Who We Are

We are a diverse, spirit-growing,

justice-seeking community.

Sunday morning service in the main sanctuary.

All Souls is a progressive religious community in the heart of DC, at the intersection of Mt. Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and Columbia Heights. We walk diverse paths to find meaning and purpose, but are united by our belief in the worth and dignity of all, and the obligation to express our faith through acts of justice and compassion. Join us as we create a diverse, spirit-growing, justice-seeking community that's true to our name, All Souls!

You are warmly invited to attend our weekly service on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am, either in person or online. You'll find us at 1500 Harvard Street NW, Washington DC 20009 (@16th Street). You can contact us at 202.332.5266 or allsouls@allsouls.ws.

Mission

To create a diverse, spirit-growing, justice-seeking, Beloved Community that transforms ourselves and our world into one great family of all souls.

Church Goals

  1. Become a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-generational spiritual community that is grounded in authentic relationships, trust, and belonging.

  2. Welcome all people of good will with radical hospitality and inclusion.

  3. Deepen our spiritual lives through learning and creative expression.

  4. Act accountably to dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

  5. Connect with each other and our neighbors in new ways and in a well-maintained historic building.

  6. Serve the needs of those in our city in partnership with local organizations.

  7. Love and care for one another across the lifespan in times of joy, sorrow, and transition

Developmental Ministry Goals

  1. Establish a financially sustainable path for the church that enables us to maintain our building and carry out our mission and goals.

  2. Foster spiritual repair and restoration that enables our progress toward our existing church goal to become a multicultural, multiracial, multigenerational spiritual community that is grounded in authentic relationships, trust, and belonging.

  3. Ensure our governance and operational framework enables us to achieve these two goals through shared ministry at a committee, staff, board, and congregational level.

Our History

A large crowd of people gathered outside a historic building with large columns and a clock tower, possibly during a public event or protest.

People’s March on Washington

All Souls Church, Unitarian, has, for two centuries, played a vital role in Washington, DC, and the nation as a whole. Located at the intersection of 16th and Harvard Streets, the congregation's third church straddles the Mount Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. All Souls was founded in 1821 as First Unitarian Church by some of Washington’s most prominent white men, including Secretary of State and future President John Quincy Adams; Secretary of War and future Vice President John C. Calhoun; architect of the capitol Charles Bulfinch; and newspaper publisher, city alderman, and future mayor Joseph Gales. Some of the founders were enslavers; others strongly opposed slavery.

How We Govern

Democracy means not “I am as good as you are,” but “You are as good as I am.”

- Theodore Parker

Living into our 5th principle, All Souls affirms and promotes the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregation and in society at large.

At All Souls Church Unitarian, the congregation is governed by representatives elected as church officers and trustees. At the annual congregational meeting, members also vote on the church's budget, changes to our bylaws, and other important matters.