Embedded Files
100 Years
Stories, sermons, music, and memories from the past 100 years
The life and times of Community United Church of Christ, Raleigh NC
Rev. Carol and Matt Ripley-Moffitt - 2001
Joan Little and Isabella Cannon
Biography from 2012 Induction Ceremony
into Raleigh Hall of Fame
Through a long career in law, public service, and civic leadership, Al Adams has been a powerful advocate for equality and justice, arts and education, and cultural institutions serving the City of Raleigh and the State of North Carolina. Al Adams emerged as a leader at UNC’s School of Law as a member of the NC Law Review, and then as an officer in the U.S. Navy.
As a young attorney, Adams was Secretary of the Wake County Bar, and later a committee chair on the N.C. State Bar Association. During the Civil Rights movement, he advocated for African American attorneys and integration of the Wake County Bar Association. He was a partner in Sanford, Adams, McCullough & Beard, one of the first firms in Raleigh to hire African American and women lawyers. The NC Community Action Association recognized his pro bono work for underrepresented citizens with their prestigious Gloria Williams Award.
Adams served with distinction for five terms in the NC House of Representatives, where his advocacy for education laid the groundwork for North Carolina’s educational achievements in the 1980s and 1990s. He championed increases in funding to the NC Arts Council that supported both major public installations and local grass roots organizations. Adams was consistently rated as one of the most effective legislators, and later, as one of the state’s most influential lobbyists. As a lobbyist, he helped secure funds for the NC Museum of History and other cultural cornerstones of our state.
His civic contributions are no less profound. As first Chairman of the Wake County Public Libraries Board, Adams presided over the merger of white and African American libraries to form today’s Wake County Public Library System. As a founding member and Chair of the Estey Hall Foundation at Shaw University, he helped preserve the nation’s first historic structure built for African American women. He was instrumental in founding the Arts Advocates of NC, the Clarence Lightner Youth Leadership Endowment, and the Martin Luther King Resource Center. He chaired the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission, and served on the boards of the NC Symphony Society, Raleigh City Museum, NC Child Advocacy, Opera Company of North Carolina, Wake Technical Community College Foundation, and the Raleigh Civil Service Commission. He was Wake County Democratic Party Chair, and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Adams has been a longtime advocate for his alma mater – the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – serving as Chairman of the Board of Visitors and a member of the UNC General Alumni Association.
In recognition of his many contributions, UNC awarded Al Adams its Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding service to the Alumni Association and the University. Other commendations include the Governor’s Award, North Carolina’s highest recognition for meritorious service, NC Child Advocacy’s Tribute of Appreciation, and the Chief Justice Joseph Branch Professionalism Award, the Wake County Bar Association’s highest honor.
Representative Adams’s abilities, passions and sustained commitment have enriched cultural and educational resources, advanced social justice, and made Raleigh a better place to live. His good works will continue to improve the lives of North Carolinians for generations to come.
In recognition of his many contributions, UNC awarded Al Adams its Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding service to the Alumni Association and the University. Other commendations include the Governor’s Award, North Carolina’s highest recognition for meritorious service, NC Child Advocacy’s Tribute of Appreciation, and the Chief Justice Joseph Branch Professionalism Award, the Wake County Bar Association’s highest honor.
Representative Adams’s abilities, passions and sustained commitment have enriched cultural and educational resources, advanced social justice, and made Raleigh a better place to live. His good works will continue to improve the lives of North Carolinians for generations to come.
Al Adams, long time friend of CUCC
and leader in North Carolina Senate
and leader in North Carolina Senate
Allyn Robinson
Allyn Robinson
Allyn Robinson was Pastor of the United Church of Raleigh from 1938 to 1946. He is remembered as the founder of the Institute of Religion. He returned to Raleigh after his retirement in 1977 and was active in the church for many years thereafter. In 1993 he was the recipient of the Frank Porter Grahm Award bestowed by the American Civil Liberties Union of N.C.
Rev. Fred Eutsler
Rev. Fred Eutsler
Rev. Fred Eutsler was Pastor at United Church of Raleigh (1946-1951). Rev. Eutsler’s sister, Polly DeCosta, remained an active member of CUCC into the 1990s.
Lulu Brewer Vaughan
Lulu Brewer Vaughan
Mrs. L. L. Vaughan death notice from 1951
L. L. Vaughan
L. L. Vaughan
Dean L. L. Vaughan of the School of Engineering at NCSU was the person for whom the "Vaughan Wing" (fellowship hall) of the church is named. Professor Vaughan taught Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina State University for forty-three years. He and his wife, Lula Brewer Vaughan, were pillars of United Church when it was located on the corner of Hillsborough and Dawson Streets. He served as Chairman of the Board of Deacons several times and at one time or another was chairperson of nearly every board and committee in the church. His generosity sustained the church through good times and bad. This slideshow (below) includes 9 slides.
Reception for Nancy Callaham
Reception for Nancy Callaham
August 26, 2007
The reception marked the end of the period when Pastor Steve Halsted had been on sabbatical and Rev. Nancy Callaham served as Acting Pastor of CUCC (summer 2007).
