General Assembly 2009

I'm back from Salt Lake City, GA 2009, and only now am coming up for air. Along with many of my old friends, I was busy working for the Morales for UUA President campaign, and was overjoyed that Peter, the minister of my home congregation, was elected.
And the campaign was something. Peter noted (see this letter) that when he started this campaign, the team agreed to run a campaign they'd be proud of when they were done. I feel they've done this. While I was only involved in the periphery of the campaign, I saw many decisions made with this in mind even though tactics and expediency would have encouraged other choices.
The campaign also set a goal of having fun. And this was evident in so many ways. Our volunteer job titles included 'mindless clerical', 'schlepper', 'gopher with a car', 'gopher with shoes' among others. And who would have thunk up booth schwag like fake tattoos, a photo booth (see souvenir photo strip of me and Liz, above), and ice cream bars? All this was done creatively and at surprisingly low cost, within an overarching culture of permission and experimentation.
I loved being around these people. It was a joy to do this work. I hope that we may all carry these qualities forward in our larger work in congregations and the denomination: to always act with integrity, and to have fun.

Class and Unitarian Universalism

Two of the workshops I attended this GA were on classism. I am finding this to be a complex issue bound up with both difficult theological questions and disturbing emotional issues. Given our historical difficulty in confronting institutional and personal racism, it is not surprising that classism is sometimes seen as a diversion from 'the real issues'. But class and race are intertwined, and are woven with other 'isms' so that such such reductionism of oppressions is unhelpful. Consider that shame is a central emotional component that emerges in conversations about both class and race. I suspect that addressing shame with one of these 'isms' will carry us much of the way with the other.

Classism in the UU movement has a complexifying component: education. In many of our congregations, education is seen as more important than economic status, but education is bound up in economic status. But being self-educated is often not seen as an adequate substitute to many of us, as one workshop participant painfully made clear.

I worry that many of us make assumptions about the theological preferences of people based on class. I bristle at the conclusion that working-class people prefer an otherworldly theology to one focused on this world, as ours is. To me that just seems to be a way to excuse classism in our movement.

I think our strength is in our universalizing ideals: that every person has worth and dignity, that salvation is available to all every person, and that our salvation is bound up in a network of mutuality. These transcend class. We need to take them beyond words and into lived action.

Casting my Lot

On Saturday night, the two candidates for UUA president debated. I tried to hold an open mind going into this presentation; after all, my role at Unity Church was the "Hallman Intern", honoring her as a former congregant, and yet the minister of my home church is Peter Morales. I found myself leaving presentation still somewhat ambivalent, but casting my lot with the Morales ticket. Peter articulated issues facing the UUA quite well, though I would like to see Peter develop a more positive message of change for our movement. Laurel's message seemed to me to be 'let's stay the course', and I had hoped to hear something more visionary from her. Maybe that's my message to both candidates: offer me an expansive, bold, but possible vision, and I'm yours. Peter's attention to growing the movement - evangelism - seemed to be the best current articulation of vision. I look forward to the unfolding of this campaign, and to deeper reflection from both candidates.

Love and Death - Forrest Church

"Love and Death" was the title of Forrest Church's talk to a large GA group on Friday afternoon. Forrest spoke beautifully; this seemed to be a distillation, a concentration, of numerous previous messages into what will likely be his last words to many of us. He spoke of the most profound grace of performing funeral services, of the great improbability of each of us being here, and reminded us that grief is what trails after love. But, he reminded us that what remains after we die is the "love we give away before we go."

I was fortunate to be in the second row, and took a picture. The woman next to me leaned over, and said, 'let me see that picture'. She pointed out the spot above Forrest, and said, 'many of his pictures have that orb in them'. I do not know if such orbs are merely photographic artifacts, or have deeper meaning, a thinning of the veil, perhaps. At the very least, the orb is a fitting metaphor for attention to the journey through this life and into the mystery beyond, and I appreciate Forrest's contemplations on his journey.

