All Souls NYC:
our history told in timelines
All Souls 175th
Anniversary Video, 1994
This commemorative video was made in 1994 to celebrate the church's 175th birthday.
Among other things, it includes a brief history of All Souls, images of church services and coffee hour in 1994, and interviews with Forrest Church and Mary Ella Holst. (22 minutes)
Preserving the Present
as a Legacy
for the Future
Imagine being able to write
the first draft of history!
Please send us your stories for the archive we're creating to document the current life of All Souls.
Selected contributions (with contributors' permission) will be posted in the Community Stories section of this website. Our aim is to capture the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the uprising against racial injustice on our community. For more details, see Preserving the Present as a
Please send your contributions to us at archives@allsoulsnyc.org. Thank you!
The 2022 Channing Lecture was given on May 22nd by Rev. Natalie Fenimore
"Widening the Circle to Welcome the Future"
Rev. Fenimore talked about her work with the UUA Commission on Institutional Change, whose report, Widening the Circle of Concern, brings together stories of how Unitarian Universalism has fallen well short of fulfilling its promise of equity, justice and inclusion, with recommendations for ways in which Unitarian Universalist congregations and communities might journey toward a more welcoming, inclusive, and expansive future. How might Unitarian Universalism interrogate its past and move joyfully into its future?
Natalie Fenimore is the Minister for Lifespan RE at the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock. She serves on the Boards of Starr King School for the Ministry and the UU Trauma Response Ministry; she is also a past-president of the Liberal Religious Educator’s Association.
The Channing Lectures on Unitarian Universalism were named in honor of the Rev. William Ellery Channing of Boston and his sister, Lucy Channing Russel. Inspired by the sermon he gave to a group of her friends here in New York City, Lucy was instrumental in the founding of this congregation in 1819. Channing was regarded as one of the foremost founding fathers and definers of American Unitarianism and one of its greatest theologians.
JOIN or RENEW your membership today!
Our members are the heart of the ASHS community
and an integral part of the All Souls story.
Renew or become a new member
to help make possible the Society’s mission
to promote the study of All Souls’ history.
We need history more than ever
during these stressful and uncertain times.
Learn more at Dues and Donations
Honor the Past
Celebrate the Present
Shape the Future
The Unitarian Church of All Souls NYC was founded on November 15th, 1819. From its humble beginnings in a downtown parlor to its rise as a flagship of Unitarian Universalism, it has been a beacon for liberal religious thinking for more than two centuries.
This website was created as a place to find out about, and share memories of, the history of our church.
We also publicize our events on All Souls Connext, our new social network.