Zach and John pulled up to the United Presbyterian Church in Jamestown, ND on a rainy morning in early October. We came to check out the wheelchair accessibility in this beautiful vintage building and meet with Pastor David Thompson. We were already impressed by Pastor Thompson's quick response to our email requesting a visit. Not every church gets right back to us when we tell them we want to come and check out their wheelchair facilities. But then not every church has such great accomodations in place.
Pulling in to the parking lot on the north side, we noted the glass doors with an automatic door opener as promised by the Pastor. The door button did not work so we had a bit of a struggle getting in through the door, then a quick left to the elevator to take us up to the second floor where the offices are located. We met Pastor Thompson and he was aware of the automatic door button being out of order and assured us it was soon to be fixed. He shared some background history of the church and his joy in serving there for thirteen years. He then showed us around the building poiting out the accomodations for wheelchair users.
The elevator access is very impressive. It stops at five different levels, two in the basement, the ground floor, the offices level, and another level upstairs. The only area in the church not accessible by wheelchair is the choir loft. The two levels in the basement allow you to exit on two different floor levels depending on which elevator door you exit.
The church boasts a large fellowship area with chairs and round tables. There is also a large room with couches and lounge chairs for meeting in a more relaxed setting. We were pleased to hear that a wheel chair user attends worship regularly and that students in wheelchairs from the nearby middle school do service work in the church.
The mission: The United Presbyterian Church of Jamestown is a Christ-center Bible-based community drawn together to worship God, to learn about the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit as we share the Good News.
The worship service is at 10:30 am from the Sunday after Labor Day to the Sunday prior to the Memorial Day weekend. Sunday school classes for all ages are at 9:00 am. During the summer months worship is at 9:30 am.
Their web site is http://www.upcjamestown.org/
Review by John
Photos by Zach and John
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