North American Unitarian Association

Ralph Waldo Emerson decried the Unitarianism of his day as “corpse-cold” and urged the religion to evolve with new understandings of the contemporary world. Those understandings are still with us today, but our Living Tradition asks us to continue evolving with the times. Dr. Matthew Shear will share with us a positive view of what a liberal religion for the 21st century could look like.

Dr. Matthew Shear is a 1980 graduate of the New England College of Optometry, and completed a post-graduate program from the Baltimore Academy for Behavioral Optometry in 2002. He has also trained as a peer counselor, eventually teaching the technique to others. His particular interest is in the effects of misperception on our understanding of ourselves and the world, and how that affects our behaviors. This focus eventually led him from clinical practice to becoming a religious professional. He began preaching lay led services in 2007, and in 2018 was engaged by Channing Church in Rockland, MA as their full time Preacher, where he served for two years. A former Board member of UUMUAC, he is still an occasional preacher of their 3rd Wednesday Vesper services and elsewhere.

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• Unjust Persecution
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• Sept. 2026 – When our Justice System Fails
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• Aug. 15, 2026: NAUA Service – Peace, Love, Understanding and Manure by JD Stillwater
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