May:

“…in response to a possible major commercial development on land to the west and north of ORUUC… although no oﬀers had been made to purchase the ORUUC property, it is in a desirable location with Turnpike frontage. Therefore, …it is prudent to collect general information on costs and impacts of rebuilding ORUUC at another location in case an attractive oﬀer should be made…”

Early in the summer, the oﬀer was made to purchase the property. The congregation’s Adjacent Development Oversight Task Force (ADOTG) met and met again. We negotiated and negotiated some more. We scrambled and in August signed an agreement to sell contingent on approval from the congregation. The vote was scheduled for September 30, 2012 giving time for organization, meetings and Town Hall meetings, discussion, and lots of questions.

The vote on Sunday, September 30 after the service required at least a super quorum (25% of membership voting) and a super majority, with 2/3 in favor of the sale and relocation. There was a resounding YES from the overﬂowing crowd. The newly organized Relocation Project Steering Committee was appointed and began work immediately.

Then began a process that culminated in the beautiful building we now occupy just a few miles down the Turnpike from our original location. This process is an example of remarkable cooperation and two years of intense work by the Steering Committee and the church members. Throughout the process, congregation input was solicited for major decisions and updates to the Board and members on activities had high priority.

A rush of activity occupied the congregation and its leadership for the next year. This exciting and diﬃcult time is thoroughly documented in our most recent historical record: 1950-2015, Sixty Five Years of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. To summarize the brief but frenzied period: we commissioned a new design for the building, arranged for its construction, moved our memorial guardian to the new site, and moved in. At its conclusion, we had a beautiful and spacious new building and, thanks to the generous settlement made with Kroger’s – the commercial entity that purchased the old property – our new building was paid and clear of any mortgage.

The year 2015 brought other noteworthy events. In June 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution allows gay couples to marry no matter where they live. ORUUC immediately oﬀered to marry gay couples free of charge, complete with a wedding reception and photographs. ORUUC has always been a popular church for weddings; these were events many did not expect this soon and it was a thrill to rejoice with those who had waited so long.

When COVID-19 emerged in the bustling city of Wuhan, China in 2019, the world as we knew it changed. Its rapid spread across the globe soon reached Oak Ridge, and ORUUC responded with creativity. The church building was closed, but our congregation was not. Swiftly, through a process of trial and error, strengthened by our courage to try new things, and the hard work of our members and staﬀ, we were able to establish a thriving online service.

For the next two years, our Sunday online services attracted nearly a third of our membership and we often combined services with other UU churches experimenting with the online format. We even created a virtual choir. The change in format led to some changes in staﬀ as well, with David Ensley stepping down as Music Director and Anne Scott taking over his former role. As the rates of infection rose, declined, and rose again ORUUC ﬂowed between online services and hybrid services that integrated in the building services with online services on Sunday mornings. Small groups continued to meet online, Faith Formation continued, and we adapted our outward ministries to the new circumstances.

In the summer of 2021, Jake and Tandy asked the Board to join them at the pavilion outside the church building for a conversation about their future plans which, as we were to discover, included retirement in 2022. We have had the good fortune of two excellent ministers serve our congregation for the better part of twenty years. As they prepared for the next phases of their lives, the congregation organized events to celebrate our time together. As this chapter of ORUUC closed, we looked back with some sadness at its ending, but also with pride and a sense of great accomplishment at our solid growth as a spiritual congregation. And we look forward to our next chapter and another two decades of incredible ministry. In this spirit of the future, the ORUUC congregation ordained former Ministerial intern Juniper Meadows at the church on April 1, 2022 and hired our next interim minister, Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz, in August 2022.

Ministerial History

Start. End Position Name Job Title

2022 now Interim Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz. Interim Minister

2019 2023 Other Rev. Dr. Gaye Williams Morris Aﬃliated Community Minister

2014 2022. Contract Tandy Scheﬄer Minister of Care and Connection

2003 2022 Called Jake Morrill Minister

2001 2003 Interim Diana Heath Interim Minister

1999 2001 Called David Williams Minister

1997 1999 Interim Don Beaudreault. Interim Minister

1992 1997 Called Priscilla Richter Minister

1976 1992 Called Howard Box Minister

1967 1975 Religious Ed. Mary Nelson Director of Religious Education

1975 1976 Interim John Wood Minister

1954 1975 Called Arthur Graham Minister

1953 1954 Interim Dan Welsh Minister

1950 1953 Shared Paul Bliss Minister

Ministers Emeritus

Name Date Voted Emeritus. Year Deceased

Howard Box 8/15/1991 2021

Additional Ministerial History Notes (Additional details/stories to tell)

Describe any important Lay Leaders (who were lay leaders who covered when you had no minister

ORUUC has a plethora of Lay Leaders. Our board members took turns leading different parts of Sunday services before our interim minister arrived. Christine Rehder, our Director of Faith Formation, is a regular contributor to services and has been for many months. During the 18 months of search, many, many individuals have stepped forward; their willingness to lead, in whatever capacity, speaks to ORUUC’s deepest strengths and ample talents. These lay leaders are listed below with pride in who WE are and who we can be..

