General Assembly Is Just Around The Corner
By Bart Frost
When Was the Last Time You Had An Opportunity Like This?
[vimeo 114998025 600pxw 300pxh] Friends, General Assembly (GA) is ONLY six months away! GA is the annual business meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), where the congregations of our faith gather in community, learning and worship. The GA Youth Caucus also gathers to worship, build community and strategize and act to promote the interests of Unitarian Universalist (UU) youth on the business of the UUA. 8 out of 8 people agree¹ that General Assembly is a life-changing, soul-satisfying event, especially for youth. Even more so when multiple youth attend from the same congregation!* General Assembly can be expensive, though. Here are some ways to help you get to GA! First, ask your congregation if you can be a delegate and then ask them if they can cover your registration rate or provide a scholarship. If the church budget is tight, ask that one Sunday morning your congregation take a special collection to help send you to GA. FUNDRAISE! Get creative and have fun raising money to get yourself to this life-changing event. We've got some helpful ideas: * SELL ANYTHING YOU CAN (so long as its legal)! – Bake sale, flower sale, yard sale, garage sale, silent (or not so silent) auctions... * WASH WHATEVER YOU CAN (even if its not dirty)! – Car washes, window washing, pet grooming... * SELL... The opportunities are truly endless – find out more here. *The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries offers Youth Group Grants for congregations sending multiple youth to GA, check it out here. There are also scholarships! Lots of them! Apply for a General Assembly Planning Committee scholarship, a youth and young adult scholarship, or the Davidoff Fund for Lay Leaders! If you have questions on how you can get to General Assembly, or how to get your youth to GA, please contact us at youth@uua.org.¹ From a survey♦ conducted on 12-13-14 of attendees of a previous UUA General Assembly. Survey group limited to 8. Results based on binary response protocol² to the questions, "Was GA a life-changing, soul-satisfying event," and, "Are you a Unitarian Universalist youth?" ² Binary Response Protocol: Response "Yes"="Yes" / Response "No"≠"Yes". ♦ Survey margin of error ±0%.