We who believe otherwise must not remain silent! And yet we do. We don’t talk about what we believe or don’t believe. We don’t claim the good that we have to share. Instead we let the Bad Theology have its hey day. Instead we sheepishly admit we go to church on Sunday and even sometimes during the week. When someone hears we are active in our church we don’t correct their misunderstandings from assumptions about the word church and what it means. We don’t ask our friends to come to church. Some of us don’t even tell our families. Our faith and this community remain a well kept secret.

Kay Montgomery the Vice President of the Unitarian Universalist Association writes, “Unitarian Universalist churches often exist as small enclaves of “the chosen.” An unspoken feeling seems to exist that if you’re smart enough to find us, we’ll let you in. Signage is sometimes poor, advertising is non-existent, and many of us hesitate to invite others to join us at church on Sunday for fear of proselytizing in a way that is disrespectful or pushy. And often we feel inadequate about finding the right words to describe our faith – as though we might fail an exam. [But then she adds] This is what I have learned: For each time I don’t reach out to someone who might join this faith, for each time I hesitate to be hospitable, I may be leaving someone’s life poorer than it might be. For the people out there don’t even know this faith exists, I’d like to offer the good news of Unitarian Universalism[1].

Thomas Jefferson’s prediction written in 1882 “I confidently expect that the present generation will see Unitarianism become the general religion of the United States ”[2] has certainly not come true. Granted he was writing from the perspective of a Unitarian in a Trinitarian world. He just didn’t see the reason in a Trinitarian god. It just seemed reasonable to say that a religion based in reason would certainly become the religion of his country. We haven’t. At our most concentrated, in Massachusetts , we are still only slight more than ½ of 1% of the population. But demographic studies show that we should be one million strong in this country. Given how most people feel about religion in our country we should have 3 or 4 times the number of people in our churches. But we don’t.

Some blame our small size on our name. It’s just hard to say Unitarian Universalist. Then they offer that it doesn’t say much about who we are. But that seems to be an excuse after all it’s only twice as many syllables as Episcopalian and what does that name say about their beliefs.

No, I think the biggest reason we are so small is because as Kay said we don’t invite people to be a part of our church. And that as she said is because we don’t want to be perceived as proselytizing. Many of us have been in uncomfortable situations where someone has decided we need their religious tradition. It’s uncomfortable and sometimes hurtful. We don’t want to create that kind of pain.

We believe, first and fore most, that religion is a personal choice. We believe that one should not be forced coerced or even convinced about religion. We might invite someone who had already expressed Unitarian Universalist like views but since we don’t talk about religion in polite society we don’t. We don’t want to just start spouting off because we don’t what to sound like we think our church is the best in the world because we are uncomfortable when we hear others say theirs is.

We are cautious and rightly so. We are cautious because our religious ideas are not always popular. Freedom, reason and tolerance are not the highest held values of other religious communities. These can even be words that bring out anger in other people.

And we are a unique group. Sometimes the topics of the sermons are different and Uh interesting. Some of the things that get said around here can be hard to hear, some are scary. For instance the word pagan can be said with pride around here but for some people it is genuinely a frightening word. The words atheist, humanist, god and spiritual have created conflict and intense conversations in our UU churches. It’s hard to know who you would want to invite into those kinds of conversations. And because we are a church run by the congregation and its committees it can get messy doing our business sometimes. Its hard to know who would like to be part of such a lively though sometimes messy place.

But instead of thinking how hard it is why not think of what we have here? Why keep short changing and underestimating our friends? Do you really think you are the only one who would enjoy a conversation about liberal religious values? Do you really think you are the only one you know who would enjoy the messiness of our wonderfully diverse and active community?

Why do you come here? I know I have asked that question half dozen times in the last few years. I usually ask it around canvas time. I asked it when we began the capital campaign. But this time I won’t be asking you for your commitment financially. Instead today I want your commitment to bringing someone into our community. Why do you come here nearly every Sunday morning?

