In 1954 thirty southern New Jersey families began making weekly pilgrimages across the Delaware River to attend worship services at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. Early in 1956, the camaraderie born of car-pools, study groups and Unitarian socializing blossomed into a movement to form the South Jersey Unitarian Fellowship. Twenty-seven people accepted the challenge by signing the membership book on May 11, 1956.
The Fellowship initially invited Rev. W. Edwin Collier to fill the pulpit once a month. In 1956, Rev. Edwin A. Lane, minister of the Unitarian Church in Winchendon, Massachusetts, was called to be our first full-time minister.

Many challenges awaited the new church. With a new minister and a growing congregation, space quickly became a problem. Church activities were fragmented between the Merchantville Community Center and nearby private homes. The search was intensified for land on which to build a church. A five-acre tract was purchased in Delaware Township (now Cherry Hill). In 1960, an adjacent plot containing seven acres and a large farm house was purchased.

A building plan was developed with enough classroom and worship space to house all church activities on the new land. Central features were an earth-bermed, one-story Fellowship Hall, with a domed roof, providing a seating capacity for 500 people and a rectangular one-story Religious Education building. The farm house, renamed Unitarian House, would continue as a multi-purpose building providing five to six classrooms, space for adult activities and an apartment for a resident caretaker. Additional space was economically provided by remodeling the basement level of an old burned-out barn to create three rooms destined to become the Administration Building.

With the benefit of its new facilities, the Unitarian Church of Southern New Jersey diversified its activities. Education for both adults and children continued to be a major concern of the church. Registrations in the RE program increased dramatically, reaching
300 children by 1966. The Adult School grew to a program of five to seven courses offered each semester. This increased our visibility both in the surrounding community and in the denomination.
After nine years, Ed Lane resigned in January, 1967 to accept another pulpit. His thought provoking sermons had made the Sunday coffee hour the high point of most parishioners' weeks. During his ministry, humanism and rationalism were the dominant philosophies in worship services. Ed's intellectual and spiritual leadership had helped church membership swell to 429.
The tenures of the church's next two ministers were marked by controversy. Rev. Keith Munson served as minister from 1968 to 1975. These years have been characterized as a period of "interpersonal development through group participation." Two programs, Stage Left, which produced plays, and Lib/Lib, a singles group, were immediately successful. Keith, however, was requested to leave by congregational vote. His ministry had been punctuated by problems with communication and trust as well as allegations of unethical conduct. Both membership and pledges declined. This experience proved so divisive for the Church that after his departure, thirty members began holding their own church services in private homes. (Most of these people were led back into the church several years later through the efforts of Rev. Alice Wesley).

Rev. Margaret ("Peg") Wallace was the church's next minister. Peg served from 1976 until she was asked to resign in 1978. Our church was Peg's first ministry. She was an inexperienced minister. During her tenure there were several serious controversies which led to her resignation. A major concern was the decline of church membership and its causes and possible solutions. The financial base of the church needed improvement and there was disagreement as to how this would happen.

Following this difficult period, the Church debated the question of ministerial leadership from a full time minister to a shared minister to having no minister. Sunday services continued for two years with a variety of stimulating services provided by the Worship Committee and the Church's lay leadership.

It was clear that this strong congregation would continue to grow despite the difficulties it had experienced. In order to solve the problem of persistent underfunding, the Church decided (for the second time) to attempt to sell the frontage along Kings Highway. When this plan failed because of the unfavorable economic climate, a special committee was formed to develop the necessary funding for a full-time minister. The Church decided to call an Extension Minister and in 1981, Rev. Alice Blair Wesley became the minister for the next three years.

Alice's energetic and inspirational leadership helped the church to develop a tighter organizational structure and a sounder financial foundation. The Board became a policy making board and committee structure was strengthened. Church finances, which had
long been problematical, improved dramatically and volunteer participation grew.
In February, 1982 a fire destroyed the Church's Administration Building. Alice's "We can do it!" attitude helped us raise the funding necessary to build a new two-story structure. The Church was energized by her leadership. Because hers was an Extension Ministry, Alice, by UUA rules, could not remain longer than three years.

