With any new endeavor, the question why? comes up. Here are two likely objections to this new church, and my answers.
We don’t need a new Unitarian church around here. Metropolitan Washington has plenty, and large ones.
There is no area in the United States that has enough Unitarian Universalist Association member congregations. We are so marginal, due to our small size, that we often confused with other churches, or are made a cultural joke. In areas with a single Unitarian Universalist congregation, it has a heavy burden to be too many things to too few people. It makes sense that where there are strong congregations, and the people resources to form new congregations, we should do so.
But isn’t there already a Universalist Christian church in Washington?
Yes, indeed, Washington is one the few cities to be blessed by one. But Universalist National Memorial Church has a particular history, custom, geographic location, and mission. Surely Universalist Christianity is broad enough to reach other constituencies, even in the same city. Also, new churches appeal to a different set of people than established ones. This new church will no more be the last Universalist Christian church in metropolitan Washington than UNMC.