News summary from the 2008 General Assembly
This week’s edition of uuworld.org includes a news story about General Assembly business, focusing especially on the passage of the so-called “Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution.” Be sure to check out the links in the story’s sidebar for lots of GA-related material.
More news coverage of the 2008 General Assembly
The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel focused on youth anti-racism workshops at the 2008 General Assembly, but mistakenly described the 3,000 GA-goers as “clergy”—including the teenagers interviewed for the piece. (“3,000 Unitarian Universalists gather for national assembly,” 6.29.08.) The Religion News Service focuses on resolutions passed by the General Assembly in support of gay marriage and immigrant [...]
Clarification on ministerial fellowship bylaw change
The original headline of the General Assembly blog post about a bylaw change concerning the Ministerial Fellowship Committee—”Ministers can be terminated for incompetence”—imprecisely characterized an aspect of the new MFC rules. The rule change allows the Ministerial Fellowship Committee to terminate a minister’s fellowship with the Association—in effect, their accreditation—for incompetence, but the committee does [...]
Another GA Comes to An End
A worship service closed out General Assembly tonight. The final service is always where we get to see the GA Choir, which has been practicing all week. It sang five numbers, including “Yonder Come Day,” based on a Georgia Sea Islands song. President Bill Sinkford and Moderator Gini Courter invited us in a sermonette to [...]
Accountability established for Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Act
Three Responsive Resolutions, one in response to the Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution, one advocating a consultation on ministry to young adults, and the third asking the UUA to leverage its power through socially responsible investing to achieve affordable health care for all, passed in the closing minutes of the 2008 General Assembly. Responsive [...]
GA delegates endorse single-payer health care, other issues
GA delegates passed five Actions of Immediate Witness with little or no discussion in the sixth and final plenary session Sunday afternoon. One AIW, on ending present-day slavery in the fields, had passed at the morning plenary. According to the UUA bylaws, Actions of Immediate Witness are resolutions “concerned with a significant action, event, or [...]
Minister’s fellowship can be terminated for incompetence
Two UUA bylaw changes were passed at this morning’s plenary, and one Action of Immediate witness statement was debated and passed. Controversy erupted over a proposed bylaw change allowing for the removal of a UU minister from fellowship* for incompetence. The sentence in question reads: “The fellowship of a minister may be terminated by the [...]
Campaigning for president
At the 2009 GA in Salt Lake City delegates will elect a new UUA president and the Rev. William Sinkford will step down after eight years. The two announced candidates, the Rev. Laurel Hallman of First Unitarian in Dallas and the Rev. Peter Morales, of Jefferson Unitarian in Golden, Colorado, made several joint appearances this [...]
Social activist inspires delegates
The Ware Lecture, the event at General Assembly that each year inspires delegates to go out and change the world, was given Saturday night by Van Jones, an activist who is working to combine solutions to America’s two biggest problems, social inequality and environmental destruction. Jones has been working to create a “green jobs corps” [...]
Six Actions of Immediate Witness on Sunday’s agenda
All six of the proposed Actions of Immediate Witness were chosen to be placed on Sunday’s plenary agenda. They include: single-payer health care (universal health coverage); opposing a U.S. attack on Iran; ending present-day slavery in the fields; raising the federal minimum wage to $10 in 2010; extending the tax credit for wind and solar [...]
