The history of our liberal religious community in Urbana stretches back more than a century. The First Universalist Church was founded on May 17, 1859 and the Unitarian Church was founded on February 9, 1907. The churches merged in 1957, choosing our current Green and Birch location.

The original Universalist church, built of brick in 1871, was torn down in 1913. A cornerstone for the new structure was laid on November 30, 1913. The current limestone church was built on the brick foundation of the original Universalist church.

Religious symbols of the world are represented on our chalice. 

In 1995, we became a Welcoming Congregation to make explicit our alliance with the LGBTQIA community; and June 1, 2014 was a big day for our congregation as we celebrated the legalization of same-sex marriage in Illinois.Visual odyssey across continents