GA 2016 Highlights

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Written by the GA Delegation

Your GA 2016 delegation— Rev. Allison Palm, Ellen Barr, Jeanne Hochstetler, Lori Lerude, Seth Bonvouloir, and Dave Hudson—is back from Columbus, OH and we wanted to share some of our excitement by giving you an update on what happened.

In addition to this blog post, your GA delegation also has several activities planned over the next few weeks to share more personally and more deeply what we learned at GA.

  • Please join us on Sunday, July 17 for our GA Summer Service. Each of us will share some personal reflections on General Assembly and, with Jed’s help, we’ll be giving you a taste of some of the music we heard in Columbus.
  • Starting Wednesday evening July 27, and running for three consecutive weeks – 3 Wednesdays, one Thursday (Aug 4, Aug 10, & Aug 17), we’ll be bringing pieces of GA back to Nashua. Each week we’ll show recordings of a portion of General Assembly and then follow-up with a short discussion.

Executive Summary

We have a lot of information to share, but we know you may not have time to read it all right now. Here are the key takeaways.

  • In a long list of amazing speeches, two things stood out. The first was Rev. Barber’s brief but passionate talk, which set the tone for the entire event. Krista Tippet, host of NPR’s On Being, who delivered a personal and thought-provoking Ware Lecture, provided the second.
  • The Westboro Baptist Church showed up to protest everything we stand for and their message of intolerance was answered with songs of love.
  • Delegates selected The Corruption of Our Democracy as the new Congregational Study/Action Issue, a topic all member congregations will be exploring for the next four years.
  • The current UUA President, Rev. Peter Morales, will end his term next year and we had a chance to meet the three women running in next year’s election to replace him. That means that 2017 will mark the first time a woman will serve as UUA President. About time, right?!
  • Young Adults took the assembly to task for what they perceived as more talk than action on race.
  • We can do more together than we can as individuals.
  • If you ever have the chance to attend General Assembly, you should. From powerful services to thought-provoking lectures to being surrounded by passionate UUs, it is an experience not to be missed.

Overview

In case you’re not familiar with it, General Assembly (GA) is the five-day annual conference of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). It brings together member congregations from across the US, which allows the association to conduct its business (much like our annual meeting), gives attendees a chance to meet and share ideas with fellow UUs, lets folks see old friends, and allows people to attend a variety of seminars on interesting topics.

To be fair, that description doesn’t really do the event justice. Maybe it would help to picture your favorite service this year, but imagine attending it with a couple thousand other like-minded people. Think of the most inspiring speech you heard this year and then envision something two or three times more powerful. Remember that feeling you had the first time you walked through the door here at UUCN and realized you’d found your people? Now imagine that same feeling as you walk into a huge conference hall filled with UUs. Finally, try to think back to a social justice event you attended and then multiply that passion for justice by a factor of five to ten.

Come to think of it, we’re still not sure we’ve scratched the surface of GA’s magic.

  • Maybe a little name-dropping would help. Martin Luther King, Jr’s son was on hand to mark the 50th anniversary of his father’s speech to the assembly. Krista Tippet, of NPR’s On Being, was there to deliver the annual Ware Lecture. Naturally there was also a host of UU luminaries, leaders, and authors.
  • Maybe the cerebral is more your style. If so, you would have enjoyed conversations and debates about Palestine, race, gun violence, climate justice, the corruption of our democracy, and a number of other timely issues.
  • We also saw a preview of the new Ken Burns’ documentary about two historic UUs. Defying the Nazis tells how Rev. Waitstill and his spouse, Martha Sharp, helped people escape Nazi-occupied Europe at great personal sacrifice. The documentary will air on PBS in September.
  • Perhaps most dramatically, you missed our UU youth singing songs of love to protestors from the Westboro Baptist Church. Thanks to some coordination by the UU church in Orlando, we were able to don the same angel wings used during the funerals in Orlando to block the protestor’s messages of hate and intolerance.

