Herb & Myrna West & Donna Waddell

Herb & Myrna met and were married in Atlanta in 1974. They moved to
Gilmer County in 1976.

Herb grew up Presbyterian (in Atlanta) but became a UU in 1976 when he
joined the Church of the Larger Fellowship. In 1993, he became part of
the group that founded Georgia Mountains UU Church in Dahlonega.
Myrna grew up Southern Baptist (in Bogart, GA, outside Athens) but joined an established local church in Gilmer County around 1980.
Herb joined her briefly there from 1995-1998.

Being disenchanted with the unwelcoming attitude at their own church and within
that particular denomonation in general toward their friends who happened to be gay or lesbian, Herb & Myrna felt there was a need for a religious community
in Gilmer County and surrounding counties for a community that welcomed
all no matter their sexual orientation or individual religious beliefs.

Having been a part of starting the church in Dahlonega, and securing the
support of both the Dahlonega church and the Mid South District, Herb &
Myrna and Donna Waddell began the process of gathering people together
through ads in the area weekly papers and through word of mouth,
resulting in the first gathering in November 1998 when 70 interested
people showed up.

After that, more people jumped on board with the result that they were soon meeting regularly twice a month. Then they rented space (in the Catholic Church in downtown Ellijay) in September 1999, and held the first charter Sunday on March 5, 2000.

At General Assembly in Nashville in June 2000, Herb & Myrna got to walk
across the stage and accept our official recognition as a new
congregation by the UUA from then-President John Buehrens.

Herb & Myrna moved to the Athens area in July 2001 to be closer to family but they enjoying visiting Mountain Light whenever possible. They are now both active lay leaders in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens.

Donna Waddell is still a member of Mountain Light.