history

In December 1991, one phone call set the wheels in motion for the building of a liberal
religious community in conservative Kent County, Maryland. One Protestant mom, Pat
Bjorke, and one Jewish mom, Leslie Roche, unknown to one another before then, came
together in their common quest to find a faith each could believe in. Both were seeking a
religion that would allow them to express their own beliefs honestly and authentically, to
pass on to their children. Independently of one another, they had each discovered Unitarian
Universalism; but found, to their dismay, there was no congregation in existence on the
upper Eastern Shore. In that first phone call in 1991 they pledged to one another they would
start a congregation together.

Their search led them to the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Easton, where Rev.
Daniel Higgins passed along the names of Kent County residents Steve and Mariana
Hitchner, and Peter Tapke. The five founding members then worked through the rest of that
winter to lay the foundations for a liberal religious fellowship. On May 27, 1992 they held a
public informational meeting. Rev. Syd Peterman, the District Consultant, and Rev.
Kenneth Reeves, the District New Congregations Organizer, spoke to more than forty
interested attendees, a highly encouraging turnout. Work continued throughout the summer
to organize the governing body, worship program, and children’s religious education.

The first worship service of the Unitarian Fellowship of the Chester River was held at 4:00
pm Sunday, September 27, 1992 in the Quaker meetinghouse. A well organized children’s
religious education program overflowed with children and enthusiasm. Rev. Kenneth
Reeves, the district New Congregations Organizer, preached a sermon at that first service
titled “Our Major Stories”. Worship services were held every other Sunday, with a pot luck
supper once a month to celebrate fellowship and community.

On January 17, 1993, the new congregation held its first Children’s Dedication ceremony.
On Easter Sunday, 1993, the membership book was opened for signing of Charter
Members. On May 3, 1993 the application was submitted to UUA to become a member
congregation. Included in the application packet was a check in the amount of $101.43 - the
full “Fair Share” to the UUA Annual Program Fund. UUCR has proudly remained a Full
Fair Share congregation ever since. At the June 1993 UUA General Assembly, Rev. Dan
Higgins presented the congregation’s request to join UUA, and it was approved.

In September 1993 the congregation moved to the Common Room in the Casey Academic
Center at Washington College and began weekly worship services at 10:30 am. Monthly
pot luck brunches fueled the growing membership.

Rev. Paula Annone Maiorano ministered to the congregation as a student intern in 1994.
Paula provided organizational and pastoral guidance, and gave a feeling of permanence to
the fledgling congregation. On June 2, 1996, the Unitarian Fellowship of the Chester River
joined with First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, DE to ordain her.

In December 1997 the congregation approved the rental of office space at 100 N. Cross
Street in Chestertown, in order to provide a more public presence in the community and
allow a central place to gather for board and committee meetings, adult lifespan education,
summer discussion groups, and as a minister’s office.

Rev. Alex Richardson arrived in January 1998, following a unanimous vote of approval by
the membership. Alex kept the growing congregation on their toes, energizing them and
providing a passionate drive to address issues of social, racial, and gay justice here in the
local community. In May 1998, UUCR joined with the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Lancaster, PA to ordain him.

Rev. Daniel Higgins, always flowing in and out of the life of the congregation over the
years, formalized his ministry with UUCR in September 1999. Dan helped guide the
congregation in a process of discovering their core being as a religious community, and
quietly prodded the development of professionalism and intentionality among the Board and
membership.

Peter Tapke, one of the five original founding members, served as the first board president
from 1993 to 1995. Upon his death on June 11, 1999, he left an incredible financial bequest
from his estate. It was Peter’s deepest desire that the flame of Unitarian Universalism be
kept alive along the banks of the Chester River, and his generosity would allow the
congregation to do so.

In January 2000 the decision was made to move back to the Quaker meetinghouse for 9:00
am Sunday services. Carol Brown was hired as Director of Children’s Religious Education,
and served in that capacity from September 2000 to May 2003.

With the congregation now growing at a rapid rate, Rev. Matthew McNaught was called in
August of 2002 as a half-time minister. Matthew helped spur the congregation’s realization
that the vision of a tangible “home” was a longing that must be met.

In 2001 the membership approved the process for what became a long and arduous search
for a building that could be purchased. In 2002, having exhausted the possibilities of finding
a suitable existing building, the membership voted to purchase a piece of land in the
Crestview neighborhood of Chestertown. In May 2004 the membership voted to proceed
with construction of the new church building and began a three-year capital campaign. In
October 2005 the land was blessed in a ceremony conducted by Chief “Winterhawk”
Fitzhugh of the Nasaugh-Wawash tribe. On November 6, 2005, a ground breaking ceremony
was held and construction began. The building was constructed entirely without incurring a
mortgage. On November 11, 2006, the congregation gathered to dedicate the new building.

Rev. Greg Chute became a contractual consultant to the Board in May of 2005, providing
encouragement, experience and support throughout the building process and afterward.

UUCR has had precious new babies born; beloved elderly members pass away; suffered the
dramatic loss of young adults who took their own lives. We’ve celebrated marriages;
mourned separations and divorces; proudly acknowledged the coming of age of teens we
have loved and cared for since infancy. We’ve shouted in triumph, and wept in grief. We’ve
held each others’ hands in times of intimacy, and held one another at arm’s length in times
of stormy conflict. We’ve laughed, we’ve squabbled; we’ve danced, we’ve sung. We’ve said
hello, we’ve said goodbye; we’ve fought, we’ve made up. Our history is recorded, not just in
dates and events, but in our relationships to one another. Like our namesake, the Chester
River, the ebb and flow of time changes us, both as individuals and as a body. We gather
together to celebrate all that is our life.