Universalist National Memorial Church

Accessibility at UNMC

As a building that opened its doors in 1930, Universalist National Memorial Church has its share of steps. However, a portable wheelchair lift allows us to provide access to the sanctuary, the parlor and church offices, and the fellowship hall downstairs. A building task force is working on plans for a wheelchair-accessible restroom.

We have large-print copies of the "Singing the Living Tradition" hymnal and try to make large-print copies of the worship bulletin available each week. If you need assistance, please ask a greeter. We do not use incense or scented candles in our worship services.

Exhibition of Adolf Cluss, Architect

Adolf Cluss was the architect of the Church of Our Father, which was the First Universalist Church of Washington, DC, from 1883 until 1925. Among other public buildings, he was the architect of the Eastern Market, several public schools, and the red Smithsonian building. The organizers of this exhibit went to great lengths to get pictures of the buildings that are no longer standing, including the Church of Our Father. Adolf Cluss: From Germany to America, Shaping a City Worthy of a Republic continues through Feb. 28, 2006, at the Charles Sumner School Museum, 1201 17th St. NW. Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Free.

History of the Building

Our church building, designed by Francis H. Allen and Charles Collens of Boston, who were the architects for the Riverside Church in New York City and the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, has its roots in Romanesque architecture derived from English, French, and Italians traditions. For more information on its history, see UNMC: A brief history.

Two pamphlets, "Sermons in Stone" and "The Windows Speak," are available in the church vestibule to take you on a guided tour of the carvings and stained glass windows.

News from the Buildings & Grounds Front

Things continue to happen on the Buildings and Grounds front at UNMC. Recently we made some forward progress in clearing off some of the peeling paint in the front stairwell of the church, just off the front entryway.

News from the Buildings & Grounds Front

I just wanted to pass along a few brief news items
on the Buildings and Grounds front. First, our new
trash disposal situation seems to be much improved
over the past inasmuch as we now have at least two
new trash cans available to us. Dumping has not
been a problem in the very recent past, and we hope
that will continue. Our trash removal company,
Tenleytown Trash, seems to be refreshingly
aggressive about curbing such dumping.

News from the Building and Grounds Front (by Jorn Dakin)

The major item on the past month’s B&G front was the March 20th “work holiday” at the church.  A good turnout of willing and reasonably enthusiastic workers enabled several goals to be achieved.  In particular, a good start has been made on getting the nooks and crannies about the church cleared of a fair amount of no-longer-useful stuff that has been accumulating over the years.  An example would be a couple of fairly broken down chairs of no certain ancestry that turned up out of the space at the “back” of Perkins Hall that has historically been used as a projection room when movies were shown in Perkins.  Another example would be a piece of electronic equipment that appeared to my untrained eye to be at least twenty years old, and perhaps even older.  Items generally of this sort have been gathered up and put in the unused men’s chorus room in the basement, pending disposal which we hope will occur soon.  Accompanying a very crowded “dead storage” room are several spacious and uncluttered to downright empty rooms from which stuff and dust have been removed as a result of the field day.  The Eritrean Church has requested UNMC to make available additional storage space, and it is the cleared-out projection room off Perkins Hall.  Thanks go out to Hilda Amacker, Tom Curteman, Paul Hannah, Perry King, Shanon Loring, Clint McCully, Linnea McCully, Sue Mosher, Mary Simmons, Donna Simonton, Dave Skidmore, and Al Templeton.