OCUUC is a member of the larger Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA); the national offices are in Boston, Massachusetts. Each year the UUA organizes a gathering of all UUs and this annual gathering is called General Assembly (GA) where participants gather to worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy decisions for the Association through a democratic process. This year's theme was Meet the Moment, emphasizing our commitment to build a more flexible UUA and stronger engagement with youth. Valerie Armstrong, Peggy Hepler, and Jamie Pendarvis served as our delegates and below is a compilation of their reports:
The Bylaws Renewal Team found that the UUA Bylaws are overly complex, and that our organization would be nimbler if we simplified them strategically. The goal is to keep only core governance rules in the bylaws while moving routine provisions to policies and procedures that can be updated more easily. Delegates this year approved a task force to review policies affecting interim and developmental ministers while rejecting a specific proposal for reforming this process.
In an attempt to address a critical lack of youth participation, delegates approved scholarships to GA and called for stronger youth and young adult ministry. Responsive Resolutions reaffirmed immigrant justice and requested a review of the UUA's response to crises in Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Members actively focusing on the Congregational Study/Action Issue, Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation, shared their insights on building systems of care and resisting state violence. You can get involved and help the UUA develop a Statement of Conscience on this issue. Read more and find resources at clfuu.org/abolition.
Delegates also adopted an Action of Immediate Witness supporting environmental protections through education and advocacy, which includes a list of concrete actions that UUs can take to protect our environment as well as organizations we can partner with to increase our efficacy. A proposed AIW supporting hunger-striking detainees at Delaney Hall was not adopted because it lacked input from frontline organizers and could have disrupted ongoing advocacy efforts.
What is the value to OCUUC of General Assembly? Here is a thought on collective action from Valerie Armstrong written after attending General Assembly last year:
…when we work together with others who are pushing or pulling in the same direction that we are, we can create synergies that enable us to accomplish much more together than we ever could alone. Part of the reason that the Trump administration has been able to accomplish as much as it has is because a relatively small group of people recognized the power of coming together around shared values and cooperating to make change. We can do this too. We can make a much bigger difference on issues that are important to us if we take advantage of the opportunities to cooperate with others who share our values. And those people are out there: Many of them, like us, are members of the UUA.
Kathleen McFarlin is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's Board President.