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 Jamaican pumpkin soup and coco bread to celebrate its new collaboration with Graeme Mortimer Evelyn, a multimedia artist of Jamaican heritage.

Bonus: Evelyn will be on hand to meet and greet tourgoers.

Know before you go: Parking is available behind the church; the lot entrance is on Ashe Street.s of the Cathedral.

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.

While the Cathedral’s earliest congregations were composed primarily of Irish immigrants, Cathedral members represent a broad range of cultural heritages. In recognition of their diverse backgrounds, and in tribute to Charleston’s French history, St. John is serving mini quiches with ingredients drawn from the Irish and Polish culinary canons.

Know before you go:Refreshments will be served on the Parish lawn, so it’s best to enter the grounds through the gates on Broad Street. Because the Cathedral parking lot has limited capacity, tourgoers are encouraged to park in the Queen Street structure. 

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. A member of the community describes Gregory as “a tireless champion of race amity throughout the U.S.”

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.” Additionally, pastry is making its inaugural appearance in the community’s Spirited Brunch spread: Black-and-white cookies symbolize and underscore the faith’s commitment to unity.

Bonus: Community members will conduct tours of the museum, with an emphasis on the faith’s tenets.

Know before you go: Desportes Court is a narrow alley, so visitors are encouraged to use a nearby parking lot on St. Philip Street, or park on the street. While the museum’s bathroom is accessible, there are a few steps at the building’s entrance.

The only active Huguenot church in the Western Hemisphere, The French Huguenot Church traces its roots to the 1680s, when the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes took away French Protestants’ freedom to practice their religion without fear of state persecution. Refugees and their descendants held services in French into the 1800s.

Today, the Huguenot Church is made up of parishioners from various backgrounds and denominations, an approach symbolized by the Huguenot torte it plans to slice for visitors. Huguenot torte, an apple-nut crisp, doesn’t have anything to do with the original Huguenots. But a Charlestonian who brought the Missourian recipe home from a 1930s trip to Texas served the dessert at Huguenot Tavern on Queen Street.

Know before you go: The church is offering sanctuary tours, but the torte will be served at 44 Queen St., just around the corner.

First founded in 1749, KKBE is now the longest-running Reform Jewish congregation in the country: The congregation just wrapped up a 15-month celebration of its 275th anniversary. Because the 2024 Spirited Brunch fell during Passover, KKBE last year served unleavened baked goods, but the rugelach, black-and-white cookies, and babka are back this year.

Bonus: KKBE will conduct sanctuary tours and sell its cookbook during the event.

Know before you go: Strollers aren’t permitted on tours.

The oldest AME church in the South, Mother Emanuel is home to the oldest Black congregation south of Baltimore. Founded in 1816 by 1000 secessionists from the Methodist Church, the church led by Reverend Morris Brown was terrorized by white South Carolinians following revelations of a planned uprising by enslaved Africans.

In 1865, following decades of covert worship, the congregation purchased the site of its current building, the 1892 successor to a church severely damaged by the 1886 earthquake.

Mother Emanuel was placed on the National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights Network in 2021, six years after a self-proclaimed white supremacist opened fire on a Wednesday night Bible study group, killing nine of the 12 people gathered.

According to the church historian, Mother Emanuel is serving okra because the plant “came to this country with our ancestors who helped establish our denomination.”

Know before you go: The church is offering sanctuary tours, but the snacks will be served in Building 106, adjacent to the main building.