Our History
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At a special congregational meeting in December of 1952, The Rev. Herb Schneider, our founding minister, stood before the 200 plus in attendance and, with emotion choking his voice, resigned his ministry and his membership in this church. What had brought Rev. Schneider to that moment, that decision to leave all he had worked for?
Years earlier, with a $100 grant from his mother's church, Rev. Schneider and his wife launched Christ Memorial Unity Church on October 4, 1943 in a Ventura Boulevard storefront in Studio City. Admiring its traditional church shape, Herb declared it "a splendid building". They rented it on the spot for $75 a month and the first service was held on October 3rd, 1943, with 10 stalwart friends and the Reverend Rose (Herb's mother and herself a Unity minister) to witness the event and give it their blessing. In 1944, with only $62 in the treasury, a down payment of $10 was made to purchase two lots at the present location of our church. 
Articles of Incorporation were filed on February 7, 1945 listing “upwards of 19 members.”
In June of 1945 the congregation voted to retire the mortgage on the lots ($2500 at that time) and build a “beautiful village style church.” In a matter of days an additional $1200 was pledged and, working nights and weekends, a small group of members assisted Rev. Schneider and two hired carpenters in the actual construction of the church. 
They constructed—right down to the floorboards and shelving—the Sanctuary, Narthex, bookshop, two offices, and a playground. They even put a PA system and chimes in the little tower on the West end of the building (which sported a cross at the time) and a Crying Room where the Choir Loft is now.
The first service was held in the unfinished building on Christmas 1945. Rev. Schneider was now earning a salary from the church — $125 a month — and membership had grown to about 70. On Easter Sunday 1950, 739 adults attended the three services held that day.
But in 1952 a theological crisis threatened this success. Unity's philosophy emphasized theology, but Rev. Schneider believed that individuals, not theology, should be our church's focus. This conflict became untenable and, in an act of conscience, he resigned as minister of the church and from the Unity denomination itself.
Thankfully for us, Reverend Schneider's resignation was soundly rejected by a membership vote of 262 to 1 and in January 1953 our church, in solidarity with its founder, disaffiliated from Unity and became non-denominational. A great deal of friendly debate ensued about removing the cross carved in wood on the choir loft. One member declared it to be an ancient Indian symbol, another wrote an article outlining its use in various cultures from India to the Yucatan, and from Norway to Egypt. Does it symbolize fertility? Is it the tree of life? No consensus was reached and the cross is still there today.
Over the years, the Fireside Room, Kitchen, and more offices were added. The congregation created many specialty groups: five therapy groups, four youth groups, a women's forum, a senior social group, and a young adults forum. During one year, 80 children attended the summer vacation church school, and 450 came to the Men's Forum barbecue. The church also supported a choir, a teacher's group, a writers' group, and monthly building-fund parties. For a while we even had a "Dial-A-Thought" line for a twenty-second inspirational message, which received one thousand calls a day.
By 1960 more than a name change seemed proper, for the congregation felt a need to identify with something larger than itself. Rev. Schneider suggested joining with the Unitarians and the Universalists, who he knew were about to merge. We had been using Unitarian curricula in the RE school for seven years, and Reverend Schneider had enjoyed associating with Unitarian clergy in the Liberal Ministers Association.
The membership decided to pursue affiliation, and The Neighborhood Church in Pasadena loaned us tapes about Unitarianism that were used in a series of Forum Meetings. The vote to affiliate was held on April 6, 1960 and was 124 ayes, one no and one “wait.” An application was forwarded to Boston and was unanimously accepted. We were now Unitarians.
Mirroring the political and social upheaval of the 1960's, our church endured fluctuating membership and a lack of long-term ministerial continuity. Over a period of ten years after Rev. Schneider's retirement, we had three settled ministers and two periods with no minister at all. During those intervals without a minister, we depended on congregants for service leadership. We shrank from over 700 members to 100, grew back to 400 but eventually wound up with a core of only forty active members. But we pressed on, and during this time added the Youth Chapel (now the Fellowship Hall), the upstairs RE rooms, and a Teen Lounge (now the minister's office), renting the spaces to others in leaner times. Throughout this challenging period, our members maintained their core belief in Unitarian Universalist principles.
During the 1970s our church began to hum with energy again. We further expanded our relationships with community programs: we hosted 20 Alcoholics Anonymous groups, Overeaters Anonymous, and two co-dependency groups. We held senior citizen lunches, and housed Actor's Showcase, the Karen Fox Dance Troupe, and The Sufi Dancers. In 1978 we officially added Universalist to our name.
The decade of the 1980s unfolded without drama as we became financially sound, due to increased pledges, and continued our relations with outside groups, until, once again, our congregation was divided by the revelation of misconduct by our longstanding minister, Rev. Jon Dobrer. Strong opinions polarized our membership and some chose to leave. After an extended divisive period, Rev. Dobrer resigned his post. 
It was a difficult period that tested our fellowship and our friendships. A new interim minister helped begin the healing process, but our next settled minister was ultimately not an appropriate match for us, and left after a five-year tenure. The 1990s proved to be another decade of fracture, mending, and breaking anew. We were in need of calm waters once again.
The calling of The Rev. Jay Atkinson to our church in 1999 provided that calming force. He inherited a membership of 100 anxious people, concerned about our survival, but still committed to Unitarian Universalist principles. Rev. Jay brought a stability and dignity to his work that was instrumental in healing our congregation. We expanded our Religious Exploration program again and hired a part-time salaried RE director. We began celebrating IllUUminations, launched our website, and in Spring 2011 conducted an extensive Worship Service survey to gain insight into what is most valued in our time together on Sundays.
Every year has been peppered with events — the May Pole ritual in 1999, Ice Cream Socials in many years, the Madrigal Dinner in 1996, Cooking Classes, Specialty Dinners, fundraisers of all kinds, Christmas parties, the 50th Anniversary celebration in 1993, and more recently, the FRED dinners, to name a few.
And we have reached out, too: we continue to share our spaces with music workshops and events in addition to support groups; we have served as a polling station and participated in the CROP walk to help the hungry. We are involved with the children of the Adopt a Child Abuse Caseworker (ACAC) program (now in its 11th year) and our 2nd Sunday collections support local non-profits.
What is evident from our history is that it is the nature of Unitarian Universalism itself that has allowed us to prosper in good times and weather some very challenging ones. We always knew we had each other, that no matter how difficult the present seemed, there was the promise of a better future. As we approach our 70th anniversary, we can look back with pride at what has been built, both with sweat and laughter, as well as with sorrow and joy. And we can celebrate that each of us is contributing to fulfilling the covenant we have made with each other.
