Inclusive Congregations in Macon: High Street Unitarian Universalist
November 19, 2025
If you are looking for a congregation that is open to all and will be inclusive no matter what, you should look no further than High Street Unitarian Universalist Church. Immediately, it is clear that the people involved in this church care deeply about each other, no matter if it is your first time visiting, or if you have been a regular for a while. The three of us visited this congregation not entirely knowing what to expect. It seemed like a pretty young group from their TikTok page, but when we actually went, we were surprised to see a multigenerational community. The church’s energy is very vibrant as it connects people’s religious paths with interactive activities. Altogether, these qualities highlight how High Street Unitarian Universalist Church embodies a welcoming, engaging, and intergenerational community.
High Street traces its history back to 1949, when a group of Maconites who identified as Unitarians began meeting in one another’s homes on Sunday mornings. These meetings typically consisted of a handful of people and usually never exceeded ten. The meeting spots of this group varied greatly. Sometimes they met in each other’s homes, and other times the local YWCA center. These informal meetings lasted until 1979, when the group rechartered as the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Middle Georgia. This was an attempt to form a recognized UU congregation in Macon. Once chartered, the first step was finding a permanent meeting spot. The community found an initial home in the First Liberty Bank and Trust’s seminar room in the basement of the downtown office building.
After a few years of meeting in this more permanent location, the number of attendees grew to the mid-thirties by 1987. That same year, the Unitarian Universalist Association approved an extension minister, Reverend Mary Katherine Morn, for the Macon UU Group. A year after Rev. Katherine Morn joined, the group acquired their current building, a former church, and formally became High Street Unitarian Universalist Church. Ever since then, the church has focused on growing, fully utilizing and expanding their building to suit their needs, and keeping a focus on the same inclusive values that brought them all together so long ago.
High Street Unitarian is about a 5-minute drive from campus. The building sits on a corner lot, taking up the majority of the lot, leaving little lawn around the building. The actual building resembles a traditional Christian chapel with tinted colored windows and has a steeple. The building is very old, having been built in 1898, and because it is an all-brick building, the structure is still very stable and beautiful as well. Walking into the church from Orange Street, which is the side with a black and white sign with “High Street Unitarian Universalist Church,” as well as a “Black Lives Matter” flag, there is a small hallway and foyer. Inside the foyer, there is a small table with sticker nametags, pens, and a new visitor sheet so that the church can get some information about first-time visitors. The name tags are so that all members, regardless of whether they are newer to the church or not, can know one another’s names.
Beyond the foyer is the main worship space. Instead of traditional pews, there are individual chairs with teal-colored cushions arranged in rows. Within the space there is a stage up front for the worship associate and for whoever is assigned to give the sermon that day. And in the back left corner of the worship space, there’s a “tech setup.” At every service an assigned member works to make sure the service is broadcasted via Zoom, that the microphones are working, that cameras are functioning, and that anyone attending online can contribute to the service. The church has another small foyer in the back before the main exit and entrance. In the back foyer there’s a staircase that leads to the bottom level of the church, where High Street hosts coffee hour after every Sunday service. The bottom level of the building has a rectangular room with tables for everyone to sit around for coffee hour. There are also a kitchen and multiple rooms used for a variety of reasons, such as offices or meeting rooms.
High Street Unitarian Universalist Church has a unique perspective on religious practices. The congregation describes itself as a community committed to helping individuals answer difficult questions with the help of all types of sacred and non-sacred texts, not just the Bible. In fact, according to one past church leader, it would be unlikely to find a Bible inside High Street. There are, however, foundational religious practices that are done at every Sunday service we attended as a group. One of these weekly practices included the lighting of the candles. Each week, the assigned worship associate welcomes to light a candle in honor of someone, to pray for someone or something, or for any grievances in general. This practice is also open to anyone attending online who wishes to participate. In addition to the weekly candle lighting, High Street also incorporates a practice of placing pebbles inside a water chalice. Similar to the lighting of candles, all members are invited to participate by placing a pebble within the chalice for the purposes of honoring someone, praying for something in particular, and for more general life challenges.
From the beginning of every service, High Street’s traditions are present. Every meeting starts with the lighting of the flaming chalice, a global symbol to all UUs. The chalice represents hope, with roots dating back to when UU’s would use it to mark safehouses for Jews to escape the Nazi regime. Despite being such a uniting symbol, not every congregation lights it at every service. For every meeting that occurs every other week also starts with sharing joys and woes from the congregants. The floor is open to anyone to share anything they want, from the congregants to the leaders. Whether it was celebrating the beating of an illness, getting out of jail, or even just being upset that they’ve had a lot to do at work, it’s all welcome at High Street UU. After someone shares a joy or woe, a candle gets lit in their honor, and the crowd rubs their hands together rather than claps. This is another unique practice to High Street. Instead of clapping, everyone rubs their hands together to show that they are in agreement or following the speaker. This is to prevent the sound of clapping from overwhelming individuals who may not like loud noises. During the actual service there were a couple practices done by the church that made the worship gathering environment more friendly as well. For example, it was typical when a member of the church who had a leadership role of some kind would always introduce themselves and mention their personal pronouns. These same leaders also explained the sequence of the service and cleared up any possible confusion about their service practices. All these practices made the worship gathering environment very welcoming, and the experience was that much easier to attend.
