| from Cleveland... to the World | |
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General Assembly 2001 Cleveland, OH ~ June 21–25 |
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By Ann Woldt
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GA Journal By Ann Woldt |
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Friday, 22 June 2001
Setting priorities! How on earth do I set priorities? There is so much to attend to: the plenary sessions, where the real business of GA and the UUA gets done; the workshops, where there is the opportunity for incredible learning; the annual meeting of the Church of the Larger Fellowship (after all, I am a delegate); and then the moments of serendipity -- a conversation begins, and suddenly I realize that what I am learning and sharing with this person is perhaps the most important learning I've experienced yet .....at least in the last few hours.
The plenary session was so much fun! For many years I served as chair of Social Justice Committees, and worked through the Study Action Issues at the congregational level -- and here I was seeing what happens to them. They are proposed, supported, challenged, sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes hesitantly, but always with conviction and commitment. We'll vote as a body on them tomorrow. I need to read through them one more time, before I decide. And reflect on what I've learned, and heard, and experienced.
I am realizing that there is so much more I have to learn about this faith I've embraced. I've become complacent in my "knowing", and am finding that I don't really know. And here are so many opportunities to explore, to investigate, to question. And so little time. I remember that I have access to the web, and to the UUA web site, and to the CLF lending library. I need to make better use of all the resources available to me.
And then tonight, the opportunity to see and hear Rev. Forrest Church! I've read some of his sermons, and some of his books, but here he is, in person, and ready to expand our minds with his new view of Universalism. I think I have always embraced Universalism....but now I need to learn more, to study more, to really make that commitment. So now that I've heard him, I thirst for more.
But first, those priorities. Dinner -- as it is now almost 11 p.m., and the morning will come much too soon. And I will need once again to make tough choices. Too many ways to love this GA. And I haven't even begun to talk about issues of accessibility for people with mobility impairments. And maybe you want to hear about my experience in the shower, this afternoon......
Thursday, 21 June 2001
It's my first time at General Assembly! 22 years a Unitarian Universalist, and never before have I been able to come. And here I am in Cleveland, at the 40th General Assembly.
GA is a whirlwind of people. I've only been involved in small fellowships, and now, for the last few years I've been a member of the Church of the Larger Fellowship – just me and my computer and telephone, and voices and correspondence from afar. Yet here are a thousand, two thousand, maybe as many as four thousand like-minded people, gathered together. Just seeing this many people, this many friends, is powerful. Already I'm running into people that I've talked with by phone, and by e-mail. It is always exciting to put face to voice, whether it be "real" voice or voice by the written word.
There are too many workshops, too many events. I can't decide where to go. But then I find some decisions made for me – the workshop for new delegates – I'm a delegate for CLF – is jammed. I'm using a scooter. Perhaps if I had been on foot, I could have squeezed in, but not with the scooter. So I go off and find the accessibility orientation session to tell them how much I appreciate all they've done (so far) to make my experience here possible! The convention center is very old, yet much has happened to make it possible for me and for others to get around. Not perfect... but much better than I anticipated!
So it's off to the Opening Celebration and Plenary session. What is this? So much of my experience with UUism to date has been with "staid and proper people" – and here is a rock band, and a dancing conga–line of folks from all around the United States and Canada, with banners celebrating their churches, their fellowships, and their causes. Some of the banners are what I'd expect from UU's – plain, straightforward announcements of their churches. But some are breath-taking in their beauty. Some are quilts, some flags, some tapestry, some applique – all lovingly made, all proudly declaring their presence.
And already here in plenary is an example of the power of the delegates. One delegate, rather softspoken, asks for a change in the rules, an acknowledgement of a past slight. And with only some small discussion, more an explanation of his concern, the rules are changed by an overwhelming vote of the delegates.
The brief history lessons, describing where we've been and ending with where we are going as UUs, are enlightening, entertaining, and sometimes funny. But the real issue of the evening, the Action of Immediate Witness, takes my breath away. It reminds me why I became a Unitarian Universalist so long ago – the power of social action, the strength of witnessing the truth.
What happens after this evening's plenary session is more powerful than what happened during the session: the march, led by The Rev. John Buehrens, Denny Davidoff, and hundreds, perhaps as many as two thousand Unitarian Universalists, marching in the rain, the drenching rain, to witness at the Cleveland baseball stadium, in protest of the name of the baseball team, their mascot, their logo – this march speaks to my heart.
As the tears mingled with the rain, the battery on my scooter draining, I roll back to my hotel, so glad and proud that I am connected to this faith.
So ends my first day at General Assembly, my first day as a CLF delegate. Can tomorrow be as wonderful?Photo by Holly Hendricks
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