The interdependent web at General Assembly

GA for those who don't go

Just because some bloggers can't go to Salt Lake City doesn't mean they aren't part of the Interdependent Web at General Assembly—and of course they vastly outnumber those who do! The Rev. Cynthia Landrum writes:

I'm sad that I can't be at General Assembly this year. I miss seeing my colleagues from other districts. I feel more out of touch with the latest ground-breaking events of our association and the newest books or creative thoughts. Every year I've missed I've planned to watch videos or live feeds of it, but I rarely do. Perhaps this year will be the first. They're certainly making virtual attendance at GA more possible. Hopefully soon we'll be able to vote from afar on more than just the president. ("Rev. Cyn," June 23)

GA is not just GA

Easily the most prolific blogger at GA so far is Kari Kopnick at "Chalice Spark." She is actively blogging GA, starting with pre-GA events and with a focus on LREDA, the professional organization for religious educators:

Quick, think of the longest, most boring meeting you've ever sat through. Now, double the length, but turn it around into a deeply meaningful, hilarious and wildly productive work session.

That's what today's LREDA Board meeting was like. Long. Deep, and a lot of fun. (June 22)

Spanish-language hymns and 'polyvocal dialogue'

The Rev. Ricky Hoyt was glad to hear about a new Spanish-language hymnal supplement: "This is a desperately needed resource in my Los Angeles congregation, and in our movement as a whole" ("One More Step," June 24).

Meanwhile, Paul Oakley reflects on a "polyvocal dialog" on the hymn "We'll Build a Land" during worship:

If every single hymn becomes part of some dialogic struggle, can we ever do anything without holding a series of workshops on it or, worse, killing it dead on the spot by positioning and explanation of every move we make rather than actually doing worship? And yet... dialog is certainly necessary. ("Inner Light, Radiant Life," June 25)

More perspectives

The Rev. Anthony Lorenzen is attending the Governance track of UU University ("Sunflower Chalice," June 26).

GA speaker Kate Clinton is featured on "Beacon Broadside" (June 26).

The UUA is using Twitter to write 140-character micro-reports on GA, and so are others.

UU World staff are posting photos to our Flickr stream.

And, of course, we also have our GA blog, written by UU World staff, and the UUA has a GA blog written by other UUA staff and volunteers.

Watching Iran, Father's Day, GA, and more

Iran's 'Green Revolution'

Several UU bloggers—the Rev. Victoria Weinstein ("PeaceBang"), Chalicechick ("The Chaliceblog"), the Rev. James Ford ("Monkey Mind"), and Bill Baar ("Pfarrer Streccius")—want to know why UUA President William G. Sinkford and the UUA's Washington Office haven't released any statements in support of the Iranian democratic reform movement, especially in light of Sinkford's controversial meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last fall. Meanwhile, Unitalian suggests that UUs express solidarity with the Bahai'i, a persecuted religious minority in Iran (June 21). And uuworld.org publishes a personal meditation by the Rev. Parisa Parsa, a UU minister who was born in Iran (June 22).

Pollster David W. Moore explains why we shouldn't trust a controversial pre-election poll in Iran that predicted Ahmadinejad would win ("Beacon Broadside," June 19). Military chaplain-in-training David Pyle comments on Iran and American exceptionalism ("Celestial Lands," June 21). The Rev. Gary Kowalski, author of a book about the liberalism of America's founding fathers, says that the Iranian protests have made him think about George Washington's legacy ("Revolutionary Spirits," June 21).

Joel Monka is impressed by how peaceful the Iranian protesters have been: "the property damage and blood in the streets of Tehran so far is less than you'd expect in an American city that just won an NBA championship" ("CUUMBAYA," June 20). The Rev. Tony Lorenzen wonders if Americans are just too comfortable to take to the streets to demand better health coverage ("Sunflower Chalice," June 22). Strange Attractor isn't sure how enthusiastically she should support the Iranian reformers: "These are not radicals or feminists in spite of Mousavi's impressive wife" (June 18).

