In Memory of Rev. Charles Forbes Flagg (1941−2023)

We offer our condolences to the family and colleagues of the Rev. Charles Forbes Flagg, who died on February 15, 2023, at the age of 81.

Charles was born on March 2, 1941, in Portland, ME, to Joseph Pressey Flagg and Mary Brewer Nash. He was raised in Portland and brought up in the Episcopalian Church. A merit scholar at Deering High School, Charles developed an early interest in photography and worked part-time in a camera store during his junior high and high school. He attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, where he majored in sociology and minored in psychology, graduating in 1963. During his college years, Charles began questioning the assumptions of his religious upbringing. His first visits to Sunday Services at the First Parish in Portland felt like coming home. The modes of thought and ideas put forth during the service were both familiar and affirming. The congregation expounded many beliefs he had long held. These experiences ultimately led him to pursue his Master of Divinity at Crane Theological School. He deepened his understanding and appreciation of the liberal religion, graduating in 1966. Drawn to openness in matters of belief, he chose Unitarian Universalism to pursue his calling. 

The Rev. Flagg was ordained on November 27, 1966, by the Nora UU Church in Hanska, a small parish in rural Minnesota, where he served until 1973. Under his leadership, the church expanded its regional outreach, attracting new members from within a thirty-mile radius. Both the church school and the youth group thrived, and the church moved from a relative plateau to a vibrant and thriving UU community.

From 1973 to 1976, the Rev. Flagg served the Westminster Unitarian Church in East Greenwich, RI. His ministry there carried out a humanist orientation. In 1977, he accepted a call from the First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist in Bridgewater, MA, serving the church for sixteen years. Thereafter, from 1994 to 2015, he was a settled minister for the Unitarian Society in Fall River, MA. At Fall River, his leadership emphasized congregational growth, community outreach, and commitment to diversity. He also provided his services as a church administrator from 2014 to 2017. His ministry was a blend of effective leadership and facilitation with creativity, responsiveness, flexibility, caring, problem-solving, and a good measure of optimism. Upon his retirement, the Unitarian Society in Fall River honored him as their minister emeritus. 

In addition to his parish ministry, the Rev. Flagg served the denomination in various leadership roles. He served on the General Assembly Planning Committee (1975−1977) and was active in the Ballou Channing District Ministers Association, serving as a treasurer/secretary (1975−1977, 1981−1983), vice president (1984−1985), and president (1985−1987).

Charles was active in the community. In Massachusetts, he served as president of the Bridgewater Council of Churches. In Rhode Island, he was Delegate Director to the National Mental Health Association (1976−1977), a member of the Swanhurst Chorus of Newport, RI, and served Jamestown Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force.

In his leisure time, he enjoyed photography, music, bicycling, nature, and church history.

Charles is survived by his wife, Cynthia Flagg; three daughters from his first marriage, Mary (Molly) Kingsbury, Helen Morris, and Nancy Flagg, and their families; two stepsons, Jon Nelson and Kurt Nelson, and their families; fifteen grandchildren and step-grandchildren; and his brother, David Flagg (Barbara).

A private memorial service was held.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s own choosing.

Notes of condolence can be written here.