Common Questions
If you are considering visiting our congregation, there may be some things you’re concerned about. Here are answers to common questions people have about UU churches. If you have a question that isn’t answered here or elsewhere in our website, please email us!
- How do people usually dress for services? Is there any sort of “dress code”?
- According to the folks who run the UUA’s Newcomers email list, this is THE most common question! While UU churches around the continent vary in their formality, our congregation is a pretty laid-back place where just about anything is okay. Some people wear “casual dressy” (sportscoat, informal dress), while others are in t-shirts and jeans, with everything in between. Shorts in summer are perfectly okay.
- When are services and Sunday school?
- Services start at 10:30 AM, as do RE (for “religious exploration”) classes.
- Are children welcome in the service if they’d rather stay with the grownup they came with?
- Our congregation is used to having kids in the service. We have RE classes during the academic year and open play time in the summer, but kids are always welcome in “big church.” We have many intergenerational services throughout the year, where the entire community worships together.
- Are there members of the church who are {insert ethnic group here}. Are {insert ethnic group here} folks welcome?
- At this point, the membership of our congregation reflects the ethnicity and racial diversity of our area. Translation: We’re a pretty white group. But we’d love to change that. We’re lifetime corporate members of the NAACP, and many of our members are very active in local racial and economic justice efforts. We love having visitors of all persuasions and walks of life, and would love know how we can grow as a congregation to make all kinds of people feel welcome with us.
- Are there members of the church who are GLBTQ? Are GLBTQ folks welcome?
- We do have members who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning. Of all American religious groups, the UUs have been furthest out front on issues of rights for sexual minorities — we’ve been performing services of union for people regardless of affectional orientation longer than any other group. Our local congregation was one of the first UU societies to complete the UUA’s Welcoming Congregation program, a curriculum of intensive self-study and commitment to equality, fairness, and access for GLBTQ folks.
- Are there people in the congregation who believe {insert belief here}? Are people who believe {insert belief here} welcome?
- In our congregation we have people who would call themselves humanists, liberal Christians, Buddhists, pagan or earth-centered, theist, agnostic, and atheist. We don’t always agree, and sometimes we argue, but we see that diversity as providing an environment in which all of us can learn and grow from each other. As Francis David said 500 years ago, “We need not think alike to love alike.” We share no common creed, but instead a common commitment to exploration and discovery as stated in the Mission Statement of the congregation.
- What are services usually like? Does someone always read from the Bible?
- The basic format of most of our services is pretty similar to that of traditional Protestant worship, though sometimes we really stretch and do something very different, especially in the summer. We always begin and end our services with the lighting and extinguishing of the Chalice, which symbolizes for us the light of human love, the illuminating power of reason, and the power of the universe. During our services you’ll hear many kinds of readings, sometimes from the Bible but just as often from another sacred scripture, or a poet, or a UU minister. Most weeks the service features a sermon by our minister or lay leader, but “non-traditional” services are frequent events. For some examples of the kinds of things we do at services, look over our services coming soon.
- How do I get to the church building?
- For a Google Map click here.
- From Wheeling, WV, and points east, head west on I-470 and take exit 3, County Road 214. Turn right at the end of the exit ramp. Take the next right turn onto Kirkwood Heights Road. The church is located on the right approximately 0.2 miles from the intersection.
- From St. Clairsville, OH, and points west, head east on I-70 and then take I-470 east. Take exit 3, County Road 214. Turn left at the end of the exit ramp. Take the next right turn onto Kirkwood Heights Road. The church is located on the right, approximately 0.2 miles from the intersection.