Our Stories
Church Timeline
1949: Unitarians first organize in Bloomington when a small group of Indiana University faculty and students create a Fellowship under the auspices of the American Unitarian Association. Meetings are lay-led and held in members’ homes and at the Indiana Memorial Union building.
1950-2015: By 2015, our congregation grows to over 450 members. Our current property, purchased in 1964, undergoes several additions.
1999: With a capital campaign totaling nearly $1,000,000, we nearly double our square footage with the construction of our Meeting Room and additional office and classroom space.
2011-2014: Green Spaces Capital Campaign supports improved landscaping and parking, energy efficient windows and doors, better playground and drainage.
Today: We have a membership of over 500, and our staff includes ordained ministers as well as professionals in charge of religious education, church administration, membership, and music.
- Stories from the Tree of Life - The First 50 Years (1999)
- Festschrift for Reverend Bill Breeden (2014)
- UU Church of Bloomington: Our History and Our Traditions by Elof Carlson (2014)
- UU Church of Bloomington: Our History and Our Traditions, Appendices (2014)
Elof Carlson, our designated congregational historian, has written about 100 Prologue UU History for You pieces for our semimonthly newsletter since 2012. These have been compiled chronologically with five accompanying short essays as an e-book for you to download or read. The surprising effect of reading the Prologue Histories in chronological order is that they create a history of the Unitarian and Universalist movements: PROLOGUE HISTORIES by Elof Axel Carlson (June 2016)
Plus, a site of broader historical interest:
Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society
Our Ministers, Since 1958
Rev. Paul Killinger, 1958-1963
Rev. David A. Johnson, 1963-1970
Rev. John Young, 1970-1977
Rev. William R. Murry, 1977-1981
Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman, 1981-1987
Rev. Dr. Clarke Dewey Wells, 1987-1988 (interim)
Rev. Bruce Johnson, 1988-1992
Rev. Peter Weller, 1992-1993 (interim)
Rev. Barbara Carlson, 1993-2005
Rev. Mary Ann Macklin, 2002-2022
Rev. William T Breeden, 2002-2014
Rev. Emily Manvel Leite, 2005-2023
Rev. Dr. Douglas Wadkins, 2014-2016 (interim)
Rev. Scott McNeill, 2016-2020
Rev. David Clements, 2020-2021 (interim)
Rev. Connie Grant, 2022-2024 (interim)