Learn More: Rev. Newton Mann

First Unitarian Church
4 days ago
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Rev. Newton Mann, 1929

Bas-relief plaque

Created in consultation with Rowena Morse Mann. Purchased by First Unitarian Church and dedicated on April 14, 1928

Rev. Newton Mann served as the head of the Western Sanitary Commission in the Civil War. Ordained in 1865, Rev. Mann served congregations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Troy and Rochester, New York, and finally Omaha, Nebraska from 1889 till 1910. In 1890, Rev. Mann delivered a sermon entitled “On Science and Religion,” credited as the first sermon in America that advocated for Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

Rev. Mann was a supporter of the Humane Society, women’s rights, and social reform. He called for equal pay, free childcare, and equal job opportunities at the turn of the 20^th century.

Rev. Mann is also responsible for crafting First Unitarian’s Bond of Union, which members still sign under in our membership book till this day:

We whose names are hereby subscribed associate ourselves together as a Religious Society for mutual helpfulness in right living, and for the advancement of sound morals and pure religion in the community: and we hereby pledge ourselves to bear our part in the common cause and to care for the welfare and influence of the Society of which by this act we become members. Basing our union upon this expressed moral and religious purpose rather than upon any dogmatic statement of belief, and emphasizing the religion of character and daily life above all creedal confessions, we invite to our membership all who are seriously drawn to us in our spirit and aims and who desire to have with us their Church Home.