Unitarian Universalism in Winona, MN

A Short History of Four Congregations

In 1864, the first Congregational Unitarian Church was organized in Winona, Minnesota with the Rev. Henry Partridge Cutting. Two years later the congregation bought a building on Fourth between Lafayette and Walnut. For 21 years until 1885 this congregation was listed in the Yearbook of Unitarian Congregational Churches.

In 1888, the First Unitarian Church in Winona was organized with Walter Greenman settled as its first minister. In 1890, a beautiful church was built on the corner of Wabasha and Huff streets. Several ministers served this congregations over the next 23 years, one of whom also served the Unitarians in Arcadia, Wisconsin. After 1896 only occasional services were held in the church and it was sold to the United Brethren in Christ in 1919. In 1911, the Winona congregation was formally “discontinued” after 23 years.

It was not until 1965 that the UU Fellowship of Winona was listed in the UUA Directory, but in 1978 it too “sadly dissolved from the active list” after 13 years. Today, we are the fourth founding of Unitarians in Winona. The current Unitarian Universalist Fellowship began in 1987, some 142 years after those first Unitarians, and celebrated its 20^th anniversary in 2007. The fellowship has met at a variety of settings including the Winona Arts Center, the City East End Recreation Center, and the Valencia Arts Center. We have been our current location in Lourdes Hall on the Winona State University’s St. Theresa Campus since 2003. Our fellowship joined the UUA in April of 1999. We currently have 40 adult members and 25 children enrolled in religious education.

(Written on the 20^th anniversary of our 4^th incarnation)