Join us for our annual breakfast in Gage Hall this Sunday. Hear from Rev. Rebecca and staff about all the happenings at the church this fall. You can bring your food items beginning at 10:00am. The breakfast itself along with a short welcome and update from Rev. Rebecca and staff will kick us off at 11:00am. All children and youth are invited to join the breakfast though childcare for children 6 and under will be available in the nursery.
12:15pm - RE Classroom Decorating and Clean Out Calling everyone! Help us get the RE year started with a classroom warming party for our elementary classroom. Join in if you love decorating!
TONIGHT: Millennial-Z Happy hour Thursday, September 3; 6:00pm Bay Street Biergarten
Our millennial and Gen-Z group gathers on the first Thursday every month. Join us this month downtown at Bay Street Beirgarten!
Voter Registration Drives September 4; 10am - 12pm at James Lewis Apartments
Our congregation is proud to be partnering with the NAACP this fall to Get Out the Vote! Please join us this month to help register voters. And watch for further opportunities in the weeks ahead as we continue to support the NAACP in their efforts to knock on doors, send postcards, and so much more!
Eden Keepers Saturday, September 5; 8:30am Churchyard
Each month the Eden Keepers gather to maintain our beautiful and historic churchyard. All are welcome and no gardening experience is required – simply a love of plants and an appreciation of this wonderful green space. Bring gardening tools if you have them, gloves, water to drink while working and bug spray. We will work from 9-12, weather permitting. If you can't get there at 8:30am, come when you can.
Help us Bring Back the Sunday Forum!
Do you love the Sunday Forum? Can you help us make it happen again this year? We are looking for two church members to join a newly developed Forum Team. Forums run 10:00 am on Sundays Fall to May with no Forums in December. At present our aim is not necessarily a weekly offering, although we may end up with several during some months. This small team will meet monthly and is tasked with soliciting and investigating candidate topics, scheduling each approved topic, and taking turns with the presentation logistics. If you feel this is a good fit for you, please contact Carolyn Parker or Rev. Rebecca.
Pancake and Syrup Drive September 6, 13, 20
For the month of September we are hosting a Pancake Drive to benefit James Island County Outreach food pantry. Bring a box of pancake mix and syrup to Gage Hall anytime in September and we will deliver it to JICO at the end of the month!
Coffee with the Minister Tuesday, September 8; 9:00am Second State Coffee - 1630 Ashley Hall Rd, West Ashley
Join Rev. Rebecca for coffee and conversation Tuesday September 9 in West Ashley at Second State Coffee. This fall Rebecca will host a coffee with the minister every second Tuesday of the month across the Charleston area.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
Volunteers Needed this Sunday Join us after the Welcome Back Breakfast this Sunday as we set up our Elementary and Youth classrooms! We need a group of helping hands to assist with moving and hauling away furniture, assembling items, setting up activity stations, and decorating our classroom spaces. Meet us upstairs in Gage Hall.
Members from any corner of the congregation are invited to help (not just families or RE volunteers)
Family Circle, Saturday 9/12, 5-7pm.
Join others raising children in our church community for an evening of connection and conversation. Contact Emily emily@charlestonuu.org if you’d like to sign up.
Next Sunday - First Day of RE Classes September 13 → First day of RE classes! 10:00-10:55 am; Upper Gage Hall and Annex
Elementary class and Youth Sample days begin. RE Parents: please fill out this year’s registration form HERE if you haven’t done so already.
Interested in assisting with RE this year? You can still sign up to volunteer! Contact Emily for volunteer information and registration.
