General Assembly 2009 Report

by Carol Agate.

At General Assembly, we had a meeting for Equual Access that included a discussion of the situation at GA and problems in our congregations. We are interested in ideas for creating accessibility consultants to advise congregations. We discussed the issue of the campaign name: "Standing on the Side of Love," which excludes people who can�t �stand.�

As a representative of Equual Access I was invited to attend a dinner meeting with the UUA board's Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, Multiculturalism Team and members of various affinity groups. They asked what accountability of the UUA Board would look like. After that question the comments were far-ranging. People agreed that a lot more needs to be done, and asked that the UUA board let us know what they want us to do. Part of the need is district trainings, but some board members have been unable to get their district boards to agree to it. I used "Standing on the Side of Love" as an example of things that are done through lack of awareness, and suggested that the way to prevent it is to keep people informed of plans as projects are in the works instead of rolling them out when they are finished.

As for general GA happenings, dominating all was the election of a new UUA president. It is the first time in my 21 years of GA that we have had such a close election, and the vigor of the campaigns was evident throughout the period. Peter Morales decided to run long after Laurel Hallman entered the race, and she was backed by many prominent leaders of the association. His come-from-behind finish, especially by a substantial margin with 59% of the vote, added excitement. At http://moralesforuuapresident.org/ is Peter's statement about the election and his goals as president.

The first lecture slot included Mark Morrison-Reed's "The Perversity of Diversity." A report on the lecture and a link to the video are at http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/2009/ga2009/144176.shtml. Mark also lectured on the black empowerment controversy of 1969. http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/2009/ga2009/144305.shtml.

I signed up for UU University. All six of the programs are available on a DVD. So far Theology is the only one that has been reported on the web site.

The Fifth Principle task force described a proposal for a complete re-visioning of General Assembly. The presentation was entitled "The Status Quo Is not an Option," and I doubt that anyone disagrees with that statement. Our governance structure is shockingly undemocratic. The difficulty will be trying to decide how to revise it. The UUA board will vote on the task force's proposal at their January meeting.

All six Actions of Immediate Witness that were voted on passed. They are:

1. Advocate Pending Legislation Toward Clean, Honest, and Fair Elections in the United States, which endorsed three election reform bills in Congress: H.R.2894, H.R.1826, and S751-752;
2. U.S. Ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which urged the Senate finally to ratify a treaty signed by the United States in 1996;
3. In Support of America�s Red Rock Wilderness Act,? S799/H.R.1925, which would protect 9 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Utah;
4. Support Bolivian UUs Struggling for Justice and Human Rights, which offered support for Bolivian UU leader Olga Flores Bedregal, who has been calling on her government to provide information about victims of disappearance by the country�s military government, and asked UUs to write to the Bolivian ambassador urging the country to establish a truth commission to investigate human rights violations;
5. U.S.-Sponsored Torture: A Call for a Commission of Inquiry, which endorsed the National Religious Coalition Against Torture?s call for a commission of inquiry; and
6. Oppose Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Based Violence in Iraq, which called for UUs to lobby the U.S. government to work with the United Nations to protect sexual minorities in Iraq.

The proposal for a change in the Principles and Purposes was rejected by a margin of 13 votes. The bylaws require a vote without amendments, which was the main reason for its defeat. The next step might be an effort to amend the bylaws. However, I think the prevailing sentiment was "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." It's good to know we have statement so well regarded that most people are content to leave it as is.

The statement of conscience on peacemaking was scheduled to be voted on this year. There is a four-year process for studying these statements. The delegates were not ready to accept it, and the final vote was to study it for another year.

More detailed information and videos of selected events are available at: http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/index.shtml.

Carol Agate