About the Society
About The First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis
♦ We are a dynamic intergenerational community that offers opportunities for celebration and friendship.
♦ We assume that every person has a unique spiritual path.
♦ We share our journeys, we each find greater wholeness, dignity, and meaning when we are in community.
♦ We support one another in living by the humanist values of freedom, reason, ethical action, and critical thought.
We welcome you to join us, and explore how your path may connect with our community.
Our Purposes and Principles
We, the congregation of the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, covenant to affirm and promote:
• The inherent worth and dignity of every person
• Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregation
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Our Mission
The First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, established in 1881 and affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association of North America, is an ethical and liberal religious community dedicated to promoting the ongoing search for truth and to affirming the inherent worth of the individual. We understand reality through human experience, enlightened reason, scientific method, and the democratic process, and we find the central source of power and goodness within the human heart, mind, and spirit. Individually and collectively, we assume responsibility for our future, our community, our children, and our interdependent world.Our growth and actions as thoughful, compassionate, and ethical human beings advance our humanist vision of a world of peace and love, dignity and equality, freedom and justice.
Our History
The First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis was founded in 1881. For the first 40 years, the society met in various places in downtown Minneapolis. In 1916, Dr. John H. Dietrich became the senior minister. He proved to be a major figure in the development of the Society and of Unitarianism in the upper Midwest and throughout the nation. Dr. Dietrich professed religious humanism. In his many sermons and lectures over the years he never shied from addressing what he considered to be the social needs of the day, no matter how controversial. Today, the Society is led by the Reverend Dr. Kendyl Gibbons. She is a life-long Unitarian Universalist, and a recognized leader in our continental Association. Gibbons is a 1976 graduate of the College of William and Mary, with BAs in Religion and Sociology. She holds a Master's degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and a Doctorate of Ministry from our UU seminary, Meadville Lombard Theological School. Learn more about Reverend Gibbons here.
"Where people without regard to theological differences may unite for mutual helpfulness in the intellectual, moral and religious culture and humane work. And that all persons whatsoever who sympathize with these aims shall be welcome to the Society." From the articles of incorporation of The First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, 1881.
