Charles Rhind Joy (1885-1978) was an American Unitarian minister, author, educator, and international relief worker.

Born in Boston, Joy studied English at Harvard University and then received degrees from both Harvard Divinity School and Andover Theological Seminary, graduating in 1911. His first ministerial posting was at the First Parish of Portland, Maine where he was ordained in 1913. A committed pacifist, he served overseas with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) during World War I. He was eventually appointed Regional Director of YMCA in France north of Paris and in Western Belgium, with headquarters at Le Havre. After the war he served as minister of a church in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (1919-1922) and then First Church in Dedham (1922-1927).

In January 1927, Joy was appointed minister of All Souls Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1930, he became an officer of the American Unitarian Association, a position he held until 1937. In 1938 he joined the Unitarian Service Committee and from 1940 to 1954 he was involved in international relief work. During this time, positions included executive director of the Unitarian Service Committee, European director and associate director of the Save the Children Federation, international representative, chief of the Korean Mission, and executive consultant for African affairs for CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere).

Joy was a prolific writer and translator, particularly of the works of Albert Schweitzer. His publications include Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology (1947), Music in the World of Albert Schweitzer (1951), Africa: A Handbook for Travelers (1958), Topical Concordance of the Bible (1961), and Race between food and people: The challenge of a hungry world (1961). His translations include A Psychiatric Study of Jesus (Schweitzer) and Goethe: Four Studies (Schweitzer). He wrote numerous introductory books on a wide range of countries and peoples, such as Getting to Know the Sahara and Getting to Know Israel.

Reflecting on his life and work, Joy wrote:

I have found all the years to be a rather exciting pilgrimage and never more so than now. I have wandered about the world in more than a hundred different countries and everywhere I have found friendly people with whom it has been good to associate...Traveling, speaking, writing, these are the three foci around which my life now turns. I could not ask for any activities more interesting, more rewarding. I am not much concerned with the past, though I know the future has its roots there. I am eager to see the burgeoning and the fruitage of the years that are to be.

[Charles R. Joy, from "Notable American Unitarians," http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/joy.html]

Joy was married to Lucy Alice Wanzer and together they had four children. He passed away in Albany, New York at the age of 93.