by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

In the last few issues, we talked about the unification of the Unitarian and Universalist Churches. To understand what issues were confronting Ohio Universalists, we can look to the 1955 state convention which offered no less than 18 recommendations for improvement to its membership. Some will seem familiar as topics we are still confronting in 2021. Others seemed linked to the distant past. Here are their suggestions for a better church:

~ Because so many of the Ohio member churches were lacking in youth leaders, a strong training program must be continued and further strengthened. Statewide meetings of youth advisors should be held at least twice a year and financial support from the state organization should be provided.

~ Reports from church trustees should be provided to the state organization no less than four times a year.

~ It was recommended that members of liberal churches should become more well-informed about India. This developing democracy was suffering through internal social and political issues which the convention felt endangered the peace of all countries in Asia.

~ It was recommended that thanks be extended to Reverends Maurice Cobb and Ira Benedict for their development of kits to be used in religious education classes.

~ Further investigation needed to be made to secure property for summer institutes and these institutes should be made available to other like-minded religious groups who could share in the cost of acquiring the property.

~ Churches should continue to assume their fair share of paying off the debts of the state organization.

~ A total of $2,000 should be sent to the Universalist Church of America over the next fiscal year.

~ Praise for Rev. Albert Q. Perry was offered for his work as editor of the Universalist state newsletter. Reverend Perry was the minister of our church at the time. A subscription to the newsletter cost $1.00 for ten issues.

~ A charge was given to the state nominating committee to complete their work by May 1956 and publish the names of candidates in the Ohio Universalist. Churches were also asked to submit names of potential candidates for state offices and the Board of Trustees.

~ A recommendation was made to contribute money to several liberal religious youth groups operating in Ohio.

~ It was recommended that the next state convention operate a book shop for the sale of books, pamphlets and other materials.

~ At this time, a bill was pending in the state legislature which allowed for the censorship of movies and films. It was stated that Universalists stand for freedom of expression and a statement of opposition would be immediately sent to the state legislature.

~ The previous year, the United States Supreme Court had declared segregation to be unconstitutional. The state board recommended that “we go on record as favoring in principle integration, that this is an issue in which we need to proceed with all patience and humility and that we ought to practice this principle in the program of our churches.”

~ Concern was expressed for basic freedoms and the board recommended that local churches make a sincere attempt to familiarize themselves with the Freedom Agenda program and to promote this as much as possible in local committees.

~ It was recommended that each church develop a program of Youth Advisorship.

~ It was recommended that ministers serving near colleges and universities attempt to identify liberally minded students and forward their names to the national office. Also, attempts should be made to start Channing-Murray groups on those campuses.

~ The upcoming national assembly was scheduled to be held in Detroit. Each Ohio congregation should attempt to send two representatives to that annual meeting.

~ Through public advertising and communication, each church should attempt to spread the word of Universalism.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Posted 5/26/2021.

by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

The similar histories of our church and the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, as well as the much different path taken by St. John’s Unitarian Church, all led to a convergence in 1961 when the national Unitarian and Universalist faiths merged. (This is sometimes referred to as “consolidation.”) While this joining was an official recognition of the similarity in these faiths, there had been times long before that event when the churches worked hand in hand.

Beginning early in the 20th century, a group of liberal churches in Cincinnati met annually for a joint Thanksgiving worship service. This joining of hands for giving thanks was conducted for sixty years, well past the time of the eventual national UU merger. When issues of great importance and challenge, especially in the area of human rights, confronted our city and country, these liberal churches often worked together to propose solutions to these problems. One of the local liberal churches, the New Thought Temple, eventually merged with our church in the late 1940’s. When other liberal-minded churches closed, often their members found refuge in one of the remaining liberal churches. For about 25 years after World War II, a group of men from these churches met to discuss common causes and issues. They were called BOGSAT which stood for “A bunch of guys sitting around a table”.

