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Unitarian Universalism On The Brink
March 7, 2004
John T. Crestwell, Jr.

Good Morning. The sermon today, as printed in your Order of Service, is “Unitarian Universalism on the Brink”. Some of you may ask, “On the Brink of What?” I’m reminded how one of my students, after visiting us said, “Your church seems like a place for religious misfits—where people go because they are fed up with traditional church.” --I don’t know about that… I sure hope we’re not on the brink of showing the world that we are religious misfits…

I would like to say to you this morning that I believe that the Unitarian Universalist Church is on the brink or at the brink of becoming the next great religious movement in the 21st century in America. Now, I have my reasons. Whether you will agree is another thing. There is a reason why a leader in the Mormon Church in charge of missionary, said we are “the most dangerous church in America” And if you will permit me, I would like to share with you why this is so…

The reason we are at the brink of greatness and dangerous to the establishment is WE ARE A CUTTING EDGE FAITH IN A CUTTING EDGE TIME. AND AT LAST—THE TIME, PLACE AND CIRCUMSTANCE ARE RIPE FOR OUR MESSAGE.

What am I talking about? Take a ride with me… You can go back as far the 16th century in Europe and find story after story of men and women who were speaking out, religiously, against the status quo. Religious radicals caught in a place and time that was not quite ready for their universal and inclusive message. We heard the words of John Murray this morning. And Murray along with George de Benneville, who together are known as the founders of Universalism in America in the 18th century, where caught in an environment that was dominated by Calvinist dogma. While most of New England and the Mid Atlantic States were preaching hellfire for predestined souls, Benneville and later Murray were run in and out of town because they were preaching a message of hope and unity and salvation for all souls. They were cutting edge thinkers who were not in cutting edge times…

If you jump nearly 100 years in American history, you’d find yourself in an environment that was ready for Civil War. The Union between the North and South was insecure. The major political topic of that time was the issue of slave labor. The North had long since let go of this notion but the South was stubborn for many reasons, mostly economics, and so they (the South) kept the institution of slavery alive. But nonetheless, around 1859, a man named John Brown traveled throughout the North raising money to fund an ambitious and almost insane idea to raid the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The plan was to take control of the arms and ammunition then travel south freeing slaves and at gunpoint telling plantation owners they had to find new laborers for their fields. While Brown was north he had many supporters, names you are familiar with like Emerson and Thoreau. And one of his financial supporters, who was a part of a group known as the “Secret Six”, was Theodore Parker. If these names are not familiar to you these are very well known Unitarians… Brown failed in his attempt but the point is we were there in history, at the cutting edge dealing with the major social, political and economic problem of that time. Although these men were well known and viewed by many as great thinkers, they too lived in time where the ideas of Protestantism dominated the culture. The North won the war, but America was still young and not ready to hear a Unitarian or Universalist message that “all people are created equal.”

Fast forward nearly 100 years and you are in the 50’s headed toward the 60’s another tumultuous time in our history. We’re now in the era of Jim Crow when segregation and discrimination was an overt reality. A. Powell Davies was preaching from his pulpit at All Souls Church in Washington, DC, and he made a list, telling his parishioners not to eat at any restaurant that permitted segregation. And later we come to the time of the Civil Rights Movement. In Selma, Alabama where voting rights was a priority, Unitarian and Universalist ministers like, Reverend James Reeb, the Reverend Clark Olsen and the Reverend Orloff Miller, among others, answered the call of Dr. King to march for justice and equal rights for African-Americans. The three minister’s were beaten badly by a vicious mob. Reverend Reeb was killed. But his death was not in vein, it sparked the Voting Rights Act in 1965. YES, WE WERE ON THE CUTTING EDGE! Once again the culture would hear but not truly listen to our message.

When you jump to the present, you will find that we are still on the cutting edge, but what’s different now is that the times are ripe for our message! While the mainline churches are wrestling with the issue of Gay and Lesbian rights, threatening to dismantle or split denominations as a result, we have long since been supporters of this community. Issues like separation of church and state, the issues with prayer in schools, government accountability, environmental issues, we are right there in the mix, making a difference. We are still a small religion numbers wise, but our voice is loud. The times are ripe right now, for us to have massive growth as a church. More and more, people are asking questions today and seeking new answers. For many, the traditional responses are not enough anymore. People are not accepting the notion of being in the closet but they want to freely live and express their constitutional rights. The time is ripe for us to have massive growth!

