First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio

08/20/2026

The congregation gave an enthusiastic welcome to Rev. Rachael Hayes during First UU San Antonio's annual Ingathering & Water Communion Service and the potluck that followed.

08/14/2026

Please join us for this Sunday's Service, August 16th, as we welcome our new minister, Rev. Rachael Hayes, to the pulpit. We are excited to hear her preach and to begin this new chapter of ministry together.

Following the service, please stay for a reception in the Fellowship Hall as we celebrate Rev. Rachael’s arrival and our new beginnings at First UU San Antonio. Cake and beverages will be provided, so there is no need to bring anything except your wonderful selves.

We look forward to sharing this joyful occasion and celebrating as a community.

08/06/2026

The last four Sundays in August - 3:00 pm in the Sanctuary

08/04/2026

First UU San Antonio is proud to announce our new Director of Lifespan Religious Education, Bellamy Shoffner (they/she). Bellamy is a dedicated religious educator and social justice advocate. Bellamy's official start date will be August 24th. We are planning a potluck celebration to welcome them on August 30th. Please be on the lookout for more details soon!

07/31/2026

07/22/2026

San Antonio serves as a major regional hub for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with ICE offices located in the city. The Central Texas Detention Facility at 218 S. Laredo St., has a capacity of more than 680 beds. The city is also surrounded by several other large immigration detention facilities within a 30–90 minute drive.

The expansion of ICE detention capacity nationwide has been fueled by billions of dollars allocated through Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes approximately $45 billion designated for increasing immigration detention capacity. ICE has developed plans to acquire and convert large industrial warehouses into detention and processing facilities.

Among the facilities already purchased by the federal government is a 639,595-square-foot warehouse located at 542 S.E. Loop 410 on San Antonio’s East Side. ICE purchased the property for $66.1 million and has announced plans to convert it into a processing facility capable of handling up to 1,500 individuals. The facility was initially expected to open in 2026, but the timeline has since been delayed, with a projected opening in early 2027.

A protest of the detention center was held on Saturday, July 18. Various community groups gathered in front of the proposed ICE facility to protest its planned use. ERO officers were on site. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is the domestic enforcement arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Unlike Border Patrol agents who secure the physical borders, ERO officers operate entirely within the interior of the United States.

Despite the intense summer heat, demonstrators stood along Loop 410 waving signs to passing traffic, receiving numerous honks and expressions of support from drivers. Among those participating was a dedicated group from First Unitarian Universalist San Antonio.

07/13/2026

Our new settled minister is almost here!

It’s an exciting time in the life of our church! Our new minister, Rev. Rachael Hayes, will be here very soon. She will attend her first service on Sunday, August 2, and will deliver her first sermon from the pulpit on Sunday, August 16.

Many of you had the opportunity to meet Rev. Rachael and hear her preach at two services during a busy and festive candidating week in April. At the end of that week, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to call her as our new settled minister.

This is a truly historic moment for our church family. Rev. Rachael Hayes will become the first woman to serve as lead minister of First UU San Antonio in our 81-year history. We celebrate not only this milestone, but the love, wisdom, and fresh energy she brings to our beloved community.

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, FL, in 2017 and 2018. She later continued as their summer minister while completing her Clinical Pastoral Education internship with the VITAS Healthcare hospice. Since 2019, she has served as the settled minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, MA, where she has been deeply loved and respected.

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!

07/08/2026

Please join us immediately after Sunday’s service on July 12th in the Lounge and Fellowship Hall for a farewell reception honoring Dr. Xolani Kacela and Tamara