The Early Years
The first efforts to establish Unitarian Universalism in Ventura occurred in 1951 with the creation of a Unitarian Fellowship. After a few years the number of members began to decline, and Ventura couples with young children who sought a more vital religious environment began attending the Universalist Church in the nearby town of Santa Paula where Rev. Fred LeShane was the minister.

In August 1958, Rev. LeShane met with the Ventura families, and the group decided to start a church in Ventura. Soon a notice appeared in the local paper announcing that the Universalist Unitarian Church would be meeting Sunday evenings. In November bylaws were adopted and the members signed an application for Fellowship Affiliation with the Universalist Church of America. The church was accepted in early 1959 as the Universalist Unitarian Church of Ventura County, though the name was later changed to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura in 1962.

In the spring of 1959 the adults and babies met in a local dance studio, the older children met in what was then the YWCA, and the preschoolers met in the Margaret Hope Nursery School. In 1960 the original Unitarian Fellowship was dissolved and efforts began toward creating a new church. Under the leadership of Elizabeth Topping, former County librarian, the Fellowship contributed $650 to the new church, thus starting a building fund. The church was accepted into the Unitarian Association. Rev. LeShane departed and the church sought a new minister. During the fall of 1960, services were held in the Coburn Nursery School and some excellent speakers were brought in.

In 1961, the Rev. Ralph (Ron) H. Cook became our minister and we moved again, this time to the Moser Home, a historical landmark in Ventura. During the year and a half at this location we were actively involved in running a plant nursery. We held an art festival week and hosted the Bishop Company to perform excerpts from various plays. Contemporary problems were addressed with speakers from groups as diverse as the John Birch Society, the Black Muslims, the NAACP, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Rev. Cook participated in the civil rights march in Alabama. We joined together for spaghetti dinners, Friday night coffee houses, and group therapy for couples.

It was at the Moser Home that the church began to experience the life cycle with our first dedication of children, our first wedding, and the first memorial service. In 1962 there was another move. We met in the Odd Fellows Lodge for a while though this smaller space limited church activities considerably. In 1965 we were able to rent the YMCA on Sunday mornings and the church began to thrive again.

Rev. Cook left in 1966 and Rev. Richard Harris was called in the fall as our new minister. Under his direction we developed our own church school curriculum and enjoyed musical performances. By 1968 the Womenís Auxiliary had raised $5,000 which was earmarked for a church building. Through the ingenuity of one member, Frank Peterson, the remainder of the money was raised for a down payment on a unique hillside property overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands. This property, which would be our home for decades, became an official City of Ventura historical landmark known as the "Terry House."

The Terry House Years
Fond memories of our first few years at Terry House include candlelight meditations, folk dancing with nearby Temple Beth Torah, ìMelo-Dramaî encounter groups, pottery lessons and sales, luaus, Thanksgiving dinners, progressive dinners, intergenerational solstice and equinox celebrations, New Yearís Eve parties and Reno nights. During the late ë60ís and early '70's we also struggled to obtain fire insurance for our rural foothill location, worked to pave the parking lot, and offered our building as sanctuary for draft resisters. Popular and successful fundraising service auctions were initiated during this time. In 1972, Rev. Harris moved on and we were without a minister until Rev. Jim Dace came in 1974. With the arrival of Rev. Dace the Church was able to resume more formal Sunday services and the school began to grow again. Candlelight suppers continued, as did Friday night sharings and folk dancing. We were again without a minister after Rev. Dace left in June, 1979 until Rev. Frederica Leigh joined us in 1981.

During the nine years Rev. Leigh served the Church membership grew. We joyfully burned our mortgage in 1983, and after a thorough, long-term goal-setting process the congregation voted to move toward building a new sanctuary to accommodate ìa significantly larger congregation.  In 1987, following a vigorous building fund drive and during the planning and design phase, our plans were regretfully abandoned when it was discovered that an agreement had been signed in 1970, and subsequently forgotten, which made the church financially responsible for straightening the portion of Foothill Road which the church property fronts.

With the new sanctuary project shelved for the immediate future, we turned our energy toward new and continuing projects. Members continued to hold an annual Womenís Retreat, candlelight dinners, open houses and mask-making events. The 1980ís included many intergenerational activities such as game nights and video watching. During these years we participated in the Family-to-Family food program for the needy and continued to support the Beyond War program. We enjoyed a successful thirtieth anniversary celebration and began refurbishing Terry House.

Under the leadership of Rev. Leigh we were able to have three intern Student Ministers. When Rev. Leigh became ill and needed to take a year's convalescence in 1989 it was a sad setback for the Church. The congregation supported her throughout this period both financially and emotionally. We were able to continue many programs and start new ones such as the women's group "Cakes for the Queen of Heaven," the men's group, Covenant of UU Pagans (CUUPS), and a dream group. With the help of seven ministers from the Pacific Southwest District we continued to have interesting worship services during 1989-90. Rev. Leigh resigned her position in 1990 and we continued to support her until her death in 1991. We were deeply grieved by this loss.

