About Us
Unitarianism grew out of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th
century CE and started in Poland and Transylvania in the 1560s.
You may have seen the flaming chalice that we have as a symbol
of our movement. Today, there are about 7,000 Unitarians in
Great Britain and Ireland, and 800,000 Unitarians worldwide.
The Unitarians were the first church in Britain to accept women
as ministers in 1904 and support equal rights for all people
within the Church and society at large.
Are you a Unitarian without knowing it? Explore the essentials of
the values we share...
We believe that:
- everyone has the right to seek truth and meaning for themselves.
- the fundamental tools for doing this are your own life experience, your reflection upon it, your intuitive understanding and the promptings of your own conscience.
- the best setting for this is a community that welcomes you for who you are, complete with your beliefs, doubts and questions.
We can be called religious 'liberals':
- religious because we unite to celebrate and affirm values that embrace and reflect a greater reality than self.
- liberal because we claim no exclusive revelation or status for ourselves; because we afford respect and toleration to those who follow different paths of faith.
We are called ´Unitarians´:
- because of our traditional insistence on divine unity, the oneness of God. because we affirm the essential unity of humankind and of creation.
History of Horsham Unitarian Church
Our beautiful church dates back to 1721 and apart from the Parish
Church, is the oldest place of Christian worship in Horsham.
At one time our church hall housed the first lending library in
town which continued until 1939. In the 1890s the Horsham Museum
Society was founded by members of the church and exhibits
were kept in the hall until 1930 when they were moved to
Park House. Our peaceful garden was formed out of the extensive
grave-yard which at one time surrounded the church. In
1976 it was dedicated as a Garden of Remembrance, and is open
to all.