Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington
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Front of the church at dusk, March 2015
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| Location | 4444 Arlington Boulevard Arlington County, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 38°52′6.07″N 77°6′26.95″W / 38.8683528°N 77.1074861°WCoordinates: 38°52′6.07″N 77°6′26.95″W / 38.8683528°N 77.1074861°W |
| Built | 1964 |
| Architect | Charles M. Goodman |
| Architectural style | Brutalist |
| NRHP reference # | 14000943 |
| VLR # | 000-3424 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 19, 2014 |
| Designated VLR | September 2014 |
Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (UUCA), historically known as the Unitarian Church of Arlington, is a Unitarian Universalist church located at 4444 Arlington Boulevard (U.S. 50) in Arlington County, Virginia. Founded in 1948, UUCA was the first Unitarian church in Washington, D.C.'s suburbs. Throughout its history, UUCA has taken part in progressive causes from the Civil Rights Movement to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Virginia. During the Civil Rights Movement, UUCA was the only Virginia church to speak out in favor of racial integration. UUCA's sanctuary building, designed by local architect Charles M. Goodman in 1964, is a concrete Brutalist structure that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Register in 2014. It is one of only three church buildings designed by Goodman and the only one in Virginia.
In the early 1940s, leaders from All Souls Church, established in 1821 as the first Unitarian church in Washington, D.C., encouraged its suburban members to start new Unitarian communities in their respective areas. The first one established in the suburbs was the Unitarian Church of Arlington with support and funds from the "mother church", All Souls. The first meeting was held in George A. Collier's home, located at 832 South Courthouse Road, on September 16, 1943. The following services were held in various spaces on Sunday afternoons so members could still attend the morning services at All Souls. Meeting spaces included the Buckingham Community Room, Ashton Heights Women's Club, and Kate Waller Barrett School. Gilbert A. Phillips, an associate pastor at All Souls, became the Arlington church's minister in 1946. Membership of the Arlington congregation reached 117 by 1948 while the church school had an enrollment of 103. That same year members voted to establish their own independent church. Their approved resolution stated: "Be it therefore resolved that the Board of Trustees be petitioned to terminate the Fellowship as an instrumentality of All Souls Church as of March 31, 1948, and be it further resolved that this Fellowship then be organized as a Unitarian Church affiliated with the American Unitarian Association."
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