The first meeting of OCUU took place in the Toms River Nursery School on Old Freehold Road in Toms River during what appears to have been a snow storm. The meeting time was 1:30 pm. The group met on the first and third Sunday afternoons in those early months. Seventeen children were originally enrolled in religious education.
By April, 1983, larger quarters were a necessity, and so the Jewish Center on Freehold Road, just ½ mile north of the nursery school, became the new home.
In May of 1983, OCUU formed its first governing committee which consisted of seven committee chairs and three members at large which were to organize and plan for the growth of OCUU.
We have the minutes of one of the early executive meetings which took place on September 15, 1983.
In this document, UUOCC is named UUF of OC which would seem to stand for Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ocean County. The following are names of some of those mentioned: Neil Gottesmann; Cathy Gottesmann; Carol Charlins; Dick Charlins; Bill Hade; Jeanne Soper; Bob Wilson; Annette Swain; Mary Hamilton. The minutes indicate that they planned on continuing their bimonthly meetings for the rest of 1983 up to June of 1984.
There were no meetings planned for July and August. Some of the issues of that meeting were: A basket for food contributions; Mailings to ascertain membership; Continuing search for a better meeting place.
In March of 1985, “ a Charter Member List” requirements document was presented to the Congregation for approval.
“In recognition
of attendance at more than one meeting during the calendar year 1984 and the
January through June months of 1985 plus the giving of an identified financial
contribution of more than two dollars during this time, the following persons
are determined to have the right to become official charter members of the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ocean County, NJ. These persons shall become members upon
signing the “Statement of Purpose” adopted in March of 1985 by the congregation
following a scheduled service, as the temporary Fellowship “Statement of
Purpose”. Any person after this date
who has contributed five dollars or more, or the equivalent in goods or
services approved by the Finance Committee, and who has attended one service
annually, and who signs the Membership Book qualifies for membership in that
and the succeeding year. The minimum
age to qualify for membership is eighteen years. After March, 1985, a person must be a member three months before
being eligible to vote and hold office.
Temporary “Statement of Purpose”
The purpose of the UUFOC is to teach and practice the
religious and other objectives set forth in the Principles of the Unitarian
Universalist Ass’n.”
This document actually set the qualifications for General and charter membership and office holding in the fellowship.
The next recorded
event refers to discussion groups. These meetings, beginning in September of
1985, were held on the second Sunday of each month in the home of Clarence and Jerilyn Conover in Brick. This developed into two meetings per
month.
In February, 1986, the First Annual Community Retreat was held. Reverend Harold Dean of the Lincroft Church, our sponsoring group, attended to help plan our goals.
In September of 1986, UUF of OC returned to the Toms River Nursery School for 10:30 meetings on the first and third Sundays. $1000 worth of chairs were purchased. Tony Johnson was the part time minister.
In September of 1987, Murray Grove became the new home of UUF of OC. There in the Lodge in November of 1987 UUF of OC celebrated Thanksgiving with a communal dinner. Collections for the Food Pantry were begun year round. A baby sitter was available for Sunday meetings. Dinner discussion groups were started. The Cone House at Murray Grove was winterized and finished by parishioners – Bob and Pat Wilson, Gerry and Rich Pizzi, Stan and Liz Dubroff. It was dedicated in December of 1988 for its intended use - religious education.
In March of 1988, the congregation
began steps for incorporation as required for eventual UUA membership. (UUA affiliation occurred in December of
1989.) Incorporation papers were filed
on February 21, 1989 and recorded in the Ocean County Clerk’s Office at 3:06 pm.
The incorporation papers list the
name of the church as Unitarian Universalist Ocean County Congregation. The initial address of the corporation
was Murray Grove. The name of the
corporation’s initial registered agent was Elizabeth Dubroff. The number of directors constituting the
first board is 3: Jody Schreiber,
President – Mary Wilkin, Secretary – Harold Burke, Treasurer.
In 1989 at Murray Grove, a wayside
pulpit sign was delivered. Thought
provoking statements were displayed on the sign. Also during this year, a new ‘roots and wings’ banner was
displayed. This was also the first year
of participation in the Toms River Founders Day.
1990 marked the first year that
UUOCC met every Sunday at Murray Grove.
The first service auction was held during this year. Rev. Ed Bolella became the group’s part-time
minister thanks to the Consulting Ministry Program at Metro.
In April, 1991, UUOCC held its
first Eco-Fair for Earth Day and in June the first pancake breakfast for
Fathers Day was held. In October,
Murray Grove was approved for Green Acres Funds and so would remain as a
conference center. During this year RE
classes were moved from the Cone House to the dormitories.
In 1992 the first Directory was
printed in booklet form. The quilting
project was the major fund raiser. Bill
Hade donated books to UUOCC. Rev.
Justin La Port became the part-time minister.
At the same time he was the Murray Grove Executive Director.
Rev. La Port moved to North
Carolina in 1996, and Dr. Jane Daniel, the new Executive Director of the Murray
Grove Association, was appointed a Chaplain of the Congregation. In the fall of 1996, a stained glass window
made by Bee Johnson’s daughter, was installed. Since 1996 the Congregation has
had services led by visiting preachers, outside professionals, and lay members
of our own Congregation.
During the winter of 1997, the
Congregation began to work with the Ocean Lesbian and Gay Association (OLGA) in
an effort to make ours, a more welcoming congregation. Part of the effort involved distribution of
the OLGA newsletter with our own. Later
in the year, members of the congregation helped host a booth at a Gay Pride
celebration at Asbury Park.
Our covered dish supper began in
1997 in April – first as a supper and then a dinner/book discussion event still
‘happening’ to this day.
We moved to the Berkeley Center on March 5, 2000, located on Route 9 in Bayville, just six miles north of Murray Grove. That summer, for the first time we also held services every Sunday morning during July and August, and we have continued with a schedule of year-round Sunday services since that time
In 2004 through 2005, UUOCC undertook an intensive 2-year education process to ensure that Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered, Intersex and Queer/Questioning (GLBTIQ) people find a safe and comfortable place to share and show themselves, their lives, and their relationships freely and without fear. Our congregation recently received official recognition from our national office as a Welcoming Congregation. As such we’ve adjusted our bylaws to affirm and promote the participation of everyone in all our activities, including membership, programming, hiring practices, and the calling of religious professionals, without regard to race, color, gender, gender expression, physical ability, affectional or sexual orientation, age, or national origin.
In 2006, the congregation voted to look into the feasibility of buying land to put up our own church, as well as getting in a Minister to help us grow. Committees were formed, and in May 2006, the Board of Trustees put forth a candidate to the congregation for a Consulting Minister. The Congregation voted to accept the candidate, and we are hoping to have Rev. George Blair start as our new Consulting Minister starting in July. We are continuing to search for land to build on, as well as looking at alternative ways of getting our own home