Let’s just say it was an action packed week. Sometimes our hearts were heavy with the challenges before us, but just as often our hearts soared with hope and promise. One felt that with our shared good will and a healthy dose of faith we really could change the world.

Details & Theme

Total attendance was a little over three thousand, predominantly from US Congregations. We suspect you might even recognize a few of them. We saw Rev. Bruce Taylor, Rev. Olivia Holmes, Rev. Janet Newman, and Meredith Olson, among others. There were also several UU representatives from around the world. All in all, one really leaves with the sense that we are part of a global movement, a movement with much to offer a hurting world.

The theme this year was “Heart Land: Where Faiths Connect” and UU attendees from around the country were joined by a handful of leaders from other denominations. As you can imagine, there were quite a few interfaith threads woven throughout the week. Other recurring themes were:

  • the power of communities to accomplish things individuals cannot,
  • the urgent sense that we have so much more to do before we achieve racial equality,
  • the future of liberal religion may not look like its past and now is the time for creativity and entrepreneurial solutions, and
  • the deep need for all of our congregations to be more mission focused. UUA President Peter Morales noted that, “Congregations that focus inward struggle, but ones that focus outward thrive.”

Seminars

There are a great many learning opportunities at GA and chief among them are seminars. Unfortunately, there’s never enough time to go to all the seminars one would like to. The topics range from congregational operations (membership, leadership, stewardship) to social justice and more. This year Seth and Lori, in conjunction with two people from the UU Church of Concord, led a successful and well-attended workshop on Restorative Circles.

Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAI)

Every other year the delegates to General Assembly pick an issue to be studied collectively for the following four years by all member congregations with the hope that said study leads to directed action and positive change at the local, state, and national level. The intent is to focus the energies of our association on a shared issue. As you can imagine, there are a lot of topics that call for our attention and the process of narrowing the field can be challenging. This year we started with four topics then whittled it down to one.

CSAIs are generally proposed by member congregations or districts and then submitted to the UUA’s Commission on Social Witness for review. Proposals that meet the appropriate criteria are then prepared and submitted to GA delegates.

The previous CSAI, running from 2014 to 2018, was Escalating Inequality. This year delegates selected The Corruption of Our Democracy as the new Congregational Study/Action Issue, a topic member congregations are now invited to explore for the next four years. Many delegates were disappointed that “National Conversation on Race” was not the selection.

A brief summary of the new CSAI is below and the sense on the floor was that addressing this issue might open the door for significant progress on all of the other concerns.

As corporations use “corporate personhood” and “money as speech” for their interests rather than the people’s needs, can a constitutional amendment be passed to protect us? Could this further Unitarian Universalist work for social and environmental justice and help protect the health and safety of the people and the planet?

Statements of Conscience (SOC)

SOCs are based on CSAIs and drafted by the UUA’s Commission on Social Witness in the third year of study/action and presented to congregations and delegates for comments, proposed amendments, and final approval. There was no SOC proposal or vote this year.

NOTE: For more information on this year’s other proposed CSAI topics, the criteria for CSAIs, and a list of Statement of Consciences resulting from Previous CSAIs, please see the end of this blog post.

Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW)

AIWs are issues that are both more urgent and more suited for a quick burst of energy and support. There are a maximum of three Actions of Immediate Witness that can be voted on by the assembly and all of the following were approved.

  • “Build Solidarity with our Muslim Neighbors” – encourages us all to actively reach out to our Muslim neighbors to build bridges and combat Islamaphobia.
  • “Some Guns, All Guns: Legislating Appropriate Restrictions” – “calls on UUs to work together and in collaboration with others to ensure that the states and federal government create safe and responsible gun ownership legislation…”
  • “Stop The Hate: Protect and Support our Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Family” – encourages UUs to condemn and work against discriminatory actions and laws, support passage of The Fairness Act, and pledge to educate those around us on the issues and challenges.

Unfortunately, because we’re limited to three, there were other proposed AIWs that were not approved.

