General Assem­bly 2020

Announcing that GA will be all virtual this year.

The UUA Board of Directors voted to make General Assembly (GA) 100% virtual, due to COVID-19.  Contact our office for more information.

General Assembly 2020, June 24-28, Providence, RI

Rooted, Inspired, & Ready!

UUA’s General Assembly Service
Sunday, June 28, 2020, at 10 AM

• It will include a collection for the Tomaquag Museum, an indigenous museum featuring an extensive collection and archive of Southern New England tribal communities.

• 

  Rev. Joan Javier-Duval

  It will feature a sermon delivered by the Rev. Joan Javier-Duval, minister of the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, VT. She is the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, mother of a kindergartener, and spouse of a proud Vermonter. Beauty, gratitude, and love are at the heart of her faithful striving for collective liberation and a thriving planet.

• t will also feature contributions from the Rev. Mykal O’Neal Slack. Rev. Slack is currently the Community Minister for Worship and Spiritual Care for Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, an organization and growing spiritual community committed to supporting Black folx in our faith; and a co-founder of the Transforming Hearts Collective, a ministry that both supports spaces for LGBTQ people to access resilience, healing, and spirituality. He is a husband and father from the South, committed to healing and truth-telling, as well as community accountability and care.

• It will feature a variety of musical pieces under the direction of Benjie Messer. Mr. Messer currently serves as Music Director at the UU Congregation of Phoenix and has just completed the UUA’s Music Leadership Certification Program. His goal in this year’s virtual GA is to share the beauty and joy being created by the wonderful musicians throughout our faith. Benjie’s musical experience includes leading a New Orleans brass band, arranging for a digital music start-up, composing for film and media, teaching at every level from preschool through college, and now, like so many staff musicians, leading online rehearsals via conference call.

General Assembly (GA) is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists from throughout the country where we meet to conduct the business of our Association, explore the underpinnings of our faith, and learn ways to take action based on our mission and principles. GA 2020 will span five days— Wednesday, June 24 through Sunday, June 28— and is being held in Providence, RI. There will be inspirational worship, informative workshops, opportunities to make new UU friends and reconnect with old ones. All this and more promises participants will leave with renewed energy and new ideas to share with Unitarian Universalist Society: East and the larger community.

Over the course of five days, there will be more than 100 programming selections featuring workshops, panel discussions, worship services, and musical opportunities. As always, a wide range of theological perspectives will be explored. The Service of the Living Tradition is both inspiring and commemorates our religious leaders past and present. Sunday Morning Worship is a powerful event and is the largest yearly gathering of UUs in worship. Experiencing the solidarity and strength in numbers is awe-inspiring and energizing.

Each year a distinguished guest speaker is invited to address the General Assembly as the Ware Lecturer. Recent lecturers have been Bryan Stevenson, Cornel West, and Maria Hinojosa. The 2020 lecturer will be announced soon.

Registration is now open at uua.org/ga. Full-time adult registration is $400 and high school youth registration is $240. Lesser rates are available for part-time registrations. There is a payment plan option to spread payments over several months if you act before February 29.

FAITHIFY.org has been a useful crowd-funding vehicle for some to attend GA. We might want to explore this option. Several of our high school youth are highly interested in going to GA and are actively engaged in fundraising showing great initiative! If you are interested in helping to defray expenses for attendees, as some others have already done, contributions to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund so designated would be gratefully received.

For those who have never attended a GA and for those who have, this year is a great opportunity since Providence is so nearby. Would you consider being involved full-time, part-time or as a volunteer? Or perhaps you would be interested in representing UUS:E as a delegate to deliberate and vote on Association business? Please feel free to address questions and interest to Rev. Josh, Rob Stoltzman, or Bill Graver, Denominational Affairs Chair

GA Registration and the GA Housing Reservation System is open at www.uua.org/ga. There are volunteer opportunities and scholarships which can help defray the costs

• General Assembly Theme: “Rooted, Inspired, & Ready!
• Registrationis open. Rates increase March 15th.
• Travel and Housing
• View the GA Program & Schedule
• Use these Marketing Materialsto promote GA to your congregation or group.

