Global Sustainability

Efforts to “Lose the A from the UUSA”

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The following is a revised version of comments presented to the Interfaith Opportunity Network on June 18, 2025, upon invitation. This post does not represent the views of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst but has been informed by the values and principles of Unitarian Universalism. Comments are welcome below.

A group of UUSA members have been working to explore ways to honor and learn from indigenous culture, to acknowledge the harms done by our European ancestors to Native peoples, and to “disassociate our congregation from the harms done by General Lord Jeffrey Amherst” whose name must be spoken every time we refer to our beloved community.

The suggestion to change the name of our congregation and remove the word “Amherst” was brought to the UUSA Board of Trustees in 2021 by the board co-president at that time. Inspired by this remark and further investigation, John Gerber wrote an editorial for the local independent press titled “Why is the Town of Amherst still called Amherst?

There was little public response.

Nevertheless, the deeper question about the relationship between the UUSA and our religious ancestors congregation and historical white supremacy emerged each of the next 3 years as members of the UUSA congregation studied the following books together:

2022 – An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz; in which we learned more about the atrocities promulgated against Native peoples by colonial settlers.

2023 – Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Rabbi Danya Rutenberg; in which we learned about a process to repent for previous harms done at the personal, community and national levels.

2024 – My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies by Reesma Menakem; in which we learned that the trauma caused by white supremacy effects both the injured and the perpetrator of the harm.

In a related reading….

2025 – A book group which read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri learned that a “name” is an important part of an individual’s (or an organization’s) identity.

As context, the UUSA voted in May 2021 to endorse the UU Eighth Principle, to…  “build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

The foundation had been laid for taking a hard look at the harms done by our religious ancestors and begin to explore a means for repentance and repair, as described by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg.

In 2024, a congregational meeting held to celebrate and restructure our social justice efforts resulted in the emergence of an energized focus on indigenous justice, among other issues. The UUSA Indigenous Awareness Circle began meeting monthly. Following a year of study, a report to the congregation on the work of the IAC highlighted the following accomplishments.

  1. The membership of the UUSA voted in favor of a proposal developed by the Indigenous Awareness Circle to support federal legislation which would establish a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools. 
  2. Members of the UUSA volunteered at, made donations in support, and attended the Annual Odenong Powwow in Amherst, and have volunteered and attended the 12th Annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festival in Turners Falls, MA.
  3. The IAC is investigating ways to support the UU Mass Action Indigenous Justice state legislative agenda with a specific focus on two bills:
    • H.477/S.245 An Act prohibiting the use of Native American mascots by public schools in the Commonwealth 
      • H.2989/S.1976  An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day
  4. Members of the IAC are monitoring progress on the land back effort for Lampson Brook in Belchertown, MA, watching for ways to be supportive and learning from their work.

and…

5. The Indigenous Awareness Circle was authorized by the UUSA Board of Trustees to form a committee to “to investigate and propose an appropriate means to disassociate the name of the congregation from the harms promulgated by Lord Jeffery Amherst.” 

The “Lose the A from the UUSA” committee began its work in earnest during the summer of 2025 has discussed and support the following.

Assumptions: 

  • The name of the congregation should reflect and be consistent with the core values of the congregation, and…
  • The name of the congregation should project our commitment to welcoming all peoples, and…
  • The current name of the congregation includes the name of an 18th century militarist, white supremacist, supporter of native genocide, and member of the aristocracy and friend of King George III of England.

Objectives: 

  1. To explore the responsibility of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst (UUSA) and our religious ancestors for the historical genocide, land theft, and attempted erasure of Indigenous culture from New England.
  2. To explore the willingness of the members of the congregation to support a name change which would disassociate the congregation from the harms promulgated by British General and Lord Jeffery Amherst.

Anyone interested in attending or being kept informed of our work should contact John Gerber for details.

Two Questions:

Why us? 

  • The First Universalist Parish of Amherst was established in 1893 (135 years after the town was named). It is unlikely the name Amherst was considered a problem at that time.
  • The founding fathers revered Lord Amherst as a British war hero who kicked the French off the North American continent. When the town was named in 1759, it was a time of British pride and loyalty to the crown.
  • We could work to change the town name… but:
    • Town has not voted on 8th principle – to dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions
    • We (UUSA) are not innocent of the taint of genocide, land theft and attempted erasure of Indigenous peoples in New England. 
    • The Unitarian Universalist Association has documented in a 2020 Report that “our faith seems to have no room for repentance and saying when we have failed.”

Why now?

  • This is a natural continuation of our post-pandemic conversations on social justice
  • Reverend Rachael presented a series on of sermons on white supremacy culture in 2021-22
  • We had a Social Justice Jamboree in 2024 to revitalize our social justice work
  • Donald J. Trump is renaming military installations to honor confederate soldiers and renamed the naval ship Harvey Milk, which recognized the work of naval veteran and gay rights activist
  • In 2025 – the congregation voted to affirm our mission which includes the statement – to build Beloved Community by putting our ideas and values into action
  • Now is all we have – every day that we don’t act…. we, in effect, declare our support for Lord Amherst and his belief in the inferiority of native peoples by retaining him as the namesake or our congregation

Finally… White Christian Nationalism which is the guiding principle of the Trump administration, the Republican congress, and the majority of the Supreme Court has deep roots in the American story. Until the work of repentance and repair is begun, there is little hope for systemic change. If there is to be peace on earth…. let it begin with us.

NOTE: a follow-up on the original article was published in the Amherst Indy in July 2025.

Related Resources

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2 thoughts on “Efforts to “Lose the A from the UUSA””

  1. Pingback: Efforts to “Lose the A from the UUSA” | Hetty Startup's blog
  2. Pingback: How did the town of Amherst come to be called “Amherst”? | Changing the Story

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