Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Last updated


Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation
39°00′47″N77°05′22″W / 39.01310°N 77.08945°W / 39.01310; -77.08945
Location Bethesda, Maryland
Country U.S.
Denomination Unitarian Universalism
Membership756
Website www.cedarlane.org
History
Status Church
Founded1951 (1951)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s) Pietro Belluschi
Clergy
Minister(s) Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, Senior Minister; Rev. Dayna Edwards, Minister of Faith Formation; "'Rev. Ali K.C. Bell'" Minister of Congregational Life and Engagement; Kenneth MacLean, Minister Emeritus
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi Janamanchi2.jpg
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi

Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation is a Unitarian Universalist church located in Bethesda, Maryland. The congregation is active in community service and social justice projects. The church is officially a "Welcoming Congregation" (openly welcoming all sexual orientation and gender identities) following the guidelines of the Unitarian Universalist Association, of which it is a member. Cedar Lane has weekly Sunday services and offers religious education classes for young people during the school year. Cedar Lane changed its name by congregational vote in 2023 from Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church to Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation in an effort to be welcoming and inclusive to all religions.

Contents

History

Origin

Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation grew out of the All Souls Church located in Washington D.C. [1] "All Souls" was founded in 1821 and began experiencing a record growth in the post-World War II era. [1] under the leadership of Rev. A. Powell Davies, All Souls founded five new churches in the surrounding community, including Cedar Lane, which held its first service in September, 1951. [1]

Building

The church was originally housed at the Chevy Chase Women's Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland, [2] but was moved in 1955 after the church purchased new land in Bethesda, Maryland. Noted architect, Pietro Belluschi, was hired to design the church building for the site, which was dedicated in May, 1958. The building has been expanded over the years to allow for increased office and classroom space. The building has won several awards, including one from the American Association of Architects for its relationship with its natural surroundings. [2] A 51 rank, four-manual pipe organ was constructed in the choir loft in 1987.

Early years

By 1962, Cedar Lane was the fourth-largest church in the denomination with 1,783 members. Cedar Lane worked to found two additional churches in the area, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville and the River Road Unitarian Universalist Church, in 1956 and 1959 respectively.[ citation needed ]

Ministers

Cedar Lane has had 5 senior ministers over the years:

Among their notable associate ministers was Greg Stewart, whose family story was told in the 2008 documentary Preacher's Sons . [3]

Religious education

The "Our Whole Lives" (OWL) curriculum of sex-education for middle-schoolers was developed at Cedar Lane. Former Cedar Lane Religious Education Director, Roberta Nelson, famously defended the Unitarian-Universalists' proactive stance on church-based sex-education in a TV interview with Bryant Gumbel. [4]

Engagement

Cedar Lane's ministers and members have been involved in progressive liberal activism since its inception. The first Montgomery County (Maryland) chapter of Planned Parenthood began at the church. Cedar Lane was a founding congregation for Action in Montgomery, which has worked for fair housing policies, better medical care for low-income families and construction of numerous affordable housing units.[ citation needed ]

Cedar Lane has an active social justice ministry, focusing on immigrants and refugees, racism, [5] the environment, and gender issues. The church is an accredited Green Sanctuary Congregation, as recognized by the Unitarian Universalists Association. [6] The church achieved some notoriety for sheltering a Salvadoran immigrant facing deportation eighteen months after the congregation voted to become a sanctuary ministry. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Universalism</span> Non-creedal liberal religion

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious movement characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. Unitarian Universalists do not have an official, unified corpus of sacred texts but rather draw inspiration and guidance from the Six Sources: personal experience, prophetic utterances, world religions, Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist teachings, and spiritual teachings. Unitarian Universalist congregations include many atheists, agnostics, deists, and theists and have churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington, Maryland</span> Town in Maryland, United States

Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,122 at the 2020 census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 ZIP code, with a population of 19,753 in 2020.

The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universalist Church of America</span> Christian denomination

The Universalist Church of America (UCA) was originally a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States. Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942. In 1961, it consolidated with the American Unitarian Association to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington Street Church</span> Historic church in Massachusetts, United States

The Arlington Street Church is a Unitarian Universalist church across from the Public Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Because of its geographic prominence and the notable ministers who have served the congregation, the church is considered to be among the most historically important in American Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism. Completed in 1861, it was designed by Arthur Gilman and Gridley James Fox Bryant to resemble James Gibbs' St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. The main sanctuary space has 16 large-scale stained-glass windows installed by Tiffany Studios from 1899 to 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)</span> Historic church in Washington, D.C., United States

