Our History
Celebrating 60 Years
The Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF), located in Durham, NC, is a caring, open-minded, and progressive religious community of over 800 members that seeks to make a difference in the larger community. In April of 2026, we are delighted to celebrate our 60th Anniversary of building beloved community in the Triangle region of North Carolina, and beyond.
ERUUF was founded on April 12, 1966 in response to the death of the Rev. Dr. James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister and civil rights activist, who was murdered in Selma, AL in 1965 during the Civil Rights protests led by Rev. Reeb’s good friend, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After Reeb’s death and a year of planning and determining their purpose, forty-two people met at a Holiday Inn in Durham and signed the charter for what would grow to become a successful Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, bringing together hundreds of people of like-valued hearts and minds from throughout the Triangle for the next 60 years.
ERUUF's Mission Statement
The mission of the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
is to transform lives by building a
free and inclusive covenantal religious community
of spirit, service, justice, and love.
First Forty-five Years
Beginnings
Universalists were active in Durham from 1900 until the 1920s and a Unitarian fellowship had been a presence in the Durham/Chapel Hill area since 1949. We formally organized as the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durham and Chapel Hill On in 1966.
The Next Five Years
2011-2016 brought growth, change and a deepening of mission to ERUUF. We saw a large expansion in the number of people taking part in activities here and the percentage of those choosing to become more actively involved by becoming members is growing. ERUUF grew to over 600 members and another 300+ non-member participants. Many of the changes have been a result of following our Strategic Plan, which focuses on five areas of strategic development - worship, diversity, outreach to the larger community, communication and infrastructure. Here are some of the highlights.
50 Years and Moving Forward
Exciting things have happened recently at ERUUF. We celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2016 with a year of activities, including several guest preachers from UU leadership. Starting with Rev. Arvid Straube, ERUUF's Minister Emeritus, we also had visits from Jim Key, moderator of the UUA, and Rev. Kathleen McTigue, Executive Director of the UUA College of Justice. Rev. Leslie Takahashi, a previous member of ERUUF, delivered the Celebration Weekend sermon on April 17, which was preceeded by a Music Gala the night before.
