Coffee Hour

General Assembly approaches

By Scott Wells

Long Beach, California is about to welcome a few-odd-thousand Unitarian Universalists in its annual shindig General Assembly. Alas, I won't be there. I've got a temp job, an apartment to move, and then a wedding to do out of state. So too little time and money to go.

But some bloggers will be there, and some of the other bloggers won't but wish they could be.

On my own blog, I asked what's the reason (apart from the legal requisites) to justify GA really, but here I'll ask the simpler question: if the GA-goers would be willing to take requests of the non-goers (to see blogged from Long Beach), what would the former group like to see and hear about?

I, for one, would like to get a sense of the general tone of the GA, how well attended is it, and if there are any memes floating from it that the rest of us will hear about in coming weeks and months.

What I would like from you is your wish list and (from those making the trek) a head's up about your plans to blog (or not) at General Assembly.

Seeking a blog reviewer

By Chris Walton

Coffee Hour is seeking another writer — someone interested in reporting biweekly or so on this site about interesting posts on other UU blogs, bulletin boards, Web sites, and on-line discussion groups. Think of the position as a tour guide to the glories of the Interdependent Web.

We're looking for someone who enjoys reading UU blogs and who has their own distinctive voice. You don't need to have your own blog to apply, and we'll give you a crash course in the handful of computer things you'll need to know to put links and other goodies into your reviews.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, please submit a sample — a review of recent posts you found interesting, provocative, illuminating, moving, maddening, etc., on the blogs and Web sites listed in the Coffee Hour "UU Blogs" list — to coffeehourfeedback@philocrites.com.

Unitarian Universalists at The Village Gate

By Chris Walton

Other Unitarian Universalists may want to chime in on the discussion Dale is leading about our "uncommon denomination" over at the politically-progressive religious community blog The Village Gate (formerly "The Right Christians"). Dale is the site's resident Unitarian Universalist at his blog, No One Left Behind.

Update 6.4.04: The conversation continues.

Does Unitarian Universalism Need A New Name?

By shetterly Unitarian Universalism: Eleven syllables, twenty-one letters. If a religion’s success depended on the length of its name, Jefferson’s prediction would’ve come true: Everyone would be Unitarian Univesalist now.

Unitarian Universalist: Unitarians believe in a god with one nature, unlike trinitarians or polytheists. Universalists believe a loving god will save everyone, unlike most Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Put the two words together, and you’ve described a specific religious subset. But you haven’t described the range of thought at most UU gatherings.

UU: If you’re familiar with Unitarian Universalists, you might guess what it means. Then again, it might be Uruguayan Unicyclists, Uncompromising Ufologists, or Ululating Unisexuals. A friend says she admires Unitarian Universalism, but she’ll never join us; she can’t bear the idea of calling herself a yooyoo.

Unitarian Universalist Association. Look it up in any list of religions, and be patient. It’ll be near the end.

A good name for a belief is short and easy to understand. A great name inspires a name with similar virtues for its followers. A perfect name comes near the beginning of the alphabet. When I think of this, I envy Baptists and despair for my chosen faith.

Our name was a creation of the 1960s. Like Time Warner AOL, it suggests mergers, not meaning. Our abbreviation reinforces that. Like AT&T, it’s as significant as alphabet soup. The best you can say about our name is that it tells where we came from. It says nothing about who we are or what we hope to be.

I want a new name. I want one that acknowledges our past, describes our present, hints at our future, respects what we’ve been, and includes all we might be. Choosing a new name will be time-consuming because it’ll call for debate. Implementing one will be expensive, because it’ll call for new stationary, signs, and government filings. But the expense will give us publicity, and the debate will give us identity.

If you agree or disagree, please take the poll in the sidebar. The names come from many sources. They aren’t meant to limit the possibilies; if people like the idea of a new name but don’t like these, there could be a new poll with a fresh list.

Here are my thoughts about some of the possibilities:

• Unitarianism. Nickname: Unitarians. Advantage: It was the more famous of our religious parents, and it’s often used as an abbreviation for Unitarian Universalism. Disadvantage: Takes a long time to explain, and leads to confusion with Unity Church.

• Universalism. Nickname: Universalists. Advantage: Includes everything. Disadvantage: Takes a long time to explain, and leads to confusion with the Unification Church.

• Neo-Zoroastrianism. Nickname: Zoroastrians or Neos. Advantage: Links us to the religion that gave birth to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and we already use fire as a sacred symbol. Disadvantage: Takes a long time to explain.

• Church of the Search. Nickname: Seekers. Advantage: Fun to say. Disadvantage: Polls suggest that the word “church” has a lot of negative associations.

• Church One. Nickname: Ones. Advantage: Keeps our focus on one-ness. Disadvantage: Still has “church” in it.

• Assembly of Choice. Nickname: Choosers. Disadvantage: Sounds like our main concern is abortion.

• Assembly of Free Thought. Nickname: Freethinkers. Disadvantage: Some people will think it sounds arrogant, even though it describes our lack of doctrines or authorities.

• Assembly of Heresy. Nickname: Heretics. Advantage: Since both Unitarians and Universalists have been called heretics, it’s true to what we’ve been. Since “heretic” means “one who chooses,” it’s true to what we are. Disadvantage: May make it harder for us to work with conservative faiths.

• Gathering of the Journey. Nickname: Journeyers. Advantage: Expresses UU’s emphasis on process theology and individual quest for meaning. Disadvantage: Sounds like we found it in one of J. R. R. Tolkien’s early drafts.

• Church of Sacred Doubt. Nickname: Doubters. Advantage: Says we believe that doubt is a valid religious position. Disadvantage: Humanists may be leery of “sacred.”

The poll gives some other options: Keep the current name, embrace abbreviation, or change it to something other than the above possibilities. Vote, comment, amend.

As for me, I’m torn: I like heretics and freethinkers in spite of their arrogance, and I like journeyers in spite of its gentleness. I could be happy with any of these new names, and I’m sure I could be happy with others. I’ll wait and read what other bloggers have to say before I cast my vote.