Bill Schulz, human rights advocate, interviewed by local press

Local news coverage of the UUA General Assembly continues in Fort Lauderdale today with an article about the Rev. William F. Schulz, the former president of the UUA who then served 12 years as executive director of Amnesty International USA. See "Human rights gains noted during Unitarian gathering in Fort Lauderdale" (Sun-Sentinel 6.26.08). For more on Schulz, see UU World's profile: "High-profile advocate for human rights" (Winter 2006).

First news story about General Assembly

The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel introduced the UUA General Assembly in Saturday's paper like this:

Gay rights, immigrants, the environment, paganism — next week's gathering of Unitarian Universalists can seem like a collision of social caucus and New Age festival.

But the five-day event, starting Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, does have a few philosophical anchors.

"They include the inherent worth of a person, and the interconnected web of which we're all part," says its president, the Rev. William Sinkford. "We pitch a big theological tent."

The convention will bring 3,000 Unitarian Universalists from 1,000 congregations to the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Convention Center for pep rallies, governance issues and sociopolitical caucuses.

Read the rest: Universalists plan five-day gathering in Fort Lauderdale with caucuses, issues, rallies (James D. Davis, Sun-Sentinel - 6.21.08)

Annual reports to the General Assembly

Although delegates hear oral reports from officers, boards, commissions, associate organizations, and the UUA administration during GA plenaries, the organizations that are accountable to the General Assembly also publish annual reports. These written reports often contain much more detail than the oral presentations. Notable among them:

• The Board of Trustees report comments briefly on four major initiatives: governance, excellence in ministry, independent affiliate organizations, and youth ministry.


• Extensive reporting on the UUA's finances can be found in the annual reports of the financial advisor, treasurer, and independent auditors.


• The 42-page annual report of the UUA staff includes reports about the national marketing campaign (pages 8-10), changes in the UUA's programs for youth (pages 20-24), and philanthropic giving to the UUA (pages 37-39), among other topics. 
  

Keep up with news from the 2008 General Assembly

Keep up with news from the annual General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations by visiting or subscribing to uuworld.org’s General Assembly blog.

UU World writers will provide daily reports on business and breaking news at the General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 25–29. Read the magazine’s General Assembly blog, subscribe to the GA blog’s feed, or sign up for daily email delivery:

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For extended coverage of GA events and workshops, including audio and video of major programs, please see the General Assembly section at UUA.org.

On this year’s agenda:

• The “Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution,” a business resolution on Friday morning’s agenda, was developed by young UUs dismayed by announcements earlier this year that the UUA would discontinue funding for YRUU and C*UUYAN, the two continental organizations that serve UU youth (ages 14–20) and young adults (ages 18–35). The UUA has been reviewing its approach to youth ministry for several years, and is at work on developing a new model. The UUA Board of Trustees placed a revised Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution on the General Assembly agenda.



• Delegates will select one new four-year “Congregational Study Action Issue” (CSAI) during Saturday morning’s plenary session. The Study Action Issue selected this year will evolve into a “Statement of Conscience” at the 2012 General Assembly. Delegates will choose between “ethical eating” and “nuclear disarmament,” two topics that at least 25 percent of UUA congregations approved placing on the agenda through the annual Congregational Poll.
  
  The 2006–2010 CSAI, “Peacemaking,” will be the focus of several General Assembly events this year, but a draft Statement of Conscience won’t be distributed until next year.



• Delegates can choose to debate and vote on up to six social-justice “Actions of Immediate Witness,” which are resolutions submitted by petition at the General Assembly. For the first time this year, the Commission on Social Witness is helping petitioners find supporters even before GA begins: A webpage provides summaries and contact information for ten proposed resolutions ranging from holding the Bush administration accountable for “high crimes and misdemeanors” to calling for an end to male circumcision. Actions of Immediate Witness will be presented during Saturday morning’s plenary session; delegates will vote on the resolutions during both Sunday plenaries.



