Where is Main Line Unitarian?
Main Line Unitarian Church (MLUC) is located at 816 South Valley Forge Road, Devon, PA. There is parking on the church property both in front of and on the south side of the building. Additional parking is available in Dittmar Park, directly across South Valley Forge Road.
When should we arrive on Sundays?
Sunday service at MLUC begins at 10 a.m. and generally ends around 11:00 a.m. Plan to arrive a few minutes early on your first visit to find a parking spot and explore our Welcome Table, located just inside the main entrance (or at the top of the stairs from the lower-level entrance). The Welcome Table is staffed by helpful volunteers who can answer your questions and provide more information about our church and Unitarian Universalism.
What should we wear?
Come as you are! People attend worship service wearing T-shirts and jeans, as well as suits and dresses. What should our kids do during the service? Your children will sit with you at the beginning of the service. After the “time for all ages” they may join other children in a faith-development class or continue to attend the service with you. Faith-development programs for children and teens meet at the same time as Sunday services. Several times throughout the year, all ages gather for a multigenerational service. Faith-development classes do not meet on these Sundays and children stay with their parents for the whole service. Childcare is available on-site for our youngest visitors.
What are services like?
Our services usually follow a predictable pattern, beginning with a musical prelude, an invocation, lighting of our chalice, a time for all ages, sharing of joys and concerns, hymns from the Unitarian Universalist hymnals, additional music, readings, meditation, a sermon, a benediction, and a musical postlude. The specifics on a given Sunday are provided in an Order of Service you will receive when you enter.
The Chalice: We begin nearly every service by lighting our chalice and end by extinguishing it. Its flame symbolizes the light of truth and reason, which guide our spiritual quest; its oil symbolizes helpfulness and sacrifice, which guide our social action; and the chalice itself symbolizes our community of faith, which holds us in mutual support and care.
Candles of Community: During our services, we invite members to come forward and light Candles of Community to share with the congregation personal joys, celebrations, sorrows, or concerns. Such sharing brings us closer together, invites the support of others, and strengthens the bonds of our community.
The Collection: Taking a collection is certainly not unique to UUs. It serves not only a practical purpose (our congregation supports itself and does not receive contributions from our denomination or any other entity), but also a symbolic purpose. It demonstrates that we are a covenantal community—we are all connected, we support one another, and every person is a vital part of this community. One half of all offerings are donated to nonprofit organizations through our Offering Outreach program.
What happens after the service?
Coffee and other refreshments are served after each service outside in the courtyard in front of the church or in the Fireside Room. This is a casual gathering where members and visitors can get to know one another. Please take a special visitors mug for your coffee or tea so we can introduce ourselves. On Sundays, the church is alive with interesting conversation and information about upcoming community events and opportunities to participate in church life. As a visitor, you are welcome to take part in any of our programs and activities to learn more about Main Line Unitarian Church and Unitarian Universalism. Childcare is available at most church events.