Meet the Moment
with Reverend Rebecca Hinds Highlights and Inspiration from our Unitarian Universalist
Association's General Assembly 2025. We will consider questions like,
what does this moment require of us? Where are we going as a UU movement? And how?
Emily White will give the Time for All Ages,
Janet Watts will be our Worship Associate,
with music provided by Ryan Pagels.
Children will stay with their grown ups in Gage Hall.
During the summer months, the nursery in the Annex is open to children ages 7 and under from 10:30 AM-12:15 PM.
Stream this Sunday's service here
Share the Plate raised $817.84 for QT Camp in June & July
Meet and Greet Our New Staff
Sunday, August 24 at 10am in Gage Hall
Please join Emily White, our new Religious Education Coordinator, and Julie Standish, our new Membership Coordinator, for a morning of coffee, conversation, and donuts. We will spend some time getting to know them and we will have a chance to engage in some back and forth Q & A. See you there!
Religious Education News
This year we are going to start trying something new. Parents of children in our Religious Education Program (RE) have almost unanimously expressed to me that it would work better for their families if RE was offered at 10am. So we are going to try it! The kids will have RE at 10am and attend worship services with their families at 11am. I am very excited to better meet the needs of our young families and to see how it works!
Sincerely,
Rev. Rebecca Hinds
We're looking for several caring volunteers to help in the classrooms on Sundays, to teach/facilitate pre-planned classes and activities. No prior teaching experience is required, just an open heart, willingness to participate, and dedication to our youth's spiritual development. We will start the church year with a volunteer training.
Please email me: emily@charlestonuu.orgor speak to me after this Sunday's service if you'd like to volunteer.
Thank you,
Emily White
Religious Education Coordinator
Help spread the word about parking at the church during the week!
In addition to our 24/7 spaces, we have two leases on our parking lot: Charleston Day School and Southeastern Management. Each lease allows church members to park on certain days/times. If you are parking during the week, whether during the day or in the evening, please read the signs carefully to determine if that space is available. And always make sure to put your parking pass on your rearview mirror.
Because parking is limited downtown, random folks are frequently parking in our parking lot. Cars are now being booted or towed. If you are not in a church parking space, your parking pass does not guarantee that you will be safe from towing. We don't want our members to get caught up in that inadvertently!
WelcomeBackBrunch!
Sunday August 31 10:00 AM—12:30 PM
The Alliance is pleased to sponsor our church’s annual Welcome-Back Brunch to celebrate the beginning of another church year, so mark your calendars and plan to join us. We’ll enjoy delicious food and fellowship with old and new friends! There also will be a special fun table for the children, so bring the whole family. If you would like to volunteer to work at the brunch or bring food, Please click on the link for the Sign Up Genius to sign up to donate or help with set up or clean up. All help is greatly appreciated!
Imara Jones:
The 2025 Ware Lecture
(an exclusive video showing for our congregation) Sunday, August 31st at 12:30pm
Imara Jones, award-winning journalist, changemaker, and trans rights activist, delivered the keynote address at this year’s General Assembly, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s annual gathering in June. Her lecture was powerful, timely, and incredibly important. If you care about trans rights, trans people, and the state of our democracy, you do not want to miss this!
Please stay after the Welcome Back Breakfast for a showing of this incredibly powerful 75 minute lecture.
Join us on the front lines of the fight against censorship!
The South Carolina Unitarian Universalist Justice Alliance (SCUUJA) has joined the fight against book banning and we need your help in order to:
Build and stock Banned Book Bookshelves in UU congregations across South Carolina.
Host state-wide book reads of selected banned books to build understanding of what ideas are being suppressed.
Educate Unitarian Universalists in the state about book banning, offer advocacy training, and coordinate UU actions to fight back against Moms for Liberty and their allies.
Partner in advocacy and action against book and curriculum bans with activists including the youth of DAYLO (see the film about their activism at Banned Together!), ProTruthSC, and the ACLU’s Right to Read Coalition.
Share lessons learned to support resistance to book banning everywhere.
$3,975.00
Raised in 21 days
80%
Funded of $5,000.00 Goal
7 days to go
Started on Jul 22, 2025
Ends on Aug 21, 2025
Your Church’s Social Justice Program – Living our UU Values
submitted by Richard Hayes, Social Justice Co-Chair
Last Sunday’s sermon by Pastor Dixon was so motivating for me! If you did not get to see it, I strongly urge you to go on to the Church’s YouTube and watch it! Pastor Dixon pointed out that our justice efforts support our UU values. And even though our efforts may seem small in comparison to the justice issues we face, cumulatively they can eliminate systematic injustices, like throwing a pebble in the pond and watching the effect of the ripples. As Rev Dr King said, "The arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Pastor Dixon urged UUs to continue to throw pebbles in the pond, and watch the effects of the ripples you create by throwing those pebbles of justice actions into the pond.
Our Social Justice program at our Church gives you the opportunity to take action against systematic injustice. As our UU Values are expressed in our new Article 2 of the UU Bylaws states: “We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships…. We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression.”
We need each of our members to actively support our Social Justice program – find your passion, whether it be combating racial injustices in our local police departments, supporting environmental justice in our Green Sanctuary program, combatting local child poverty through the Coffeehouse program, or fighting for LGBTQ+ rights through our Welcoming program.
Join our Social Justice team and start casting pebbles into the pond of injustice and watch the ripples grow and have affects you never dreamed of!
Books and Coffee
Ray and Elliie Setser will host Books and Coffee at their home Sunday, September 7 at 5:00pm.
The book being reviewed is Percival Everette's "James" a fictional account by Jim from Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn".
Please bring suggestions for a nonfiction selection for October.
Coffee and snacks will be served.
5 Trail Hollow Drive
Shadowmoss
843-571-3417
Upstairs Gage Hall is Getting A Makeover!
Thanks to the Lucy Boyle Fund, we are giving the 2nd floor of Gage Hall a makeover. We are in the middle of ceiling repair, repainting and re-carpeting. We do not have an exact date yet, but the goal is to have everything completed and back in place by the end of August.Until that time, staff will be working remotely. Please email or call if you want to meet with one of us.
Musicians Wanted!
This fall we will be forming a UC- CHS "House Band," which will play for the service one Sunday a month.
This volunteer group will cover a wide variety of styles and genres, depending on the themes of the service. We are primarily looking for drums, guitar, electric bass, keyboard, and singers; however we are open to other instruments! Time commitment is minimal, 1-2 rehearsals per service beginning in late September/early October.
Interested? Please click the link below to respond to this quick questionnaire.
Our Chancel Choir resumes rehearsal on August 20th! If you've been interested in joining us, now is the perfect time! We're also having a choir party on August 30th. interested singers are welcome to attend. Please email our music director at ryan@charlestonuu.org for more details.
Book of Life
To share a significant life event (births, deaths, celebrations, transitions and other joys and sorrows) send to Marcia Castano at marciapate5@gmail.com by Saturday evenings at 6:00 p.m. or write them in person on Sunday morning. The physical book is kept at the front of the church near the pulpit.
Interested in joining our wonderful church community?
Click here to learn more about membership.
Meet and Greet Our New Staff
Help spread the word about parking at the church during the week!