Currently, High Street is between leaders. The current minister, Rev. Amanda, recently moved to England and is working remotely part-time. This means that much of the work she used to do has been passed onto others in the community as the congregation tries to find a permanent replacement. In addition to Rev. Amanda, High Street also has a worship team leader, Rev. Arlen Goff. Arlen has been with High Street since the late eighties, and he believes this community is right where he needs to be. Arlen, however, does not lead everything by himself. There is currently a revolving door system for those who give the sermons. Every week there is a new individual in charge of the sermon. Oftentimes the speaker is someone who has a background in religion and has given sermons to other congregations before. However, sometimes the sermon is given by Arlen or a member of the local community. High Street is still currently searching for a new leader who will take over the day-to-day work Rev. Amanda once did full time.
Fellowship is a big priority for High Street. Before the service, congregants are mingling with smiles on their faces. You can tell how much the community appreciates newcomers. The first time we visited, even before we decided where we would sit, multiple people introduced themselves to us and asked us some questions about our visit. This felt so welcoming, because you can tell the community is super close-knit, and for them to see these three college students for the first time, and make them feel at home was very nice. After the service, conversations continued, some people began to talk about the service and its main message. Following every service, in the basement of the building there is a coffee hour. An assortment of food is offered like fruit, muffins, madeleines, and other small snacks. There are tables and chairs down there for people to sit at, where, as expected, more people were conversing openly.
High Street places a heavy emphasis on acceptance. Their understanding of acceptance focuses on accepting those in need, the disabled, LGBTQ+ individuals, and many others. While they have a more liberal viewpoint, they also acknowledge the importance of accepting conservatives and individuals who support the Make American Great Again (MAGA) movement. This idea of acceptance also applies to oneself. There was a heavy focus on accepting yourself with your anxieties and fears. At certain points during our visits, there was also a focus on the acceptance of needing help from others for what you are going through. In addition to acceptance, High Street also places a heavy emphasis on giving help to those who need it. Every meeting mentioned their outreach and activism, and how they encourage their congregants to go to these events and help seek justice for everyone in need.
Outside the building, there is a Black Lives Matter flag. Before even walking in, you can already sense the type of community they are. Papers are passed out at each service that include volunteer opportunities where congregants can give back to the community. A big emphasis was put on the Macon Pride Festival, which highlights the LGBTQ+ community in Macon. High Street is a loud and proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Some members spoke about their process of coming out of the closet, but the congregants make sure they feel welcome and let them know they are not alone on their journey. High Street also mentions helping individuals from minority backgrounds, since they know what its like to be a small community.
It is clear that High Street loves to get its members involved in the service. A very prominent part of their services involves singing. This is not just your average choir or just one person singing, the whole congregation sings. Books that contain the lyrics to every song sung are behind each seat so the members rely on that to sing along. Also, at multiple times throughout the service, prompts were put on the two screens in the front, and members would read it aloud. Another big part of the service is the part where members can come up to the stage and light a candle about a joy or concern in their life. During our first visit, it seemed like members were hesitant to go on stage, but after the first person went, more and more people followed more fluidly. As aforementioned, following the service a coffee hour is offered. Members appreciate this dearly. One board member explained that sometimes they have to figuratively push people out of the church because they stay and chat for so long.
As mentioned before, High Street puts a high value on member experiences by making sure all members are properly welcomed, accepting all people regardless of anything that other churches might judge them on, such as past religious beliefs. This theme was also very prevalent in the personal experiences of the church leaders and members interviewed by our group. In one particular interview, a past congregational leader and long-time member emphasized consistently accepting new members. The past leader spoke on how he viewed the church as a place for its members or newcomers to explore and face a variety of religious concepts regardless of previous beliefs. The church believes members are the biggest foundational pillar of the community, and it is evident in how everyone is welcomed by the current congregants. They explained, the job of the church is to help, assist, and provide the members with a place to explore these concepts and to provide a proper place to worship for people who agree with Unitarian Universalist views.
High Street Unitarian Universalist makes it clear that inclusion and openness are not ideals, but practices within their congregation. Whether it is helping a congregant get released from prison, or helping another one on their journey of discovering their true self, High Street always lends a hand. After attending the congregation and listening to members talk about the church in such high regards, it is evident that High Street Unitarian Universalist embodies a welcoming, engaging community.
Jocelyn Ramirez is a sophomore double majoring in Law and Public Policy and Environmental Engineering.
Sering Senghore is a sophomore majoring in Finance.
Johnathan Stowers is a sophomore majoring in Computer Science.
The Macon Religious Communities Project 