Fox Valley Vitality a Result of Innovation, Friendliness

  For much of its life, the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Appleton, Wisconsin, was small and almost dormant. At one point it almost passed out of existence. But in the past decade the congregation has become so vital that it is one of the ten fastest-growing UU congregations. In 1990 it had 100 members. Today it has 409.

  Reasons for its vitality include the following: a conscious decision by the congregation to grow, followed by calling a minister who is now in his 14th year; innovative religious education programs for children and adults (see article on page 4) led by a longtime director of religious education; a welcoming atmosphere; worship that is participatory; and the fact that there are no other inclusive liberal religious communities in the area.

  Appleton is part of a metro area of 200,000 at the northern end of Lake Winnebago and about 100 miles northwest of Milwaukee. The nearest sizeable UU congregations are in Milwaukee, Madison, and Wausau, each about two hours distant.

  The region, whose population grew 15 percent between 1990 and 2000, is a financial and paper-making center and is socially and politically conservative, says the Fox Valley minister, the Rev. Roger Bertschausen. History buffs will remember Appleton as the hometown of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, notorious for his 1950s attacks against alleged Communists in the government and in American culture. It is also the headquarters of the John Birch Society.

  “It’s a great place to be a Unitarian Universalist,” says Bertschausen. “In this area we’re unique and different, and we know what we stand for.”

  The fellowship, organized in 1957, evolved into a small discussion club in the years that followed. The lay-led group reached a point in the 1970s when 10 or fewer attended services. There were so few children that they were taken to a local United Church of Christ church for religious education.

  Then a few people came with experience in other UU congregations, and the culture began to change. After years of renting, the fellowship bought its first building in 1981. An extension minister was called in 1985, followed by the decisions to grow and, in 1990, to call Bertschausen, who was graduating from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

  Together he and the congregation made changes. Deciding the services were too casual, he says, they redesigned them to speak both to the heart and the head. When the congregation hired Ann Barker in 1995 to be director of religious education, that program was revamped as well.

  Deb Andrews was board president when the congregation first began to grow in the 1980s. “One of the things we asked ourselves was, ‘Don’t we have an obligation to the people who haven’t yet found us?,’” she said. “And then, the bigger we got, the more things we found we could do, and then we didn’t want to do without them—adult education, a choir, small groups.”
She says that growth changed the congregation’s dynamics. “When we were small we all knew we had to play a significant role to keep it going. As we got bigger people became more distanced from that sense of ownership. We’ve had to work to keep people connected. We try to do that with small groups and personal contact.”

Here’s what Fox Valley offers today:
  Worship: Three services, 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. Sundays. Average attendance is 65, 96, and 78, respectively. Fox Valley averages 350 adults and children in the building each weekend. The services are identical except for music variations. The second Sunday service was added in 1992 and the Saturday service in 2001.

  Services are participatory. Following the sermon, but before the benediction, there is a congregational re-
sponse period (a.k.a. talk-back) of ten minutes. Bertschausen says this is a key reason for Fox Valley’s growth. “People share their experiences at a deep level,” he says. “It’s very moving, and it lets newcomers know that this is a place where they can bring their own religious journey and their own understanding of an issue.”

  Services are small enough to permit joys and sorrows to be expressed by individuals. Appropriateness is reinforced with reminders. Applause occasionally happens during services and is generally limited to special music. Music ranges from classical to folk and contemporary.

  Facilities: The congregation bought its first building, a 5,000 square foot former Moose Lodge, for $50,000 in 1981 after 26 years of renting space. It had no parking. In 1998 the congregation built its present 10,000-square-foot building including a 175-seat fellowship hall; a large all-purpose room; six spaces for classes, nursery, meetings, youth group, etc.; a large kitchen; five offices; and an ample and welcoming lobby. “The lobby may be the best thing about the new building,” says Bertschausen. “Our old lobby was six-feet-by-four-feet. It was a horrible bottleneck and very unwelcoming.”

  The new four-acre campus has ample parking. Cost of the Prairie-style building and land was $1.025 million. A second phase, not scheduled, will double the space with a 500-seat sanctuary and another wing.

  Dottie Mathews has been an FVUUF member since 1998. She became a lay minister there and is now studying for the UU ministry. She says, “Roger is a very empowering kind of leader. His style of leadership doesn’t permit the fellowship’s growth and vibrancy to be about him, but about the congregation. He fully supports lay leaders as they grow in their leadership skills.”

  Bertschausen credits Fox Valley’s founders with helping lead the congregation’s turnaround. “They were important cheerleaders even before I arrived,” he says. “Their involvement and vision has been instrumental.”

  Fox Valley’s goals include the next phase of its building program, paying the full Fair Share amount per member to the UUA, hiring a half-time volunteer/membership coordinator and half-time secretary so the office administrator can become a true administrator, calling a second minister, and creating more small groups. In terms of raising money, the congregation does better than it used to but still has a ways to go, says Bertschausen: “For many years it just wasn’t talked about. Now we try to be much more up front about it.”

  Board president Jeanine Knapp says the congregation has “very positive energy. People make an effort to identify visitors and welcome them. Roger does an amazing job of understanding people and what they need to further their spiritual journey.”

  Congregational services director Angela Merkert of the UUA’s Central Midwest District adds, “Fox Valley has grown because leaders and membership consistently ask, ‘How will we now share our liberal religious message so that more people can know it?’ The leadership and membership assume that ongoing change is necessary. Programs are oriented to both support the membership and reach out to newcomers.”