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“A Brief History of the Circular Church.” Circular Congregational Church, https://www.circularchurch.org/history
“Circular Congregational Church.” Charter for Compassion, https://charterforcompassion.org/circular-congregational-church
“Media.” Circular Congregational Church, 14 Nov. 2021, https://www.circularchurch.org/content.cfm?id=213&amp;start_row=1&amp;total_count=115&amp;category=1&amp;speaker=14&amp;series=All&amp;sort=0
DENNIS, RICKEY CIAPHA. “SC Gravestone Carvers Strive to Keep Ancient Tradition ...” US News, The Post and Courier/Associated Press, 5 Nov. 2021, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-carolina/articles/2021-11-15/sc-gravestone-carvers-strive-to-keep-ancient-tradition-alive
Keller, Bert. “Aging for Amateurs: Every Lament Is A Love Song.” Post and Courier, The Post and Courier, 1 Nov. 2021, https://www.postandcourier.com/columnists/aging-for-amateurs-every-lament-is-a-love-song/article_a8c37984-3734-11ec-9ced-a7b1bc702ad6.html
“Log in or Sign up to View.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/circularchurch/reviews/?ref=page_internal
“Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ - La Declaración De Fe De La Iglesia Unida De Cristo.” United Church of Christ, 12 Mar. 2021, https://www.ucc.org/what-we-believe/worship/statement-of-faith/
Barnhart, William. “Inscriptions from the Independent or Congregational (Circular) Church Yard, Charleston, S. C.” The South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 69, no. 4, South Carolina Historical Society, 1968, pp. 253–61, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27566903

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The space influences local surroundings by making the area around the church “feel” like a sacred area. Since the church has such a rich and diverse history and it stands out so much due to it's circular shape, it gives the space a specific "vibe" or "feel". The graveyard also makes the space sacred because there’s so much history within the graveyard.

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Engaging with Charleston institutions, spaces, and networks 

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Engaging with Charleston institutions, spaces, and networks 

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According to the church’s website, “In recent years, this church was instrumental in founding the city's first marriage and family counseling center, Charleston's crisis intervention service (Hotline), Hospice of Charleston, and the Elder Shelter. Space and leadership were provided to the Charleston Interfaith Crisis Ministry, Amnesty International, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Charleston PEACE, and other community organizations.” The website also says "The church “celebrates many ecumenical and interfaith partnerships in their work toward a more just, equitable, and sustainable Lowcountry.” This is how the church engages and interacts with local Charleston organizations.

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The church does not identify as a specific denomination of Christianity, however they are apart of a larger Christian organization called the United Church of Christ.

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I watched an online service from Sunday, November 14th, 2021 that was linked to the church's website. These are the notes that I took:

Start off service with music and a prayer and a moment of silence for peace

Two different people give meaningful speeches about reflecting on life during the pandemic (the man) and the women gave a space about learning to sit back, relax, and enjoy the things we have in life.

After another song, the reverend gave the sermon. He talked about anxiety and depression. He talked about a philosopher William James’s struggle, and his own struggle with anxiety. He goes into how we tend to struggle with getting ahead of ourselves and imagining all the things that can go wrong, he goes into living the moment. “Why should we leave these things behind in order to rush ahead?”

He concludes his sermon with reminding the congregation that many people we talk to on a daily basis aren’t doing as well as they may seem, and we should do what we can to look out for each other, spread love, and appreciate the things we have in the moment. He says a prayer talking about how god is a symbol of mystery, and a sign of love and joy, and in the prayer the writer suffers with anxiety and wonders if god is anxious as well. It seems that the reverend used this to help the congregation relate their experiences to god, and to help them find an outlet to deal with the anxieties they face on a daily basis.

Music is played again, They end by saying the lords prayer as a congregation. Music is played once again to end the service

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We record and share podcasts of our Sunday services and other important conversations, and we invite you to listen and subscribe to our podcast in iTunes. Podcasts of our worship services typically contain the Welcome, Prayer of Confession, Children's Time, Teaching, Prayer, and Benediction.

