Media wraps up General Assembly, elections coverage

Media wraps up GA, elections coverage
Most of the General Assembly coverage was listed in the last blog post, but here are a few stragglers:

USA Today picked up the story that the UUA has elected its first Latino president, the Rev. Peter Morales. The Examiner also wrote about the elections. (USA Today - 7.2.09, 6.29.09)

See also: Morales decisively wins UUA presidency (uuworld.org - 6.29.09)

The Deseret News wrote about the General Assembly, focusing on the interfaith appeal of the annual meeting and on a peace and justice panel discussion. (Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT 6.27.09)

The Salt Lake Tribune offers a list of “fast facts" about the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. (Salt Lake Tribune - UT 6.18.09)

KUTV mentioned a well-attended Friday evening event organized by the UUA in which GA attendees and the community gathered to support immigrants and protest a new Utah law that is supposed to crack down on illegal immigration. (KUTV - UT 6.26.09)

For more GA coverage visit the UUA's General Assembly page.

Also in the media:

Members of the UU Church of Akron, Ohio, participated in an interfaith ''Mitzvah Day'' of volunteer work and "good deeds." (Akron Beacon Journal - Akron, OH 6.28.09)

In honor of Pride Month, Adrian Hilliard, a UU writer for the Examiner, presents a Q&A with the Rev. Keith Kron, director of the UUA's Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns. (Examiner.com - 6.29.09)

Local and national coverage of General Assembly

Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune's coverage began before General Assembly and continued throughout GA, with reports not only about the meeting, but about both the UUA and local churches.

"Relationships define outgoing Unitarian Universalist president's tenure" (6.18.09)

Though he knew the pain felt by many Unitarian Universalists over the LDS Church's role in persuading California voters to reject gay marriage last fall, Sinkford saw a different way forward:

Through relationship.

"Changing the climate that's feeding hate crime" (6.19.09)
Laurel Hallman and Peter Morales, the two candidates for UUA president, wrote a joint op/ed essay:

We must learn to air our disagreements with respect, humility and reason. The alternative is more pain and heartbreak, and the sorrowful recognition that we have left our children a world even more intolerant than the one we inherited. We cannot allow that to be our legacy.

"Diversity is an article of faith for Utah gay-friendly church" (6.19.09)
Profile of the Rev. Sean Parker Dennison and the South Valley UU Society:

The Rev. Sean Parker Dennison knows how it feels to struggle to fit, to blend, to belong.

Now, Dennison greets a variety of people -- young and old, gay and straight, Anglo and non-Anglo -- to Sunday services at the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, a religious community that bills itself as "intentionally diverse."

"Protesters call for investigation of U.S. torture allegations" (6.25.09)
A locally-organized event drew GA attendees: "Human rights groups, attendees of a Unitarian Universalist conference, veterans, and curious citizens stopped by to support the cause."

"Interfaith rally points to spiritual side of immigration debate" (6.26.09)
The UUA organized a rally on immigration concerns: "'For us religious people, this is not merely a political or economic question,' said the Rev. Bill Sinkford, president of the UUA. 'For us it is profoundly a spiritual question.'"

"UUA elects Colorado pastor as president" (6.27.09)
The presidental election was reported promptly: "Unitarian Universalists from throughout the United States, meeting in Salt Lake City for their annual general assembly, elected a Colorado pastor to be their eighth president."

USA Today

The Standing on the Side of Love campaign was reported in USA Today "Unitarians say they're 'Standing on the Side of Love'" (6.22.09)

"Rather than hunkering down in the face of violence, (the Unitarians) have proclaimed a gospel of love and hope," said the Rev. William Sinkford, the outgoing UUA president, in an interview.

Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah)

"Public invited to Unitarian Universalist Association events / 'Witness for family values that value all families'" (6.25.09)

The Rev. Theresa Novak, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden, . . . said she's excited about the event coming to Utah.

"It is a chance to let people who are looking for a liberal faith to know more about us," she said.

"Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in SLC" (6.27.09)

The public is invited to offer their financial as well as their emotional support to Utah's bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender community during worship services Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly, which has been taking place at the Salt Palace this week.

Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah)

The Deseret News also reported on the immigrants-rights rally. (6.26.09)

Denver Post

The Denver Post picked up the Salt Lake Tribune's coverage of Peter Morales's election. (6.27.09)