History - All Souls Waccamaw UU Church, Myrtle Beach, SC

In 1987 or a little earlier, Ken Gridley and Nate Crounce began to discuss the possibility of starting a Unitarian Universalist Congregation in the Myrtle Beach area. Quoting Ken, "Nate and I thought it up." Ken placed an ad in the Myrtle Beach Sun News seeking other Unitarian Universalists. The ad drew no response, so he wrote to the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) in Boston seeking information on how to start a church. Rev. George Exoo had left the Charleston, South Carolina church and wanted to start a new congregation on the Grand Strand. From his contacts and names from CLF, including Ken's, a group of interested people formed, and over lunches and pot-luck dinners a sense of community began to build, which culminated in the first service.

On Easter Sunday, April 19, 1987, All Souls Waccamaw held that first service. It was held at a Myrtle Beach hotel and was conducted by the Rev. George Exoo. His sermon title was "Life is Hard, That's Why There's Easter".

A name for this fledgling congregation was needed. After much discussion, "All Souls Waccamaw" was agreed upon. "All Souls" is a revered name claimed by many Unitarian Universalist churches, and "Waccamaw" defines our region, as well as being the name of one of the loveliest rivers in the country. In speaking of our society, it was customary in those days to call it "All Souls Waccamaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship", and sometimes "All Souls Waccamaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Myrtle Beach", often remarked to be the longest name of any existing Unitarian Universalist congregation.

1987: All Souls Waccamaw Banner

Nearly six feet in height, the All Souls Waccamaw banner was made by Rebecca Ann Marck (Becky), of the Charleston Unitarian Church, in 1987.

"All Souls" is a popular name with UU's. Waccamaw was added because it was the name of this religious region in colonial times. The doves represent the souls of the faithful. The colors are those of All Souls Day - 4 silver doves on a black field.

1987-2009: "Church in a Box"
For the next twenty-two years, All Souls Waccamaw had no permanent meeting place. Over the years we met in members' homes, in a storefront bridge club, in a senior day-care center, in the Grand Strand Senior Center, and at various Myrtle Beach hotels. Services were held in Fall, Winter, and Spring, limited to 3 meetings per month until the year 2000, then expanding to weekly meetings. Our landlords provided us with little or no storage space, so a lot of our "stuff" was housed in members' homes, and brought to services each Sunday - thus the name "Church in a Box".

September 2000: An Early Ending - Almost
Over the summer of 2000, an unusual combination of events resulted in the resignation of three of the four members of the Board of Trustees who were supposed to lead the congregation in Church Year 2000-2001. No one from the congregation, then very small, was able to take over any of these positions.

A meeting of the congregation was called in September, for the purpose of plannng the disposal of the assets of All Souls Waccamaw, and the official disbanding of the congregation.

In attendance at that meeting were three Unitarian Universalists from elsewhere, Fred and Rho Anderson and Don Lacy, all of whom had recently moved to the area. By chance, the three were seated at the same table. Upon hearing of the purpose of the meeting, one of the three looked at the other two, and said (paraphrasing), "We can't let this happen." The three volunteered to lead an effort to sustain the existence of the congregation.

At a subsequent meeting, a Sunday or two later, Fred was elected as Congregation President, a position he would hold for five years, Don was elected as Vice President, and Rho as Treasurer. Norma Simpson remained in her position as Secretary. Over the years, Fred, Don, Rho, and Norma have each held several other leadership positions.

2008-2009: New Church Building
Located at 7185 SC-Hwy 707, across from the Socastee Post Office, a house was purchased for All Souls Waccamaw to be converted to our church. Heavy construction, was done by contractors, while much of the painting and other finishing work was done by members and friends of the congregation. On May 17, 2009, All Souls Waccamaw held its first service at our new building. A week later, on May 24, we had the Dedication Service. More pictures here and here.