First coming to mind are our Shared Pulpit folks:

Christy White: “The Right Tool for the Right Job”

Christa Brelsford: “We Are Better Together”

Esther Dyer: “One Person’s Spiritual Journey: How a Baptist Ended Up At a Unitarian Church”

David Savoie: “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” “Who Are You Today?”;The Challenge of Here and Now”

Janet Fryer: “The Giving Spirit”

Jane Flanigan: “Where is Love?”; “Musings in Muir Woods”; “Welcoming the Spirits of our Ancestors”.

Choir People who filled the Music Directorship following Anne Scott Branche’s departure:

Ann O'Dell

Michael Raymond

Worship Tech

Christy White

April Garner

Val Herd

Martin Bauer

Storytellers:

Sarah Gunter

Erin Read

Michael Raymond (he does EVERYTHING)

Sanctuary Decorations:

Steven Albright coordinated over 2,000 cranes being made and displayed as a memorial to a dearly loved, long- lived Japanese American congregant. And to honor Hiroshima Day and Oak Ridge’s complicated history with that city, the cranes will be sent to Hiroshima for display in their memorial.

Membership & Finances

The data for the table below comes directly from the UUA's annual congregational certiﬁcation.

Total Pledge Total operating Membership Youth. Avg.

Income Expenses Enrollment Attendance

2023 $318,248 $455064 285 50 105

2022 $341055 $404043 298 42 108

2021 $290,460 $496072 302 78 88

2020 $324,426 $423,483 305 107 135

2019 $295,000 $386,500 314 142 140

2018 $297,775 $300,198 299 121 135

2017 $274,679 $332,247 273 106 148

2016. $279,582 $305,522 258 98 0

2015 $267,684 $349,295 258 80 100

2014 $266,586 $350,215 248 80 100

Demographics

As you read this section, please keep in mind that any percentages listed here were formed from information given in the Congregational Survey and the survey may not fully represent the entire congregation. There were 88 survey respondents, representing approximately 32% of our total church population.

What percentage of members do you estimate identify as people of color?

1.1%

What percentage of members do you estimate identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ)?

19.6%

Please describe the gender makeup of your congregation.

What number of staﬀ (including full and part time) identify as people of color?

One staff member

What number of people of color serve as leaders or chairs of your volunteer committees and program teams?

None

What number of your Board of Trustees identify as people of color?

None

What changes have you made in the last 3-5 years, if any, to include the racial and ethnic diversity of your congregational staﬀ and volunteer leadership?

None that we are aware of. Our staff and volunteer leaders step up to fill roles as needed.

Accessibility

Is your Congregation's meeting space wheelchair accessible?

Yes, however there are issues that need to be addressed.

Wheelchair accessibility details:

Our current campus was built in 2014. This new building made significant improvements in accessibility design, with the guidance of a limited number of mobility aid users. Steps taken to increase accessibility include:

building is all on one ﬂoor
sanctuary includes areas left open for (singular) wheelchairs (at the near back of the room)
standard accessible stalls in the two primary bathrooms
push buttons to the two primary bathrooms, church’s main entrance doors, one exterior social hall door
a ramp to the chancel that is more than wide enough for non-electric wheelchairs
the family restroom shower contains a shower seat

Shortcomings include:

many doors, both exterior and interior and including all fire break doors and multiple emergency exits, do not have push buttons. these include (but are not solely meant to mean) the doors to the office, the family restroom, and the entrance into the sanctuary
several parts of sidewalk are at much too steep an incline to safely traverse using a wheelchair. this especially includes the sidewalk to the pavilion, a common gathering place for social activities, where the path is also curved and not flush with the ground by several inches
recent additions (such as our firepit) used for some social gatherings do not have a paved accessibility paths

Does your Congregation provide assisted listening systems? Yes

Assisted listening system details:

Numerous FM receivers with earpieces are available to anyone who joins us for worship. The receivers are tied into our sound booth’s system.

Describe other ways your congregation has dealt with accessibility:

We have a single-stall/family/ungendered bathroom, and individuals are welcome to use the restroom in which they feel most comfortable. Our labyrinth was designed with rocks embedded in the ground to increase the number of individuals who can use it compared to our old labyrinth. Our memorial garden is accessible to folks with mobility aids. We do not currently offer interpreters or live captioning during services.