  • “Halt Drone Warfare”
  • “Stop the TPP”
  • “Support HR 40: ‘The Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act’”

Bylaws Amendments

Just like our annual meetings, there are some years where bylaw amendments are proposed. This year there was only one recommendation, which was to suspend the AIW process at next year’s General Assembly. That change was officially approved by delegates. The preamble to the change is most instructive.

“We are seeking to create a Justice Focused General Assembly in 2017 where we will have more worship, witness, and service opportunities with local partners. The UUA Board of Trustees, General Assembly Planning Committee, the Office of Multicultural Growth and Witness, the Commission on Social Witness, and the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal in New Orleans request that the delegates vote to amend the Bylaws to suspend the AIW process in 2017, which will allow us an opportunity to practice different models of immediate witness. Accordingly, the Board of Trustees moves to amend section 4.16 of the Bylaws to read as follows…”

Business Resolutions

Some years there are also efforts to propose amendments to the UUA’s bylaws or operating procedures. This year there were two proposals.

#1 – “Divestment from Corporations Complicit in the Violation of Palestinian Rights”

This resolution was a proposal to force the UUA’s Investment Committee to divest UUA holdings from companies that support Israel’s occupation or operations in Palestine. This proposal was quite contentious and after several discussions and amendments the motion, which needed a two-thirds majority, was narrowly defeated.

There were a few key moments in the debate worth sharing.

  • There was a panel discussion led by a professional moderator with two proponents and two opponents of the proposal. The moderator used a unique approach to help the participants focus on their personal connection to their view.
  • The proposal was drafted earlier in the year but coincidentally the UUA’s Investment Committee had independently done some work on this front and even taken a few steps in this direction. The proponents voluntarily retooled their proposal to factor in these changes, but opponents continued to suggest that subsequent action was unnecessary.
  • Some opponents felt that any action to support divestment would be perceived as an anti-Semitic act, even though proponents were clear in their support of Israel.
  • Some seminar time was dedicated to an in-depth discussion of the proposal. The folks who attended this mini-assembly made several amendments were that were subsequently included in the final version presented to the full assembly.
  • Just before the final vote was taken an amendment that had been rejected in the mini-assembly was approved by the full assembly. This amendment, which included language more supportive of Israel, also included phrasing that seemed to undermine the intent of the resolution. (The phrasing acknowledged Israel’s right to defend itself which is typically code for an expansive interpretation of measures in the occupied territories.)

Your UUCN delegation was in favor of the original resolution. However, we were disappointed by the last amendment and, ultimately, by the outcome of the vote.

#2 – “Thanksgiving Day Reconsidered”

This resolution was submitted by the Ballou-Channing District and was approved with little dissent. The resolution noted that the upcoming 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower’s arrival would undoubtedly engender much national conversation and it would be an excellent time to reflect on the impact and repercussions of the subsequent migrations on Native Americans.

In part it said, “BE IT RESOLVED that this General Assembly encourages all Unitarian Universalists to enter a time of education, careful reflection, and healing for the years 2016-2021. We ask that special attention be given to the suffering, indignity, and loss that native peoples have suffered since the early 1600s…”

Youth and Young Adult Caucuses

It’s impossible to discuss General Assembly these days without discussing the youth (up to 18) and young adults (up to 35) in attendance. More than just providing activities focused on young people and being a place to gather with other young people, both played active and important roles at General Assembly. Indeed, young people led two of the most powerful moments at GA.

  • The songs of love sung to the Westboro Baptist Church protestors were led by young adults.
  • At the final General Session, Youth and Young Adults voiced their deep dissatisfaction with the assembly for its work on addressing racial inequality. They felt delegates were quick to talk about race and express our support of #BlackLivesMatter, but we lacked the necessary indignation, focus, and passion for the issue. We suspect their frustration was partially rooted in the fact that delegates passed over the race-related CSAI in favor of the one on the corruption of our democracy. A Responsive Resolution written by the Youth Caucus called on our UUA and our congregation to engage in more real action around racial justice. The delegates voted overwhelmingly in support of this resolution.

Collections

It will come as no surprise that living our mission still takes financial resources. There were three significant collections taken at GA this year.

