By Joseph Plummer
Do Unitarian Universalist (UU) beliefs and practices inspire misunderstandings about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step groups? That concern has persisted ever since 2004 when the monthly magazine UU World reported, according to a poll, about 20% of United Universalists believe that AA is over-religious and thus unacceptable, ineffective, and even repellent. This is curious given the intertwined history of Unitarianism and alcohol for over 150 years in the United States.
UUFSMA member Gene H., this Sunday’s guest speaker, will discuss why temperance-minded Unitarians reversed course during the 1920s and began to foster congregations that gather for circle dinners, wine-tasting tours, and margarita parties. What brought about that spiritual rebranding? Did UU history truly diverge from its abstemious past? Where does UU theology differ from and where does it conform to AA principles?
Gene H. is a member of both the UU and AA communities in San Miguel de Allende, and he has discovered common ground between them while also recognizing their differences. “And, yes,” he says, “we’ll talk about the God issue.”
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal faith inviting its community to gather around a set of harmonizing values and principles for living. Our UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities. Belief in a divinity is not the central issue around which we gather for worship and generous action. Rather, we come together with a belief in community, love, compassion, social justice, reverence for nature, and the spirituality of music, all within the interconnected web of existence.
UUFSMA donates generously to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page Donate button.
To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in from anywhere Sunday mornings between 10:15 and 10:25am CST. Enjoy previous services at https://www.youtube.com/UUFSMA. In addition to continuing live Zoom services, UUFSMA has returned to in-person Sunday services. Reservations are no longer necessary.
*Joseph Plummer is the UUFSMA Board Secretary
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday Service:
AA and UU
Speaker: Gene H.
Sun, Nov 27, 10:30am
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/414604040
Password: 294513
