Media Contact:
Suzanne Morse
Ph: 617-948-4650
Email: pr@uua.org

Boston, Mass. (June 23, 2026) – The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) held its largest annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists (UUs) globally in an innovative “everywhere General Assembly” from June 14th – June 21st. General Assembly (GA) is the annual gathering of UUs, where the UUA conducts business, gathers in community, learns and worships together, and emphasizes the Association’s mission, values, and principles.

This year, the UUA used a flexible model with both online and distributed in-person options for UUs to come together through community gatherings, satellite sites, and a studio site in Louisville, Kentucky. This made GA more accessible, sustainable, and connected to UUs across the country and around the world. The theme of this year’s GA was “Meet the Moment: Together Everywhere”.

“Over the past year, Unitarian Universalists have met the moment by proclaiming there will be no kings in the United States, allying with our interfaith partners in Minnesota to protest the killing of innocent civilians there, protesting detention centers in Texas, New Jersey, Maine, and Massachusetts, demonstrating civil disobedience and noncompliance at the U.S. Capitol, and marching through Selma, Alabama,” said Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, UUA President. “It is re-energizing to gather together to think about and work on the future of our lifegiving faith tradition.”

UU delegates from 46 states, Washington, DC, and three countries participated. 1,296 delegates from 485 congregations participated in voting democratically on denominational business. In total, there were more than 2,025 multiplatform attendees to the Assembly.

UUs Vote on Business and Social Justice Issues

Three pieces of business were debated during GA. A proposed business resolution that asked the UUA to charge a task force with recommending updates to Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) policies and rules for interim and developmental ministers passed. Delegates opted not to pass a proposed amendment of the UUA bylaws regarding termination or suspension of ministers. Delegates also voted for four members of the UUA’s Board of Trustees, including current members Gail Forsyth-Vail and Rev. Oscar Sinclair, and new members Terry Grimm and Chloe Ockey.

Also among the business conducted during GA 2026 was voting on Actions of Immediate Witness (AIWs) and responsive resolutions. UU delegates voted for a social justice resolution that called for supporting protests on the assault on environmental protections by the current federal administration and for responsive resolutions that emphasized the UUA’s engagement with young UUs, highlighted the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) crisis, and reaffirmed UU commitments to supporting immigrant communities and witnessing at the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, NJ.

Delegates and attendees also heard about the UUA’s Meet the Moment initiative, an Association-wide framework for Unitarian Universalists to analyze, discern, and take values-based action in response to today’s religious, cultural, generational, and political realities. Saturday’s program focused on learning, reflecting, and connecting through the Meet the Moment framework. The day began and ended together with live online programming across all GA locations. The core of the time throughout the day was spent in several live, interactive, topic-focused, and collective skill-building sessions.

In addition to denominational business and spiritual gatherings, UU participants attended workshops and other events focused on UU social justice priorities. These included gatherings for individuals to come together with like-minded peers to form close-knit and supportive communities that share common goals, interests, or experiences.

Featured speakers at GA included Rev. Liz Walker, senior pastor Roxbury Presbyterian Church in Boston and a former journalist, and Rev. Beth Johnson, minister at the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale in Illinois, exploring ways that congregations can respond faithfully to this moment. The Ware Lecture was delivered by Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC. Bishop Budde has been a powerful voice for justice and a strong interfaith partner to UUs and other people of good will. Those interested in viewing the General Assembly public agenda, can do so at our website at www.uua.org/ga/program/schedule.

The UUA will hold its 2027 General Assembly in June in San Jose, California, with full online participation also available. For more information, please visit www.uua.org/ga.

//End

About the UUA:

The UUA is the central organization for the Unitarian Universalist (UU) religious movement in the United States. Our faith is diverse and inclusive and the UUA’s 1000+ member congregations are committed to shared values and principles that hold closely the worthiness and dignity of each person as sacred, the need for justice and compassion, the