Our History
Unitarianism first came to Pittsburgh in the person of Benjamin Bakewell, an English immigrant who journeyed to Pittsburgh from his home in New York in 1808. With the help of Rev. John Campbell, a Unitarian minister recruited from England, Bakewell and other Unitarians in Pittsburgh built the First Unitarian Church on the corner of Smithfield and Virgin Alley (later Oliver Avenue) in 1820. The society was maintained with great difficulty because of the transience of ministers after Campbell’s death and the little building was lost to Bakewell’s heirs after his death in 1844. It experienced a revival in 1850 under the leadership of Mordecai De Lange, who served the church as a minister at large until 1860; he was followed by the Rev. Walter Wilson, the first Unitarian Minister ordained in Pittsburgh, who stayed through the duration of the Civil War.
The congregation had better chances of succeeding after the advent of industrial growth in Pittsburgh, which brought a wider variety of people to the region. The church was incorporated in 1890 under Rev. Charles Townsend. Rev. Charles Elliott St. John arrrived in 1891 and was successful in soliciting funds to build a new church on the corner of Craig Street and Fifth Avenue, in the heart of the fast developing section of Oakland. St. John was eager to have the church serve the needs of the city.
The Rev. L. Walter Mason succeeded St. John in 1900. Mason’s ministry was marked by steady growth and increasing stability. In 1902, the congregation sold the lot on Craig Street to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the building to a Lutheran congregation in Sharon, PA. They built a larger church on Morewood Avenue at Ellsworth, completed in 1904.
Rev. Mason became reknowned for challenging the criticisms of Rev. Billy Sunday toward Unitarians in 1914. During World War I, many young men in the church served in the armed forces, and the Woman’s Alliance worked as a Red Cross Auxiliary . When Rev. Mason died suddenly on January 1, 1929, the church and the religious community of Pittsburgh mourned, as he had endeared himself to so many people.
The church struggled through the Depression era under the leadership of Rev. Frank Edwin Smith, who was fellowshipped as Unitarian and Universalist. Smith’s departure in 1943 led to the ministry of Rev. Irving Murray who presided over a period of much growth and social action in support of Fair Employment and Fair Housing practices.
The period from 1961 to 1980 was a time of deep turmoil due to the social issues of the time. Of the four ministers who served during this time — Rev.’s Edward Cahill, David Johnson, John Szala, and Jim Hobart — three were involuntarily made to leave by one faction or another in the congregation. Rev. Paul Beattie arrived in 1982, and under Beattie’s leadership, the church began to gain back some of what it had lost in the 1970s. His death from a stroke following heart surgery in 1989 was a serious blow to the church and the larger denomination. Rev. Clarke Wells came in as Interim minister in 1989-90, and was remembered for his Centennial Sermons commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the incorporation of the church.
During the ministry of Rev. David Herndon (1990 to 2018), the church became a Welcoming Congregation for LGBTQ persons and built up a life-span Religious Education program that includes significant Adult RE courses. The Garden Lobby was constructed in 1999, connecting the educational wing and worship space. The church maintains an active music program for all ages, and is engaged in social action concerns in the community, state, and world. With a mission to “Connect, Inspire, and Serve,” the church is currently re-imagining its ministry in the 21st century.
Our Heritage
This digital collection begins with special letters that were written by the earliest Unitarians who settled west of the Allegheny Mountains in the years from 1825 to 1850. The letters are identified by the author of the letter, not the recipient. The Rev. Charles Elliott St. John arrived in Pittsburgh in October 1891. Soon, he and the church secretary, Miss Mary Lyman, sent letters to former members of the church requesting they write back about its very early years.These documents were compiled by Kathleen R. Parker, Ph.D. with support from the Unitarian Universalist Funding Program and the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh.The following archival institutions have given permission for the documents at this site to be digitally reproduced. Any use of these documents must reference the institutions where the originals are held, as indicated in each case:
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Cambridge, MA
- Senator John Heinz Regional History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Our Documents, Our History
Permission: Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Cambridge, MA
- Meadville, PA, October 12, 1825, letter to Ezra Gannett, president of the AUA (describes “the state of religion in this section of Pennsylvania”)
Permission: Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Cambridge, MA
- Pittsburgh, February 18, 1826, to Ezra Gannett, president of the AUA, (reports on the new church building; laments the death of Rev. Campbell; orders100 tracts from the AUA)
- Pittsburgh, December 26, 1826, to David Reed of the AUA (recommends Pittsburgh as “a place of deposit for the disposal of [Unitarian] tracts…it is the threshold to an almost unlimited extent of the Country…”)
- Pittsburgh, May 25, 1836, to Charles Briggs, president of AUA (apologizes that scholarly ministers from the East may not be comfortable in Pittsburgh: “the people in the West you know are much attracted to extemporaneous preaching, and overlook a little want of connection in a discourse if delivered with that greater degree of energy which that mode seems to dictate.”)
