Universalist National Memorial Church (UNMC) is a

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

church located at 1810 16th Street,

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

in the

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW ...

vicinage of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Theologically, the church describes itself as "both

liberal Christian Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by taking into consideration m ...

and Universalist".About Universalist National Memorial Church
/ref> Originally a member of the

Universalist Church of America The Universalist Church of America (UCA) was originally a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States (plus affiliated churches in other parts of the world). Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the nam ...

, it became a member of the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both P ...

(UUA) in 1961 when the former merged with the

American Unitarian Association The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Uni ...

to form the UUA, and in 2003, UNMC strengthened its ties to the UUA.

History

Universalist National Memorial Church - interior

Universalist National Memorial Church door

Universalist ministers visited the Washington area from at least 1827, and in the late 1860s, Universalists began organizing a permanent church. In 1869, The Murray Universalist Society was founded, named in honor of the centenary of John Murray's arrival in North America and the Church of Our Father (First Universalist Church of Washington, D.C.) was founded the following year.UNMC: A brief history
/ref> Universalist National Memorial Church was established to serve as the official representative in Washington, DC, of the Universalist General Convention, later known as the

. In 1921, the Universalist General Convention approved funding for construction of the church. The first services were held in 1925, although at a different location than the present facility. The first service at Universalist National Memorial Church on 16th Street, NW was held on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...

1930, with Frederick Williams Perkins as its first minister.

Architecture

UNMC is an example of

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

architecture and was designed by Charles Collins and Francis Allen, architects of the

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornin ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The four-story building, a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

to the

Sixteenth Street Historic District The Sixteenth Street Historic District is a linear historic district in Washington, D.C., that includes all structures along 16th Street NW between H Street and Florida Avenue. The district's southern boundary is bordered by Lafayette Square, ...

, features a

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window and a stone tower that reaches a height of 98 feet (30 m).

Affiliations

UNMC is a member of the following organizations: *

American Unitarian Conference The American Unitarian Conference (AUC) is a religious organization and a missionary and publication society which serves the needs of individual Unitarian believers. It was founded in 2000 by several Unitarian Universalists who felt that the Un ...

*Christian Universalist Association *

Center for Progressive Christianity The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC) was founded in 1996 by, retired Episcopal priest, James Rowe Adams in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is established in line with the larger progressive movement within American Christianity taking pla ...

National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of about 400 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak ...

In 2003, UNMC hosted the Revival conference of the

Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship The Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (UUCF) is the main group serving Christian Unitarian Universalists within the Unitarian Universalist Association of the United States, whose main office is based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The UUCF w ...

Ministers

;Church of Our Father (First Universalist Church of Washington, D.C.) *Rev. A. C. Barry: February–May 1870 *Rev. C. H. Day: 1873–1877 *Rev. Alexander Kent: 1877–1890 *Rev. A. A. Whitcomb: 1890–1892 *Rev. A. G. Rogers: 1892–1897 *Rev. Leslie Moore: 1897–1899 *Dr. John van Schaick Jr.: 1900–1918; emeritus: 1923–1949 *Rev. William Couden (acting): 1917–1918 *Dr. Levi M. Powers: 1919–1920 *Dr. John van Schaick Jr.: 1920–1922 *Dr. Clarence Rice: 1922–1926 *Dr. Fredrick W. Perkins: 1927–1930 ;Universalist National Memorial Church *Dr. Fredrick W. Perkins: 1930–1939 *Dr. Seth R. Brooks: 1939–1978; emeritus: 1978–1987 *Dr. William L. Fox: 1978-1988 *Rev. James Blair: 1989–1993 *Dr. William L. Fox: 1993–1998; current emeritus *Rev. Vanessa R. Southern: associate, 1995–1998; sole pastor: 1998–2000 *Rev. Scott Wells: 2000–2004 *Rev. Lillie Mae Henley: 2006–2011 *Crystal Lewis: 2014–2016 *David Gatton: 2014–present

References

External links

*
The historical records
of the Universalist National Memorial Church are in the Andover-Harvard Theological Library at

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. {{Authority control Dupont Circle Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C. Churches completed in 1930 Christian organizations established in 1921 Romanesque Revival church buildings in Washington, D.C. Unitarian Universalist churches in Washington, D.C. 20th-century Unitarian Universalist church buildings Universalist Church of America churches 1921 establishments in Washington, D.C. Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.