In the 1930’s, our church was blessed with a minister named Robert Cummins. Cummins was an early proponent of the national Unitarian and Universalist merger. In a 1949 address he proclaimed that the very name of his church implied a unity and an openness to all. Eventually, he went on to become the General Secretary of the Universalist Church of America. He wielded great influence in planting the seeds for a merger on the national level. However, before that merger occurred, he retired from his church office to serve the Eisenhower administration in the area of international cooperation. But he had begun to pave the road to merger.

While the union of these faiths may seem logical now, it was by no means unopposed in the years leading up to 1961. Each church took a vote as to whether they supported the idea and our own congregation voted overwhelmingly against it. Our minister at the time, Albert Perry, also was opposed and when the two churches joined forces, he resigned as a minister unable to support the new organization. Years later, he rejoined the united church and became one of its most respected ministers.

While similarities in the two groups existed, differences always hung like a cloud over the merger efforts. Perhaps no one could reflect on the merger better than UU minister John Cummins, the son of Robert Cummins. He remembered a Boston Unitarian matron saying that “Universalists were nothing more than Baptists who could read.” Cummins stated that “Universalists complained that Unitarians did not feel they’d had a good sermon unless they couldn’t quite understand it themselves.” Differences were aplenty, many of them organizational and others theological. In examining our own orders of service during the 1950’s, it becomes readily obvious that while liberal in its positions on human rights, it was still very strongly based in Christianity. One of the most contentious issues was how to deal with Christianity in the new UUA. In Article II, hotly debated at the 1959 General Assembly, it was only referenced as “the universal truths taught by the great prophets and teachers of humanity in every age and tradition”. In retrospect, the merger probably happened at an opportune time as liberal thought was to experience a renaissance during the late 1950’s and the 1960’s. Just to name a few issues, civil rights, obscenity laws, personal freedoms, women’s rights, and a host of others causes were being brought to the forefront of American thought. It was a perfect time for a liberal church to reexamine its own values and transform itself into what it has become today.

In sheer numbers, Unitarians outnumbered Universalists about 3 to 1. Of the 151,000 persons who joined the new UUA, only about 36,000 were Universalists. While it is obvious Unitarians could have steamrolled their own positions through any merger agreements, such does not seem to be the case. Interestingly, since the merger the population of the UUA has stayed steadily around 150,000. This has occurred while most other denominations have experienced steep declines in membership over the same period.

Years were spent in formulating the final agreement. And as John Cummins points out, even then the “final” agreement was amended 23 times before the merger was completed. A new UUA tradition had been started. To visually confirm the equality of the uniting of the two faiths, the first sermon was delivered in Symphony Hall in Boston by speakers standing behind a pulpit used by Hosea Ballou and another pulpit used by William Ellery Channing.

(You can also read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.)

by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

The histories of the two large sister UU churches in Cincinnati are radically different. The current First Unitarian Church developed along many parallel lines as our own church. First Unitarian started its life worshipping in member homes in frontier Cincinnati much like our own church did and at nearly the same time. The congregation moved to several non-residential buildings but finally settled into a downtown location at Fourth and Race and built there in 1830. Later, another church was erected at 8th and Plum. This group of religious liberals was known as The First Congregational Church but was affiliated with the American Unitarian Church. It generally prospered and was connected to the heartland of Unitarian thought in New England. On the frontier, there were few Unitarian ministers. Preachers had to be recruited from New England. Nearly all of the early First Unitarian pastors came from there, much as our own early Universalist ministers did. The most famous was William Henry Channing, the nephew of William Ellery Channing. However, these hardy New England clergy were unused to the hot, humid and unhealthy climate of Cincinnati and many suffered medical problems once settling into the city. Their stays were short, an experience our First Universalist Society also suffered through with many of its early New England born and bred ministers.

Abolition was the hot button issue of the day and the local Unitarian church was considered to be liberal thinking and generally supported abolition. By the 1850’s both the Unitarian and Universalist churches were located on Plum Street. A worshiper could walk out of either church and gaze across the Ohio River to see an America where slavery was legal. This angered many parishioners but some had friends and family in the South and were less than enthusiastic about abolition. It caused rifts in both churches.

