Bob came from upstate Troy, New York. He majored in history and philosophy at West Virginia Wesleyan College then majored in theology at Yale Divinity School. While in college and seminary, he worked small churches to support his young family. He did graduate work in intellectual history at Temple University and in theology at Drew University. He was ordained in the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church. In 2006, he retired and a year later, discovered the TCUUC, where started the book club. In 2008, he began seven years of part-time ministry at the TCUUC then retired again and moved to Asheville, NC. A year later, Bob and his wife returned to the area, and the TCUUC. 
On August 9, 2015 the members of the Congregation voted overwhelmingly to accept a generous and substantial financial gift to be used in building a new sanctuary and narthex. The following day brought the unexpected passing of our visionary member and donor David Craig. Respecting David’s advice to “think big” and expecting to turn his legacy into reality, the Board of Directors filed an application with the City of Stuart for slight changes to earlier plans that we anticipated would soon allow us to start building.
Initially, we expected swift approval for our new building plans, but approval of a building permit proved to be a much more complex and time-consuming process than we ever imagined. Finally, after over 7 months of negotiation, new plan submissions, responses to city comments, and a board resolution urging city action, we were allowed to apply for a Minor Development Plan that could be approved by the city development department rather than the much more restrictive Minor Amendment to a C-PUD Application that would have involved an open hearing and required city commissioner approval. Our Minor Development Plan was approved in about three weeks, and we moved quickly on to submit all building permits which were paid for and approved within about a three-day time span.
Our architect was Gary Kelly of Kelly & Kelly Architects.
On Friday, March 18, 2016 TCUUC celebrated by breaking ground for the new construction before a large crowd of members, city dignitaries, and friends.
Then the area was fenced off for construction. Fill was brought in and compacted, and the footers and cement foundation was be poured. According to the construction superintendent for our contractor Kirchman Construction, we could expect the building “shell” to be up in about 10 weeks. The rough timeline barring exceptionally bad weather looked like this:
Mid April: Foundation laid out. A form board survey submitted to the city and permit to continue issued. Concrete foundation built. Slab poured.
Late April: Block brought in. Walls constructed.
May: Trusses installed. Roof roughed in. Tile installed by roofers.
June: Windows and doors installed.
July-October: Interior finish work completed.
Early November: Landscaping completed. Fencing removed. Building handed over. Occupancy permit issued by the City of Stuart.
Late November: Ribbon cutting. First service in the new sanctuary.
Note from an anonymous Project Manager that might apply: “A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it.”