04/27/2026
✨ Joyful News from First UU San Antonio! ✨
First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio is absolutely thrilled to announce that Rev. Rachael Hayes has accepted our Call to settled ministry and will officially join our congregation on August 1, 2026! After an incredibly engaging, heartfelt, and festive candidating week filled with connection, inspiration, laughter, and hope, our community is overjoyed to begin this exciting new chapter together.
Rev. Rachael brings with her a wealth of experience, compassion, and visionary leadership. She attended Union Theological Seminary in New York and served as the intern minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boca Raton from 2017 to 2018, later continuing as their summer minister while completing her Clinical Pastoral Education internship with VITAS Healthcare hospice. Since 2019, she has served as the settled minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, where she has been deeply loved and respected.
This is a truly historic moment for our church family. In our 81-year history, Rev. Rachael Hayes will become the first woman to serve as lead minister of First UU San Antonio. We celebrate not only this milestone, but the love, wisdom, and fresh energy she brings to our beloved community.
We look forward with open hearts and great joy to welcoming Rev. Rachael Hayes and her partner, Alison Garcia, to San Antonio. The future is bright, and we cannot wait to grow, serve, and dream together in the years ahead. 💛✨