Our Church
The Melbourne Unitarian Church was founded on the 29th November, 1852 at the home of James Dunerdin, and was attented by a number of individuals including the Rev. Maxwell Davidson and the first Chief Justice of Victoria, Sir William a'Beckett. The first service was held at the Mechanics Institute on Collins Street (later, the Atheneum Theatre) on January 30, 1853. Since then the Church has been located in Cathedral Place, Melbourne City and Grey Street, East Melbourne.
The Church has a history of vigorous contribution to social life, from liberal Christianity to secular humanism. In 1873 it appointed Australia's first female Minister, Rev. Martha Turner and in the 1880s campaigned for public buildings (the art gallery, the museum, the public library) to open on Sundays against fierce opposition. During the "Great War", the "Great Depression" and the war against Nazism, the Melbourne Unitarian Church became increasingly involved and vocal on issues of social justice and peace. It was during this time that the Church developed the motto "Seek the Truth, and Serve Humanity" a theme which continued during the cold war environment, the Vietnam war and continues to this day.
Today the Melbourne Unitarian Peace Memorial Church is active in protecting the civil liberties and social welfare of all Australians and actively works for the betterment of humankind on the international scale. Our members are involved in a diverse range of organisations, and the Church is associated with organisations such as ANTaR, Australia Asia Worker Links, the International Women's Development Agency, Medicines Sans Frontiers, the Rationalist Society, 3CR, and We Are One Day, to name a just a few.
Services are held every Sunday at 11am with a light lunch following. Every Saturday at 10am, on 3CR radio (855am) the service presentation is repeated. The Church has an active philosophy class which is currently operating every second Sunday. The Beacon, the journal of the Church, is published monthly. Meditation and Tai Chi classes are run every Wednesday from 10.30am - 11.30am. We regularly hold concerts and outings and have a Church Sunday School for children aged five and above, where comparative religion and care for the planet is taught. Finally, the Church has accredited celebrants to conduct weddings, naming and funeral services.
The Church hall is available for like-minded community organisations and functions.
The rules of the Church are availale as a Rich Text Format document.
