First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn is a

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

congregation in Brooklyn, NY. The Society was established in 1833 and has been worshiping in its historic Gothic Revival Sanctuary since 1844. The Sanctuary is adorned with stained glass windows and a Louis C. Tiffany angel mosaic. It is one of the earliest Unitarian congregations in the United States, established just 8 years after the

American Unitarian Association 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 Uni ...

was formed in 1825.

History

Tired of the ferry ride to Unitarian services in Manhattan, and weary of being rebuffed by other Brooklyn churches, the founders held the first Unitarian worship and Sunday school in August, 1833. After meeting in rented halls and buying a building on Adams Street, the members purchased the current site and secured

Minard Lafever Minard Lafever (1798–1854) was an American architect of churches and houses in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Life and career Lafever began life as a carpenter around 1820. At this period in the United States there were no ...

as architect. His design marks the beginning of the Gothic Revival in Brooklyn. The building was dedicated in 1844. Over the years, three other Unitarian societies were formed, flourished and eventually rejoined the First Church.

Samuel Longfellow Samuel Longfellow (1819–1892) was an American clergyman and hymn writer. Biography Samuel Longfellow was born June 18, 1819, in Portland, Maine, the last of eight children of Stephen and Zilpah (Wadsworth) Longfellow. His older brother was the ...

, brother of the poet Henry and himself a noted poet, served the

Second Unitarian Church (Brooklyn, New York) The Second Unitarian Church in Brooklyn was a historic church in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York City. It was built from 1857 to 1858 and was demolished in 1962. The Church became known as a prominent cultural center in Brooklyn. One of the ch ...

. That church also ordained the first woman to the Unitarian ministry, Celia Burleigh. Prominent in the history of the First Unitarian Church is a tradition of social ministry that includes youth work, a

settlement house The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

for immigrants, support for the Civil Rights Movement and opposition to the Indo-China war.

External links

*
The records
of the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn from 1923 to 1940 are in the Andover-Harvard Theological Library at

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. Unitarian Universalist churches in New York City Churches in Brooklyn 1833 establishments in New York (state) {{Brooklyn-church-stub