On April 15, 1928, thirty people gathered in Tampa at an organizational meeting  of a Unitarian congregation in Tampa.  In the 1930s Rev. Thomas Turrell,  worked to maintain a Unitarian congregation in Tampa.  Several local Unitarians were known as outspoken radicals of the time, and the congregation did not remain active for long.  An example that has been passed along states that in January, 1934, the minister, Rev.  Carlyle Summerhill reported 67 in the morning service and 35 at the evening forum.  The meeting place was a store across the river opposite the University of Tampa which they shared during the week with a spiritualist for seances and with a psychologist – this was a source of contention among some members.  Rev. Summerhill stated, “I do not know what is coming.  I am taking very critical grounds on the lynching by shooting of a Negro accused but not proved guilty of assault.  The lack of competent religious leadership in pulpit and daily news made this seem inevitable.”  No record has been found of when this congregation was dissolved.

The Unitarian Fellowship of Tampa was organized in 1954 and evolved out of an interracial Great Books discussion group which met in Ybor City. The Fellowship was a unique interracial community led by a series of lay leaders and part-time ministers and held services near downtown Tampa.  By 1955, the group was meeting regularly at the Tampa Federated Women’s Club at 809 Horatio Street.  Reportedly the group moved to an empty downtown Tampa Electric Company building when the Women’s Club learned the Fellowship was interracial.   When TECO announced plans to tear the building down, the Fellowship moved to 2904 Concordia Street.  During this time, the building was also rented to Metropolitan Community Church, a gay Christian group, and we sold the building to them when we moved.

ln 1973, the congregation purchased five acres of land on the northeast edge of Tampa on Morris Bridge Road and built a 48′ geodesic dome in the late 1970s.   The church was designed by Jim Joiner, a UU from Orlando. He was willing to build it, but the Board chose to hire a contractor.

The skylight was built by Dean James. The church entered into a cooperative arrangement with a small private school, the Tryon School, which purchased the adjoining five acres of property at the same time. We used their classrooms on Sundays, while the school used our building for weekday meetings. This arrangement lasted for several years, but eventually the school closed and their buildings fell into disrepair.

In 1980, the fellowship incorporated as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa.  Also, in 1980, the Florida Department of Transportation began to build l-75 adjacent to our property. After a lawsuit, the D.O.T. paid our newly incorporated Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa over $70,000 for half of our quiet, wooded property. With the D.O.T. money in the bank, the church decided to call a permanent minister, using that account to make up any shortfall until growing membership and pledges would increase the financial base of the church.

Rev. Mike Young was called in 1982, beginning a 13¬year ministry here. His total compensation that first year was $17,000.  We decided to build a second, larger, dome-roofed building of about 5600 square feet with a large sanctuary, office space, one classroom, and room to expand in the balcony. The church broke ground for the new dome in 1987 and, after many problems and delays, celebrated its completion, and dedicated it in 1989 thanks to the building committee’s persistent attention to the project.

The Full Moon Circle formed in 1992 has produced and tended an herb garden at the edge of our property.  In 2000, Circles in the Woods CUUPS,  Covenant of UU Pagans (CUUPS), became a committee of the church and continues to hold Full Moon Celebrations open to the public.

In 2005, we celebrated the 50th anniversary with various activities throughout the year, including a service and presentation by then-UUA president, Rev. William Sinkford.  Click here to see a video made for our 50th anniversary.

In 2006, our congregation identified the vision of becoming a “center for liberal religious education for people of all ages” as a top priority.  It became increasingly clear that our existing facilities did not provide adequate space for Religious Education classes or for multiple groups to meet simultaneously.   However, it wasn’t until May 4, 2008 that the congregation voted to approve a Capital Campaign.

A gala ground-breaking ceremony was held on November 9, 2010 for a new building to assist with meeting space for the adult, children’s, and youth religious education.  We held our building dedication on September 18, 2011.

What’s next?  Well that was a question in our 2014 congregational survey, so let’s see where that takes us!