view of church exterior

Our Greetings to You

Welcome to the web site of the Universalist National Memorial Church, "a liberal Christian church in the heart of the city." We hope to answer your questions, spark your curiosity, and encourage you to visit with us in person.

Our church building is at 16th and "S" Streets, NW, where the Washington, DC neigborhoods of Dupont Circle and Logan Circle meet. Sunday worship starts at 11 a.m.

Sharing the Spirit

The UNMC choir shared the spirit at the Swann Street Art Gallery open house on Sunday, June 2. Many thanks to Dan Kuhn for inviting us, Pastor Jim, Darryl Winston, and everyone else who helped organize this wonderful afternoon event.

UNMC choir photo by Karen deWitt

Posted by Sue Mosher at 5 Jun 2013 03:50 PM

Sacred Music & Jazz on a Summer Day

Join the Universalist National Memorial Church Vocal Ensemble in a celebration of music and art on Sunday, June 2, 11am - 3pm, as Dan Kuhn and Marcy Logan offer an exhibit of the works of artist Robert E. Kuhn at the Swann Street Art Gallery, 1767 Swann Street, NW, Washington, DC. This event is free for all!

480919_568481329841130_2041455741_nIt is not often that an opportunity like this comes to a church. Dan has invited the DuPont Circle Citizens Association and the entire neighborhood. Many will have the treat of hearing our outstanding choir for the first time. Darryl Winston has selected some splendid sacred music, as well as excellent secular songs. For jazz lovers, the Herb Scott Hard-Bop Quintet also will be performing.

We are in for an outstanding afternoon.  It will provide us an opportunity to get acquainted with neighbors and learn more about how our congregation can make a difference in our city.

For more information on the paintings and sculpture of Robert Kuhn and on the Swann Street Art Gallery, check out this article from the Washington Post last December.

Posted by Sue Mosher at 1 Jun 2013 10:24 AM

God Is Our Mother

Sermon preached by Deacon Dave Skidmore on May 26, 2013

I start this morning with a disclaimer: I am no expert in the feminine divine. We have two, at least, in this congregation. Both Sue Mosher and Jennifer Sandberg were presenters at last year’s Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (UUCF) revival in Fairfax on “Welcoming the Feminine in Christianity.” They have studied the subject deeply. What I have to offer this morning are my personal reflections on the topic. For inspiration for this week’s sermon, I looked to the lectionary readings and found the reading from Proverbs 8 about wisdom, or as the Greeks name her personification, Sophia--or, the feminine aspect of God. “To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.” (She sounds like a Universalist!) The reading percolated in my mind with what I heard at last year’s revival. The lectionary also noted that today is Trinity Sunday. What can I do with that, especially in a congregation that is part of the Unitarian Universalist Association--and how could I relate it to the reading from Proverbs?

Is God a Man or a Woman?

When my daughter Emily (now 23) was four she was in what anyone who has been a parent--or had the opportunity to spend time with young children--will recognize as the “why phase.”

Child: “Why is the sky blue?”

Parent: “Well, the light from the sun contains all colors. Now, different colors have different wave lengths and the wave length of blue light is shorter than, say, red light. So when, on a clear cloudless day, the light of the sun hits the molecules of the air, the blue wavelengths are scattered more than the other wave lengths. That is why the sky appears blue and not red to us.”

Child: (After a pause.) Why?

So the lesson here is that sometimes the best answer to the question, “Why is the sky blue?” is “Because blue is a pretty color.”

Anyway, one evening as I was picking Emily up from pre-school, her question du jour was, “Is God a man or a woman?” Now, I could have launched into a discourse on Paul Tillich’s concept of God as “the ground of being” or Thomas Merton’s concept of God as light shining through a transparent world. But somehow I sensed that would be the equivalent of explaining the color of the sky to a four-year-old in terms of the wavelengths of light. So I did what any thinking parent would do in such a situation--I stalled for time. “What do you think?” I asked her. She thought a moment and replied, “I think God is both.”


Posted by Sue Mosher at 26 May 2013 07:31 PM

Push Me Higher

Mike Miller stepped in with only three days' notice when Shawn Logue, our scheduled preacher, traveled to Connecticut after his best friend died suddenly. Our deeply felt sadness is extended to Shawn, and we trust that he will find comfort and solace through his friends and God.

Photo by Mike Plante (CC BY 2.5)Mike brought an insightful sermon on God pushing us higher, higher. We, on the swing, keep urging God to do so. How little we know how much God wants to push us as high as we can go! We often miss the signals that God sends to nudge us skyward.

