In 1946, the
First Unitarian Church of Berkeley entered upon a 22-year
period of opportunity transformed into achievement, big
difficulties faced but surmounted. The area served by the
church, beginning with the exodus from San Francisco following
the 1906 earthquake and culminating in World War II, became
big-city, with much industry and commerce.
The nation began a period of great economic prosperity combined
with unprecedented government borrowing from future generations—plenty
of money to defend free enterprise and democracy in war
and to share-the-wealth on a massive scale. This concern
for the less fortunate has continued to this day. In all
churches, particularly Unitarian Universalist, religious
faiths, as such, in my opinion, became less important as
socio-political advocacy became more important.
The First Unitarian Church of Berkeley family swelled to
over 1,000. Its influence in the community rose. The University
expanded into a huge, nine-branch institution, and this
church's influence on it and on the student body, once high,
faded steadily to almost nothing. However, in outgrowing
the church, UC became, unwittingly, its benefactor.
1946-1968—Dr.
J. Raymond Cope
The more one
knows about this period in the church history—Dr. J.
Raymond Cope's 22-year ministry—the better one understands
why so many who knew him esteem him so highly. He came from
a Salt Lake City pastorate, at age 40, with a philosophy,
teaching, and social service as well as ministerial background.
He served here until his retirement, the big church on the
hill his crowning glory.
Cope had character, charisma, modest friendliness, and intellectual
ability combined with open-mindedness, inventiveness, and
willingness to progress. He was sincere about himself but
could always take a humorous approach to himself. He was
not above doing a church maintenance or carpentry chore.
To him, religion was a great and enduring human need. His
concepts of God, morality, forgiveness, and conscience were
taken over intact by many.
His sermons were interesting and challenging. Neither Humanist,
Theist, nor Deist, he minimized differences between members'
philosophies and maximized what they had in common. He could
inspire and lead the young as well as adults and the elderly.
As with all strong personalities, he had some dissenters
to his leadership, but, forgive the pun, Dr. Cope could
cope better than most, and much of any minister's life is
coping.
New
Horizons, New Heights
The
church building at Bancroft and Dana was six years old
when this picture was taken in 1904. (Photo; courtesy
of Bancroft Library)
One of the first activities under Dr. Cope's inspiration
was a series of lectures on philosophy. They were well attended,
covered a wide range of subjects, and utilized the abilities
of the many people who characterized the growing congregation.
A permanent Philosophers Club resulted.
Dr. Cope once remarked that he almost did not come to this
pastorate "because there were so many famous names
on the church rolls. They frightened me. Most churches today
are confused as to why they are in existence, and a minister
fears to say what he wants to say because it might alienate.
But a congregation should not be afraid to hear what the
minister has to say." Were the scientific thinkers,
who had turned to Unitarianism fifty years before, now feeling
they had outgrown it?
After only three
years here and at 43 years of age, Cope was invited to give
the 1949 May Meeting (national Unitarian convention) sermon,
a once-in-a-lifetime honor. His title: "Modern Man
in Search of a Soul."
In 1950, the Liberal Jewish community, which had been using
the church's facilities for years, expressed its gratitude
by sending Dr. and Mrs. Cope to Israel with a tour sponsored
by the American Christian Palestine Committee. He shared
the experience by giving lectures on Israel and Near East
difficulties as far away as Utah and wrote a feature article
for the Christian Register. A year later he received
B'Nai B'rith's "Most Distinguished Citizen" award.
Dr.
Cope receiving the Most Distinguished Citizen award
from B'nai B'rith in the early 1950's
In 1950, Cope
became chair of a local non-profit radio station. That same
year the church cooperated in a group therapy experiment
with the University of California's Psychology Department
experts. Cope filled the sample of referrals and participated
throughout this first and largest experiment of its kind.
The study was reported in the Journal of Social Issues,
and the church continued with a group therapy program of
its own.
The formative months of the United Nations were big moments
in the life of the church and some of its members (e.g.
Aurelia Henry
Reinhart).
One of the outstanding workers in the church in the memory
of members of this period was Maizie Newman, the executive
secretary, and Dr. Cope's right hand person. She was asked
to take the job and, as she has told the legend, "didn't
want to fill it herself as she felt he should have only
the best, but nobody turned up who was good enough, and
eventually she found herself doing it." With a background
of organization of musical events and social causes, she
was instrumental in developing the high quality of the music
program and the many social action projects carried on by
the church. It has been said with some admiration that she
seemed to "run the church out of her apron pocket."