Both churches also eventually saw a need to leave downtown for the healthier environs of the surrounding hills. Our Universalists settled in Walnut Hills and First Unitarian settled just off Reading Road. Many of the city’s leading lights attended these two churches, so their influence on the city was beyond their numbers. First Unitarian’s most famous member was William Howard Taft, the only American who served both as President of the United States and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church had a much different origin. In the early 19th century immigrant melting pot of Cincinnati, turmoil over religious views was common. A group of disenchanted Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and Catholics, most of whom were German, formed their own church. It contained members with many different religious views and disagreements were frequent. Many of the disputes erupted between Northern or Low Germans and Southern or High Germans. The disagreements often centered on the meaning and conduct of communion services. During one heated exchange, the floor collapsed beneath the congregation and many were dumped into the basement. It was then decided that a more solid structure was needed. A stable existing church was purchased in 1833 on 6th Street between Vine and Walnut. Just 25 years later, the congregation settled into a new, beautiful church at 12th and Elm. Germans continued to dominate the church at a time when the German speaking population of the city had swelled to 46,000. The worship services were conducted in German and it was not until 1918 that only English services were offered.

Because of these many disputes over theology, worshipers came and went at a rapid rate and it was only through the efforts of several strong and long-tenured ministers that the church was held together. The church changed names numerous times and had no national affiliation. Finally in 1924, it was noted that unaffiliated churches were suffering losses of members at a rapid rate. The church then joined the American Unitarian Church. Like the other sister churches, there came a time to abandon downtown and a new structure was built in the 1940’s in Clifton.

Next, a discussion of national merger.

(You can also read Part 1 and Part 3 of this series.)

April 2021.

by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

Because our roots lie in the Universalist faith, much of the focus on the history of our church involves exploring that faith. Last spring, a lot of ink was spent on telling the story of John Murray and the first Universalist Church to congregate in America. However, we have been the Universalist Unitarian faith since 1961 and perhaps we should spend a little ink on exploring the roots of the other half of our conjoined faith.

Unitarianism actually can be traced back to the period after Christ’s death when the apostles tried to spread the faith throughout the Mediterranean world. Many individual sects of Christianity which evolved from this evangelical movement viewed Christ as a messenger of God or perhaps his son but not a God himself. These beliefs persisted until the Nicene Creed was adopted as the sole theology of the Christian church in 325. It professed a Holy Trinity and Unitarian thought was suppressed across the Western world. It persisted in some small enclaves but always at the risk of persecution and death. Those who rebelled against the beliefs of the larger church did so at the risk of their lives.

Over a thousand years later, as the Reformation began to explode in Northern Europe, several groups of Unitarians appeared in Poland and Rumania. At the same time, similar theology sprang to life in England and the rest of the British Isles. Nonetheless, it was not sanctioned by the state churches and its growth was inhibited. In the late 1700’s religious freedom was widened by Parliamentary law and the first formal Unitarian churches appeared in England and in other sites across Europe. Just as with Universalism, the concept of Unitarian faith spread to the American colonies and the first American Unitarian Church, King’s Chapel, was started in Boston. The Unitarian building was originally constructed and occupied by Episcopalians but was converted to Unitarian worship in 1785. It closely maintained Episcopalian belief and worship except for the abandonment of the Holy Trinity. The church is still in existence in downtown Boston and is a fine example of colonial architecture. It is now a member church of the Unitarian Universalists.

Unitarianism flourished in the newly created United States of America. Three of its first six presidents—John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Thomas Jefferson—were Unitarians. Philosophical thought bloomed among the many Transcendentalists who associated with the Unitarian movement in the middle years of the 19th century. Among those who identified with the church were Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edward Everett Hale, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Julia Ward Howe and Herman Melville.

