Who are we?
 First
Unitarian Church of Des Moines is a religious community of 500
members
and friends. Our community encompasses people from newborns to
those in their 90s, offering the opportunity for many intergenerational
interactions.
We are a geographically diverse group, stretching
from Jasper County to Dallas County, from Warren County to
Story
County. In addition to one Saturday service and two Sunday services, First Unitarian offers
religious education experiences for adults and youth throughout
the year as well as special events that bring our church community
together.
We are a Welcoming Congregation for gay,
lesbian, bisexual and trans gendered (GLBT) persons. The congregation
became a Welcoming Congregation in 1992 after a period of study
and reflection by congregation members. First Unitarian was
one of the first churches in the country to be given this designation
by the Unitarian Universalist Association. First Unitarian
fulfills its role as a Welcoming Congregation by offering GLBT
persons a religious home free of discrimination
and supporting GLBT events in the community.
Founded in 1877, First Unitarian now occupies the third church
building of its history. Our current building was designed
by noted architect Amos Emory and sits on three acres of natural
woodlands.
Our basic principles are a reverence for life, a respect for
the inherent dignity of each person, and a belief in human potential.
We believe in the use of reason in the quest for truth and in
understanding and accepting one another.
We believe that truth is better sought in community, which helps
to develop tolerance and understanding in each of us.
It is our hope that we may work for good in our local community,
state, nation and world, awakening social conscience to the end
of dispelling intolerance and injustice.
Our congregation is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association
of Congregations (UUA) which represents the interests of more
than one thousand Unitarian Universalist congregations, with 200,000
members and children in North America. The UUA grew out of the
1961 consolidation of two religious denominations: the Universalists,
organized in 1793, and the Unitarians, organized in 1825. For
more information on the UUA, visit its web site http://www.uua.org
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