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UU World reports from the annual General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Click here for a comprehensive guide to our 2011 General Assembly coverage.
The Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, welcomed GA attendees and visitors from the Charlotte community into Sunday morning worship. “We gather this morning in gratitude,” said Morales.
After the assembly clapped, sang, and stomped along with the opening song “Life Up Your Voice,” the Rev. Scott Tayler, co-minister of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester, N.Y., invited those assembled to “use our imaginations and bodies” in a time of play. He tossed an imaginary ball in the air, inflated the ball, and then heaved the now seemingly giant ball into the crowd to be passed between groups of people jumping up to catch it.
“Why begin with a silly game? Because being able to see what isn’t fully real yet and be able to reach for it is what saves the world,” said Tayler.
Continue reading Sunday worship: ‘We’ve found our center’
The Rev. Michael A. Schuler offered an appraisal of ministerial authority during his sermon at the Service of the Living Tradition Thursday night, saying that respect for the office of minister has fluctuated over the last 200 years but has never been so low as it is now. He said that respect as a minister must be earned today through love, trust, authenticity, and partnership.
 Speaking on the topic of love, Schuler pointed to women in the ministry leading to shifting expectations for all genders. “Congregants today want a minister who will lead with compassion.”
Schuler said that a minister gains the trust of a congregation by “showing a willingness to listen and to learn.”
In addressing the need for authenticity from ministers, Schuler said that religious seekers aren’t just looking for professional competency in their ministers but a high-functioning person who models wholeness. Authenticity is not to be confused with perfection, Schuler warned.
The final component Schuler pointed to is partnership between congregations and ministers. Ministry must be shared and the authority of both ministers and congregations must be respected.
“We are not yet doing our best work together,” Shuler concluded. “We have to come to terms with these authority issues.”
Continue reading Ministry honored, examined in Service of the Living Tradition
Five days of workshops, business sessions, and worship ended with a grand flourish Sunday night with the closing ceremony for General Assembly 2010.
It was a musical night. Helping to draw the GA to a close were the GA band, the GA adult choir and, for the first time in four years, the GA Children’s Choir. The [...]
General Assembly participants who hadn’t worn themselves out with a full round of workshops and other events since arriving Wednesday, were treated Sunday morning to a worship service that had everything––rousing music, a call to action, and an opportunity to help others.
The General Assembly choir, which has been in rehearsal since GA started, made its first [...]
Friday night activities included “Synergy: A Bridging Worship,” a service to honor bridging youth and lift up multigenerational relationships. Here are a few photos from the event—and be sure to check out all our GA photo coverage.
June 26, 2010 | Tags: bridging, worship, youth | Comments are closed
Mary Jo Nikolai was up most of Thursday night painting a moose head. She got her husband, Mike Huber, up at 4:30 so she could try a pair of antlers on him. “I needed to make sure they were going to work,” she said.
The moose head, plus a 25-foot whale, three loons, a couple of coyotes, [...]
Thursday evening’s Service of the Living Tradition, one of the central worship services at the UUA’s annual General Assembly, honored ordained ministers, credentialed religious educators, and credentialed congregational musicians at the beginnings—and ends—of their ministries.
The Rev. Diana Heath—wife of the Rev. Dr. William J. Metzger, one of 22 UU ministers who died in the past year—lit [...]
The opening worship service at the UUA’s 2009 General Assembly Wednesday night focused on the themes of world community and reconciliation. It was equal parts joyful and somber and featured representatives from around the world.
The first half of the worship service focused mostly on “common threads that bind us.” It began with a slideshow of photos [...]
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