Aloha. For the safety of all attending worship service and events, vaccination & boosters are urged for those who are eligible, and masks are strongly recommended.
Rev. Dr. Gregory C. Carrow-Boyd, CRE–LL has served the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu since January 2023. He holds an EdD in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California (2022). He also has a BS in bilingual education from Boston University (2010), an MEd in teaching and curriculum (2011), and a certificate in college teaching (2013) from Pennsylvania State University. Rev. Dr. Greg is also a Unitarian Universalist leadership-level credentialed religious educator. His research interests include critical cultural studies, effective sex education design for Black teens, social learning theory, and racial justice education. Rev. Dr. Greg loves to dance and spend time with the special young people in his life. In his free time, he researches and writes religious education, racial justice, and sexuality education curricula.
Rev. Dr. Greg in the Community
and in the Media
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Rev. Dr. Greg Commissioned as a Spiritual Director
Meadville Lombard Theological School
On Saturday, May 4, 2024, Rev. Dr. Greg completed two years of study and formation to be certified as spiritual director by Meadville Lombard Theological School (MLTS). The inaugural program by MLTS is the first of its kind to form spiritual directors inside of the values and theology of Unitarian Universalism instead of in a different faith tradition. You can watch the video of the Commissioning Ceremony here [https://vimeo.com/942514177] (24:53).
Rev. Dr. Greg defines spiritual direction as:
The act of accompanying others to explore personal concepts of the divine and what those understandings reveal about assistance, guidance, and support for working through routine and extraordinary spiritual challenges in life.
Kim Coco Iwamoto, state representative-elect and friend of our UU church invited Rev. Dr. Greg to be present in the capacity of Chaplain at the recent demonstration of Nurses at Kapiolani Women and Children’s Hospital. The Nurses have been locked out and replaced with travel nurses due to demands for safe staffing levels. Kim Coco got arrested. Our Rev. luckily did not. But what a way to make us proud. Thank you, Rev. Dr. Greg.
Out in the Community
Rev. Dr. Greg served as moderator for a panel on the legal history of Black Hawaiians on Friday, September 20th at the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center. Panelists included Principal Mike Harano, Washington Middle School, and Ms. Deloris Guttman of the Obama Hawaiian Africana Museum, along with presentations from middle and high school researchers. It was a lovely evening of co-remembering and weaving the stories of Black peoples and people of African descent into the rich tapestry of Hawaiʻi.
Rev. Dr. Greg, along with member Matt Geyer and community activist Kim Coco Iwamoto, attended the International Workers’ Day rally at the capitol.
International Workers’ Day Rally
Rev. Dr. Greg offered the invocation for the International Workers’ Day rally at the capitol on Wednesday, May 1. Â Many different union leaders spoke.
Rev. Dr. Greg joined colleagues from Church of the Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, Kilohana United Methodist Church, Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church, Hawaii Kai United Church of Christ, and Wesley United Methodist Church to hold ecumenical worship services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday before our Easter Sunday service. Each event was well-attended, theologically diverse, and moving. Participating clergy and the other congregations who attended are looking forward to doing more in the future!
Dr. Adam Robinson Jr., director of the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, speaks at Black History Month Celebration.
Rev. Dr. Greg stands with Dr. Paula B. Major, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, and Dr. Adam Robinson during “Lift EvĘ»ry Voice And Sing” at the Honolulu HaleRev. Dr. Greg offers the invocation at the City of Honolulu Black History Month Proclamation Ceremony.
Black History Month Celebration
Rev. Dr. Greg gave the invocation at the first Black History Proclamation program offered by the mayor’s office on Tuesday, February 6. Scholars from around the island gathered to discuss the importance of Black Americans in Hawaii.
Rev. Dr. Greg has been featured all year on panels, podcasts, and in our national news magazine, UU World, discussing the future of our unique rite of passage for UU young adolescents Coming of Age.
Over the summer, Rev. Dr. Greg shared his dissertation research on culturally relevant sex education for Black teens on the 2024Â American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists digital media award-winning podcast.
   
