In the early 1980’s, Ken MacLean applied for a grant from the VEATCH Foundation to enable a first meeting of the Senior Ministers of UU Churches (with over 600 members) at Marriottsville Retreat Center outside Baltimore, Maryland.

At the very first meeting, the issue of inviting or not inviting Associate, Assistant Ministers and Ministers of Religious Education arose.  In a unanimous vote the ministers agreed that they needed the group as it was. The ministers had nowhere else to talk about common problems and needs as Senior Ministers. The planners suggested an evening dinner out at one of the big hotels on Charles Street. The tradition of the ‘dinner out’ has continued through the years.

The second year the group met again at Marriottsville and discussed moving the meetings around the country. Tony Perrino described La Casa de Maria, and volunteered to be the host the following year in Santa Barbara. The group gathered there, and has never left.

Ken MacLean continued to seek VEATCH grants to underwrite the costs.  In 1988, the message came to the group that “VEATCH is not going to underwrite our gathering any more.  Do we still want to come?” In the end, the members felt it was too important to give up.  They would undertake the full costs of the meetings.

SMOLUUC ministers continued to gather yearly, sharing experiences and learning.  During the late eighties and early nineties more women joined the group.  Changes in the group were taking place. But the most significant change in the group was to happen through other events. 

Around 1990, charges of Sexual Misconduct were brought to the Fellowship Committee about a member of the group. When SMOLUUC met that February, the group was in disarray. It was a difficult and divisive meeting. The culture of SMOLUUC changed dramatically. The simplest way to describe it was that the “Good Old Boys” assumptions and loyalties no longer defined the group.

The group then survived having two of its members, John Buehrens and Carolyn Owen-Towle, running for the office President of the UUA in 1993. It took some time for both sides to reconcile after the dust of the election settled. 

In 1998 UUA President John Buehrens came to the mid-winter meeting and proposed a position to coordinate services for large congregations. John said, “You are not powerless. If you were organized you could do a lot to influence the association.”  

It was with that challenge that Sonja Prestridge was invited to come to the meeting in 1999, and amazingly led the ministers through a visioning process which resulted, at the end of the meeting, with all of them signing an agreement to support each other, and to support the growth of Unitarian Univeralism.

A committee was appointed to draft a “platform” containing large church proposals for the administration and candidates for office.

In 2000, at the Nashville GA, Arvid Straube, Lee Barker, Carolyn Owen-Towle, Gary Smith and Laurel Hallman met with the officers of the UUA and the Candidates. While the initial reaction to the proposals was guarded, time won out and over the following months conversations with the administration continued. Arvid Straube was appointed as a SMOLUUC representative to the UUA’s Large Church Staff team and later was followed in that position by Michael Schuler. Bill Sinkford was attentive to our concerns during his Presidency, especially in the area of church growth and extension.

In 2004 at the traditional dinner at GA in Boston, Ken MacLean was presented with a plaque of appreciation for his initiative in forming the group. It is interesting that the palque was made in Canada where Ken served a small congregation's summer ministry needs (North Hatley, P.Q.) for many years while he was Senior Minister in Bethesda, Maryland.

Using a listserve SMOLUUC members regularly exchange experience and knowledge.  It has helped many of the members as they work through changes in their congregations.  This vehicle has also served to bond members as they support each other in times of personal challenges, family and community celebrations.

The mid-winter retreat, continuing at La Casa de Maria, has been a focus for training and decision making for the group. SMOLUUC continues to grow as does the understanding of the needs of larger congregations, their challenges for ministry. The group's relationship with the UUA has been more clearly defined. The part time Director of Large Congregation Services has become an important resource for all the ministers and their congregations. The ties the Director has built with other denominations, many church think tanks and training institutes has enriched the SMOLUUC experience.

While there are many tender and sweet moments at SMOLUUC gatherings, few compared with the surprise wedding of Drew Kennedy and Lois Wesener, at the 2007 gathering. Stefan Papa was the officiant and there were tears and hugs from all. We hope there will soon be photos in the on-line photo gallery.

SMOLUUC programs have been led by facilitators and trainers [Notable presenters have been Dale Galloway (successful large church evangelical minister),  Diana Butler Bass (Vital Congregations, Alban),  Fred Garcia (Media Training, UUA), Sonja Prestridge (facilitator), and Susan Beaumont (facilitator) to name only a few.], and its own ministers. While SMOLUUC still has a long way to go in fully claiming its mission, it has become an integral part of the member's lives and ministries as the ministers care for each other, build friendships, and learn more about what it means to be a large church.

(This history of SMOLUUC has been edited from a longer history wirtten by Laurel Hallman)