First Cycle Year

(Selection Year)

October 1: Deadline for congregations, districts, and UUA sponsored organizations to submit initial CSAIs proposals.

November 15: Deadline for Final Documentation for CSAI proposals.

Early December: Commission on Social Witness (CSW) places up to 10 proposed CSAIs on its website and distributes these to congregations.

February 1: Deadline for congregations to participate in ballot vote on CSAIs. A quorum of 25% of congregations must participate for the poll to be valid. If the poll is not valid, this process shall be repeated the following year. If it is valid, the top five proposals are placed on the final agenda for the General Assembly.

Mid-February: CSAIs which passed the vote in the Annual Certification form will be announced and put on the UUA webpage.

April: Commission on Social Witness will host informational sessions for the CSAI authors to introduce their issues.

GA 1

GA delegates select one CSAI for the next three years.

Second Cycle Year

(Study/Action Year)

November 1: Deadline for CSAI Proposers to prepare a Study/Action Resource Guide. This resource guide shall be made available and congregations notified of its availability.

March 1: Deadline for congregations and districts to submit comments regarding the CSAI and the related resource guide to the CSW.

GA 2

The CSW conducts workshops on the CSAI.

Third Cycle Year

(Statement Year)

November 15: Deadline for CSW to prepare a draft Statement of Conscience. This will be distributed to congregations, along with a Congregational Comment form, and a ballot to place the draft Statement of Conscience (SoC) on the Final Agenda for the upcoming General Assembly.

February 1: Deadline for Congregational ballots and Congregational Comment Forms to be submitted. For a draft Statement of Conscience to be placed on the Final Agenda of the General Assembly, 25% of all certified congregations must participate in the ballot vote.

March: The CSW shall begin the process of soliciting CSAIs for the upcoming year, to be submitted on October 1st.

April: The CSW shall prepare a revised draft of the SoC, taking into consideration comments received by the member congregations and districts, and place this revised draft of the SoC on the Final Agenda.

GA3

The CSW will hold a mini-assembly to accept amendments to the SoC and take these into consideration before finalizing the SoC.

The General Assembly considers the SoC. Approval requires a ⅔’s vote. The Assembly may also, by a ⅔’s vote, refer the SoC for an additional year of study.