About Oaklandon UU Church: Our Mission

Our mission is to provide a religious environment for persons seeking spiritual insights free of dogma and creed.

Our Vision

As a member of Unitarian Universalist Association, we are a vital growing church. We provide a religious or spiritual home for people with diverse views. Our members, and friends express and witness their individual religious views throughout their daily lives.

We have a growing number of new members with children. We are creative in our programming and building use in order to accommodate their needs and expectations.

We have many people in the church who are practicing artists and those who appreciate the arts in general. We have numerous art shows, concerts, plays, and readings which are open to the public.

Our Sunday morning worship services have a reputation for filling the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs of people in today' world.

We have a clear direction of our church and we have become energized.

There is an unlimited supply of energy and passion for taking care of our building, our expanding list of programs and activities, and caring for each other.

There is a wonderful sense of sharing and trust within our congregation.

Our History

This church was organized in 1850 and is the oldest Unitarian Universalist congregation in the Indianapolis area. A frame church building was constructed that year on this same spot in downtown Oaklandon, formerly known as Oakland. In 1875, the congregation started construction on a replacement brick church with brick fired on a local farm. This new church was dedicated in 1878 and was known as the finest church in Oaklandon. In February 1920, the Red Men Lodge next door (located in the now open, grassy lot immediately to the north) caught on fire. The fire spread to the church which was totally ravaged. By 1921, the congregation designed and constructed a totally new structure. Unfortunately, in 1925, the Red Men Lodge again caught on fire and the fire spread to the church. While gutted by the fire, the walls were saved and the church was rebuilt much as the 1921 church had been. This is the church building you see today. The stain glass windows were donated by various members of the church at that time. Perhaps you will recognize some names of families from this area such as Hamilton and McCord. For many years, the stage was used for the church's Christmas pageants, occasional church shows, and for the former Oaklandon High School graduations. To the best of our knowledge, however, until the launch of the Oaklandon Civic Theatre, this church's stage has not been used for Indianapolis wide community theatre. History is always being made!