Our History
Part III: Social Concerns with Timeout for Socializing
In 1974 Emerson called the Reverend Paul L'Herrou as minister, who he served for five years. Many social justice activities received Emerson's attention during this time period, including public forums on school busing and gun control. The former led to Emerson's support of the Council for Peace and Equality in Education. The latter led to a gun control resolution adopted at the UUA General Assembly (GA). Reverend L'Herrou became the first UU minister to become president of the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council. He is credited with authoring "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part" to the UU Principles.
Emerson's playful side flourished during Reverend L'Herrou's tenure as minister as well. Increased participation in music and drama programs resulted in presentations of full-length plays and operas, complete with sets that had runs of several weekends. Members and friends of Emerson offered musical programs, concert readings, and canvass dinner skits containing parodies of popular folk songs, hymns and the works of Gilbert and Sullivan written by Edith "Bunny" Ricker, wife of Reverend Frank Ricker. Membership remained at the level of 90-100 families.
In order to refurbish the building and obtain use of a paved parking lot, an unused one-third of Emerson's property was sold to the city for conversion to the senior citizen center parking lot for shared use with the church. Friends and members of Emerson gathered on that property for many months on Friday nights for a rousing game of volley ball while the less active souls remained in the social hall playing ping-pong, board games, listening to music while they lounged in bean bag chairs in a room near the fireplace.
Emerson called the Reverend Silvio Nardoni, who started as minister in the fall of Eighty-one and continued to serve until 1985. A coming-of-age program for teens was started, and the Emerson Seder service (first held in 1978) was revised and became one of the most popular celebrations. The main social justice activities were promoting the freeze of nuclear weapons tests and helping to provide sanctuary to Salvadoran refugees.
Emerson gained some notoriety when Reverend Nardoni debated Reverend Jimmy
Swaggert on local television.
Part IV: The Fire of Joy and Celebration
A year after Reverend Nardoni left, Emerson had a fire of a different sort--a mortgage-burning ceremony to celebrate its pay-off. That same year the American Civil Liberties Union honored Emerson for its Salvadorian refugee sanctuary program.
At the end of the year Emerson called the Reverend Richard Davis as its new minister. He started in early 1987 and served until the end of 1992. Reverend Davis inaugurated paraministry training to help prepare members to act as an effective caring committee for the church. He also initiated the formation of the Help Our Homeless Project (HOHP) by the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council, and Emerson continues to be an active participant in HOHP. Emerson became and remains an active participant in the West Valley Food Pantry. Also, several new church activities got their start, including a men's group, a book discussion group, and a music appreciation group.
