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Virtual GA 2021
Sunday, July 11 @ 10:30 am - 11:30 am
The ESUC delegates and others who attended this years General Assembly will report on what they found most exciting and creative there. Reverend Furrer will be preaching.
how to attend
• To virtually attend, please Zoom in using room number 989 3107 9078, passcode: chalice.
• To phone into the service, call 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 989 3107 9078.
For those joining, please mute as soon as you enter the room, so everyone can hear. Please note, the services will be recorded, but at this time, there are no plans to share the recording.
More Information
If you don’t have a chalice, but want to light one, check out our Making a Chalice at Home page.
Service is followed by Coffee Hour.
Children’s Story
What GA Meant to Me
Sermon Audio
Virtual GA 2021
Sermon Text
Well, we have now heard from Maury, Grace, Martin, plus Chris and LeAnne. All have shared aspects of General Assembly that particularly spoke to them.
I tried counting up and I think I’ve been to twenty-six G.A.’s Of course until two years ago, these assemblies were held in various venues around the country—in Spokane three years ago and in Portland, OR, next year. I hope we can again send a strong delegation to Portland. But we had a strong virtual delegation this year online.
Three who attended sent me some additional reflections. I am going to share some of what they wrote. First Louise Wilkinson wrote stirringly about how our ESUC covenant has changed her. “Being in real community changes us,” she wrote. “I feel it so much in this church.” Louise was inspired by UUA President Reverend Susan Frederick-Gray—I am, too—especially her admonition that “This is no time for a casual faith.” Louise went on to reflect that while many white, straight, cisgender, able-bodied people may be tiring of the current UU focus on racism and oppression, it challenges us to think about what it is like to live with racism and oppression as a way of life.
Covenants are a way—a time-tested UU Way–to “reconstitute the world” into beloved community. Unitarians have the foundation, Louise concluded for her GA experience, for effective community organizing that can unlock the power of our faith into the world.
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Kristi Weir was also a virtual delegate. Of the many events, Kristi chose to share two that clicked for her. First, she attended a program presented by the BIPOC Communities for Environmental and Climate Justice that pointed out the need to look at climate effects AND climate solutions through the lens of BIPOC communities. Kristi also attended a teach-in on Reparations, which are about repair and healing. “Reparations,” she wrote, “are not just for African Americans, but for the soul of the nation.” The teach-in included information about the reparations program initiated by the people of Evanston, Illinois, to address the negative impact of redlining on ownership and wealth accumulation among African Americans there. She urges all of us to google Evanson’s program.
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Martin Cox shared with us via video, but I also want to share what he wrote to me. He found GA to have a demanding workload; that the music, imagery, stories, and poetry were beautiful and, as he put it, “were wrapped in a kind of reverent glow.” It was also heavy, with current events regularly reminding delegates of the dangerous times upon us. And he—and I am sure all the other delegates—found it awakening, as he learned all kinds of things about what our denomination is doing to help us make a positive difference in the world and among our neighbors here on the Eastside.
What I have loved most about General Assembly over the years has been the pageantry and catching up with colleagues and former congregants. And there are always a few truly stellar events—like this year’s Ware Lecture featuring Stacy Abrams and Desmond Meade. All in all, it makes me proud to be a Unitarian Universalist!
