Come to Sunday Service

Things to Know

What to Expect

You will be greeted upon entry, offered a welcome packet, and asked to make a name tag. If you have questions, the folks welcoming you are a great source of information. As you move toward the sanctuary, you will receive a printed order of service, which lets you know what is happening in the service that day. Songs are included in the hymnals in the pews or listed in the order of service. You may stand or sit during songs as you prefer.

Children of all ages are always welcome at UUCA! Infants and toddlers may stay with you in the sanctuary, or you can drop them off downstairs before the service. At the front of the sanctuary on the right side, you’ll find Spirit Space, a designated area with a soft rug, stuffed animals, and coloring pages for our young friends. Parents are invited to sit in the pews nearby while their children play quietly. Typically, during the service there is a wisdom lesson, when children are invited to come to the chancel at the front of the sanctuary and listen to a story or lesson shared by one of the ministers or worship leaders. After the wisdom lesson, parents may escort their children downstairs to their classes. Sometimes our services are multigenerational, and we invite families to stay together during the entire service, and there is no children’s programming on those days.

Our services often include music, readings, reflections, and a sermon, but sometimes we hold services where we engage in conversation during the service, or you’re invited to walk around the church doing different activities, or other creative ways of being together. Most services last about an hour. Following each service, we serve coffee and tea in the fellowship hall directly across from the sanctuary. You’re welcome to join us and make connections. There are often tables in the fellowship hall featuring information about various activities happening in the church and in the community.

Do you welcome people of different faiths?

Yes, we welcome people of any faith and people with no faith background. Many of our members were raised in other faith traditions, including couples in which the two individuals have different religious backgrounds. Unitarian Universalists believe that truth can be found in many places. Our services include wisdom drawn from many religions as well as from secular sources.

Are you welcoming to the LGBTQ community?

Yes! UUCA is designated by the Unitarian Universalist Association as a Welcoming Congregation. This means we affirm and include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer at every level of congregational life—in worship, in program, and in social occasions. We welcome everyone as whole people.

What is UUCA like and what is Unitarian Universalism?

Unitarian Universalists are a dynamic community of spiritual seekers guided by a covenant of mutual respect open to you, inclusive of your sexual orientation, race, age, class, disability and ability (both seen and unseen) socioeconomic status, or religious background. We are a community that promotes love, reason, compassion and activism. We are a community that works to build a more just and peaceful world. We are a community that finds inspiration in music and the arts and honors and respects the beauty of the earth. And we are a community that draws from a wide diversity of religious backgrounds and traditions. Our mission is to be a place where anyone and everyone can come for community, find inspiration, and live with purpose.

To learn more about Unitarian Universalism, click here.

“UUCA covenants to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

Please Join Us!

We encourage you to become an active participant in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington. Newcomers are welcome to participate in any of our services and programs at any time. Several times a year we offer New UU–an orientation for newcomers to learn about our church, our activities, and the history and philosophy of both Unitarian Universalism in general and UUCA specifically. To learn more about New UU orientation, contact uuca@uucava.org.