Courter: Justice GA has transformed future GAs
In her moderator’s report at the last Plenary of the Justice General Assembly, Gini Courter spoke of transformation. “All over the county UUs expect transformation,” she said. Personal transformation and societal transformation. After Justice GA, General Assembly has been transformed, Courter said. She invited UUs in Plenary to note how they were changed at this [...]
Tonight’s vigil may have armed counter-protesters
UUA Moderator Gini Courter opened Saturday afternoon’s plenary with an important series of announcements about this evening’s prayer vigil outside the Maricopa County “Tent City” jail. “I want to update you about what you should expect,” Courter said. “It will be very hot tonight, and there is no shade at the site of our vigil. [...]
Gini Courter welcomes first-timers to General Assembly
UUA Moderator Gini Courter from UU World on Vimeo. UU World is filming short interviews with people at General Assembly this year. I asked UUA Moderator Gini Courter about people’s first experiences of GA a few hours before the Opening Ceremony of the Justice General Assembly in Phoenix.
Opening Ceremony ends with outdoor rally
The Opening Ceremony of the Justice General Assembly spilled out onto the streets of Phoenix, Ariz., Wednesday night, as hundreds of Unitarian Universalists processed from the Convention Center to Heritage Square singing, “Freedom is Coming.” At a park one block away, people gathered for the outdoor conclusion of the first-night events, filling the plaza with [...]
Resignations accompany planning for 2012 GA
Michelle Deakin reports today that the UUA Board of Trustees, the General Assembly Planning Committee, the board-appointed GA 2012 Accountability Group, and the UUA administration continue trying to clarify how next year’s “Justice General Assembly” in Phoenix will be planned. The chair and vice-chair of the General Assembly Planning Committee resigned at the conclusion of [...]
Moderator’s report: ‘All of us working together’
“We have a very clear vision of Unitarian Universalism,” said UUA Moderator Gini Courter, “and it comes up from the people.” Courter was delivering her eighth report as the moderator of the UUA, during the final plenary session of the 2011 General Assembly on Sunday afternoon. Courter outlined the three main polities, or ways religious [...]
‘Virtual volunteers’: Team supports off-site delegates
UUA General Assembly Offsite Delegates from UU World on Vimeo. At this General Assembly the UUA is experimenting with delegates participating off-site. In this segment UUA Moderator Gini Courter introduces us to some of the “virtual volunteers” who are helping to make this possible.
Board members urge ‘yes’ votes for bylaw amendments
The Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees delivered its report to the General Assembly on Saturday morning, updating delegates on its yearlong efforts to improve linakage with congregations and urging them to vote to reduce the size of the board and eliminate Actions of Immediate Witness at next year’s GA. They also encouraged attendance at the Justice GA [...]
Courter: ‘The work is just beginning’
UUA Moderator Gini Courter, in her annual report Sunday evening, reflected on how what could have been a painful debate on boycotting Arizona turned into a commitment that almost everyone can enthusiastically support. Proudly sporting a Standing on the Side of Love T-shirt, Courter started her report by reading an excerpt from the book The [...]
Mini-assembly offers changes to elections reform
At Friday afternoon’s mini-assembly on proposed changes to the elections process for the UUA president and moderator, delegates recommended several amendments. A substantial amendment offered by the Board of Trustees explicitly lays out the transition from the current system—which allows a president or moderator to serve for two four-year terms—to the new system of single [...]
Congregational presidents consider UUA changes
UUA Moderator Gini Courter and the Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Association, met with several hundred congregational presidents Thursday afternoon to share information about changes within the UUA and to answer questions. Morales said the UUA staff is embarking on an era of “much closer collaboration and cooperation with congregations.” He said that consultations [...]
District leaders consider big changes to regional governance
Leaders of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s nineteen districts met today with members of the UUA Board of Trustees to discuss the districts’ governance role and to imagine new ways of helping congregations collaborate with each other and with the national Association. The all-day meeting of 133 district presidents, members of district boards, district staff, and [...]
Gini Courter thanks all who took part in elections
UUA Moderator Gini Courter, who was elected to a second full term at the General Assembly in Salt Lake City June 27, sent the following letter to the UUA’s Election-L email list on June 29 expressing her gratitude for the candidates and everyone else who took part in denominational elections this year: I’m thankful for… [...]
Courter apologizes for missing post-election event
UUA Moderator Gini Courter apologized to the General Assembly during her annual report Sunday afternoon for not attending a post-election celebration Saturday night. Some delegates had interpreted her absence as a slight on newly-elected President Peter Morales, since she had endorsed his opponent, the Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman, but she told delegates that was not [...]
Grammy winners serenade Sinkford at reception
A donor reception honoring outgoing UUA President William G. Sinkford Thursday night featured speeches by several notable UU leaders and culminated in a surprise performance by Sinkford’s favorite band, Grammy-winning a capella group The Persuasions. In one particularly moving speech, Denny Davidoff, former UUA moderator, described her relationship with Sinkford. “More than anything else, Bill [...]
