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First time visitors
What time our worship services take place
Directions (how to get here)
Where to park
What to expect when you arrive
We're wheelchair accessible
Summer worship services
What time our worship services take place:
Our worship services take place each Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. We recommend arriving ten minutes early to be sure you can find convenient parking, and to give yourself plenty of time to find a seat you like. Worship services are over at about noon, and are followed by a social hour.
Here we are standing in front of the Tiffany mosaic in our sanctuary.
Directions:
From Interstate 195, take Route 18 S, the exit marked "Downtown." Go 1.2 miles. Turn right onto Elm Street at "Downtown" exit, at traffic lights. Go 0.3 miles on Elm Street, turn left onto Eighth Street. Go 2 blocks and you'll see the back of the church, a big stone building, at 71 Eighth Street.
Environs:
The city of New Bedford is blessed with a rich mix of people from all classes and many races. In our neighborhood, you’ll see professionals from the upscale condos which are proliferating in our historic downtown buildings, elderly and disabled persons living in public housing a few blocks away, students and faculty from the UMass Dartmouth downtown arts campus, and homeless persons who are sheltered at Market Ministries across the street from our building on Eighth St. We are a typical American city, generally safe even after dark.
Get detailed directions or a map.
Parking:
On Sundays, please park in either of the two Eighth St. lots behind the church, including the one that says "Permit Parking Only." If the lots are full, you may park in the lot across from our Eighth St. lots. There is also extensive legal, free (on Sunday) parking on the streets around our church. Please check signs carefully to be sure you are parked legally.
(On weekdays, please do not park in the "Permit Parking Only" lot or the bank parking lot, and be sure to feed the meters for street parking.)
What to expect when you arrive:
(If you come in July or August, worship services are little different, so be sure to read about summer services.)
Some people dress up for church (jacket and tie for men, dress or skirt for women), many dress more casually, some people even wear jeans -- it's your choice.
The minister usually stands by the Union Street door to greet people who come in from the street. If you come in the parking lot door, cross the Parish Hall (nursery care in the room to your left), and go up the steps into the sanctuary. The elevator is to the right of the steps.
As you enter the sanctuary, be sure to admire the Tiffany glass mosaic behind the pulpit. It portrays a seeker on a religious journey.
Children are invited to accompany their parents or guardians for the first 15-20 minutes of the worship service, but you are welcome to leave babies, toddlers, and young children in the care of our child care provider. Child care is available beginning at 10:45 in the Parish House.
We start off worship services with music. When our music director, Randy Fayan, is playing you could hear anything from Bach to Radiohead to Duke Ellington to Amy Beach -- played on anything from piano to organ to accordion. Randy draws on the musical talents of the congregation, including singers, trombone players, and guitarists. In 2007-2008, our regular guest musician is Mana Washio, who plays flute. Mana brings along another musician -- a tuba player, a pianist, a marimba player -- and plays everything from Brahms to tango music to Irish folk songs.
After opening words, we light a flaming chalice, a symbol of our Unitarian Universalist faith. Following that, there might be a Story for All Ages, or a responsive reading. Then children go off to Sunday school. You are more than welcome to accompany your child/ren to Sunday school, if that is best for you and them.
The prayer or meditation comes next, a time for inward reflection. After the prayer, people in the congregation will be invited to come forward and light a candle, to ask for help in personal healing, or to mark important events -- a birth, a wedding, illness, death -- that might have taken place in the previous week or two.
We do collect an offering from the congregation, money which usually goes towards the work of the congregation. If this is your first time visiting us, you can let the collection plate pass you by, or you could give a dollar or two as a token amount. Sometimes, we take a collection for a charitable cause, in which case you'll be invited to give generously. Our musician for the day will play music while the offering is being collected.
Sermons are delivered by minister or lay worship leader. Sermon topics vary widely. After the sermon, there will be a short time to greet the people near you (people shake hands, say their names, and perhaps chat a little). After the closing words, there's a last piece of music, and most people will sit to listen.
After the worship service is over, many people go into the Parish Hall for coffee and some light refreshments. Once a month we usually have pizza (check the calendar for dates), and during the cold months there's often soup. If you want to start a conversation with someone, the sermon is always a good thing to talk about. The social hour usually lasts half an hour or so. In good weather, you can slip outside and enjoy the quiet of our garden and labyrinth.
If your children have gone off to Sunday school, head up the big staircase in the Parish House to pick them up. Except for child care, children's programs are upstairs in the Parish House.
After social hour, there might be a special program you'll want to attend. Or you might decide to explore historic downtown New Bedford. Here are seven things to do in New Bedford on Sunday with your family!
We're wheelchair accessible:
Our historic building is almost entirely accessible by wheelchair. You'll find a wheelchair accessible parking place in the church's parking lot right by the back door. Go up the ramp, through the door, and you'll find the elevator across the Parish Hall to the right of the steps. Go up one level (half a floor) on the elevator, and turn right into the sanctuary. It's a tight squeeze through the door into the sanctuary, but once inside you'll find the sanctuary is large with broad aisles.
Summer worship services:
In the summer (July into August), worship services tend to be less formal. Some people dress up for church in the summer, and some come in shorts and t-shirts, ready for a day outdoors -- it's your choice!
Since our minister is away on vacation and study leave for six weeks during the summer, summer services are led by lay people and guest ministers. Our annual jazz service takes place on the first Sunday in July. Our annual poetry service, where people bring favorite poems to read aloud, takes place in early August. You might hear a lay member of the congregation preach a sermon on what it's like to be a Unitarian Universalist in the Bible Belt, or you might hear a service on Hildegard of Bingen that includes recordings of her music. Whatever the topic, summer worship is easy and informal, and it can be a great time to get to know the congregation.
There's usually lemonade and cookies after summer worship services. Summer services usually last a little less than an hour.
Child care is available during summer worship services. Our Director of Religious Education is present on Sundays in August to meet families and children.
Our minister is back at church in mid-August, and returns to the pulpit on the last Sunday in August. Summer worship services continue through Labor Day weekend.