A week ago, probably a lot of people didn't even know there was such a thing as an American Unitarian Association (AUA). They do now. Many of you saw the story in the Globe about how a group wishing to call itself the AUA was organizing to "promote the Unitarian tradition." Unfortunately, "AUA" was Unitarianism's denominational moniker up to the time it merged with the UCA (that's the Universalist Church of America) in 1961, and there are some folks who won't give it up cheap. Tempers are flaring. Intemperate words are flying. Lawyers have been called in. What's going on? Don't we promote the Unitarian tradition?

The answer is yes, we do. The problem is that our tradition is fractious, combative, idealistic, skeptical, inspired, complaisant, religious, intellectual, transcendental ….. you get the idea. Our tradition has been complicated, and in its small-scale way, tumultuous. The Unitarian tradition I am familiar with has never been satisfied with itself, but always wants to be more so. Consequently Unitarianism has been throwing off splinter groups of one sort or the other from the very beginning. Heck, Unitarianism is a splinter group. For that matter, the Universalist Unitarian Church of Brockton is a splinter group. There was no UUA when this church got going.

The dissident's claim that "religious organizations should be about religion not politics" sounds smooth but I think it betrays a misunderstanding about both religion and politics. To separate religion and politics is to make a false dichotomy. Because at the end of the day, the question we seek to answer in our religious communities and in our civic lives is the same. How are we going to be together? In reality, as we and the other twenty-two churches in the Brockton Interfaith Community know well, religious organizations are not about religion or politics; religious organizations are about organizing and empowerment and action!

Finally, the organization of the UUA could doubtless be improved. Every organization can be better organized. But make no mistake, the tradition of Unitarian Universalism does not reside in Boston. It can't, therefore be removed from Boston. The tradition of Unitarian Universalism lives here - in Brockton - and in the lived experience of every one of our Unitarian Universalist congregations across the continent. May it ever be so.

See you in church.