Our senior minister, Jeremy Rutledge, also shares many of his Sunday teachings on his blog, Charleston Kahu, which you can also subscribe to.

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We record and share podcasts of our Sunday services and other important conversations, and we invite you to listen and subscribe to our podcast in iTunes. Podcasts of our worship services typically contain the Welcome, Prayer of Confession, Children's Time, Teaching, Prayer, and Benediction.

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According to the Circular Congregational Church's website, when it comes to the churches beliefs, they say that “Our faith is rooted in Jesus Christ, whom we endeavor to follow in the radical way of progressive Christianity. That is, we believe the Bible is truthful but not literal, that God is a living Presence but not a dominating white man in the sky, that Jesus is a person of the Spirit and of saving wisdom but not a sacrifice to an offended God. We commit ourselves to equal and utmost respect of persons, joyful worship, theological discipline and discovery, social justice and dignity, and collegial leadership.”

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According to the Circular Congregational Church's website, "communion is practiced on the first Sunday of every month."
When I watched the online service, there were moments where the congregation would stand up to sing, and then they'd listen to homily's and announcements during the service.

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When I watched the online service, it seemed like there was a wide range of men and women who seemed to range from middle aged people to seniors. It looked like there was some upper elementary kids there as well. The congregation was mostly white and seemed to mostly be middle class. During the service, people were allowed to sit down, however there were rules with social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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Outside, the church has a circular base with a one tower in the middle. The main thing that makes the space sacred is the circular design, and how that was built from the original first sanctuary. The reason that design is considered so sacred is because of how old the church is, and the history of the church, the members, and the space. The space is unique to the tradition when it comes to the circular setting. The tower is similar to what other denominations of Christianity have on their church's. The church's architecture  is similar to other Christian denominations, but the church being built in a circle along with the cloverleaf shape incorporated into the church that's standing today is something that's unique to Circular Congregational church.

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The church and its mission have not always been understood by outsiders. Because the church was non-anglican and didn’t abide by a specific domination, it became a voice and a beacon for revolutionary sentiment in the colony during the revolutionary war. According to the Circular Congressional Church's website, “Prominent members of the Meeting House, and its distinguished minister, William Tennent (1772-1777), were frequently heard speaking for political and religious freedom.”
When the British captured Charleston, multiple families that were a part of the church were illegally exiled to Saint Augustine. The British took over the old meeting house, made into a hospital, and the building was eventually left a shell until the first circular church was built in 1801.

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When the church was first founded by the English Congregationalists, Scots Presbyterians, and French Huguenots, they were the ones to use it. It was originally a Presbyterian church and had no name on record. During the late colonial period, the church was under pressure to be called a Presbyterian, congregational, or independent, but it didn’t identify as either. Instead, the church thought it was something different and distinct. (Church records, 2/5/1775).
In 1780, the British took over the space when they took over Charleston and used it as a hospital. Several families that attend the church were exiled because they weren't apart of the Anglican Church and for speaking up for Independence during the revolutionary war. In 1787, An emergency meeting was held in Philadelphia where exiled members voted to go back to Charleston and find another minister.  A second meeting house was built on Archdale street, and services were held there for over 25 years. In the 1820’s-1860’s, which was considered the church’s golden years, the church had a large congregation of white and black members, including governors and important state and local leaders. Many slaves and poor people whose names were unknown to anyone beyond its walls were also apart of the congregation. The church has always been welcoming to everyone, and it still is today.

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The church was founded by Charles Towne's (Charlestons) original settlers in 1681. The city's first meeting house was also on this property. Services were originally held in the meeting house, which was enlarged in 1732 to house a growing congregation. The third structure, which was the first circular church, was built in 1801. The members of the congregation call it Old circular. It burned down in 1864, and bricks from that structure were used to build the structure standing today that was finished in 1892. In 1838, an 182 feet steeple was raised and added to the structure. In 1861, the first circular church burned down. The church that stands today finished in 1890 and was built in a  Romanesque style. The inside of the church was restored in 1987