UUFSMA: Filling the Whole

Sunday, February 17, 10:30am 
Filling the Whole
Rev. Andrea Abbott

At this week’s Unitarian Universal Fellowship Service, The Rev. Andrea Abbott, minister of The First Universalist Society of Central Square, examines the plague of the U.S. unchecked opioid/drug crisis through the eyes of one whose impoverished rural community has been hard hit.

Rev. Abbott shapes her talk around a discussion of three books that offer controversial analyses of these devastating social issues–Dreamland: the True Tale of America’s Opium Epidemic by Sam Quinones, and two works by Johann Hari, Chasing the Scream: the First and Last Days of the War on Drugs and Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—and the Unexpected Solutions.

Sam Quinones’ work takes one from Mexico to the U.S. in his search for the humans behind the current opioid crisis while Johann Hari offers a challenge to both the current ‘war on drugs’ and the mental health establishment. Taken together, these books offer some controversial observations on the reasons for the related epidemics of drug use and mental illness. Though many might disagree with the analyses of the problem, these books offer new insights into current culture.

In particular, Johann Hari’s work challenges much of the received wisdom in these areas and provides a radical new vision of the solution for both the epidemic of drug addiction and mental illness. His vision is at odds with the widely accepted ideas of the mental health establishment and one that puts our way of life on trial, rather than the mentally ill or the addicted. As a minister of a small church in an impoverished rural area, and as one who has worked in a number of human service settings, Rev. Abbott found these works a refreshing answer to the question we all ask—Why is there so much human misery in such an affluent society?

This is the Rev. Abbott’s fifth year to speak in San Miguel de Allende. She is the minister of The First Universalist Society of Central Square, located in a rural area of upstate New York north of Syracuse. She has served the congregation for more than ten years, first as student minister and then as minister. A graduate of Colgate Rochester Crozer Seminary, Andrea came to the ministry late in life, with previous careers in human services, teaching, and librarianship. Prior to becoming a minister, she served for twenty years as librarian at Auburn Correctional Facility, a men’s maximum-security prison in Central New York.
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For more information about the UUFSMA, including our Children’s Religious Education program, Social Action outreach, weekly discussion groups, social activities and Care Team, join us any Sunday at 10:30 AM at the Hotel Lla Aldea or check out our website at uufsma.org.

Our fellowship was born in 1987 when a small group of expatriate religious liberals came together to meet as Unitarian Universalists in San Miguel de Allende. The fellowship has been active and thriving ever since. Every UU church has it’s own flavor, and we are no exception. We are a combination of expats and visitors, each actively engaged and contributing to this wonderful Mexican community we love. Because there is a coming, going, and returning aspect, our spiritual community is extremely fluid.  There is a magic in San Miguel which draws us in and binds us together—both as members of the church and of the larger community. Our programming is led by visiting ministers, community leaders, and church members, so the variety is lively. We have opportunities to meet as UU’s each week at discussion groups, breakfasts, luncheons, and in various other ways. Depending on the season, attendance fluctuates between 40 and 140. Our primary focus is on funding social action within the surrounding community. We love good music, good discussion, good food, and having visitors. We invite you to join us any Sunday morning.

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