by Cathy Ware
From June 25-29, I had the privilege of attending General Assembly in Providence, RI. The theme was “Love Reaches Out”. Diana Digges and I served as delegates from Theodore Parker Church.
These are highlights from my experience, however you can read or watch much of GA online.
GA was held in the Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin Donuts arena. Every state in the country was represented as well as many countries.
The UUA made great strides in making GA accessible and as environmentally friendly as possible. Everything we used to eat – plates, cups and utensils – were compostable. There were volunteers stationed at the trashcans to help attendees figure out where to dispose of their trash.
WORSHIP SERVICES
The worship services were held in the Dunkin Donuts Arena and were full of inspiring words and music. They were by far my favorite part of GA. Here is a taste of what it’s like to sing with 4,000 UUs.
Wednesday night was the Welcome Celebration that included a parade of banners from all of the participating congregations. Diana and I were proud to carry the TPC banner that was made by the former TPC Women’s Circle in 2003.
It was great to see so many youth and young adults at GA and Thursday night’s service was a bridging ceremony for youth who were transitioning to adulthood. I mention this service because we do not currently have a ritual like this at TPC but it might be something we want to consider. In many congregations, once a child turns 14, they are able to vote. This seems a great way to keep youth involved.
Friday afternoon I attended a service by the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF). CLF is a virtual UU church. It is a way for UUs to worship, come together and connect on the web. They especially reach out to UUs who have been imprisoned. This service was about finding healing in unexpected places. The Rev. Meg Riley (CLF senior minister) spoke as did the Rev. Seanan R. Holland, LT, USN (a veteran who is now a chaplain in the Coast Guard). The service included amazing music by Brother Sun – a trio of musicians who are a must see!
Friday night was the annual Service of the Living Tradition. This is a service welcoming new ministers, honoring those retiring and remembering those who have died. As a retiring minster, Phyllis took her walk across the stage. Bruce Taylor TPC’s former intern and David Horst our former RE director received Final Fellowship.
playing drums in the foreground)
Sunday morning’s service was based on the words of our very own Theodore Parker. The choir (which included Joy Martin and Alison Gottlieb) sang a hymn based on his famous words that we all know so well.
Hearing the sermon, which was given by the Rev. Mark minister of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, IA, filled Diana and I with pride once again. Here is a link to the service and his sermon (video and text) but here are some excerpts:
He began:
So, let it be known by all who have not yet been told, the words are from Theodore Parker, the 19th century Unitarian minister, abolitionist, reformer and activist who preached the prophetic imperative as much as any other minister in our liberal religious history. It was Parker, after all, who first spoke about the moral arc of the universe being long but bending toward justice, words that have been echoed by many from Rev. Dr. King to President Obama. When Parker proclaimed “Be ours a religion which like sunshine goes everywhere,” he was not preaching saccharine, and he was not being “hippy dippy” as another member recently described the hymn to me. He was encouraging us to let our religion infuse everything we do so that we will better serve the common life we share.
And ended:
So let’s give ourselves more often to the possibilities of collaboration. Let’s be witnesses for our faith in this troubled world. Let’s put aside our discomfort with difference, taking the risk to work with those who are willing to work with us and letting that work agitate and inspire and transform us. Let’s choose to be the religion we know we are called to be. The religion whose love reaches out. The religion
which like sunshine goes everywhere.
Its temple all space.
Its shrine the good heart.
Its creed all truth.
Its ritual works of love.
BUSINESS AT GA
The business of the UUA took place during 8 general sessions (think TPC’s annual meeting on steroids).
UUA president Peter Morales kicked this off with an inspiring report on Thursday morning. To hear it all click here but these are my favorite excerpts:
Love reaches out…if it doesn’t reach out, it isn’t love.
I believe that we have to do three things—get religion, grow leaders, and cross borders
… And by get religion, I mean living our faith…We are a religious movement. We’re not a club. We’re not a political action group.
And we have to grow leaders. That means identifying people with passion, commitment, and competence, and then supporting them…
allowing leaders to lead. It means supporting innovation and taking some risks. We cannot dis-empower our leaders and allow ourselves to get caught up in endless process and discussion and debate.
And third, we have to cross borders. If we’re to prosper in this new world, we have to learn to cross the borders of race, of culture, of social class…this is deep spiritual work…
BUSINESS ITEMS
One item of business was voting on whether the UUA should divest from its investments in companies that produce or process fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas, and coal. There was some debate but it passed overwhelmingly. Read more here.
Each year at GA the delegates vote on a Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) for four years of study, reflection and action. The CSAI that was chosen this year is Escalating Inequality. This was the issue TPC chose as our priority and so received our vote.
The delegates at GA also vote on Actions of Immediate Witness (AIWs) that are social action statements supported by the UUA. These are the AIWs that passed:
1. Support the “Pray for Relief” Faith Summit on Stopping Deportations
2. Affirming Congregational Commitment to Gun Violence Prevention
WORKSHOPS
I attended several workshops while at GA. There were two that I think would be particularly useful for TPC.
The first was called “Love Reaching Home: Faith Formation Way Beyond Sunday”. In this workshop we discussed ways to “do church” outside of Sunday mornings. It was inspiring to hear about ways that other congregations are keeping families involved by offering activities throughout the week. These include providing a family friendly Small Group Ministry and doing intergeneration service projects. This could also be incorporating UU values into the daily lives of our children through developing covenants at home or building Lego chalices.
Another useful workshop I attended was about programming grants that are available through the UUA. Below are links to the 4 types of grants with instructions on how to apply. My big take-away from this workshop is that there is money and they want to give it to congregations. Four volunteer panels review applications and award grants with the assistance of staff. The panelists are very accessible and willing to work with congregations on their applications. They especially like congregations that can make a column of numbers add up! These funds can be used for things like a speaker series, a coffee house, trainings on social justice or worship, non-English hymnals, etc – there are more examples on the website.
• Fund for Unitarian Universalism
• Fund for UU Social Responsibility
• Fund for International Unitarian Universalism
• Fund for a Just Society
It was an honor to attend GA as one of TPC’s delegates. I am happy to speak more with anyone who is interested in my experience. It was truly inspiring and I thank the congregation for supporting my attendance.