Tree of Life UU in McHenry Celebrates its Sesquicentennial

The Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry will celebrate its Sesquicentennial Saturday April 23 and Sunday April 24 with a series of events in Woodstock and McHenry.

The Congregation was gathered in 1866 as the First Congregational Church of Woodstock by a group of recently returned Civil War veterans and community leaders. A New England meeting house style white clapboard church was quickly erected at Dean and South Streets. That building was razed and replaced by modern brick church with a squat Norman bell tower in 1906. In 2013 after changes of name and denominational affiliation over the years, the congregation moved to McHenry and adopted the name Tree of Life.

A busy weekend of activities will start with a tour of its old Woodstock home, now the Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple 221 Dean Street from 1-2 pm Saturday The Temple has renovated the sanctuary space but has maintained the historic stained glass windows dating to the first decade of the 20th century.

The McHenry church will be open for tour from 1-5 pm. Tours will highlight the changes made to turn the former Haystacks restaurant into a church and plans for the future. There will be displays with pictures from the congregation’s history. Tree of Life apparel and shopping bags as well as handmade Tree of Life or UUA Chalice fused glass sun catchers. That evening there will be a private catered dinner with music for Congregation members and friends.

On Sunday April 24 the Rev. Barbara Merritt will be the guest speaker at 10:45 am. She will co-officiate the service with the Rev. Sean Parker Dennison. The theme of the service will be Celebrating the Past, Creating the Future: The Reality Principle. The Adult Choir will perform.

As a young Starr King School for the Ministry graduate the then Barbara Wuensch was called as minister of the Congregational Universalist Church and ordained in 1975. Under her dynamic leadership and with her noted skills as an articulate and challenging preacher the Congregation thrived. During her tenure she married. She served until 1983 then came to the pulpit of historic First Unitarian Church of Worcester, Massachusetts which she served as Senior Minister until her retirement in 2010 when she was named Minister Emerita.

Following the service from 12 to 3pm there will be a community picnic on the spacious grounds with inflatables for the children. In case of rain the community will gather and eat in the church

All events except the Saturday evening dinner are free and open to the public. Proceeds from donations, merchandise sales, and a free will offering on Sunday morning will go to the restoration of the 9 windows made for the Centennial of the Woodstock building featuring the faith symbols of traditions from which the Congregation draws spiritual inspiration which have been in storage since the move to McHenry.

For more information call the church office at 815 322-2464 or email office@treeoflifeuu.org.