Gather the Spirit: History of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 1869–2000

The First Unitarian Church of Oakland has been an influential force in the religious landscape of Oakland since 1869. Gather the Spirit is the first full-length history of the church from its origins in Rev. Laurentine Hamilton's Independent Free Church of Oakland, to its remarkable church building designed by Walter J. Matthews, to the congregation’s decision in the 1980s to commit to an urban ministry leading to the restoration and earthquake retrofit in 1998 and 2010, securing the congregation's home for another century. Through the years, church members were involved in creating groundbreaking organizations like the Fabiola Association Hospital; the Chabot Woman’s Sheltering Home; the American Committee of Justice of California, advocating for Chinese and Japanese Americans; the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the East Bay Regional Park District; and Dignity Housing West. In the late 20th century, the congregation influenced other congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association through the creation of a unique model of shared ministry. The theology professed by the congregation shifted from the strong liberal Christian Unitarianism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to a more pluralistic understanding of Unitarian Universalism. In almost every period of the congregation's history, their faith led them to serve the surrounding community, establishing institutions that would carry Unitarian values into the broader society; creating forums for the dissemination of literature, culture, and the arts as well as for the debate of ideas and timely issues; influencing policy and legislation at City Hall; and caring for those who were hungry, homeless, and in need. A theme that recurs throughout the narrative is the church’s resiliency, flexibility, and indomitable spirit. More than once, the congregation set out to do something that had little precedent or that a less spirit-filled or less optimistic group might have deemed impossible. Through all the changes that have transformed downtown Oakland from the late 1800s to the early 2000s, the red brick, sweeping stone arches, and bell tower of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland have persevered on the corner of Fourteenth and Castro Streets. This is a story about the church and its people or, perhaps, about a people and their church. It is a story about how, together, the building and its people claimed a place for liberal religion in the city of Oakland. It is a story about how the people struggled to remain relevant and engaged in a city that at times changed so rapidly they felt unsure of their role it. And it is a story about the spirit of a place that, at different times and in different ways, created a religious community that nurtured and inspired, and often tested the mettle of, its members. Read more