Our History

A Brief History of the UUCV

	Grant House on Fort Vancouver Officers Row was a former home for our congregation.

This congregation was founded in 1953 by a small group of local Unitarian Universalists.

The year 1953 was the 400th anniversary of the death of Michael Servetus, a Unitarian theologian-scientist from the 16th century, and considered the first Unitarian martyr. To honor him, the group voted to name their new UU community the Michael Servetus Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, or "MSUUF" for short.

The group, referring to themselves as "Servetans" now, met in various locations around Vancouver, including the Grant House, an historic building near Fort Vancouver. In 1961 they purchased our current property, a lovely piece of land beside Burnt Bridge Creek, and moved a war surplus building to the site. The building was re-purposed by adding a daylight basement, which housed the meeting space, kitchen and adjoining rooms. The original building became the upstairs and was used for classrooms. During this time worship services were conducted by lay leaders and guest speakers.

In 1983 the congregation called its first minister, the Rev. Bruce Clear, who served for ten years during a period of rapid congregational growth. In 1992 a new building was completed, housing the sanctuary, office, nursery, kitchen and library. The former building and meeting space was re-purposed again and is now used primarily for Religious Education.

Our present minister, the Rev. Mark Gallagher, began his ministry with us in 1994. In January 1999 we added a second Sunday service to accommodate continuing growth.

In June 2009 our members voted to change our congregation's name to  the Unitarian Universalist Church of Vancouver. The new name reflects our desire to make it easier for people seeking a liberal religious home in Clark County to find us. Our founding inspiration is remembered with honor in the Michael Servetus Library.