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Social Justice

Reflections on the 2017 Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly

By Bruce Wiggins, Denominational Affairs Coordinator

This year, for the first time anyone can remember at First Church, we had a full slate of 16 member delegates to conduct our association’s business. A total of 11 attended General Assembly (GA) in New Orleans, two attended remotely via computer, and three who attended our Regional Assembly (RA) was designated by our Board of Trustees as delegates to vote for our association President. I want to highlight here and in the coming months some reflections of our delegates. Please engage with these people to find out more than we can communicate in these brief newsletter articles. And if these accounts interest you, plan to attend GA next June in Kansas City, MO.

“I found the experience very enriching. I had never seen so many African American UU’s gathered together. I met with representatives from Black Lives of UU (BLUU), Diverse and Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries (DRUMM), and talked with people I knew through social media. I came away feeling that the UUA is determined to help center the lives of people like me. The Ware Lecture by Bryan Stevenson was wonderful. He described his work in the criminal justice system, a system that many call criminal and seldom provides justice.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     — Kenyatta Yamel

“Using my laptop computer, I participated in GA as an off-site delegate. I viewed all the major activities—evening services, Ware Lecture, business plenary sessions, voted for president, and several other matters. Off-site delegates even can take part in discussions in real time during plenary sessions. About a week after GA all delegates receive online access to all the workshops. Sitting in my dining room was not as exciting as being in New Orleans. However, as an off-site delegate, you really do learn how decisions are made in the UUA and are part of the process.”
Nancy Pajewski

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