First Universalist Church of Camp Hill

First Universalist Church of Camp Hill. . , The First Universalist Church of Camp Hill was the largest Universalist church in the southeastern United States in the first half of the 20th century. With roots in the European Enlightenment, Universalism was transplanted to the American colonies by religious sojourners and was flourishing in this country by the time of the Revolutionary War. A Christian denomination, the defining tenet of Universalism was “universal“ salvation, the belief that a gentle God would not condemn any soul to a literal hell. The Universalist Church of America merged with the Unitarian Association in 1961, forming the Unitarian Universalist Association. , The First Universalist Church of Camp Hill was established in 1846, as Liberty Universalist Church. The name was changed in 1909. The original meeting pace was a brush arbor on the present site of Mt. Lovely Baptist Church. A simple cabin soon replaced the arbor and served until 1884, when a larger wood-framed church was built on this site. Membership burgeoned, and the striking brick sanctuary was completed in 1907. Designed by Daniel A. Helmich, a Birmingham architect, the church was built with local labor using mostly indigenous material.