Resources & Programs

List the resources and programs your Congregation used or participated in during the past year:

Soul Matters

Our Whole Lives 10-12

Our Whole Lives 7-9

Our Whole Lives 4-6

MountainCON

BCT Workshop

Describe your religious educational programs:

When Rev. Tandy retired, Christine Rehder was hired as Director of Youth Faith Formation. Under her directorship we changed programs, from Spirit Play to Soul Matters. Our elementary age and high school youth meet from 11:15 to 12:15 after Sunday service. We have a caring nursery program headed by Susan Rosenbaum who has served in this capacity since 1998 along with ample volunteer arms to hold and encourage our infants and toddlers. We have a playground and a room for art and creative expression for our preschool aged children. Whitney Cole serves as Pre-school Coordinator and also accepted a new role as Director of Multigenerational Ministry. This year she has tailored programs which bring all ages together in fun, meaningful interaction like Trunk or Treat, Communal Potluck Meals, Hugs and Quiches, Split the Plate Easter Egg Hunt. Jason Fishel serves as our High School Coordinator and organizer/teacher of tamale making. Each year he, the older students, and other volunteers organize a Holiday Tamales Fundraiser, making over 2000 tamales for the congregation to purchase. Adults,too, have numerous Faith Formation opportunities, both on Sunday morning and throughout the week. Newcomers are invited to stay after service to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and our congregation. Reﬂections meets weekly after the service to discuss the themes presented in worship and the sermon. Together in Spirit is a small prayer/support group. Circles of Trust meet twice monthly to offer friendship and support and to discuss the month's theme; their meeting times vary by group.

Describe your youth and campus ministry programs:

GROW IN FAITH: FAITH FORMATION FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH

Faith Formation Hour: Sundays, 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Faith Formation is the lifetime process of growing into our fullness as spiritual and ethical human beings. Faith Formation occurs as we face life’s Big Questions...”What happens when we die? What is my purpose in life? How should I live? Who is my neighbor? How do I know what to believe?” As Unitarian Universalists, we do not provide the answers; we provide tools for seeking personal answers. We also provide companions for the journey. Faith Formation happens through meaningful relationships. ORUUC intentionally nurtures this formation in age-appropriate ways, through small groups that learn, serve, and care together. We also provide guidance and support for parents, who are always their children’s foremost teachers of faith formation.

All groups, Kindergarten and older, meet during Faith Formation hour. The Nursery and Preschool are open during both worship and faith formation hour.

We do not have a campus ministry.

Surrounding Community

Describe the character of the surrounding community, including population and demographics:

Oak Ridge lies in an East Tennessee valley about 30 minutes from the city of Knoxville. The 2021 population of Oak Ridge was 31,824. The population is currently growing at a rate of 0.39% annually and its population has increased by 0.57% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 29,330 in 2010. The city spans over 90 square miles, but Oak Ridge is still small enough to number the traﬃc lights along the main throughway, and its proximity to Knoxville oﬀers "big city" amenities at a convenient distance.

Transportation in and out of Oak Ridge is easy. Two major interstate highways and the Knoxville airport are conveniently close. The full-service airport is about 35 minutes away. Chattanooga is 2 hours away and Nashville and Atlanta are about a 2½ to 3½ hours drive away.

Oak Ridge is a young city. There are no “old buildings”, but the section where the original “cemesto” houses were built during the war is now on the National Historic Register. Forested greenbelts within the city protect natural areas and there are many miles of trails for hiking and biking through the woods, along the riverfront, and on the ridges. The Cumberland Mountains rise in broken ridges to the north and west; the Clinch River ﬂows around the city from east to west; three large nearby lakes are part of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system; sixty miles to the southeast is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; and seventy miles to the north is the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

The climate is moderate with four distinct seasons. Bright fall colors segue into mild winters with rare snowstorms. By February, the daﬀodils begin to bloom in abundance and by Spring and into Summer you can ﬁnd Mayapple, Buﬀalo Berry, wild grapes and cherries, blackberries, and the occasional blueberry to name just a few of the delights that grow in the green spaces of Oak Ridge and the surrounding East Tennessee forests. Summers are warm with many opportunities to swim and boat in the large lakes created by the TVA in the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. The average January low temperature is 32 degrees F and July’s average high is 90 degrees F. The average annual snowfall is about 4 inches.

Cultural opportunities in Oak Ridge are much greater than in most cities this size. The city has an active symphony orchestra. Dance schools, an art center and a museum, and a community playhouse are long established and well organized. The American Museum of Science and Energy records the history of the city and showcases research activities at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Children’s Museum is an excellent place to visit with young children; it has been nationally recognized. Our public library and civic center are well-funded, and the latter includes an indoor swimming pool that is available year round.

Outdoor recreation areas are plentiful. There are pickleball courts, two golf courses, two Frisbee golf courses, many tennis courts, the third largest outdoor swimming pool in the country, parks and playgrounds, and several softball and soccer ﬁelds that host local recreational leagues. Melton Hill Lake - another name for the section of the Clinch River that runs past the city – attracts major rowing competitions from all over the country with its two kilometer course.

