Founder of the Church of the Christian Union
Dr. Thomas Kerr, a Scottish immigrant, who had earned a degree in medicine at Iowa State and practiced in Elgin for seven years before studying for the Baptist ministry, was called to the First Baptist Church in Rockford in 1860. He resigned the Rockford pulpit in 1866 to go to Hannibal, Missouri but was encouraged to return by the Rockford Baptists in 1869. In the intervening period, Dr. Kerr had been exposed to the teachings of Charles Darwin. The Rockford Morning Star observed, Dr. Kerr outgrew his environments and began to preach a broader, richer, and sweeter gospel to which some of his parishioners took exception and brought charges against him. In August, 1870, following a sermon explaining his liberal views, Dr. Kerr resigned his pulpit. 48 Baptists left the church with him and, with 65 members of the Unitarian Universalist Church, organized the Church of the Christian Union. 104 people gathered October 21, 1870, to adopt bylaws which contained no fundamental dogmas or stated creed.
At the time of Dr. Kerr s 70th birthday, the newspaper observed:
"The doctor is essentially an intellectual man. His discourses which are always interesting, always instructive, always worthy of analytical attention, are often difficult to follow because of their intense intellectuality and the continuous and accumulative ideas which he piles Pelion on Ossa . . . Dr. Kerr is a worshipper of facts. A new fact in the scientific world makes him glow with enthusiasm."
Dr. Kerr served the church for thirty years, retiring in 1900 at the age of 76.
Dr. Thomas Kerr, a Scottish immigrant, who had earned a degree in medicine at Iowa State and practiced in Elgin for seven years before studying for the Baptist ministry, was called to the First Baptist Church in Rockford in 1860. He resigned the Rockford pulpit in 1866 to go to Hannibal, Missouri but was encouraged to return by the Rockford Baptists in 1869. In the intervening period, Dr. Kerr had been exposed to the teachings of Charles Darwin. The Rockford Morning Star observed, Dr. Kerr outgrew his environments and began to preach a broader, richer, and sweeter gospel to which some of his parishioners took exception and brought charges against him. In August, 1870, following a sermon explaining his liberal views, Dr. Kerr resigned his pulpit. 48 Baptists left the church with him and, with 65 members of the Unitarian Universalist Church, organized the Church of the Christian Union. 104 people gathered October 21, 1870, to adopt bylaws which contained no fundamental dogmas or stated creed.
At the time of Dr. Kerr s 70th birthday, the newspaper observed:
"The doctor is essentially an intellectual man. His discourses which are always interesting, always instructive, always worthy of analytical attention, are often difficult to follow because of their intense intellectuality and the continuous and accumulative ideas which he piles Pelion on Ossa . . . Dr. Kerr is a worshipper of facts. A new fact in the scientific world makes him glow with enthusiasm."
Dr. Kerr served the church for thirty years, retiring in 1900 at the age of 76.
Founder of the Church of the Christian Union
Dr. Thomas Kerr, a Scottish immigrant, who had earned a degree in medicine at Iowa State and practiced in Elgin for seven years before studying for the Baptist ministry, was called to the First Baptist Church in Rockford in 1860. He resigned the Rockford pulpit in 1866 to go to Hannibal, Missouri but was encouraged to return by the Rockford Baptists in 1869. In the intervening period, Dr. Kerr had been exposed to the teachings of Charles Darwin. The Rockford Morning Star observed, Dr. Kerr outgrew his environments and began to preach a broader, richer, and sweeter gospel to which some of his parishioners took exception and brought charges against him. In August, 1870, following a sermon explaining his liberal views, Dr. Kerr resigned his pulpit. 48 Baptists left the church with him and, with 65 members of the Unitarian Universalist Church, organized the Church of the Christian Union. 104 people gathered October 21, 1870, to adopt bylaws which contained no fundamental dogmas or stated creed.
At the time of Dr. Kerr s 70th birthday, the newspaper observed:
"The doctor is essentially an intellectual man. His discourses which are always interesting, always instructive, always worthy of analytical attention, are often difficult to follow because of their intense intellectuality and the continuous and accumulative ideas which he piles Pelion on Ossa . . . Dr. Kerr is a worshipper of facts. A new fact in the scientific world makes him glow with enthusiasm."
Dr. Kerr served the church for thirty years, retiring in 1900 at the age of 76.
Dr. Thomas Kerr, a Scottish immigrant, who had earned a degree in medicine at Iowa State and practiced in Elgin for seven years before studying for the Baptist ministry, was called to the First Baptist Church in Rockford in 1860. He resigned the Rockford pulpit in 1866 to go to Hannibal, Missouri but was encouraged to return by the Rockford Baptists in 1869. In the intervening period, Dr. Kerr had been exposed to the teachings of Charles Darwin. The Rockford Morning Star observed, Dr. Kerr outgrew his environments and began to preach a broader, richer, and sweeter gospel to which some of his parishioners took exception and brought charges against him. In August, 1870, following a sermon explaining his liberal views, Dr. Kerr resigned his pulpit. 48 Baptists left the church with him and, with 65 members of the Unitarian Universalist Church, organized the Church of the Christian Union. 104 people gathered October 21, 1870, to adopt bylaws which contained no fundamental dogmas or stated creed.
At the time of Dr. Kerr s 70th birthday, the newspaper observed:
"The doctor is essentially an intellectual man. His discourses which are always interesting, always instructive, always worthy of analytical attention, are often difficult to follow because of their intense intellectuality and the continuous and accumulative ideas which he piles Pelion on Ossa . . . Dr. Kerr is a worshipper of facts. A new fact in the scientific world makes him glow with enthusiasm."
Dr. Kerr served the church for thirty years, retiring in 1900 at the age of 76.
