It is my nature that makes me love you often, For I am love itself.

It is my longing that makes me love you intensely, For I yearn to be loved from the heart.

It is my eternity that makes me love you long, For I have no end.

Clifton Universalist Unitarian Church stands back from the street on the corner of Payne Street and Rastetter Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky's, Clifton neighborhood. The building is a small, white frame church that, upon viewing, one might not think has had such a rich and unusual history.

The original church, on the same property, was known as Westermann Memorial Evangelical Church and was a four-room log cabin that belonged to the Westermann's, a family of German heritage. The Westermann's had settled the area that is now called Clifton in the mid 1800s. The first official minister was the Reverend W.F. Simon and the first services were held entirely in the German language.

The church building that now stands was built in 1903, and in 1906, the name of the church was changed to the Clifton Evangelical Church. In 1911, the Reverend Mr. G. Theodore Hempelmann became minister.

The year 1917 saw the beginning of radical changes in the church. The church constitution was changed to allow any member over the age of 21--women included--a place on the church board. This move didn't sit well with the German Evangelical Synod (the church's governing body), which didn't allow women to have prominent leadership roles. After it's constitutional changes, the church abandoned its affiliation with the Synod and became the People's Church of Louisville, Kentucky.

For a time it remained an independent church with no real denomination. But in 1922, by unanimous vote, it was agreed to join the Unitarian Conference and adopt a new name, Clifton Unitarian Church.

In 2007, the congregation voted to include the word Universalist in its name, making it the present-day Clifton Universalist Unitarian Church.

In 1942 University of Louisville student Kay Fitzmayer wrote a history of Clifton Unitarian Church for her English 101 class. Although much has happened in the years since, her story is fascinating and affords a unique look at the earliest part of our history. Click here to read her text.

Photos also were included in her paper. Click on the title to view each photo.

• The Westermann Log Cabin
• Clifton Evangelical Church Facing Rastetter Avenue
• Interior of Clifton Evangelical Church
• The Minister in 1942, the Rev. G. Theodore Hempelmann
• Clifton Unitarian Church 1942
• The Church is Turned Around