Reports from CLF Delegates to the 2008 General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
GA Banner Parade
20 members of the CLF attended General Assembly as delegates for our congregation. Here are excerpts from the reports by a few of them.
GA 2008 was once again a time of reunion, recharge, and recommitment to our social justice work as UUs.
Here were some of the highlights for me as a CLF delegate:
Being reminded by UUA President Rev. Bill Sinkford that we should not give too much power to the anxiety that is rampant in our society. He reminded us that “We are pilgrims on a journey, but we are not alone. We travel together.”
Having the opportunity to listen to the dialogue between Laurel Hallman and Peter Morales who are running for President of the UUA in 2009.
Feeling fortunate to hear the Rev. Dr. Forrest Church as he demonstrated a spiritual path in which to face one's own death. (Dr. Church is dealing with terminal cancer.)
Listening to lots of conversation on the GA floor about the needs and plans for our ministries to youth and young adults as these programs go through a period of transition.
Feeling energized by Ware lecturer Van Jones as he gave us a charge to fight pollution and poverty at the same time, and to save the soul of our country in the process.
and...best of all...an outstanding CLF worship service led by our minister Rev. Jane Rzepka, assisted by Rev. Meg Barnhouse with rocking music provided by UU Musicians Network members.
It was a pleasure to serve as a CLF delegate and to have a chance to volunteer some time in the CLF booth. It was terrific to meet CLF members and to have the chance to tell newcomers about the wonderful offerings of the Church of the Larger Fellowship. —Marcia Marino, Franklin, Wisconsin
It was great to be able to attend GA this year. I had last attended in 2004. Some of my time was intermingled by volunteering at the Volunteer Office, which I really enjoy. It was great to be among like-minded individuals and I needed a spiritual boost again.
While attending plenary sessions I was able to attend some other workshops, some on immigration and then others related to religious education. These were full of information and many ideas, which I can use where I teach RE. It was great to meet a few pen pals of prisoners with Chaplain Patty. There were very good Actions of Immediate Witness we voted on as well.
Going to GA is how I revive myself. —Carolyn Mendyk, Winter Park, Florida
It's almost 11 PM on Sunday the 13th of July, 2008.
I'm at the hostel on the second floor of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans.
I am still at the General Assembly.
Because it was at the General Assembly that I heard a call for volunteers to work here in New Orleans continuing the necessary repairs after hurricane Katrina.
So after I returned to Virginia I told my daughter about it and she joined me here to help out.
And this is what the General Assembly meant to me.
To be able to provide a haven for sustainable change. A haven for a sustainable struggle for social justice.
To be a home for those of us who are looking to create a better world now.
This was the first time I had ever attended a General Assembly and it certainly felt like home.
It was great to be able to put a face and voice on the CLFers to whom I have written.
It was amazing to be able to sit in a room with thousands of other Unitarian Universalists, with voices raised together and guided by Sarah Dan Jones.
It was fantastic to meet so many great new people and get closer to some whom I already knew. To hear stories of struggle and loss, turmoil and triumph.
It was wonderful to be blessed with inspiration from workshops and seminars from Appreciative Inquiry to interfaith dialogue.
An incredible feeling.
The bottom line for me is:
How much of this will live on in my life? Where will these ripples lead? What shores will they find?
And if you think that a General Assembly could mean to you half of what it meant to me, then by all means, mark your calendar and book your flight.
Those days at the General Assembly were some of the happiest of my life.
But that is not where its importance lies.
It lies in what I do with that feeling.
And I'm still there. —Anthony T. Fiscella, Malmo, Sweden
