Call to Worship:
This morning we have tried to give you a feeling of what it is like to witness the Banner Parade at the Opening Ceremony of General Assembly, though there is no way to adequately express the thrill of watching hundreds of colorful banners representing Unitarian Universalist congregations from around the world paraded around the assembly hall as they are cheered on by a raucous and joyful crowd and loud, zesty French Acadian music.
Our annual General Assemblies are as close as Unitarian Universalists get to having our own revival. You can’t help but be caught up in the enthusiasm, the pandemonium, even the rapture of worshiping, work-shopping, and even taking part in business meetings with so many other Unitarian Universalists.
This morning we hope to shine our light on the experience of being at General Assembly. Our church had one of the largest delegations present. Of the more than 4,000 UUs who registered, about 50 of them were from our church, 20 of whom were youth.
We will try to stay away from telling you “What I did on my summer vacation,” and instead attempt to express the transforming and spiritual experience this was for each one of us. We want you to know what is happening at the heart of our movement. And we encourage you to consider coming to Boston next June to take part in what will surely be the largest General Assembly in our history.
So let us now shine our light of Unitarian Universalism for all to see.
Reading from Le Soleil by Bill Riley
Plus de 4000 membres de l”Unitarian Universalist Association sont de passage a Quebec ces jours-ci pour participer a leur assemblee annuelle, qui se deroule au Centre des congres jusqu’a lundi.
Provenant des Etats-Unis et du Canada, les congressistes voteront les grand principes qui orienteront leurs diverses actions pour la prochaine annee.
Ce mouvement religieux regroupe des gens de diverses appartenances spirituelles: des catholiques, des juifs, des bouddhistes, etc.
Les membres se prononceront sur des enjeux comme la mondialisation, le terrorisme et les drogues. Ils pronent des valeurs d’equite, de dignite, de justice, de compassion, et de tolerance.
What you've just heard is the text of an article that appeared during G.A. in the Quebec newspaper Le Soleil -- the Sun. We've shared this article with you in French to provide a feel for the experience of G.A., where French-language comments from the podium were part of the proceedings and where you never knew, when someone approached the microphone, whether she or he would start out in French or English. The article itself is interesting because it provides a media impression -- an outsider's view -- of G.A. and of the large gathering of U.U.s there. Here it is again, in English:
More than 4,000 members of the Unitarian Universalist Association have been meeting in Quebec in recent days for their annual assembly, which continues at the Convention Center through Monday.
Gathering from the United States and Canada, the participants vote on policy statements that will guide their diverse actions for the next year.
This religious movement [Unitarian Universalism] brings together people of diverse spiritual backgrounds: Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, etc.
The delegates adopt positions on issues such as globalization, terrorism, and drugs. They promote values of equity, dignity, justice, compassion, and tolerance.
“Let It Shine!” by Michael Stewart
I am Michael Stewart, and this was my first General Assembly. It was a shining experience -- transformative, centering, activating, and enlivening.
It was transformative. If you’re shopping for a variety of worship experiences, you can pick up at least ten bear-hugs from people I'd never met before, be showered with flower petals while taking part in a whirling dance with the UU Pagans, take part in the telling of a story of reconciliation with a coyote as its hero, watch a Siberian creation myth unfold, and be rocked by sermons as stirring as any you’ve ever heard.
G.A. was like a lighthouse – it was guiding and centering. Like several from our church, I couldn’t really afford to go – financially, in terms of my frantic job, and in terms of my vacation leave. However, once I was there, it became a necessary experience. I returned from G.A. committed to not allowing my job to inundate my life, to attending more closely to my marriage, and to playing with my children. I returned seriously committed to playing with my UU religion. I mean approaching the important things of life with joy and spontaneity.
G.A. was activating for me – It lit a fire. I witnessed first-hand the dedication of the delegates from this church – folks who had worked the issues for months beforehand, and who were truly present for the business of G.A. -- attentive, engaged, full of spark and humor -- for every motion, amendment, procedural question, hallway strategy session, and vote – and for gripe sessions following some of the votes! I feel like a better informed UU as a result -- or at least like someone on the path to better information. G.A. loosened me up and gave me a little bit more courage to stretch myself without knowing exactly where I'll end up.
