G.A. responds to failed Article II revision

Delegates brought a variety of responsive resolutions to the final plenary of the 2009 General Assembly in response to the Commission on Appraisal's proposed revision of Bylaw Article II (the "Principles and Purposes").

The Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo, president of UU Allies for Racial Equity and minister from Marblehead, Mass., and the Youth Caucus proposed a responsive resolution that asked the Board of Trustees to offer an amendment at the next possible General Assembly that would replace the current "Non Discrimination" clause (Section C-2.3) with the "Inclusion" clause (Section C-2.4) offered in the Commission on Appraisal's proposed revision of Article II. Delegates had voted down the Commission's full proposal, but expressed frustration that they couldn't vote on specific pieces of the proposal. This responsive resolution would urge the board to offer one of those pieces. The resolution passed.

The Rev. James A. Hobart, minister emeritus of the First Unitarian Church of Denver and a member of UU Allies for Racial Equity, proposed a second responsive resolution that committed delegates to act on the pledges in the Commission's proposed "Inclusion" clause (Section C-2.4) and to report on their congregations' actions before the next General Assembly. The resolution passed.

Elizabeth Yoss of the First Parish of Lexington, Mass, proposed a responsive resolution that asked the Board of Trustees to review Article XV C-15.1, the section of the bylaws that forbids the General Assembly to amend proposed revisions to Article II. The resolution passed.

The Rev. Robert Klein, minister from Little Rock, Ark., proposed a responsive resolution that asks the Board to encourage ongoing discussion about the Principles and Purposes "until such time as further revisions may be presented to the General Assembly." The resolution passed.

Amy Kelly, from First Unitarian Society of San Francisco, proposed a responsive resolution that commends an ad hoc volunteer group to the Board that wishes to continue revising the text that the Commission on Appraisal had offered. This resolution generated considerable conversation about whether an ad hoc volunteer group should be authorized to conduct work for the Association. The resolution failed.

Amendment to Article II fails

By a very close vote, the motion to amend Article II of the UUA Bylaws has failed. The final vote was 573 for and 586 against.

Discontent with revision to Article II

Critics of the Commission on Appraisal's proposed revision to Article II of the UUA Bylaws—the "Principles and Purposes"—expressed frustrations with the proposal during a Friday evening session in the General Assembly plenary hall.

Although a handful of people, including a delegation from the Youth Caucus, spoke in favor of the proposed text, dozens of people criticized the substance of the text and its approval process, which forbids any amendments by the General Assembly in the two-year approval process. Several delegates said that their congregations had instructed them to vote against the proposal.

Most objected to the replacement of the "Six Sources" section of the current bylaws with three new paragraphs. The Rev. Roger Brewin, minister of First Unitarian Church of Hobart, Ind., said, "What bothers me most is what's missing—the poetry." He said he and a group of others have collected 1,200 signatures from around the country urging that the Commission on Appraisal revise their proposal again.

Moderator Gini Courter told the miniassembly that she, parliamentarian Gordon Martin, and legal counsel Ned Leibensberger had concluded that the bylaws that govern changes to Article II do not allow amendments or referral back to the Commission on Appraisal.

Several pagan UUs lamented the loss of the language in the Sixth Source—"spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature." Michael Hart, of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, said, "I just want to talk about how this makes me feel as a UU pagan: It's a blow in the solar plexus, a punch in the gut."

"We've gone from a bullet point about earth-centered spirituality that explains what we mean, as UUs, what it means to us, to a footnote buried in lots of very nice verbiage," Hart said.

The Rev. Dr. George "Kim" Beach objected to the "challenge" of prophetic teachings has been transformed into the "benefits" of prophetic exemplars. He also noted the loss of the phrase "living tradition."

Several speakers noted that many UU resources, including religious education curricula and the Singing the Living Tradition hymnal, are organized around the Six Sources in the 1985 Principles and Purposes.

The Rev. Nathan Stanley, a minister at Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colo., referred to the performance at the last General Assembly of the Rev. Jason Shelton's "Sources" cantata. "No one would ever have written a cantata" using the new text, he said.

"Where the Sources get used a lot is religious education," said Deb Bodeau of First Parish in Bedford, Mass. "What we've got coming is an R.E. train wreck."

Others praised the Commission on Appraisal's work. Nancy King Smith of Cleveland said that the UU Ministry for Earth supports the new text, which replaces "respect for the interdependent web of all existence" with "reverence for the interdependent web of all existence."

The Rev. Michelle Walsh of United First Parish in Quincy, Mass., said she liked that the new text is titled "Covenant" rather than "Principles and Purposes." The Youth Caucus said that the new text's "Inclusion statement [Section C-2.4] will put us far ahead of other groups in terms of expressing our values into the world." The Rev. Douglas Taylor of Binghamton, N.Y., said the youth in his congregation liked the addition of a sentence about forgiveness.

Delegates are preparing to debate the text in Saturday afternoon's plenary session.

Board wants broad conversation about new Principles

Should the UUA revise Article II of its bylaws (the Principles and Purposes)? The Commission on Appraisal has proposed a revision [pdf] following several years of denomination-wide input and review, and this year's General Assembly will take the first of two votes on the revised text.

At its Tuesday, June 22, meeting in Salt Lake City, the UUA Board of Trustees discussed how to present its support for this year's vote, which will take place during Saturday afternoon's plenary. The board will urge delegates to vote for the revision this year, not because the board has taken a position on the substance of the Commission's new text, but because they want congregations to spend the next year deciding whether they approve of it. If a majority votes Yes this year, the revised text will appear on the agenda of the 2010 General Assembly, which would need to to pass it by a two-thirds majority.

Moderator Gini Courter told the trustees that several groups of Unitarian Universalists have been raising objections about the process or the substance of the revision. Many are frustrated that the revision cannot be amended or voted on in sections. (The UUA bylaws do not allow the General Assembly to amend proposed changes to Article II; see Bylaw XV:C-15.1c.) She said she is meeting Thursday morning with UUA legal counsel Ned Leibensberger and parliamentarian Gordon Martin to clarify the process set up by the UUA bylaws.

Courter said that Martin, a retired Massachusetts judge who has served as GA parliamentarian since 1969, told her that the bylaws were getting in the way of the conversation UUs want to have about the proposed text.

To help UUs at GA and throughout the Association talk about the new text, a miniassembly will be held in the plenary hall on Friday evening (event #3014, 6:45-8:00 p.m.). The miniassembly will use an open-microphone format and the proceedings will be streamed live and captured on video so other UUs can see it as congregations discuss the proposed text.

"This hasn't been a process that has pleased anybody," Courter said.

For background on the Commission on Appraisal's review of Bylaw II, see these stories from UU World:

• Commission offers second draft of new UUA Principles (January 12, 2009)


• Commission revises UUA Principles and Purposes (September 15, 2008)


• Commission outlines process for reviewing Principles and Purposes (May 12, 2008)


• Reexamination of UUA Principles announced (April 21, 2006)

The Commission on Appraisal described the process it followed in drafting the revised text in a report to the Board of Trustees in January 2009: Report of the Commission on Appraisal on the Mandated Review of Article II of the UUA Bylaws [pdf].