It's Spirited Brunch Sunday
It's Spirited Brunch Sunday
What to know before setting out on the self-guided snack tour
Back when “going to work” meant “leaving the house,” I walked every morning from my house to the newsroom. Regardless of which route I followed, I would pass four or five churches on the way.
It’s worth noting this stroll took about 10 minutes.
I got curious about what was happening behind the doors to those houses of worship, which were locked up tight during the week. Because most of the buildings had cornerstones indicating they’d stood there for a very long time, I was sure each of them was home to significant histories, cherished traditions, and faith practices that had seen Charlestonians through hard times.
That much I knew. What amounted to pure speculation on my part was the theory that those components would show up in the food served by resident congregations.
Fortunately, my friend Elijah Siegler, a religious studies professor at the College of Charleston and avid eater, shared my belief. Together, we organized the first Spirited Brunch in 2017, billing the event as “a free self-guided snack tour of downtown Charleston’s prayerful spaces.”
With the help and support of the Charleston Interreligious Council, we persuaded more than one dozen faith communities to open their doors on a springtime Sunday afternoon and provide samples of a dish representative of their membership or spiritual perspective. Attendees were treated to fried chicken at Morris Brown AME, caramel cake at First Baptist, and noodle kugel at Brith Sholom Beth Israel, along with inside looks at exemplars of the city’s most stunning architecture.
This Sunday, the Spirited Brunch is back, following a two-year hiatus for the pandemic. Everyone is welcome to visit the below houses of worship from 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. There is no set itinerary for the tour: Participants can visit all, one, or some congregations in whatever order they choose.
Since its start, the event has grown. In addition to drawing hundreds of tourgoers annually, it now includes a central event hub on campus where delegates of congregations with off-peninsula locations can share their traditions. Members of the Sikh community, who in 2021 opened a permanent gurdwara just north of Charleston, will be joining us for the first time this year.
Of course, I realize this information is mostly useful to people within driving distance of Charleston (although I wouldn’t stop anyone from boarding a plane to the festivities!) But I’m subjecting The Food Section’s readers to event details for two reasons:
First, the Spirited Brunch is emblematic of what this newsletter aims to do on a twice-weekly basis. Namely, it’s supposed to excite curiosities and appetites, and supply the information needed to better understand and appreciate where we live.
Second, I would love to see the Spirited Brunch replicated in other places. This idea is free for the stealing: Please get in touch if you’re interested in producing a similar program in your hometown.
From year to year, our lineup changes slightly. For example, the French Huguenot Church couldn’t participate this time around because the event coincides with its French Service, and Mt. Zion AME had to bow out because of construction. But whatever the mix of congregations, the Spirited Brunch is always a showcase for diversity and deliciousness (as well as an astounding number of “first” and “only” achievements.)
I hope you will join us.
The following houses of worship are participating in the Spirited Brunch on Sunday, May 15. If you’re taking the tour, you can access the same overview through a mobile app illustrated with images of the congregations and annotated with parking advice. Attendees can also pick up printed maps at Spirited Brunch headquarters at the Alumni Center, 86 Wentworth St.
Calvary Episcopal Church, 106 Line St.
Organized in 1847 as the city's first Episcopal congregation for enslaved and free Black worshippers, Calvary was housed in a stuccoed brick church acclaimed as "a bit of old Rome," for nearly a century; it was forced to move when the Charleston Housing Authority wanted the land beneath the building for a housing project for white people. Throughout its history, Calvary has stressed education, once running the only preschool and kindergarten on the peninsula for African-American children.
In 2006, Calvary was the site of the ordination of three Black priests, an occurrence without precedent in the South Carolina diocese. The church is serving okra soup, shrimp over rice, and macaroni-and-cheese to reflect its members' African heritage.
Bonus: Calvary has created a display about its history to share with Spirited Brunchers.
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 120 Broad St.
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, founded in 1821, is the only Catholic Cathedral in the state of South Carolina. The current Cathedral was consecrated in 1907. The steeple and bells were added in 2010 and an interior renovation was completed in July 2020.
