Worship Choices at General Assembly

General Assembly (GA), like Unitarian Universalism, offers a wealth of theological diversity. A variety of worship choices are offered throughout GA. Worship opportunities from the recent past have included:

Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) Worship

The Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF), a unique congregation of 3500 that only meets in person at General Assembly, celebrates an inspiring worship service. Coverage of the 2012 CLF Worship

Honoring Service: Worship with UUs in the Military

As a loving community celebrating our faith, we honor the legacy of our veterans, celebrate the current service of military Unitarian Universalists (UUs), and pay tribute to military families. Coverage of the 2011 Military Worship

Morning Worship

Sponsored by the GA Planning Committee.

Service of the Living Tradition

Led by the Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group, this service honors fellowshipped and credentialed religious leaders; remembering those who have died, recognizing those who have completed active service, and welcoming those who have received fellowship or credentialed status in the past year. Members of the public are welcome. More about the Service of the Living Tradition.

Sharing of Joys and Concerns

A quiet gathering centered around reflection on the day’s experiences and on sharing of joys and sorrows around those experiences, led by a GA Chaplain.

Spiritual Practices

An informal worship gathering offered every morning. This small group experience will reflect the early morning preferences of the chaplain of the day.

Sunday Morning Worship

Join us for the largest annual gathering of UUs joining in worship. Members of the public are welcome.

Rev. William F. Schulz will deliver the sermon at the 2013 Sunday Morning Worship.

"William Schulz…has done more than anyone in the American human rights movement to make human rights issues known in the United States."
—The New York Review of Books, 2002

From the refugee camps of Darfur, Sudan, to the poorest villages in India; from the prison cells of Monrovia, Liberia, to the business suites of Hong Kong to Louisiana’s death row, Dr. William F. Schulz has traveled the globe in pursuit of a world free from human rights violations. Currently Dr. Schulz is President and CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. He also serves as Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and as an Affiliated Professor of Preaching and Public Ethics at Meadville Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago.

As Executive Director of Amnesty International USA from 1994-2006, Dr. Schulz headed the American section of the world’s oldest and largest international human rights organization. From 2006-2010 he was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress specializing in human rights and has served as a consultant to a variety of foundations, including the MacArthur Foundation, UN Foundation, Humanity United and the Kellogg Foundation.

During his twelve years at Amnesty, Dr. Schulz led missions to Liberia, Tunisia, Northern Ireland, and Sudan. He also traveled tens of thousands miles in the United States promoting human rights causes and was frequently quoted in the media. He is the author of two books on human rights, In Our Own Best Interest: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All (2001, Beacon Press) and Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights (2003, Nation Books); and the contributing editor of The Phenomenon of Torture: Readings and Commentary (2007, University of Pennsylvania Press) and The Future of Human Rights: US Policy for a New Era (2008, University of Pennsylvania Press). All of this prompted the New York Review of Books to say in 2002, "William Schulz… has done more than anyone in the American human rights movement to make human rights issues known in the United States."

An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, Dr. Schulz was President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations from 1985-93. He has served on the boards of People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and many other organizations, is currently chair of the Board of United to End Genocide and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Schulz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College, holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago and the Doctor of Ministry degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School (at the University of Chicago) as well as eight honorary degrees. He lives with his wife, the Rev. Beth Graham, also a Unitarian Universalist minister, in Gloucester, MA.

Coverage of the 2012 Sunday Morning Service

Synergy: A Multigenerational Celebration of Bridging and Collaboration

This is a transformative multigenerational worship. Come be inspired and illuminated at a celebration of treasured worship elements, rites of passage and brilliant contemporary musical performances. Coverage of the 2012 Synergy Service

Worshipping Together, Witnessing Together

Commission on Social Witness (CSW) leads a service relevant to the current social witness issues. Coverage of the 2012 Social Justice Service

Young Adult Worship

Worship for young adults (ages 18-35) at GA.

Youth Worship

Youth come together in a community based worship. All are welcome to the youth worship to explore spirituality in a welcoming and loving community.