• The Assembly will consider two bylaw amendments. One acknowledges the merger of the Northeast District and the New Hampshire–Vermont District into a single Northern New England District. The other amendment reflects changes to the rules of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee.

In less formal business, Unitarian Universalists will also reflect on the goals and future direction of the Association. The two ministers who have entered the race for the 2009 election of a new UUA president, the Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman and the Rev. Peter Morales, will discuss their visions for the Association in an election forum Saturday evening.

Congregational leaders will also be invited to participate in “appreciative inquiry” workshops focused on clarifying the UUA’s priorities. Moderator Gini Courter, the chair of the General Assembly and the UUA Board of Trustees, explained in the Tentative Agenda that “we will gather to talk about our values and our hopes for our liberal faith, to set priorities for our Association of congregations.” She added: “All the information generated in Appreciative Inquiry will be used by the UUA Board of Trustees in the fall of 2008, when the UUA Board and district presidents will work together to craft ends (what the Association should do, for whom, and at what cost) for our Association.”

The board’s interest in “ends” is part of its effort to adopt a policy-governance model for the UUA. Last year’s General Assembly used “open space technology” to facilitate conversations about denominational priorities, to mixed reviews.

The UUA anticipates lower than usual attendance at this General Assembly, due partly to concerns about security requirements at the convention center, but also to the rising cost of travel and the worsening economy. The convention center is inside the Port of Fort Lauderdale, which requires a photo ID for admittance in compliance with federal security regulations—a requirement that some Unitarian Universalists regarded as unacceptable government interference with their freedom to worship and freedom to assemble. In response, several GA events will focus on civil liberties.

The UU World team at GA includes news editor Jane Greer, managing editor Kenneth Sutton, assistant editor Sonja L. Cohen, and contributing editors Donald Skinner and Kimberly French. If you have a General Assembly news tip, write to Jane Greer (jgreer@uua.org).

'UU World' events at the 2008 General Assembly

UU World is sponsoring a number of exciting events at the 2008 General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale:

• The Letter and the Spirit—Friday, June 27, 3:15-4:30 p.m.: How do written words forward our spiritual growth? Can our religious concerns inform and infuse our written communication? How do we reach an audience beyond current UUs? UU authors and editors will reflect on these questions and more. Speakers: The Rev. Victoria Safford, minister of the White Bear UU Church in Mahtomedi, Minn., and author of Walking Toward Morning: Meditations; Jeffrey Lockwood, professor of natural sciences and the humanities at the University of Wyoming, a member of the UU Fellowship of Laramie, and the author of many books including Prairie Soul; and Kenneth Sutton, managing editor of UU World.



• Facebook, YouTube, Podcasting, Second Life: Exploring New Media—Thursday, June 26, 3:15-4:30 p.m. or Friday, June 27, 1:30-2:45 p.m.: Are you mystified by the explosion of new media and new avenues for connections and communication? Wondering how or if you or your congregation can use them? Join us for a primer and discussion of the new Internet, and find out how to make creative use of them! Speakers: The Rev. Christine Robinson, senior minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Albuquerque and the author of iMinister; and Kenneth Sutton, managing editor of UU World.



• Writing Workshop with Jeffrey Lockwood—Saturday, June 28, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Hyatt Pier 66 Hotel. (Limited to 20 participants; $50 registration fee; contact world@uua.org to register.) The Pushcart Prize–winning author of Grasshopper Dreaming and Prairie Soul will present a three-hour writing workshop. Exercises will involve the short and intense crafting of prayers, meditations, dialogic poetry, parables, and flash fiction. This event is not listed in the General Assembly program book.

Contributing editor Don Skinner, who is also the editor of the InterConnections how-to newsletter for congregational leaders, marks the newsletter's tenth anniversary with a workshop on best practices for vital, growing congregations. Thursday, June 26, 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.