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Heritage History |
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Heritage Church was originally established in 1827 as the First Universalist Society of Cincinnati. Universalists were distinguished from other Protestant sects of the day in their belief that a loving Creator would never condemn a human soul to eternal punishment. At about the same time, another progressive religious movement came to Cincinnati; Unitarians emphasized the unity (rather than the “trinity”) of God. In 1961, the Unitarian and Universalist denominations merged.
You will notice that although we are part of the Unitarian Universalist Association, ours is a “Universalist Unitarian” church. We are proud of our Universalist heritage. Our altar dates to 1880, and the Heritage Room is adorned with many historic images from our past.
In 1985, ground was broken on our current site on Newtown Road, and the first service was held there on December 7, 1985. With this change in location, a new name was chosen to reflect our history: Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church. Currently, the congregation numbers more than 150 adult members and friends, and about 75 children and youth are enrolled in the Religious Education program.
Today, we say that we are “One Church, Many Paths”. We welcome those of varying spiritual belief systems into a united church, founded on the proposition that “We need not think alike to love alike.”
In 2002 we held a two week celebration of our 175th year as an incorporated church. During a Sunday service the cornerstone was ceremoniously opened and the contents shared. Several famous UUs from history also made “visits” to the church, helping to bring Unitarian Universalism alive for our children and the rest of the congregation. |
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Groundbreaking, 1985. |
