by Ed Busch, UU Lansing Church Archivist
As many in our congregation learned with deep sadness during Sunday morning worship—just hours after his passing on November 1, 2026—the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing lost a longtime member and friend with the passing of Bob Swanson. Bob and his wife, Renee, joined the congregation in 1983. Over more than four decades they raised their two daughters here and, later, watched their grandchildren grow up in the church’s Religious Education (RE) program.
Bob’s leadership spanned many key roles in the church. He was elected to the Board of Trustees in May 1993 (announced in the May 17, 1993 newsletter) and chosen as President by his fellow board members later that month (announced in the June 1, 1993 newsletter), serving in that office from 1993 to 1995 followed by a year as Past-President. Years later, he returned to financial leadership as Treasurer from 2007 to 2008 and lent his expertise to the Investment Committee for over a decade (at least 2008–2022). More recently, he collaborated on the team that prepared the application for our 175th anniversary State Historical Marker.
Seated - Lynn Scott, Bob Swanson, Frank Pinner, Alex Walker, Eunice Beck. Standing - Angeline Theissen, Jody Valley, Jim Davis, Blake Smith, Ben Bohnhorst, Janet Howes, Regina Fry, Kathy Lovell, Jim Rojeski (2007.0039)
Leading Through a Difficult Year (1993–94)
Bob’s presidency coincided with a painful period in the congregation’s life, and the annual reports for those two years record it candidly. The Board of Trustees report in the 1993–94 Annual Report, signed by Bob as President, begins:
“The 1993-94 church year has been a difficult one for all of us. A continuing conflict within the church -- centering around the minister -- polarized much of the congregation, demoralized many others, and sapped our strength.”
Financial strain accompanied the conflict. Fiscal year 1993 closed with a $21,000 deficit as pledge payments dropped, and the 1994 pledge drive finished $63,000 short of its goal. To cut costs, the Liberal Express newsletter was temporarily reduced to biweekly publication.
The Board responded directly. It implemented all recommendations of the Cowtan Report—a visioning and conflict resolution study prepared by consultant Rev. Charlotte Cowtan (hired at the February 22, 1993 board meeting) and mailed to the congregation on April 5, 1993. The Board also hosted open forums, including a September 18, 1993 Visioning Day facilitated by UUA District Executive Jerry Wright and attended by over 80 members. At a congregational meeting on September 27 chaired by Bob, members voted 60 to 5 to adopt six resulting goals, including creating “a loving, accepting, and forgiving community which ministers to the spiritual and emotional needs of each of us” and prioritizing religious education. Additionally, the Board brought in Rev. Timm High for a conflict workshop and trained 16 members as conflict resolution facilitators.
In the end, the Board reported, “none of this was sufficient to resolve the conflict within the church, which by this winter had become too deep.” Rev. Dr. Angeline E. M. Theisen, noted as the church’s thirty-seventh minister in the Dedicated Lives history, resigned at the end of January 1994 after seven years. At the congregational meeting on January 30, Bob updated members on the resignation agreement, which he and Rev. Theisen had signed the day before. According to the minutes, the Board had approved it 9 to 0 with two abstentions. Bob said it was made in good faith, that his goal had been for the Board to act with consensus, and that “with hard work and compromise” the Board achieved it. He said the church must now move forward in a positive way, and he thanked Rev. Theisen and the Board. The budget that ratified the financial arrangements passed with only three objections. Rev. Theisen led her final service on April 24, 1994, the morning after a “Celebrating Angie” event.
The Board report did not claim the matter was settled: “The resignation did not end the pain and division within our church. But it did mark a significant transition.”
A Year of Transitions (1994–95)
The following year’s Board report, also signed by Bob, opened with a sentence that reads as a summary of the story above:
“In many ways, the 1994-95 church year has been one of transitions -- from conflict to healing, from lay led services to an interim minister, from serious deficits to fiscal recovery.”
An interim minister: A search committee recommended, and the Board approved, Rev. Norman Naylor as interim minister from January 1995 through June 1996. Writing in the same annual report after about nine weeks on the job, Rev. Naylor observed, “There is a lot of energy in this congregation, and I feel very well put to work.”
A search for a settled minister: In September 1994 the congregation elected five members to a Ministerial Search Committee, and the Board appointed two more. The committee was preparing a congregational survey for the spring and working from a schedule that ran through candidating to a new minister arriving in September 1996.
Financial recovery: The Building Replacement Fund had been completely depleted to cover the earlier deficit. The 1994 fiscal year closed with a surplus of over $5,000, the 1995 pledge drive “produced a solid funding base,” money was restored to the Building Replacement Fund, and cuts in payments to the UUA and UUDOM were restored.