The Church appeared in many ways to be thriving: we had a physical plant which, while far from ideal, was highly serviceable, an arboretum to be proud of, and a growing membership of enthusiastic and loyal members. There were, however, many issues still to be dealt with. Finances still needed closer stewardship, the worship space in the multi-use Fellowship Hall needed constant repairs, and more space was needed to house our growing programs. Religious Education, always a high priority, had some difficult years as lack of adequate space forced our children into crowded classrooms.

Rev. Rudolph Nemser became the next minister in 1984. He immediately threw his considerable energy into many aspects of church life, attending as many as six committee meetings weekly (sometimes more than one an evening), visiting ill and homebound congregants, and working tirelessly to tighten the internal organizational structure and operations of the Church. His intellectually stimulating sermons and philosophy classes drew in many new members. Rudy also became involved in the larger community by serving as the Board President at the Murray Grove Association, attending monthly meetings of the Liberal Ministers of the Delaware Valley, serving as a member of the Board of Planned Parenthood of Greater Camden Area, and attending monthly lunches with the clergy of Cherry Hill. All these activities served to enhance the visibility of our Church in the community.

The Church had many challenges during Rudy's tenure. One of the most pressing was the need for more space. We had moved from a small to a mid-sized church. The Church appeared unwelcoming to visitors because of limited seating, crowded
classrooms, a strong moldy odor in Fellowship Hall, and severely limited parking spaces. These concerns had been addressed previously by other Long Range Planning Committees but for one reason or another, the time had not been right for a solution. In the early nineties, the space crunch could no longer be ignored. The Long Range Planning Committee was revived and Rudy, along with RE Director, Susan Rak, devised a temporary solution to go to two Sunday morning services. Double sessions were accepted by the congregation and began in the fall of 1991. Meanwhile, plans to build a new sanctuary and RE classrooms were being developed. We needed, to quote Rudy, a "church facility to be a statement of our faith and a home for our community as we enter the next century."

Other ongoing challenges included more consistent and church-wide programming, adequate financing, and leadership development. Now that the Church had grown into a larger community and was under the leadership of a strong, capable minister and Board of Trustees, these goals and challenges needed to be addressed.
The church community became at once more cohesive, yet more diverse during these years (1984-2000). This diversity is reflected in the many standing committees and groups which were established during this period. The Womyn and Religion Committee was formed to examine gender equity issues and to explore feminist theology and spirituality. In addition, under Rudy's leadership, the Church became a "Welcoming Congregation". Interweave, a support group which includes gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered individuals and their friends, has proved to be one of the more energetic and committed groups within the Church. "Sanctuary" was also established to help participants draw inspiration from an open exploration of the meaning and experience of God. Similarly Pagan and Buddhist groups were formed. The "Pagans" are a family-oriented group, primarily Wiccan and Pagan, but all faiths are welcome to come to their circle. The Buddhist Sangha, which meets every Sunday evening at the Church, was formed in 1995 with the mission of providing non-sectarian Buddhist practices of meditation, mindfulness, and community services.

Social Justice has continued to be a driving force in the Church. Successful programs include feeding the homeless through IHOC (Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council), working with the Christian Community Chapel in Mt. Holly, participating in Habitat for Humanity, and sorting food at the Food Bank of South Jersey.

A major focus of Rudy's ministry was the establishment of an enduring bond with our partner church in Szekelyderzs, Transylvania. Many church members and friends have made annual journeys to this remote little village. We bring financial donations; money raised from selling Transylvanian handicrafts, giving an annual dinner of typical (and exceedingly delicious) Transylvanian food, and arrive laden with medical supplies and letters from church members to their Transylvanian pen pals. Among the gifts we have given the village include a sunflower seed press to make oil, providing a "Fruit for a Day" for each pre-school child, weekly fruit for all elementary children who have attended school that week (our fruit programs have resulted in increased school attendance by 16%), scholarships to the nearby high school for all eighth grade graduates, English lessons for adults and five computers for church and school. We believe this connection has helped us make a difference to these people. It has certainly given the Church a vision of our wider faith.

