The Unitarian Universalist Church of Midland was founded in 1954 and has served ever since as an oasis of the liberal spirit in religion for West Texas. This congregation has always been a place where people on a variety of spiritual paths come together to grow in religious depth and learn about and embody their faithfulness in the world.
The first meeting of twelve people, in April 1954 was held in the Palette Club and by that July the group had grown to twenty-five members, had bylaws and had moved to a room in the Scharbauer Hotel. The next year the first Church building was built on A Street and the Rev. Gordon Crook became Midland Unitarian Fellowship’s first minister in 1956.
In the following decade the group grew steadily and held many social events. In the late 1960’s into the 1970’s growth slowed and the church teetered on the cusp of decline, but a core of dedicated members always remained.
In December of 1976 a fire in the main building of the church aided in strengthening the church as they repaired the building and a revival of the community began. By 1981 plans were made to move the 30 member church to a new 5 acre plot of land. The first service, a Christmas Eve candlelight service, was held the next year in the new building on the corner of Neely and Midkiff.
Throughout the 1980’s the Church remained strong and was an active participant on the local and national scale as the Church grew. In 1988 the Midland Unitarian Universalist Family Assistance Fund was organized to raise money and administer a no-interest loan fund to help selected Midland families with housing problems.
In 2014 The Unitarian Universalist Church celebrated its 60th anniversary. Celebrating not only sixty years, but also a successful landscaping project, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Midland remains an oasis of the liberal spirit as a welcoming congregation and a green sanctuary.
In August 2015 Rev. Thomas Schmidt (September 2011 – August 2015) left UUMidland and Rev. Emily Wright-Magoon (September 2015 – July 2020) joined us. After Rev. Wright-Magoon’s departure, UUMidland welcomed interim minister Rev. Julie Lombard (August 2020 – July 2021). Following that, the congregation was lay-led for over a year until UUMidland member Rev. Lisa Jebsen stepped up as minister (August 2022 – June 2024). Currently, we are grateful to have part-time minister Rev. Dr. Stevie Gaines leading our congregation.
UUMidland as always is looking forward to new challenges and social outreach efforts in Midland.
