2018 GA Roundup
UUSJ was present and represented at the 57th Annual General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in Kansas City, MO. (Click here to view the program. Click here to view videos of the main sessions, including the WARE lecture with Brittany Packet and the Sunday Morning Worship, “No Time for a Casual Faith,” with UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray).
UUSJ representatives participated in several sessions involving UU Ministry for Earth and UUs for a Just Economic Community, and staffed a poster session (see photo left) during which we answered questions about UUSJ’s “Write Here! Write Now!” letter-writing campaign designed to raise the UU advocacy voice on Capitol Hill. We also met with leadership of the Coalition of UU State Action Network to identify ways to advance our collective interest in advocacy for UU values. We also are co-sponsoring and will be participating in the UUA/UUSJ Electoral Justice webinar scheduled for July 12. at 7pm ET.
Delegates selected “
Undoing Intersectional White Supremacy” to be the 2018-2022 Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) of the Unitarian Universalist Association. The CSAI is an invitation for congregations to take a topic of concern and engage it, reflect on it, learn about it, respond to it, comment on it, and take action—each in their own way. A CSAI is NOT a statement—it is a question. Read the complete text of the CSAI, “
Undoing Intersectional White Supremacy.”
Among the highlights of the UUA’s General Assembly is the process of selecting Actions of Immediate Witness. As the name suggests, these are issues that require immediate action, that are specific, that fit with our capacity to take meaningful action, and that present opportunities for our congregations to become respected participants in public dialogue and advocacy. AIWs are actions taken by the General Assembly and are not binding policy for the denomination.
The actions selected this year: “End family separation and detention of asylum seekers and abolish ICE” ; “We are all related: Solidarity NOW with indigenous water protectors”; and “End prisons for profit: dismantle predatory medical care practices in prisons.” Read more about them here:
The
Ware Lecture was given by
Brittany Packnett, a leader at the intersection of culture and justice. She serves as Teach For America’s Vice President of National Community Alliances, where she leads partnerships and civil rights work with communities of color. She is co-founder of Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence. She is also a contributor to the Crooked Media network, most notably contributing to the weekly news roundup on Pod Save The People, a Video Columnist for Mic News, and writes for many publications. In the Ware Lecture to the UUA General Assembly, Packnett said, “‘The more you benefit from supremacy the more responsible you have to be to dismantle it.” Watch the entire lecture
here.
These are but a few highlights — much more can be accessed on the website (see link above). There were many excellent workshop and presentations, and as usual bylaw changes and other organizational business. And the exhibit hall provided both respite from the formal sessions as well as opportunity to learn from the many organizations and network with fellow UUs.
Future General Assemblies
- June 19 – 23, 2019: Spokane, WA
- June 24 – 28, 2020: Providence, RI
- June 23 – 27, 2021: Milwaukee, WI
- June 22 – 26, 2022: TBD
- June 21 – 25, 2023: Pittsburgh, PA
