Unitarian Universalist congregation celebrates 135th anniversary

Rock Tavern — The 135th anniversary of an official Unitarian Universalist congregation in Eastern Orange County will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16, in the meeting house of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 9 Vance Lane in Rock Tavern. The colorful history of this congregation goes back to the 1800’s, first across the river at Fishkill Landing, and then to Newburgh, where “The Church of Our Father, Unitarian” was dedicated in 1870. After remaining in Newburgh for 100 years, the congregation moved to Rock Tavern as a fellowship in 1970, when the Meeting House was dedicated. The roots of Unitarian Universalism go back to at least the 16th century and the Reformation in Europe, when scholars began to question the doctrines of the trinity and, instead, insisted on the unity of God; hence the name Unitarian. At the same time, it proclaimed universal salvation for all after death, as opposed to hellfire and damnation for the wicked; from this perspective came the name Universalist. Unitarianism and Universalism flourished in England and America at the end of the 18th century. Some famous adepts include Thomas Jefferson, Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William Ellery Channing, Susan B. Anthony, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Adlai Stevenson. In 1961, the two denominations merged, resulting in the formation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, of which the county churches are a member. The Unitarians gained a foothold in the Mid-Hudson Valley in the second decade of the 19th century with the establishment of religious meetings in the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Peter DeWindt in Fishkill. Mrs. DeWindt was the granddaughter of President John Adams, a Unitarian, and the young couple was married in the presidential mansion and later attended a Unitarian Church in New York City. After moving to Fishkill, the DeWindts built a small chapel where Unitarian services were held. Fire later destroyed both the beautiful homestead and all the records of the Fishkill group. At about the same time, a Universalist group in Newburgh dedicated a little church on Liberty Street. Conversations between John Peter DeWindt and Warren Delano, grandfather of Franklin D. Roosevelt, resulted in Unitarian meetings being held in the Court House on Grand Street, and combined the Fishkill Unitarians with the Newburgh Universalists. The present congregation at Rock Tavern has the services of a half-time minister, Rev. James Bridges, and have an active congregation of about 60 members. Sunday services are offered at 10:30 a.m., pastor-led on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, and lay-led on the first and third Sundays. For more information, call 496-9696 or visit home.hvc.rr.com/uucrt.