Standing on the Side of Love: A Report on UU General Assembly, by Rev. Michael McGee and attendees

        I want to thank our delegates for sharing their revelations with us this morning, and I want to thank all of those who represented our church at this years General Assembly. I'm proud that we had our full delegation of 19 delegates at this GA as well as five of our staff. And we had several of our youth involved, which made it an intergenerational event for us. And GA is an intergenerational event with many youth taking part. I hope that we will have even more of our members and youth involved in next year's GA in Minneapolis; start making plans.

        I'm also proud that our church took a leadership role in this year's GA: we had a a presentation about our participation in VOICE; Jacomina de Regt led a popular workshop on our successful OWL Out program; Natalia Averett was a leader in the bridging ceremony for young adults; and Sharon Sundial took part in a green action ceremony.

        You can tell by the enthusiastic messages you heard this morning that there is a contagious spirit at GA. Actually, there was something else that was contagious because I got a terrible case of bronchitis while I was in Salt Lake City, but I still enjoyed GA tremendously.

        I find most Unitarian Universalists to be as shy and reserved as the citizens of Lake Woebegon, but there's something about General Assembly that makes people absolutely crazy. They're like the mosh pit at rock concerts, cheering and clapping for everything that happens and ready at a moments notice to shed all reticence and just go out there and change the world. Everywhere you go folks are friendly and enthusiastic and downright proud to be UUs. It's our own version of a revival, as our inner evangelists comes roaring out into the open. It's a sight to behold.

        And I get caught up in that same spirit, even before GA begins. The ministers always arrive a couple of days early for our Professional Days, with lectures, workshops, worship services, and general hobnobbing with old and new friends. But that's just a warmup for four more days of intense activities.

        There seemed to be a common thread that wove throughout the Professional Days and General Assembly, and that theme was best captured on the opening night of GA when Bill Sinkford, our outstanding president for the past eight years, not only summed up our accomplishments during that time, but he gave us a future direction. He told us that, "Unitarian Universalism can make a real difference if we're willing to stand on the side of love."

        Standing on the side of love has been our movement's theme for supporting marriage equality, but Bill Sinkford proclaimed that we stand on the side of love in many ways, including our promotion of civil rights for all people, our protection of immigrants, the resistance to senseless wars, our protection of the Earth, saying no to torture, and the empowerment of those who are struggling to survive. "We are called to use our public presence to more actively stand up with and for those who are targets for violence, exclusion or oppression because of who they are," he told us.

        What could better describe who and what we are as a religious movement? We preach a theology that proclaims all people as one, and that we are saved by love. We embody that theology in daring acts of love, whether they be protests against those who are violating the rights of others, or working within institutions to build a beloved community.

        Unitarian Universalists stand on the side of love! This is at the heart of our church and our movement. And it makes a great elevator speech, doesn't it? Not hard to remember. If someone asks you what it means to be a UU, all you have to say is, “We stand on the side of love,” and when they ask how we do that – and how can they not ask? – you can tell them the many ways, including VOICE and OWL and multiculturalism and opposing torture and promoting the right to marry; and you can tell them what you do personally to stand on the side of love, and before you know it that person is sitting next to you in our pews.

        Sonya Sanchez, an activist and poet, spoke to the ministers during Professional Days, and she told a story of visiting an abandoned warehouse in Harlem where volunteers were taking care of children of parents who were addicts.

        No one else would take care of these vulnerable children, so these people gave them the love and support they needed to deal with the pain of abandonment and neglect at such a young age. Sonya didn't know what to do at first, it was all so sad and overwhelming, she just wanted to cry. But then she began to sing to them and to tell stories. And she told them that she insisted they survive. She told them that we are here to battle for love and survival. She told them, “You deserve to be here, to walk on this earth, to be loved, as do all people.”

        There are so many who are outside of our society, so many who are virtually invisible to us and our world, and yet they exist and they are fighting to survive. And they need us to stand on their side, to stand on the side of love.

