Your Unitarian church, your community centre,
your venue for social change
OUR COMMUNITY
Lewisham Unity is a liberal religious community with its roots in the Unitarian faith. It’s a place where we gather to create the future we want to be part of through personal change and community connection. We say it’s where sacred meets social.
At Lewisham Unity we believe that we are more than the sum of our parts; that we are responsible for the future of the world in which we live, and that to live fully, human spiritual nourishment is central to our being. A sense of God in whatever way we experience that, of the power of love to make change, and of powerful need for belonging all bring us together as what one writer has called ‘enchanted activists’.
We are based in a detached Edwardian house in Catford, set back from the road in a quiet, tree-filled, rambling garden. We are self-governed, support local campaigns and charities, and love to share good food with each other.
Our Minister
Rev. Julio Torres
Rev. Julio Torres is an immigrant from the U.S. and been in the UK since 2018. He and his wife Chandni both work in London. Julio's passion for ministry is centered on the Poor People's Campaign both the 1967-68 led by Martin Luther King, and its recent incarnation which launched in 2018. The basis of this is that the Beloved Community can exist once an intersectional approach is taken to social justice which links poverty, militarism, and discrimination (racism and sexism to name a few). Then humanity can live with abundance, peace and equality.
Julio believes Lewisham Unity can have a part to play in the local area as a sanctuary of spirituality and justice. It has many strengths as we support each other as a religious community and also the wider neighbourhood.
Our Minister Emeritus
Rev. Claire MacDonald
Claire served Lewisham Unity as our official minister from October 2017-July 2022. She continues to be a part of our community as our "Minister Emeritus". In this respect, she takes services a few times a year, joins some of our special events, and is very much still part of our spiritual family.
Claire says: "I discovered Unitarianism when I was living in America in the early 2000s, and became a committed Unitarian in York about ten years ago. I immediately felt at home in that caring, thoughtful congregation and it was there that I began to lead services and to become more interested in Unitarianism as a distinctive, deeply spiritual, socially conscious approach to life. Unitarianism is rooted in hope. It embraces our passionate commitment to human flourishing and works for a better world for all people."
OUR VALUES
Our values are rooted in the sanctity of all beings. We believe that no matter who you love, what you look like, where you come from, and what God looks like to you, you are worthy and you are welcome.
We believe that we must all work together to create the change we want to see in the world. We strive to be "enchanted activists" working toward social change, custodians of this earth and guardians of its inhabitants.