(Part three in a series about the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Fort Wayne. Written by Sandra Maze.)
In the
late 1990’s the growth of our church came into the forefront. The issues that needed to be addressed were
handicap accessible restrooms, a kitchen remodel, and Religious Education and meeting space. On January 9, 1996, the Building Futures Task
Force, headed by Rachel McNett, met for the first time. They started by collecting information from
the UUA and other congregations who had undertaken a building project such as
the one our congregation was considering.
We were on our way!
In her article, in the February 11,
1996 newsletter, the Rev. Dr. Laurie Proctor wrote about the process the church
was embarking on for the new building.
She also expressed her dreams for the new space. She wrote,
“I dream of religious
education space that is bright and big enough to hold all of the children at
once and allows each group to concentrate without hearing every other teacher
and child in the place. And I imagine a
social hall where we can move around without bumping into one another and where
we can pull up chairs for a Quiet tête-à-tête - a place where we can share
meals together and with lots of bulletin boards where we hang information about
who we are and the great things we’re doing. And a library—a room for small meeting
and thinking.
We are in the
process of building a building, but, most importantly, we are creating our
religious home, “The cradle for our dreams, the workshop of our common
endeavor” a place large enough to welcome in all those Unitarian Universalists
who don’t yet know about us. In regard
to the latter, I was told by another colleague that once a congregation commits
to building, people start coming because they know there will be a place for
them.”
This building was finally built with
some ups and downs. You will notice that
the new addition is raised above the original structure. This is because we are in a flood
plain. Many of Laurie’s dreams were
realized upon completion of the project.
We have a dedicated Sanctuary with upholstered chairs, which came much
later, but we have them now. We have
been using the Social Hall for potluck dinners and wedding receptions and
meetings. The Bhajan Society also uses
this space to worship, building their own altar in 2004. The RE now has space for several grades and a
nursery, as well as adult religious space.
The choir also has a space to practice.
On June 3, 2001, our new building was
dedicated. There was also an Act of
Rededication of the Meetinghouse as a whole.
The music was composed for this celebration by Anne Littlefield. She wrote music to the poem To the New
Roof Line written by Nano Honeck Coffman in 1960. The poem was written in honor to the
Meetinghouse in 1960. Anne renamed her
piece “Ode to a Roofline”. She composed
two original pieces, “For Our Forebears” and “New Space”. It was a beautiful and wonderful service, one
in which I was pleased to be a part of as a member of the choir.
The following was written by Dodd. M.
Kattman, the architect for our new space.
Building
A celebration of the circle of
life! The expansion to the Meetinghouse
respects and applauds the energy and ideas dedicated to the original structure
while providing meaningful space to gather, work and learn. The connection of the new and old allows both
to accept one another absent of competition and ego. The addition opens its arms to a comfortable
entry sequence and provides for a future meditative outdoor garden. The newly created lobby is flooded with
daylight and emits a warm, welcoming glow at night.
I
hope that visitors will be well served by the new space and develop renewed a
relationship with an old friend.
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