I was enlivened by the youth I encountered at G.A. So many seemed so "together." When I was sixteen years old, I had a newspaper route, a McDonald’s job, and I was tired all the time. I knew the words to every T.V. sitcom, though, and if anyone wants to join me afterward, for a rousing chorus of Petticoat Junction, I’ll be in the back! At G.A., I met a 16-year old who is the youngest pledging member of his congregation. He’s an R.E. teacher. He’s an international affairs activist – and he backed this up by statements that convinced me he wasn’t exaggerating. He was about to fly off for an extended stay in Transylvania. Many U.U. youth – try saying that three times! -- are not waiting to be leaders -- they already are leaders. The light of their energy was flowing the way of the adults. What a gift that was!Listening to some participants, G.A. sounds like a UU boot camp. Listening to others, it sounds like a spiritual spa. For me, it was a dazzling and dizzying array of deliberations, votes, workshops, banners, songs, stories and spectacles. Around mid-afternoon every day, my eyes were burning and I wanted nothing more than a nap. But then a worship service or a workshop, or even the energizing tension of a close vote on the G.A. floor – or indignation at flaws in the process -- would spark me up again. I think -- and I hope and I intend -- that the experience of G.A. will help light the way for a long time to come.
“Let It Shine!” by Amy Rose
If you’re a newcomer sitting in the pews (as I was, just about a year ago), watching the hippie-dippy Shriner’s parade coming up the aisle, listening people blathering about this sublime experience called “General Assembly”, you may well be thinking to yourself “What have I gotten myself into?” Why in God’s name should you care that the church spent good money to send me to Quebec City for four days, where I endured endless, droning plenary sessions and wore my high-school French to a shred?
There was a minister who gave a really great sermon at one of the worship services. She led off by singing the intro to Sweet Honey in the Rock’s version of “This Little Light of Mine.” I’m not going to attempt to sing it to you, but it said something along the lines of “Gotta let my little light shine, shine, shine … because there may be someone down the in the valley trying to get home.”
That sermon brought to mind the time that my partner Wanda and I came to Sunday service for the first time and met trustee Nancy Green in the fellowship hall afterward. We told her we were newcomers and she said, “Welcome home – dive right in!” In my whole little life, that was the first time anyone from any denomination has said that to me. I’ve had a lot of people wrinkle their noses and say, “Well, you may want to read this huge tome of punitive literature and then attend three months of classes first – just so you’re sure!” But that day, Nancy told me “Welcome home,” and I felt my poor weary, flapping soul breathe a sigh of relief.
General Assembly taught me that this great, liberal faith of ours has the wisdom to take the Gospel at its word, without taking it literally. No matter how eccentric you think you are (or aren’t), no matter how many Sunday school classes you’ve been kicked out of (or won honors in), your beloved community is right here to warm you and light your way in this cold life. And we need to let that light shine as bright as we can, people, because it’s getting darker and colder out there and this life is too short and too hard to have to find the light home the hard way.
To the newcomers in the pews – Welcome home. Bienvenue. Bienvenidos a todos. Dive right in. There’s a committee with your name on it somewhere, believe me.
Spoken Prayer & Meditation:
Let us give thanks this morning for the light that others have shone for us in our lives, the light of love, of hope, of truth.
Without that light shining brightly, especially during times of turmoil and trouble, we would not be the people we are today.
Let us give thanks as well for the light of our spiritual faith, the light that has been held up for us by those who have sacrificed their freedom or even their lives so that we could be free to worship as we wish.
And let us commit ourselves to shining our light of truth and hope and compassion as brightly as possible for our world.
May our lives be a light shining brightly giving illumination to those in the dark, giving direction for those who are lost, giving warmth to those who are alone.
In the silence let us now reflect on the light of our lives. Let us now open our minds and hearts to the place of quiet, to the silent prayer for the healing of pain, and the soft, gentle coming of love . . .
Amen.
“Let It Shine!” by Bob Patrick
Since last October, my GA focus has been on the Statement of Conscience: Alternatives to the War on Drugs. A Statement of Conscience is a policy statement by the denomination on an area of current concern. The Commission on Social Witness is the body responsible for the procedures by which Statements are created, modified, and voted upon at GA.
In the form adopted at GA, this Statement contains several policy recommendations which also appeared in the initial draft of the Statement of Conscience published last October. Several of us at UUCA worked to modify these and other parts of the draft Statement, and this is what we found:
1. The initial draft Statement of Conscience is created by what the Commission refers to as a “panel of experts.” Neither the identity individuals nor the process by which they are selected in publicly available, and there is clearly no effort made to balance the perspectives of the drafters.
