Our History

Universalists were active in Durham from 1900 until the 1920s and a Unitarian fellowship has been a presence in the Durham/Chapel Hill area since 1949. We organized as the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durham and Chapel Hill in 1966. In 1978, we changed our name to the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF). Back then, we had 134 members. By the beginning of 1999 our membership had grown to 737 and continues to increase. ERUUF has received the O. Eugene Pickett Award from the Unitarian Universalist Association. This national award is presented to a congregation for making an outstanding contribution to the growth of Unitarian Universalism. We hope to inform, inspire, and involve our visitors, friends, and members and continue to live up to the description of our congregation that was stated on the Pickett Award, "To visit this church, especially on Sunday, is to experience a religious quickening of activity that can be modestly described as outstanding excitement. It is this excitement, this enthusiasm, this almost uncontrolled energy force which is pushing the vanguard of liberal religious thought…"