I really could stop right there at the title - the UUA’s 2023 General Assembly was wonderful in many ways: we moved the Article II Revisions to its next step - a year of further study before the final vote in 2024; we elected a new president, the Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt; and we wrestled with a hard decision about process and putting our values into practice with a business resolution about divestment from fossil fuels, which ultimately failed to pass - but is not the end of this struggle, which I have been framing as the cost of swimming in capitalism while longing for moral absolutes.
Over the course of the week I met a number of Hold My Chalice readers, gave out “It was in the newsletter” magnets, and even had a great breakfast with a couple of you. I got to engage in a lot of great conversations, see beloved friends, and hear amazing preaching and music.
Oh, and I was recognized for achieving full fellowship - not an easy journey as an entrepreneurial minister. (Below is a photo of me and some fellow Union grads being recognized for various ministerial transitions.)
I’ll write more in the weeks and months ahead - every day, there were two or three topics I jotted down for future Hold My Chalice posts, so I won’t run out of things to talk about any time soon!
Today, however, I must attend to the many emails and tasks awaiting me (and do laundry), so I’ll just leave you with this thought: What I witnessed this week proves that Unitarian Universalism is on the brink of amazing things, with the power and moral authority to change the world - if we can just get out of our own way. May it be so.