GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2010

First, a subject near and dear to my heart – General Assembly. It’s not too early to start thinking about GA 2010.

Next year's General Assembly, the annual meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association, will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center on June 23 - 27, 2010. You can register to attend GA, and apply to be a GA volunteer, at www.uua.org/ga beginning on March 1, 2010. Last year, the Mountain Desert District welcomed UUs from across the country and, yes, around the world. In June the Prarie Star District will try to match the welcome we MDDers provided. See you in Minneapolis!

Want to Offer a Workshop? Do you or your congregation have something to offer congregations from other areas of the country?
The deadline is fast approaching.

The UUA has developed a new process for the selection of workshops to be offered at General Assembly. A team comprised of Unitarian Universalist Association staff and GA Planning Committee members is responsible for developing and/or inviting proposals for quality, mission-based GA programs for GA 2010 in Minneapolis. Proposals are due no later than November 16, 2009. In the past, each District had two guaranteed workshop slots to use or to give to their congregations to use. This will no longer be the case. Everyone who wants to submit a workshop application will have to use the new process. The new process is open to everyone.

First Post

Thanks for finding Lew Phinney’s Blog.

I’m the guy that you, the UU congregations of the Mountain Desert District, elected to be your trustee on the Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees. First, thank you for putting your trust in me. I promise to represent the District to the best of my abilities and to consistently do what is needed and appropriate to further the mission of the Association.

So, what can you expect from this blog? Well, for the moment, not much. However following each UUA Board meeting, I’ll post here an informal summary of what happened at the meeting. It’s important to remember that what I write here will be my thoughts. I won’t be providing approved minutes of the meeting. Although when the minutes come out and I find that I’ve missed something, expect an update here.

Much of what the Board does is pretty routine. I promise not to bore you with that stuff. Rather, I’ll deal with current and emerging issues that will have an impact on the Association and the District.

Examples of issues coming up at the Board’s October meeting:

Those of you who were at General Assembly know that the assembly defeated the motion to change the Principles and Sources. Near the end of GA the delegates directed the Board to further deepen discussion of the Principles and Purposes begun by the review conducted by the UUA Commission on Appraisal so that it can be addressed at a future GA. I’ll try to give you some sense of how the Board plans to implement that direction.

Oh yes, we have a new Association President. Therefore, there will be changes. I’ll try to give you some sense of where Peter Morales wants to take our Association and what it’s like to work with him.

You’re welcome to post questions or comments here. I don’t promise to answer questions posted here or comment on your comments. If you want my direct attention, send me an e-mail: lphinney@uua.org. That’s the best way to get a response.

That’s enuf for now.

Cheers,
Lew