UUA General Assembly Voting Results

Each year, congregational delegates are convened in General Assembly to conduct the business of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Our church is a member congregation, and this year we credentialed eight delegates to represent us. Thanks to Becca Hutcheson, Debbie Maranville, Catherine Ruha, Margaret Sutro, Jonathan Tweet, Michelle Vaughan, and Betty Williams for their service as delegates. Two seats remained unfilled. Aria Curtis also represented UUC as one of our eligible religious professionals; this year, none of our ministers or ministers affiliated attended GA as delegates.

 

Here is a summary of results from General Assembly voting by delegates. Our UUC delegates may schedule one or more opportunities to meet with congregants, or may provide a written report on their experience of GA 2024.


 

Amendment of UUA Bylaws: Article II, related to the Principles and Purposes of the Association

Adopted – 2,025 (80.2%) to 499 (19.8%), with 21 abstaining (.8%)


Four proposed amendments were considered. One amendment was adopted, revising the description of “Equity,” one of the six values emanating from “Love” as the UUA’s central value. Other shared values are Generosity, Interdependence, Justice, Pluralism, and Transformation.

The Rev. Victoria Safford offered this reflection before the final pre-vote discussion of Article II at General Assembly:

“However we vote, we put love at the center, unflinching, insistent: this free faith we so cherish reveres the past and trusts the dawning future more. We believe in evolution—unfolding always, not unraveling—and revelation is not sealed.”

 

Carey McDonald, UUA executive vice president has noted that “Individual UUs and their congregations are welcome to continue to hold and value the Seven Principles and Six Sources, which were adopted in 1984, as a meaningful part of the faith, just as some have adopted the Eighth Principle on their own… The Eighth Principle specifically calls out antiracism and anti-oppression as central to congregational life and UU values.”

 

At UUC, we will continue to include the Seven Principles and Six Sources, as well as the 8th Principle (adopted by UUC in 2022), as helpful examples of how Unitarian Universalism is understood and lived.

 

To read a more complete summary of the Article II vote and the related process, see the UU World article online.


 

Proposed Business Resolution: Embracing Transgender, Nonbinary, Intersex and Gender Diverse People is a Fundamental Expression of UU Religious Values

Approved, with a 91.8% vote in favor. (View the resolution here)


 

Actions of Immediate Witness Affirmed:

Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW) are statements expressing the conscience and carry the authority of the delegates at the GA at which it is passed. AIWs are initiated by individual delegates and move through their entire creation and adoption process during a single GA. After review by UUA Legal Counsel, final text will be posted at UUA Statements by July 15.


 

Responsive Resolution: UUA General Assembly Support for October 7 Hostages

Approved, with a 77% vote in favor. (View the resolution here)


Responsive Resolutions are brief, advisory statements that express the sentiment of the delegates. They must be in response to a substantive portion of a report by an officer or committee reporting to a regular General Assembly. Responsive resolutions are not binding and do not set policy for the Association.

 

Delegates also
  • Approved an amendment to Section 7.13 of the UUA bylaws, aligning practice and language related to the Religious Education Credentialing Committee to be consistent with that of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee.
  • Elected three nominees to the UUA Board Trustees, elected one nominee to the Commission on Appraisal, and elected two nominees to the Nominating Committee.

 



General Assembly 2024 had 2,757 credentialed delegates from 734 congregations in fifty states; Washington, D.C.; Canada; the U.S. Virgin Islands; Mexico, France, and the Philippines. The UUA has about 1,000 member congregations. More than 3,400 UUs participated in this Virtual GA.

Posted/updated on:

June 26, 2024
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