Our History

Our church roots lie on the Universalist side of the Unitarian-Universalist traditions. Universalism has been rooted in Berks County for more than 250 years.

In 1745, Dr. George de Benneville built a home in the Oley Valley, where he and other visiting preachers spoke of universal salvation (in the end of time, God would save the whole world). In the same structure, a house church began which could seat up to a hundred persons, and from the same home, Dr. de Benneville offered medical services and started one of the first schools in the area.

De Benneville often borrowed from native American remedies for his own healing practices, and what we now call homeopathic medicine can be seen in his work. de Benneville and his family eventually moved to Philadelphia, where he died in 1793.

One of de Benneville's grandsons helped to start the Universalist church in Reading, and the first building was erected in 1832. The present building was constructed in 1881 and has been used for religious education over the years, as well as for concerts and plays.

One of the most beloved Unitarian Universalist covenants ("Love is the doctrine of this church") was written by a former minister, L. Griswold Williams. Since the late l960's the church has been served by Cynthia Edson, Mark Lang, Kathleen Hepler, George Williams, Ev Morris, and John Morgan. Our present minister, the Rev. Sandra Fees, is the thirty-second to serve the church.

Today, we are a growing, vital presence in center-city Reading, in the same location we have been for 170 years.

Berks Historical Society Article on George de Benneville

http://www.berkshistory.org/articles/debenneville.html