All Souls Church, Unitarian is a Unitarian Universalist church located at 1500 Harvard Street NW at the intersection of 16th Street, Washington, D.C., roughly where the Mt. Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods of the city meet. The design of its current building, completed in 1924, is based on St. Martin's-in-the-Fields in London. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. All Souls, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, describes its theology as having evolved from a liberal Christian tradition into a "rich pluralism."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Universalism and LGBT people</span> Relationship between Unitarian Universalism and LGBT people

Unitarian Universalism, as practiced by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), is a non-Creedal and Liberal theological tradition and an LGBTQ affirming denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Sol Gutierrez</span> American politician

Ana Sol Gutierrez is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Maryland who was the first Latina to ever be elected to the Maryland General Assembly. She served four terms in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Montgomery County in Maryland's District 18. Gutierrez sat on the Appropriations Committee and was chair of the Delinquency Prevention and Diversion Services Task Force beginning in 2006. In 2003, Gutierrez was the first Latina elected to state office.

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a non-profit, nonsectarian associate member organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association that works to provide disaster relief and promote human rights and social justice around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York</span> Building in Central Park West

The Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York is a congregation within the Unitarian Universalist Association located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is the last surviving of seven Universalist congregations in the city, founded on the belief of universal salvation that emphasized the love of God for all people. Today, the congregation is pluralistic and non-creedal, welcoming a diverse range of religious beliefs and practices and finding unity in a commitment to social justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Memorial Church</span> Historic church in Massachusetts, United States

Unitarian Memorial Church is a historic church on 102 Green Street in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, home to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Souls Unitarian Church</span> Church in Oklahoma, United States

All Souls Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit</span> Church in New Jersey, United States

Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church (MDUUC) is a church in Walnut Creek, California. In 2016, it claimed a membership of 494. The church buildings occupy a 14-acre tract at 55 Eckley Lane in Walnut Creek.

The Church of the River, located in Memphis, Tennessee, is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, a liberal religious tradition. Services are held each Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington</span> Historic church in Virginia, United States

Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (UUCA), historically known as the Unitarian Church of Arlington, is a Unitarian Universalist church located at 4444 Arlington Boulevard in Arlington County, Virginia. Founded in 1948, UUCA was the first Unitarian church in Washington, D.C.'s suburbs. Throughout its history, UUCA has taken part in progressive causes from the Civil Rights Movement to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Virginia. During the Civil Rights Movement, UUCA was the only Virginia church to speak out in favor of racial integration. UUCA's sanctuary building, designed by local architect Charles M. Goodman in 1964, is a concrete Brutalist structure that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Register in 2014. It is one of only three church buildings designed by Goodman and the only one in Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Church of South Australia</span> Church in South Australia, Australia

The Unitarian Church of South Australia, Inc., is an independent and self-governed church affiliated with the worldwide Unitarian Universalist movement, a member of the Australia and New Zealand Unitarian Universalist Association, and an affiliate member of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is a socially progressive and inclusive spiritual community, not covenanted by doctrine and dogma, but by liberal religious principles distilled from the essential values of all world religions, as well as the arts, humanities, and sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation</span> Church in Georgia, United States

Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Northwest) was organized in 1969. The organization of Northwest was the result of action taken by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (UUCA) to establish a new congregation in the northwest suburbs of Atlanta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Vernon Unitarian Church</span> Church in VA , United States

Mount Vernon Unitarian Church (MVUC) is a Unitarian Universalist church in the Fort Hunt area of Fairfax County, Virginia and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). It meets on a portion of the historic Hollin Hall estate. It is a long-time "welcoming congregation," which means it is open and affirming to all. The church has a long history of supporting LGBTQ rights and is an active social justice congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster</span> Church in Pennsylvania, United States

References

  1. 1 2 3 Staples, Laurence C. (1970). Washington Unitarianism. Washington DC: All Souls Church, Unitarian. pp. 6, 120–130.
  2. 1 2 Marshall, Bruce T. (2010). Unitarians and Universalists of Washington, DC. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 76-81. ISBN   978-0-7385-6651-1.
  3. ↑ Hendrix, Steve (2015-03-15). "Gay white minister, five adopted kids find acceptance at Bethesda church". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  4. ↑ Unitarian Universalist Association (1999). The World: Journal of the UUA. The Association. p. 42.
  5. ↑ Currie, Jasti (May 2013). "The Civil Rights Movement In The Shadows Of The Nation's Capital: The Desegregation Of Glen Echo Park, 1960". MSU Student Collection: 62.
  6. ↑ Bonds, Eric (2021-01-16). Social Problems: A Human Rights Perspective. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-351-68920-5.
  7. ↑ "9 Months After Salvadoran Woman Took Refuge In Maryland Church, She Still Can't Leave". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  8. ↑ "Sanctuary for Rosa". www.cedarlane.org. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.