While Universalism differed from its Christian roots in the belief of universal salvation, the Unitarian Church practiced as a Christian religion except for the belief in the Holy Trinity. Both churches were widely attacked by mainstream Christian religions and their leaders. Also like Universalism, Unitarianism spread to the frontiers of America from its New England roots. Unitarian churches were opened here in Cincinnati and that is where we will continue the story next month.

(You can also read Part 2 and Part 3 of this series.)

March 2021.

by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

Valentine’s day is upon us. It evokes memories of little pieces of candy adorned with short expressions of love, greeting cards which relate our feelings of love for one another and chocolates in large heart-shaped boxes. Our church is also an endless expression of the love we feel for our fellow parishioners and the world around us. It is not restricted to a single day of the year but is spread over the entire year and often reveals itself in acts of kindness because LOVE IS THE SPIRIT OF THIS CHURCH. A quick review of old Heirlooms and records reveals multiple examples of that love.

In the fall of 2006, members of our church participated in the Walk to Stop Aids, trekking the 5 K route through downtown and raising $1,175 for the cause. In that same issue of the Heirloom, thanks was given to those who donated underwear, socks, diapers, towels and other items for Undie Sunday. These were then presented to House of Peace and Prospect House.

These acts of love can occur at any time of year and in any year. In the fall of 2001 with memories of crashing airplanes and tumbling skyscrapers, Tracy Jo Small conducted walks through our labyrinth on three successive Wednesday evenings. These were held to ease the mind and calm the strife of souls who had witnessed a terrible tragedy. Our national service committee sent out a message of tolerance in the wake of the 9/11 attack. “As the facts surrounding these attacks begin to unfold over the next few days and weeks, we must be diligent and urge our nation’s leaders not to seek retribution against individuals, groups or nations for the sake of proving our might. Instead, we must focus first on caring for those who have been hurt in the attack and on providing support to family members who have lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy.”

Our church has a long history of service to those in need. The church’s Women’s Service Committee for decades maintained a supportive and helping relationship with patients at Longview Hospital and conducted an annual Christmas party for those residents. Alice Holabird, the woman who carved our altar table, was knitting socks and scarves for World War II refugees several weeks before she died at age 105.

In 2012, a horrific hate shooting caused the death of six Sikhs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The local Sikh temple invited members of the Cincinnati community to join them in a remembrance ceremony which also served as an opportunity for all to learn more about the Sikh faith. Led by Reverend Bill Gupton, a number of Heritage people attended this ceremony to express their sorrow but also to give their support to members of the local temple.

Our national Universalist governing body for nearly 40 years supported a missionary effort in Japan. Unlike many missionary efforts, this was not to convert the Japanese to our faith but rather to rescue young women who were being sold into the Geisha system by their own families. As World War II loomed and Japanese aggression became more evident, Universalist volunteers remained in Japan at great risk to their own well-being. Eventually, they were forced to abandon the effort. One of our own ministers, Samuel Ayres, left our ministry to later become head of the missionary effort in Japan.

There is not enough space in this newsletter to make even scant mention of the long history of Heritage UU’s and our Universalist forebearers handing out those little candies in the form of acts of kindness and love. And it will continue.

In the troubled times in which we now live, there are many opportunities to express our love for our fellow human beings. We are handing out food packets to families in need. We have supported Inter Parish Ministry as it continues to provide food to thousands of local families. During COVID restrictions, they kept food products flowing with little volunteer help and heroic effort from their paid staff. Interfaith Hospitality Network has been supported by our church for a number of years and currently their needs are on the increase as too many have lost their housing due to COVID-caused financial constraints. We have regularly participated in the Pride Parade and other related events. These are only a few of the many ways in which Heritage folks show that LOVE IS TRULY THE SPIRIT OF THIS CHURCH. Watch for e-mails, Heirloom notices and announcements about how you can continue to spread that love and make the world a better place.

