Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster

I took part in orientation for potential new members at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster  (UUCL) this past weekend.  I was a facilitator.  I really like this event, because I feel like in re-orients me, as well.

This year I was reminded that UUCL began in 1902, partly because a banker, Warren Rehm, was at a memorial service for an infant at a church in Lancaster.  The infant died unbaptized, and the minister reprimanded the grieving parents from the pulpit, with these words:

"How sad that this infant will not receive the blessings of heaven because it was not baptized."

Warren Rehm told this story to Milton Garvin (a rich Lancaster merchant), and they decided there should be a church in Lancaster that doesn't sentence the innocent to an eternity in hell.  Together they founded the church that eventually became this church today.

The church has a stained glass window in the stairway at the back that shows this story.  I think we call it the "Children Memorial Window."

The window shows children with beautiful and incredible flowers.  The guide today who talked about this window today suggested this window was a response to the memorial service that Warren Rehm attended.  It looks like these children are in heaven.

This window was made in Germany.  the first time it came, there was a toy soldier in the bottom right.  Milton Garvin was an avid pacifist, so he sent the window back to Germany.  It was returned with the image of his dog in that spot, instead of a children's toy soldier toy.

I do understand that my heritage, the Anabaptists, have a different narrative about unbaptized children, and that understanding has been very fundamental to my thinking.  Deciding how we want to live is an intentional adult decision.

This life is not a trick or a trap.