There are trends as well… If you look at any numbers in the mainline churches, mainline being Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian), you find drastic and consistent declines in membership. When you look at the Catholic Church, you find a watering down of the faith, so to speak. More and more, Catholics are becoming more inclusive regarding women, sexuality, and acceptance of other faiths… At one time in history, Catholicism would not fathom the idea of listening to Protestants. Today, they work together in Ecumenical circles. When the Granddaddy of ‘em all is changing, all of Christendom will change! I conclude, there are obvious signs that the cultures religious psychology is changing…

There are also statistics that support my claims… I scoured the Internet looking for stats and found some reliable information from the BARNA Research Group in Ventura, California. The numbers say that over 70 million of the 300 million Americans are “unchurched”. That is, they have not been to church in over a year or never been to church. Of course, I found another “unchurched” number that said over 170 million Americans didn’t go to church. I thought to myself, “This guy must have be talking about the two-time per year chuch-folk—Easter and Christmas.

So, the numbers support my claim that people are dissatisfied and looking for a new form of religious expression. BARNA research also indicates that only 7% of Protestants have a biblical worldview. Biblical worldview means that an absolute moral truth exists and it is found in the Bible. Also, he found that 64% of Americans said truth is relative to the situation. And 57% said they were not satisfied with their church. Lastly, BARNA research found that the more liberal the viewpoint the more likely the person will be “unchurched.” Again, this research tells me that the time is ripe for the Unitarian Universalist message.

In substance, it is our history and trends in the religious psychology of Americans that confirms we should be a major force religiously in the 21st century. And we should see astronomical growth as a result of the religious climate in America. THIS IS OUR TIME! In an age of liberal thinking and expression, when technology and scientific genius allows us to access knowledge at the click of a button, we stand as the religion that embraces both tradition and innovation. THIS IS OUR TIME. We stand as the religion that can effectively link the past with the present. For far too long the liberal religious voice has been quiet and often shallow. We have allowed, through fear or indifference, the voice of fundamentalism to speak for the majority when it really speaks for the minority. THIS IS OUR TIME, and the numbers show us, and you see it in your daily lives, most people are moderate and liberal. Even those who call themselves fundamentalists, when faced with life’s decisions they too are moderate and liberal or what I’d term “selectively fundamental.”

There is only one religion that I know of that embraces the Buddhist and Catholic. There is only one religion that I know of that loves the Muslim and Hindu. There is only one religion that I know of that accepts the Atheist, Agnostic, Humanist and Christian. And that is the religion of Unitarian Universalism. “We have come over a way that with tears has been watered. We have come, treading our paths through the blood of the slaughtered. It is high time we accept our destiny. THIS IS OUR TIME!

Well, I’ve been dogmatic enough… J Let me bring this message home. This is Stewardship Sunday. What does this mean? It asks that we be committed stewards of our faith—that we give our time, talents and gifts for the sake of our church.

I would like to ask that you to look at this Stewardship Sunday a bit different. Given all that I’ve said, I don’t want you to leave here today seeing your association with the Unitarian Universalist Church as something of a social club, although we love to eat and socialize J. I don’t want you to see this as your affiliation with a little ole church at 7400 Temple Hill Road in Camp Springs, Maryland, zip code 20748-5406.

If you are hearing me this morning, we are not just a place for sanctuary and fellowship and fun. But we are more than a church. WE ARE A MOVEMENT! We are a cutting edge movement. And we are one church among a little over 1000 churches in America that are a part of this movement. And we have the task of accepting our place in history as the church for the 21st century or risk being deemed irrelevant or as my student said, “…the place for the religious misfits.’ But we are more than that!

And so, as we continue the Davies growth plan, find your place. Be a committed steward. We need your time, we need your talent and we need your financial commitments. A movement requires all of these. The words of John Wesley the founder of Methodism, come to mind, “Do all you can, make all you can and give all you can. The only way, friends, we can keep this movement alive is with your help. So, whatever you commit to, commit to it.

I remember when I signed the book and how good that moment felt. Since then I’ve seen others sign the book and it is a moment to treasure. You see this old relic of the church with the tattered pages and you think, “What a great book. What a great historical document that has every name of every person that committed to the movement of Unitarian Universalism.” It gives me chills and makes me realize every time I witness someone signing the book that we have a unity together, we have a history together and we have a cause worth fighting for! Remember that. Whatever you commit to, commit to it.

As I close, I would look to contemporize the words of John Murray. I don’t think Murray will mind if I put a post-modern twist to his fine words... And I would like for this to be a personal charge to each of us.

“Go out into the highways and byways of America, in Prince George’s and Charles County, your home. Give the people, blanketed with a decaying and crumbling faith, something of your new vision. You may possess only a small light but uncover it, let it shine, use it in order to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of people. Give them, not hell, but hope and courage. Do not push them deeper into their theological despair, but preach to them your kindness and everlasting love of humanity.”

We have a charge to keep. We have a commitment to keep. We have a destiny to fulfill.

Let it be so!

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