2. World War Two: 

On December 14th, 1941, a group of 40 Arlington residents who were members of All Souls met at the Arlington home of Marjorie Savage. The topic of discussion was the difficulty of transportation due to the scarcity of automobiles, and the anticipated wartime gasoline rationing. The meeting was presided over by a field worker of the American Unitarian Association, with a growing conviction that Unitarian services needed to be held in Arlington.  

1943 to 1947: A Fellowship is Born 

Nearly two years went by before further action took place. In August of 1943 the All Souls Board of Trustees sent a letter to over a hundred families and individuals in Arlington. The letter acknowledged the difficulty of “living at a considerable distance from the Church”, and suggested the possibility of informal gatherings in Arlington. 

A meeting was held on September 23, 1943, at the home of George Collier, with a number of Arlington Unitarians present, along with the All Souls minister (Rev. Dr. Ulysses G.B. Pierce) and its executive director (Laurence Staples). Plans were made for an Arlington Fellowship of All Souls Church.  

Thirty-three Unitarians attended this first fellowship meeting, and George Collier was named as chairman of a committee to carry on the Unitarian movement in Arlington.  

Monthly meetings were held, with various speakers lined up for each meeting. When Rev. A. Powell Davies was installed as minister of All Souls Church in 1944, the Arlington group was energized and took on new life. Dr. Davies conducted monthly vesper services, held wherever space could be found, such as a community center, and a women’s clubroom in Arlington.  

By the end of 1944, a formal request was sent to the Board of Trustees of All Souls Church, requesting recognition of the Fellowship, with the stated aim “to promote better acquaintance and Christian fellowship among members of the group.” 

The request was granted, and early in 1945, the Arlington Fellowship was formally organized as a constituent body of All Souls Church. In the next few years, Dr. Davies could no longer find the time to meet in Arlington, but the Fellowship continued with discussions in the homes of members.  

In 1946 the Rev. Gilbert Phillips was appointed as assistant minister of All Souls Church, with a charge to be minister for the Arlington Fellowship. With the arrival of Rev. Phillips, the Arlington Fellowship began weekly evening services, held in the Pershing Drive Christian Church (located at Pershing Drive and N. Highland Street). 

Rev. Phillips and his wife, Mary Jane Phillips, had been lay leaders in the Unitarian church in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Gil Phillips (as he was called by his congregation) then graduated from Harvard Divinity School and served as minister of the First Parish Church of Bedford, Massachusetts. 

Gil Phillips was young, dynamic and provocative, with a gift for the telling phrase and the challenging question. He conducted his first Arlington service on April 27, 1947, with a characteristic topic: “Roads for Traveling Souls.” 

Average attendance at services in the spring of 1947 was 45, which increased to 75 in September of 1947. With enthusiasm mounting steadily, the members of the Fellowship voted to organize as a Unitarian church, to be affiliated with the American Unitarian Association (the AUA). 

1948: The Fellowship Becomes a Church 

The AUA officially accepted the affiliation as of April 28, 1948, bestowing the name of the Unitarian Church of Arlington on this effort. Nine trustees were elected (6 men and 3 women), and Rev. Phillips was released as assistant minister of All Souls Church and became the first minister of the Unitarian Church of Arlington.  

The church adopted a mission statement: “To promote the understanding and interests of liberal religion, based upon individual freedom of belief, universal brotherhood, and the democratic process in human relationships.” 

Monthly bulletins began, with the title of “The Arlingtarian”. 

The Arlingtarian had a calendar of events, with a listing of sermon titles for the month (“The Invisible Ingredient”; “The Right To Be Different”; “The Tyranny of Perfection”; and “Shadow and Substance”). Under the heading of “Vital Statistics”, it was noted that 101 persons had signed the membership book. 

This first issue also had an excerpt from Rev. Phillips’ upcoming sermon, which included these lines: “A faith that really matters is not blind adherence to fixed dogma or creed but a tendency toward action. It is the belief that what is hammered out of questioning and doubt can effect change and can shape the future.” 

The office of the new church was established in the recreation room of the Collier home. The minister was to be found in this “office” two afternoons a week. The most urgent problem was to secure a meeting place to accommodate a church school as well as Sunday morning services. Arrangements were made to rent the auditorium and several classrooms at the Kate Waller Barrett School on Henderson Road. By the fall of 1948, 83 children were enrolled in the new church school. But the congregation was eager to have its own church home, and a committee headed by George Collier began the search for a suitable site. 

A one-acre parcel of land near the intersection of South Pershing Drive and Arlington Boulevard was purchased by the American Unitarian Association, and a building was designed by Earl Bailey, an architect and an original member of the church. A groundbreaking was held on November 7, 1948, with a construction estimate of $44,800. The AUA made a loan of $15,000, and there were gifts and loans from members not only of UCA, but also from members of All Souls Church. The AUA and All Souls Church also provided funds for operating expenses. 

1949: An Eventful Year 

The first year of UCA was a time of exhilarating progress. Rev. Phillips was very popular, as was his wife, Mary Jane Phillips, who helped to organize the School of Religion and the Women’s Alliance. She was the organist and pianist for worship services, and she joined her husband on parish visits. 

At the April 1949 congregational meeting, Rev. Phillips stated that church attendance had doubled, and church memberships had grown to 167 members. There were two women’s alliances with more than 70 members, and a Layman’s League with over 50 men enrolled. Twenty teens were in the Youth Group. Rev. Phillips noted at this meeting that when he met with some non-Unitarians in Northern Virginia on a community issue, the question in their minds was, “Where do the Unitarians stand?” 

The first worship service in the new church building was held on June 12, 1949. The dedication ceremony was held in October of 1949. The building was a small, unpretentious brick structure, housing an auditorium, a kitchen, the minister’s study, and a few rooms in the basement.  

Church membership continued to grow. There was not enough space for the rapidly expanding School of Religion. Reluctantly, members voted to limit registration in some classes. 

Then, in November of 1949, members were shaken by the announcement that Rev. Gil Phillips was resigning. The reason was personal: the impending divorce of Rev. Phillips and his wife, and the planned marriage between Rev. Phillips and a member of the congregation. 

Some members felt strongly that the Board should not have accepted the resignation. The Board of Trustees, led by Board chair George Collier, felt that if the minister remained, there would bound to be too much divisiveness in the church. 

In the end, the crisis was weathered. The members mourned their loss, then rallied and set to work to maintain the momentum that had made the church such an exciting enterprise. A Pulpit Committee began the search for a new minister. 

Meanwhile, worship services continued with guest speakers. By February of 1950, attendance on Sunday mornings had risen to an average of 165 people. The church was ready for a decade of tremendous growth.