Service of the Living Tradition

What a beautiful Service of the Living Tradition! Victoria Safford's sermon "Remind Us Again, Brave Friends" was perfect for the occasion, as she spoke of our role, and call, to offer blessings to the world, and we do this even in our imperfection, which gives permission to others to live in their imperfection.

I was privileged to be among those on the stage, receiving the blessing of preliminary fellowship. I felt deep gratitude to be in this body, to process to the stage surrounded by many old friends and good peers, and to have so many others looking on, a congregation both in the hall and over the internet. In my robe I found an old package of tissues; I was glad to have them.

I have loved the transition in form of the Service over the past couple of years from honoring the individual to honoring the gathered body; from an ersatz graduation ceremony to a service of religious covenant. This year, we did not walk across the stage, we did not even stand when our names were called. Instead, our images were projected on the screens as we were named. Thus, this roll call included those who did not come to General Assembly, either out of protest or for other reasons. Some effort was made to discourage shouting for individuals, and generally that worked: just a lone shout here and there, rather than cheering sections, as has happened in the past.

Some of my Starr King buddies and I retired to Waxy's pub for continued celebration; it seemed that half the congregation had reconvened there that night.

Security Theater at GA

After all the hoopla about the security perimeter, showing IDs, and the culture of fear at General Assembly, it comes down to this: a haphazard, thin show of security at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center. When we walk in, our IDs are cursorily checked, when we ride the buses , we don't show an ID. The security situation at this convention center was supposed to be fixed months ago, but now I understand it is pushed out to 2011. To me, this smells of interagency conflict and intransigence, the same kind of behavior that contributed to our failure to stop the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001.

General Assembly - Ft. Lauderdale

The UUA General Assembly in Ft. Lauderdale is off and running. So far, it seems well put together, and plenary meetings and workshops are tight and well run. The opening ceremony, with the Sources Cantata by Jason Shelton and Kendall Gibbons, was beautiful, though I had to perceive that beauty through the distorted amplification. We still don't have a handle on how to support choral singing in a giant convention center hall. Kendall told me the recording was suprisingly good, so maybe I'll get a chance to hear that.

GA attendance is down about a third, I understand, from previous years. Not surprising. We're all cooking down here in the steamy Florida heat. I remember this heat, the same Houston heat and humidity, and while one adapts to it, one never truly gets used to it.

Beside the heat, my one other whiny complaint has been internet access. My hotel is great in every other way (free breakfast!), but even when I broke down and was ready to pay the usurious $10 a day fee for internet, it wouldn't work with my machine. The internet at the convention center cafe was broken, too. I was reduced to poaching free wireless outside the door of the low-priced hotel a friend stayed at. Finally, I found a coffeeshop with French pastries and free wireless., so I'm catching up on email, journaling, and these posts. Life is good.

2008 Berry Street Lecture

After the end of Ministry Days, the Berry Street Lecture is presented. This is an annual presentation dating from 1820, in dawning days of American Unitarianism. The offerings come from the most talented thinkers in UU ministry, and this year was no exception.

Christine Robinson offered a wonderful commentary for all of us who minister in support of the spiritual lives of others, comparing us to theme park designers, 'Imagineers' who at their best offer something more than fun and education - they connect us with the transcendent. I know this is true, from the days when I worked as a show operator at the Denver planetarium. The most loved shows we offered hinted at something larger, more meaningful, a greater purpose, than we experienced in our everyday lives. People came to these shows for more than the science.

But Christine noted that for many of us, the life of the spirit has been shamed out of us, and we in turn and (perhaps unknowingly) use sarcasm and cynicism to shame others. This, to me, explains well the vituperous response some of those in our midst offer to anything that seems even mildly spiritual. Maybe this understanding offers an avenue for compassion and healing.

John Cullinan, a first year minister, responded that he struggles with the anxiety of church administration that leaves little space for the work of the spirit. This rang true for me too, because I enjoy most aspects of administration, and can easily see myself drawn from spiritual aspects of ministry into the technical aspects. Thanks to both Christine and John for these insightful reflections.