  • The first collection taken at GA was to support #BlackLivesMatter. They set an ambitious goal of $60,000, which was double the typical result. With the help of some matching funds and money donated by congregations prior to GA, the assembly raised over $89,000, three times more than normal.
  • The Sunday morning worship collection typically supports a local non-profit and this year was no different. We raised funds for the Horizon Prison Initiative a Columbus-based group that works to break the cycle of incarceration. The amount raised was not immediately available, but you can learn more at http://horizonprisoninitiative.org/.
  • The UUA Stewardship team led a weeklong effort to raise money directly for the UUA. Anyone who donated during GA was entered into a drawing for tickets to next year’s General Assembly in New Orleans. Their efforts raised over $246,000 in Columbus!

2017 UUA Presidential Election

There were several opportunities to meet the three candidates for UUA President including a well-attended forum on Saturday. Delegates to GA 2017 will elect one of these women to a single, six-year term. You can learn more about the candidates and the election in general here: http://www.uua.org/topics/uua-elections. Delegates were told that candidates would be holding regional events throughout the coming year to give us all a chance to meet them.

  • Alison Miller is a lifelong UU and stressed inclusion and innovation in her presentation. http://www.alisonforuuapresident.org/
  • Jeanne Pupke started as a Catholic Nun before becoming a private sector CEO and ultimately a UU minister. She stressed her experience and professionalism. http://www.jeannepupke.com/
  • Susan Frederick-Gray has served UU congregations in all five regions of the US. She emphasized the importance of building partnerships and focusing on mission. http://susanfrederickgray.com/

Looking Ahead to GA 2017

What’s that? You’d like to go to General Assembly next year? We don’t blame you and we can virtually guarantee you that you’ll be glad you did. General Assembly 2017 will be held June 21-25 in New Orleans, LA. We’ll see you there!

How Can You Learn More?

That’s the spirit! I know it seems hard to imagine, but this summary hardly does justice to all of the activities, events, excitement, and passion of General Assembly. There are lots of ways you can learn more.

 

APPENDIX

Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAI) – Additional Information

Other Proposed CSAls for 2016-2020

  • Climate Change and Environmental Justice: What is the moral response to climate change? How can congregations work in solidarity with the oppressed? The problems of racism, economic injustice, patriarchy, ageism, and ableism continue. A vision with a plan for environmental justice is needed. Support human rights, care for tlie wounded, and defend Mother Earth.
  • A National Conversation on Race: The blatant racism directed at President Obama, increased killings of unarmed Black men by police officers, persistent racial inequality, as well as the Black Lives Matter Movement show that our country needs a faith community to demonstrate leadership in modeling racial reconciliation through a national conversation on race.
  • Ending Gun Violence in America: Gun violence in our country is epidemic. There are significant, societal, demographic and racial issues to investigate. Our American gun culture must be addressed. There are no simple answers as the NRA would suggest – we need to listen, learn, and act.

CSAl Criteria

  1. An issue complex enough to merit three years of study and action.
  2. An issue for which there is a strong “yes” to questions of grounding, fit, and opportunity.
  3. An issue that would enable UUs to put our Principles into practice.
  4. An issue that lends itself practically to congregational and/or district study and action projects.
  5. An issue that the UUA has not recently adopted a position on through a Statement of Conscience unless further study and action would substantially enhance or change the UUA’s position.
  6. An issue that is not so urgent that it would be appropriate for an Action of Immediate Witness.

Statements of Conscience resulting from Previous CSAIs

2015 Reproductive Justice

2013 Immigration as a Moral Issue

2011 Ethical Eating & Environmental Justice

2010 Creating Peace

2007 Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society

2006 Threat of Global Warming/Climate Change

2005 Criminal Justice and Prison Reform

2004 Civil Liberties

2003 Economic Globalization

2002 Alternatives to the “War on Drugs”

2001 Responsible Consumption

2000 Economic Injustice, Poverty & Racism

1999 Beyond Religious Tolerance