An Open Letter to Unitarian Universalist Congregations Concerning the Fort Lauderdale General Assembly
December 20, 2007FROM: Beth McGregor,
Chair, General Assembly (GA) Planning Committee
Gini Courter, Moderator, Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
William G. Sinkford,
President, UUA
We are writing to you because many of you recently received an email with the subject header "IMPORTANT GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECISION" concerning our upcoming 2008 General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We want to assure you that this email did not come from the elected leadership of the UUA, our Board of Trustees, or the General Assembly Planning Committee, and we do not endorse its call for congregations to consider not sending delegates to the 2008 General Assembly.
As we acknowledged in our recent memo to the UUA Board of Trustees and the GA Planning Committee, the situation in Fort Lauderdale is not ideal. Legitimate concerns about the site and the security measures have been raised, concerns that we share, and we are working hard to address those concerns. We continue to be in dialogue with officials at the convention center, and we are following up on the other steps mentioned in the memo to make the Fort Lauderdale General Assembly as warm and welcoming as possible for our congregations.
There are two new steps to note. Because there has been a good deal of rumor and speculation concerning the security measures at the Fort Lauderdale site, our GA Planning Office has developed a new Frequently Asked Questions list that will provide factual information about this issue.
We are also actively searching for a meeting space in Fort Lauderdale to establish a satellite site where GA delegates who cannot provide the necessary government-issued ID to gain entrance to the convention center can assemble to participate in the business of the Association via a video connection to the plenary hall at the convention center. Our worship services and opening and closing ceremonies could also be transmitted to this satellite site.
This issue is important to all of us, and we are committed to doing all we can to fulfill our responsibilities as elected leaders in our faith community. Now is not the time to create divisions among us, but rather a time to work together for solutions. The unique challenges of this GA site make it clear that UUs have important matters to discuss, including the erosion of civil liberties, support for undocumented workers, and what it means to be inclusive. Let's gather at GA in Fort Lauderdale so we can have these, and other, important conversations.
For more information contact generalassembly @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, December 21, 2007.