SAVE THE DATE
September Book Clubs
Minister’s Book Club - Sat., Sept. 19, 10am in Gage Hall Reading: The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking by Shannon Vallor
Women’s Book Club - Tues., Sept. 22, 6pm in Gage Hall
Reading: The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
Books and Coffee - Sun., Sept. 27, 4:30pm in W. Ashley
Reading: Culpability by Bruce Holsinger
Alliance Fall Rummage Sale Saturday September 12; 9:00am
Lower Gage Hall
The Alliance will begin accepting donations to the Rummage Sale next week. You can now bring your items to donate to Gage Hall during the week to store on the stage, behind the curtain. Call Lily in the office: (843) 723-4617 ext 2 to make sure she or Willart will be available to assist you. You can also bring items on Sunday September 6 during the Welcome Back Breakfast.
9/11 Day Volunteer Opportunity September 10 and 11
Gaillard Center
9/11 Day is the nonprofit that founded and leads the National September 11th Day of Service and Remembrance. As we prepare to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, 50,000 volunteers in 50 cities will come together to pack 20 million meals for people experiencing food insecurity. We are organizing the largest day of service in American history and we need your help!
Event Support Volunteers do not pack individual meals but instead are the support and backbone to the event's success, helping welcome participants, lead meal-packing teams, keep supplies moving, and ensure the event runs smoothly. Volunteers must be 18+, and all positions are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Event Support Volunteer Opportunities (Assigned as needed) Table Captains – Lead and energize meal-packing teams Heavy Lifters / Runners – Keep supplies moving and meal-packing stations stocked Hospitality & Registration – Welcome, check in, and assist volunteers Set-Up & Break-Down Crew – Help prepare and reset the event space Learn more about the event and register for Charleston directly HERE
Together, let's honor the 25th anniversary of 9/11 through compassion, unity, and service. We hope you'll join us for what will be our most meaningful and ambitious year yet.
SCUUJA Fall Festival Saturday, September 26; 9:30am - 4:15pm UU Columbia
One topic the festival will spotlight is Environmental Justice. In the morning, we'll hear from Robby Maynor, Policy Advocate at Southern Environmental Law Center, who will give a workshop titled Protecting South Carolina's Environment in the Digital Age. In the workshop, he'll discuss data centers in South Carolina and the polluting gas infrastructure being proposed to serve them. You'l also learn more about the community and environmental impacts of these facilities, and how you can engage at the local and state levels to advocate for better protections.
In the afternoon, our Environmental Justice Action Team will meet and strategize next steps. They'll be joined by Robby Maynor and SCUUJA Board Member Evan Renshaw, who also serves as the Partnerships and Engagement
Manager at the Conservation Voters of South Carolina.
The 3rd Annual Pop Music Trivia Contest! A Church FUNdraiser Saturday, September 26, 6:30-8:30pm (doors open 6:15)
Lower Gage Hall
We raised $1000 last year and it’s more fun than ever! ALL AGES will
enjoy connecting with both newer and older music as you good-naturedly
compete with your friends in teams. It’s OK if you haven’t followed pop
music for awhile. Your hosts Dave & Karen Ruef will get you singing and
dancing along with your friends in any case.
Invite your friends - whether UUs or not - and reserve your place now
for $20. Buy your ticket online NOW or come to our ticket table at coffee hour each Sunday up to the event.
There will be Raffle tix for cool prizes plus delish food and drink for only $3.
(If you’d like to help out at the event or donate a snack or dessert to be sold
– it IS a fundraiser! – please let Dave know or email office@charlestonuu.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Join our Music Program!
The Choir practices every Wednesday at 6:45pm in Lower Gage Hall
Now is the perfect time to get involved with our music program! The two primary ways to be involved are our Chancel Choir, which meets Wednesdays at 6:45pm, and our House Band which typically meets once a month. Prior professional training/experience not needed! For any questions, please reach out to our music director at ryan@charlestonuu.org
Blessing box donations can be placed directly in the box, if there is room, or in the storage cabinet in the storage area of Gage Hall (where the folding chairs are stored.) Throughout the week, staff refill the box outside as space and supply allows.
To share a significant life event (births, deaths, celebrations, transitions and other joys and sorrows) send to Marcia Castano at BookOfLife@CharlestonUU.org 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.
