General Assembly 1998

I am trained as a journalist, so you will get the who, what, where, when and why from me about our experience at the 37th GA in Rochester. The event was entitled "Fulfilling the Promise," and it was billed as an "in-depth look at how we understand our Unitarian Universalist faith, how we covenant together, and how we might fulfill the promise of our heritage in the future." Heady words, but they meant something to me by the time I left Rochester.

I want to assure you that the experience was so much more than the journalistic facts I'm including. Yes, there were over 4,000 UUs in the same place at the same time, more gathered than at any other General Assembly. And that alone is a powerful experience. The banner parade at the opening ceremony featured gorgeous banners from 637 congregations and societies that participated. The banners were later placed on the wall behind the speakers podium in the main hall, providing endless visual proof of who and what we are.

And yes, GA is five days filled with worship services, plenary and business sessions, and multitudinous lectures and performances--too many to possibly choose from. There was so much to see and do that practically every spare moment was spent studying the program so that you could decide which seminar to attend next.

My husband, John, and I usually split up in an attempt to see and do it all, but to no avail. Some of my favorite seminars were "Spiritual Practices in Everyday Life," based on an upcoming book edited by Scott Alexander, the new minister at River Road. In that session, six presenters, who wrote chapters of the book, talked about what spirituality means to them and how they practice it every day. Trust me, this will be an important book, to be published by the Unitarian Universalist Association's Beacon Press this Fall. At GA I also heard another Beacon Press author, Geoffrey Canada, author of Fist Stick Knife Gun and Reaching Up for Manhood. I was so impressed with his commitment to counter what is happening to children, particularly boys, in the inner city and elsewhere in our culture.

Meanwhile not everything was serious and not everything involved reading. I also enjoyed the presentation of the Annapolis UUs, who, with their minister Fred Muir, do a "Parody Home Companion" which features songs entitled "Liberal Guilt" and the wonderful and hilarious adventures of Channing Ellery, UU PI.

Both John and I also enjoyed each of the worship services, especially the music. Some of it was performed by the women's a capella singing group, Olympia's Daughters. We'd love to bring them to Cedar Lane for a concert. We were also calmed by the Sunday night worship service titled "Reclaiming the Sabbath Eve", which featured Ben Myers, minister from Mission Peak UU Congregation and a young female minister, Julia Kocs, from Transylvania. "Take time," they said, "to be in this moment, in the silence of what is." It was a powerful message, when you are exhausted and feeling overwhelmed, not just at GA but anytime.

Attending GA was an eye-opening experience. John and I were particularly impressed with several things. First, Unitarian Universalist is a growing, thriving movement, strongly committed to among other things, social justice and activism.

Second, even though our movement is small, proportionally, it is powerful. Our elected leaders, John Buehrens, President, and Denny Davidoff, Moderator, are first rate. She ran the meetings so well we thought she should run for Congress and take over as Speaker of the House immediately. Rev. Meg Riley, UUA spokeswoman here in Washington is also someone we should get to know.

Third, it's true that we UUs are diverse. That certainly is borne out at GA, where you meet up with UU Pagans, UUs for Jewish Awareness, UU Christians and many others. But we do hold common values, and as UUs we cherish both our individual freedom and our community.

Last, one of the questions asked in Rochester was "Can you be a UU alone?" My answer is "No," especially after attending this General Assembly. Yes, this religion can help me find my own spiritual path, which may be an individual journey, but I find it comforting beyond measure to realize that I am not alone. One of the most hopeful messages I brought back from GA is that in diversity there can be commonality of values. UUs do not believe in just anything, we do have principles and purposes that hold us together. We can all be a part of fulfilling the promise of this wonderful liberal religion. And if UUs can really find the strength and community in diversity, then it can be translated into each of our lives as citizens of the world. Think of it, we could point the way--we could demonstrate that diverse and individualistic people can find common ground. That's Fulfilling the Promise with capital letters.

Our job as delegates -- there were ten of us including three youth delegates -- was to attend and vote at the daily Plenary sessions, which were held after the 8 a.m. Morning Worship -- except Sunday, when we had a day of rest from plenaries. There were 1,842 delegates from 632 societies. The plenaries included reports from members of the staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association, including one from our own Minister Emeritus, Ken MacLean, who talked about the overseas work of the UUA. Most of the focus, and the area where we had to pay attention so we would know how to vote, was on business resolutions, study/action issues and actions of immediate witness.

