Members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Coastal Georgia participate in the Martin Luther King parade in Brunswick. The Unitarian church has been active in this event for several years.
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Our Newsletter
Our Newsletter, "The Voice," comes out
monthly during our church year. If you are interested in learning more
about Unitarian Universalists of Coastal Georgia, you can receive this
newsletter by e-mail. Just fill out and submit the form below. It also can be accessed by
clicking on the link on the home page of this web site. The Newsletter
contains information about our congregation, including upcoming events
and words from our minister.
To submit information for the Newsletter, send
it by e-mail to willnow33@att.net. The deadline is always the third
Friday of each month.
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A Welcoming Congregation
Unitarian Universalists of
Coastal Georgia has undertaken the project of becoming officially recognized by
the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) as a 'Welcoming Congregation' to
bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people.
To reach this goal, a series of workshops were held to better acquaint members of the congregation to the benefits of welcoming those who may be of a different sexual persuasion. In the picture above, Mary Freeman, one of our members active in the Welcoming Congregation program, leads a discussion at the first workshop. In June 2011, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to apply to the Unitarian Universalist Association to obtain the official status of a welcoming congregation. One of the first steps was to distribute surveys to members of the congregation to begin an
inventory of our attitudes and comfort levels. Results showed that UUCG,
as we would expect, has a very welcoming spirit. Further understanding can deepen our willing
welcome.
In the UUA's 'Welcoming
Congregation Handbook,' the authors describe something called 'heart-lag'-- situations
when our spirit is willing but our feelings aren't. We fully intend,
rationally, to practice openness/acceptance/ welcome; however, our feelings
surprise us with resistance, a 'heart' reaction contrary to our 'head's'
thought. The WC Handbook assures us
that it's human for the 'heart' to lag behind the head sometimes.
For more information, contact
the Co-Team Leaders of the WC Core Team, Barbara Sprouse and Mary Freeman. Thanks to the Unitarian Fellowship at Statesboro, especially to their minister
Rev. Dr. Jane Page for working with us as both our congregations begin this WC
journey and to Beth Butterfield and Dee Liston whose UUFS newsletter article
served as our guide.
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What's Happening at UUCGOur building:
After meeting in several locations in the Golden Isles area over a 10-year period, the congregation purchased, remodeled and moved into its own church building in 2008. The building, located at 1710 Gloucester Street in Brunswick, was a former law office. It has proved to be ideally suited
to meet our current needs. In addition to a large area that has been
converted into a 100-seat sanctuary and multi-purpose room, the building
has three smaller rooms that serve as classrooms and an office. There
also are a kitchen and two bathrooms. There are several parking places
on the land, with much more parking available across the street.
We
previously had purchased land near the old Court House in historic
downtown Brunswick and had intended to build there. But when this
property became available, our plans were changed. A very joyous
dedication for the new building was held on Jan. 25, 2009. Welcoming Congregation, Green Sanctuary: Our congregation has taken significant steps toward receiving official status from the Unitarian Universalist Association as a Welcoming Congregation and as a Green Sanctuary. See story on Welcoming Congregation on this page. For more information on these programs, click on the names in previous sentence.
The Social Justice Team
has committed to work with FaithWorks Ministries, a local group that
provides many services to the poor. The Team also is involved with
environmental issues and the Glynn Peace movement. (Go to Get Involved
page for more information.)
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Our History
In 1996, a group of like-thinking residents of St. Simons Island
incorporated the Fellowship that has become Unitarian Universalists of
Coastal Georgia.
The Fellowship met in various members homes at
first. Later, they met in various halls or restaurants. The old Post
Office building on St. Simons was home for several years. Shortly
before that building was demolished, the group, hoping to reach a larger
audience, voted to move to Brunswick. From 2004-2008, it met at the Ritz Theatre in downtown Brunswick. With membership growing, the
Fellowship decided it was time to find a place of its own. In 2006, it
purchased property on H and Norwich Streets near the old Court House in
Brunswick. After hiring an architect and debating plans for this new
building, another opportunity arose, and the congregation reacted
rapidly. An existing building, a five-year-old former lawyer's office,
was purchased, and soon after a contractor was hired and modifications
were begun to make it more churchlike. The congregation was to move
into this building in November, 2008.
For the first several years,
the Fellowship met without a minister. Guest speakers and members of
the congregation provided the Sunday services. In 2001, the Rev.
William Phillips, a Methodist minister and retired psychotherapist, was
hired on a part-time basis. He continues to lead the Fellowship.
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