- Pittsburgh, July 23, 1836, to Charles Briggs, president of the AUA (expresses regret that Mr. Miles’ departure came so soon after he arrived – he stayed only three Sundays; Henry Miles had been subsidized by the AUA, via the Society for Propagating the Gospel to Indians and Others in North America.)
- Pittsburgh, January 7, 1839, to Charles Briggs, president of the AUA (suggests his cousin in Norwich become minister to the Pittsburgh congregation – asks for a subsidy to bring him to Pittsburgh and asks if he can also complete his studies at Harvard)
- Pittsburgh, January 7, 1843, to Charles Briggs, president of the AUA (writes “with feelings of mortification” to inform the AUA that his cousin “has resigned his office of Pastor to the Congregation, which is now scattered like sheep that have no Shepherd” …Further explains that his kinsman’s mode of preaching is “not suited to the Western Country, and little calculated nto attract hearers who pay more regard to sound than sense.”)
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#551, St. John Family Papers, Series II, Martha St. John Papers, Box 2, F 1, 2, & 3
Contains excerpts of letters pertaining to church life – written by Martha Everett St. John in Pittsburgh, to her mother, Mrs. George D. Everett of Northampton, MA, 1891 to 1900.
- “Forward” by Martha Everett St. John
- Letter excerpts, July 1891, through September 1900 transcribed by parishioner Ruth M. Anderson, Nov. 4, 1940 in preparation for Fiftieth Anniversary of Founders’ Day (1890 Charter)
- Letter from Martha to George Morgan, Jan. 30, 1905
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series II, Box 1, F 14
The Rev. Charles Elliott St. John arrived in Pittsburgh in October 1891. Soon, he and the church secretary, Miss Mary Lyman, sent letters to former members of the church requesting they write back about its very early years. Here are the letters written in reply:
- Letters to Rev. St. John
- George O. Morgan (lay parishioner), Pittsburgh, PA – Summary of letters.
- George Plumer Smith, Philadelphia, PA, May 29, c.1893
- Rev. Henry A. Miles, Hingham, MA, Jan. 9, 1983
- Ellen S. Bullfinch (daughter of Rev. Stephen Bullfinch), Cambridge, MA, Jan. 22, c. 1893 (to Miss Lyman)
- E.R. Hoar, Concord, MA, Dec. 24, 1892
- A. F. Marthens, Pittsburgh, PA, Dec., 1891
- A.F. Marthens, Pittsburgh, PA, Dec. 14, 1891(correction)
- A. ????, Salem, MA, Jan. 19, 1891
- Mrs. L. [Louise] DeLange, Denver, CO, Jan. 3, 1892
- Rev. Walter Wilson, Denver, CO, Dec. 10, 1891
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series II, Box 1, F 14
- January 11, 1892 (St. John’s first report, read aloud at the Annual Meeting)
- January 8, 1894
- January 16, 1895
- January 1, 1897
- January 11, 1899
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons, Box 18, F 21, 22, & 23
- 1914: “The Truth Concerning Unitarianism – A Reply to Repeated Misrepresentations by a Revivalist” with “An Appeal to Religious Liberals” by a Unitarian Layman
- Jan. 3, 1915: “The Way to World Peace”
- Nov. 23, 1919: “A Nation in Mourning at Thanksgiving”
- April 25, 1920: “Why Unitarians are not in the Interchurch Movement”
- c. 1923 (n.d.): “What Christians should learn from Russian Atheism
- c. 1923 (n.d.): “Humanism” (follows Russian Atheism)
- c. 1923 (n.d.): “Humanism in Religion” (Part III of series on Atheism & Humanism)
- April 1, 1923: “The Immortal Hope or the Meaning of Easter”
- May 6, 1923: “Mastery Through Service”
- May 27, 1923: “Jesus’ Emphasis on Life”
- June 3, 1923: “Social Service an Expression of Religion”
- September 9, 1923: “The Relation of Jesus to his Age and Ours”
- c. 1925 (n.d.): “The Present Religion of the Common Man”
- June 25, 1925: “The Birthright and the Mess of Pottage”
- c. 1925 (n.d.): “The Brotherhood of Man”
- April 10, 1927: “Our Inheritance of Faith”
- November 28, 1928: “The Difficulty and the Joy of a Great Calling”
- December 30, 1928: “The Scientific Spirit in Religion” (not delivered due to sudden illness and death from pneumonia)
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XV: Pittsburgh Unitarian, Box 11, F 12
- January, 1929: “Minute in Memory of Dr. Mason” (Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Unitarian)
- January 13, 1929: “A Tribute to Dr. L. Walter Mason” by Frank Edwin Smith (Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Unitarian)
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XV: Pittsburgh Unitarian, Box 11, F 16
- Observing the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Joseph Priestley
- March 19, 1933: “Joseph Priestley, the Religious Leader I” (Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Unitarian)
- March 26, 1933: “Joseph Priestley, the Religious Leader II” (Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Unitarian)
- April 2, 9, & 30, 1933: “Joseph Priestley, the Religious Leader III” (Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Unitarian)
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XVII: Religious Education, Box 16, F 1-4
- 1932: Church School Annual of the First Unitarian Church, Pittsburgh, PA
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons, Box 18, F 24-28
- Aug. 7, 1949: “On Being Faithful to your Better Self” (preached on KDKA Radio)
- Oct. 30, 1949: “The Liberal Church in this Age of Anxiety”
- Apr. 27, 1953: “New-Old Objectives for the Liberal Church”
- Oct. 5, 1952: “Beyond Fear and Conformity: Selfhood & Comradeship”
- July 4, 1954: “What is Americanism?”