        Every morning when we rise from bed, we have a choice to either live in fear or to live in faith – faith that love can change our lives and our world. Let us choose, let us choose, every morning of every day, let us make the choice no matter how afraid we may be, no matter how angry or sad or apathetic we may feel, let us choose as individuals, as a church, as a nation, to stand on the side of love.

        Growth often requires that we experience the dark night of the soul. Bishop Carlton Pearson, a fourth generation Pentecostalist preacher from the ghetto, has had his nightmare. And a new birth of freedom.

        The story may be familiar to you. Pearson graduated from Oral Roberts University and served as a regent for 15 years. He had a megachurch in Tulsa, and traveled the world.

        But when Pearson questioned the concept of hell, he lost it all: friends, colleagues, building, and most of his flock.

        Last summer he found a new home with All Souls Unitarian in Tulsa. In the fall, he dissolved his church into All Souls and became a Universalist.

        This was possible because of his partnership with All Souls’ minister, Marlin Lavanhar, who seized the opportunity to walk the talk.

        Imagine a church like UUCA. Big, white, wealthy, educated. And into it drop 200 homeless Pentecostalists speaking in tongues.

        "My point is not to get you to say hallelujah," Lavanhar told his congregation. "It’s to see if you have room in your heart, and in your church, for those who do."

        When we at UUCA think of ourselves as a “come as you are church,” we dwell on our liberalism: come with your race, ethnicity, sexual orientation. But fit in. No clapping.

        Somehow, All Souls merged two cultures. The how, I gleaned from a session at GA with Marlin and Carlton, is that the leaders, and their congregations, agreed on a creed: Universalism.

        Today, All Souls' first service is unchanged, and both services have the same sermon and intellectual content. But the second begins with a praise-and-worship lead-in, has Pearson’s music, and follows the norms of Pentecostalism.

        To All Souls’ traditional members who said, “We don’t do that,” Marlin answered, “Why don’t we? Is there a reason why we couldn’t raise our hands? It's not our norm, but there’s nothing about who we are or our values that says we can't."

        I envy the richness brought to All Souls by Carlton Pearson’s nightmare-come-morning. Could it happen here? Could we allow it?

        Unitarians played a part in the United States Government's efforts to "civilize" and move the Ute Indians from their gold-rich lands in Utah and Colorado in the 1870's. While we were less committed to this work than other faith groups the Government drafted for this purpose after the military relinquished the job, our role helped to subjugate the Ute people to life on the reservation or land described by Brigham Young as "not fit for a jackrabbit."

        Rev. William Sinkford offered an apology from the UUA to the Ute people at the opening worship at the 2009 General Assembly in Salt Lake City. Two members of the Utah Ute tribe then came forward. The first, Forrest Cuch, a tribal leader, said he, as an individual Ute, accepted the UU's apology, and added that he looked forward to the healing work ahead that will necessarily follow an apology.

        Then came Clifford Duncan, Ute nation an elder, who offered a prayer in the Ute language, which he part sang and in part spoke. “In my prayer was my ancestors of yesterday, today, and those that’s yet to come,” he said as he finished. The room was rapt -- the sound of this prayer was so powerful, and the shock of the news that UUs could possibly participated in such an awful action against native people also hung in the air. It was a magical moment.

        I also was amazed to find out that at one time UUs were so important in the U.S. that the Federal Government turned to us to help them. The government also asked the Presbyterians, and the Catholics too to help. Imagine that happening today!

        Each year, the UUA chooses to highlight several “Breakthrough Congregations” at General Assembly. These are congregations that are growing, in some cases significantly, while the rest of our demonination seems to be just barely holding steady in our membership numbers. Videos produced about these congregations are shown, and members of the congregations put on workshops. So, what did I learn from these Breakthrough Congregations - from Albuquerque, Des Moines, Bloomington Indiana, and South County Rhode Island?

