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The flood of 2008 has had a direct and
devastating effect on UUSIC; several
families have lost homes and
belongings, and are unsure abut what
the future holds. Mary Kathryn Wallace
relates one bright spot in this
tragedy. Needing to move furniture
from her soon-to-be-flooded home, she
requested help during a Sunday service
-- and 21 UUs responded. That
afternoon as they were working at her
home, a neighbor asked where she found
so many helpers, and she replied,
“Well, I’m a Unitarian Universalist.”
Her neighbor said that many of the
members of his congregation had also
called him – to tell him they were
praying for him. Mary Kathryn
responded, “We believe in deeds, not
creeds.”
UUs have been acting on this belief in
“deeds” since the society was first
organized, at about the same time as
Iowa City, in the 1830s. In earlier
years, it was often the women of the
congregation who devoted time and
energy to reaching out to the larger
community. Annual reports from the
1950s and ‘60s indicate that the
Women’s Alliance (later the Women’s
Federation) was responsible for many
of the congregation’s community
service projects. Among these were
sending aid to the Unitarian Navajo
Project, collecting and shipping
clothing for Hungarian and Spanish
refugees, providing bedding for the
Johnson County Home, and speaking out
about the need to improve conditions
there.
From the mid-20th
century on, various incarnations of a
social concerns committee have guided
our congregational involvement in
community outreach. By 1991, the UUSIC
Service and Action Committee provided
a board member for each of these
organizations: Free Lunch, the
Emergency Housing Project, the
Ecumenical Community Service
Committee's Clothing Distribution
Project, the Ecumenical
Peace Committee, and the Greater IC
Housing Fellowship.
UUSIC also opened its doors to groups
that were not welcomed in other
places. For many years, we provided a
place for gay and lesbian community
dances and programs, and many society
members participate each year in the
Gay Pride parade and activities. We
also provided a place for Alcoholics
Anonymous
meetings.
In the 21st century, the young people
of UUSIC
have demonstrated their sense of
responsibility by helping Katrina
victims in New Orleans. Recently, they
have been selling muffins to raise
funds to aid our congregation’s flood
victims.
In addition to official congregational
support for people in need, both here and
afar, many of our members have been
involved in organizations seeking to
improve conditions for others. Often while
demonstrating the UU principles of caring
and compassion to the larger community,
they have carried their enthusiasm back to
the congregation, thereby involving other
UUs in these causes. It would be
impossible to list all the individuals
involved in aiding and oftentimes founding
organizations in Iowa City, but some
examples from the past 50 years will show
the breadth of concern UUs have
demonstrated. (We know this does not cover
every individual involved in these
activities, and we apologize in advance.)
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Ruth Bonfiglio and Faith Knowler were
responsible for the inception of Youth
Homes.
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Dee later served on the city council,
of which Matt Hayek is currently a
member.
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Diane Martin and Virginia Stamler
strongly supported the Domestic
Violence Intervention Program.
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For the past 26 years, Free Lunch has
been supported by many members; Gay
Mikelson and Jim Gaeta were involved
almost from the beginning.
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Charlie Eastham has served with the
Housing Fellow-ship, and Jeffery Ford
is now a member.
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Gail Garwood, Christine Randall,
Carrie Pearson, Miriam Kashia, Ronnie
Wright, Sue and Lee Eberly, Bill
Eginton, Deb Schoelerman, and Jeanette
Carter are among those who have served
the Crisis Center and Food Bank.
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Tom and Mary McMurray have been on the
Hospice Board; Tom has also been with
Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Mary has
served on the board of the Iowa City
Public Library.
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Claudine and Jim Harris provided
leadership for the establishment of
the National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill.
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Alice Atkinson, Gladys Jenkins, and
Nora Roy helped found 4-Cs (Community
Centered Child Care).
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Mike Haverkamp is a leader with
Friends of Historic Preservation.
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Deb Conklin served with the Ecumenical
Peace Committee at the time the Peace
Pole was erected in downtown Iowa
City.
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Shelter House board members have
included Garry Klein, Gay Mikelson,
Mary McMurray, and Herb Hethcote.
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Jim and Pat Ephgrave are active
with AARP.
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Charity Rowley relates that at one
time all but one of the board members
of the League of Women Voters were
UUs; Barbara Beaumont is current past
president.
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Peggy Houston, Wayne and Donna
Johnson, and Matt Hayek are among the
workers who helped restore the Englert
Theater.
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Peggy is also active with CIVIC, and
chairs the Senior College program at
UI; Al Hood and Gordon Strayer are on
the board.
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Peg Bouska and Miriam Kashia have been
Big Sisters.
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Fred Meyer leads the Backyard
abundance movement and works with Cool
Congregations.
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Kathy Henderson and Steve Beaumont
have led a number of Crop Walks
Involvement in city government is another
way to reach out — and many UUs have done
this:
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Ann Bovbjerg spent many years on the
Planning and Zoning Commission;
Charlie Eastham is a current member.
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Diane Martin was a member of the Human
Rights Commission.
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Penny Davidsen was on the city council
and served as mayor.
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Garry Klein, Bonnie Penno, Jean
Walker, and Jeanette Carter have been
Neighborhood Council representatives.
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Dee Norton, while a member of the
Parks and Recreation Commission,
instigated the acquisition of many
acres of land for parks throughout the
city.
In an annual report of the UUSIC Community
Services Committee from the mid ‘80s,
co-chairs Kathy Henderson and Linda
Cifelli note, “It’s good to see us letting
our light shine outside our own walls as
Unitarian Universalists, not only as
individuals.” Today, members of our
congregation do both, and the greater
community has benefited immensely from
this involvement. |
Unitarian
Universalist
Society
of
Iowa City
