HISTORY - continued

The United Church of Los Alamos was officially organized and chartered in the fall of 1947. The process that led to this official status was inspiring and arduous. In the summer of 1947 Abram Sangrey, an ordained Methodist minister and former Air Force Chaplain, came to Los Alamos to explore the idea of a permanent church. He came under the auspices of the Federal Council of Churches and was salaried by the Atomic Energy Commission.

Sangrey was a man with an ecumenical vision and saw Los Alamos as an opportunity to bring that vision to reality. He was obviously the right man for the job as there was no precedent for what was happening in the organizing of The United Church. The Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches) had never sponsored a congregation in the United States and the Atomic Energy Commission had never hired a chaplain. Both were happening on the hill.

The people of Los Alamos, having been served by military chaplains in an ecumenical setting, saw no reason why they should go in separate directions and denominations in forming a church on the hill. At the suggestion of the Federal Council of Churches in October of 1947 Sangrey invited nine denominational executives to Los Alamos to discuss the organizing of a church.

Representatives from the Christian (Disciples of Christ), Congregational, Episcopal, Evangelical and Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Missionary Society and Presbyterian (North and South) denominations came for the conference. Also present was J. Quintin Miller, executive secretary of the Federal Council of Churches. A lay committee was formed to draft a constitution for discussion.

Events moved fast. On Sunday, October 19, 1947, the newly drafted constitution was ratified and during the week of November 2 through 9, men and women of Los Alamos signed the membership book. One hundred and eighty-six residents became the charter members. The United Church of Los Alamos was a reality.