February 2021.

by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

January marks the annual attempt to set resolutions for the new year to come. However, to resolve anything regarding next year is enmeshed with the uncertainty of COVID-19. It is difficult to foresee where any of us might be in just a few months let alone at the end of the calendar year.

Making resolutions is much akin to setting goals. In July of 2005, our Board of Trustees produced a Mission and Vision statement and from this produced a set of goals for the future. How well did we do in accomplishing these “resolutions”?

The Mission and Vision statement announced that:

“We are here because we need each other for our hearts, minds and spirits to grow, because our children need us for their own growth, and because the world needs our action for compassion and justice to grow.

“We are here to celebrate the mystery and wonder of life, to share our joys and sorrows, and to care for each other and for the world at large.

“We are here to welcome people of all beliefs, to value diversity of all types, and to offer a safe place to explore all questions with honesty.

“With the strength that comes from community, we move forward with courage into the future, sharing our principles with an ever-widening circle of people, until the world is infused with the values that are the special aspirations of our faith.”

With this Mission and Vision statement, goals were set to accomplish these ideals. They were:

To nurture community for our personal growth…

— The church must develop an overall volunteer strategy. This could include recruitment, the creation of an inventory of volunteer talents and need, education of volunteers and coordinating, supporting and recognizing volunteers.

— The church must create an environmentally responsible outdoor chapel. This would mean creating in the woods south of the church building, an outdoor area for worship.

To nurture community for our children and youth…

— This could include promoting social and fun activities as well as joint youth activities with other UU churches and community groups. Sleepovers could be held at Heritage. Peer offsite activities could be coordinated and a space or game room for pre-teens could be created.

— Provide regular children’s worship through the adoption of new models of education and worship. A combined worship for the first twenty minutes of the Sunday service could be offered as well as adult and children’s education the hour prior to the service. Children’s worship could be led by adults with themes directed towards the youth.

To nurture community for the world outside Heritage…

— We could speak out on and promote our UU values as they relate to issues of the day by holding events with speakers and doing interviews with media. Topics can include current political, social and economic issues. We could encourage members to write letters to editors and have the minister offer inter-faith prayers at public events.

— We could provide avenues for the involvement of Heritage members, friends and youth in social action, social justice and community based organizations. Examples include volunteering in local organizations, working on war issues, working to repeal the “Defense of Marriage Act” and involvement in environmental groups.

— Encourage the use of Heritage space for meetings and community functions consonant with our own values. We could reach out to appropriate groups. The meeting could be used for meetings of AA, the Literacy Council, and faith communities whose services are held on times other than Sunday mornings. Lectures, concerts and performance art could be offered.

How did we do in accomplishing this vision? We’ll let you decide but it seems our current operation includes many of these admirable goals.

As you look into our murky future and attempt to create your own personal goals for 2021, may the new year bring smiles, hope and a sunny optimism about what the upcoming year holds for you and your Heritage family.

by Forrest Brandt

In May of 2017, I was driving around various WWi Battlegrounds in Belgium and France. Paschendale, the Somme, and the Marne were all clearly marked by a string of road signs that made them easy to locate. It was while traveling back from the battlefield of Vimy Ridge and the monument to the Canadian troops who fought there that I spotted a small road sign. I remembered enough of my high school French to pick out “Des Fraternisations” and deduce that this was marking the way to one of the several spots where British, French and German troops called their own armistice for Christmas of 1914.

These troops had been fighting since August and the trenches of each side stretched in one continuous line from the Ostende, Belgium in the west to the Swiss border in the east. The forces had suffered close to 3 million casualties and 400,000 dead in the five months of fighting. Propaganda on both sides painted the opponents as evil monsters, out to ruin civilization. Despite the sophistication of the weapons – rifled artillery, machine guns, rapid fire rifles, mines, and mortars – the fighting had often been at close quarters. There was no love to be lost between the two camps and between battles each side made life miserable for the other with artillery duels, raids, and snipers.

