All Souls Unitarian Church (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
| All Souls Unitarian Church | |
|---|---|
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| 36°07′16″N 95°58′35″W / 36.121181°N 95.976332°WCoordinates: 36°07′16″N 95°58′35″W / 36.121181°N 95.976332°W | |
| Location | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Country | U.S. |
| Denomination | Unitarian Universalism |
| Membership | 2,023 (as of February 2, 2016) |
| Weekly attendance | 890 |
| Website | www.allsoulschurch.org |
| History | |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | John Duncan Forsyth |
| Completed | 1955 |
| Clergy | |
| Minister(s) | Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry Rev. Dr. John Wolf, Minister Emeritus |
All Souls Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist ("UU") church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world.
All Souls Unitarian Church was founded in 1921 by two leading Tulsans from families with Unitarian roots: Richard Lloyd Jones, the publisher of the Tulsa Tribune daily newspaper, whose father, Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones, had served as Secretary of the Western Unitarian Conference and founded All Souls Church in Chicago; and William Rea (W. R.) Holway, an engineer who was instrumental in the development of Tulsa's water resources.
The church began when Richard Lloyd Jones ran an advertisement in the Tribune seeking people interested in starting a "liberal church." The group, originally calling itself All Souls Liberal Church, met at Tulsa's City Hall, Jones's house, Temple Israel, and the Majestic movie theater before erecting their own building at 14th and Boulder in 1930 - 31.
In 1957, the church moved to its current home at 2952 South Peoria, adjacent to the historic Maple Ridge district. This building was designed by Tulsa architect John Duncan Forsyth, who also designed the E. W. Marland Mansion in Ponca City, Southern Hills Country Club, and Pensacola Dam at Grand Lake o' the Cherokees, the last of which also involved All Souls co-founder W. R. Holway as chief engineer.
In 1960, John Wolf became senior minister. He became prominent as a liberal activist in Tulsa's predominantly conservative politics, and his church grew to become the largest Unitarian congregation in the world.
Some of Wolf's notable causes included his efforts to reform the funeral industry; his leadership of protests against the administration of the Tulsa Public Schools; a controversial sermon entitled "Tulsa is a Hick Town" that was credited with leading to the construction of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center; his consistent pro-choice activism; and his frequent criticisms of Tulsa's most famous evangelist leader, Oral Roberts.
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