Nancy and Mike Callaham (2007)
I.T. Littleton (1921-2021)
I.T. Littleton (1921-2021)
Isaac T. Littleton III was born on January 28, 1921 in Hartsville, Tennessee, the son of I. T. Littleton, Jr. and Bessie Lowe Littleton. He was predeceased by his parents and by his wife of 60 years, Dorothy Young Littleton. Before he was born, he was predeceased by two brothers who died as infants and a beloved sister, Dorothy Louise Littleton who died when she was five years old in 1918 during the flu epidemic after World War I. I. T. graduated from Trousdale County (TN) High School in 1939. He was Salutatorian of his class and in his senior year was named Best Actor in both regional and state-wide high school drama competitions. In the summer of 1939 he attended a Carolina Playmakers drama workshop ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ for high school students on the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He returned to Chapel Hill in the fall of 1939 as a freshman. He worked 35 hours a week as a Junior Assistant in the Circulation Department of the UNC Library during his four years of college. He was working in the Library on December 7th, 1941 when he heard that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. He was accepted into the Navy’s V-7 officer training program which allowed qualified college students to finish their bachelor degrees before beginning officer training. He received the B. A. degree from UNC in May 1943.
After completing officer training school at Northwestern University in Chicago he was commissioned Ensign in the U. S. Navy in 1943 and served 22 months in the amphibious corps with Service Squadron Ten at several atolls in the Pacific ending up at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines when World War II ended. After the war he served for nine months as a counselor in three naval hospitals in California completing his Navy service in 1946 as Lieutenant (jg).
After he was discharged from the Navy he worked in Knoxville, Tennessee for the US Veterans Administration as a training officer under the G. I. Bill of Rights. While in Knoxville he enrolled in the University of Tennessee. He met the love of his life, Dorothy (Dot) Young from Clinton, Tennessee, who was also a student at the university. They were married on August 12, 1949 at Eagle Bend, the ancestral home of the Young family. I. T. received a Master’s degree in Psychology from UT in 1950 and the Master’s in Library Science from the University of Illinois in 1951.
He began his career as a professional librarian at the University of North Carolina Library in Chapel Hill, NC where he worked for eight years as Head of the Circulation Department and Assistant University Librarian. In 1959 he accepted the position of Technical Services Librarian in the D. H. Hill Library at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He took a leave of absence for a year in1963-64 to complete a Ph. D in Library Science from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and returned to Raleigh as Director of Libraries at NCSU in 1964. He served at NCSU for 28 years until his retirement in 1987.
Under Littleton's leadership, the D. H. Hill Library's collections and budgets increased dramatically, along with its physical space. During his tenure, the library became part of the Southeastern Library Network, the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), and the Association of Research Libraries. A member of several professional and honorary societies, Littleton served as chairman of the University of North Carolina system's Library Advisory Council and the Southeastern Library Network. When the NCSU Libraries reached one million volumes in 1981 Littleton was named Tar Heel of the Week in the Raleigh News and Observer. He was a Life Member of the NCSU Friends of the Library, the North Carolina Library Association and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Alumni Association.
Dot and I. T. were active members of the Community United Church of Christ from 1963 to their deaths. Over the years I. T. served terms as Moderator, Clerk, Deacon and as a member and chairman of several committees. He strongly supported the issues of racial, women and gay rights (human equality), peace and justice that CUCC has been known for throughout its history. During his retirement I. T. was an active member of the Wake County United Nations Association serving on its board and as President for four years.
Littleton is survived by two daughters, Sally Littleton Phillips and her lifetime partner Ercilia Albistu of Tampa, Florida; Elizabeth Ann Littleton of Charlotte, NC; a son, Thomas Young Littleton and his wife, Donna of Raleigh; three granddaughters Laura, Amy and Sarah and a grandson David.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Dorothy Young Littleton Endowment, NCSU Libraries or to the Community United Church of Christ.
I.T. Littleton Photo Carousel
I.T. Littleton Photo Carousel
Glenn Core (1931-2021)
Glenn Core (1931-2021)
DECEMBER 26, 1931 – FEBRUARY 15, 2021
Glenn Eugene Core, son of Agnes L. McClung and Raymond Otto Core, was born December 26, 1931 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He died February 15, 2021.
Glenn attended Carson Consolidated Schools from first grade through twelfth grade graduation. He attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa for a short period of time, then enlisted in the US Air Force for four years. After his discharge in December 1954, he married Shannon M. Philson in the Congregational Church in Harlan, Iowa on January 14, 1955
He started his 32 career with International Business Machines Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska. He and his wife lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Bloomington, Minnesota and Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Core was active in the Masonic Lodge where he was a past master of Coral Lodge 430 AF and AM in Carson, Iowa. He was an active member of the United Church of Christ and participated in many volunteer projects during his retirement years.
Glenn was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Charles Dee Core, Judson Core, and two sisters, Charlotte E. Schwarte and Mabyn Fender.
I.T. Littleton and Glenn Core
Survivors include his wife, Shannon M. Core of Raleigh, NC, son Thomas E. Core and his wife Kathy of Wake Forest, daughter Priscilla M. Miner of Phoenix, Az. Two sisters, Betty L. Rowley (husband Myrle), South Bend, IN. and Madolyn Bird (husband Rev. Gary) of Fort Dodge, IA. He has four grandsons, Kirby Core, Michael Core, Allen Core and Richard Miner, Jr.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Loaves and Fishes Ministry or Community United Church of Christ.
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