Rev. Betty Baker came in 1990 as our interim minister and we began the search process for a new minister. We were able to resolve the conflict with the city over Foothill Road during this time, and the congregation voted again to build a new sanctuary. Rev. Weston-Jones was called in 1992 and led our involvement in supporting reproductive rights and participation in interfaith meetings following the Los Angeles riots. He also initiated the Whalecoast environmental education programs during his summer sabbatical.

In 1995 a Master Site Plan for a new sanctuary at our current location was approved. In 1998 we faced once again the unfortunate reality that building a new sanctuary would not be possible, this time for lack of a unified commitment and the poor financial situation of the congregation. While the plans for the new sanctuary were not completely abandoned, they took a back seat to becoming financially solvent and to new projects. Our energies turned again toward upgrading our current home and a matching gift fund raised $41,000 to rebuild the playground and redo the kitchen. A well-organized choir formed in the late ë90ís and the Our Whole Lives program, a human sexuality course, was introduced in religious education.

Rev. Weston-Jones retired in 2000 and Rev. Judy Cohen joined us as an interim minister for two years. In preparation for our search process the long range planning committee organized home discussion groups to discern our goals for the upcoming years. In the fall of 2001 we conducted a mission/vision process, "Searching for the Future," under the direction of Jeri Moulder, a UUA consultant. Eighty members of the congregation participated in focus groups. We created a mission statement and began a visioning process. A vision statement was adopted in June, 2003 and additional workshops and meetings have been conducted as we work to create a five year plan.

In 2002, the congregation called Jan Christian to be our minister. Due to space limitations, her ordination (our first ordination of a woman) and installation were held at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara in early 2003. Thanks to the hard work and participation of many in the congregation, it was a beautiful service and celebration and it was attended by over 225 people including almost 50 from out of state.

By the fall of 2002, we were already conducting two services on Sundays from September through May. In the 2002-3003 church year, average attendance increased 50% and membership increased by over 15%. The spirit of generosity, in all of its forms, increased as well. The canvass total increased by 26% for the following year. We also created an Inreach/Outreach fund to help those in need in our congregation and those in need in our larger community. This fund was created on Christmas Eve and continued into the new year with a decision to give away all non-pledge money from the services on the first Sunday of every month. At the end of the year, Rev. Jan trained a cadre of Pastoral Visitors to help meet the needs of the growing congregation.

In the 2003-2004 church year, the Board of Trustee's major goal was to address the space issue. Committees were formed to look at possibilities on-site and off-site. A comprehensive report was created and meetings were held to discuss the findings as well as the feelings involved. An overwhelming majority of the congregation voted to authorize the Board to appoint a committee to sell the beloved Terry House and to find a new location to accommodate growth and help us live out our mission in the community.

A decision was made to continue holding two services throughout the summer months due to increased attendance. Another record canvass resulted in the first-ever proposed budget of over $200,000. Membership increased another 9% and the congregation received newspaper coverage for the work of our Inreach/Outreach Fund. Ventura was also the site of the Pacific Southwest District's annual District Assembly. We created a worship service attending by hundreds of UUs from throughout the District.

A New Step
As the 2004-2005 church year began, the congregation took the bold step of buying a building at 5654 Ralston St. and much energy and time went into preparing the new space to be our next church home. Attendance increased again by about 15% and membership topped 200 for the first time in the history of the congregation. 


In December, 2007 our congregation was recognized by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors for our work to end homelessness. This is just one of the ways we are working to put our faith into action.  In March, 2008 we adopted a new mission statement:

We, the members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, united by our liberal religious tradition, seek truths and meaning, and commit to right action. We will nurture our congregation and carry our principles forth to better ourselves, our community and our planet. To these purposes, we pledge our hearts and hands, our minds and our means.  

In 2008, we created a Lift Up Your Voice Project to further our work to end homelessness. We are working to create a culture of commitment and to find new ways to nurture our spirits and heal our world.

Where We Are Today

This rich history has brought us to where we are today. It is a history of joy and sorrow, of dreams and disappointments. It is the history of people gathered together in covenant to walk together no matter how difficult the way. It is a history of people caring deeply for one another and for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. It is a history in which promises have been made and broken and made again. It is a history of a people who are part of a living tradition and who seek to be worthy of that tradition.

We are moving forward with renewed energy, confidence and focus as we work to build and nurture a caring, exciting, liberal religious community and as we seek to transform our community. 

The next chapter of our history is yet to be created and written. We hope you will be part of writing that future.