UUCB History

This abbreviated church history was edited by Tessa Davis, UUCB member, who also researched the history of the church's pianos. For a more detailed history, see the Ministerial Legacy page, also written by Tessa Davis.

In 1883, the First Unitarian Society of Boulder, Colorado was formed. The first minister was the Rev. Thomas J. VanNess, installed on October 6, 1883. The group met regularly for about ten years and then dissolved into an informal discussion group.

During 1946-1947, a coalition of CU students and community members met under the auspices of The Student Religious Liberals. A Denver Unitarian minister, Rev. Rudy Gilbert, gave guidance and encouraged the group to affiliate with the American Unitarian Association. Our church, which was then known as the Unitarian Fellowship of Boulder, was formally established on July 30, 1948.

In 1957, Boulder Unitarians engaged Rev. Thomas Maloney as a part-time minister. The church's name was changed to the Unitarian Church of Boulder in 1959, and Rev. Maloney was retained as full-time minister. He resigned in June 1962, and the church was lay-led for the next year and a half. Using proceeds from the sale of land donated to the church, the Boulder Unitarians purchased the church's present site on Pennsylvania Avenue in 1961. Following expedited construction that began in the summer of 1963, Christmas services were held in the newly completed building in December. The building soon had to be expanded, however, to accommodate the growing Sunday school enrollment.

In late 1963, the congregation chose the Rev. Philip Pennington as the new minister, who was installed on May 3, 1964 and served until his retirement on May 21, 1969. The congregation voted to change its name to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder in the late 1960's, some time after the national merger of the two denominations.

On March 21, 1971, Dr. Forrest Whitman delivered his first sermon to the UU Church of Boulder. He was called as minister and formally installed in October 1971. The Sky Room addition to the church was built during 1981-1983. Dr. Whitman resigned as minister in June of 1993 after 22 years at this church. Much of what we now consider "traditional" in our services began with Forrest, and the overall "spiritual feel" that outsiders often notice at UUCB springs directly from his ministry here.

Rev. Stanley Stefancic served as interim minister for 30 months from January 1994 through June 1996.

The congregation approved the selection of Rev. Kurt Kuhwald, formerly at the Second Unitarian Church of Chicago, on June 9, 1996. He was installed as our minister on March 16, 1997. During his tenure, the church grew in both membership and in its commitment to social justice issues. Rev. Kuhwald left UUCB in June 2000. Since he had announced his intention to leave two years earlier, he served as his own interim minister.

The congregation immediately accepted Rev. Jacqueline Ziegler as our fifth settled and first female minister. She was officially installed in March 2001, and brought to UUCB a strong pastoral presence, a profound commitment to our denominational 7th principle, and a deep identification with process theism. Rev. Jackie, as she preferred to be called, served UUCB until she resigned in June 2005. During the 2005-2006 church year, UUCB was lay-led.

Rev. Becky Gunn came to Boulder as our interim minister in August 2006.