GA Toolkit for Congregations

General Assembly is only a few months away… It’s time to get Rooted, Inspired, & Ready! Soon, we will worship, learn, witness, and make decisions together. Whether in person in Providence or through off site participation, GA is powerful because of the ways we connect with each other and share our values. Read on for new opportunities, tips, and resources to make this your greatest GA yet.

New! Congregational Block Grants

The General Assembly Planning Committee will award three Congregational Block Grants:

• Lay Leaders Block Grant: off-site registration for up to four lay leaders
• Delegate Block Grant: off-site registration for all of the congregation’s eligible delegates
• Staff Block Grant: off-site registration for up to four ministers and staff

Priority will be given to congregations that:

• have barriers, financial or otherwise, to participation in General Assembly
• are located outside of the New England Region
• have not previously or recently been represented at General Assembly
• actively and positively promote attendance (on/off-site) at General Assembly via pulpit editorials, email marketing and social media
• have demonstrated interest in sharing the tools and resources provided by the UUA in their congregation

Applications for Block Grants will be available on uua.org/ga beginning February 28.

New! Ridesharing And Carpooling

General Assembly is in Providence, RI this summer, within a day’s drive for over 50,000 Unitarian Universalists. Let’s get there together! Save money, reduce environmental impact, and foster community by sharing rides to GA. Here are some ideas for traveling together:

ridesharing and carpooling. If your congregation has parking that won’t be used in June, consider offering your site as a park-and-ride or meeting spot to share rides to GA.

General Assembly 2020 has been posted on the rideshare site RickyRides.com. Drivers and riders can post ride offers or requests with by location (ZIP code). Congregations can create a post and put park-and-ride information in the description.

Congregations might also consider using a church vehicle or renting a van and providing transportation—either as a fundraiser or just a way to facilitate attendance from your congregation. Consult your insurer before implementing a rideshare program.

Is your congregation near an Amtrak station? Use your available parking to be a park-and-ride location for the train to Providence.

Congregational Certification

Congregations that haven’t done so already must certify by February 3 to have voting delegates at GA in June. Certified congregations will be able to begin distributing member credentials in March via myUUA.org, the same portal used for congregational certification. Ministers and Religious Educators will be able to retrieve their delegate credentials via the self-serve portal in March. More information about certification can be found at uua.org/certification.

The Rev. Meg Riley and Charles Du Mond have been nominated for election as the next co-moderators of the UUA, at the special election to be held at GA in 2020. If elected, they will serve in this position for a term beginning at the conclusion of GA 2020 and ending at the conclusion of GA 2025. Find out who’s up for election to a UUA board, committee, or commission at General Assembly 2020. (Note: General Assembly registration is not required to vote in a UUA election).

Registration And Housing

Registration is now open at?uua.org/ga. Full-time registration is $400 for adults,?$240 for high school youth, and $150 for off-site registrants. Register by March 15 for the lowest rate. Rates will increase on March 16 and again on May 1.

The UUA is committed to the goal of making GA accessible to as many attendees as possible. Go to uua.org/ga?to learn about scholarships to support participation—particularly of those from marginalized groups—and volunteer opportunities (work in exchange for registration).

In addition to a variety of nearby hotels, attendees will also be able to book dormitory-style accommodations at two local universities. Also,?UUs from local congregations will serve as host families for Home Hospitality, which is B&B style accommodations. For more information, visit uua.org/ga. Make your hotel reservation beginning March 2 at 9:00 AM Eastern at uua.org/ga.

Youth Groups

Attending the annual General Assembly as a high school aged youth is an incredible experience. Not only do youth get to worship, witness, learn and connect in a multigenerational continental community, youth can get to know hundreds of other youth and participate in making an impact on the Association through the democratic process.

For GA Youth Group Organizers

Promoting GA To The Congregation

General Assembly is an unforgettable experience for the thousands of Unitarian Universalists and partners that attend each June. Attendees leave with a renewed sense of energy, inspiration, and innovative ideas to take back to their congregations and communities. In order to raise interest and to help Unitarian Universalist congregations and partner organizations learn more about General Assembly, we have assembled these promotional resources to download, copy, or print for further distribution.