Washington Memorial Chapel — Attraction in Upper Merion Township

This Chapel is incredible and magical. We chose to marry our daughter here because of its historical meaning and the beauty that I have known all my life. Father Tommy was wonderful and answered all our questions leading up to the ceremony. The ceremony was to be 30 minutes long and as we practiced during rehearsal.The groom and his groomsmen along with Father Tommy were to come out to the alter after the guests were seated. When the bridesmaids and the bride saw the men standing at the alter they were to push a button to alert the organist and when the music started that would be the que that the beautiful bridal party was to precede up the isle so that the groom could witness all the bridesmaids and then his beautiful bride would begin her walk to her chosen music as preformed by the organist. This was going to be a magical and breathtaking day that my daughter planned almost 2 years for. We knew exactly what to do and were preparing for her glorious wedding day!!! Unfortunately the day of our daughter's wedding, Father Tommy's assistant showed up and we had not seen her at rehearsal. She was rude and very pushing. She COMPLETELY changed what we had rehearsed the night before. She was in the back with the bridesmaids and my daughter. She instructed the bridesmaids to walk up the isle before the groomsmen were at the alter!!! The bridesmaids walked up to an EMPTY ALTER with no music!!! Yes, NO music , no groomsmen, no groom and most of all no Father Tommy!!! This woman completely changed our rehearsal and ultimately changed the wedding that we so excitedly anticipated. The groom did not see any of the girls with their beautiful gowns and flowers, he said all he saw was his bride and this in my opinion was disaster . This woman should not have been involved in the day of ceremony. The actual wedding was 20 mins long because the bridesmaids were at the alter before the groomsmen came out!!! My strong suggestion to you is that if you're planning a wedding at this amazing chapel make sure the assistant...

Absolutely beautiful, constructed in 1903 (I believe) to honor Washington and his men. One gets an immediately feeling of calm and serenity over taking you as you stroll through these grounds.

There is a wide open space along side the church with various benches where visitors can sit down and enjoy the views, one view inparticular is of a soldiers cabin and a statue paying tribute but I recommend waking up close to see all the little details of what went into making this cabin. It is a must see.

On the premises, back behind the church is a little gift shop & "bakery" that also serves hot coffee, drinks, omish shoefly cake, hot dogs (watch out for the smell of sourcraut as soon as you walk in ) and many other bake goods but most eye catching is the old cabin from which it runs out of. Once used as a school house from days long ago, the features and design are very interesting to look at and the huge fireplace that sits in the back causes a person to reminisce on what it must of been like while class was in session as the school children tried to stay warm during those long cold winter months. "Albert could you put some more wood in the fire"

I had wished they had old photos displayed but when I asked if any existed she didn't know.

Across the street from this church is a giant monument built to honor the many soldiers who once lived and practiced their battle training so that we could be free and have our independence.

Let this be your first stop then jump in your car and drive down the road to the many other historical sights, the "Grand parade" training field, the life guards cabins and Washingtons head quarters! A great day for a...

An absolutely lovely church. While I do not live in the area, I frequently spend short weeks nearby on family business, and I'm so grateful to have discovered this chapel. The staff is warm and welcoming, and the building itself shows a love and craft, and a devotion to the God (and His providence through our history) for whom it was erected. Some churches sacrifice the orthodoxy of their doctrine/liturgy for the sake of welcomeness, but I did not find that here. As a denominational outsider, even then I've found it to be a wholesomely welcoming space, but doctrinally and liturgically sound as well, to the tradition it espouses.

Additionally, because of its location, it has some interesting features in the coffee/giftshoppe, and a used bookstore. Both are clean and well managed. Sometimes I find that church coffeeshoppes can come off as tacky or wrongly commercial, but this one did not. If one is non-religious but interested in the history, or the area I would still recommend a stop here. They also are host to a lovely commemorative bell with lovely patriotic artwork. And again, one might find that alone to be worth a stop, (but why not stay for a mass?)

I'm truly happy to have found The Washington Memorial Chapel and happy to attend whenever I find myself in the area. A beautiful place raised in, and for, the worship of a...