But something stirred within the troops of both sides as Christmas neared. While the high-ranking officers planned future battles, the enlisted soldiers, the non-commissioned officers, and junior officers who made up the front lines began to see the humanity in their enemy. The troops – not the commanders, not the politicians, not the diplomats – spent the week of Christmas communicating across no-mans-land. Out of this came a truce of sorts, a live-and-let-live attitude in which the troops allowed each side time to gather their dead and wounded. This expanded to visits between the trenches, exchanging and sharing of rations, wine, beer, and tobacco. At nights, the sides took turns singing Christmas carols. In some areas, soccer games broke out. A peace movement began to take form among the men on both sides as they questioned the causes and the purpose for the war.

Word began to reach the headquarters. Commanders on both sides became alarmed. Orders went out forbidding further “fraternisations” with the enemy. Units were ordered to attack and in a few cases artillery was ordered to fire into the meeting grounds, forcing the troops of both sides to retreat to their trenches. Investigations began to identify the leaders and organizers of the peace movement, followed by courts martial trials and punishments.

The common men, summoned to fight, suffer, and die, went on with their peace movement throughout the war. Both sides would see mutinies and rebellions before the war ended. Some Christmas truces came about in 1915, but by 1916 the level of fighting and the demonization of the “other” had become so intense that such truces became a rarity.

I mentioned that the sign I spotted was small. It was not on a major highway, more like a two-lane road between farms and small towns and villages. Unlike the signs guiding tourists to the major memorials and battlefields, it was written in French only. The 12-kilometer drive quickly tuned into 16 as the road forked left and right and no additional signs pointed me in the right direction. I finally flagged a postman and a funny conversation involving my few French verbs and nouns, his equal understanding of English, and lots of hand gestures ensued. He made me a crude map and I eventually reached my target.

The memorial was anything but grand. It had been created and dedicated in 2014, one hundred years after the truce took place. Less than fifty yards away was a large French military cemetery, probably containing the graves of many of the men who celebrated Christmas here. As I drove back to my hotel, I thought about the differences between the battlefield at Vimy Ridge and its magnificent memorial and Des Fraternisations. I considered how well the route was marked, the effort put into recreating the trenches, the modern museum and information program and compared it with afterthought shown at Des Fraternisations. Someone, actually lots of someones, wanted me to see Vimy Ridge, to sense that something important, something honorable, had taken place there. Those same someones didn’t really care if I found the tribute to Christmas and peace. It’s lack of majesty was supposed to tell me that this was something minor, a quirk in the history of World War I, nothing which should make me think of this as sacred and worthy of ceremony.

Posted 12/17/2020.

by Forrest Brandt

Written November 4, the day after the election.

Mumble, mumble, mutiny, mutiny.

Somewhere up in the hereafter (something I don’t believe in) my father is looking down on me and chuckling.

Dad dropped out of high school at age 16 to work as a chauffeur for Dan Huffman, then a real estate giant in Dayton (Huffman’s signs featured the silhouette of an Indian chief’s head, under which was his motto, “If Huffman can’t sell it, give it back to the Indians.”

He married Mom in 32, my sister came along in 35. All of this in the midst of the Depression, and yet they survived, and when he finally got a full-time job (with union wages) on the assembly line at Delco, they prospered.

Then came the war and the sudden need for a second child to evade the draft. I came into the world in February of 1943, too late to keep him out of the army. Off he went to Texas, Seattle, the Aleutians, to Portsmouth, Virginia, to Casablanca. His unit was under alert orders to take part in the invasion of Japan when the war ended.

He came back to the assembly line, bought a small house with a VA loan, took night school courses to finish high school, then a two-year associate’s degree from Sinclair College, all thanks to GI Bill.

As he rose to middle class, he became, in his words, “self-made.” This from a man whose education, career in management, and comfortable house in a “good neighborhood with good schools” was made possible by VA benefits and the GI Bill.

So why is he chuckling? I don’t know how it happened, but I became a tree hugger, a liberal, a dreamer, someone who leans toward the hopeful, toward change, toward “making things better.”

