Celebrating Anniversaries With Fun, Food, & History

When the calendar says you've reached the age of 25, 50, 100, or 250 as a congregation, it's time to celebrate. Anniversaries should be marked with the three Rs--reverence, revelry, and remembering.

The Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (323 members), began celebrating its 50th anniversary in November 2000 and had so much fun that events spilled over into 2002.

They began by updating the church history and preparing a cookbook. There was a bus pilgrimage to the places where the church had been located throughout its history.

"We had a 94-year-old member who gave us a running commentary," said president Becky Cureau, chair of the celebration. "At each stop we'd get out, draw a chalice on the sidewalk in chalk, sing a few songs, sprinkle some holy water, and remember that part of the history. At one point we had to draw the chalice on the side of an interstate overpass where the church used to be."

The congregation held spaghetti dinners throughout the year to bring people together. "Spaghetti is part of our history," said Cureau. "The legend is that spaghetti dinners were used to raise funds for our first permanent building and that the bricks of that building were held together with spaghetti sauce." The UU Church of Delaware County, Media, Pa. (275), celebrated 50 by creating photo and document displays, five years at a time. Members discussed each time period as part of a church service during each month. The congregation held a special celebration with an open house, anniversary dinner, slide show, and worship service.

"We developed a huge understanding of our history," said Dot Magargal, chairperson of the anniversary weekend. Children had a scavenger hunt to find people who had done certain things at church. A dinner dance honored founders. Throughout the year friends and members were encouraged to search their homes for historical artifacts and information.

Orange Coast UU Church, Costa Mesa, Calif. (224), began a 50th-anniversary celebration in January. It includes creation of an anniversary-year logo, t-shirts, and coffee mugs. There will also be a 5-0 party for anyone who has a 5 or a 0 in their birthday in 2003. Finally, there will be a big homecoming weekend in the Fall.

There will be "pot-luck parties" throughout the year, and participation in a July 4th parade. Coordinator Sandra Kulczyk added, "We hope to use this year to bring to fruition ongoing projects such as a new church sign and name badges."

Congregations celebrating anniversaries are increasingly incorporating an aspect of community service. Orange Coast is encouraging friends and members to give 50 hours of service and donate $50 to an organization outside the church. The church will match their contribution. Baton Rouge's "Fifty-Fifty" program invited friends and members to give one hour of community service for each year of the church's history.

The cost of celebrations varies. Orange Coast budgeted $1,000 and will supplement it with t-shirt and mug sales and donation of frequent flyer miles to bring in guests. Delaware County spent $1,582, with half coming from the budget and half from friends and members who paid to attend events and buy souvenirs. The congregation sold mugs and tiles with a line drawing of the church. Of 144 mugs and 150 tiles made, about half and one-fourth sold, respectively.

Cureau estimates Baton Rouge spent about $1,200 including $700 for banners. An additional $500 worth of goods and services were donated by friends and members.

"Everyone hated to see it end," she said "There was a lot of joy in it and it was a really good community-building year. One of the great byproducts is how many people got to know each other better."