- Oct. 3, 1954; “Play Fair with your Heart!”
- Feb. 6, 1955: “The Prophet Amos” (preached on KDKA Radio)
- Oct. 2, 1955: “The Dead Sea Scrolls, part II: The Essene Community at Qumran”
- Oct. 9, 1955: “The Dead Sea Scrolls, part III: Essenism and the Beginnings of Christianity”
- Feb. 5, 1956: “What Makes a Church Vital?”
- June 3, 1956: “The Meaning of Forgiveness”(preached on KDKA Radio)
- July 1, 1956: “The Devout Life of a Liberal” (preached on KDKA Radio)
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XXII: Topical, Box 21, F 28A
- Letters from Albert Schweitzer, Hôpital, Lambarene, French Equatorial Africa
- Mrs. Erica Anderson, letter to Mr. Murray, Sep. 23, 1953
- Miss Ali Silver, letter to “Dear Children”, May 18, 1954
- Albert Schweitzer, letter to Irving Murray, May 18, 1954 (refers to Mrs.Anderson’s letter of Sep., 1953) – translated to English by a Dutch nurse
- Albert Schweitzer, letter to Irving Murray, May 18, 1954 (the French version of the translated letter)
Note: KDKA radio sermons are briefer versions of pulpit sermon
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons, Box 18, F 11-15
- February 4, 1962: “What is Liberalism?” (KDKA radio sermon)
- Nov. 3, 1963: “Reflections on Science and Religion” (KDKA radio sermon)
- Jan. 5, 1964: “Life and Reason” (radio sermon)
- January 3, 1965: “Albert Schweitzer: Prophet of Liberalism” (radio sermon)
- November 7, 1965: “What about Your Self?” (radio sermon)
- November 28, 1965: “The American Dilemma in Vietnam”
- January 2, 1966: “Unitarian Beliefs about the Bible” (radio sermon)
- January 30, 1966: “Comments on the Case of Thomas Rodd”
- May 1, 1966: “The South Revisited” (radio sermon)
- October 2, 1966: “The Value of Heresy” (radio sermon)
- Dec. 4, 1966: “Without Wax” (radio sermon)
- Dec. 4, 1968: “Unitarian Beginnings” (radio sermon)
- Undated: “New Religions in the Making” (digest of three sermons)
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series VIII: Congregational Mtgs, Box 8, F 4
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XXII: Topical, Box 21, F 22
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons, Box 18, F 19
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons/Writings, Box 18, F 33
- c. 1973-74: “One God! Socinianism in Poland”
- February 17, 1974: “Unitarian Universalism: A Viable Faith or an Invitation to Bizarre Behavior”
- January 5, 1975: “Amazing Grace” (final sermon before leaving First Church)
Permission: Margery Gulbransen; Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons, Box 18, F 40A-43
Permission: Lucinda Beattie and the Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons, Box 18, F 1-8
- September 26, 1982: “A Minimal Theory of Prayer”
- September 19, 1982: “The Great Socrates”
- February 27, 1983: “Unitarian Universalist Options: Christian, Theist, Humanist”
- April 24, 1983: “Protagoras: The Maligned Philosopher”
- September 11, 1983: “The Secret of Epictetus”
- February 19, 1984: “Two Unitarians: Adams and Jefferson”
- April 15, 1984: “Twenty Years in a Unitarian Pulpit”
- September 25, 1984: “A Critical View of the Bible”
- April 7, 1985: “In Defense of Pilate”
- April 28, 1985: “Understanding the Bible: Genesis”
- April 28, 1985: “Exodus: The Greatest Freedom Epic”
- September 15, 1985: “Leviticus”
- February 9, 1986: “Understanding the Bible: Deuteronomy”
- February 7, 1988: “Understanding the Bible: II Kings”
- March 6, 1988: “Sigmund Freud: Dream Theory”
- April 3, 1988: “Questions Posed by Easter”
- May 9, 1989: “Understanding the Bible: Ecclesiastes”
Permission: Margery Gulbransen; Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XXII: Topical, Box 21, F 19C
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XXII: Topical, Box 21, F 27A
Permission: Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
MSS#550, First Unitarian Church, Series XIX: Sermons, Box 18, F 35
- January 14, 1990: “City upon a Hill, the Promised Land”
- New Horizons at the Centennial, March 4, 1990: “Part I: The Church and Money”
- New Horizons at the Centennial, March 18, 1990: “Part II: The Church and Social Concerns”
- New Horizons at the Centennial, April 1, 1990: “Part III: The Church and Growth”
- December 31, 1990: “The Juggler of God”