Bonus: "It is an extra special day," the church's administrator writes. "We [will] welcome the Fourteenth Bishop of Charleston as he formally takes possession of his Cathedral that day at our 11:15 am Mass." As such, St. John is serving celebratory “brunch food” in his honor.
Know before you go: Tours will be offered only at 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Please gather on the front steps of the Cathedral.
Central Mosque of Charleston, 1082 King St.
Central Mosque of Charleston is the largest mosque in the tri-county area and is home to a multinational community of Muslims. The mosque will serve basbousa, a syrup-soaked semolina cake popular with members originally from the Middle East.
Bonus: Members will be available during the tour to answer questions about the Muslim faith.
Know before you go: Modest dress is required to enter the sanctuary; pants are preferred.
Charleston Baha’i Community, 2 Desportes Ct.
The Baha'i Spiritual Assembly, the local branch of an almost 200-year-old faith that stresses the oneness of mankind and the oneness of world religions, in 2003 opened the nation’s first Baha’i museum in the Charleston single house that was the boyhood home of Louis G. Gregory. Gregory, a prominent Baha’i teacher, was influential in bringing fellow Black South Carolinians to the faith.
The community will serve a diverse selection of fruit as a nod to a quote from the faith's founder, Baha'u'llah: "Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch...So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."
Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St.
Charles Towne's English Congregationalists, Scottish Presbyterians, and French Huguenots, better known as dissenters, in the early 1680s co-founded the congregation that would later be known as Circular. Affiliated with the United Church of Christ, Circular is serving Moravian buns, the buttery yeast bread traditionally prepared for Ash Wednesday.
This year's menu also includes Wrapped Olive Delights, spinach balls and basil lemonade from the church's cookbook. "All of those items reflect our environmental commitment to food that is local," an organizer explains.
Bonus: Members of the church encourage visitors to visit its "famous graveyard."
First Church of Christ, Scientist, 137 Moultrie St.
Charleston's First Church of Christ, Scientist, observed its centennial in 2016. A branch of The Mother Church in Boston, the congregation is treating visitors to a taste of its Thanksgiving. "That holiday is celebrated by Christian Scientists with our whole heart, soul, and mind, expressing gratitude to our Creator," church member Sarah Hyatt says. To symbolize that special service, the church is serving pumpkin muffins and punch.
Bonus: First Church of Christ, Scientist, will conduct sanctuary tours during the event and distribute a handout with information about the church's history.
Grace Church Cathedral, 98 Wentworth St.
Founded in 1846, Grace Church Cathedral in 2015 was designated as the cathedral of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina diocese. As a preview of its annual tearoom, which annually raises $80,000 for charity, Grace is serving pimento cheese sandwiches, brownies, and iced tea. This year's tearoom will be held May 30-June 4.
Bonus: Grace's cookbook, which includes a recipe for the church's signature okra soup, will be available for sale in the church bookstore.
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 30 Race St.
South Carolina's first Greek Orthodox church opened in 1911 on Fishburne and St. Philip streets; the original church was torn down to make room for Interstate 26. Holy Trinity annually hosts the city's oldest festival, during which thousands of gyro platters are sold. "Our culture is part and parcel of our faith and heritage," an organizer says of Holy Trinity's decision to serve a selection of Greek pastries.
Bonus: Sanctuary tours will be offered during the event, and the church's award-winning cookbook will be available for sale.
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, 90 Hasell St.
First founded in 1749, KKBE is now the longest-running Reform Jewish congregation in the country. It's serving rugelach, black-and-white cookies and babka because the cookies and sweet yeast cake, traditional in Ashkenazi Jewish households, are served after weekly Shabbat services.
Bonus: KKBE will conduct sanctuary tours and sell its cookbook during the event.
Know before you go: Strollers aren't permitted on tours.
St. Johannes Lutheran Church, 48 Hasell St.
When St. Matthews moved to King Street in 1878, a group of members decided to return to the church's original location and conduct services in German; St. Johannes stuck to German until 1910. It will serve German apple cake and tea, in keeping with the menu for St. Johannes' twice-yearly dessert tearooms.
Bonus: The church will offer sanctuary tours during the event. Tearoom cookbooks will also be available for sale.
St. John’s Lutheran Church, 5 Clifford St.
