HOMETOWN PRESS RELEASE
Unitarian Universalist Association of
Congregations
For Release: June 24, 2002
Contact: John Hurley, Director of Information
UUA Headquarters-Boston (617) 948-6131
Email: jhurley@uua.org
www.uua.orgUnitarian Universalists Conclude Annual General Assembly
(Québec City - June 24) The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) today concluded its annual five-day General Assembly held this year in Québec City, Canada. More than 4,100 Unitarian Universalists from across North America attended this year’s gathering which included worship services, workshops, and business meetings of the UUA.
The delegates to the General Assembly passed a groundbreaking Statement of Conscience calling upon the United States to explore alternatives to the "war on drugs." The General Assembly also passed resolutions in support of the International Criminal Court, endorsing the Earth Charter, calling for peace and justice in the Middle East, supporting legislation to create a U.S. Department of Peace, and celebrating Québec’s recent passage of a law legalizing same-sex unions.
Delegates voted on by-law amendments that will enable Canadian Unitarians and Universalists to become responsible for their own movement in Canada. Under the ratified agreement, the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) and the UUA will become separate national denominations while preserving the bonds of faith and friendship that have existed for over 170 years.
Other highlights of the General Assembly included the Service of the Living Tradition, a worship service recognizing new members of the Unitarian Universalist ministry and honoring those ministers who died in the preceding year, and the Ware Lecture, delivered this year by Stephen Lewis, former Canadian ambassador to the UN, who spoke passionately about the need for increased educational resources for the world’s poor, especially women and children.
Registration has already started for next year’s General Assembly in Boston, MA, when 10,000 Unitarian Universalists are expected to gather in the city where the UUA has its headquarters.
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal, creedless religion with Judeo-Christian roots; it traces its history in North America to the first Pilgrim and Puritan settlers and has numbered among its members five U.S. presidents. The UUA was formed in 1961 through the consolidation of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association. More than 1,000 congregations in the United States belong to the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The UUA website (www.uua.org) includes extensive coverage of the General Assembly. For further information on Unitarian Universalism, please contact John Hurley, UUA director of information, by telephone (617-948-6131) or email (jhurley@uua.org)
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