Father's Day reflections

For Father's Day, Jeremey Adam Smith, author of the Beacon Press book The Daddy Shift, offers a guide to children's books featuring fathers as co-parents or primary caregivers ("Beacon Broadside," June 18). Jim Magaw writes, "My faith as a father is not a reflection of my parenting skills but is a reflection of my commitment to something outside myself" ("Word, Music and Meaning," June 19). The Rev. Victoria Weinstein, whose father died 26 years ago when she was in high school, writes:

Right now I just feel like I would literally give an arm to pick up the phone and hear my dad’s voice, have a conversation with him and meet him somewhere for a hug. Just to smell his coat lapels. To see his hands and feet. To know his face so well, still, that I wouldn’t even need to look closely at it. To walk on the beach with him and see his thinning hair get ruffled in the wind and to talk about all the things we used to talk about — mainly, about what kind of person I was going to be, what he saw in me and for me. He would have so much to say by now. We would just fall into step beside each other as we always did, and he would tell me how his perspective had changed as one of the ancestors. He would make everything clear for me. ("PeaceBang," June 21)

"Beacon Broadside" also publishes a moving personal essay about life-threatening pregnancies and the Buddhist teaching that life is suffering by Jeff Wilson, a Unitarian Universalist professor of religion and East Asian studies and occasional contributor to UU World (June 16). Wilson's article is adapted from an essay in a new Beacon Press anthology of writings for the web magazine Killing the Buddha.

As General Assembly approaches

Kim Hampton is wary of the UUA Fifth Principle Task Force's proposal to hold General Assemblies less often: "And as someone who doesn’t live on the east coast (where the majority of UUs of color are), it gets very lonely (and tiring) being one of maybe a couple of persons of color in the room. . . . The only time that there is a critical mass of people of color is at GA" ("East of Midnight," June 17).

Patrick Murfin offers "a guide for the unsuspecting UU delegate in an election year" ("Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout," June 17). Worship is the best part of General Assembly, writes Kari Kopnick ("Chalice Spark," June 19). UU World is blogging General Assembly news and business ("General Assembly Blog"). UUA.org's coverage will include reports, blog posts, and streaming and archived video.

The Rev. Dan Harper is en route to Salt Lake City (by train!) for the UUA General Assembly, where he will be a volunteer with the UUA's web coverage team. On his personal blog he asks:

Will you be going to General Assembly this year? or do you have better ways to spend your hard-earned time and money than by going to some denominational meeting? Will you be following the online coverage of General Assembly? or will you be watching the Red Sox instead? And finally, do you believe General Assembly is worth the thousands of dollars the denomination spends on it each year? Discuss freely. ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," June 20)

Elsewhere this week

The Rev. James Ford buys a clergy shirt for the Pride parade ("Monkey Mind," June 17). The Rev. Victoria Weinstein returns from a long sabbatical in southern and eastern Europe and writes: "I see myself more clearly than [ever] as a participant in a middle class, desire/get/[consumer]-oriented, entitled, depressed and quite impoverished culture" ("PeaceBang," June 17). Plaidshoes explains why she calls her blog "Everyday Unitarian" rather than "Everyday Unitarian Universalist" (June 15).

Lizard Eater grew up UU, and so, she says, "I have a foot in each camp of the theist/humanist wings of our religion" ("The Journey," June 17). The Rev. Dan Harper proposes that the primary thing that has kept Unitarian Universalist congregations in business over the last forty years is their religious education programs for children ("Yet Another Unitarian Universalist," June 18).

Paul Oakley's new UU fellowship is working toward recognition as a GLBT "Welcoming Congregation," but is looking for resources to help them learn about transgender issues especially ("Inner Light, Radiant Life," June 18).

Pagan blogger Jason Pitzl-Waters writes about the neo-Nazi use of the Celtic cross as a racist symbol ("The Wild Hunt," June 15).