St. John's Lutheran traces its history to 1742, when the man who forged the American denomination of Lutheran churches stopped by Charleston for a two-day visit. Its current home was completed in 1817. To celebrate the priority that the congregation places on fellowship, it will serve German desserts drawn from the church's cookbook.
Bonus: The church will offer sanctuary tours during the event. Cookbooks will also be available for sale, and an organist will be at the church to play throughout the event.
St. Mary of the Annunciation, 95 Hasell St.
Considered the mother church of Catholicism in the Carolinas and Georgia, St. Mary's was established in 1789, when the city's small number of Roman Catholics feared they'd court discrimination by identifying themselves. St. Mary's is serving the ham biscuits and deviled eggs that members of the small congregation enjoy while "talking with each other and catching up on the week's events."
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 405 King St.
St. Matthews Lutheran Church is no longer known as St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church, but the church remains true to the heritage of the Charlestonians who founded the congregation in 1840. It plans to serve German wafers and German chocolate cookies, some of them made in an old-fashioned press.
St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, 624 Rutledge Ave.
St. Paul recently celebrated its 130th anniversary with the motto, "We're still standing." The predominantly Black congregation is serving shrimp-and-grits for the Spirited Brunch because the dish has deep roots in the Lowcountry, same as St. Paul's.
The Unitarian Church in Charleston, 4 Archdale St.
The second-oldest church on the peninsula, The Unitarian Church in Charleston is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Because the Unitarian faith has no religiously significant foods, the congregation is serving Thomas Jefferson's deviled eggs and Abigail Adams' apple pan dowdy; both presidential families practiced Unitarianism.
Bonus: During the event, the church will offer tours of its sanctuary and courtyard. Its cookbook also will be available for sale.
The following congregations will table in the Alumni Center, 86 Wentworth St.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a worldwide presence, with more than 16 million members. Those living here will serve Salt Lake City temple-shaped chocolates and mini dinner rolls with homemade strawberry preserves and honey: Bread represents the body of Jesus; honey symbolizes the industriousness of bees.
Hindu Temple of Charleston
The Hindu Temple is relatively new to the Spirited Brunch, but as Randhir S. Makkar notes, "We are the oldest religion in the world." The Hindu Temple of Charleston moved into its West Ashley home in 2010; interested tourgoers can arrange to visit on another day, Makkar says. Hindu Temple members plan to serve rice biryani as an example of a prasad, or vegetarian dish offered to a deity during worship.
Iglesia de Dios Nuevo Comienzo
The six-year-old Nuevo Comienzo started as a Bible study group in the home of pastors' Israel and Valerie Ortiz. It’s grown into a "multicultural, multi-generational congregation that worships the Lord with the sounds, colors and customs" of the different Latin American countries represented by its members. Nuevo Comienzo will serve pastries and chili-spiced fruit cups in honor of their birthplaces.
The Salvation Army Church of Charleston
The Salvation Army's mission is "to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination," which during World War I it famously did with doughnuts. The Salvation Army's Donut Lassies delivered hot pastries to cold troops on the front lines; the church's local branch will serve cake doughnuts made according to the Lassies' recipe.
Sikh Gurdwara Nanak Dabar
After years of borrowing space from the Hindu Temple, the Charleston area Sikh community in 2021 opened its own gurdwara in Goose Creek. At all gurdwaras around the world, a shared vegetarian meal is served freely. To offer a taste of that langar, volunteers from the community will serve meatless pulao, potato cutlets and a sweet pudding which has been blessed.
Synagogue Emanu-El
Synagogue Emanu-El was the first Conservative Jewish congregation in South Carolina: It identifies itself as "a community of caring." Emanu-El will serve fruits and nuts as a symbol of its solidarity with Israel. NOTE: Synagogue Emanu-El will set up its station at KKBE, one of the downtown congregations along the tour route.
Victory Family Summerville
One of half a dozen South Carolina parishes of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Victory Family belongs to a Pentecostal megachurch created in Lagos, Nigeria in 1952. In recognition of its ties to West Africa, where the RCCG is still headquartered, Victory will serve jollof rice.
Church food! Coolio!
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is at 120 Broad St. not King.