Some additional reflections from UCE members who attended General Assembly (GA) in June:

From Karen Courtright:

The single most important thing for me was the courageous sermon delivered by Reverend Sinkford. The take home message was: The UUs were great allies in the ’60’s civil rights work, until they weren’t. DON’T SCREW UP THIS TIME. Stand by the movement even when it gets difficult. This is what I was thinking about when we declined to lead the action that OPAL requested (I was in Europe and could not offer to work on the issue). Too difficult because of Dallas police shootings??? I say we step into this work, and don’t step away.

From Eileen Wiviott:

I do have to say that in addition to Rev. William Barber’s electrifying sermon (I can’t call it anything else) at the rally, the Sunday morning worship service was one of the best I’d been a part of. I particularly appreciated Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd’s message of opting out of the fake fights, to continue to connect and meet across difference. Here’s the link to the Sunday morning worship:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v-AR9-3JKY

From Barbara Ghoshal:

Besides the various General Sessions, Religious Services, and Ware Lecture, I attended seven ninety-minute programs (out of the hundreds being offered). These programs were replete with useful and surprising information for a relatively new Unitarian Universalist, and included:

• With You at Every Turn, offered by the All Souls Unitarian Church (Tulsa), on congregational leadership tips and tools;
• Healthy Leadership 101: New Patterns for Conflict Transformation;
• Beyond “The Word”: Sensory-Rich Worship for Our Whole Selves, offered by the Rev. Erika Hewitt;
• Congregational Leadership in the Interim Time, in which those connected with the Deerfield, IL church discussed their recovery process after their minister’s departure;
• The 2017 UUA Presidential Candidates Forum, with the Rev. Jeanne Pupke, the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, and the Rev. Alison Miller;
• Listening to the Humanist Voices: An Open-Hearted Unitarian Universalism;and finally,
• Creative Fundraising for Today’s Ministries, with Denny Davidoff, Jessica Cloud, and Sean Neil-Barron.

Several UCE members & friends attended General Assembly in Columbus, OH in June. Rather than writing one, big summary article, we chose to ask attendees about their “favorite moment” at GA.  Here’s a sampling of impressions from GA:

Also note, you can watch talks/speeches/performances, etc from GA by browsing this page.

From Martha Holman:

“High point for me was seeing many many youth and young adults amass at the microphone on the very last day to say Wait a minute! They were very disappointed in the seemingly easy dismissal of a Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) on the issue of race. As was I. These young people, many of them people idolize, proposed a responsive resolution that the UUA and congregations across the country step up and act to help end racial injustice. They said “the Black Lives Matter banners are fine, “but what else will we do to work at healing, to make this country and our congregations safe for everyone? The moderator invited this large group up on stage to speak at the podium. The resolution was passed.”

From Heike Eghardt:

Two favorite moments: 1) Rev. Barber at the State of Emergence event. I particularly liked it when he told the gathered crowd that the next time we have an event like that, we should have it outside – inclement weather or not –  because we need to be visible if we want to make a difference. Watch his speech here.

2) I loved it when the angels blocking out Westboro’s message of hate.

From Peggy Boccard:

For me there were three major highlights among a host of smaller ones:the powerful message of Rev Dr William Barber at the Thursday morning address and later in the day at the racial justice rally; Bill Sinkford’s gently phrased but firm admonition to UUs to do better at the Service of the Living Tradition; Ware Lecturer Krista Tippett who reminded us that Words matter; that Listening is a social art and questions are civic tools; and to Dare to Name Love. Other joys, in no particular order, the inspired performance of Glen Thomas Rideout performing and leading the GA Choir; Dawn Clark Cooley at the Opening Celebration; the Angel Wing team in response to Westboro. The surprise winner for me: the Social Action Witness Sermon Contest Award on Friday afternoon; the only time this year we had a mass rising of the Youth Caucus and Young Adult Caucus* together to join with the Black Lives UU (BLUU) team to chastise is for weak-kneed response to action on Black Lives Matter (which left me shaken and in tears) at the end of the last Plenary on Sunday afternoon which led directly into a powerful Closing Celebration.

Additional reflections on GA will appear in future newsletters, Also, feel free to ask GA attendees questions about their experiences (at church, via email, etc.)