Some of us come for personal reasons. One newish attendee talks about this community like a drink of water for a thirsty plant. She said all during the week she runs errands, works, spends time on interests and doesn’t even notice that she is not getting that one particular need met. People have called that need intimacy, connection, community, spirituality, and other words. All throughout our week we move about with some more or less daily routines. We feed, clothe and exercise our selves and our families. Here in this space that changes. Here we stop and pay attention to the community, connected, spiritual needs of ourselves and one another. Here we tend to what really matters. We sing together, we laugh and cry together, we struggle with the tough questions of our lives together. Why would we keep that from others?

I got a call this week, as I do once in a while, from a family who found our church on the internet. He couldn’t believe what he read. He was so happy. He was thrilled. He wanted to know where to sign up. Why would we want to keep that joy of finding a home from anyone? If this is your home share your joy with others. If this is a place you find a connection to what matters most share that with others.

Some of us come for almost traditional religious reasons because we are a place for all who seek freedom in religion.

The Rev. Dr Bradley when he was serving People’s Church in Chicago wrote:

“Let us find a religion for today. What will it be? How shall we know it?

First of all, it must be a religion that will have intellectual courage. It must be a rational religion.

It must have social courage. It must be a religion that will address itself to unemployment, poverty, injustice, war -- all the modern disasters of society.

The religion of today must be a religion that is not afraid to attack social injustice. Above all, it must have moral courage which, in the presence of customs and traditions, will maintain the integrity of a free spirit.

Find that religion and you have found a religion for today.”[3]

We are that religion. We are the reasonable, social courageous, moral guidepost for today’s world. We may not measure up to it every week but we are the closest thing I have found and I have looked. We are the free church that provides direction and freedom. When Christopher Reeves was interviewed by Reader’s Digest he said he became a Unitarian Universalist after his accident because he needed a compass for his life. Many of us are here for just that moral, ethical compass that traditionally religion provides, but we want it with the freedom to make our own meaning in the world. We want the compass of traditions without the exclusionary nature of other faiths. We want the compass of thoughtful people without the authoritarian nature of ecclesiastical structures. We want to struggle together to come up with the important questions and then we want the freedom to find our own answers or not. Why would you hide that freedom and the comfort of a community to struggle with?

Some of us are here because as my friend and colleague Rev. Terasa Cooley writes the world is a confusing place that tells us we have to make a choice. Among other choices we are told to be patriotic or not, be good or evil, to be an American or not, to be with us or against us. Unitarian Universalism affirms for us that making such choices is not as simple as others make it sound. That either or is not always an option and certainly not the only option. Here we struggle to understand the continuums that are a part of our essential existence. Here we can be comfortable with our ambiguity. Here we can have the religion that helps us be comfortable as individuals and as interdependent parts of the whole world. She writes: “There is a precarious balance that I believe only liberalism helps provide, a mosaic quality of understanding that resists totalitarian impulses and perspectives. At our best, Unitarian Universalist congregations can provide a joyful embrace of this understanding, for we can provide sustenance for living in a confusing, unstable, and pluralistic world. If Unitarian Universalist congregations found this balance I believe we would grow beyond our wildest dreams and expectations.”[4]

We need to ask ourselves: Do Unitarian Universalists want to become a global movement or do we want to remain a well-kept secret?[5] If we really believe we have a good thing, if this place and this faith is special enough for you to get up early and bring your kids then its special enough to share with your friends.

I return to Kay’s words. We have good news to share and it is selfish not to. Ours is the good news of freedom in religion, the good news of a community of faith that feels like home better than home in some cases, the good news of a community of people who will care with you and for you, the good news of a tradition that struggles with the ambiguity of life, the good news of a religion that values reason and tolerance, the good news of a life affirming theology that believes in human goodness while acknowledging our frailties and faults as well, the good news of others to travel with as we all struggle to find meaning.

January 23 is “Bring a friend Sunday”. The sermon will be appropriate for new folks. It will lay out a bit of who we are and how we got here and what we believe. In the next two weeks think if there is just one person in your life who might like to be a part of this community; one person who you would like to share us with. We even have printed invitations for you to mail if you would like. And if you can’t think of anyone be sure to come to church anyway, because I know there will be some really wonderful people here. As there always are!