A number of us traveled to Baltimore, MD, in person or virtually to attend Religious Professional Days followed by the Annual General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association. This is the annual conference where ministers, other religious professionals, and lay leaders gather to do the business of our wider association, to network with and learn from one another, and to attend insightful workshops and meaningful worship. It is always inspiring to gather with 3,000 to 4,000 UUs from across the country and to feel the power of our collective faith and what’s possible.

Here is a glimpse of some of what happened:

• For those of us who attended in-person, there was an opportunity to visit the historic First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, where the Reverend William Ellery Channing preached what has come to be known as the Baltimore sermon in 1819.  He defined what it meant to be a Unitarian at that time in history, which is often thought of as the springboard to the founding of the American Unitarian Association 200 years ago. You can read more about this 90-minute sermon here: https://www.uuworld.org/articles/baltimore-william-ellery-channing-sermon-unitarian-universalism-history-general-assembly  

• My family – and I’m certain all attendees from our congregation – cheered loudly at the Service of the Living Tradition as the Reverend Danielle Garrett’s name was called for receiving preliminary fellowship!

• The theme of this year’s GA was “Meet the Moment,” which is a framework to help us understand more about the time we are living in and to take values-based action in response to today’s shifting religious, cultural, generational, and political realities. You can learn more here at the following link on our UUA’s website: https://www.uua.org/congregations/meet-the-moment

• The General Assembly Delegates passed a three-year Congregational Study Action issue: Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation: https://www.uua.org/action/process/2025-proposed-csais/abolition-faith-formation

• As chair of the board of the Starr King School for the Ministry, I was delighted to both celebrate our outgoing President, the Reverend Rosemary Bray McNatt, and to welcome our incoming president, Dr. Stephanie Krusemark. 

• As a member of the board of the UUs for Jewish Awareness I coordinated and served as the worship associate for our shabbat service on Friday night, which featured a homily by Rev. David Miller from UU Fairfax and cantorial soloist, Tony Bianca, from UU San Diego.  You can check it out at the following FB Video Link (you do not need a FB profile to view this public video): https://www.facebook.com/uujewish/videos/9776878322438492

• It was fun to sing some new songs together at the pre-Sunday worship hymn sing based on the new online Sing Out Love hymnal: https://www.uua.org/worship/lab/virtual-hymnal

• At Ministry Days, I attended a day-long workshop, “Healthy Boundaries 201,” as a part of our collective efforts to renew our commitments to healthy, covenantal relationships in our community and in the wider association. We reflected and engaged in case studies connected to power and vulnerability, boundaries around relationships, social media, finance, and more. 

• At Ministry Days, I also had the chance to attend the Berry Street Lecture, “Tricksters and Tyrannies” by the Rev. Leelha Sinha, who also happens to have served us as a former Assistant Minister.

Many thanks go to our GA attendees and delegates! Here is the list: Curt B., Bob B., Dana Buhl, Mindy C., Linda C., Ethel G., Theo H., Rev. Alison Miller, Leslie P.K., Alison R., David S., Cathy T., Art U., and Jim W. And, here is the Religious Professional Days list: Rev. Alison, Rev. Leah Ongiri, and Jen Thomas. You will hear more from all of us about all we learned and how we were inspired in the coming days and weeks.

In faith,

Rev. Alison