There were two business resolutions that were approved. One resolved that the UUA would recognize, in a variety of ways, the 1848 women's rights convention, which took place in Seneca Falls and Rochester, NY. The second resolution stated that there be an effort to promote knowledge of the International Association for Religious Freedom and the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists.

Study/Action Issues are ideas that start at the grass-roots level when someone proposes a social justice issue that he or she thinks could be furthered by study and action by our congregations and by a carefully-articulated UUA Statement of Conscience. We were asked to examine five issues and choose one. That was a very, very difficult assignment. All of the issues were important ones and we had a tough time deciding. They were:

• Abortion Availability Requires Trained Doctors
• Children, Families and Community Values
• Economic Injustice, Poverty and Racism
• Nature, Spirit and Social Justice
• Rescuing Education and Restoring the Liberal Vision

The Cedar Lane delegates, who were instructed to vote their own conscience, tried to decide what this congregation would want them to do. I was drawn to the question what can UUs do to ensure an adequate supply of trained doctors to provide abortions. I knew that Cedar Lane had a very active pro-choice committee in 1992 -- that was what brought me here. But the education issue -- what can UUs do to revive support for public education and ensure our vision for education in the 21^st century -- was important to us, too, as was understanding the links among economic injustice, poverty and racism and using that knowledge to develop a stronger anti-racist role for UUs.

A vote on Saturday morning did not produce the required majority, so a run-off was scheduled for Monday morning between Economic Injustice and Abortion Availability. Economic Injustice received the most votes. In October we will receive a packet from the UUA's Faith in Action department that will help us study this issue. Over a two-year period, congregations and districts will give feedback to the Commission on Social Witness, which will prepare a Statement of Conscience that will be presented at GA in the year 2000.

Issues which emerge and require an immediate response are addressed through Actions of Immediate Witness. The delegates at GA approved the following actions:

• Address the Health Insurance Crisis
• Close the U.S. Army School of the Americas
• Begin a Program for Fair Treatment of Native Americans
• Urge Immediate Payment of the United States Debt to the United Nations (passed overwhelmingly)
• Urge Support for Political Campaign Finance Reform (passed overwhelmingly)

I had thought that the plenaries might prove to be a tedious obligation. I found them to be very interesting and informative, in large part because they were moderated by Denise Davidoff. Denny runs these business meetings with humor and fairness. A delegate from First Unitarian Church of Rochester said, "She is wondrous at controlling crowds!" She is very casual but keeps the proceedings running smoothly. She plays a very important role and does an excellent job. I look forward to hearing her at future GAs.

The business of the association focuses heavily on social justice. I hope we, who are now members of the Denominational Affairs Committee, can bring some of the fervor we felt at GA during the plenaries to Cedar Lane.

When I was asked to be a delegate for Cedar Lane at this year's General Assembly, I was pleased. I had been interested in GA since I first heard about it. After the initial pleasure wore off, I began to ponder the responsibilities of representing Cedar Lane and the requirement of learning about the Study Action Issues and attending all those Plenary Sessions. Since my partner Carolyn was unable to join me I worried that I would be homesick and lonely. I also worried that I would be bored and impatient with all the political wrangling in the half day Plenary sessions. I worried about what to wear. And on and on

Once I got packed and to the airport my concerns began to be replaced by excitement. And once I arrived in Rochester the excitement began to grow. At the airport there were local UUs with welcome signs. The shuttle bus to the hotel was filled with others attending GA. At the hotel more folks were arriving for GA. At the convention center there were crowds of people from all over. Once I got through the registration process I became immersed in process of learning how to attend General Assembly. The responsibilities of being a delegate were still a mystery but I was excited. I began to try to sort through all the choices of workshops to attend and began to understand the wisdom of the often repeated phrase "You can't do it all".

All of the workshops that I attended were filled to capacity. Many expanded into the hallways. I soon learned that being on time was not always good enough to get into a popular workshop. Rochester was not prepared for the record crowds that attended this year's General Assembly. Most of the workshops were excellent and left me wanting more--but I couldn't do it all. Some of the workshops that I attended were: Your Life as Ministry led by Scott Alexander the new minister at River Road; The Common Ground Labyrinth Project where participants were invited to walk the labyrinth which is an ancient form of meditation; Mystical Chant in Congregational Singing,; Gay and Lesbian Spirituality: Some Non-Western Views; The Way of the Shaman; Reflecting on the Language of Race; and the highlight of all the workshops that I attended -- Living Song: Singing and Harmonizing with Olympia's Daughters at which the packed room joined in song with these marvelous singers.