A public stand: For the first time under the bylaws, the congregation voted to take a public position on an issue. “Well over 90%” opposed discrimination in any form, which allowed the church to publicly support the proposed Civil Rights Ordinance then before the Lansing City Council. The Social Responsibility Committee, whose members included Renee Swanson, reported that it “facilitated successful campaign in support of the church’s taking a stand in favor of civil rights for all.”
Healing: The year ended with an all-church workshop on healing, sponsored by the Board and Rev. Naylor, “an attempt to help bring closure to last year’s conflict as we build for the future.”
The report ended with a look ahead: “We must continue the efforts to restore and strengthen our church community as we make the critical selection of a new settled minister next year.” The congregation answered that call in 1996, when it called Rev. Dr. Barbara Edgecombe as its settled minister.
In the Minutes: A President at Work
Minutes from the congregational meetings Bob chaired highlight the balancing act of his presidency. In September 1993, members passed a $191,300 pledge goal (37 to 21) after defeating a motion to trim it by $6,500. By September 1994, financial footing stabilized, and a $155,000 goal was adopted.
During that September 1994 meeting, when a member moved to increase the RE budget and staff salaries by 10%, Bob ruled it out of order, noting: “The budget has to be balanced; this creates a deficit of 10%.” A follow-up motion to raise the pledge goal by $1,817 specifically for RE failed 23 to 38, capturing the tension between expanding programs and maintaining fiscal balance. At the January 1995 meeting, Bob took time to formally thank key volunteers Kathy Lovell, Ralph Putnam, Jean Rosewig, and Blake Smith.
Renee appears throughout these records as well. She co-chaired the Nominations Committee in 1993–94, with Bob as an ex-officio member. In September 1994 she moved the nominations for the Search Committee and moved adoption of five proposed changes to Article 5.4 of the bylaws, which passed 52 to 1. She also served on the Social Responsibility Committee in both years.
A Continuing Commitment
Bob’s involvement did not end with his years as president. For many years the church held pledge shows that kicked off each year’s pledge drive, and Bob often had a role in the on-stage production. He supported the RE program as a parent and later as a grandparent, served as a Coming of Age mentor, and was a member who went on the UU Bike Group’s rides.
2011 UU Bike group- BR: ?, Margaret Holmes-Rovner, David Rovner, Bob Swanson, Dick Hill, Gwen Wyatt, Kathy Lovell, Bob Lovell, Randy Scott. FR: Bob Cleveland, ?, Alice Hill, Renee Swanson, Margo Smith,?, Chris Cleveland, Lynne Scott, ? (2011.0001)
More recently, I worked alongside Bob on the team preparing the State of Michigan historical marker application as part of the 175th anniversary celebration. Bob gave his time to review the application and contributed to the content that appears on the marker.
Bob’s service illustrates something about congregational life. A church’s strength depends not only on its ministers and elected leaders, but on the many people who give their time over the years, on the Board, in RE, in fundraising, on bike rides, and in preserving the church’s history. The Board report he signed in 1995 ended with a call to strengthen the church community. Through his many years of involvement, he did just that.
We extend our condolences to Renee, their daughters and grandchildren, and to all of Bob’s family and friends. We are grateful for the many ways Bob contributed to UU Lansing and for the generations of his family who have been part of this congregation.
Share Your Memories
What are your favorite memories of Bob? Whether you worked alongside him on the Board, shared a ride with the UU Bike Group, watched him on stage during a pledge show, or simply knew him as a warm and welcoming presence in the congregation, we would love to collect your stories and photos for the church archives. Please reach out to share your reflections.
Acknowledgment
This post was researched and written by Ed Busch. An initial draft was developed with ChatGPT, and Claude (Anthropic) and Gemini (Google) were then used to review and revise it against the primary sources. The research, archival work and interpretive judgments are the author’s own.
About the Author
Ed is a retired Electronic Records Archivist from the Michigan State University Archives, with a background in digital preservation. He volunteers as archivist for UU Lansing, maintains this archives blog, serves on the Stewardship Team, and helps with Building and Grounds projects.
Sources
Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing, 1993 Newsletter (May 17, 1993 and June 1, 1993 editions).
Charlotte Cowtan, Report to the Members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lansing, April 5, 1993.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing, 1993–94 Annual Report: Congregational Meeting Minutes of September 27, 1993 and January 30, 1994 (pp. 2–4); Report from the Minister, Rev. Angeline E. M. Theisen (p. 5); Report of the Board of Trustees (pp. 11–12); Report of the Newsletter Committee, Report of the Nominations Committee (p. 27); Report of the Social Responsibility Committee (p. 29).
Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing, 1994–95 Annual Report: Congregational Meeting Minutes of April 17, 1994, September 18, 1994, and January 29, 1995 (pp. 1–6); Report from the Minister, Rev. Norman V. Naylor (p. 7); Report of the Board of Trustees (pp. 10–11); Report of the Search Committee (pp. 34–36); Report of the Social Responsibility Committee (p. 36).