UU Congregation of Athens and Sheshequin is one of those congregations that hadn’t sent a delegate to General Assembly for several years, so when the opportunity arose to send “virtual” delegates, it was a great way for us to make our voices heard. 2017 was our 3rd “virtual” GA, and we participated not only with our 2 lay delegates Ally Freyre and Linda Rossi and 1 ministerial delegate Rev. Darcey Laine, but Wyoming Valley UU’s delegate Becca Boerger traveled to be with us for the whole weekend.

Our Multi-Congregation GA began on Wednesday Night with an Opening Celebration (Solstice Bonfire and Potluck) at the Big Flats UU Fellowship, then we gathered in the sanctuary for Thursday morning general session over coffee and fruit salad to be part of the action. In a community where not all homes have high speed internet, the church provided a critical hub of accessibility. It was helpful to be together to share to give each other technical support, and to share the ups and downs of GA with one another. The Virtual Assembly remained available to members and friends in the sanctuary all weekend, and ended up with a live-stream of GA worship for the whole congregation.

Congregations and clusters around the region might consider similar set ups for the 2018 General Assembly. If you have questions about this idea please reach out to your primary contact or Beth Casebolt, our communications specialist, at bcasebolt@uua.org.