Possibly the most important defining event in the history of the Church occurred on February 3rd, 1997 when fire destroyed Fellowship Hall. In a few short early morning hours the Church lost its worship space, its social hall and nearly all its contents. This was a devastating loss. The Church was already in the middle of a building campaign. Indeed, a beautiful and serviceable renovation of Unitarian House had just been completed with offices installed on the ground floor, the Horsch Room redecorated for meetings and a bright and cheery caretaker's apartment on the second floor.
Where would the Church worship? What could be salvaged from the embers? Within days new committees were formed to help us with the transition. Temporary worship space was secured. The churches of Cherry Hill rallied around: the night after the fire, a special service was held across the street at St. Peter Celestine Roman Catholic Church. The Church held one Sunday worship service there and then moved to St. Michael's Lutheran Church where afternoon services were held from February 16 until April 27, 1997.

After Herculean efforts on the part of Rudy, Ministerial Candidate, Nancy Heimsch, and R. E. Director, Pat Infante, space in nearby Joyce Kilmer Elementary School was made available to us. We worshipped at Kilmer from May 4, 1997 until April 16, 2000, with services in the gym and RE classes being held in the classrooms. Summer services during this time were held back on our church grounds. It cannot be overstated how arduous this time was for everyone yet new members joined our church and RE classes were full. Finally, towards the end of April, 2000, the Church, left Kilmer and held worship services outdoors on the church property until the fall when it became too cold outside. Services were then held in the lower level of Hillside Building, a small space indeed. Attendance was down during this time as the room could not safely accommodate more than seventy people, although ninety people frequently crowded in.

Meanwhile, spirits were high as we proceeded with a revised building plan to rebuild our church at the top of the hill. Named "Building Our Dream", this monumental effort raised from church members alone a total of $1,180,000, supplemented by a UUA loan, a bank loan and proceeds from the fire insurance policy on Fellowship Hall, for a total project cost of $2.1 million. The plan was ambitious, but once again the Church proved its mettle and, encouraged by Rudy, allowed itself to dream and dream big. Even as we stretched our resources to rebuild our church after the 1997 fire, our Social Justice Committee made the time and found the financial resources to aid two African American churches destroyed by arson in 1997.

Adversity struck Rudy when he became ill with cancer necessitating numerous hospitalizations and chemotherapy. Many people stepped in to fill the pulpit during these times and to take on the many other duties of his ministry. Nancy Heimsch was brought
on board as Assistant Minister. Her capable presence helped the Church in innumerable ways during this difficult time.
"Building Our Dream" proceeded, and the Church was finally able to hold its first service in its stunning new sanctuary on December 17, 2000. The rest of the building has taken many more months to complete and make fully ready for RE classes and social events downstairs.
Rudy announced his plans to retire at the end of December, 2000. The congregation voted to give him the status of Minister Emeritus. Rev. Vanessa Southern was then asked to be our Interim Minister. Vanessa's warm and intuitive manner quickly won people over, but her tenure was destined to be short. She was called to a settled ministry and left six months later. Rev. Carol Taylor arrived to be the Church's second Interim Minister in August, 2001.
UUCCH is no longer a struggling, divided collection of individuals, under-funded and without proper facilities. "Building Our Dream" has helped the current generation to recapture the idealism and vision of our founders. We no longer look to others for facilities and financial salvation. We have created the physical facilities UUCCH has long deserved. We recognize that we are now a large medium-sized church with the resources and possibilities that come with size.

Having reached a goal which for so many years seemed unobtainable, we face a new challenge. Where do we go from here? To what purpose did we build? Heretofore we have relied on our ministers to make our presence known in the community and denomination. We are now ready for the next challenge: to grow with a purpose and for the whole church to become a liberal religious beacon in an increasingly conservative community and society. We seek the leadership to help us accomplish that goal.

------Written and compiled by Louise Marshall in August, 2001, with generous assistance from previous church historians, Clyde Davis, David Bonette and Gordon Marshall. Thanks to them and to Kathy Wilson and Betty Buder for their help.

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