The 2013 General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) closed Sunday night, June 23, in Louisville, KY. Over 3,400 people attended the annual meeting which featured worship, educational workshops, public witness, and UUA business.
Jim Key, UUA Moderator
Highlights of the meeting included:
- The election of Jim Key as the new UUA Moderator for a six-year term.
- The re-election of the Rev. Peter Morales as UUA President for a second four-year term. He ran unopposed.
- A worship and rally for environmental justice that drew over 2,000 participants.
- Many wonderful speeches from guest speakers including Wendell Berry, author, environmental justice activist, economic critic, and farmer; Tim DeChristopher, UU activist; and renowned interfaith leader Eboo Patel.
Delegates at GA 2013 overwhelmingly approved a Statement of Conscience (SOC) regarding “Immigration as a Moral Issue.” In addition, delegates voted on and approved three Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW) on Sunday, June 23 including:
- “Support the Proposed 28th ‘We the People’ Amendment to the Constitution: Corporations Are Not Persons and Money Is Not Speech”
- “Condemn the Mass Incarceration, Killing, and Mistreatment of Young Men of Color by Police”
- “Consider Divestment from the Fossil Fuel Industry”
Adopted AIWs are used by congregations in local efforts and empower Multicultural Growth & Witness to take action and recommend action through other departments of the UUA and other Unitarian Universalist groups.
The collection from the Sunday morning worship service was given to Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light (KIPL). KIPL’s mission is to “protect God’s creation by mobilizing a religious response to global warming through conservation, efficiency and alternative energy.”
Detailed coverage of the agenda, justice work, and worship at GA can be found on UU World’s General Assembly coverage blog.