Mike illustrated this through his own life in the way God has "pushed" him through his longing to preach. He has taken a new look at spiritual growth and is saying to God, "Push me higher!" How high will Mike let God push him? How high will you or I?

It is that small, still voice that is so powerful. It is not the things that we can easily do to which God calls us - but the things we believe that we cannot do.

Shalom,
Pastor Jim

Posted by Sue Mosher at 25 Apr 2013 01:59 PM

New Series ! Life’s Saga

Join Rev. Dr. Jim Morgan and David Burton for four evenings of exploration Wednesday evenings at 7:15 in May:

May 8 - What Does Human Mean?

May 15 - The God Particle

May 22 - One Powerful Seed

May 29 - Quo Vadis?

Curious? Come!

Posted by Sue Mosher at 24 Apr 2013 10:56 AM

Sanctuary

Last Sunday Dave Gatton identified "sanctuary" as a place of radical acceptance.  It is a place where a person feels safe, loved, and able to be himself or herself. Participation in its life and liturgy may or may not be important. Our sanctuary has been given to its present worshippers as a gift to be treasured and a spiritual legacy to be enjoyed and celebrated.

There is a longing in me to capture that as a reality. It is so needed in these times of terrorists, rogues, those with evil intentions, and those lacking any spiritual interests. Few things are sacred any longer. Shrines, tombs, mosques, and other houses of worship have been invaded by authorities determined to "get their man". Even embassies are targets for those with no sense of morality.

Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent, OH, photo by zimruch (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)Our sacred space is what we have decided to make of it. We need to hold it in trust for future generations, so they can pass it on to the next generation. It needs to reflect our beliefs and cherished ideals. Only we can make that a living reality.

Shalom, Pastor Jim

Posted by Sue Mosher at 19 Apr 2013 11:37 AM

The Helpers and the Hope

"We are the Helpers and the Hope."

A prayer in the wake of the Boston bombings.
By Rev. Sue Phillips, Unitarian Universalist Minister

Video by Jessica Ferguson

"Let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1)

Posted by Sue Mosher at 16 Apr 2013 10:30 PM

UNMC bookstore benefits PDF

Through Amazon.com's affiliate program, a small portion of the sales price of any item that you purchase after clicking the link below will benefit the church's Pastoral Discretionary Fund, which the minister can use to address unmet needs of church members and the wider community.

Visit the UNMC bookstore at Amazon.com

Here's how the Amazon.com affiliate program works:

When you click any Amazon.com link on the church web site, you'll be taken to the appropriate page on the Amazon.com site, and Amazon.com will note that you arrived there from the church web site. Any purchase that you make -- books, music, household items, clothes, etc. -- will result in a small percentage going to the church, designated for the Pastoral Discretionary Fund.


Unitarian Universalist Association
 Affiliated with The Center for Progressive 

Christianity    AUC Open Door Congregation
Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship

1810 Sixteenth Street NW
Washington DC 20009

(202) 387-3411

pastor@universalist.org

Sunday worship: 11 a.m.

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June Worship & Activity Schedule

Sunday, June 2
11 a.m. worship, "Huh? Did You Say Something?" - Rev. Dr. Jim Morgan, preaching

12:30 p.m. Jazz & sacred music festival featuring our choir, at the home of Dan Kuhn, 1767 Swann Street (1 block from the church). Our hospitality hour will be held there instead of at the church. See Sacred Music & Jazz on a Summer Day for more details.

Sunday, June 9
9 a.m. Board of Trustees meeting

11 a.m. worship - "How Not to Read the Bible", Rev. Scott Wells, preaching

Sunday, June 16
11 a.m. worship - "God the Father - or God the farther", Colleen Fay, preaching

Saturday, June 22
2:30 p.m. Cook and serve dinner for the men of Leland Place, a halfway house for men in recovery from homelessness and addiction. RSVP to Dave Skidmore.

Sunday, June 23
11 a.m. worship - "Business as a Calling", David Burton, preaching

Sunday, June 30
11 a.m. worship - "Yes! Are You Listening?" Rev. Dr. Jim Morgan, preaching

12:30 p.m. - Lay leaders meeting

Posted by Sue Mosher at 30 May 2013 05:26 PM

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Sharing the Spirit
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God Is Our Mother
Push Me Higher
New Series ! Life’s Saga
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The Helpers and the Hope
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