        Well, sometimes these successful congregations have taken advantage of a transition - a new building, or calling a new minister – to reenergize their congregations or to re-introduce themselves to their surrounding communities. But just as often, it seems to be simply a matter of being very intentional about being a welcoming, hospitable place with a spirit that causes people to want to come and stay.

        Quality worship services are clearly critical, as well as a strong religious education program and great music. Many of these successful congregations have made use of new technologies to make connections with people, particularly younger people. Another commonality is that these congregations are quick to rely on outside resources, particularly from the UUA, when problems or challenges arise. These congregations have been very intentional about planning for what they may need, before they actually need it; and several stressed the importance of a having a strategic plan.

        All of the breakthrough congregations stressed the importance of being an active presence in the community, though social action and through connections with like-minded people of other faiths; and many of the people there were very interested to hear about our experience with VOICE.

        But above all, I think, what I got from the videos and the workshops and talking to people was that these breakthrough congregations are pervaded by a strong spirit – a spirit of love, and of deep caring about the church and the community. None of the four breakthough congregations are as large as UUCA. And it struck me that while we here are doing many of the things that these successful congregations do, perhaps our biggest challenge is to build and nurture that essential spirit in the context of a very large congregation.

        If you want to hear more about these breakthrough congregations, or borrow a dvd with the videos, see me after the service.

        This was my second GA, but my first as a staff member. I found that the difference in roles made for a very different experience. As your membership coordinator I went to workshops on marketing, public relations, and the use of the internet for membership work. The focus of these was technical and I'm already implementing new ideas to strengthen the ties of membership in this congregation.

        I also went to the membership coordinators' professional day, “The Ministry of Membership.” Among the many insights shared, there is one that stands out that I would like to share with you.

        Most newcomers visiting our congregation for the first time have researched us online. They've read the Principles, they've seen pictures of the sanctuary, they've read the newsletter, they've listened to sermons, and some have even looked at our budget and annual report.

        By the time they get here they want to know if we really are who we say we are. Are we who we say we are? Do we show respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person? Do we have respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part? Are we really an intentionally inclusive community that welcomes people of all races, religious backgrounds, cultural origins, and sexual orientations? Are we who we say we are?

        Our newcomers hold us accountable and show their judgment of us by coming back or staying away. The people who visit us are hungry for what we have. Every week someone says to me, “I never knew a place like this existed!” I believe we have a moral and even religious obligation to make a place for these seekers in our congregation.

        To the people visiting us today I say, “Please come back and find out if we are who we say we are.” To the rest of us I challenge us to live our beliefs and deliver on the promises we make to our newcomers. Be who we say we are.

        Each year, the UUA chooses to highlight several “Breakthrough Congregations” at General Assembly. These are congregations that are growing, in some cases significantly, while the rest of our demonination seems to be just barely holding steady in our membership numbers. Videos produced about these congregations are shown, and members of the congregations put on workshops. So, what did I learn from these Breakthrough Congregations - from Albuquerque, Des Moines, Bloomington Indiana, and South County Rhode Island?

        Well, sometimes these successful congregations have taken advantage of a transition - a new building, or calling a new minister – to reenergize their congregations or to re-introduce themselves to their surrounding communities. But just as often, it seems to be simply a matter of being very intentional about being a welcoming, hospitable place with a spirit that causes people to want to come

        Quality worship services are clearly critical, as well as a strong religious education program and great music. Many of these successful congregations have made use of new technologies to make connections with people, particularly younger people. Another commonality is that these congregations are quick to rely on outside resources, particularly from the UUA, when problems or challenges arise. These congregations have been very intentional about planning for what they may need, before they actually need it; and several stressed the importance of a having a strategic plan.

        All of the breakthrough congregations stressed the importance of being an active presence in the community, though social action and through connections with like-minded people of other faiths; and many of the people there were very interested to hear about our experience with VOICE.

        If you want to hear more about these breakthrough congregations, or borrow a dvd with the videos, see me after the service.