Dad was a rock-ribbed realist. “You can’t make White people want to like and live with Black people,” was his argument against my support of civil rights. “People need to work,” was how he negated my concerns about pollution and the environment. “Those things you want are nice, but how are you going to pay for all the things you want the government to do?” was how he countered my wishes for better schools, job training, fighting hunger, clean air and water, better housing.

He understood that culture runs deep and is difficult to change. “I made it through hard work. Everyone else can do that too if they want to.”

He understood that good schools and parks, clean air and water benefit everyone. But he realized that “People are always going to vote their pocketbook first.”

He would remind me of his “truths” after each election that fell short of my hopes and expectations.

So, today he chuckles as I slump in my chair and read the sad news of this election. “I told you so,” he reminds me.

Well, fine. Enjoy your moment, Dad. But I’m going to continue to be a tree hugger, a liberal, a dreamer.

2020.

by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to show gratitude for the good things that have happened in the previous year. However, at times the trials and tribulations of the year cause us to search deeply to find the good in our lives. The year 2020 has certainly offered such a challenge.

The first Thanksgiving is traditionally thought to have been offered by the Pilgrims as thanks for a bountiful harvest which would get them through the severe winter to come. After that, there were sporadic celebrations of thanks, especially in New England until the Civil War when Lincoln urged the Union to give thanks to God for the effort being put forth to save the country from permanent division. He actually asked for the celebration of two periods of thanks during the year 1863. The first official holiday was established by Ulysses Grant in 1870. While Thanksgiving is in no way a religious holiday, it is usually celebrated by churches in the United States to thank God for the good of the previous year. As published in the order of service from our church on November 22, 1942, during the darkest days of World War II, this passage was offered from David Grayson.

“No holiday in all our calendar is comparable to Thanksgiving. There is not a holiday like it anywhere in the world. It celebrates no battle, no fall of a Bastille, no bank or business holiday, the birthday of no great man, no political revolution, no church ritual. It is the great holiday of common people who have worked all the year and now thank God humbly for good harvests. We are not celebrating Washington or Columbus, or the Declaration of Independence—but just the true and good things, the simple blessings of the soil and the common life. Most holidays are somehow pagan and, if traced back, are rooted in the dull and bloody stories of some old war; but Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life. You must go back to the old Greeks for anything to compare with it; a true folk festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year and the deep, deep connection of all these things to God.”

In 1909 our own minister, A. B. Beresford, was quoted at length in the Cincinnati Enquirer on his thanks for the upturn in American morality. He stated that “Man is now—having mastered the world—turning to the realization of his moral ideals. There is now going forward a revival of righteousness such as the world has never seen. Even amidst our abundant harvests— and for which we are thankful—we are to be even more thankful for the fuller and grander harvest of moral abundance.” Beresford cited as examples the breakup of the Standard Oil Trust, the cleansing of city governments and the newly enacted national pure food act. Reverend Beresford’s comments were somewhat different in the 1917 Thanksgiving service. America had entered World War I and he gave thanks for “arousing the wrath against injustice.” He had been very vocal for several years in support of America entering the war and was thankful the U.S. had taken that step.

Our church was annually involved in a tradition of participating in a Thanksgiving Day service which hosted the liberal churches of Cincinnati. On Thursday, November 28, 1968, St. John’s Unitarian Church hosted the event, which was proclaimed as the 62nd year that such event was held. While the participating churches varied from year to year, Unitarian, Universalist, Jewish and independent liberal churches typically attended. Our own Sunday service held that year to celebrate Thanksgiving was the first such event at Salem Acres.

