Location: 3525 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501
Date Established: 1891
Date Visited: 4/18/14

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do.” – Edward Everett Hale

I love the theme of “Love”.

When I think of the Unitarians I immediately think of them as the “Book Sale” Church, because it seems like every time I am visiting them they are having a book sale. I am not a Unitarian, so I will ask immediately for forgiveness in this post because I doubt as a non-member I can do their religion much justice. I will however say that I am very grateful for the great work they have done in preserving their precious bit of Riverside history.

The Universalist-Unitarian Church first started it’s existence in 1891 as the All Souls Church. Later, as the church incorporated into the Unitarian movement it changed it’s name to the Universalist-Unitarian church. A beautiful example of sandstone Norman Gothic, the stone was originally brought in from Flagstaff, Arizona. The church was declared a City landmark in 1969 and placed on National Register of Historic Sites in 1978.

Jesus Christ in Stained Glass at the Unitarian Church.

The highlight to the building has got to be the stain glass rendition of Jesus Christ in their chapel. The windows were made in Chicago by the Sebiling Wells Glass Company. Using the setting of a inspiring teacher, it depicts Jesus Christ walking in a field of flowers with his hand outstretched. My interpretation is he is kind of inviting people to hear his words (but I would say art is always subject to interpretation).

The Unitarians to me seem to be a very inviting group of people. Every time I visit them (mostly for the used book sales), they seem eager to talk and share the highlights of their building.