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The first Unitarian Church of Des Moines is located on the south side of the city off of Fleur drive. While I haven’t personally attended any of their services, I have been to numerous events that have been hosted on their property including the annual trans lives festival and on a more somber note, a beautiful funeral for a dear friend. Personal experiences aside this Church’s calendar is consistently filled with opportunities to build community. Zen meditations offered through zoom, Tai Chi, book clubs, coffee hours and more.
Unlike a lot of churches in the Des Moines area, the first Unitarian Church of Des Moines is comprised of individuals, from” many beliefs and backgrounds, people with religious background and people with none who believe in a God and people who don’t.” I would say that this church has a strong commitment to being an affirmative space for members of marginalized by mainstream society and that their congregation is committed to being active in the community as a force of good.
Sundays offer a bit of structure in the form of a Sunday service at 9:30 a.m. they also offer the opportunity for people to join via zoom after the service at 11:00 a.m. they have what they call a forum which seems to be an opportunity for folks to get together and discuss” community projects, clubs, lessons and interest. Again, we see their commitment to building community on full display. Childcare is available for children 0 to 4 years old and while parking can be difficult, some days parking is allowed in the Wells Fargo lot on Sundays only. Theologically Unitarianism places an emphasis on honoring the diversity of beliefs their individual congregants have. There is also a full rejection of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity (father, son and holy Spirit). There is an argument to be made that unitarians are not Christians as they believe that Jesus was a human teacher and a prophet rather than the son of God in a traditional Christian sense. Because of this diversity in beliefs amongst their members, spiritual practices, feelings on the afterlife are just as diverse as their members.
by Chris Morse (2025)