Cope continued his activities vigorously until his retirement,
became prominent in civil rights, marched at Selma, was
an opponent of the war in Vietnam, and an organizer of Ministers
Mobilization.
We
Defeat the Levering Act
Early in the
1950's, the State of California extended the control over
the religious activity of citizens that had begun in 1930
with the Constitutional Amendment and taxation of "outside"
church income. First, having the Bible read fifteen minutes
a day in all classrooms was legislated. In 1952 Dr. Cope
advised the congregation that this law should be protested.
In 1953, the Levering Act required that all teachers and
college faculties sign a loyalty oath, with the choice of
do or be discharged. In 1954, churches were notified that
ministers must sign the loyalty oath or their churches would
be subjected to additional taxation.
The church stood firm, refusing to have the minister sign
a loyalty oath, and paid the tax. Then, with the cooperation
of three other California churches, two of them Unitarian,
we took the matter to court all the way to the Supreme Court
where all of the Levering Act was declared unconstitutional.
The taxes that had been paid were refunded with interest.
We
Build Our Second Church
An
artists's view of the new church, overlooking the bay
from its perch in the Berkeley Hills
In the 1950s, with new spirit, growth and activity, plus
the baby boom, the church was bursting at the seams. Having
paid off the mortgage on the first church and, following
the settlement of financial and legal negotiations with
the University, we went into action on new plans for a building
in a new location. Knowing a large building fund would be
necessary, the church employed a fund-counseling service
and, with their recommendations and help, raised $195,000
in a three-year period. The generosity of fellow member
Bernard Maybeck and his family enabled the purchase of our
present site, originally a total of eleven acres, at 10¢
per square foot.
In 1955, building
and landscaping architects were engaged, and surveying was
begun. At the same time, the University of California, as
a state agency, condemned the church's property at Dana
and Bancroft, insisting that the value they gave it was
correct. We disagreed and, engaging the best lawyer, appraisers,
contractors and engineers we could find, took the matter
to court. After a two-week hair graying trial, we won a
settlement of $329,400, $130,000 higher than the best UC
offer. With this and the fund drive money and "a half-ton
of blueprints," the church was built. An original design,
high on the Berkeley hills, it offers a view of the whole
bay and Golden Gate, a magnificent panorama.
Most unfortunately, in the midst of all of this supreme
effort, 60 families left the church and formed the Berkeley
Fellowship. Dissatisfactions—some are always present
in any organization—came to a boil in the heat of the
fund raising, church planning activity. Building a church
can cause as much emotional strain as financial strain,
and this one was no exception.
A
22-Year Period of Great Vigor
During the 22
years of Cope's pastorate, congregation participation rose
to a crescendo. In 1952, so many helped that the church
was redecorated on a weekend and the Parish Hall in a day.
In the new building, by 1965 there were twenty volunteers
helping the paid staff on a regular basis and seventeen
active committees reporting to the annual meeting. "War
babies" swelled the Sunday School, and promptly a new
building—plus an addition to the main building—was
erected. A custodian's cottage was added, the fountain was
added in the Atrium, the cottage at Inverness modernized.
Berkeley's
first "Doctors of Durability" participate
in a ceremony of recognition. From left; A.P. Lange,
82; Earl
Morse Wilbur, 86; Bernard
Maybeck, 92; Frank Lawrence, 80.
In
memory of her parents and grandparents, who had been members
of the church, Edith McGrew canceled the $93,000 second
mortgage she held on the church, bringing members' equity
in the church property to $900,000. Annual budgets were
in the eighty thousands. Choir, musicals, plays, lectures
prospered. A symphony orchestra was sponsored and the Women's
Alliance established the Stebbins Institute, an annual summer
religious conference at Asilomar near Monterey. Honorary
"Doctors of Durability" were conferred annually
upon still active oldsters. Visual aids were adopted in
the Sunday School.
After Dr. Cope's resignation at 62, the socio-political
developments of the 1960s continued, particularly in the
city of Berkeley, where they seem to have led the rest of
the country in timing and in degree. These events and developments
resulted in considerable turmoil within the church family,
particularly between the younger activists and the middle-aged
and elderly. It is possible that Cope foresaw such effects
and, despite his experience and momentum, thought that a
younger minister could surmount or channel them more effectively
than he.