2. UUCA and 55 other congregations submitted comments on the draft Statement. However, we were denied copies of comments submitted by others. We do not know whether these comments are considered by the “panel of experts” or by the Commission on Social Witness, or how anyone decides whether to adopt a particular proposal.
3. Finally, at GA there is what is called a mini-assembly. Here delegates may present amendments to what is now a 2nd draft of the Statement. We prepared 11 amendments, based upon a format described to us by a member of the Commission on Social Witness. However, upon arriving at the mini-assembly, our printed amendments not accepted. Rather, they had to be handwritten on a special form which was only made available to delegates when they arrived at the mini-assembly.
Following the vote on the Statement, UUA Moderator Dianne Olson held a workshop where delegates could voice their concerns about various aspects of GA. We attended and described our experience. By this time we were know as delegates from “that Big Grumpy Church in Arlington.” But to our surprise the Moderator acknowledged her personal concern with the process, invited us to provide her with written comments, and promised to meet with us to discuss changes.
It is possible that the light shone on this process by UUCA will result in its improvement.
“Let It Shine!” by Bob Denniston
Having dealt with drugs, we moved on to a second simple topic – economic globalization. It’s the middle year for this study action issue – which means all study and no action. But that didn’t keep the dozen or so sessions from being well attended and the discussions lively.
It’s a complex issue. It asks economically, who wins, who loses – and how might we remedy its weaknesses for the benefit of those who are not able to climb aboard the boat that is being lifted with the rising tide. We heard articulate points of view on all sides. Some cite statistics; others take the moral high ground. And there is plenty of polarization. Even here at UUCA.
Polarization got attention from the 3 UU congregations that reported on their study efforts in one session. Much of the rhetoric comes from advocates, many of them strongly anti-corporation, riding the tidal wave of public revulsion with recent revelations – the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots, abuse of political influence, accounting “irregularities,” the apparent indifference of the World Bank and the IMF. As Maude Barlow, the Canadian journalist and advocate, said about such officials, “I used to think they were well-intentioned but ill-informed. Now I realize it was the other way around.”
UUCA is way ahead of most congregations because of our very active Globalization Watch study group. They’ve gathered materials, studied them carefully, and even convened a Sunday afternoon forum a few months back. But I see two key challenges ahead.
First -- Sidestepping polarization. We have to find a mutually respectful way to have the conversation. It's not a simple issue and there is no simple answer. Economic globalization is here to stay. So how can we amplify its advantages and deal with its downsides?
Remember that there are only two kinds of people in the world – those who dichotomize everything and those who don’t! So we must find purposeful and pragmatic middle ground. The “little light” required here is a floodlight – to give us broad illumination, leaving no one in the dark.
And second -- Get involved in the process – early and often -- of crafting the forthcoming Statement of Conscience. The process needs equal amounts of light and heat – so our “little light” might have to be a blowtorch. In our search for truth and justice, we will have to be more aggressive advocates, lest the draft be so wide of the mark that we are dealing – again -- from a defensive posture.
And we should ask ourselves -- Is the greater value in the journey or the destination? The educational process or the end product?
I, for one, am skeptical that UUA can move effectively on this topic given the current process, but we – as individual citizens, as members of UUCA and our community -- can make a difference. For me the end point is not about a perfect process or a perfect Statement of Conscience – it’s about distributive justice – a major step on the road to social justice.
Homily by Rev. Michael McGee: “Let It Shine!”
I have discovered in my travels that taxi drivers can not only be excellent tour guides but prophetic as well. In the approximately 20 minutes it took my taxi driver to get me from the airport to my hotel in Quebec City, he showed me and told me about many of the historical sites of the area. Most of them I noticed were battlefields or forts. The city itself I soon discovered is divided by an ancient wall that had been built by the ABritish occupiers,@ as the taxi driver called them, to protect them from the French patriots.
As we drove along the wall, I saw a beautiful, ornate building nearby, and I asked the driver what it was. AThe zoo,@ he replied. I told him I had never seen such a grand zoo before, and then he informed me that it was actually the Quebec Parliament building which is inhabited by 300 monkeys.
It didn=t take long to find out that my driver was not in favor of Quebec=s separation from Canada B perhaps because he made his living in the tourist industry. And it didn=t take long to discover that the culture in Quebec is much different than what I had experienced in other parts of Canada. With everyone but the tourists speaking French, I felt like I was strolling down the streets of Paris.
I learned that 6 of the 7 million people who live in Quebec are Francophones, that is they speak French as their first language. And some 40 percent of them speak only French and no English.