Four state parks lie within 30 miles and within 70 miles are two national parks- The Big South Fork and the Great Smoky Mountains. These oﬀer excellent opportunities for camping, day hikes, and backpacking.

State of the art medical services are available at the Methodist Medical Center. This 301-bed regional medical center has 180 physicians in 33 specialties and oﬀers a very broad array of services. There is also a level 1 Trauma Center less than an hour away at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

The schools – four elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school - are renowned for their excellence and are well supported by the community. Roane State Community College has a large branch campus in Oak Ridge, and Pellissippi State Technical Community College is a ﬁfteen minute drive away. Both oﬀer credit courses and are also havens for community interest groups and continuing adult education. The University of Tennessee in Knoxville (UTK) is located about 30 minutes away in downtown Knoxville, and there is a great deal of collaboration between UTK and government and business groups in Oak Ridge. For residents of Tennessee the program, Tennessee Promise, opens the door to higher education. This financial aid program offers Tennessee high school graduates two years of tuition-free community or technical college at any of the state's 13 community colleges or 27 colleges of applied technology.

The city government is council-manager in form, with seven council members elected at large. The city lies in two counties, both governed by boards of county commissioners. A regional planning commission guides development; many other boards aid and advise the council and commissions.

Fundamentalist religious tradition is strong in the South, and travel guides sometimes refer to this part of Tennessee as the buckle of the bible belt. According to Pew Research, Evangelical Protestants constitute 52% of Tennessee's adult population. This is reﬂected in a generally conservative political environment that tends to align in practice with this majority population. All the same, Oak Ridge supports a thriving UU congregation, and draws those with a more liberal mindset from rural communities in surrounding counties. We enjoy excellent relations with our sibling congregations – Tennessee Valley UU, Westside UU, and Foothills UU - in nearby Knoxville. The Unitarian Universalist Mountain Retreat and Learning Center is a four hour drive through the beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

Oak Ridge is a prosperous city on the edge of Appalachia, and many of our social action organizations reach out to surrounding rural areas: Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, Habitat for Humanity, the Blossom Center for Childhood Excellence, Ecumenical Storehouse, and the Free Medical Clinic. Oak Ridge is a wonderful community in which to live and work, and ORUUC is an active and vital part of the local community.

Describe how your Congregation is known/perceived by the larger community:

ORUUC is a well-known and respected organization within the larger community. Along with our Presbyterian and Methodist neighbors, we are perceived as one of the most liberal and left-leaning churches in an otherwise regionally conservative area. It is known as a Welcoming congregation. ORUUC has a long and rich history of community and ministerial service and outreach broadly recognized and appreciated by many.

In 2014, Tandy and two other ORUUC church members attended a seminar sponsored by the Raleigh Durham UU church in Durham, NC. The seminar's goal was to teach us how to reach out to the African American and other minority communities. They were so inspired by the seminar that when they got home they decided to start an Allies for Racial Equity small group ministry at ORUUC. They reached out to two African American churches in our town and others, and during Black History month in February, each church showed two black-themed ﬁlms. ORUUC also sponsored two community ﬁlm events, "American Denial" and "13th". As a result of showing these ﬁlms, a city-wide event, "Community Matters", was developed to discuss issues of concern to the citizens of Oak Ridge. It was sponsored by ORUUC, St. Mary's Catholic Church, and Oak Valley Baptist Church. As an outgrowth of this event, a group named "Oak Ridge Solutions on Race" (ORSOR) began with members from ORUUC and other churches coming together. It addresses social justice issues such as transportation for the elderly and disabled in our city, and voter registration. It continues to be very active today in addressing Oak Ridge city concerns.

Describe your Congregation's religious, political, and social context from a historical and current perspective.

The city of Oak Ridge was born of the Manhattan Project, which created the atomic bomb during World War II. It retains a substantial federal presence, with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y12 National Security Complex acting as the town's primary economic engines. These huge government facilities were built during World War II and are still very active in advancing the state of the art in science and technology. Oak Ridge has gained worldwide recognition for its research in basic sciences, energy systems, environmental technology and safety, and supercomputing. The city is rich with spirited, intelligent citizens of varied backgrounds.

The congregation had its start in 1951 as a fairly homogeneous group of mostly scientists, engineers, and their families with a principally humanist religious aﬃliation. Today, a more even mix of humanist and spiritual aﬃliations are recognized. Today's congregants also reﬂect a demographic shift in the make-up of the City of Oak Ridge. Though the Federal Government and supporting institutions still have a heavy inﬂuence, the City is socio- and economically more diverse than its early days and that is reﬂected in today's membership.