In May, we are kicking off our topic of “Belonging” as a part of our year’s spiritual theme of “Join the Journey.” While many of you have chosen to belong to this community by becoming a member, our congregation is also a member of the wider Unitarian Universalist Association of congregations along with over 1,000 other communities. This is a good time to reflect on that wider set of relationships as one of the major gatherings, our Annual General Assembly, is coming up in the middle of next month, and you might think about joining one, a couple, or many of the offerings.
We practice what is called congregational polity, which means that each congregation holds independent governing authority. However, we also practice interdependence and are connected to one another through a voluntary covenant. This mirrors, in some ways, how the members of this congregation practice interdependence through the covenant set forth in our bylaws: our eight principles.
After years of democratic process, the delegates attending last year’s general assembly passed an updated expression of our wider UUA covenant and shared set of values at General Assembly 2024. The shortest version would be to say that Unitarian Universalists practice putting love at the center through acting on the shared values of justice, interdependence, equity, generosity, pluralism, and transformation. Check out this UU World article for more information.
We are kicking off a renewed Denominational Affairs Committee to tend to our relationships between our sibling UU congregations in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest and Western Region, in the United States, and in the U/U Global Network. Thank you to Art Ungar, who has volunteered to serve as chair of this committee. You can reach him through this email, if you are interested in serving on the committee, or if you’d like to serve as a delegate to General Assembly 2025.
Here are a couple of highlights about our upcoming General Assembly: It will be held from June 18 – 22 in Baltimore, MD and online. There will be opportunities to learn through workshops about spiritual practices, justice work, leadership development, congregational growth, and more. There will be inspirational speakers, including Imara Jones as the Ware Lecturer. There will be chances to meet Unitarian Universalists from all over the country. And, if you are serving as a delegate, you can participate in the business processes of our wider UUA. You can find out more about how to register and the associated costs on their event page here.
My whole family will be heading to Baltimore for Ministry Days and GA to follow this year, and I am excited that my child who is in junior high will get to meet other UUs from around the country. Participating in the UUA General Assembly Youth Caucus in high school was very positive and formative for me. I imagine at least a couple of others from our community will be in Baltimore, and most of our delegates will probably participate online. (For those thinking ahead, next year’s General Assembly 2026 will be online only, and the following year in 2027 will be in-person and online once again.)
Whether you have the chance to participate in a national or regional conference, more local collaborative UU efforts like UU Voices for Justice in Oregon, or a workshop with our UUA Pacific Western Regional Staff at our congregation, I hope your engagement with our wider association is nourishing, informative, and engaging.
In faith,
Rev. Alison