We gather in faith as a community of compassionate, thoughtful people.
We are courageous in our fight for equity and caring of this world and each other. We explore our diverse spiritual paths in our beautiful, difficult lives, together.
ALL are welcome!
Our Staff
Charlotte Klasson
Administration Manager
Cynthia Ramirez
Director of Religious Education
Board of Trustees
Board Members at Large: board@ccuunola.org
Elizabeth Killeen
Janet Lipp
In 2011, we held our first service in our beautiful solar-powered church, hired a Director of Religious Education, and our social justice ministry grew by leaps and bounds.
In 2017 Rev. Jim retired and the Board contracted with the Rev. Darcy Roake. Rev. Darcy was our marvelous minister until 2021.
We are flourishing once again with great Religious Education, Music & Worship Programs and wonderful Ministries!
We welcome all who wish to join us!
Community Church Unitarian Universalist (CCUU) was founded in 1958 by a group who departed from First Unitarian Universalist Church.
In 1968, CCUU merged with another UU Community, the West Bank Fellowship. They called their first minister in 1970, the Rev. Jim Jones, and soon found a property at 6690 Fleur de Lis. The church held its first service in its own building in 1973, with a sermon by the Rev. Matthew McNaught, who remained CCUU’s Minister for five years.
The church continued to grow over the next decades with two more ministers. In 2002, we welcomed our fifth minister, the Rev. Jim VanderWeele. Under his leadership, things were looking up.
in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck. The church was destroyed and we lost half of our congregation, scattered to the four winds. Once able to return to the city, we held joint services with First UU, and then wandered as a “church in a box” – renting a chapel at UNO and a synagogue in Metairie.
Rev. Jim remained steadfast and we moved back to Lakeview to help the neighborhood recover and to reestablish ourselves. We bought the house adjacent to the former church, and held our first service there in July 2007.
A Building Committee soon drew up plans for a new, environmentally friendly church. With help from churches and UUs around the country, we joined forces with First UU and the North Shore congregation to form the Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists (GNOUU).
GNOUU implemented a national capital campaign for Church recovery and established the Center for Ethical Living and Social justice Renewal, a non-profit that works with community partners.