The Rev. Dr. Stephan Papa is the Special Assistant to the UUA President for Congregational Giving and Growth Funding. In a sermon titled"Growing Our Faith through Growing Our Numbers’" he quoted Bob Dylan, "You're either busy being born, or you're busy dying!" Which is this religious community doing?... Is our Association of Congregations, "Busy being born or busy dying"?

Rev. Papa went on to say,"There are fewer Unitarian Universalist today than there were one hundred years ago.... [At the time of the merger in 1961], we had 1035 congregations; today we have 1042. We have close to 160,000 members today, which is just slightly more than we did in 1961. For about the last 20 years our numbers have been increasing a tiny amount; last year we grew by 1/4 of 1%. We are, however, decreasing as a portion of the US population, which has grown exponentially; we have become insignificant. The average size of UU congregations is just over 100. The average UU is over 55 years old, and we only retain about 10 percent of our children. If we don't get "Busy being born" we are going to be "busy dying ".

Rev. Scott Alexander wrote in his book Salted With Fire the following: " The congregation that looks primarily inward for the discovery of meaning, wholeness, service and spirituality (and does not move out beyond its walls to visibly live its religion in the wider community) will not experience growth and depth."

It's good to be part of a winning team, even if one's team might not win every game. After all, the competition can be pretty tough. No, I'm not speaking of the Red Sox, although my husband and I are big fans. I'm speaking as a committed Unitarian Universalist, anticipating something great about to happen to our denomination in the near future. Anticipating, expecting ... not just dreaming.

The Unitarian Universalist Association, believe it or not, actually has a game plan. For the first time since the merger of our two parent denominations in 1961, the UUA has a real plan to grow. It has several strategies, including increased national advertising to increase awareness. And although we might not win every game, it sure beats not playing in a championship series. And I'm asking you, this congregation in Taunton, to join in the game. For we need the strength of all our congregations together to accomplish something really significant.

If you'll excuse the mixed metaphors of baseball and football, this fall is the kick-off time for the UUA's growth campaign. It's called "Now Is the Time!" And I'm asking today for your support for this campaign to grow our faith. In the end, I know it will help the church here in Taunton as well as our liberal religion as a whole. It is a plan to make us more visible and attractive in a world that sorely needs our liberal religion.

In my mind, there is no solid argument against growth, just like there's no good argument against winning a ball game! We may feel comfortable in a very small group where we all know each other... or think we do. But in a much larger church, people get to know each other even better through meaningful activities: by being together in a choir, in a social action group or in a small group which explores spiritual practices. In fact, the more that happens in a church, the more personal connections are made and the more a supportive and beloved community develops.

As people in this society become more and more isolated, we need to provide a welcoming home to all those people who are spiritually hungry and who crave connection and community. "Evangelism’" in its original form is not a dirty word. It simply means spreading the good word. We can do this without being obnoxious or pushy. We can do this by word of mouth, by putting announcements and ads in the local paper, by maintaining our church website. I thank Moe Walters for the good work he is doing now on our website because it has made a difference. I thank everyone who has contributed in any way to it. But we can also spread the word by contributing this morning to the UUA's "Now Is the Time!" growth campaign.

We need to make many of our UU churches and fellowships and societies not only more visible, but more welcoming. As one minister has said,"We need to repel fewer visitors. " A negative way to put it, but often it's all too true. Many churches unintentionally repel visitors. The UUA and the district are busy developing many tools and training to help us. We just need to take advantage of them. There are more things than just pamphlets, books and course curriculums. There's information on-line and new DVDs and district workshops.

Then there is a new program out of our district office called the Mystery Visitor Program. Take a look at it on the Ballou Channing District website. Simply ask and you shall receive two anonymous visitors. To quote scripture,"Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. " (Hebrews 12:1-2) We would indeed entertain angels... or messengers in human form. Afterwards, they would give us feedback on how they were received.

And I passionately believe in the growth of our denomination. This country and this hurt and bleeding world needs us. Our liberal religious movement must become more visible and more powerful. We need to become an effective religious voice to counter the religious right and the forces of reaction. We need to speak out for love, compassion and the liberal values we all share. We can't wait and the world can't wait. Now is the time to grow our faith!

Ever since I became a UU about 27 years ago, Unitarian Universalists has been saying"Wait 'til next year." Wait until next year... when our faith becomes more visible. Wait for people to catch on to us and our good ideas, our liberating theology. Wait until next year for our numbers to grow because the younger generation will see how relevant we are to their lives. Yet over the past half century, membership in the denomination has hardly grown at all, less than one percent per year. And as a proportion of the population, we have shrunk proportionally. In Taunton, with about 45 to 50 adult members in our church (it varies from year to year), we are not even one-tenth of one percent of the city's population. If we're not busy being born, are we busy dying? Now I know that growth in numbers isn't everything. We can talk about growth in spirit. We can talk about transformation. We can talk about spiritual journeys, about deepening our own spiritual practices and about outreach to the community. But growth in numbers is essential. Without that, the other things can't happen either. I think this must all happen in tandem. Again, we need a game plan. Baseball manager Terry Francona has had a successful game plan since 2004 for the Red Sox. It involved much hard work and some luck, but it wasn't an impossible dream. It's not impossible for us either if we're willing to work together as a team. Each of us must contribute what he or she can to the effort.

