Evaluating General Assembly, clapping in worship, and more

Ministerial Fellowship Committee rule change

The Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly (GA) was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June 25-29, 2008, and bloggers provided commentary on key GA developments.

In the morning plenary session on June 29, delegates voted to approve a UUA bylaw change that allows the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) to revoke the fellowship of ministers found to be incompetent. UU World's "General Assembly Blog" announced the vote with a headline reading, "Ministers can be terminated for incompetence," which attracted criticism from UU bloggers. Concerned that readers would mistakenly assume that ministerial employment (rather than ministerial fellowship) could be revoked by the MFC, the Rev. Christine Robinson wrote:

"Ministers can be terminated for incompetence," screams the UU World headline. It's a misleading headline with nasty overtones, and I expect better from the UU World.

Aside from the fact that it is ministerial fellowship (credentialing) which can be terminated, not ministers, for incompetence, I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks "killed by organized crime" when the verb "terminated" is used in that way. (June 29, 2008)

Jess at "Jess's Journal" and the Rev. Scott Wells of "Boy in the Bands" also criticized the article.

In response, UU World corrected the headline and article. Editor Chris Walton explained:

The rule change allows the Ministerial Fellowship Committee to terminate a minister's fellowship with the Association—in effect, their accreditation—for incompetence, but the committee does not have the authority to "terminate" a minister's settlement in a congregation or to revoke their ordination. The headline and second paragraph of the post have been revised to more accurately reflect what the General Assembly decided. (June 30, 2008).

After the article was corrected, Robinson wrote again:

This is On-Line. Corrections easy.

And I do appreciate the willingness to make them. (June 30, 2008)

Bloggers also discussed the merits of the MFC's new policy. Steve Caldwell at "Liberal Faith Development" favored the change:

[I]t seems funny to me that any professionals should be this concerned about protecting colleagues who are incompetent in their profession.

A minister who demonstrates serial incompetence through several congregational postings does impact the public perception of ministry throughout the UUA. (June 30, 2008)

Jess at "Jess's Journal" wrote in the comments to her related post:

I think the addition of "incompetence" is a good one — there have been cases of ministers going from church to church wreaking havoc not out of poor intention but out of a lack of skill, and it's good that the MFC does not have to wait for some form of misconduct to address such situations. Denny Davidoff said it best when she said that it’s not about being "nice" but about addressing real concerns with the quality of ministry in our churches, particularly when we're talking about real harm that can come to our people. (June 30, 2008)

The Rev. Scott Wells at "Boy in the Bands" and Happy or Cranky Cindy at "Happy Cindy Changes the World" also weighed in on the new rule.

More General Assembly coverage

At "the yes church," the Rev. Chip Roush cheers the Sunday morning worship at General Assembly:

Yesterday's morning worship was the best GA service I've seen, in the almost-decade I've been attending. Rather than *telling* us to be "appropriately" worshipful, the leaders created a powerful service that drew us in and shook us up and *compelled us into a deep worshipful space. (June 30, 2008)

"uuMomma" appreciates the spiritual nourishment she received at GA:

I was fed this year, friends. I was fed. The sermon by Victoria Safford for the Service of the Living Tradition was beautiful and I was fed. The Ware Lecture by Van Jones was riveting, challenging us to learn to govern and I was fed. And the final event before I went back and packed up the booth was to go to Worship. And I was fed … abundantly. (June 30, 2008)

The Rev. Andy Burnett at "Just Wondering" chimes in: "I am thrilled to be a Unitarian Universalist after these meetings" (July 1, 2008).

Bloggers also followed General Assembly through online videos of key events, made available at UUA.org.

Observing GA via streaming video, Elizabeth Barrett at "exUUberance" is pleased that the hymn "Now Let Us Sing" was sung at the Closing Ceremony. She writes, "I belted it out at home with my spouse while watching everyone get into it at GA" (June 30, 2008).

At "Soul Work," UU Soul describes watching GA from their UU congregation:

Technologically it went great! We watched the prerecorded opening worship and then the live stream of the Ware Lecture. Both were enthusiastically received and I for one felt a connection with our fellow UUs many miles away. (June 30, 2008).

Preventing unplanned pregnancies

The Rev. Debra Haffner of "Sexuality and Religion: What's the Connection?" challenges the Rev. Jim Wallis, the pro-life editor-in-chief of the progressive Christian magazine Sojourners:

Rev. Wallis, as a pro-choice feminist and minister, I will do everything I can to work with you on assuring adoption services and high quality prenatal care and parenting support -- when will we see you working to assure women AND men have access to the means to prevent pregnancies in the first place? (June 30, 2008)

Worship etiquette

In response to his own congregation's notice discouraging applause during worship, Jim Magaw at "Word, Music, and Meaning" argues that clapping be acceptable during worship:

I'm not sure if applause as "appreciation for the musicians" has a place in a worship service or not, but I do believe that heartfelt spontaneous expression -- whether in the form of applause, laughter, or even a shouted "Amen" -- is both holy and wholly appropriate. (June 29, 2008)

Sex offenders and congregations

The Rev. Kit Ketcham of "Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show" reflects on whether her congregation can make a place for former sex offenders:

I've had enough experience with sexual predators, both personally and professionally, to know that it's an insidious, identity-damaging crime. I agree with the Supremes that it doesn't warrant the death penalty, but it does so much damage to a person's identity that it should be considered a huge offense against humanity. I believe a victim can be healed, with enough time and treatment; I'm not sure about a predator for whom the behavior has become addictive.

But the question of how to provide a spiritual home for both an offender (of many types, not just sexual) and a potential victim is one that faces many faith traditions. Our desire to be compassionate must be balanced by our ability to be protective of potential victims and of adult survivors of sexual assault. (June 30, 2008)

Ketcham also wrote a follow-up post about how Washington state, where her congregation is based, regulates sex offenders.