Scott Neely (he/him)
UUCS Minister
Scott Neely has served as minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg, SC since August 2017. He also directs the Faith Initiative To End Child Poverty, a coalition of congregations working to end child poverty in Spartanburg County. He is a graduate of Wofford College and Harvard Divinity School.
Neely has helped with the development of these community initiatives:
- Speaking Down Barriers, an organization that uses art and facilitated dialogue to build our life together across the differences that divide us. As part of the Speaking Down Barriers team he presented a TEDx talk on race and racism entitled “What Will I Teach My Son?“
- The Fund to Support Latinx Immigrants, a statewide coalition of immigration advocacy groups to provide direct assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic to individuals and families who are Latinx immigrants in South Carolina.
- LGBTQ Theologies, a coalition of people of faith – individuals, congregations, and clergy – building a network of support for the LGBTQ+ community and issues in Upstate SC.
- The Project for Community Transformation, an initiative to help individuals, organizations, and congregations energize and thrive, for the purpose of serving their communities more effectively. This project merged with Speaking Down Barriers in 2017.
Neely has taught religion and the humanities at the University of South Carolina-Upstate and Wofford College. He is co-author of the book Into the Field of Suffering: Finding the Other Side of Burnout with David Schenck, published by Oxford University Press. A practicing artist, his work may be found here.
Contact Scott minister@uucs.org
Anne Garner (she/her)
Assistant Minister
Hospitality, justice, and radical love have defined Anne Garner’s work for the last three decades. She is a graduate of Furman University and earned her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the progressive Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN. Anne completed a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) Residency at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic. A lifelong member of First Baptist Church-Greenville, SC, she has served there for many years, both as support staff and in various volunteer capacities, including the chair of deacons. What began in September 2018 as a one-year Supervised Ministry as part of her theological training evolved into Anne serving here at UUCS ever since, focusing on pastoral care, social justice, worship leadership, and youth. Her goal is to help build the Beloved Community wherever she is. She has co-developed and leads the LGBTQ Theologies project, a network of people of faith and congregations building support for the LGBTQ+ community in Upstate SC. Her colleagues describe her as a “theological logistician”: a visionary whose gift of practicality brings what we dream of to life.
Contact Anne asst.minister@uucs.org
Virginia McLean (she/her)
Director of Religious Education
Virginia McLean is passionate about walking beside people through their faith journey. She believes that through caring conversations, service to others, and rich traditions we can see the holy in the everyday. Virginia also believes that intergenerational worship and activities is an important part of a thriving, healthy, and fun congregation. Virginia earned a Master of Arts in Religion with a focus in educational ministry from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. She has served in children and family, youth, and camp ministry settings over the past 20 years, helping others to find the sacred in the mundane. Outside of working at UUCS, Virginia is also a co-founder and the executive director for Spartanburg Creative Reuse Art Project (SCRAP), a nonprofit that promotes artistic expression and environmental awareness through creative reuse. She is also a practicing artist. You can find images of her work on Instagram (@virginialeemclean.art).
Contact Virginia dre@uucs.org
DRE Office Hours: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Mondays or by appointment