As you can see I attended workshops on a wide range of subjects and I could only attend a few of the vast numbers of activities that were available. At the worship services I was exposed to wonderful speakers and to inspiring musical performances. The congregational singing was enthusiastic. Because of the quality of services and variety of styles two and three worship services a day did not seem excessive. At the plenary sessions I began to realize more about the scope of the Unitarian Universalist movement. The passion of speakers at the Pro and Con microphones inspired me and made me think that we as Unitarian Universalists can influence change. The manner that Denny Davidoff handled the questions, concerns and comments from the procedural microphones gave life to parliamentary procedure and I found that what I had feared would be tedium was actually fun to be a part of. I began to look forward to the sessions and could understand why Jim Heltman had been so enthusiastic about attending the final sessions when he encouraged me to attend all five days.

At the end of out time in Rochester I was ready to go home, but reluctant to leave. I had gotten the hang of being a delegate and of attending GA. My mind was stimulated from all that I had heard and participated in. I hadn't had time to do it all and I wanted more time to absorb what I had done. Plus I wanted to do more. I left Rochester with the desire to go again and hoped that Cedar Lane would once again allow me to be their delegate. Thank you all for the privilege of representing you in Rochester.

     10. Don't be afraid to reserve a room in the hotel where the teenagers are staying. (They were terrific.)

      9. Go as a delegate, if possible. (You get to wear a cool "Delegate"ribbon and you get to vote in the business sessions.)

      8. Be prepared to make a lot of choices.

      7. Be prepared to meet a lot of people. (This was the friendliest convention I've ever been to. Granted, most of the conventions I've attended have been of economists, since I'm a professional economist.)

      6. Go to the Service of the Living Tradition, which is the Sunday morning worship service.

      5. Keep a journal.

      4. Go for all five nights. (You won't want to miss the Opening Celebration on the first night or the GA Choir on the last.)

      3. Take time for exercise or meditative practice. (I did tai chi in my hotel room!)

      2. Go to events early to get a seat. (Sometimes it seemed like all 4,000 of us attending GA were trying to attend the same workshop.)

      1. Plan ahead! (The next GA will be held in June 1999, in Salt Lake City; then, in 2000, GA will be in Nashville and in 2001, it will be held in Cleveland.)

Bonus: Five Additional Tips

     5. Bring bottled water to the business sessions and workshops.

     4. Dress in layers. (Bring at least one jacket or cardigan sweater with you.)

     3. Casual clothing is fine.

     2. Take breaks. (You're allowed to have some unscheduled time, so you can walk, relax, read, reflect, or chat with new or old friends.)

     1. Wear comfortable shoes!

When I was chosen, along with Alec Patton and Chad Bonner, to be a Youth Representative at GA, I had no idea what it would be like there. I expected maybe something like college where you attended a bunch of lectures in big rooms. Well, it wasn't all lectures and it definitely wasn't all big rooms. A typical day at GA started with getting up at 7:45 a.m. so that you could get downstairs to morning worship by 8:00. Getting up so early after only a few hours of sleep didn't matter so much because you knew that sometime during the four-hour plenary session, you could probably get a nap while they were doing something boring. I'd like to share with you what could be that boring, but I don't remember -- I was asleep. But a lot of it was very interesting; in fact, Alec and I both went up to the open microphones and he was in a line short enough that he got to speak -- and did a very, very good job.

In the afternoon, you forced yourself to choose one of the five cool sounding workshops you picked out for each time slot. I went to many workshops including a few on racism, a meditation maze, and one on economics. Some, like "What the bible has to say about sex," were so interesting that you didn't mind sitting squished on the crowded floor of the small room, while pins and needles crept all the way up to your thighs -- well, you didn't mind too much. The ones that I will remember for some time were those sponsored by the Lambda Ministers Guild. There was one with gay clergy retelling the process of "coming out" to their congregation, and my favorite one: how varying cultures accept gays, including a Native-American idea that anyone who does not see from the same perspective as the rest of his gender, must have a gift of wisdom.