Quebec is a culture of contrasts and conflict in many ways, established by defeating the Indian people, invaded and occupied by the British before overthrowing their conquerors, and still in conflict with the larger Canadian nation and between themselves over whether to form their own nation.
Ironically American and Canadian Unitarian Universalists have also struggled with each other. The Canadian U.U.s just this year decided to cut most of their ties with the Unitarian Universalist Association, feeling they have been treated too much as the 51st state instead of a nation with a proud heritage.
This theme of dealing with differences and coping with conflict ran through the entire General Assembly, which is no surprise since that has been the major focus of our nation and our world since 9/11. We are not always unified in how we believe our light should shine, and there is no reason we should be. It’s been said that we have as many opinions as we have Unitarian Universalists.
The two days before G.A. begins, UU religious professionals meet for continuing education, worship and fellowship. The primary program was a presentation called ATransforming Congregations by Engaging Identity-Based Conflict.@ As boring as the title sounds, Jay Rothman and Randi Land gave an inspiring presentation to the 500 of us present reminding us that hopes and hurts are both causes of problems and windows of possibilities.
Rothman and Land have used their conflict management skills to try and resolve differences between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as between white police and black citizens in the tense community of Cincinnati, Ohio. And they taught us techniques on how to use conflict to give energy and vitality to our congregations. Instead of trying to eliminate or suppress conflict, they urged us to welcome differences of opinion but within the safe boundaries of civil conversation.
Rev. Gelbein and I reinforced that message when we led a workshop for our colleagues on team ministry, reminding them that to work together successfully as a team, you must be able to express and creatively work through differences.
The Plenary Sessions are where those differences are especially welcomed at General Assemblies. Delegates representing more than 600 Unitarian Universalist congregations met to express our opinions, declare our convictions, and live out our principles. It=s a delight to listen to fellow U.U.s speaking from the Pro and Con or even the Procedural microphones, courageously and civilly expressing their values and beliefs – even when they’re wrong from time to time.
We certainly don=t always agree with each other, but that=s how it should be. We do agree however that we need a place where we can bring our dearest dreams forward and discuss them in an environment of respect and reverence.
Our disagreements were minor compared to our spirit of harmony. The most powerful moments for me, when our light shone at its brightest, were when I felt our unity as one people:
- during the Opening Ceremony when the banners of all our congregations were paraded around the assembly hall on a chorus of cheers;
- as we sang ARank by Rank Again We Stand@ at the beginning of the Service of the Living Tradition;
- when we succeeded in raising $21,000 for a soup kitchen in Quebec;
- and when thousands of us rose spontaneously at the end of Ambassador Stephen Lewis= address at the Ware Lecture to give him a rousing standing ovation.
We didn=t give him an ovation because this eloquent Canadian ambassador to the United Nations brought good news to us. No, his news was terrifying. He told us about the dangers of economic globalization, the failures of the United Nations, the absolute travesty of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, and the real possibility of environmental self immolation.
What we appreciated was his honesty. He told us the truth B unlike most politicians B and though it is a truth that is hard to accept and depressing as hell, it is a truth we need to understand if we are to respond with compassion and justice.
As Unitarian Universalists, we believe that only when we know the truth can we catch sight of the light of hope. Ambassador also Lewis gave us hope by sharing many of the successes – as well as failures -- of the United Nations and the good work of other organizations and individuals.
And he assured us that the crises we face today can be overcome IF, IF, IF we decide to resolve them, IF we commit ourselves to living out our highest principles, IF we provide the financial resources that are so desperately needed, and IF all of us become involved in the solution.
There will always be differences. There will always be conflict. But let us resolve to shine our light of hope for the world by seeking to understand the differences that divide us, by working to bring civility to conflict, and by struggling to find ways to make this a world where all people can live in peace and prosperity.
Amen.
Benediction by Joan Gelbein
Rev. William Sinkford, the president of our Unitarian Universalist Association, closed the General Assembly with these words:
“Dream with me and let our dreams point the way. Dream with me. Dream of a UU in the center of the conversations in the public square. Dream with me. Dream with me of a faith where religious education is a lifelong endeavor offered to thousands who are yearning for what we have found here; of a UU that knows it must combine spiritual development for individuals with a life of service for justice. Dream with me. Dream with me of becoming an antiracist multicultural community. Dream with me. Dream of the young children who will be able to say: I am proud this is my church.”