Part of this effort is easy. It's a matter of reaching into that other pocket ­ that pocket where you are saving up for that unexpected, but worthy appeal. This isn't part of your regular contribution to First Parish Church or even toward the annual operating budgets of the Ballou Channing District and the denomination. This is a special contribution. It's an opportunity to connect with other UUs and with the denomination, combining our resources for the future of our faith.

The UUA suggests an average gift of $50 per person, which is what I'm giving this morning. I ask you to give as generously as you can to the special Association Sunday collection. Please put a check or money into the envelope in your Order of Worship. You may drop it into the collection plate on your way out or hand it to me later. I'd like to mail off whatever is contributed by all of you in one big envelope by the end of the month to the UUA headquarters. Don't worry that I'm missing anyone because I'll send a separate appeal to those members who aren't here this morning.

The association's goal is to raise a million dollars for its growth campaign. The organizers of the campaign just sent out an e-mail this week saying committed and generous UUs have set up a matching gift program of a half million dollars. So reaching a million in our small denomination does not seem far-fetched.

What would our money be going to? Half would go the association's national awareness campaign. It will go to a series of ads in Time Magazine and toward sponsoring new religion pages on Time's website. This section of the website will be launched within the next few weeks. The site will greatly increase our visibility, offering links to UU articles and essays.

Our web presence is really important because that's how many people, especially young people, find us these days. A true story: I got a call just yesterday from a young woman named Maria who lives in Taunton. Maria told me she found First Parish Church through the UUA website. She was turned off by what her more traditional church told her, including that she's a bad Christian. She doesn't believe that and was exploring other religions on Beliefnet.com. Maria took that self-test which many religious seekers take and found herself to be in sympathy with our values and beliefs. Maria then followed the link to the UUA and read more online about Unitarian Universalism. She found that she likes what our faith stands for. She told me that after she found our church website, she enjoyed reading my sermons. I loved hearing that! Maria is thinking of attending services soon and was asking about nursery care for her two year old child and Sunday school for her six year old. Does this story sound familiar to some of you? Wasn't this how you discovered us? But we're still too much of a well-kept secret ... too invisible to those who so hunger for what we have to give. Otherwise, we would be growing much faster than we are now.

In concert with the national media campaign, the UUA is urging churches to place some clever ads, also designed by them, in local newspapers with the church name and contact information. Like this one, with the heading: "Is God keeping you from going to church?" This is something I'd like us to consider. But we'd have to be better prepared, I think, for increased visitors.

As I said before, half of the money raised by the UUA is going to this national awareness campaign. Where's the other half going? Twenty-five percent will go to new congregational growth grants. I think this is exciting because money will go back to the local level, to our districts and UU congregations, for creative and well-designed growth projects. The money will be distributed in proportion to the funds raised in each district. So the more we raise here in the Ballou Channing District, the more will come back to us.

Frankly, this is a challenge, because UUs here in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island tend to be the least generous of any UUs around the country. This despite the fine services being offered by our District Executive and the district consultants.

Where else are the funds going? Twenty-five percent will go toward Diversity of Ministry Teams. These teams will support ministers of color and Latino and Hispanic ministers and the congregations that call them. Our denomination has had a spotty history in this area. Many divinity students of color and of Hispanic heritage have been discouraged from entering the UU ministry in the first place. If they persist despite the barriers, if they graduate and are ordained to the ministry, they have often faced more barriers getting called and then serving successfully within our UU congregations.

This is not new; it's been going on for decades. The UUA wishes to avoid repeating these mistakes and seeks to increase the diversity of our ministry as well as the diversity of the people in the pews. I think this is a most worthy goal, especially for places like Taunton with its substantial racial and ethnic minorities. Imagine Unitarian Universalist ministers and maybe even congregations as diverse as the Red Sox! Now that would be exciting!

So I urge you to join with our association in supporting this growth campaign. We need each other for companionship and support and to grow in spirit. And the world needs the good news of our liberal faith. Let's become better team players, not isolated from our sister UU congregations or from our association. It's hard to play the game alone.

If we are proud of this spiritual community, let us make it a higher personal priority.
If we are concerned for its future, may we help to realize its vision.
If its values resonate with ours, may we live them out with daring and devotion.
This church cannot prosper, nor fulfill its high purpose
Without our faith
Our support
Our witness.
Its destiny and its bright promise
Depend on the many, not just the few. Amen.

-- Words by Michael A. Schuler

Blessed be. Go in peace.