The part of GA that was most special to me was the Youth Worship. It was every night at 11:30, except for the final night when we also had one at 10:00 for the adults so that they could make it before falling asleep. After the first night with at least a hundred other youth gathered on the floor around a chalice, crammed into that little room, sharing their thoughts and feelings -- I learned, by the way, that Unitarians love to defy capacity limits -- after that night, I went to as many Worship Planning sessions as I could. At another worship, which I didn't help plan, they decided to solve the problem of lack of room by going somewhere else. They had everyone stand up, hold onto the shoulders of the person in front of us, close our eyes, and start singing a chant of woh woh's and yay oh yay's, as they led us out of the room. We all had no idea where we were, that is if we closed our eyes like we were supposed to, until we could hear the chant echoing throughout the car garage which we were climbing. It was an amazing experience.

After the worship, Alec, Chad, our friends, and I would stay up as late as 4 in the morning either walking around Rochester, talking by the river, or laughing in our hotel rooms. By the end, I wondered how it was possible to become so close to these people, some of whom I had met less than a week earlier. I realized that it was because I spent every moment out of workshops with them except a few hours of sleep every night. There was even one girl that I only met the evening before we left, but none of us slept at all that last night, so I spent twelve hours getting to know her. I am really hoping that I am chosen to go again next year. I thank you very much for supporting me as one of your representatives.

You want to know how just how terrific I thought General Assembly was? So terrific that I didn't even mind what I endured to get there and to get home.

After a very trying first day of waiting in lines and searching for food, I arrived at the Opening Celebration. I was jolted out of my lassitude by a panoply of banners as brilliantly-colored, lovingly designed, and proudly borne, as in any pageant in King Arthur's court. My personal UU history warmly unfolded as the names in my heart connected with ones embroidered on the banners, representing UU fellowships throughout North America: the church that introduced me to Unitarian Universalism thirty-two years ago in Evanston, Illinois; the congregation which first welcomed me to membership, in San Francisco; churches I attended while in college in Minneapolis; and on the road in Seattle and New York and Concord and Vancouver; the very first UU church I attended in the Washington area, a scant three days after my arrival: All Souls. Until that evening, I had not been aware of how enduringly -- and endearingly -- the UU church had served as my home away from home, my beacon of ethics and humanism and welcoming community whenever I had found myself a stranger in a strange land.

And how appropriate that I should then spot the banner of our alma mater, Cedar Lane, borne aloft by Alida DeCoster as a parting gesture of her affection for us. (Alma mater, in its original Latin means "fostering mother.")

It was the beginning of a thrilling experience. It was true I had stood in many lines, but it turned out to be more of a line dance, side by side, sharing the pleasures and struggles of learning new patterns of thinking and moving with friendly, worldly, passionately-committed people. At one point between my many check-in lines, I was adopted by a sympathetic Howard University seminary student, who led me to the Joseph Priestley District suite and coddled me with Pepsi and potato chips and a hearty kindness that soothed my aching muscles better than any Tylenol. As I stood in the ultimate check-in line, I was surrounded by high-spirited UUs with whom I shared laughs, meaty discussion of issues, and personal history. Considerable history, since we there about two hours. In the restaurant line, I chatted with a UU minister and his partner, two gracious and witty gentlemen who were as committed to their church as they obviously were to each other.

Activities were a feast of possibilities. I ran around frantically like the proverbial headless chicken, finding a plethora of opportunities to satisfy each of my multiple personalities -- delegate, congregation member, scholar, social activist, artist, prospective seminarian, Ju-Bu UU (Jewish-Buddhist-Unitarian-Universalist). I attended events sponsored by the UUs for Jewish Awareness and by the UU Buddhist Fellowship. I wrote poetry; I sang songs written by UU women, while learning about their many contributions to the cause of freedom and equality over the last two hundred years.

Most importantly, as your delegate, I attended fascinating plenary sessions and steeped myself in issues pertaining to everything that concerns this web of life, issues that took me from my home at Cedar Lane out into a world of ever-widening concentric circles, embracing local communities, national communities, global communities. How proud I am to be part of this tradition which has always concerned itself with the larger picture, and part of an organization that calls its journal, so appropriately, the world. I am honored to have been a delegate for you amidst this caring community, and hope to return as your delegate.

Come be a part of this excitement next year. What fun, what stimulation, and what new worlds will open to you. The language of Unitarian Universalism is one that speaks to all of us.

Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4099
Tel: 301-493-8300    Fax: 301-897-5713
e-mail: office@CedarLane.org
Sunday Services at 9 and 11 a.m.
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