History of United Church
The United Church of Chapel Hill had its origins in a small group of dedicated members of the Christian denomination who had moved to Chapel Hill from the country where they had worshiped in the Damascus Christian Church. Through their determination, and led by Mr. E. W. Neville (who was still an active member at the church's Fiftieth Anniversary), this group organized the church on May 16, 1910. They had the help of a "circuit-riding" preacher, the Rev. W. G. Clements. A building site on West Cameron Avenue was acquired and money was raised for the church building, our present sanctuary, which was dedicated in August, 1914. Through denominational mergers the church became the United Congregational-Christian Church (1930) and through the national merger with the Evangelical and Reformed denomination (1957) its name was changed to the United Church of Chapel Hill. These ecumenical mergers enriched the congregation by attracting people from a variety of traditions.
During its early years the church had a succession of ministers, many of whom only stayed for a year or two, but the Rev. B. J. Howard (the father of our present member, Ruth Strong) was an exception and served the church for more than a dozen years through its growing stages and into the depression (1917-1931). In those days the church was a poor struggling congregation, and the only physical expansion of the plant was the acquisition of a tin 'hut' (left over from a University building project), which was erected at the rear of the property and served as Sunday School room and Fellowship Hall. There was a great sense of comradery associated with the "hut", and the women of the church were especially active in raising money for the operation and the outreach of the church, supporting three orphans and contributing to the apportionment and to foreign members.
The Rev. W. J. McKee served for ten difficult years during the depression (1933-1943), and was followed during the war by a number of shorter-term ministers, among whom were Bernard Munger (1947-1950) and Earl Danieley (1950-1951), former president of Elon College.
In 1951 the Rev. Richard Jackson assumed the pastorate, and inspired the church for its modern expansion. In 1954 a substantial building fund was raised in a single evening by a dedicated group of men of the Men's Fellowship. This fund was used for the building of the present Fellowship Hall which replaced the "hut" in 1957. It was dedicated in the pastorate of the Rev. Harvey L. Carnes (1957-1959). Changing times and responsibilities made this time difficult for United Church. The Rev. DeWitt Myers (1959-1967) arrived on the eve of the church's Golden Anniversary which was celebrated in 1960.
The church's 50th anniversary became the occasion for two self-studies, a short one in 1959 and a more intensive one in 1963. These examined the physical plant and the location of the church in relation to its membership and the community, the possibility of relocating, and most important the question of our outreach to the community and our sense of Christian mission. Having agreed that the church should not relocate, the congregation and its officers decided to upgrade our facilities and to make them more meaningful to the community. The first major investment was the acquisition of the parking lot to the east of the church, and the redesigning and beautification of the sanctuary with the installation of the pews.
Two major outreach programs were developed. one was the establishment of a Day Care Center (1967), jointly sponsored by the church and the Junior Service League, to make use of the Fellowship Hall and Sunday School classrooms for five days a week. The need for such as center for working mothers had already been established as far back as 1959 by Dr. Robert Crossen, but it required the additional support and study by the Junior Service League to bring this highly successful undertaking to fruition. The church supplied the quarters rent-free and helped with the tuition for some needy children. The full use of this part of our plant has led to the enlargement of this facility with additional classrooms and a meeting room (1974) and the renovation of the Fellowship hall. The second outreach project was the greater involvement of the church in the work of the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services (IFC), with which we had been affiliated since its inception in the early 1960's. After the church acquired the Annex (the Horton property) at 207 Wilson Court, with the original intention of using it for Sunday School expansion, it was decided in 1969 to lease it for a nominal fee to the IFC for their headquarters and for a center for food collections and distribution. In 1982 the church increased its contribution to the IFC by offering the use of the Annex without charge.
After the departure of DeWitt Myers for a new church in Pennsylvania, the congregation welcomed Philip Washburn who served as minister from 1968-1978. Coming to us from Duke Divinity via a year in Scotland, he and his wife Nancy and their three young children born in Chapel Hill won the hearts of the congregation and delighted us by their musical talents.
In 1979 another young couple, Jill and Richard Edens, both ordained ministers from Yale Divinity School, were called to a joint appointment. They have amply demonstrated the advantages of having two ministers. A second Sunday morning worship service has been initiated and the church's program has been expanded to accomodate our growing membership. They also have had their child, Ruth, while serving at our church.
A generous legacy in 1981 from a former member, Virginia Nelson, led to an endowment fund, the income from which is used annually for outreach projects beyond the church's ongoing commitments.
In 1983 the Patterson House at 205 Wilson Court was acquired by the church to serve as a Parish House with offices for out two ministers and church secretary, as well as to provide space for our growing program. This acquisition has given the church a continuous "backyard" property connecting the Education Building (Day Care Center), the Annex (Inter-Faith Council). the Parish House and the Sanctuary.
In 1995, because of overcrowding and structural weakness in the 1914 sanctuary roof, we have worshiped in temporary quarters, at the Wesley Foundation, 214 Pittsboro Street. In 1996 the congregation voted to relocate and began a process to achieve this goal.
Construction of the current facility, at 1321 Airport Road, started in 1999. Church services were held in the new building, for the first time, on Easter Sunday, 2000.
MINISTERS OF UNITED CHURCH
| Rev. W. G. Clements (visiting) | 1910-1914 |
| Rev. T. W. Strowd | 1914-1915 |
| Rev. W. S. Long | 1915-1916 |
| Rev. R. F. Brown | 1916-1917 |
| Rev. B. J. Howard | 1917-1920 |
| Rev. R. F. Brown | 1920 |
| Rev. B. J. Howard | 1920-1927 |
| Rev. B. J. Howard | 1928-1931 |
| Rev. C. R. Dierlam | 1931-1933 |
| Rev. W. J. McKee | 1933-1943 |
| Rev. Johnson Griffin | 1943-1944 |
| Rev. Greg Ritchie | 1945-1947 |
| Rev. Bernard Munger | 1947-1950 |
| Dr. Earl Danieley | 1950-1951 |
| Rev. Richard Jackson | 1951-1956 |
| Rev. Harvey L Carnes | 1957-1959 |
| Rev. DeWitt l. Myers | 1959-1967 |
| Rev. Philip Washburn | 1968-1978 |
| Rev. J. Richard and Dr. Jill R. Edens | 1979-present |