Universalist National Memorial Church

Universalist National Memorial Church (UNMC) is a Unitarian Universalist church located at 1810 16th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C..Citation |last=Wasserman |first=Paul |year=2003 |title=Washington, D.C. From A to Z: The Look-up Source for Everything to See |publisher=Capital Books |pages=366 |isbn=1931868077] Theologically, the church describes itself as "both liberal Christian and Universalist". [http://www.universalist.org/about.html About Universalist National Memorial Church] ] Originally a member of the Universalist Church of America, it became a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961 when the former merged with the American Unitarian Association to form the UUA, and in 2003, UNMC strengthened its ties to the UUA.

History

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. [ [http://www.universalist.org/history.html UNMC: A brief history] ]

The National Memorial Church was established to serve as the official church of Universalism. In 1921, the Universalist General Convention approved funding for construction of the church. The first services were held in 1925, althought at a different location than the present facility. The Universalist National Memorial Church on 16th Street NW was constructed in 1930 with Frederick Williams Perkins as its first minister.cite web| last= | first= | title="Universalist Church of America. National Memorial Church. Records, 1921-1955" | work=| publisher=Harvard Divinity School| date=| url=http://www.hds.harvard.edu/library/bms/bms00380.html| accessdate=2008-06-04]

Architecture

UNMC is an example of neo-Romanesque architecture and was designed by Charles Collins and Francis Allen, architects of the Riverside Church in New York City and Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago.Citation |last=Morgan |first=David |year=2001 |title=The visual culture of American religions |publisher=University of California Press |pages=75 |isbn=0520225228] The four-story building features a stained-glass window and a stone tower that reaches a height of 98 feet (30 m).cite web| last= | first= | title="Universalist National Memorial Church" | work=| publisher=Emporis| date=| url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=universalistnationalmemorialchurch-washington-dc-usa| accessdate=2008-06-04]

References

External links

[http://www.universalist.org/ Universalist National Memorial Church official website]