In 2002, we had survived Y2K but the rumblings of war in the Middle East were on the horizon. That Thanksgiving, Reverend Bill Gupton offered his first Thanksgiving message which he titled, “An Attitude of Gratitude.” He celebrated Thanksgiving Sunday with a look at the meaning of gratitude and an opportunity to share our abundance with others through the UUA “Guest at Your Table” program. In that month’s Heirloom, thanks was given to Jennifer and Patrick for leaving their familiar surroundings and friends to start a new life with us; to Denise Martinez ,our new office manager, for keeping the office running; to Connie Booth for staying on as Choir Director until a new Music Director could be found; to Bob Rush for taking over the Building Committee; and to Bill Gupton for making the leap of faith to come to Heritage.

As we settle into our homes for this year’s holiday, may we all be able to find the good in our lives to celebrate. The turkey and dressing will still taste great even if it is served during a Zoom family gathering.

November 2020.

by Mike Roberts, Church Historian

Are you looking for a safe activity this fall that will not expose you to the COVID virus? How about taking a hike at Spring Grove Cemetery? That may sound like a macabre way to spend a few hours, but take a closer look. First, cemeteries are a very safe place to walk. You encounter few people and even if you do meet up with someone, there is abundant space to steer away from them. You can leave your mask in your pocket. Second, Spring Grove is more than just an accumulation of deceased Cincinnatians. It is a walk through the history of the city. Familiar names are abundant. Just to name a few: Morelein, Pogue, Stanton, Lytle, Taft, Procter, Gamble, Kroger, Longworth, Heimlich, Wurlitzer and that voice from the past, Waite Hoyt. (if you remember Waite Hoyt, you are as old as I am.) Over forty Civil War generals are buried in the cemetery, including “Fighting” Joe Hooker.

But, you will need a map to guide your walk. This cemetery is gigantic. It currently is the second largest cemetery in the United States with over 250,000 entombments. Only a Catholic Cemetery in the Bronx, New York is larger. You can get a map at the visitor center and it includes one mile, two mile and three and a half mile paths that you can tackle. Also, there is a walk highlighted on the cemetery website that takes you to about 50 of the most famous persons in the cemetery as well as some of the architectural wonders that have been erected there. All of these are located in the lower sections. Spring Grove has been designated a National Historic Landmark, one of only seven cemeteries in the U.S. to achieve that designation.

With our church’s commitment to green burial you might also be interested in visiting Spring Grove’s green burial area. It was opened in 2016, and Reverend Bill wrote a piece on this event in the May 2016 Heirloom if you would like to read about it. However, this section sits at the top of the cemetery, a one-and-a-half-mile uphill walk, so you may want to drive up to the site if the walk is too much of a challenge.

This cemetery is also an arboretum and garden extraordinaire. It has many varieties of exotic plants, state champion trees and even a number of trees especially bred for the cemetery, like the Spring Grove Dogwood. Flowers abound and in fall the colors should be astounding.

Since this is a newsletter for our church, there has to be some tie to Heritage. Two of our former ministers are buried here. John Gurley, minister from 1839 to 1842, is in Section 36. Gurley left the ministry to publish and edit the local Universalist newspaper, later served in Congress, became a general in the Union Army and was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as the first governor of the Arizona Territory. Sadly, he died of a burst appendix before he could head west to serve in Arizona.

Isaac Williamson is buried in Section 110. He served as our minister from 1854 to 1857 but also had many short stints as an interim minister. He was perhaps the most published writer on Universalist issues in his day and also served as a national officer in the International Order of Odd Fellows. He is buried next to Reverend John Cantwell another Universalist minister who never served permanently in our church but occupied the pulpit as a guest minister on many occasions.

A number of former members of our church are buried in Spring Grove, most prominently the Crosleys who rest in peace in Section 117.

There is also a good chance that relatives of yours might be buried in the cemetery. You can check through the cemetery website which has a search tool to find burials and also an excellent location system so you can easily find the correct grave site.

While a walk amidst 250,000 deceased persons might seem depressing, these people are still alive with stories to be told of their accomplishments, their highs and their lows. Many of those stories involve the history of our hometown from its beginnings to the present day. As you walk around the cemetery, listen for their tales.

September 19, 2020.